Keeping this for family and moving over to SimpleIntentionalLife

Hi All,
It's been almost 3 YEARS and I have wanted to post a a quick message here to say that I'll be keeping this blog for FAMILY and FRIENDS close to us, but will be moving over to SimpleIntentionalLife for other topics related to my YouTube channel of the same name.

As for updates, so much has changed...Adam is 8 and in second grade.  He is nuts about all things PS4 and gaming, and looking forward to summer.  Yasmeen is completing her junior year of HS and we are on the college visit circuit right now.  We have been to a couple of colleges in NJ and PA, but are planning a tour of ASU in Arizona and UM in Maine later this summer.  She wants to study psychology with aspirations of earning a doctorate and becoming a psychologist. Leena is finishing up her Freshman year of HS and laser focused on her aspirations of working with animals and wants to pursue Veterinary Medicine or Environmental Science...she is having a great 1st year of HS.  Both girls are still in Band...Yasmeen has continued in her 5th and final year of Marching Band and Leena has switched to Color Guard for her upcoming Sophomore year. She loves spinning flags and throwing rifles, so this is up her alley.  She is also becoming a pro at "silks".  A type of acrobatic circus activity where she hangs by her wrists and ankles many feet high in the air and is developing some serious muscles. Mohammed and I are just trying to keep up with the kids as they grow and change.  He is still with J&J, but has taken on a role in the Healthcare Compliance department.  I have also switched jobs and am now working with Robert Wood Johnson Physician Enterprise at an off-site Internal Medicine practice.  We are both enjoying our jobs, and looking forward to what the future holds, both professionally, but more importantly, personally and for our family.  Big changes coming down the pike with Yasmeen getting ready to graduate next year.  Yikes, time flies!

Just when you thought this blog was done!

Here I am again!  It's been a busy year...A YEAR...can't believe that.  I think about posting often, but just can't find the time to sit down, gather my thoughts and put my fingers to the keyboard.  So many changes in a short time, but such is life.  Let's see...

First, BOTH girls are now involved in the HHS Marching Band...well, technically, the season is over, although that is what keeps this entire family running around from August to November!  Leena joined as an alto sax player in the 7th(!) grade, and Yasmeen is actually IN high school now, as a 9th grader.  Yasmeen continues to play trombone, but in Marching Band, she is playing Baritone.  I never knew what any of these instruments were, but considering Mohammed and I are now official band groupies, well, you get up to speed pretty fast.

Second, Adam has started Kindergarden and recently celebrated his 6th birthday.  He still goes to Goddard in the afternoon and LOVES it...Kindergarden, not so much.  In his own words, "it's work, work, work".  Guess he prefers to play.  Don't we all!

Next, I have recently switched jobs.  I'm no longer working in the solo practice I had been with for the past 3+ years, and have since joined the Robert Wood Johnson Physician Enterprise (RWJPE), which is like the Kaiser Permanente of this area. They are a huge institution that has acquired a lot of local practices in NJ and several hospitals.  I still work in Internal Medicine, but a bit further away.  My commute has jumped to 50 minutes (from about 30), but I have no regrets.  The practice was located to a brand new suite and everything is shiny and new.  The patients are still getting used to a PA, but they are slowly coming around.  I have been there all of 1 month, so I guess it will take a little more time.  You can find me at www.rwjpe.com under "Providers", then Internal Medicine.

Mohammed is the rock in our family.  He is observing all these changes around him from the secure vantage point of a stable job with J&J and is chugging along with business as usual. He participated in a stretch assignment earlier this year that was in partnership with their sister company in Latin America and he was actively trying to learn Spanish.  Considering the amount of Arabic I know, he will be granted a lot of slack from me.  He actually knows more Spanish than I know Arabic (and understands even more). Que Bien!

So another year winds down (how does time go so FAST?) and we are gearing up for a tough winter.  Hopefully I can get on here a bit more often, but with that said, please understand if time gets away from me.  With our ever changing schedules, school activities, and volunteer commitments, something has got to give.  Hope I can do better.

Thanks for hanging in there, here is a summary of 2014!