Nour Ajam Al Sabbah, is the beautiful mother of two gorgeous children, Lea, aged 4 and Maher, aged 1, from Lebanon. Her biggest passion are horses, and enjoys horse riding when possible but has struggled to find time since having children. Nour grew up in Southern California with her twin elder sisters and younger brother before moving back to Beirut. She moved to Dubai 8 years ago, and Dubai has since become home for her and her Palestinian husband, whose family also live in Dubai, and their two children. We spend the afternoon with Nour and her children talking about motherhood, families and her past 8 years in Dubai.
Can you tell me 3 words your husband would use to describe you?
I was interested in seeing my husbands answers to this one! He said loving, gracious and too sociable (not sure if thats a good thing or bad haha)
Your children are still young, and please can you tell me what 3 things you have learnt about yourself since having your children?
I have never been much of a kiddy person so I was actually worried to have children. My husband and I took our time to have children and having them has been a blessing. I still feel I have a lot to learn about raising children but realise everything will turn out fine with whatever I decide for my children in the end. Raising kids shouldn’t be so difficult!
One of the things I have also learnt is how much more I appreciate me time. Sitting on the couch just relaxing with no one around !
Finally, I realised I can still be the same person before I had children. There are a lot of people who change once they have kids and that is inevitable for some. But I’d like to think I want to have the same fun and having kids shouldn’t change the type of person I am. I have also created and cultivated new friendships as a result of being a mother and I see that as an advantage.
If you could share one piece of advice with your younger self what would it be?
I never thought I could have children or be the typical ‘soccer mom’ because I wasn’t into children to begin with. If I knew I would be able to handle it like I do now and I would probably have had children sooner! Plus I think make a pretty cool Soccer mom (according to my sister)
If you could instill one value in your children what would it be?
To be caring. Caring of others, caring for the environment and animals.
In your journey of motherhood, what has been your strongest moment, and also what has been the most difficult period.
My most difficult moments were the first couple months with Lea. I’ve never really held a baby and to hold your own and learn everything from scratch was pretty difficult. It took a lot out of me and I didn’t leave the house the first month! Being surrounded by family made it easier. After the first few months passed, I realised I can do this and it made me a stronger mother for my children.
What do you do when you need to escape the stress and demands of motherhood?
I’m lucky that my husband’s family live here so I can drop my kids any time to my in-laws who love spending time with Lea and Maher. My downtime would be to chill on the couch and catch up with TV series or even getting around to writing my answers for this interview!
Three best venues on the weekend for your children?
Riva Beach club – My kids are water babies and love to spend the day on the beach.
Irish Village – Its got great food and the kids love running around
Horse Shows or Polo Games – Love taking my children to a horse show or polo game to expose my children to horses on a regular basis, and I can catch up with some friends at the same time.
Top three fashion designers
I always love to support Arab Designers and I’m lucky to have friends that are great designers. I love Elie Saab, he is the pioneer of the fashion world for the Middle East. My mom was already supporting Elie Saab as a designer over 20 years ago! I also love mother daughter designers like @DeebyDalia and @MymalakStyle.
Photographs: Edwina Viel