Over the years I have daydreamed about having a wonderful garden which would serve as a beautiful little retreat for me, somewhere for my children to play and a place to grow fruit and vegetables for our kitchen. Over the years I have tried lots of times to bring order to the chaos that erupts […]
I’ve done most of the housework (ahem) and food prep for Eid, so that means time to turn to some of the fun stuff. I had a few hours before I had to prepare what looks like it might be the last iftar meal of this Ramadan and Gorgeous has been pestering me about helping […]
I picked up a few of these flowers very cheaply from an old man who said his wife made them. I thought it would be nice to see how many different ways I could use them. This was the easiest, I made this just whilst I was sorting some of my card-making materials. This one […]
Mum managed to slip on the ice today and land hevaily on her arm. She then managed a few more paces and fell again, on top of the same arm and almost knock herself out. Somehow she managed to walk and slide the rest of the way home without leaving her shopping or handbag behind. […]
Assalam-alaikam all, I hope this Ramadan has been truly blessed for you and that you have grown in faith and nearness to Allah (SWT) and that your store of good deeds has grown exponentially insh’Allah: “When it is the last night [of Ramadan], they are forgiven, all of them.” So a man from the people […]
You know those days, when things start going wrong and then they just keep going wrong? The kind of day better spent in bed until it’s over? That’s the kind of day I had yesterday. I was woken at am by a blazing toothache – both the tooth and sinus pain combined at a time […]
Sped through a busy Saturday morning after the kids decided lie-ins were for losers. To get them back – and because they were never going to stop squabbling otherwise, I got them shelling peas. Both of my boys harrass me to let them have a go with the mortar and pestle, baby got there first […]
After a ridiculous day full of fighting with the kids tiring me out, I decided the next day I would do things differently. So when the boys woke up and started the he-said, he-did, I sent one to wash dishes and the other to hoover the living room. Every squabble that morning was followed up […]
My husband usually drops me to work, but as he is in America at the moment, I have been commuting. It takes a bus and three changes of train to get to work, to cover what is essentially a 15-20 minute car journey. It sounds quite miserable, except for one thing, I get time to […]
When we imagine how we are going to raise our children, we think of healthy, happy, well-behaved children, which of course do not exhibit any of the bad behaviour and habits every other child seems to be prone to. In reality the endeavour of bringing up our children is a lot more complicated. The pace […]
I have been following Dr Shefali Tsabary for about a year now and her words of wisdom has really helped me get through the tough teenage years with my children. She made me think about how much of the friction between my oldest and I was about her behaviour and how much was about my […]
Although my grandmother has passed away now, caring for her was one of the most demanding, yet most satisfying experiences of my life. Gran came to live with me for two years when she got fed up of all of her daughters-in-law squabbling amongst themselves. I think part of her also enjoyed the company of […]
Sister Neelu of Creating Memories encouraged me to join in her Journal Your Ramadan challenge. I don’t think I will be able to stick to all of her prompts (listed here), but I thought it was a good idea anyway as a way to reflect back on each day and try and improve and learn […]
I have been becoming more aware over time of what goes into the food we consume, especially as I am now responsible for the diets of a whole family, including three who are too young to know any better. I think it is in the peripheral consciousness of most parents that much of the food […]
