I promised the kids I would take them to the teddy bears picnic, only to find that on the day it was 32 degrees, way too hot to go and sit in the park. So after some thought, I ordered them all to take a nap, they were a bit annoyed, but once they realised […]

I have tried a few roast vegetable recipes as I have tried to find healthier ways of cooking and also get more vegetables into my families diet.  I haven’t been crazy about most of them finding the vegetables either slightly tasteless for a palate used to spices and intense flavours or the textures not quite […]

I received two interesting comments yesterday that made me think. The first was from one of my husband’s “auntie” – a lady who calls him her son and who he helps out on occasion with chores and DIY. She sees me as her daughter-in-law; because we all need more than one mum-in-law…. She came to […]

Alhamdulillah Eid day was lovely, with family gatherings, meals together and lots of presents for the babies.  I was so busy I didn’t get many photos, so these are a mix of mine and Shutterbug Sisters pictures. I started the day early by beginning preparation for lunch and cooking a traditional sweet breakfast of vermicelli […]

This Ramadan with hubby away, has been one of the quietest ever for me.  With us all eating in our own quiet little corners, barely awake and slightly dazed.  Mum-in-law is unwell so eats in bed, Little Lady slinks off with her food after being told to wake up three or four times.  I wake […]

What a horrid morning. I woke up feeling so miserable today and spent the whole morning veering between rage and sadness, with everyone feeling the brunt of it. The house is still being refurbished and we are still living in two rooms. Everyone has colds and coughs and keeping everyone organised and with a routine […]

I am so flawed; my temper, my occasional bouts of stubbornness, my very loud (immodest) laugh, my love of all things beautiful and pleasurable (especially food, sleep and all things shiny and pretty), my occasional swearing when I flip and my impatience. This awareness of my shortcomings gets me to thinking how I could possibly […]

One of the biggest challenges in my life has been my lack of patience.  It is something I have worked hard to improve in myself over the last decade so that I can become a kinder and gentler wife and mother and to please Allah (SWT) who says: “And be patient. Surely, Allah is with […]

We have just introduced a cute range of children’s jewellery to our online Shop. I originally found these for my baby daughter and baby niece and everyone loved them. They are smooth with nothing that catches and seem to go beautifully with everything. We’ve been giving these as gifts and everyone just seems to love […]

I have been a bit slow with Ramadan preparation this year,but getting there slowly…

I have been quiet on the blogging front recently while I try and make sense of my real life. I have a cycle of establishing routines at home and then finding that something comes along and we are back at square one with meal plans, bed times, housekeeping timetables and all sorts of other good […]

Assalam-alaikam (Peace be with you), I’m Umm Salihah, I am Muslim, I am mama to my five cheeky sweethearts (Little Lady 13, Little Man 11, Gorgeous 9, Darling 3 and Baby 1) and I work in local government trying to serve the community I was raised in. I started blogging eight years ago because I […]

After weeks of sickness and exhaustion and two trips to emergency, my scan finally came round this week. After much trepidation, nearly throwing up in the waiting room and expecting the worst, the scan showed a perfectly healthy 11-week old baby bouncing around like a little mad man (or woman). The consultant said it was […]

I had some news at work yesterday, which gave me pause for thought. After having worked here for only four months, I was called to see the senior manager with the rest of my team – a lesson in that; senior managers only call staff to meetings for bad news. We were told that our […]