Nursing my little one means I have to sit still, something I am not good at and so I thought that this would be a good time to get reading again. Normal Calm by Hend Hegazi piqued my interest after a saw a review on Muslimah Media Watch, particularly as it broached themes that I hadn’t seen […]

My brothers wedding reception was held at Ingatestone Hall in Essex. We stopped at the gates and had a dhol-player lead the grooms party in. The bride and groom had decided on a marquee in the grounds and the brides family were waiting to receive us. The bride had picked the colour theme, the table […]

As I currently seem to have time on my hands (a rare occurrence), I thought I would keep my hands busy. and my mind occupied. I made a rainbow tasbih (prayer/dhikr beads) for my mum-in-law last year and she loved it and used it loads until someone asked her for it.  I knew she wanted another one, […]

I had to go visit a friend today, so decided to go whilst the kids were at madrassah. I got back to find hubby getting dinner ready and Little Man proudly showing off the chapatti he had made (he rolled it out, his dad cooked it).Alhamdulillah, it took me almost two years of grudging practice […]

Ramadan kareem everyone, don’t you feel the difference?I have spent the last few days fretting about how I will manage it all – work, the early morning meals, preparing iftar, praying taraweeh. So I went off on one yesterday and the better half had to calm me down.Then yesterday evening we got the good news […]

I had planned to make this before Ramadan, but had found no spare time at all in which to attempt it. So when I invited my parents and siblings over for iftar yesterday, I decided to put this together after fajr (the dawn prayer). The letters were printed off on plain white paper and then […]

After two weeks, I felt like a human being again today, so decided to get going. We have all been eating junk and left-overs so I made some steaming hot and very spicy chickpea curry and mince kebabs for my sisters. After feeding the kids all sorts for the last few days, I decided to […]

Just a quick post to say jazakh’Allah-khairun to all of the sisters who have commented in the last few days and e-mailed me. Your words have been a comfort.I met up with the manager who wanted me to join her team and she said she was very keen for me to apply for the posts […]

It was the kids first day back at school and Little man’s first day full-time at big school about which he has been pestering me all summer. I thought I would give them something to take with them. I had to make them quickly after fajr (dawn prayer) with whatever I could find. The gasp […]

My office marked International Women’s Day 2018 with a series of talks by women discussing success, how they got to where they are today and how they balance the different parts of their life.  The conversations I am hearing around me are about gender parity, career progressions, self-belief and equal pay.  As a believer in […]

It was my cousins wedding last week and an absolute pleasure to get dolled up, turn up like guests and enjoy the food them come home.  No hassle, no preparation, no to-do lists and no trauma or drama, which Pakistani weddings can be great for. It was segregated as some of the sisters wore niqab, […]

I lost it today.I really, really lost it. BIG time. So much for “peaceful parenting” and articles in the NY Times on the topic – I feel like a bit of a hypocrite at the moment. Boy did I lose it today. image source After a stressful week at work with longer hours, lack of […]

It was World Book Day yesterday and this year we decided we would create costumes from we had or could wear again rather than buy them. Little Lady goes to an Islamic school, so the girls took part but the school stipulated that there should be no witches or vampires – which probably rules out […]

The Big Book Bubble recently brought their Book Top to town and I decided to take the kids along.I loved how the entrance was a wardrobe full of furry coats reminiscent of The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. There was an elderly lady in front of me who asked the organiser why there were […]