I am now on maternity leave from work and what a relief!  I have had so much on my mind that I was struggling to focus on work.  I finished my secondment with the 2012 Games team a week before my leave started (the team thought my project management skills were brilliant extending as they […]

I think I have mentioned that my new neighbours are really lovely.  They moved in a few months ago and me and mum-in-law have made firm friends with thee neighbour and her teenage daughter.  Her daughter (N) comes round on weekends to help my children with maths and literacy tuition and is great at keeping […]

The latest edition of Aaila, the Muslim Family Magazine is out now. Mash’Allah as always brothers and sisters have submitted some brilliant articles and columns; Our cover story is Sex and Relationships education (SRE): Do you know what your child is being taught in school? by Safura Houghton – something that is definitely an issue […]

Quite a well-timed prompt for the 21st fast. Yesterday I was tired from fasting and having a busy day and didn’t feel like talking to anyone. So yesterday the kids thought it was a good day to drive me slightly mental and just not listen to anything I was saying. I wanted to visit my […]

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 […]

I was listening to a lecture recently about time management while I was making dinner and a few things really struck me from the talk. In the lecture (I think it was this one), Sheikh Muhammad AlShareef talks about how we use out time, not so much from a time management perspective, but from a perspective […]

I have been finding it challenging to pray at work at the moment. The day is very short, so depending on my hours I end up with two or three prayers falling during those ours. I don’t find the prayers problematic, they are an oasis of peace and calm in my day and benefit me […]

Between us girls we are all still having a mighty fine time. My head is still all blocked and my dentist has advised that the toothache is being caused by the sinusitis. Little Man is coughing away and Gorgeous has spent all weekend veering between being feverish and the fever coming down and him running […]

I regularly come across things that make me sit up, take notice or feel moved. The Love, Learn Inspire List collates all of the fabulous stuff I come across in real life, online and across social media. This is a place for me to be completely frivolous or self-indulgent if I want to, my only […]

My mum gave me some fresh spinach from her garden this week, so decided to add some chicken to it and make a very mild curry. Ingredients:2 medium onions, diced 1 tablespoon garlic chopped or paste 1 tablespoon ginger chopped or paste 2 tomatoes, chopped 1-2 teaspoon chilli powder to suit taste (I used half […]

I have always tried to be honest with my children and always encouraged them to be the same with me. In our house mistakes that are owned up to are met with understanding not anger and we work together to put right the mistakes we make. This policy has worked fairly well most of the […]

WARNING – May contain spoilers for the previous books in the Twilight series for those who have not read them. I read and reviewed the first three books in the Twilight series earlier with varying degrees of approval and enjoyment. By the time I had gotten to the fourth and final instalment, not only was […]

The last few days have been a period of step-change for me.  After lots of sadness, challenges, feeling blue and lots of manic activity, I feel as if my world is slowing down.  I am focussing on home life and routines and looking for a new job.  My mother-in-law has gone back to Pakistan, leaving […]

I got the recipe for this from Fauzia’s Kitchen Fun which has been my go-to website for Ramadan food ideas.  I changed it, so that the method/ingredients I used are as below. Ingredients 500g dates – with the stones removed 1 tablespoon sesame seeds 1 tablespoon desiccated coconut 1 tablespoon butter Half a cup of […]