The Dunstable Downs Kite Festival has become something of an annual fixture for us. We missed last year because my husband was in Pakistan, otherwise the family friendly nature of the day and the beautiful location has us looking forward to coming back. This year we went with my sisters, my parents and my dad-in-law. […]

Eid Mubarak everyone Taqaballahu minna wa minkum. May Allah accept it from you and us. Kullu am wa antum bi-khair. May you be well throughout the year. May this Eid be full of blessings, barakah and joy for all of you insh’Allah.  There has been so much horror and sadness in recent years, I make […]

The theme for the third day of the Ramadan Journal Challenge is “On my table”, I would have shown you a nice table set with elegant crockery and matching place settings laden with well-presented food.  But I cant because I don’t have a dining table, have mismatched crockery and I have four messy children which […]

Now and again you have those really difficult, challenging or plain unproductive days.  But rarer still are those days when everything is just good.  Today was one of those days (or yesterday now as it is just past midnight). My favourite time of the day at the moment each day is 9am.  Every morning I […]

I don’t usually get to read at the park as I am busy chasing the babies around, but on this occasion my oldest daughter helped them on the swings and slides while I read  I found this book at a boot sale and could not pass up a book by Alice Walker.  It is a […]

I can’t help myself. I love to collect and I love everything to be in order – by colour, size, type, country or all of the above. I love to organise shelves, cupboards and draws – none of which stay that way. Everything ends up going by colour: By shade: By size and type (these […]

Finding peaceful prayer time is often challenging for mothers and this has not been an exception for me.  My thus far angelic little eight month old is starting to find her voice and her feet.  She manages to bounce forward and lunge for whatever catches her attention and loves to babble.   Recently she has […]

I did have good intentions for the month long gap I have had between jobs: experiment with an online shop, try drop-shipping, finish an e-book, try a few online courses, but when it came to it, I decided that I was unlikely to get another opportunity to forget work so thoroughly and just give myself […]

Beautifully Different is the second book in the Yousuf’s Everyday Adventures series, written by Dana Salim and illustrated by Pavel Goldaev. The book is based on the premise of a question that Yusuf asks his father: “Why are we all different? Especially when it leads to some people being treated unfairly?” for instance by being […]

I like to keep an eye out for Islamic books for children for a number of reasons: increasing their Islamic knowledge, a means of normalising Islamic language, behaviours and dress, creating positive role models and teaching about good deeds. image source Yan’sHajj falls into the last two categories.  Yan is a poor farmer who works […]

I previously wrote an update on my uncle’s abduction and an anonymous commentator asked for links to the media coverage which I could not find at the time. Long-Suffering Sister kindly pointed out the following link to the story: The Nation Newspaper – Police net two kidnappers Pakistan Daily Times – Wanted criminal, kidnappers arrested […]

I while back I wrote about why I withdrew my daughter from sex education at her primary school (Discussing the Birds and the Bees – Part 1: Setting Limits).  This was one of the most visited posts I have ever written and brought home to me very clearly that I am not the only parent […]

Came across these models of the Olympic Mascots today. Not crazy about the designs, like the names though – Mandeville is named after Stoke Mandeville, where the first Paralympic Games took place. Wenlock is named after Much Wenlock where the Wenlock Olympian Society Annual Games were held in 1850. I think I prefer the Team […]

Assalam-alaikam, The latest issue of Mum and Muslim is now out, with a focus on preparing for Ramadan. The editor Umm Imran says: “We have had many writers over the past year and more are coming forward every week. It is their input that has allowed us to get this far, and inshallah will be […]