A "Crow"tastrophe

My daughter saw a crow with his head stuck in the fence.  Here's what he looked like:

 



It was really a sad sight to see.  Our whole family went outside to check it out.  My husband was good enough to put some work gloves on and attempt a rescue:

 

 

Poor birdie flew a few feet then was still for a while.  We left it, and it was gone this morning when I went to look.  Aisha promptly offered that a coyote could have gotten it.  I was hoping it just needed a moment to recover and flew on his merry way :D

 

After looking at those first two pictures a little bit closer, I took the girls and went back to the fence to take a closer look.  I think the poor thing was badly injured and splattered and dripped blood around his body on the fence.  It definitely looks like blood.  A neighbor happened to be walking by at the time, so she and her two little ones helped us look and analyze.  

 





Enjoying February

A lot of people are moaning about the month of February; they feel in a funk, they are tired of the cold, or they're burned out on whatever they're doing.  It's really common to hear the complaints from the homeschooling folks, especially, during this month. 

Today I noticed quite a difference in the morning light when I drove my son to the bus stop.  It's like we had so much more light today than we did last week!  This month actually uplifts me because the days are markedly longer, and here in the Pacific Northwest, every minute counts.  The fact that I can still see outside on my deck at 5:00 pm is fantastic!  I feel like I have a new lease on life and that I can start to think about spring.  It's amazing how a half hour of light here and there can add up to such a big mood shift.  I love it.  February is welcomed happily in my mind regardless of the cold and regardless of the cloudy, drippy days (which we haven't had much of this winter).  I'm just so happy to not feel like it's always night time!

Foamy Handsoap I Put Together At Home

I've recently learned about a line of essential oils called doTerra and was interested in their oils because of the effort they went to to get their oils labelled as therapeutic grade and that they've gotten a nutrition label on some of them that you can put in your food.  I already am a user of essential oils in my home, so I was happy to find a good use for the oil blend called OnGuard whose oils are antimicrobial/bacterial/fungal in nature.   They suggested we use OnGuard in a foaming soap!  I fell for this great idea and set up three bottles in my house using some distilled water, liquid castile soap, and a couple of drops of the essential oils.

I filled each bottle with the distilled water nearly to the top.  Then I squirted a bit of castile soap (on the internet you can find some recipes calling for up to 1/3 cup but I am happy with about 2 tablespoons if I had to estimate).  To that I put 3-5 drops of the essential oil.  I was happy to use the blend On Guard for health reasons, but you could always use an oil of your choice suitable for a soap... lavender, geranium, peppermint, lemon.

I give the bottle a gentle swish back and forth before I use it just to disperse the oil in case it has settled on the top.  Whether it is necessary or not, I don't know.  In the meantime, I'm happy with a very inexpensive, easy to make, and enjoyable to use handsoap!

Friday recap

This school year has a nice rhythm and schedule that we've never had before.  I'm enjoying the days we spend at home because they come after 3 days of being out of the house and running.

Today is Friday and is a 'stay at home' day.  The girls and I (we are currently the homeschoolers) know it is a home day start the day with a calm tone.  Today I put in a load of darks shortly after I got dressed, but not right away because I knew one of my kids wanted a morning shower.  Breakfast wasn't rushed, and my youngest could take her time eating and getting herself dressed. 

Luckily the two older girls got started pretty close to 8:00 on their first subject (always Math) while I tidied up the kitchen, straightened my hair, and helped the littlest with a fashion emergency (it happens).

I joined the schoolroom around 9am to make sure all was well.  It was.  Youngest One took down the October calendar so that we could change it over to November.  She put the dates back up while naming the numbers and me showing her how they looked on the calendar.  We then talked about the months, how her birthday month is next after November, and then she did the weather chart by pointing the arrow to 'cloudy' (big surprise for Seattle).

 



Like I mentioned earlier, I like the predictable rhythms our weeks take this school year.  On Fridays I can take care of household work, sit by the girls while they focus on work, and I can spend some good, quality time with the youngest in some educational interactions.  I won't call them 'lessons' because they're not really that formal yet with her.  She won't be 5 years old until the end of December, so we just talk about all things preschool such as colors, numbers, patterns, songs, stories, and letter recognition.  I've been using a book called Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons, but in all honesty we've done all of 12 lessons since starting in July.  How's that for laid back?  She is learning how to read from exposure to letters and books, so this book is kind of a guide for me and not The Standard by which I must sit my 4 year old down and drill daily.  She actually read an entire Bob Book today with little help from me, so something is working.

The older girls will be done with most of their independent work soon (plus some time with me during grammar), and then we'll get into an hour-long history lesson.  I read aloud from The Story of the World and then we do map work, place events on a timeline, and read extra books I've already checked out from the library.  After that we'll have lunch and then the girls will spend some time reading from the 'required reading' list (which I make). 

We had been in the habit of attending Friday Prayers at the mosque, but we haven't been in a few weeks.  One masjid is holding a later service at 3:30 to accommodate the school aged kids, so we went to that one time.  The only down side is that it took half an hour to get there after spending 20 minutes picking up my son.  So adding up travel time and prayer time, that outing took us 2 hours which kind of wore everyone to the point of crankiness late on a Friday afternoon... I'm not so encouraged to repeat that.

As for the remainder of the day, I made up some pizza dough for dinner tonight.  I also cooked up some taco meat last night which I'll probably use for Saturday's lunch.  Broccoli is also waiting  in the fridge to be turned into soup.

Have a great day and take it easy.

A few meal amendments in March

I didn't make a monthly meal plan in March on purpose.  I had a lot of overflow from January and February that I hadn't gotten around to making, so I was loosely using those meals as guides. 

In the meantime, I've come across a really neat website which has given me so many new ideas!!  All this access to information is great and tiresome at the same time.  I want to try new things, I try to fit them into my busy days, I compare them to other things I used to make and do.... sometimes "simpler" might be better!  So here are a few new things I've tried that have also improved the supply and quality of food in my home.

* boil a couple of dozen eggs on a Sunday and keep in the fridge for snacks or breakfasts

* bake 8-10 chicken breasts plainly seasoned.  shred 3-5 of them and make a chicken salad.  slice the rest or cube and freeze or keep in fridge for casseroles, fajitas, or soups.

* make a pot of chili with 2lbs of beef. freeze half and keep the rest for lunches or dinners. this also works for taco soup for a variety.

* wash a few head of the romaine hearts, dry, and keep in ziploc to make salad prep easier.  you could also slice up some veggies, just not too many in advance.

These few ideas helped me a lot in the last two weeks, and that along with some meal planning have kept things moving along smoothly.  I might try to simplify the actual cooking for the month of May, so I will hopefully make a thoughtful post on that later on. 

This is the great website from where I've gotten ideas, recipes, and inspiration!  I follow her on facebook and love to see what she packs for her kids' lunches!  I even bought some lunch boxes like the ones she uses because they're just too cool.  This recipe for granola bars lasts very little here.  Over half of it will disappear within 24 hours, masha'Allah, and the rest soon follows.  I've made it 3 times just this month.

I hope I can pass along just some of this excitement in making food planning easier on those of us who are in the thick of it.  My growing children need the benefit of wholesome foods, and of a good balance of protein vs. carbs.  It takes planning and dedication, but I do believe it is very worth it!

Seasons

Here we are again with the changing of seasons.  It gets me every time.  As if I weren't expecting it.  As if it were a party I forgot I was going to, but somehow I arrived there and found myself not ready.  Not ready, but I'm still glad I'm there, and not to worry, I can just be ready in a minute.

A new season comes and I wonder how I can let go of the way I've been living day in and day out for a whole new way.  Will I get used to the longer days?  Won't I miss the cozy, dark days I've grown accustomed to?  After all, I had to get used to that a few months ago and feel quite happy about it right now.  How can we shift our activities and routines suddenly?? I'm not ready!  This means digging out different clothes, shoes, and accessories of all sorts.  It means putting away the snow clothes, snow boots, gloves, and hats for wind breakers, gardening gloves, bike helmets, and flip flops.  It means eating dinner when it is still light outside... heck, it means doing EVERYTHING when it is still light outside because by June, it will still be light at 9:30 at night!

After some reflecting, I was able to tie in to this cycle a different cycle.  It's the cycle of prayer times in one day.  Similar to the seasons, the times of prayer change with the amount of sunlight hitting the earth.  So, in the shorter days of the year the prayer times are very close together.  In the longer days of the year, the prayer times are very spread out.  Just as I feel I'm not ready for spring, I feel like I'm not ready for the widely-spaced prayer times.  I wonder how I can let go of the way I've been living day in and day out for a whole new way. Will I get used to the longer days? Won't I miss the cozy, dark days I've grown accustomed to? After all, I had to get used to that a few months ago and feel quite happy about it right now. How can we shift our prayer times so drastically??

But we do.  The seasons change and the days change.  And our routines and activities change.  And this is a good thing.  It makes us pay attention.  Old routines need to catch up and adjust.  Hopefully it's a chance to refresh, to ditch a bad habit, to start a good habit, or to just enjoy the variety that God has given us in bounty. 

I think this kind of change is testimony to the fact that while humans are in need of change, we are also in need of rhythm.  The seasons, mercifully, are only four, and they do cycle back.  We can anticipate what is to come (rhythm), and we can benefit from its going (change).

Now let's hope I can wake up on time tomorrow since we moved the clocks forward!

I've tried homemade cleaners before.  Some work just fine and others don't work so well.  I 've found myself saying there's a reason why cleaners, deoderants, shampoos, and soaps have been commercially produced (and with harsh chemicals).... because they work!

However, I'm willing to try, again, a very basic recipe for an all purpose cleaner I can use to spray my kitchen countertops and bathroom counters, too.  This one I found today is a little bit different than most of the others as it has a teaspoon of borax in it.

I found it on this website and have just mixed it up.  I also made sure to write out the recipe on an adhesive address label and have stuck that to the spray bottle so that I know what is in there for easy reference.

Here is the recipe:
Homemade All Purpose Cleaner Recipe
Ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon borax
• 1/4 cup white vinegar
• 2 cups water
• 30 drops essential oil blend (see below)

Directions

1. Boil the water. Pour it into a large glass measuring cup or pitcher with a spout.
   
   
2. Add the borax and stir until dissolved.
   
3. Add the vinegar.
   
4. Let cool, then pour the mixture into a spray bottle.
   
5. Drop in the essential oils.

Handy Hint: Add the essential oils AFTER you pour the cleaner into the bottle because the essential oil's scent can "stick" to your measuring cup or pitcher.

Encouragement

I'm not so good at organizing my thoughts into words.  I often have so many things I want to blog about, but when I sit down to type it out the words just don't come together like I am thinking them.

I realized after looking at some old blog entries of mine that this blog does actually serve at least one purpose; it give me glimpses of days gone by.  And I remember those moments and smile because I'm happy to have lived them (and lived through them!).  And in a way, those old blog posts are little encouragements for me to keep on. 

As humans, we are weak.  Allah, our creator, reminds us of this in the Quran, but He follows it up with a way to get out of being in a state of loss.  It's by having patience and by doing good deeds.  Doing good deeds might not be so hard because it is an outward act, but having patience is harder because it involves one's will and inner self.

I realized that I crave more enouragement and look for it from others.  I need to hear over and over what a blessing the children are, how our efforts with them are for a purpose, and most of all how other Muslim moms and dads find comfort in practicing Islam in our day to day.  Sadly, it's not a commonly voiced sentiment in our circles.  We praise God every other word, practically, by saying such praises such as "Masha'Allah", "SubhanAllah", and "Alhamdulilaah", and I do believe those are sincere.  What is lacking to me is that spark of joy that glints in the eye and that tone in the voice that sounds like a song.  I shouldn't compare my life to what is shown on TV or what the Duggar family represents on their show or blog... those are all edited, tweaked, and prepared ahead of time.  But it is so nice to read from their blog (or watch a show) and see that joy and positive attitude from the family.  That is encouraging to me, and that's what lead me to this blog post today.  I can try to be that positive influence to others, and in the meantime I pray that someone can be that for me.

Fossil Rim Wildlife Center

Our family visited Fossil Rim Wildlife Center the other day for the first time.  It was a really neat experience that I know we'll all remember for a long time!  It's not everyday you get zebras and deer poking their faces in your car!

It took us almost 2 1/2 hours to get there, so we were ready for our picnic lunch upon arrival :D  The sandwiches turned out great; the chips we bought specifically for this trip sadly stayed at home in the pantry.  Oh well!

This is an outdoor wildlife area where you drive along one road (one-way) and observe animals roaming in their environment.  You do not get out of your car, and the animals love coming up to the cars hoping for a little snack from visitors who've bought the food from the front desk.

We chose not to buy the feed bag, so we started on the path with windows down ready to observe.  We didn't need any food to attract these guys over!  They're so friendly and are probably expecting some food to drop out of ever car that passes, so they are happy to mosey over to check it out.  The ostriches and emu's were pretty funny to look at, and I'm sad to say that I only took video of them and not any still photos.  One guy in front of us was brave enough to feed the ostrich out of his hand; and it did eat from his hand; and you could hear him screeching all over the park from the pain!  (they advised to feed only giraffes and to merely drop the food for the other animals rather than have them eat from your hand)

There was no shortage of deer and zebras.  There were deer of all sizes and with different antlers.  There were the little Bambi-like ones:

 

Then there were some slightly bigger ones with fancier antlers:

Now here you can see how friendly these guys were... this one comes to see if we have any food

 then he decides to head on over to the folks behind us.... lol

 He's telling these guys how we didn't have any food for him!!!

And scattered around were tons of beautiful zebras.  I got pretty startled when four of them wandered over and acted like they wanted to sit in my lap!  Here are a few great shots of them:

 This one below is when I turned around and found them coming over unexpectedly.  I did panic a little, although they were perfectly nice and tame. Masha'Allah, just gorgeous animals.

Also, we saw a pretty giraffe family.  They had a new baby this year.  Here are two shots of them:

Masha'Allah, seeing the beautiful natural views all around me put a big smile on my face.  There were some nice rolling hills in that area, and the evergreen trees and rocky slopes reminded me of the terrain in parts of Jordan.  Seeing animals lounging, walking, playing, and resting out in the sunshine in vast acres of land was so neat.  Its' nothing like a visit to the zoo.  My kids reached out and touched the zebras and deer on their muzzles.  We brushed and petted a lot of goats, too.  It was a fabulous learning experience and a nice way to spend the day, alhamdulillah.  All praise is due to God alone who created the heavens and the earth and all that is within.  Seeing the prefect stripes on the zebras and the artistic symmetry of deer antlers made me remember our Creator even more.  It is absolutely amazing. 

Here are a few verses from the Quran where Allah reminds us of His power:

Surah: 40, Ayah: 62

ذَلِكُمُ اللَّهُ رَبُّكُمْ خَالِقُ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ لَّا إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ فَأَنَّى تُؤْفَكُونَ

Such is Allah, your Lord, the Creator of all things. There is no god except He. How then can you turn away from Him?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Surah: 6, Ayah: 102

ذَلِكُمُ اللّهُ رَبُّكُمْ لا إِلَـهَ إِلاَّ هُوَ خَالِقُ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ فَاعْبُدُوهُ وَهُوَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ وَكِيلٌ

That is Allah, your Lord. There is no god except He, the Creator of all things. Therefore, worship Him. He is the Guardian of all things.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Surah: 35, Ayah: 3

يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ اذْكُرُوا نِعْمَتَ اللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ هَلْ مِنْ خَالِقٍ غَيْرُ اللَّهِ يَرْزُقُكُم مِّنَ السَّمَاء وَالْأَرْضِ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ فَأَنَّى تُؤْفَكُونَ

People, remember the blessings of Allah to you. Except for Allah, is there any other creator who provides for you out of heaven and earth? There is no god except He. Where then do you turn?

I've changed my settings

Hey everyone,

I am going to try this out again where your comments will get published immediately rather than await moderation.  For a while I was getting a lot of random spam comments, so I'm just going to try it out again.

So if that was ever holding you back, go ahead and leave comments!

Thanks,

Zein

Kitchen happenings and Meal Plan

Assalamu alaikom, hey everyone!

As usual I've spent a big part of Sunday in the kitchen.  It's kind of my thing.  I like to get a lot of prep work done for the week, and I try to make stuff I can put in the freezer whether it's muffins, sauces, or soups.  It really helps ease the stress during the week, and alhamdullah, I like having homemade foods available over needing to eat out or to buy packaged food.

Today I planned the main meals for the next few days, and I managed to get a huge pot of spaghetti sauce simmered and divided into two bags for the freezer.  I plan to use some of that for a lasagne next week. 

Using the Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day method, I've baked four loaves of whole wheat bread and frozen two (boy, we can eat through a whole loaf fast here at breakfast).  I'm trying a new recipe using flaxseed with whole wheat, so I'm excited to see how it goes over. It's so much healthier than baking bread with plain white bread. 

I also tried out a tomato basil soup that is the La Madeleine recipe.  Yum.  We'll have some of that leftover for the next day, maybe two.  So.... the rough plan for the week:

Monday:  Salad, Brussels sprouts, roasted leg of lamb, roasted fingerling potatoes
Tuesday: leftovers hopefully
Wednesday: Salad, lasagne, homemade bread
Thursday: leftovers
Friday:  Shakrieh (rice, cooked yogurt with stewed beef cubes)

Lunches:
Tuna
Pasta
Homemade pizza
Fish Sticks

Have a great week everyone! We had a whole week off last week and enjoyed every minute of it, alhamdulillaah.  Looking forward to getting back into the swing of things (well, sorta)!
From a recent trip to the Dallas Arboretum:

fresh air and love

Assalamu alaikom and hello everyone,

A few years ago when I lived in WA state, a dear sister in Islam who used to lead our Friday night ladies' group would joke about the classic 'what's for dinner' dilema we all faced daily.  One time she joked about telling her husband something like "and what do you think we're going to have for dinner, fresh air and love?".  It cracked me up so much back then and I still chuckle when I remember our conversation. It was just funny how she said it.

Well, if fresh air and love is all it took to survive, then I could've made it all last week without breakfast, lunch, or dinner.  My family and I left our little home tucked in the concrete jungle here in TX and headed to visit my mom in her small town in Mississippi.  I prepped for a day or two getting laundry ready, tidying up the house, and sorting through the food in the fridge.  I lined up what we were going to take to Mom, did last minute shopping, and packed up the kids' clothes, shoes, jackets, and car activities (you should look at http://www.momsminivan.com/ if you ever go on a car trip with kids by the way).

What welcomed us in Oxford, MS, were sounds and sights of nature that I don't see where I live.  Large, old trees are scattered here and there.  Masha'Allah, birds actually sing and make noises often.  Homes have different types of flowering shrubberies and other types of plants around the property, and not in little manicured designs like at our houses here.  Because the town in small, we walked to many of our errands and appointments.  In doing that we'd run into friends and people we knew.  We spoke to other people who were also walking around.  What a nice feeling!  One day we walked through a wooded area for about an hour, and I was so happy breathing in fresh air, rustling the leaves that had already fallen, and walking with my kids in an area where all we could see were trees.

We picked pecans off the ground.  A large pecan tree behind my mom's house sure was giving us a lot of nuts this year.  My kids kept running outside to collect what new ones had fallen at least twice a day.  We filled up a rather large bowl (more like a vat) full.  The best part was cracking those pecans with the nutcracker that my late grandfather used at his home.  My mom has it, and it is mounted on a plank of wood. I wish I had taken a picture of it, but I don't have one right now.  I only took one picture of my son using it, so that'll have to do to give you an idea.

Since we passed through Memphis on our way, I decided to spend the night there and take a little sightseeing boat tour on the Mississippi River the following day.  The tour was about an hour and a half and we learned all about barges, tows, and life on the river in general.  It was really neat.

Back in Oxford, MS, though we shared a great week with my mom and her husband not only outdoors but inside the house as well.  My children played with many treasures they found in the basement (in treasure boxes as they called the old trunks stored down there).  They baked with their grandmother, played cards with each other, and watched football with Dave.  We had a relaxing week, alhamdulillaah, all praise to God.  It felt like a relief after some long weeks of feeling closed in. 

Personal note

I can't seem to blog about anything recently.  I feel like it's a silly waste, this blog.  What is the point. I start to think of things to blog about, but I often delete it and close the laptop without posting.  I just don't see the point in blogging about our details of where we went, what our schedule of homeschool is, and whatever else I did.  Maybe that's because my blog isn't focused on one particular topic, so I find it irrelevant to post about just anything and everything.  I might not post for a while. I just thought I'd put that out there since that's what I'm feeling.  Sometimes I'd like to post our schedule, our struggles, our good times, and so on, but once I get it typed out it just seems a little frivolous. 

If you have any feedback I'd be happy to hear it.  See y'all later!

Quiet Time turned into Overtime!

Not sure what got into me, but I cooked and baked a lot today. My legs are tired, my feet hurt, and I'm cranky from my cranky 2yr old (!)  I've been working on freezing meals to have during Ramadan.  It's often hard to muster up the motivation to spend hours in the kitchen cooking, so I'll be happy to have a few freezer meals ready! 

I did cook a hot meal for dinner, and in the meantime I prepared a completely unrelated chicken casserole for the freezer. If I had planned ahead I would have combined and used the same meat, but I just winged it today.  Then, as I've been craving CHOCOLATE, I decided to make the delicious double chocolate cake recipe I love.  I happened to notice that the Hershey's cocoa box was going to expire in August, and there was just a bit left, so it was definitely the right time to make a CAKE!

Realizing the first day of Ramadan will be Monday and that my husband will be looking for something sweet to eat after Maghreb time, I knew I'd want to have his favorite on hand: pound cake.  So I whipped up one of those too.  (this is a picture of a previous pound cake, not the one I made today)

Add to all of this washing the dishes, serving and eating and cleaning up dinner, catching up with a good friend on the phone for 45 minutes :D (that was a good part), and then getting the girls into the shower and ready for bed.  Add in a few mishaps here and there (like Aisha flooding the kitchen floor with water from the water dispenser in the fridge)  As soon as I was going to get Aisha's PJ's on, I found her in her bed having just marked on herself and her doll in purple marker.  So, scrap the PJ's and go to the bath.  Start over.  I was really on my last straw at that point and was rushing to pray Maghreb too.  I got her in bed, prayed, then realized the chocolate cake needed some chocolate frosting. Whipped that up, put the whole thing in the fridge and parked it right here on the couch.  Glad I had such a productive day, alhamdullah, thank God.  I'm glad I have a comfy couch and laptop to chill out on after all that work! 
My point was really to make food for the freezer which I did accomplish.  Chicken casserole and part of the pound cake.  I like to cut it in half.  Keep half and freeze the other half for the freezer.  That's what I'll do with this cake for Ramadan.  Probably same for the chocolate cake since I know I'll be scrounging around the kitchen for chocolate after breaking my fast!  Thanks for reading, have a good one!

It's quiet time on this Thursday

Assalamu alaikom wa rahmatullah,
I'm happily enjoying some quiet time here at my house this afternoon.  Each child is in his/her room reading in bed and I'm on the couch with a cup of coffee, my laptop, and a full basket of clothes waiting to be folded.  But I'll just pretend that basket isn't mine for the next few minutes.  The house is calm, and I hear the whirrs of the fans trying their best to cool off our rooms.

I came back from the library earlier with a few new books for each child to read over the next week or two.  While I do let them pick out lots of books on their own, I also feel it is my job to select a few for them.  They don't know what are 'good' books to pick a lot of the time, so I make sure they get to read the real gems for their grade level.  Our library (and I'm sure most have this, too) has a few binders at the desk in the Children's Room with sections and categories full of lists.  Some are arranged by awards earned, some by grade level, and some by other 'official' titles I can't remember right now.  So I often go to the binder marked Young Readers and go to the grade level I'm searching for.  I just go pick a few books from those lists, and the kids usually like them! Ta da.  We not only cover the classics, but we find books that we otherwise wouldn't have known to look for.  As for nonfiction, we do read a whole lot of those during the school year, so for now I don't mind if they hang out with fiction books till we we start back again.

A checkout lady at WalMart yesterday asked how the kids were behaving over the summer.  I realized again how it doesn't differ for me anymoe.  My kids and I are going about life together regardless of the school calendar.  It's really neat, different, and surely challenging at times, but that's ok.  The older kids have found their way.  They know what chores are expected of them (and when), they have books to read, games that they play alone and together, and other things like puzzles and board games.  Our day fills up nicely, alhamdullah, and we go out to the library, to friends, and to extra curricular activites most days.  The biggest challenge is little 2yr old Aisha.  That little monkey knows how to get into trouble before you can blink your eye.  She's really enjoyed a few new activities, though, these past two weeks.  One is activity is using finger paints ( I buy the Crayola brand. They do not stain at all and are a piece of cake to wipe up)  She uses a brush and paper. She's like my other kids and gets grossed out at stuff touching her fingers, so she uses a brush.  For the water can, I have saved some cans that's I've used for cooking.  I just make sure that when I take the lid off I do it in a clean sweep so that nothing pokey is left.  I give her the one that the tomato paste comes in b/c it is so small!  I keep a few in our art area for the big kids to use too.

 The other thing she loves to do is play in the texture box.  It's a tub (a little small, but I didn't feel like buying another plastic tub so I used what I had) that I've filled with dry rice and some green split peas.  She gets out my measuring cups and goes to town 'cooking'.  Like I said above, she doesn't care for things to touch her fingers and hands, so she doesn't really sink her hands in there, but she does feel the rice a little.  My older girls love to sink their hands in the bucket! It does feel good.  You have to expect a mess, but there are ways to minimize. I use it either on a beach towel like the one she's on in the picture below, or I put it on the kitchen table which has a tablecloth that can be shaken out.  Either way, I can shake most of it out when they're done.  I still have to sweep or vacuum when they're done.  That's ok, they really love it and it takes up a good chunk of time.

So that's what we're up to right now.  WalMart has washable Crayola markers for $0.40!  Their school supplies deals are irresistable!  

rose colored glasses?

In our world of online social interactions, do we ever have to deal with life's natural ups and downs much anymore with friends?  With friends now all you have to do is comment on facebook, read their blogs, or send them text messages.  And those venues are all usually perky and filled with LOL's, smiley faces, and exclamation marks.  Blogs are filled with pretty pictures of cute kids, loving husbands, and delicious food.  You start to wonder if everyone's life is really this fantastic all the time! 

On one hand it's nice to be in touch with so many more people than we were from before.  However, it's made us more lazy in regards to actually fostering a relationship with people.  Some might say 'why does it matter'.  Maybe it doesn't, but I'm going to be an oddball and say that I think it does matter.  We're slowly being conditioned to not make the effort to see people live.  We don't even want to make phone calls anymore. Txt messages suffice.  In the end we just see one side of a person and lose the full relationship; for better or for worse. 

It's a new thing, really, the social life that Facebook has created.  Blogs, too, to a certain extent.  It is a one dimentional relationship.  Also, you never know if the author is being comletely true in their blogs. I've recently heard of a lady who made her blog life to look one way while in fact her life was the opposite.  Sad, really. 

I do wish we had more down time to be friends to one another and didn't feel the need to keep it so superficial.  Sure you don't want to be BFF's with everyone, but it would be nice to have a few more friends in real life, I think.  Or maybe all of you do have lots of friends and I'm the only one who doesn't! Hahahaha  No, I know I'm not alone. I see it and hear about it from a lot of people. 

What is the point of this entry? Not sure.  Just saying that what we see online is a painted picture of reality.  It might even set us up for disapointment reading everyone else's online entries.  If all you read is achievements, successes, vacations, weddings, parties, etc, you start to feel like life needs to be one big party! And we all know the reality of this.  Our life is not meant to be a party.  It's not easy.  We all strive to do our best and to have some fun along the way. 

Surah: 2, Ayah: 155
وَلَنَبْلُوَنَّكُمْ بِشَيْءٍ مِّنَ الْخَوفْ وَالْجُوعِ وَنَقْصٍ مِّنَ الأَمَوَالِ وَالأنفُسِ وَالثَّمَرَاتِ وَبَشِّرِ الصَّابِرِينَ
"We shall test you with something of fear and hunger, and decrease of goods, life and fruits. Give glad tidings to the patient,"

And this verse helps keep me grounded:

Surah: 2, Ayah: 212
زُيِّنَ لِلَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ الْحَيَاةُ الدُّنْيَا وَيَسْخَرُونَ مِنَ الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ وَالَّذِينَ اتَّقَواْ فَوْقَهُمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ وَاللّهُ يَرْزُقُ مَن يَشَاء بِغَيْرِ حِسَابٍ

"For those who disbelieve, the worldly life is decked with all manner of decorations. They scoff at those who believe, but the cautious shall be above them on the Day of Resurrection. Allah gives without count to whom He will."

May Allah keep us all content with His provisions and keep us always praising Him.

Interurban Railway Museum

How did I not know about this well kept secret in Plano?!  This railway museum is in downtown Plano which we hardly ever go to. However, I grew up just south of Plano and never heard of it.  I've lived here for two years now and just recently learned of it.  I took the kids for the first time a few months ago, and I was very impressed.  Let me explain.

It's the same building used in the 1800's that was the substation for this Interurban Railway that ran from Denison to Downtown Dallas.  It was a really big deal because it used electricity and because it connected people all across North Texas.  Many parts of the original building have been preserved and are still there.  Inside, you get some background on how Plano was settled and started.  There are many great blown up black and white photograps all over the place.  If you like to see how people dressed and what old towns looked like (cars, horses, buildings, roads) then you will be in for a treat. 

It is a small building, so dont' be misled by the name 'museum'.  It's just two rooms and a hallway!  Also, inside, they talk to the kids about how they converted A/C power to D/C power and then they get to figure out now to put wires together to make a light bulb light up.  My older ones stayed in that room for about an hour!!!

We went today for the second time to show the place to my mom.  There is an old railcar sitting outside the building, but they're in the middle of renovating it and cleaning it up so we weren't able to walk inside of it.  Insha'Allah next time we will.

Admission is free, donations recommended.  Check it out if you're local!
Interurban Museum

Indeed, After Every Hardship There is Ease

Do I ever set some high expectations. 
That is not a good thing, most of the time.
There is such a thing as 'doing just fine', you know!  After some reflection recently, I've somehow come to a realization that is liberating.  I just need to remember it often and act on it.  To put some background in this, I'm going to share a personal discovery of myself. Beginning with the first time I was at home with my newborn, I developed this crazy, adrenalin imposed, mama-bear sized drive to push through at full speed ahead.  I was on such an adrenalin rush after my son was born that it took me weeks to calm down enough to realize I had a cute little baby!  I was in a zone. Had to get stuff done, done right, and done often.  And I did just that.  I was a machine. And so began my way of going about a lot of things.  I didn't mean for it to happen; it just did.

So, of course, this is how I took on homeschool.  And we went for the first 14 weeks without a break, and we did great.  We took a good month off and came back ready to roll.  Now that we have about 6 weeks 'officially' left, I think I'm relaxing, or, rather, letting the adrenalin settle down enough that I can have that same realization that I had when I had my baby. Oh! I'm homeschooling my kids, it is working, we are happy, and we're going to keep doing it!  I have been in a zone.  Had to get stuff done, done right, and done daily.  And we did it.  And now I am able to see and feel confident in knowing that my children are, in fact, learning a lot.  When they finish school by noon, I sometimes stammer out something about extra pages, extra reading, or didn't you forget something?  But they've done their work.  And what's great in our home is that they're almost always doing something beneficial (even in their playtime).  They help with chores, laundry, and with each other (big ones helping out littler ones).  They play together outside, and sometimes inside with a board game or make-believe.  They put together puzzles (of continents or alphabet), help me cook, play with play-do, paint, or draw in their sketch pads.  They are aware of the work it takes to get dinner on the table, to get clean clothes in their closets, and to get the chores done before we can play (me included).  A precious statement uttered by my 8year old daughter tonight as I was losing my temper while loading the dishwasher, "Mom, don't be upset. You have a lot of work to do.  You have little kids and a lot of kids, and you have to clean and cook.  Don't think everything has to be just perfect."   She was so comforting, my little sweetheart, that I thanked her so much.  She was right.  What a blessing she was there to comfort me and put it into perspective. 
Often we are our own worst enemies.
Did I mention I set too-high expectations? 
The moral of tonight's blog is this: hey, let's all take a little pressure off ourselves and enjoy the here and now.

a pink sweater

I found a pretty sweater in my closet.  I think I've never worn it before, or maybe just briefly before getting annoyed with it and taking it off.  It is a cardigan.  My problem with it is that is is 3/4 sleeve and full of big holes.  I guess it's a crochet sweater with a big floral thing going therefore making big gaps between the flowers.  I put in my give-away pile last month and tucked it away into the bag.

Well wouldn't you know, like a week after that I got a dress as a gift that needed a little cardigan.  Gosh, couldn't believe it. Alhamdullah, the bag hadn't gone to the donation site yet, so I dug it out and stuffed in my closet.  Well, for some reason I put it on tonight.  Over a white tshirt and black yoga pants.  It's soft pink, and it is such a sweet, soft, girly sweater!  I suddenly wondered why women dont' have more feminine clothing options.  I'm guilty of wearing trousers and plain tshirts often. Like daily. It's comfortable, easy, and not likely to get in the way of my work.  But this sweater reminds me of the person I used to be, and of the person currently trapped inside who cant' get out!  Many factors contribute to why this trapped 'me' can't get out, and I won't go into all those reasons here. But I will make a promise to myself to try to wear something that makes that inner 'me' come out more often.  I even wore a loose braid today with little wispies coming out the sides.  Here's to being true to yourself.

New path for my blog

Assalamu alaikom and peace to everyone!

After much thought, I've decided not only to keep blogging, but to improve it.  Insha'Allah, God willing, I want to continue with the home and garden blogs, and I want to add homeschooling to it, too.  I started blogging in order to log my own thoughts and journeys through life.  Since I don't want to start a new blog or commit to only one subject matter, I decided to make labels and categorize my entries so that you (and I ) can easily find entries of interest in the future.

I hope you enjoy reading as we move forward, and insha'Allah you'll get some benefit out of this!  I especially am excited to share my 'finds' for homeschooling.  After all, that's one way I got the courage and the materials to start my own homeschool :)  Please follow or subscribe!

Peace and LOVE!

Zein