Cute little sock-rice warmer

A'salaamu alaikum ya'll. I threw this little thing together this morning after I got Aaminah's lunch ready
. I hate to use a thermos container for warm food because it doesn't fit in her lunch sack. Which, as I got it sooo cheap at a yard sale, I really want to make use of it! lol

Anyway I heated her food up and then put it in the bottom insulated compartment. Then I was searching for a little freezer pack to place with her fruit and yogurt. I noticed one of our infamous "rice socks" in the freezer. They are great for aches and pains. They can be frozen for cold, microwaved for heat, and mold to any shape practically.

I thought, hmm maybe I can heat it up and place it in her lunch sack with the noodles and keep them warm? So I rummaged through her drawer and found a pair of leg warmers (only .99 on clearance) and just quickly zipped a little hemmed edge on, filled with rice, and then did the other end.

It's really cute, super-frugal and useful. As I said, it can be used for aches and pains, headaches, sprains, bumps, etc; you can heat it in the microwave for approx. 2 minutes and it emits a lovely warm heat (careful of burns!) if your pain requres heat. I put it in her lunchbox but I don't know how useful it was. Couldn't hurt and it fit nicely around her lunch container. :-)

You could also use a pair of cute, outgrown baby socks and make little hand warmers for cold days or use the sleeves from a small outgrown shirt. Stretchy material is best as it can form to other shapes better but feel free to do what you like.

So to recap: really inexpensive, options are limitless as are uses but some may not be as useful as others. :-) I just wanted to share because it was so easy and uses items we all probably have around our house.

Ma salaama ya'll!

The sweetest thing EVER

A'salaamu alaikum ya'll. Aaminah is getting to that age where she just says such cute things. Here is a conversation from the other day (for those who facebook me, it's de ja vu).

Me: Do you want to live in Tennessee?
Aami: No!

Me: Do you want to live in Massachusetts?
Aami: No!

Me: Where do you want to live?
Aami: I live with mama.

Masha'Allah!!!! She melts my heart wallah.

OK some more funny things:

Conversation with Hafsa (my oldest stepdaughter)

Hafsa: Is it haram to do that clicking things with glasses? (She motions with her hands like touching two drinking glass rims.)
Me: Oh you mean making a toast?

Hafsa: Yeah you know, when you say, "To Harry".
Me: What? To Harry? You mean, "to us"?

Hafsa: Yeah, to us.
Me: Where did Harry come from??? LOL

Another conversation with Hafsa, this one is unbelievable!

Hafsa: What was happening in America when the Prophet Muhammad (saws) was alive?
Me: (Thinking, oooh teachable moment initiated by kid!) Well Hafsa, what year would that have been?

Hafsa: Um...about 1920?
Me: ( Unable to speak for a moment.) Hafsa, Rasoolallah lived over 1400 years ago. That would be around 600 A.D.

Hafsa: Oh. (Silent for a minute.) So this was when the gladiators were fighting here?
Me: Hafsa, there were no gladiators here. That was in Rome.

Hafsa: But Rome is in America.
Me: No Rome isn't in America. Where is it?

Hafsa: Oh it's in Asia!

At this point I just kinda gave up. lol There was really no where for me to go with that one!

Okey dokey just a little light-hearted humor for ya'll!

I won! I won!

A'salaamu alaikum ya'll. I won, masha'allah! No, not the haram lottery but a book give-away on Umm an-Numan's awesome site "A Muslim Child is Born" . I've talked about it on here before because I get such great ideas from her, may Allah bless her and grant her and her family paradise, ameen.

I am really excited to receive my book and I can't wait to read it with little Aami mommy. She is truly a reading hound which is great by me. Today I was reading a book titled "Under the Wire" which is a US Army soldier's account of his experiences serving as a linguistics officer at Guantanamo Bay. The book jacket said he was really amazed by the things he saw which basically went against every principle the US was founded upon. You know, all that stuff about freedom, equal protection under the law, innocent until PROVEN guilty in a court of LAW? Yeah all those little annoyances Pres. Bush ignored and bypassed. Now it seems Pres. Obama is heading the same path. May Allah guide him, ameen.

OK sorry didn't mean to get sidetracked there. Anyway, as I was reading and Aaminah was playing she climbed up beside me on the couch with her "Pat Them Gently" book Khaltu Lisa gave her last 'Eid. Then she brought "Pat the Bunny" which is a cute little multi-sensory book she enjoys.

Actually her attentions span goes to books that are designed for older ages; I'll do her monster book next time I do a review insha'allah. It's super cute!

OK so I am excited to get my free book and will let ya'll know just how sweet it is!

Ma salaama!

Moments we never forget

A'salaamu alaikum ya'll. We all have those moments in life, that seem common-place at the time, that we never forget.

Once in the 7th grade (25 yrs ago I think) I was sitting in my classroom. It was an old part of the school with worn wooden floors and high ceilings. The sun was shining through the window, the door was open to let in a breeze, and I was reading Jean Auel's "Clan of the Cave Bear". I remember thinking how exquisitely perfect that day was and suddently thought, will I remember this day, this feeling?

I did. :-)

With Zachary, my oldest, I can see as clearly as if it were yesterday, playing outside our apartment with him, laying on the green grass and singing the "Baby Zachary" song to him that I had made up. I can feel the sun and smell the fresh-cut grass.

My memories for Alex are different, muddled. I had a stroke when he was 3 months old and had alot of personal upheaval at the time. I don't have as many specific moments but I can recall vividly his spirit. So kind, so loving, gentle with anything smaller or weaker than himself. However when he was 2 I remember him collecting an entire quart-size ziploc bag of acorns. He always loved little treasures; leaves, feathers, shiny rocks. A collector of all things that are precious to a small child. :-)

I had another moment today. I was playing with Aaminah and she was laying down and I was over her, tickling her little baby-fat belly. She looked up at me and said, "I like you". Masha'allah. Then she said, "I love you". Really I have tears in my eyes now as I recount it. Insha'Allah this will be one of those moments I never forget.

"Together we read"

A'salaamu alaikum ya'll! Umm an'Numan has started a neat project on her blog "A Muslim Child is Born". It's called "Together we read" and is designed to encourage parents to spend time reading aloud to their child and also insha'allah engage in related learning activities.

Alhamdulillah reading aloud with Aaminah (and my boys when they were little!) has always been an easy thing for me to do. We enjoy it so much and truly it is a great bonding experience and has helped my kids tremendously. My boys had large vocabularies from the time they were small and it helped foster a love of reading in them that lasts to this day.

Aaminah loooooves to read masha'Allah! One, two, three, four a night... that isn't enough. Even when she was tiny (just a year old) I would (I am ashamed to say!) hide her books after I had read them 3 times each! Really I would have had no rest. lol Now she has her favorites and I will "review" them here insha'Allah. :-)

She really loves "Kitty Up" by Elizabeth Wojtusik (illustrated by Sachiko Yoshikawa).



It is a pretty simple book with lots of repetition (great for little minds!). Here is an excerpt:

"Kitty up, kitty down. Kitty square, kitty round." Catchy rhymes, brightly colored pictures, lots of action; this makes a toddler classic! To be honest, when I first read this book I thought, um yeah kinda simple. Like my daughter needs to read the encyclopedia. haha Anyway it was an instant hit and its part of our daily repetoire now masha'Allah.

I would recommend this book for anyone with an infant/toddler, especially if that loves animals and really, what little person doesn't?

We haven't done any related activities yet for this; unfortunately I am not as creative as some of my other sisters and am still acclimating to being an insta-mom of 6 so bear with me insha'Allah!

Happy reading and ma salaama...

So many kids, so little space!

My crazy-haired, just-woke-up little girl. Melts my heart. :-)

A'salaamu alaikum ya'll! So as you know we have 6 kids between us, 4 living with us. Alhamdulillah we have a 3 bedroom apartment at the present so things are a little tight. :-) Of course, Aaminah and I literally brought enough stuff with us to fill an entire 2 bedroom apartment. How to consolidate?

Some things are easy and just make sense. For example I have a really nice leather sofa, recliner and love seat I bought before Aami was born. I had my little Nova at the time (rat terrier mix dog) and I didn't want his hair to stick on my furniture. A's furniture has seen a better day so alright, compromise accomplished.

Now he also was living kind of a bachelor's existence in term of his decorating style. Once again, easy to find the balance. I have knick-knacks and bric-a-brac galore. Well not really overkill (I like to purge my stuff sometimes) but I definitely have some nice decorative elements. They are still not up on the walls but you know, halfway there. :-)

Harder are the things that aren't replacing others. Our clothes for instance. I am ashamed to say I have quite a collection. Ashamed because I wear about 10% of what I own and that is a generous estimate. I have a few pre-Islam clothes (very few) and then the "convert" look which is 3 or 4 long, slit-less denim skirts and long tunic tops. Then there are my Indian clothes I bought when I was in India in 2006; I have probably 10 shalwar kameez outfits. Add to that my collection of abayaat and galabeya and...well you know.

We won't even DISCUSS hijabs!!! The funny thing is, I wear only the long stretch tie-back khimars. They fit comfortably, are plain and modest, and for sure cover my chest. I really have no need of any of the beautiful hijabs I have but it's a sickness, what can I say. lol

As you can see in the photo I have put a nice container system up for Aaminah's toys.A verrrry small portion of them. I still have to find a place for her play kitchen (brand new, from my family, only played with twice before we moved) and many others things. Anyway this system lets her see her toys and play with them AND just as importantly, help pick up when she is finished. I would encourage anyone with children to use these storage bins they can easily access for toys. I bought this for only $25 used from Craigs List. Great resource for families on a budget. Oh and don't be ridiculous and go alone to someone's home or let them in yours. Meet in a public place, blah blah blah. lol

Ma salaama....

Craft time, la la la!

Our Hajj felt board; fun to make, fun to play with too!

A'salaamu alaikum ya'll. I made this lovely little felt board about Hajj for Aaminah. Insha'allah it will help introduce her to important vocabulary and just be plain ole fun!

I got the idea for it here. This is a blog called "A muslim child is born" and the sister running it, Umm an-Numan is masha'allah very talented and creative. I adapted her storyboard idea and came up with this a couple of nights ago.

I bought regular felt in a variety of colors and then wanted a large piece of stiff felt for the background. I got grass green which I thought was lovely 'til I got home and the realization dawned on me that there isn't alot of grass in Makkah! lol Oh bless my heart, yes bless it indeed! I should have gotten either sandy color or sky blue but alhamdulillah I had those other colors in the softer felt so no harm, no foul.

Side note... I just got an unrequested kiss from a crazy haired little sweetie. Masha'Allah I love it!

OK back to subject. Upon speaking with my husband (ya Shaykh!) I discovered that Mina is about 14 miles from the plain of Arafat. However I wanted my stones on the story board so I took a little artistic license. I also made a kufi for the brother but obviously he won't wear it til Hajj is complete!!! lol

Those who know me are aware of my affinity for black; black abaya, black hijab. It's somewhat of a joke with my more fashion-concious friends. Anyway I opted for a white overgarment on the sister because it looked nicer on the board.

Anywho, no templates are needed just freehand it. You can pencil in your design if necessary but I only did that for the Ka'aba. I had to do it a few times to get it right but alhamdulillah I am pleased with this overall.

Insha'allah ya'll will enjoy making this too. If your children are older they can help. For my childless sisters, make this for a friend's kid and enjoy craft time yourself.

Oh another couple of great websites I found my browsing the blogs of homeschooling sisters: Handmade Beginnings and Islamic Lapbooking. Pass them on insha'Allah!

Ma salaama...