Ramadhan 1432 Day 7

Another simple day for us. I was quiet tired, therefore after fajr I went back to sleep but wasn't able to sleep properly for some reason. I was sleep but not feel like sleeping. Therefore I felt quiet tired and was in bed until nearly afternoon. When I wake up, I start to tidy up the bedroom and finish iron hub work cloth. As my burn incident, I still haven't been able to use my right hand as much. Not ironing of course, dish or any other heavy job using right hand. Therefore lots of my task is using only one hand, my left hand and I was right handed. So, the job will be slower than usual. I get MS to bring hover up stairs and I start hovering but han hub take over. May be felt guilty seeing me hovering with one hand. Usually kids the one who do the hovering. I was rarely doing hovering in the house now and again. But there are time I love to do it myself.

After zohr we went to car boot sale. Well, only me, hub, S and AS. S need to find hamster cage for her new hamster. Unfortunately it was rain and windy, the car boot wasn't as big and we didn't find any hamster cage at all.

After back from car boot kids read quran tidy up around the house. Alhamdulillah the house wasn't that mess during this ramadhan at all. Unless some place where we do our activity and study in the lounge. We had tidy up our library aka our study room and set up everything there, but than weather got cold again and the room is easily get cold. PS wanted to make 'popia goreng'. So before I left for car boot I made her cut carrot to use for the filling. I than get her to cook when I back from car boot together with some prawn and bean sprout. Than she start to fill into spring roll and made a roll. She work together with S on that.

Around 7.00 pm we all sit and start on the next lesson on study the quran. We talk about how quran is like a manual. I talk about how everything being created in this world come with the manual doesn't matter how small things are. People who really know about the things that being created to is only the creator. Same like us. Only Allah swt know about us and how for us to run our life as He the one who created us. Therefore He made us the manual. Example if we don't follow the manual, we might assemble something we bought wrong way round and ended up being a waste and get thrown into the bin. Therefore it is very important to follow the manual before we get thrown into hell. We spend a good one and half hour fill in the workbook and also their note book. I had assign kids one notebook each for this ramadhan which they will fill in whatever I want them to.

Yesterday night, we didn't go to masjeed for taraweeh as hub working in the morning. After taraweeh we all went to bed. Alhamdulillah I gave kids 5 star for sehri this morning, as they all wake up, wake up me up and by the time I went to the kitchen, they already warm food, serve everything and start eating happily. Alhamdulillah, I am so so happy....!! The sign of growing up and more and more towards independent and responsible. May Allah shower them with mercy and strengthen their imaan and amal. Amin.

Ramadhan 1432 Day 5

Yesterday was similar to another fasting day, Alhamdulillah. It was my first longest fasting time in my live and it goes really well, Alhamdulillah. PS and MS also getting used to the idea of them waking up and prepare for sehri. It was just warming up the food and put the dashtakhan or safra as we eat by sitting on the floor. So, although I wake up for sehri, when I came down the food is nearly ready to be eat. Alhamdulillah, I really want kids to slowly grow up to have some responsibility in their life towards family. I do hope that they will grow up to give me the sakina and blessing through out.

Yesterday we didn't do much activity. Hub had put the rat trap before as suddenly we had rat coming into the kitchen through broken vent outside. But, unfortunately the trap actually caught a hedgehog instead of rat. Therefore after hub , MS and AS back from Friday prayer, they we all in the back garden watching the hedgehog that been release back in the garden.

I than start to prepare the meal which at first we were thinking to break the fast in the masjeed as hub are not working during weekend. I made agar agar and murtabak which I wanted to bring as it was easy to bring and eat but do consume sometimes to make. But than we decided to just break our fast at home and go for insya prayer and taraweeh. The nearest masjeed which had woman space to pray is around 30 minutes the minimum drive time away from where we live. PS was helping in the kitchen, also the others except AS. Therefore I get him to go and read quran to hub.

Around 40 minutes before iftar, I sit with the kids and start some learning from understanding quran. I was always be very careful with learning the meaning the quran. I wanted something simple and not too complicated. It's important to learn and understand the quran, but it wasn't compulsory. But, it is obligatory upon us to learn to read and istiqamah in reading the quran throughout our whole life.

In the past year, we used to eat a dates and little tiny and simple food and quickly pray and than eat meal after magrib prayer. But, this year, hub insist for us to eat and than pray. I wasn't like it at first, but I think it's good as it keep our eating time short. We spend only 15 minutes for breaking fast and eat our meal. Than we left everything and cover only the food and go for prayer. Kids than will continue to eat a little bit or they will than tidy up. While I can spend time for doing my amal such as sunnah prayer and read quran. Especially I already spend time with them on the activity during the day. But last night as it was Friday and we be able to go for taraweeh at the masjeed, (because during weekday if we went for taraweeh at the masjeed even if hubby went to the masjeed where man only space to pray, he will be arriving home nearly 12 midnight and he has to wake up for sehri again at 3am. So, our only option is to pray at home as in our town got no masjeed and we always count our house as musalla place for our town.) kids than quickly tidy up after magrib prayer and get ready and off we went to the masjeed in South Sheild. Alhamdulillah it was about 20 + sisters there. It was nice and kids always love to be able to pray taraweeh together in the masjeed. As we not get that environment everyday, I think we appreciate a lots when we be able to do that. All of them always looking forward to go either breaking fast at the masjeed or for taraweeh prayer. Alhamdulillah. Sometimes I do wonder if we should moved to the town that got easy access to masjeed, but it wasn't necessary we got the islamic environment. I think we do appreciate a lots and more when we are far. Plus the manners in around non muslim area we live is much better for some reason. And of course it was the closest town to hub work place.

We arrived home just before 12 midnight and we all getting ready to bed and as usual, MS waking up first this morning for sehri and wake up others and start to go down first to prepare the food. Alhamdulillah for my little incident of hand burn, kids become more responsible that I can now depends on. A lesson which can never been learn even with hundreds thousands of advice or whine. How Allah make it easy for the kids to learn by practical, Alhamdulillah.

3 Ramadhan 1432

Alhamdulillah ramadhan day 3 muslim around the world. As I am still off from fasting, this giving me a bit time to update this. Not sure when I start fasting if I am going to have time. But I am trying to update this for us to see it in the future.

Today, we had another bit of out site our plan. As we had some project that we plan to do in next couple of days, we need to go to Art and craft shop to get things we need. I search and found couple of them in nearby city which is about 15-20 minutes away. As I need to bring items to the storage and it was not far from there, I decided to go for that one. But than we realise that shop only sell things for scrap book and card making. So we decided to go to Dainty Supply in Washington which is about 10 minutes from the shop we stop by. By the time we get what we need, stop by at two other shop to get some stuff to cook as hubby request another English food, which is salmon flake which I boiled and put on oven for a while and than raw salmon and I make potato cake as well to go with salad. A healthy choice actually.

Salmon Flake with mustard, raw salmon with herbs and potato bake with cheese and chives and salad.

S wanted to make doughnut since first day of ramadhan, I thought I just let her today.

Still making S and MS doughnut.

Ready. Some top with chocolate and some with just plain sugar.

Today we don't do much activites as we went out to get stuff. When we came back home, kids just started to make poster as we plan. Today activity is to make poster of what we shouldn't do during ramadhan. They choose what they think they want and make poster out of colour card with some writing on it. It wasn't perfect or excellent, but it was alright for me as I want to get kids to start getting their hands on activity I had plan out. I will have to start upload picture sometimes tomorrow. Insya Allah.

PS wasn't really well today. Yesterday was her first day of fasting for this ramadhan. She can get distracted by her asthma coughing although she was give clear with her asthma. She vomit after iftar and also after taken sehri. As she wasn't well since last week, she was a bit weak and stay in bed almost the whole day. Alhamdulillah she kept her fast and taraweeh prayer.

It was busy day yet not so stress and pressure. I wasn't like to put pressure too much as I don't want to give signal to kids that deen is only in ramadhan. To increase amal is not only ramadhan but also on the other time. Deen is not just part of our life but deen is in our day to day life. we should increase our amal as the rewards is high in the month of ramadhan but I am also be very careful not to give too much pressure into doing deeni activity which can give a wrong understanding towards it's become a habit and a life culture that in ramadhan we increase and outside ramadhan it's ok to be lack. So, I just follow the flow and going along just nice and easy. Try to increase things that kids did not feel that we are actually increase it.

There are things that I put much stress on such as no crips, no sweet and no fizzy drink allow at all during this ramadhan. We also try to stay on grill and soup. It was quiet hard at first as it's like no treat for kids as no crisp and no sweet allow at all but they getting on fine, Alhamdulillah.