Schedule it is!

Bismillah,

Formal Homeschooling is around the corner. It's been on our minds a lot the last couple of days since we started acquiring the books we'll be using. I'ts overwhelming to think about it and I hope and pray that doing it will bring joy and balance to this household.

I'm thinking right now that I need to start, seriously, working on organizing my time and daily activities so that when formal homeschooling starts I don't have to worry about how I will do everything else related to keeping a house and nurturing a family. The idea is that if I have a few years of good home-keeping habits up my sleeve then they won't get interrupted by formal homeschooling once it starts.

I want to clarify that I use the term formal homeschooling since I believe that before the age of seven children should be allowed to have plenty of unstructured play instead of actively pursuing academics. They should be read classic children's books everyday to instill in them love for literature. So aside singing ABCs songs my children won't be taught in a structured way for about two more years.

Going back to my rant about schedule and good home-keeping habits. I'm thinking about  what a household needs to run smoothly:

• Nourishing meals and snacks
• Cleanliness and organization
• Well-fed, well-rested children
• Clean clothes
• Happy mommy and daddy

And this wee list includes all the basic things that need to be prioritized before pursuing anything else.

I'm hoping to:

• Come up with new healthy recipes to add to our repertoire
• Assign specific tasks to each day of the week
• Cut down on time guzzlers, i.e. the internet
• And, make sure I leave time to do the things that keep me going

I need help from my creator to get my act together. I want to, specifically, work on a schedule. I dread the word but let's face it I can't possibly escape from it if I want to succeed on this path of mine.

So schedule it is!

Somehow I want to work this in it:

• Cooking
• Reading to kids
• Exercising
• Cleaning and laundry
• Grocery shopping
• Sewing and knitting
• Blogging and Internet (sparingly)
• Personal reading
• Gardening and outside keeping
• Playing and doing crafts with kids
• Outdoor activities

Some of these will need to happen everyday, others once or twice a week. Hopefully, I can assign them to specific days and make a chart to post on an easily accessible place (fridge door.) I also want to keep an agenda to jot down appointments and things of the sort to not lose track and avoid planning things that conflict with priorities. 

I can't wait to work on such schedule for the sake of my sanity and the happiness of this family. 

The Farmer Within- The Sequel

Bismillah (In the name of Allah)

My post "The Farmer Within" somehow got deleted.

I had shared my love of maybe one day living on a farm and my experience with gardening in a small backyard in the city. I had also said that I would give container gardening a try. Somehow 'blogger' thought inappropriate or perhaps too cool and took it away :( Not cool considering I blog at the most twice a month.

Oh well, time to re-invent my post and perhaps add a kick to it.

I planted, with the help of my little troop, basil, white beans, chamomile, cucumber and oregano.
I had a beautiful hibiscuits plant that left outside through the winter and, of course, did not make it; and a pepper plant that was my joy in the garden last summer.

 
I'm using the pots where they were and a few more for my little gardening adventure. I will share photos of them when/if they germinate. I consider this a baby step towards my dream of growing some of my own vegetables.

Have you considered growing your own vegetables or herbs? Even if you live in the city you can do it. Container gardening is for the city folk since it can be done even on balconies. Bet you heard of it already. All you need is some containers, soil, some sunshine and a bit of time to tend, water and feed your plants. I'm no expert by any means but am eager to try and learn from this experience. As a bonus, I can involve the little ones in this project and teach them that vegetables don't grow on shelves in the grocery store but on plants. It can be an mazing learning experience.

I love it!

Let the Sewing Season Begin!

Bismillah (In the name of Allah)

I've been meaning to write about a few new passions that are bringing so much joy to my life and as a bonus are making my little ones very happy: Knitting and sewing.

Of course I had not blogged about it because I have happily been busy taking sewing lessons, sewing at home, reading up on it, having sewing parties with a friend and when I take a break from sewing there's always baking and knitting to do.

I got this amazingly simple skirt pattern and have made each of my two girls a skirt so far, and am planning on making more inshAllah.

It's heart-melting to see the joy that such simple things can bring to little people. So, I'm hooked! And, to make things easier I've turned a corner in my kitchen into my private sewing studio where I can go and work on projects whenever I want without having to clear things away-as it was the case previously when I was using my dining table for sewing.

As for now, though, the drawers of my sewing table belong to my 2-year-old who uses them as her dollies' beds whenever they need to take a nap.

I'm loving this new passions of mine, alhamdulillah.

Taking Charge of What Comes Out of Our Mouths and In Our Ears

Bismillah (In the Name of Allah)

We, women, have a tendency to share a lot about the way we feel about things; we're intuitive, sensitive, emotional, and all of these necessary to be the nurturers. How could we be mothers if we were cold and calculating? Allah is most wise about the way he created us and the jobs he assigned to each one of us.

We value friendship and hold it very dear and sometimes believe that in our friends we can find the comfort we need when going through hardships. It's true in most instances, however, we must learn to control our tongues and, even harder, our ears from backbiting.

As humans, we like to complain about things we don't like in our fellow humans; as for women, backbiting our husbands is our top weakness in this regard. This leads to a whole lot of sins written on our list of deeds, a troubled marriage, and most times we even lose the good friends we might have if they're pious and want to avoid listening to backbiting.

In most cases we backbite our husbands when we're upset with them. What most forget is that wives and husbands get upset with each other and sooner or later we apologize to one another or make up in some way. After forgiving each other, for whatever is that happened, most women feel completely different about our husbands than when we were upset with them and wish we had not said all the bad things we said about them to our friends.

I'm not assuming that you (my readers) are backbiters. But since this is a horrible epidemic in our society I want to invite all of you to stay away from backbiting in all its forms and shapes: active and passive. Because the sin of the person who backbites is the same as the person who listens to backbiting.

May Allah strengthen us and may He be the one to whom we turn when we need to be heard.

Two More Days

Bismillah (In the name of Allah)

Only two more days till winter is officially over,of course that doesn't mean that it actually is but it does bring one some hope for warmth and sunshine. We've been opening our windows more and the children are asking if the geese are back. I did enjoy the winter and I'm sure I'll be looking forward to the snow and the whole winter gear by the end of November but for now I'm excited about what's to come.

I'd like to leave you with a few glimpses of what went on in this past winter in my house:

Happy Spring to all....

Chemo or Alternative Medicine

Bismillah (In the Name of Allah)

I have so neglected this blog. One good thing that came out of this is that now people who read here know how much I slack at posting and won't expect much activity here. This lets me relax and just do it at a comfortable pace. sigh...

I've been pondering about something insightful to blog about and started a post about simplicity and living a slow-paced life. After working on a draft for a couple of evenings I realized that I still have to find my place in this area; there are things which I dream of doing but don't know yet if I'm ready to undergo what it takes to live more simply than what I do now. As I grow in this area and find my balance I will share. Perhaps, you can grow along with me into a more simple person.

For now my post on simplicity will have to wait...

Something happened today: I learned that a Muslim woman I know has cancer and is undergoing chemotherapy. It made me think of what would I do if I find myself in her situation. Had I nobody in my life I would probably not undergo chemotherapy and try alternative medicine and see if it works. If it did, then I would let people know and encourage them to not resort to chemotherapy and conventional medicine as their first means in fighting this disease. If it didn't I would not be leaving loved ones behind thinking: "Had she only done what doctors told her to."

Having a family, however, I feel this would be selfish of me to do. I feel I'd be following my desires and my ideologies against the procedure that's endorsed by the medical community and putting my life in jeopardy without need.

Of course, I understand that only Allah knows when we're going to meet our death and how that's going to happen and I'm at complete ease with this in my mind, alhamdulillah. What I'd like to have more certainty about is the way I'd deal with a disease of this kind if I happened to be affected by it.

Perhaps, it should be a decision taken by the entire family and not just by the affected person. This is a very sensitive matter that here and there we should contemplate.

What are your thoughts on cancer and the methods out there to treat it?

An Update

Bismillah (In the name of Allah)

It's been a while since I posted here. I've been so busy taking up new interests and trying to keep up the old ones. I have to admit I yet have to come up with a plan that helps me include all my hobbies and obligations in my weekly routine so I don't feel frustrated for not having time for the things that help me relax and the things that need to be done to have a household with three children under five years of age running smoothly. Now, that was a run-off sentence!

As I have shared here in the past I started making my own bread from my very own home-milled flour. It's been a very satisfying experience but like anything worthwile it requires time. I'm more than willing to invest the time needed thus a plan needs to come into effect so this new chore blends in smoothly with all the existing ones.

I have also started speaking my mother-tongue with my children inspired by Itto and it's going well but it could be draining, mashAllah. I don't speak Spanish much since my husband doesn't speak it and I have very few friends who do, whom I see rarely. I started to read Don Quixote de la Mancha not so much to polish up my Spanish vocabulary but to fall in love with the language of Cervantes once again; I think that'll help me get the encouragement I need. I'm also going to be watching the news online from a Colombian news channel. InshAllah that goes well and I can gift my children with bilingualism.

Oh yeah, last but not least, I've taken up knitting :o) and I made a hat for my oldest one after about two weeks of practicing over and over the knit and purl stitches. The actual hat only took a week of knitting in the evenings. What can I say? I love the craft! It's relaxing, satisfying and you can make things you and your family can wear. I would have loved to have that done for me when I was a child and I can see that my son was very happy and proud of his new hat, yay! Now I have to hurry and make something wintery for my two girls before the season is over.

InshAllah, I also want to take up sewing partly because I have a sewing machine sitting in the box it came in for about three years but mainly to ba able to make skirts for my little girls and maybe thowbs (Muslim men's long robes) for my husband and son.

I want to try and keep it at this for now, perhaps for the next year or so. I am craving making things with my hands, things for the home, the family, but I have to be realistic with the season I'm going through right now in my life: The child rearing season. I want to savour it and live it. I want my kids to grow up to have fond memories of their childhood and also to have good characteristics and love for Islam. And, yes it can be done! We just have to put our minds to it; but foremost we have to put our affairs in Allah's hands and never underestimate the power of our dua's (supplications.)

InshAllah you all are having a productive and blessed week.