Done with school!!!

I'm so proud of DD!! She finished school 7 days early, mashaAllah. She really worked hard this year to exceed the goals set by her teacher, then she set a goal to finish by this Friday (4 days early), and she even exceeded that goal by finishing on Tuesday! Alhamdulilah, she is such a great student, mashaAllah.

So yesterday was our "first day of summer" and we started it beautifully. We went for a bike ride at about 8am, before it got too warm outside for us to really enjoy it. We came home to plant the remaining flowers on our porch and we cleaned up the porch by removing the bird's nest (yes, we removed it... I typically wouldn't, but seriously... they need to make it in a tree, not the side of a building, please), cleaning up all the bird poop from the chairs and cleaning the chairs generally, and sweeping the porch (including all said bird poop). I still need to throw away some stuff, but I'll get to that in due time.

We had a pretty relaxing day and made goals for what she's going to do this summer. She looked at the programs offered through our local Gifted and Talented Institute and made her top 3 picks which include Make Your Own Computer, Fencing, and Sonic Blast Rock and Roll (they make their own band). We made a chart that includes everything she should be doing every day, which does include some lessons four days a week. I'll include this on another post, for those not interested in our homeschooling stuff. :) Alhamdulilah, Kira loves school and learning, so she doesn't mind doing some work over the summer, and really, she is not even doing a half day in comparison to her normal school day. I told her she doesn't get to become a vegetable when the weather gets nice.

MashaAllah, I'm just so proud of her, and she's such a great kid! She helps with chores, does her school work, doesn't talk back. How did I get so fortunate?

Yay! Ultrasound!!

Alhamdulilah wa mashaAllah, we got an ultrasound done yesterday! I was a bit worried I was having twins which, yes, I know is a blessing, but it is SCARY also! I'm not a big person, and I just think that one at a time is enough for me, inshaAllah. Baby is healthy and mashaAllah, in perfect order. I feel so blessed. Now, as the first child born into Islam, I need to learn the sunnah acts for its birth such as saying the Athan (call to prayer) in the baby's ear, having an aqeeqah, etc. So much to learn, but it feels like we have a ton of time because this pregnancy is going sooooooooo slow! I'm so excited to raise a child from the time it is born into Islam, because switching gears when DD was 7 (when I converted to Islam) was jarring for both of us, and we are still getting adjusted to it (no bacon, please)! Top that off with she is with her dad's family, who doesn't like the idea of her ever being Muslim and puts pork on her plate for dinner.... let's just say it makes her life that much harder and I'm afraid of her living a double life because she's being pulled in two different directions.

We have four Bibles at home; a Revised Standard Version, King James, Catholic, and Jehovah's Witness. She is more than welcome to pick one, preferably the RSV just because from my knowledge it has the most accurate text of the four, and read it. She says she plans on finishing the Qur'an first (she is assigned 15 minutes of reading Qur'an each day per a lesson plan we have setup on Islamic studies) just so she doesn't get the texts mixed up in her brain. MashaAllah, I'm proud of her for making a plan, knowing what is best for her learning, and continuing with her education.

So yeah, fun times. I really look forward to educating both DD and coming baby in Islam... it's the teacher and student in me.

Need to combat my short attention span

After watching an episode of Frontline about our technical age and they touched on the effect of this technology on our attention span, I started thinking about how long I pay attention to things lately. I take pride in my great multitasking ability, but I have a hard time sitting down and reading a book! So, I've decided that I need to make myself concentrate on one thing at a time, and make time to sit down and read books... you know, with paper and ink (no wai)!

It's hard to break old habits, and especially hard to change how much time you give to certain tasks. Staying on one webpage at a time or within one application on the laptop is especially hard. InshaAllah it'll get easier because I need to get back to the books including finishing reading the Bible, continue reading Qur'an (always) and just never stop learning, inshaAllah.

As for the computer, it is easiest when I have a task to complete, but with my free time... that still needs some work.

5 Things I'm Thankful For...

A sister on a forum started a thread where you list 5 things you are thankful for. Here's my 5:


1) My husband - He's totally out of my league, and he has still yet to notice it.  :P   j/k, but I truly never thought that someone like me would marry someone like him. Alhamdulilah.
2) My children, born and unborn - Again, my expectations have been exceeded in a wonderful way in both cases. MashaAllah wa Allahu Akbar! I can't say how blessed I feel in this area.
3) Availability of education - With the Internet, so many opportunities arise, and I'm am very grateful that I get to take a part in them.
4) The community of Muslims in our area - We have such a great sisterhood and brotherhood. MashaAllah
5) Availability of fresh, natural foods - InshaAllah we can keep our family safe and healthy eating what Allah intended us to eat when he created all the foods in this world.

Teenager? Not Yet!

I feel like I'm already raising a teenager. MashaAllah, she is still very polite and considerate, but it seems like I'm correcting or scolding all the time!! For instance, washing her hair has been a big fight lately. It has progressively gotten worse and worse to the point where I had to tell her that we are cutting her hair up to her shoulders (it is about to the middle of her back right now). I can't let her keep it long if she's not going to take care of it!

So today I washed it myself. InshaAllah she notices the difference. I'm trying so hard to not make her feel bad, but it seriously looked so gross!! I reminded her of the hadith that cleanliness is half of faith... we Muslims need to be clean. Allah gave us this body and we need to take care of it in this world.

Other note - I want to build bridges between myself and family members so we aren't the outcasts because of our different faith. It seems though that the similarities are far less than the differences. If we talk about things down to their core and root topics, we agree, but I think the general assumption is that we are too far removed to agree on anything so things I talk about are "extreme" or I'm just some hippy in the 21st century. It feels so political. When did politics get so entangled in religion? I mean, Islam promotes religion and politics being hand in hand, but we're in the country of separation of church and state. Hmph... yeah right.

Life is good

Life is good. I didn't think that I would be content being a stay at home mom. I have projects that I'm working on like working towards a formal education in Islamic Studies, learning Arabic, working on my direct sales businesses, etc. Heck, managing the budget feels like a project just because we are in "pay off as much debt as quickly as we can" mode.

I always assumed that I would be really bored... and some days are more boring than others, but I couldn't imagine going back to a full time job (or even part time for that matter) and then trying to delegate tasks to my family. I mean really, I just don't think dinner, laundry, dishes and dusting is really going to start getting done all of a sudden.

Having a new baby on the way feels really exciting, but it feels like time is going by soooooo slowly!! I feel like I'm not far enough along to plan anything yet - I just sit back and let the baby bake until it's done. I'm sure that'll change as we start making arrangements and planning... I hope.

Only about one more month until Kira is done with school and we have a bit more time on our hands to do different things. We should be getting a good start on her ad-Duha lessons by then. I'm thoroughly enjoying watching Kira learn and grown within the folds of Islam and allowing her to teach me as well. I think she really enjoys that. We can all learn as a family, which I enjoy. I would love if we all sat down for studying together, but I think that's one of the things Moms just like to do and the rest of the family is like "ok, yeah, whatever."

I've also realized I really dislike motivating people in things I find are important and necessary. I feel like they need to come motivated with their own reasons and I'll facilitate the learning. Hm, I think I need to get over that and find a way to motivate.

Why wait?

You know, I've found so often in life that when I really, really want support from someone, anyone, it is so hard to find. I start waiting to do what I long to do, waiting for someone to tell me, "It's a great idea" or something of the like. Yet, I keep finding that no one is there and I just have to make the decision to do so myself. I have to lead the way and when I'm done, or established in my decision, I normally get the support I wanted from the beginning. Not always, but if it does occur, it is normally far later than I would like.

Lesson learned? Well, stop waiting for people. People are lazy and pessimistic. People only do what you force them to do half the time... especially if it wasn't their idea in the first place. Some people are all too ready to tell you how you failed - thinking they are providing you valuable information. Others don't give you any negative feedback and are "yes" people. I guess you have to listen to both and balance them. In the end though, it really is only up to you. If people support you, great, but don't count on it.