Monday 27 December 2010

snow poem


i love snow, i love snow

i love snow because it's fun to play in

i love snow, i love snow

i love snow because its white and fluffy

i love snow, i love snow

i love snow but sometimes it's really icey



by my daughter (8)

Friday 24 December 2010

jumble sales

it was just another ordinary day, i was walking along the street, going to the chemist to pick up some medication for the kids, suddenly i saw the sign 'jumble sale' written on a poster, hung up outside a building. it's my lucky day, i thought to myself! when i was growing up going to a jumble sale meant that you were poor, no one admitted that their parents went to the jumble sale on the weekend, and if you went and saw someone you knew, you would walk past and pretend you haven't seen each other, it was not mentioned the next time you met, but now it's quite different, i'm different, now i get very excited when i see a jumble sale sign because i know the secret about jumble sale, as the saying goes, one mans trash is another mans treasure, here's what treasure i picked up from the jumble sale that day......


some great finds don't you think?

Monday 20 December 2010

welcome home

we have been busy welcoming back my husband who has been away for the last 10 weeks on the hajj pilgrimage. the kids have really missed their dad and are overjoyed to have him back.

it's quite a special time when someone returns from the sacred lands of makkah. there are a lot of joys when a person returns from hajj, enjoying the beautiful presents, eating the delicious dates and drinking the fresh zam zam water, but the best and my favourite bit of all is listening to the endless stories, the stories of the hardships that a person faces, the stories of the spiritual journey that a person goes through, the overwhelming emotions that over takes a person, the funny stories and the not so funny ones, the stories of bravery and the stories of being afraid.

the hajj comes and goes, year in year out, millions of people come and go every year, but it's the stories and memories that people bring back with them is what lasts forever














Wednesday 8 December 2010

...achoo

we are full of viruses at the moment, again! this area maybe a little quiet in the next few days, so please be patient with us

Sunday 5 December 2010

welcoming winter

whne i woke up today it felt like the world was covered in a sprinkling of icing sugar, it wasn't snow, it was frost. branches looked like fluffy reindeer antlers. i was expecting it disappear by 12 o'clock, instead it stayed all day

ever since the weather has gotten cold, my little ones have been ill. winter is definitely the season when the weather takes it's toll on our bodies, minds and immune systems.

so this year i have devised a little plan. the plan is to try and prepare my family, using as many natural ways to stay healthy and keep the immune system boosted, for the months ahead. here's how.

:: one thing that cropped up again and again when i was researching was, washing your hands. so i'm going to try and get all of us to wash our hands whenever we've been out, after sneezing etc.

:: wrap up warm, wear layers of woolly clothes, cosy socks, extra blankets at night, a hot water bottle at the end of the bed works wonders, and don't forget hats, gloves and scarves when your out and about.

:: use essential oils like eucalyptus and lavender on bed linen and with a candle burner to sooth and unblock the airways

:: eat loads of fruits and veges, i know that it's easier said than done, especially if like mine your children don't like vegetables but you know you children best so do whatever you can.

:: cook warming and healing foods like chicken soup (or any soups), chicken soup is very healing and soothing, especially for someone who is run down.

:: give your immune system a helping hand by eating vitamin C rich foods such as broccoli, tomato, red, orange and yellow peppers, blackcurrants, papaya, mangoes, oranges, and don't forget fruit juices are a great way to get vitamin C inside you.

:: herbal teas (this is for adults) work wonders when you are feeling a little under the weather, they warm you up and give you that extra boost, ginger, lemon and honey are all good for common cold symptoms.

:: take plenty of naps and get as much rest as possible, it really does revive and revitalise.

i have by no means given you all the answers to beating coughs and colds throughout winter, but i hope i have made it that little bit easier for you to get through these cold and frosty winter months. if you have any suggestions do let me know.

maybe now, instead of dreading the winter months we can embrace it.




bread recipe

the bread recipe (requested by sister aasiya) is as follow's:
ingredients:
500g of strong white bread flour (i use allinson)
1 7g sachet of yeast (allinson easy bake)
1 and half tsp salt
1tsp sugar
15g or 15ml of butter or oil (vegetable or olive is fine)
300mls warm water (1 part boiling, 2 parts cold)
pre heat oven
method:
put the flour and the rest of the ingredients into a bowl and mix together, slowly add the water and mix with your fingers, once the flour and water has mixed together to form a dough, put the dough onto a floured surface and start kneading (10 minutes approx, or until dough has become smooth), place the dough into bread tin or shape onto a baking tray, or to make bread rolls, devide the dough into 10 seperate pieces and roll into ball shapes (to make the plaited loaf that you saw in my picture, you need to seperate the dough into three balls and roll out to make three long strips of dough, like long sausages, get the three pieces and stick them together at the top, them slowly plait the dough, stick the other end together as well, cover with a damp towel and leave in a warm place for the bread to rise for 30 minutes, once the dough has risen place on to the middle shelf of the oven gas mark 7 for 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to gas mark 5 and bake for another 20-25 minutes. tap the loaf on the bottom, a hollow sound means it is ready for you to devour.
serving suggestions:
home made soup and a chunk of your lovely bread
perfect!

Saturday 4 December 2010

science fayre

we had our very first science fayre last week, and it was absolutely brilliant. the experiments ranged from tornadoes in a bottle, we blew up balloons with vinegar and bicarbonate of soda, we done a sink or float experiment with layers of different liquids such as golden syrup, water and oil, we had cleaning metals with vinegar, kaleidoscopes, sticking skewers through balloons and much more.

there were two down sides to the day #1 due to several hindrances we couldn't do an experiment and #2 the battery of me camera went flat so i couldn't take as many pictures as i would have liked.








all in all we had a great day, well done to all those who took part, can't wait for the next one inshallah


Wednesday 1 December 2010

bread

i never saw the point of baking my own bread, i mean why would i go through all that trouble?, all that stress, when i can pop to my local shop and pick up a perfectly good loaf of bread, do you want to know why, because freshly made bread is one of the best things that you may taste.


i've always had a thing for bread, but now i'm totally in love