You are currently browsing the monthly archive for October, 2008.
what do you do when you can’t stand up for falling down?? yes even dizziness and a corrupted centre of gravity has it’s uses my dear friends…I have taught myself to knit….
it was those mittens from last week wot spurred me on!!! loved the scarf…. but was seriously miffed at how the mittens came out
soknitted handwarmers it was…courtesy of creative yarn… a few minor adjustments for smaller hands and I was pretty pleased with it for a first attempt..off to make a big girl sized pair now….DD16 is making crepes for afternoon tea…..
I’m feeling seriously bleugh right now….a combination of erratic blood sugar levels and some sort of fluey type abomination is driving me nuts….
to keep myself sane I crocheted a winter warmer for the sprogette…and she’s loving the monster claw bits at the end…not that they were intended to be monster claws..but she doesn’t need to know that does she??
matching mittens to finish the look and sh’e ready for outside play..when we’re feeling well enough to venture back out into the cold…to catch colds again!!
I’m going to spend the day finishing some of my stitching and baking something to make us feel goooooood……
people hurt you for the sake of hurting you, and sometimes people strike out without realising the hurt they are causing …
sometimes people judge you unfairly without actually taking the time to get to know you properly…
subhanallah life is a constant eye-opener
today someone has stunned me ….
today someone has made me wonder how exactly they might define “sisterhood”
subhanallah…..
has a habit of getting hijacked…hence the reason why I have been so silent lately!
There has been so much to do around here lately that even creating with yarn and reading have had to take a bit of a back seat..and you know life has to get PRETTY serious for me to kiss bye bye to those two…
I have stolen time this morning…I’m supposed to be hard at it with the children…it being Monday morning i should be in learning mode…shouldn’t I ??
Oh no that’s right! I homeschool organic style.. which means I don’t have to feel uptight that the work books haven’t emerged yet..or that the children are still in their P.J’s..a quick slug of herbal tea and a bowl of organic muesli will have me back in mippy mama mode …..
anyway!…. days have been calm-ish but FULL and I’m hoping that by the grace of Allah the pace will start to be a bit less frantic sometime soon..but you know when you have a feeling that something big and life consuming is just around the corner?? OK well that’s me at the minute…maybe I should start sending out good vibes to those in positions of authority who are lurking… maybe I should send them some herbal tea???
things on my to do list for today??
some of this…
I’m aiming to get plenty of use out of this today insha’allah…
and as DD16has been having such a brilliant run on the lunch front it feels unfair to deprive her…it’s home economics after all…a vital learning tool….life learning yum!!
and the current WIP is a poncho for the four..soon to be five year old.. she’s very happy with it masha’allah and loves the colours…which I think possibly ONLY a four.. soon to be five year old could manage carry off..
Oh and did I tell you that I’m now addicted to Ravelry…. the children literally have to drag me away…I used to look on with disdain at those who were part of the ravelry gang…thinking that it surely couldn’t be “all that” …but for a yarn addict…oh my!!!
right…DD17 is making hot buttery chapatti’s and DD16 is making fresh coffee…so I’ll let the herbal and the muesli go this morning which is probably just what I need actually given that DD4..soon to be 5, is throwing a “my tummy hurts ..I don’t want to wear that…none of you love me” tantrum upstairs…
ooh before I go….some ladies and I have decided to have a regular Wednesday crochet along at mine!!..which I’m really looking forward to…and a wonderful sister gave me a beautiful bag the other day..which I’m overwhelmingly in love with, aint it gorgeous!!!
Not ONLY that but my ladies who crochet and I were spoilt with THIS beauty last week…
we have a truly talented baker in our midst masha’allah….
okay…chapatti’s and coffee have been delivered..off to read some blogs..eat and then….start sending out those good vibes 
love you all for the sake of Allah..happy Monday to ya!!!!
xxx
is a day for simple pleasures…. for feeding my tribe and walking through the house barefoot to potter and create some peace insha’allah…
I’m in the mood for cooking and sewing and there’s a whole load of hand washing to get done while the sun is out and ready to dry it…..
sometimes you wake up and the mundane chores of life feel like a weight on your shoulders preventing you from doing just what you want to do…
but today I’m going to enjoy the blessings to be found even in the mundane insha’allah…..
it’s late….very late..but I couldn’t resist showing the finds that have made me happy…some lovely thrifted throws and pillow slips which will be much used and much loved..
even in full winter/hibernation mode the young girls in my life took one look at the throws and yelled PICNICS!!!
DD16 who ventured forth with with me on the thrifting advnture treated us to some home baked coconut and white chocolate cookies when we got back…she is the baker of the family!
and my happiest find was the cotton man…where I managed to ONLY purchase a ball of pistachio and a ball of chocolate coloured cotton….. don’t they lok yummylicious in THAT cup
A thrifted gift from DD16 who felt i deserved something nice to drink out of this winter…..
so we are back to work, building our knowledge and trying to find a rythmn that suits insha’allah..
it’s been quite a while since i did any real work with the children and i’m quite content just to spend the next week or so letting our day slowly take shape and fall into place…as homeschoolers we’re not afraid to just take things as they come and to let life evolve and adapt as neccessary…
yesterday started out with me doing qur’an and tajweed with the younger children while the teens got on with their maths and biology etc…
DD8 decided she wanted to tackle some maths, which is one of her personal strengths..so she was quite happy to have a couple of pages of sums to go away and tackle…
DS11 wanted to work from Arabic through the qur’an…translating portions of qur’an into english to strengthen his understanding
DS10 has been harder to pin down..he’s not so keen on studying..so for him it was reading the story of Abu Dardaa which he used as the basis of a halaqah which he gave the whole family later on in the afternoon…masha’allah he fought his shyness and really did a good job of it so we’ve decided now, that each child takes a turn each day to give a short halaqah on something islamic that they’ve learnt that day insha’allah.. he also memeorised yesterday the dua for ending the halaqah.
We’ve kept our goals pretty tame for this first week back
In the past it was easier (with less children) to follow a more scheduled approach to home ed, but as the family has grown and our needs have changed it’s become harder to nail ourselves down to any hard and fast structure.
there are of course basics that have to be covered, for us it’s qur’an (memorisaton and tajweed) and islamic studies…things that strengthen our eeman and keep us aware of Allah…
Alot of our learning is achieved through discussion..we talk alot in our house, and tend to throw topics about like fury sometimes!
I used to be very paranoid in the early days of home-ed, about whether I was doing the right thing, & about whether we were doing enough..
I’m so much more relaxed about learning now..learning for me isn’t about sitting down at a table with pen and paper trying desperately to absorb facts that someone says you should..learning is state of mind
I want my children to love learning and I want it to be a lifelong love…
ok making no apologies here..been playing around with flickr all morning and needed summat to show for all the messing about..blog needed a spruce up…..need to do some cyber-chores..right off to do some linking
xxx
so the weekend has progressed at a nice relaxed pace masha’allah…
it’s the season of comfort food, wet weather, and crafting……
we chose to start our day with crepes stuffed with bananas, and topped with greek yogurt and honey…..
insha’allah you’re all having a good weekend too…sending out the vibes……
xxxx
With ramadhan over, a long summer break behind us and still no clear idea of our travel plans, we’re looking forward to a new season of homeschooling insha’allah…
I almost got lulled into a super structure type of home ed when I was rethinking which way to go yesterday…but a good nights sleep and a strong cup of coffee later & I’m back in organic homeschooling mode, have been browsing my favourite waldorf inspired blogs and I’m ready to roll…
With most of the house still packed up and waiting to be shipped out, it’s hard to feel settled but I need to make the effort to cosy up the house for winter and make it an inspiring place to be for these children of mine…
I’m still trying to organise my thoughts and get back into the homeschool groove and part of what I love about home ed our way is seeing which way we’ll grow next…
The weekend is going to be spent just readjusting, sprucing the house a little and making it feela little more cosy for the winter months (if it’s in our qadr to be here!!)
dh and boys are out
dd8 has just learnt to do a slip knot and is settling down to try her hand at a crocheted scarf…although being a left hander in a house full of right handers this is proving to be quite a challenge…
dd4 has also settled down with a ball of wool and a wooden hook to “crochet” a necklace for her bigger sister
DD16 is painting stones
dd17 is thinking about crocheting a headband with the new teal cotton we bought and there’sa already anice relaxed feel about the day masha’allah….so I’m off to live it and love it..and I leave you with some pics left over from the end of ramadhan and eid… and right at the bottom an heirloom bonnet WIP for a pregnant friend…
