Our two week adventure!!

Packing for a long journey across the planet is not that easy with little ones, if its not planned well. How you plan your journey can really define what type of memories you will have (fond ones or ones you want to forget). Previously I had posted about somethings to keep with you on a road trip to keep the children occupied. However when traveling by plane you cannot do the same (can't carry too much luggage). Alhumdullillah, I am starting to get use to traveling and on every trip learn new things to do in order to have a smooth journey.

InshaAllah in this post I will be sharing with you my travel kit secrets. You can pack the material I will be mentioning for any short or long, road, air or track trips. These are some essentials that I have to have when travelling with my family.

Secret #1 

• Always travel with a Diaper-Backpack. Reason for that is:
• it gives you two free hands to handle your kids
• lots space for baby stuff.
• weight is appropriately divided on 2 shoulders
• its not like diaper bags which keep falling off your shoulder! or hit people in their face with it!
• look for a backpack with side pockets or baby bottles and sippers 
• One thing to remember with backpacks is that NEVER keep any important belongings in the front pockets! They can be easily stolen! 

Secret #2 

  Homeopathy Travel kit

• I always pack first-aid remedy kit in small zip-locks with labels. The reason why I prefer zip-locks when traveling is because they are light weight and don't take much space. 

    Essential Remedies

1. Aconite 30
2. Chamomile 30
3. Ferrrum Phosphorus 6x
4. Gelsimium 30
5. Nux Vomica 30
6. Carbo Vegetabilis 30
7. Arnica Montana 30
8. Kali Mur 6x
9. Aloe 30
10. Calendula tincture ointment
11. Rhus Tox 30
12. Lycopodium 30

Aromatherapy -->Essential oils kit

• Since we can no longer carry liquid in hand carrys. I pack most of them in the luggage. I have  taken two essential oil in a ziplock and the airport officials were fine with it. One other thing I did was, I soaked a cotton ball with the essential oil and zipped it! This way I had the oil and it didn't bother the aiport immigration.

   Essential oils

1. Lavender oil
• Known for its relaxing properties (works great for jet lag), protects from flu and cold, its also antiseptic so you can apply to small cuts and wounds. I also keep a small bag with dried lavender flowers in the backpack.
2. Tea tree oil 
• Very powerful antiseptic and immune stimulator. Its known to be great for cough, cold sores, infected wounds, cuts, and insect
3. Lemon grass oil
• Great refresher and air purifier, also great for headaches.
4. Eucalyptus oil
• Useful for muscular pains, insect bites and  insect repellent.
5. Sandalwood oil
• Good for sore throats, earaches and cough with mucus.

Secret #3

Suprises

• Kids love suprises! I wrapped some small toys for them to keep them busy. 

These were some small toys, that I had packed. The kids loved opening them! The new toy kept them busy for a while through out the trip. 

This was one thing we got that AR simply loved, because he really likes animals (its also a great learning tool for toddlers and preschoolers)

Few things I learned from this trip:

• Stroller review! We have this 'sit and stand' stroller which we simply LOVE, however it's not a travel friendly stroller with 2 little ones. It serves us great for local use, but not for touring. 
• We were thinking AR was old enough for not having a blanket to travel with but, a lot of times he was really cold and asked for an blanket!

Alhumdulillah the last few weeks of traveling have been very adventures and fun! We got to stay in Riyad and meet the new addition of our family and then we head off to London, England, where we met up with my in-laws. We all had a great time, it was a fun family reunioun. Although our stay in London was short but we still had loads of fun! (I will be posting about our London adventures). One thing I absoutly hated was the subway rides and the fact that there was almost no wheelchair/stroller accessibility!! Which meant carrying the stroller up and down the stairs with 2 kids.

Once we got to Canada we also got to attend the Journey of Faith conference, which was a very much needed spirit revivier. It was also nice because we got to meet most of our friends. Although I have to say the jet lag and the over tired kids were a bit of a challenge but it was still worth it. After the 2 weeks of on going action we took the whole Monday off to relax!

MashaAllah! I have to applaud my kiddies for their patience throughout the long trip. They did get irritable at points but mostly the stood strong though the trip, Alhumdulillah!

We Miss you Ramadan!!

As the blessed month of Ramadan is approaching close I really wanted to do something with AR to teach him about how special and important this month is.  We will be traveling soon and will be away from home for Ramadan and Eid. So, I decided to do somethings with him before we left, because I will not be able to do all this where we are going, since all our teaching resources are in our home. Alhumdulillah for being able to travel!

These are some things we have started of with:

He has been listening to this beautiful Nasheed by Zaky says "We Miss you Ramadan, we love you Ramadan"

A beautiful nasheed about Ramadan  in arabic, I translated the nasheed for him a few times. 

SO CUTE! We all enjoyed this a lot! It was also nice for him to see kids fasting

Aliya's Ramadan Dairy by Abdullah Puppet, checkout a his website.

Ramadan came..

Abdullah's Arabic letters, one letter each day Ramadan. MashaAllah AR really enjoys Abdullah Puppet. 

These are some videos we have been watching and listening to recently to bring in the kiddies (and ourselves) in Ramadan spirit even Hanan is starting to enjoy it MashaAllah!

Lunar Eclipse

On the East end of the world we are just witnessing the beautiful "Lunar Eclipse".  

You can follow with the live cast from here.

Read about the Islamic prospective on it and how to pray Salatul Khusuf. Click here. 

Book Review: Oxford Picture Dictionary

Baba bought this OPD (Oxford Picture dictionary) in English and Arabic. AR and I have been in love with it, we both learned SO much from it.

Some good things about it

1. Covers all of lives things: Home, Transportation, Animals, Health, food, clothing, workplace and many more
2. Its available in 13 Bilingual editions
3. Illustration is VERY close to real, which makes it easy for children to relate to really life.
4. Very simple to follow and understand for children, although its aimed for older people. We all are loving it!

She got Burnt!

SubhanAllah! I miss blogging!! We have been very busy with HSing, home, beach, packing for vacation, and learning from experience!

We have just been on a rolloaster of test from Allah swt, which ofcourse happens to teach us a lesson and make us a stronger believer! Be'eznillah hu tala

Well, a few weeks ago our little princess got burned with boiling water! (I can imagine all your OMGs!!) Alhumdulillah Allah swt is MOST KIND! He protected her face and chest. The water fell on her left shoulder and back. As a mother! first few minutes I panicked, but then I said to myself if I don't calm down I can't help her! So..Mama took a deeeeep breath and gentle took her shirt off, and did what she thought was required.

What was it that I thought was required you ask??

1.   I applied Aloe vera gel by Forever Living (great products, do check them out). I had to however stop applying this gel on the third day because, as soon as I applied it she was very restless and seemed like in pain. Maybe it was causing some sort of burning sensation on her burn. I immediately washed it off. After that only used the fresh Aloe vera.

2.  Pulled out my "Encyclopedia of homeopathy" and "Prescriptions of Natures cures" to see what I   could give her right away for pain relief, and start her treatment.

•  Homeopathic remedies

• Arnica 30 (always a GREAT pain reliever) 
• Cantharis 30 every 15 minutes for 1 hour, then twice in 4 hours till next day and then cut it to 4 times a day. Now she is taking it once a day. (I have to add that she also had 6 teeth come out at once and 4 of those were molars! MashaAllah, she was/is so brave and patient about it all. May Allah swt increase her more in it. Ameen!)

3.   Made my own aloe vera gel at home with Aloe vera (from home) and honey. You can also use this recipe to make a better one but we couldn't find Vitamin C powder sadly.

4.  Gave her a HIGH dose of vitamin C and E to help her heal for over a week. I ONLY gave her FOODS that were high in Vitamin C and E, no supplements

5.  Applied Calendula Tincture ointment 3 times a day for the first week after cleaning her burn gently while she was played in the bath tub. Still applying once daily.

6.  Also applied Memo a herbal antiseptic for the first 4 night.

7.  Started applying a vitamin E essential oil once the wound was completely healed.

8.  We decided not to do a dressing on the burn because she was getting irritated by it. We also found that it was healing faster without any dressing, as long as the burn and her environment was clean to protect from infections

9.  Applied honey directly but she hated it! only used it with the aloe blend.

10.  Washed the burn with Zamam and Calendula soap 3 times a day for until the burn was completely healed and once a for 2 weeks. 

11.  Applied a Propolis cream 

13.  Gave her lost of fluids and water.

How she got burned you ask?

Well, I recently swtiched to using water insted of oil when frying an egg. Alhumdulillah it was water not oil! It all happened in seconds...she tumbled and fell on the stove, the stove shock and the water fell on her. I usually use the back stove tops, but this time they were out in the lving room playing and in a second ended up in the kitchen!...It was just something that was wrtten. It was Qadr! with wisdom beyond our perception to encompass, unless Allah swt shows us the wisdom.

What one should do when one gets burned (things I didn't do, due to not knowing and lack of resource)

1. Wash burn immediately with moderately cold water for about 15 minutes. This will stop the tissues from farther burning and provide pain relief.  This is only for first degree and second degree burns DO NOT do this to a third degree burn!
2. Dip and clean gauze in a diluted mixture of Catharsis mother tincture and water. Apply the wet gauze on the burn for 15 minutes do this repeatedly until completely healed.
3. Essential oils such as  lavender oil, tea tree oil and eucalyptus oil with very powerful antiseptic and immune stimulator. They are known to help heal burns, cuts and wounds

Things to keep in mind if you are planing to treat a first or second degree burn at home.

1. Always keep the burnt area clean to aviod infections.
2. You need to know what degree of burn it is, you can easily google it and read about it! You have to be sure of what degree burn it is in order to start the treatment.
3. Watch out for symptoms of infection, such as pus, yellow or green discharge, bad smell coming from the burn or blood. Immediately consult a doctor! 
4. If you are not confident enough to take the charge of  healing the burn at home then its better you do not! (In my case despite the fact that I had a LOT of pressure to take her to the hospital, I chose not to, and Alhumdulillah Allah swt granted her shifa! Alhumdullilah my husband was supportive of my decision as well, although inside at first he wanted me to take her to the hospital, and also mentioned it a few times. BUT, when he saw her healing he was satisfied and supportive of helping our daughter heal safely at home.)
5. My brother and father in-law mentioned a stove guard that you can put in front of the stove, I will be investing in getting one inshaAllah. 

I have shared all this information with you all in order to help you to be able to help a burned victim (Na'uzubillah) with home remedies rather then rushing to the hospital. In case of a third degree burn (where the burn has reached the third layer of the skin) rush the victim to the hospital for medical care. Also, if you are unsure of how to go about the procedure of home treatment of a burn, you will be better of seeking professional care. Before you do something you have to believe in it!!

Last, but not the least, I would like to say we should ALWAYS remember that shifa comes from Allah swt ONLY! If He wills He can put shifa in plain water! so its very important to remember Him a lot and ask for His Divine Protection and Healing.

NOTE: I have a Pdf version of the book "Encyclopedia of Homeopathy", if you are interested in a copy, mail me at rawdahs@gmail.com. I would be more then happy to share it with you, it's an amazing reference book to have. :)

WAITING for SUPERMAN

I have been wanting to post about this Documentary for the longest time, it keeps slipping my mind. So here we are.....

Waiting for 'Superman'   Click here to watch!

PLEASE TAKE TIME & WATCH IT!!! VERY AWAKENING AND SADDENING. 

May Allah make it easy for all people in this world...for the amount of corruption being spread in the world affects ALL Muslims or non-Muslims. May Allah make all homeschoolers steadfast in their decision and may Allah swt give us ability to raise our kids for His pleasure and make it easy for us. AMEEN!

Holistic Health: Remedies for vomiting

What is Holistic care? 

"Holistic health is a concept that all potential contributing factors which may affect a person's well-being, are taken into consideration when assessing a person's overall health.

Holistic health in traditional medical practice upholds that all aspects of people's needs, physical, social, and mental, should be taken into account and seen as a whole. As defined above, it has been accepted among general practitioners and district nurses in Swedish primary care.

In alternative Medicine, it is believed that the spiritual aspect should also be taken into account when assessing a person's overall well-being. The spiritual aspect is not associated with any religious ideology but rather, refers to the essence or "core self" of a person." {American Holistic Medical Association}

The above information is for those who were wondering what 'Holistic' stands for. In simple it a natural way for living where in you focus much on your; physical, nutritional, emotional, spiritual, environmental health and a whole new lifestyle. Some of the major 'Alternate medicine" that  focused on are Herbal medicine, Homeopathy, Acupuncture, Cupping, Riki, Massage, Body Cleansing, Reflexology, Yoga, color therapy and many more. There are over 30 different methods that can my used for your overall well being, some of them don't go by our Islamic teachings and some things we can add from the teachings of our Prophet Muhammad (saw).

Most of these methods are not acceptable by majority of convectional (pharmaceutical techniques an drugs) and allopathic medical practitioners. However, if the alternative medicine fails then one can be referred to conventional methods.

I am still in the process of learning about these methods and inshaAllah plan to study a few in detail, Bi'edhnillah (with the permission of Allah).

When my kids got the vomiting and diarrhea a few weeks ago these are some of the things I gave them.

Vomiting

• 24 hours after their vomiting I gave them fluids such as water, lemon water with sugar and salt (works as a oral re-hydration and works as a glucose which is lost during vomiting)
• Plain chicken broth
• Fresh Ginger and Honey tea--> Boil a small piece of ginger for about 5 minutes and then add honey, strain and put it aside to get completely cool. Remember to never give  give hot or warm drinks.
• Homeopathic Remedies, according to their changing symptoms and temperament.
• Reintroducing solids after 24 hours gave boiled rice, rice cracker, toast, mash potatoes (recommended by a friend) bananas, homemade applesauce with powdered cinnamon, dry cereal and diluted milk

Never force the child to eat when they are sick, it's from the sunnah.


If the child vomits continuously, then please consult your physician immediately as their might be some underlying cause for her continuous vomiting.

Here are some books we use in our home as reference. These books are great to have but always consult someone who is knowledgable in the field. I have seen and heard of people prescribing homeopathic remedies, herbs and essential oils without any previous knowledge about them - simply "googling" it. We need to remember these are all sciences that need to studied because they have harms and benefits in them.

NOTE: Due to over load of work and other priorities I will be slowing down the blogging a little bit, will try to catch up inshaAllah

Effects of screen on children

Here is some scary information about how the brains of our little ones get effected by stuffing their faces in front of a screen (TV, Laptops, iphones, ipads) for a long  periods of time. Also how TV/technology effects our children's imagination and creativity, and what the best age for exposing them to a little bit of screen time. Some researchers say there shouldn't be an exposure to screens for young children until high-school age.

Children's Brain and Television

Television & Children

Understanding TV's effects on the Developing Brain

How young is too young to watch television?

Unplug Your Kids: What Kids Learn From TV

Classrooms without technology

The Media's Effects on Children

This video is just general  about media but very shocking!

Consuming Kids, Advertising world Part 1 of 7

This is a also a great documentary you might want to take time to watch about media and kids.

Zaky's Adventures

A dear friend recently told me about these great Islamic cartoons for kids. It's called "Zaky's Adventures" My little man has simply been in-love with the previews! We can't wait to get our hands on some DVDs. He watched them over and over again, lol. Since he was sick, I let him watch them for however long he wanted too, usually he has a limited laptop time. I am a big advocated of NOT putting children in front of the screen for more then an hour, and absolutely NO exposure for children under two.

The Story of Abraham (a.s) with Zaky

DO check the related videos for more previews!

I would love to know what you guys think about the videos... :)

Where have I been?

Maybe some of you are wondering where have I vanished...

Well, both our little ones have been vomiting and diarrhea-ing the past week or so. Alhumdulillah Allah swt is Most Kind, they are on the road to complete recovery...and also trying to put on the lost weight. Be'edhnillah. Please remember us in your duas...with the these little sick, blogging was the last thing on my mind.

Hopefully you and your families had a great Jummah! InshaAllah in the next few post I will be sharing some things we have been up to this week despite being sick we were able to do some fun stuff... that I would love to share with my readers.


ALSO, stay tuned for some holistic care tips to help yourselves and children prevent aliments and how to get over them rather than druggin' out on pharmaceutical medications. Allah know best!

Duas needed :)

Save yourself & your family from the Hell fire

"O YOU WHO BELIEVE! WARD OFF FROM YOURSELVES AND YOUR

 FAMILIES A FIRE (HELL) WHOSE FUEL IS MEN AND STONES, OVER 

WHICH ARE (APPOINTED) ANGELS STERN (AND) SERVE, WHO DISOBEY

 NOT, (FROM EXECUTING) THE COMMANDS THEY RECEIVE FROM 

ALLAH, BUT DO THAT WHICH THEY ARE COMMANDED. {66:6}

The Message of Quran & Family by Noaman Ali

Homeschool Share

Hundreds of Lap-booking, Unit study and Note-booking ideas.  It's an awesome link! It's great for newbies to Hs-ing, especially with preschoolers. They have older age material as well, and lots of ideas that could be used for other topics. 

Jummah Mubarak!

Our this weeks Jummah SpEcIaL turned out really special. Alhumdulilllah (All Praise be to Allah swt) Allah is MOST KIND!

Well...guess what we found for the kiddies!

This is the most Coolest Sadaqah jar ever!

MashaAllah AR is absolutely in love with it! Alhumdulillah!

Remember a few months ago I made a Sadaqah Jar (Charity Jar/Picky bank) with my son, and he really wanted me to make it into a car, I tried and tried but it would not become a car. so we made this half ball type of a thing! (click here to see the post). I told him to make Dua to Allah swt and He will give him a car sadaqah jar, and He did! SubhanaAllah.

"SubhanaAllah mama, Allah gave me a CAR sadaqah jar" AR's word upon seeing it, with a HUGE smile to see the car shaped sadaqah jar! (MashaAllah)

DON'T forget to get your light! till next Jummah by reciting Surah tul Kahf. 

It was narrated by Abu Sa`id (r.a), Whoever recites Surat al-Kahf on Friday, light shall shine forth for him between the two Fridays. [Ibn Hajar, Talkhis al-Habir]

DIY / GIY storage bins

Living in Saudi Arabia I really realized the value of recycling and decomposing facilities that are available in the west. I pray they implement this over here too soon inshaAllah! Although, however, with the recycling system we also tend to recycle a lot of stuff that we can easily re-use one way or another. Today, I will share with you, how I have reused / up-cycled sturdy boxes from things we bought and turned them into storage solutions and homes for varies items. Its always convenient, easy for children and their Baba! to access items when they know where something belongs, keep things from mixing and getting lost.

You will need:

• Recyclable boxes of different sizes
• Scissors
• Contact paper or fabric. We used fabric contact role, which cost us about $7 for a giant role. I was not too particular about the color and design, because the nice design ones were TOO expensive.
• A pen for marking
• Decorative ribbons and flowers (optional)

This is a great way to instill eco-consciousness in children as well from a young age. everything doesn't need to be bought. They can even personalize their own storage bins.

For the steps... I will let the pictures do most of the talking.

Welcome spring art

We made a spring art piece with water bottle bottoms and caps. AR really enjoyed it alhumdulillah. We talked about how Allah swt brings one season after another, and how we feel cold at on time and hot at another. We talked about Allah swt for a while, and also how he changes different season and what they are. It was very informal.

We watched this 4 season time lapse video. 

We got this idea from, MPM School supplies.

Side Effects of Fluoride

Did you know your toothpaste can be toxic for you anf your children? I remember when my son AR started teething and got his first tooth at around 14 months (I know... you must be thinking thats late! Pediatrition and children's dentists say its nothing to worry about. Its normal for children to not have teeth till about 17 months, after that, is when you need to get it checked out). I began to ask more experienced mom's what's the best toothpaste for children, I thought those who have more children would have more experience about what's right and what's not. Most of them recommended Stage 1 of Oral-B, we went and bought it. Although, most of his body products were either homemade, natural and plant based.

Alhumdulillah, a few weeks ago I found out that the fluoride in the toothpaste (or water) is extremely harmful. How did I find out? Well, my mom was diagnosed with 'Hypothyroidism' underactive thyroid gland, when I found out about it I did some research on what are somethings she can do to help her body heal. Of course, change of diet is one of things that can even help a cancer patient get better (bi'edhnillah). One of the things I came across was fluoride levels in our drinking water, which is really harmful for the thyroid gland and other things. (Alhumdulillah she was able to switch to distilled water.) All of sudden it clicked to me that  our toothpastes have fluoride in them, we immediately switched to fluoride free toothpaste. Alhumdulillah, I was able to find one at Nature Source.

When we moved to KSA, I brought one with me but then it finished...I was lost again. But, Alhumdulillah, Allah is Most Kind once again, we found a better one, called 'Aloe dent' made in UK. We all use the 'Aloe dent' now. I prefer UK products over North American products, even if they are natural and organic based. Allah knows best.

As for the water, Alhumdulillah we try to drink zamzam most of the time but sometimes, we mix the zamzam with the other water making dua to Allah swt to waste ALL the harmful things in the water for us.

I would just like to share with you some shocking information about fluoride and its side effects. I have some links at the bottom please take time and read and switch to a fluoride free toothpaste. May Allah swt protect us and our families from the harmful things in this Duniya and the Aakhirah. Ameen.

Infant Exposure

Brain

Immune system

Teeth fluorosis

Kidney

Thyroid Gland

Train track letters

Letter practice using train tracks. We used AR's train track set we bought him last year for Eid-ul-fitr and made letters with it. I showed him that if he connected the tracks in different ways they make things, shapes and letters. He was thinking so hard to figure how to connect the tracks to form letters, it was really nice mashaAllah. We also practiced letter tracing using the trains. We also had H trace the letters and make them/break them with us, however she was more interested in breaking then making. :)

You are unique just like everyone else!

Everybody Knows:

You can’t do all things to all people.

You can’t do all things at once.

You can’t do all things equally well.

You can’t do all things better than everyone else.

Your humanity is showing just like everyone else’s.

So:

You have to find out who you are, and be that.

You have to decide what comes first, and do that.

You have to discover your strengths, and use them.

You have to learn not to compete with others,

Because no one else is in the contest of *being you*.

Then:

You will have learned to accept your own uniqueness.

You will have learned to set priorities and make decisions.

You will have learned to live with your limitations.

You will have learned to give yourself the respect that is due.

And you’ll be a most vital mortal.

Dare To Believe:

That you are a wonderful, unique person.

That you are a once-in-all-history event.

That it’s more than a right, it’s your duty, to be who you are.

That life is not a problem to solve, but a gift to cherish.

And we’ll only get what’s written for you.

May Allah Bless you and keep you safe.

by: Zakia usmani

Book Review: Father Loves His Little One

A great bedtime/storytime book. AR, H, I and Baba all love these books. The best thing is they are board books, so its very sturdy for H.