Chasing Time

Hello my lovelies!

Soo i've been MIA for quite sometime..what can I say.Sometimes life just grabs you by the collar and steamrolls you flat and during those times,god forbid you indulge in some creative thinking cause d lord knows something'll come up where you'll havta get up and deal with it ASAP. SO yea,i've been chasing time (more like trying to catch it and maybe freeze it,sigh i don't know) in never ending circles,APPARENTLY.

When I started this blog I was worried it was too soon cause mothering an infant,let alone a 11 month old results in a highly unpredictable routine.But I  figured it was about time I took things in my hands and slowed the pace a bit,yknow sit and just ponder and let them thoughts flow.Because like I said i want this blog to keep me grounded and keep me determined to self develop.

I may have been out of sight but I havent been idle for sure!I love reading and seeking knowledge and man,is there so much to read!Speaking of which,one day I hope to learn to speed read so it'll make my life a lot easier!  Been eyeing Tony Buzan's book on speed reading and hope to get my hands on it soon.

I used to be the kind of person who could finish a book in a day but lately I have been neglecting my reading because I have had to put other chores in the forefront i.e till i came across this nugget

The last time I finished 3-4 books consecutively was when I was vacationing in saudi so I am quite liking the whole 20 pg deal.managed to finish "The little coffee shop of kabul"  in 4 something days,lol I might've broken the 20 pg rule and read a lil more *guilty* but hey,its helped get my reading habit back so yaay!

Its not my normal genre but I just thought I'd try it out..if you are looking for light reading,it'll serve the purpose.There were a few bits that I personally think lacked detail and the ending was too expected and too easy but all in all,good enough read.

Another article that struck a chord with me is one related to the upbringing of children,quite timely I would say for moms trying to be good rolemodels for their children!Would be worth checking it out :)

And well,since this post has adapted a whole reading related vibe I shall leave you with one last link  listing some really good must have books on a muslimah's shelf :)

Till next time,Happy Reading!

A Better Today For An Even Better Tomorrow.

Death.Invincible.Unbeatable.The one certain thing in all of life's uncertainty.It gets the better of even the best of us.Its ominous nature holding a rank that none can equal..an air of foreboding fills the sky,the storm lashing the trees bowing down in submissiveness..

Big or Little,Rich or Poor,Healthy or Ailing,as long as you live,so you know you shall die.

Today we lost our parrot to death.Last month our grandfather.And the year before this,my father in law.And the year before that you ask? My uncle.

Yes Death lingers around us,among us..it snatches you off your feet in one fell swoop.it leaves no time to make amends once it comes knocking,beg as you may.

And yet what is it about us humans?Us,the most daring of all of God's creation..here we are,laughing insensibly,hurting unwantonly,frolicking in life's pleasures without a care in the world.True we should live for the moment but does that really give us the privelege of forgetting?Forgetting why we came to be in the first place?

Respond to your Lord before a Day comes from Allah of which there is no repelling. No refuge will you have that day, nor for you will there be any denial.” (Qur’an 42:47).

That initial moment when i hear the news of someone's passing,i am stricken and jolted back to reality.Despite the fact that i know i will die,somehow i can't imagine it happening to me just yet.I keep praying my Lord is satisfied with me when he decides to take my soul though that immediate jolt,sad to say doesnt last for long.

The phrase "live like there is no tomorrow" is thrown around randomly with no thought given to the actual depth of the phrase.If we actually thought about it and decided to give the seemingly trivial phrase the actual weight it deserved...our life,i'm sure,would get an immediate upgrade.

Let today be the day we (me and you i.e) stop delaying our prayers and give it its due rights.Lets schedule our day around the prayer times and not the other way around.Lets make an effort to be mindful of our utterances during the length of the prayer.Lets try to read surahs other than the last 4 surahs of the quran during our prayers( i'm definitely guilty of that,i'm hoping you aren't)Lets try to pray each prayer like our last so that we may be amongst the successful God-Willing.

''Successful indeed are the believers;Those who humble themselves in their prayers" (Qur'an 23:1&2)

8 Must-Haves When Travelling With Infants!

Ooo Emm Geee! After over a year and a half of waiting I am finally back home! I swear I am so excited i could kiss the floor!(yep,don't even think it)

You think you can come back and get back to being you but I have come to realize that that is not the case.

A year and a half is a long time and turns out the 'You' I thought i was isn't the 'You' I am now.Speaking of which,I actually for the first time EVER,paid attention to the airplane safety instructions,not to mention the tons of prayers i made before take off(gosh,was i a nervous wreck!).Travelling with a baby was a first for me.and oh,the packing....man,the number of 'JUST INCASE Scenarios' you need to come up with when packing for an infant.No easy task i tell you.And it doesn't help when some ''baby emergency'' arises n u have to unpack half the stuff you JUST packed so you can deal with said situation 15 min. before you leave.Needless to say,my nerves were all over the place!
So i thought it would help if i picked out a few things that actually helped me immensely.

STROLLER: 
A Must Have!!I can't stress enough on how this makes the whole airport ordeal a lot easier.Added bonus:you don't have to worry about it adding extra weight.All you have to do is drop it off with the officials before boarding.

COMPACT MILK POWDER DISPENSER:
I did own a 3 tier dispenser but i found that to be a little too bulky to add to the already stuffed baby bag. So i opted for the  innosense milk powder dispenser which was a great help because it is compact and well sectioned.3 feeds for a 5 hour flight was just right though i made it a point to pack extra powder in my hand luggage.(you can never be too sure when it comes to babies)

TOYS: 
My son is a boisterous little being.If he were to choose between his colourful bright toys and the AC remote..he'd dive for the AC remote.So keeping him occuppied in the flight was something i was worried about.His old toys wouldn't do and so i figured i would get him some brand new toys hoping he'd be content.Thankfully,worked like a charm!

EAR PLUGS:
Infants generally get restless during take-off and landing,earplugs make it so much easier!Or if your kid isn't happy with you stuffing some foreign object in his ear,you could always resort to a soother.

EXTRA BAGS:
Babies are at no loss when it comes to multiple ways to soil their clothes so mum better be prepared with extra bags to store dirty clothes!

EXTRA CLOTHES FOR MUM:
And like soiling their own clothes aren't enough they sometimes like to bring mom down with them so yea,extra dress set and/or abaya in your hand luggage would be good.

BREASTFEEDING COVER: 
For those who are conscious about feeding in public and if you haven't been lucky enough to bag a window seat,this can be a lifesaver!

CHANGE MAT: 
This goes without saying but be it the Baby Care Room at the airport or the diaper changing area in the aeroplane,you can't guarantee they would ace the hygiene department.(teeny cockroaches infesting the baby care room sink in my case)A change mat would definitely be a safer option.

These may not seem like much but trust me they make a whole lot of difference.Hope this helps you as much as it did me!If there's anything you want to add to,feel free to let me know in the comments below.

 Till next time then,stay safe!

Maintaining My Sanity

Woah so here i am,after months of procastinating(make that over a year) starting my very own blog! "I wanna start a blog!" is something i've been telling people close to me for a while now,yea they are as tired hearing it as i am,saying it.So if you are reading this right now,I am honoured and a wee bit excited!OK who am i kidding,make that VERY excited!*woot!woot!*

You know how it is before you start a blog,all the googling (is that even a word?) and the comparing and the thinking you have to have everything figured out before you start i.e till i came across Ten Blogger Commandments To Live By and commandment #4 got me:
                     
                          "Don't Compare Your Beginning To Someone Else's Middle"

 Yep,pretty deep eh and motivating at that.

 As to why I am starting this,well I wanna bring balance to my very chaotic life,being married for over a year now (yaay for making it this far) and still getting the groove of things...did i mention i'm a mother to the most adorable little human who FYI has started giving me lil "kissies" and loves stuffing anything in his line of vision down his throat?so yeah,i'm sure you get the drift.

MY SANITY IS AT STAKE HERE!!!

Granted,people say life isnt a bed of roses (oh if i had a penny for everytime someone said that) but here's the thing,i like to think it is.A  Bed of Roses where you still have thorns to deal with,lol i know,way to kill the moment.But that's the fact and so here i am trying to make sense of it all...as a Muslimah,Mother,Wife,Individual.Trying to find my niche (literally and figuratively)and embrace the roses  amidst the thorns (watup blog reference!)and i'd like to take you with me on my journey..if you are willing that is.:)

Here's to a better tomorrow and a better you!