Gotta Love Rainy Days!

Picture this: you on your window seat cosied up under a blanket,steaming cup of hot chocolate in one hand and a book in the other.And the one thing that makes the moment complete? The pattering of rain on your window pane <3 Ah,what is it about a downpour that makes a cuppa so special?

We just got over the rainy season in Srilanka couple of weeks back and I have loved every minute of it!Growing up in Saudi Arabia I was never privileged to much rain. Oh how i used to yearn for it! And during the rare times it did rain, it wasn't very satisfying considering the lack of green and the commercial environment in general. Because what fun are raindrops when all they fall on is concrete :/ Though rain in Sri Lanka, oh my!It is such a treat!

Before i got married, my family used to visit Sri Lanka annually and whenever it rained here, I used to rush to welcome it.I can't remember the number of times I've rushed to the patio all excited! The raindrops splashing across my face, the wind blowing through my hair and the feeling that overwhelms me during that moment of solitude:Pure Bliss Alhamdulillah! And the best part, call it the 'cherry on top' if you will, is the fact that you can ask your Lord for anything,anything in the world (nothing is too big for the Most High)and it will most likely come back answered.Awesome huh! And I remember embracing the serenity that descended upon me and pouring out all that my soul desired,right there to the ONE who was merciful enough to bless my household with rain. 

Narrated Sahel Ibn Sa'ad (RA): that the Messenger of Allah (SAW) said: 'Two will not be rejected, Supplication when the Adhan (call of prayer) is being called, and at the time of the rain'. [Al-Hakim 2: 114, and Abu Dawud #2540, ibn Majah]

How merciful is our Lord,not only does He bless us with rain,we get the added bonus of the opportunity to have our duas answered. Subhanallah! Though sadly, these days I can't afford the luxury of sitting outside during the rain. Most often I am occupied with some mummy/wifey duty but I still make my duas, its not the same as sitting outside amidst the rain but it is worth it.

For someone who loves rain as much as I do,people who grumble about rain really get to me! Its sad how ignorant they are to all its splendour,let alone the fact that it is a sign of Allah's mercy.I mean it's one thing to not enjoy it but to sit and complain about it, not cool AT ALL.

Ibn Umar reported: The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Never do people withhold alms from their wealth except that a portion from the sky will be withheld, and were it not for the animals it would never rain.” Source: Mu’jam Al-Kabeer 13454 Grade: Sahih (authentic)

Me thinks the next time I have someone go on and on about how inconvenient rain is,i'll qoute this hadith and encourage them to make use of it InshaAllah.

I recall once, during an intense downpour session I gave into my childish whim of going and standing outside and letting the rain wash over me. Initially I imagined it to be akin to someone dousing a huge bucket of water on me but as I stepped out, I was awestruck! It was pure amazing-ness!(yep that's a word ;P) Just drop after rhythmic drop. It was literally like the heavens had opened..such a magical moment Alhamdulillah! 

It's like the earth is gracing you with its elements, the heavier the better. And with each drop I was humbled. The fact that I was out here under the part of the sky that ''hadn't'' been withheld was a blessing in itself. I felt like I was being told I am okay..Yes, I may not be perfect or sinless but I am worthy. Worthy of this little pleasure..worthy enough to receive His mercy and blessings through rain. And there I stood, the raindrops bouncing off my skin..the wind caressing my hair..embodied in the tranquility of that moment.. I couldn't help but utter the words, Alhamdulillah wa Shukrulillah.

New Year Changes!

And its here! The new year! sigh 2014 has been quite a rollercoaster tbh.Ever feel like you need more hours in a day? Yea well  I wish we had more days in a year.With december come to an end,I can't help but feel like I haven't accomplished as much as I had set myself up for.I never really take the whole new year resolution act seriously but there is something about the coming of a new year that makes you hope for a new start.Plus with the clock ticking and having been married almost 2 years I feel like I need to up my game.

As I was thinking the whole thing over the other day it struck me that eventually it all comes down to this:

You can either stay where you are,stagnant,merely going with the motions till you're tired.Tired of all the monotony..all the what ifs and regrets of time gone unavailed.Till you sit there watching your graph of life plummet,and you fervently wish you could have done things differently.

That or you take the path to growth,change and evolution.

Because what is life if not a journey?I look at my lil one and i see how far he has come mashaAllah.You know what the whole beauty about babies are?Its their determination!They wake up and they are ready to take on the world:exploring,tinkering,falling,getting up and just trying...trying till they achieve what they hoped for

.Babies, they are high on life and hungry for more.They have this glint in their eye that never flickers or faulters.Funny thing is that was us once too you know..where along  the way did we lose the will to get up and start over?

Indeed Allah will not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves.(surah Ra'd,part of verse 11)

Do yourself a favour and just sit down for a minute..tune out the rest of ''your'' world..get out a pen and paper (yep no harm in being oldschool) and write down where you see yourself at the end of next year.Let's not look too far ahead.Keeping your goals realistic is key.And once you've got that down branch out on what you need to improve on to get there.No point seeing the end without the means right.Its that simple.

I for one feel like if there is anything I want to do,it has to be done in the morning before everyone else starts their day.And that means fitting in a workout routine and a beauty regime before baby wakes up for the day. Plus i need to learn to manage my time around my kid and try to get more household chores done when he is up as opposed to waiting till he falls asleep because by then i am tired too and just wanna relax.

Reading more..something I have already talked about in my previous post.If you would like me to share my reading material along the way do let me know!

Writing more and exercising my creativity is something that has been quite a challenge this last year  because i had so much adjusting to do so hopefully 2015 will be the year i figure things out.

Taking the time out to educate myself on clean breakfasts/lunches.

And lastly and most importantly,spiritual growth.

These are just the basics.What are your goals for the coming year?And how are you going about attaining it? I would love to hear from you all so do let me know!

Here's to keeping on moving forward!!And if there's any excuse to go backwards,let it be only so you can find what you have lost my friend.

Much love,till next time!

xoxo

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!