Tiinaish tea bread & cooking with kids :P

We've been baking and cooking with the kids a lot these days. Yesterday I made apple pie.. While I made the dough Donjana peeled apples. Nader and Deena got to arrange the apple pieces on the pie. I forgot to take pics, but mom has tons of apples in her garden so I'm pretty sure we will make another pie soon :P .

Today Donjana made tuna casserole. I only helped by emptying the water from the macaroni after it was boiled and taking the casserole out from the oven. It was so delicious.. Deena and Nader washed carrots and cucumbers and cut them (together with me) and made the salad. MashaAllah it's fun to cook with kids..

Tonight I made kinda english tea bread my style. Maybe I should say Tiinaish Teabread :D

it's very simple recipe:

3dl white flour
1dl oats (grain)
½ tsp salt
(½tsp sugar)
2tsp baking powder
50 g melted margarine or butter
2 dl milk


mix the dry ingredients first and then add the milk and butter and mix well. that's it..

this makes two round flat breads that fit on one oven tray. make a few holes with fork and that's it :D
bake in 225○C for 10-15 minutes.

if you want to try the recipe, but don't know dl, ○C or those, use this converter http://www.convertworld.com/en/volume/dl.html.

And now.. I'm off to eat :P

MashaAllah my little girl!

MashaAllah mashaAllah my little Donjana, 8 years old, is trying to fast every day! She eats suhoor at night, a bit before 4 am, goes back to bed for 3 more hours and then fasts as long as she can! the days are extremely long here, so she can't complete the fasts, but she does about 12 hours and i think that's pretty good for her age!

First I thought it's better she fasts on weekends only, but she said she wants to make school days too, so i let her try!  She even told her teacher that she doesn't want to go and have lunch at school (they have free lunch here in every school, at 11 am). I put a small snack in her bag on the longer days in case she wants to break her fast after the lunch time is over. I also wrote a note to her teacher so that she knows what's going on, but that was after Donjana already told her!



I'm so proud of her!

Making tasbeehs with the kids, some nice summer days and fasting attempt

Like every Ramadan we make some Islam/Ramadan - related crafts. Tonight my kids made their own tasbeehs, and the girls also made ones to Laila and Ali. this is the result..

I'm not totally happy with the way I left the endings, I must stick those strings in the beads.. We didn't have any fancy stuff for decorating the ending, just beads, but if i'll find something later I will make some changes. And anyway, most important thing is that the kids want to use these too! Especially now on Ramadan inshaAllah..

So this is Deena's first week in pre-school. Alhamdulilah she loves it there and is very exited. Here she is making her first home work:

Now when it's weekend and no school, Donjana and I are trying to fast. I'm pretty sure she can't complete the day's fast - 18 hours btw - but inshaAllah she'll last long enough to get the feeling. I'm proud of her anyway! Just a couple of hours ago we ate suhoor together mashaAllah! Let's see how it will go. She might last longer than me. I took some pain meds just before fajr and tomorrow I don't have to walk the girls to school, so if I can get up from bed I might be able to make it inshaAllah. InshaAllah my blood sugar level will not go too low this time. It's been very hot here so the drinking part might get hard, especially for Donjana.

On Thursday I took Laila and Ali from the day care the same time with Deena, because their both parents were on the evening shift at work. Donjana finished early too, so I had the whole team with me. We decided to go to the football field next to the school. Annndddd Maradona scored loooool :D

 The other day we went on a walk to the forest. a friend of my kids came with us too. The nature is so beautiful here mashaAllah!

I took a picture of Deena this morning at her pre-school. It was fun to see how she run to play when we got in. I usually don't see this because on other days the kids stay direct out. Fridays are different because there's some activities together with the other groups in the morning indoors.

A sad story that makes me MAD and disappointed at my country :/

I did not find these news in English anywhere, so can't post an english link, just translating it myself from a Finnish newspaper:

A Kurdish asylum seeker sew his lips together to protest the negative decision to his asylum application. He refuses to eat and can now communicate by writing on paper only.

He has a chronic myeloid leukemia, and Iraqi government's health department has given him a statement that he can't be treated in Iraq. He also has political reasons for seeking asylum, two of his brothers have been killed already and he has been threatened too. He has showed Finnish foreign department proof for that. So it's not only his sickness.

There's medication that usually works well for this kind or leukemia, but it doesn't work for him. He needs to be treated in a hospital, an operation which would cost about 50 000€. If they'd give him a right to stay in Finland, he could be operated in a hospital for almost free (alhamdulilah we have a good health care system here).

This brother has also said that the refugee center where he is at, has tried to keep this a secret, he has found it difficult to get himself heard. After all he wrote everything down and his friend read it to an interpreter on the phone, and now it's in all the newspapers.

He is already weak from his sickness and without that operation he will die. He has no idea how long he can last without eating but he says he won't cut the stitches from his mouth before the decision about his case has been changed. It's been put to higher court and it might take a year to get a new decision, he's been told.

This case makes me so mad! We have a law that a refugee can't be sent back to his country if his life is threatened. Already without the disease it seems to be the case. Looks like Finnish authorities don't think the same.. And with his sickness he will die for sure if they don't let him stay! The law doesn't seem to mean cases where someone's life is threatened because of their health..

I wish someone rich would see the article and pay for his operation, or the president tell the foreign office to change their decision (She has done it in a couple of cases, when they wanted to send two grandmothers to their countries, when all the family they had left was here.)

Shame on Finland for doing this to people! If he will die they're responsible!

InshaAllah he will get his operation before it's too late!

Please sisters, keep him in your duas!

Here's a link to a Finnish news paper article if anyone wan't to see it. It includes his picture.

http://www.pohjolansanomat.fi/cs/Satellite/PS-Uutiset/1194649396236/artikkeli/pakolainen+ompeli+suunsa+kiinni.html

Ramadan Mubarak to all my sisters!

So, Ramadan is here! I'm sooooo exited, but the same time I feel quilty. I simply can't fast this year, and maybe the next few years will be like that too. The fasting hours this year are extremely long here, over 17 hours in the beginning.. last year i tried it for two days. after about 10 hours i start to shake, get cramps and feel like fainting. I have found out that my blood sugar level is too long, and even if i eat huge suhoor, it's not enough to cover the whole looooooong day. The doctors opinion is that i shouldn't fast anyway already because I have anemia, but I'm pretty sure these western doctors would tell almost anyone to not fast when the hours are this long, so I'm not sure if I can really trust their judgment in this thing.

I wanted to give it another try today.. Well, my back problem made the end of it.. I have a flat disc and infected area around si-joint. That gives me sciatica pain and I have been using medicine for it for over a year already. I took a pill before fajr, but already around 10 am I found walking almost impossible, so looks like no fasting for me this Ramadan..

This is so frustrating. I have never found fasting difficult, I don't mind hunger or thirst, and all the food tastes sooooo good after a day of fasting. I sooooo wish I could do it! The whole Ramadan doesn't feel the same, when you have to make it all up in the winter.

Anyway, I try to remember that Ramadan is not only for giving up food and drinks in the day time. It's also for praying more, reading and reciting quran and maybe memorizing new surah or two, being friendly and nice to others (well.. we should always be anyway), charity, spending time together with the family etc etc..

I'm planning to try to fast at least a few days in the weekends inshaAllah, when we don't have to wake up for school. My girls want to try too. the time is way too long for them, but they could fast at least until the afternoon or so, to get the feeling. We will also eat iftaar together in the right time, even if we're not fasting. Yeah.. seems like nobody in this house will.. dh has medicines he needs to take regularly so he can't either.

I also want to make some crafts for Ramadan with my kids. at least we will make a tasbeeh for them. they have plenty of beads, so why not to use them for something like this instead of some princess-necklaces like they usually do. We might even make some for gifts for other kids, if they just have patience enough.. The girls are really exited about it. They want to make dhikir and counting with fingers is difficult for them, especially -deena because she doesn't know bigger numbers yet.

Ok.. This became more like ranting that Ramadan wishes to my sisters.. Sorry for that.. Time to end this, with some hadiths.



Narrated Ibn Umar: I heard Allah's Apostle saying, "When you see the crescent (of the month of Ramadan), start fasting, and when you see the crescent (of the month of Shawwal), stop fasting; and if the sky is overcast (and you can't see It) then regard the crescent (month) of Ramadan (as of 30 days)". Sahih Bukhari, Book #31, Hadith #124


Narrated Abu Huraira: Allah's Apostle said, "fasting is a shield (or a screen or a shelter). So, the person observing fasting should avoid sexual relation with his wife and should not behave foolishly and impudently, and if somebody fights with him or abuses him, he should tell him twice, 'I am fasting." The Prophet added, "By Him in Whose Hands my soul is, the smell coming out from the mouth of a fasting person is better in the sight of Allah than the smell of musk. (Allah says about the fasting person), 'He has left his food, drink and desires for My sake. The fast is for Me. So I will reward (the fasting person) for it and the reward of good deeds is multiplied ten times." Sahih Bukhari, Book#31 Hadith #118


Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet said, "Whoever does not give up forged speech and evil actions, Allah is not in need of his leaving his food and drink (i.e. Allah will not accept his fasting".) Sahih Bukhari, Book #31, Hadith #127


Ramadan Kareem to all my sisters and their families!

So, tomorrow it starts! Deena's pre school! I have some mixed emotions.. My baby girl is growing up! Donjana will start the second grade tomorrow, so her holiday is over as well. Also it feels like the summer is over even if the weather is still very warm.

I was there this evening at a parents meeting. Kinda boring lol, because I've been there sooo many times, but it's important for Deena that I go lol.. It was nice to get to know her teachers better anyway. I have met them when I got Laila from the day care, but they haven't been teaching my kids before.

Deena's group seems to be multicultural.. At least 5 muslim kids, and the teachers have experience about muslims and our needs alhamdulilah. Still Iwrote my own wishes down though, just to be sure.

It was funny to see a mother of Nenna's best school friend from 7th grade there.. She also has a daughter Deena's age..

Also Laila is in the same group alhamdulilah. They have 18 pre'schoolers and 7 kids who are 5 this year and go to pre-school next year. Laila is one of those. So it's a big group. The pre-schoolers and the younger kids have some of the activities together, but the 'lessons' are always in smaller groups, usually half of the pre-schoolers at once, so 9 kids. They have lessons two days a week, but the rest of the days are educational as well.

I came out with a bunch of papers.. Lol I don't know if I'll ever read them all.. This is my fifth kid in the pre-school mashaAllah.. I don't know how much new stuff there can be for me .

Donjana is excited about going on the second grade. It's a big deal to not be one of the youngest in the school! She says she will study well and work hard this year, because she wants to have a good diploma. She needs it to go to the university some day, to become a doctor! I don't know from where she got that idea now.. Before she wanted to be a vet, a nurse, a horse-back-rider and I don't remember what else..

So from now and on it will be just me and Nader habibi in the day time. He is excited about that, but I'm pretty sure he'll be bored of my company soon .

InshaAllah my girls will have a lovely first day and a successful school year!