Author Archives: Asbah Alaena

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About Asbah Alaena

I’m Asbah. A servant of Allah who is a muslim by birth and choice, Accountant by way of studies, an artist at heart and a Unschooling mom to 5 kids. This blog had been my major writing rendezvous when I was young but post Gaza things have take a different turn. I hope to write more about our unconventional life choices specially in todays day and age.

The dialemmas of SHM 

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Originally published at   http://www.muslimahbloggers.com/the-dilemmas-of-a-stay-at-home-mum

One particular afternoon, I broke down.
Undone laundry, piles of unfolded clothes, a dirty kitchen, loaded sink, messy home and on top of everything, cranky screaming toddlers. I had been through an emotional upheaval and I would like to have a break from this insanity. But I was definitely not having my day.
Earlier that morning somewhere else, a working-mom in her impeccable attire, stepped out of the messy unorganized home, Continue reading →

Pakistan Day crafts

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By the time we were growing up, patriotism was a norm. We sang national songs, waved the Flag, loved our country and felt so proud being a Pakistani. A lot of that feeling deteriorated over time though.

23 March

Nonetheless one of the first lullabies i sang to my eldest was “ye watan tumhara hay”, mainly because I want my children to associate themselves with Pakistan and somewhat feel the same bond with the land that we felt as kids. Continue reading →

Comics.

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I am better at expressing my feelings as typed words as compared to having to speak them all out loud. And I have loved comics more than half of my life. Agnus. Archie. Marvin. Peanuts. And later in life I read XKCD (using the XKCD Explained) and felt awesome.

I had thought about drawing comics strips myself, at one point in time (specially after I read the story of Grove who wrote Love is.. comics, read it here)  just to see if i can do it, but then my drawing is pretty awful, I prefer painting any day. And i cant paint or draw with two toddlers. Then I found out couple of online comic strips creators and I got hooked.

I am brainstorming for the name, but what ever it be – I hope to illustrate the daily cute and messy mayhem of muslim toddlers.

My first and second strip:

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Toddlers imitate, how often we try to teach them things that they dont seem to learn and then they pick up random habits from us. This incident made me mindful of my random utterings as well, because my kids are watching.

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A toddler’s imagination! hehe.

 

Chicken Pattie (Using Pastry Sheet)

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There are moments of revelations, the moments of truths and the moments of discoveries in one’s life. And in one of those moments I found Puff-Pastry sheets.

what can be better than a steaming chicken Pattie to couple with your cup of tea- (1)

I definitely call “Felt” as my major discovery in crafting and “PPSheets” are their  counterparts in my culinary adventures. Just like Pizza and Pasta they give you a open end to work with and this means a lot of awesome options (and some fails too phew!).  Continue reading →

On flossing and Miswak.

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It took me 30 years and almost 2 teeth to understand the importance of flossing.

Beauty!

Last year when I visited the dentist for toothache she advised me to start flossing. ‘How many times a week‘ I, the naïve asked. She laughed and responded “ideally twice a DAY”.

I thought ‘what a joke! I have hardly ever flossed in my entire life and survived till date. I should be good for next 30years as well’.

Needless to say, I was wrong.  Continue reading →

Corn Cake

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From  breads/pancakes in breakfast to cakes and cookies for tea and to sandwiches and pizzas for the lunch & dinner – we are all twirling around white flour in one way or another. Even in the desi households refined-flour is often used for making Rotis and Parathas because of its ease in handling. Because one of the keys to happiness is cake-ing 😉

cake

But is there any danger lurking beneath the bleached white bliss ? Well, Maybe!  Continue reading →

DIY Finger Paint

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Needless to say, I love colors. And like all dutiful children my kids have inherited the genes so well. One of the first few words my 18m old learnt was ‘Calos (colors)’. So we occasionally play with our set of paints and cherish them.

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I have found out that finger paints are less mess than the brush & Paint and it also entails less fighting. Obviously the dot markers are lesser messy and the best of them all should be all those mess-free & magic-water-painting kits. Continue reading →

The sun in our lives. (Part 1)

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Few weeks ago I was listening to this lecture by Mufti Menk and he mentioned something extra ordinary about Ayah 4 from Surah Yousuf.

إِذْ قَالَ يُوسُفُ لِأَبِيهِ يَا أَبَتِ إِنِّي رَأَيْتُ أَحَدَ عَشَرَ كَوْكَبًا وَالشَّمْسَ وَالْقَمَرَ رَأَيْتُهُمْ لِي سَاجِدِينَ

[Of these stories mention] when Joseph said to his father, “O my father, indeed I have seen [in a dream] eleven stars and the sun and the moon; I saw them prostrating to me.”

The Holy Quran has remarkable depths, it has Layers upon layers of meanings and even in the parables it draws, it has details and food for thought. Continue reading →