Fruitful Fusion, you so read my mind! I was actually thinking this morning that it’s been a while since I’ve been tagged or done a meme! I invited myself to your little questionnaire :) Better late than never eh?

1. Do you have any pets?
Yes, Rocket – our cat who believes he’s really a dog.

2. Name 3 things that are physically close to you.
My elder daughter’s backpack of outdoorsy and survival things (don’t ask), shelf of homeschooling books and materials, passports (we are applying for a visa extension).

3. What’s the weather like right now?
Pleasantly bright and yet cool – winter’s coming! – nice enough for my smally to eat her lunch out on the terrace :)

4. Do you drive? If so have you crashed?
I don’t drive… I get driven. :P (I don’t know how to drive!)

5. What time did you wake up this morning?
5.00 a.m.

6. When was the last time you showered?
Just a few minutes ago.

7. What was the last movie you saw?
I don’t really watch movies anymore… urm… let’s see… Oh yes! Driving Miss Daisy on the plane!

8. What does your last text message say?
A message from my husband saying that the accountant would come by to pick up his cheque at 10 a.m.

9. What’s your ringtone?
Boomdeyada from Discovery Channel.

10. Have you ever been to a different country?
Yes, India, Malaysia, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, the USA… I’m actually living in a different country, Pakistan.

11. Do you like sushi?
I don’t like it… I LOVE IT!

12. Where do you buy your groceries?
Mostly at the little local stores in the neighbourhood. There is a large supermarket called Metro that we go to every few months.

13. Have you ever taken medication to help you fall asleep faster?
No alhamdulillah… I can sleep even after a cup of coffee. :)

14. How many siblings do you have?
Two – an older brother and a younger sister.

15. Do you have a desktop computer or a laptop?
Laptop.

16. How old will you be turning on your next birthday?
Oh must you ask… OK, 41 next year in shaa Allah.

17. Do you wear contacts or glasses?
Glasses – I quit contacts because I kept dropping them down the sink :P

18. Do you color your hair?
On occasion :)

19. Tell me something you are planning to do today.
Get some winter clothes for the kids, cook zereshk polo for break of fast and squeeze in some raspberry tea time sometime in shaa Allah.

20. When was the last time you cried?
Don’t remember… or maybe I don’t want to remember.

21. What is your perfect pizza topping?
Cheese, tomato and pepperoni.

22. Which do you prefer – hamburgers or cheeseburgers?
Hamburgers.

23. Have you ever had an all-nighter?
Oh yes!

24. What is your eye color?
Dark brown.

25. Can you taste the difference between Pepsi and Coke?
Yes, but I don’t drink soft drinks as a rule.

There are days when I wake up with my jaws clenched, my neck and shoulders tightly wound up and my heart pounding. Getting through the day is like walking on the edge of a cliff. I teeter, slip and catch myself before I fall down the gut-wrenchingly immeasurable great unknown.

Everything rattles my nerves on such days – the scarves I’ve asked the children to put away but keep popping up on the bannister, the chair, the floor… anywhere but where they are supposed to be; the dust that won’t stay gone no matter how much I dust and clean, testimony of my failure as a home maker; the people who ask questions I don’t want to answer, who make pronouncements on my life I don’t wish to hear and who make demands on my life I don’t care to entertain…

I feel overwhelmed and boxed in. I cannot find the solace I need. I feel like I cannot take it anymore. Not one minute, not one second more. I have to fight down the scream and rant that threaten to erupt and sometimes I fail.

I pray and pray and the manic edge starts to mellow.

Then, a kind friend calls me over. We talk and drink much comforting tea. Her children shower mine with attention and sweet, hand-made gifts. The afternoon is punctuated with easy companionship, smiles and laughter.

I return home and prepare dinner. The children fuss – eager to help – and compliment my cooking even before it is served. They eat with gusto and declare that I am a good… no, THE BEST cook ever. We pray and give thanks for all we have been given. We talk, read and snuggle up in bed.

My girls cannot stop talking about their day and their mighty plans for the next. They tell me they love me.

I close my eyes and I know I am fine. I am more than fine… I am well and truly blessed.

We’ve recently received the good news that since we don’t live in Singapore anymore, Mars does NOT have to sit for the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) in 2013 when she turns 12. We still have to submit annual reports to the Ministry of Education and if we do return to take up residence in Singapore before she turns 15, she will have to sit for the said examination. I’m relieved – not because I am afraid of the PSLE, but because I feel that I now have even more freedom to devote more time to other topics and subjects. I had, prior to this, been concerned about our learning days being devoted to merely preparing for the PSLE. Education in Singapore has changed a lot since I was a child. I don’t like what it has become … it is a blessing that I can now in shaa Allah spend even more time on Islamic studies, Arabic and being true to my Charlotte Mason aspirations. I feel like we can once again breathe life into our learning days alhamdulillah.

The girls and I have discussed our goals at length and we’ve decided to strive for the following:

• Diligence and fortitude without supervision, seeking reward only from Allah.
• Obedience with cheer and grace and truthfulness
• Complete attention during readings.
• Narrate clearly by dictating or writing after one listening without prompts or clues.
• Perfection is Allah’s domain, but we will strive to develop the habit of striving for excellence in execution.
• Handwriting should be neat, spelling must be correct and words must be enunciated clearly and properly.
• Memorise and understand the Qur’an. Learn stories of all the prophets, companions and scholars. Apply all these lessons to our daily life.
• Learn and recite ahadeeth and athar.
• Develop the habit of reading the Qur’an and keeping our tongues moist with the remembrance of Allah.
• Learn and recite famous speeches, poems and exerpts from great literature.
• Read whole chapter, great living books.

• Journal scientific studies and develop a thorough knowledge of the various branches.
• Keep a detailed notebook of their study of History and Geography.
• Learn meaningful and crafts and skills, including home making.
• Keep a commonplace book.

The kids have been very ill, so it has been a worrying time. They’ve been rather quiet and spent most of last week in bed, the poor things. If you know my rowdy little ruffians, you will know that this is highly unsual behaviour! Rocket the cat misses them to bits, but I’m sure the neighbours are relieved to have some tranquility!

They’ve been too weak for lessons or classes, but alhamdulillah, we’ve not put learning on hold :) They have been reading (ah! the new books are just gorgeous stuff!) or been read to and have been enjoying lots of documentaries. I used to worry about not doing enough, but I honestly believe now that they don’t have to be filling up pages of written work to be getting valuable knowledge.

Here are some documentaries we’ve purchased and been watching. Our video vendors in both Singapore and Pakistan are surprised that my kids don’t watch cartoons/movies in general (I’ve only let them watch a select few.) The one in Singapore is pleased about it because he believes that children these days watch too much nonsense, while the one in Pakistan is convinced I’m robbing my kids of their childhood :P

Anyway, here they are… write-ups will follow another day in shaa Allah.