”Allahu akbar”,
our little girl was born at home in the early morning hours of the 23thrd May 2009.
Hubby and my dear friend Mel assisted and comforted us.
Alhamdulillah oua subhanallah, all went well and me and baby are in a good mood, enjoying the peaceful relaxing time in bed and being looked after by hubby, the big brothers and the lovely midwife who arrived this week…
Thanks from the bottom of my heart for all your prayers, wishes and Dua’, “Barak Allahu fikum”!
Springtime-breakfast with homemade jam, chicory coffee and flowers from the fields…
“And We have enjoined on man to be dutiful and good to his parents. His mother bore him in weakness and hardship upon weakness and hardship, and his weaning is in two years. Give thanks to Me and to your parents, and unto Me is the final destination.”
(Sura Luqman 31:14)
Blessed Friday! “Jumuah moubarak!”
These days are intense. I so enjoy the time with my two boys, the established peaceful rhythm we live, to have my dear friend here, to get some me-time, to feel the baby moving, to dream about its birth, to feel the excitement of hubby, to wait, to think, to imagine.
And sometimes I just wonder (excited but also fearing a bit) …
… about my constant changing feelings.
… about my deep need for calm, peace and stability at home.
… if the baby will be born in May (I wished so) and how it will look and be like.
… how everything will change over the next few weeks.
… how my boys will react to the new family member and redefine their roles.
… how it will change our whole family connections.
… how caring for and raising a girl will be.
… how my hormones and mood will change after birth.
… how the new responsibility of breastfeeding again and caring for three kids will change myself.
… how I will deal with having changing helpers/visitors at home and having no rhythm and privacy for a while …
I ask Allah to give me inner peace, sabr (patience) and a lot of strength.
Inchaallah, everything will go on well.
He knows the past, the present and the future and He knows what is best for us.
I lay my life in His hands and trust in His path.
Ameen.
One thing I sometimes really miss out here is German food and bakery.
Especially fresh Brezels with butter, yummy!!
So I am always looking around for recipes to do these things at home myself. I found a Brezel recipe in one of my cookbooks and tried it out last Ramadan for the first time.
It worked!! – And was so easy to do that it became one of our favorites…
You need:
500g white flour
30g dry yeast
1 tsp salt
1/4l warm water
20g sodium bicarbonate or baking soda
1l boiling water
How to do it:
Put the flour, the salt and the yeast into a large bowl and stir a bit.
Then add some of the warm water with one hand while beginning to work the dough with the other hand. You will feel soon how much water you need or if you have to add more flour to get thick dough that does not stick on your fingers any more.
If you are happy with the consistency continue to work and knead more.
Then put a towel on the top of the bowl and let the dough rest for about 20min.
Preheat the oven to 200°C.
Now re-knead once again and put a bit of flour into your hands and onto the table.
Take a piece of the dough (about the size of an egg) and roll a string about 25-30cm length in your hands or on the table. Leave the middle part a bit thicker than the sides.
Take each end of that string into one hand and cross them. Then fold them up and fix these crossed ends to the middle thick part to get the special Brezel-shape (see pictures).
Put the Brezels again to rest a bit and boil up a pot of 1l of water in which you add the 20g Sodium/ baking powder. When the water boils, put some Brezels into it and leave them for about a minute in (that’s the secret to let them get the brown colour after baking).
Take them out of the water and put them onto the baking sheet.
Put it into the oven for about 15-20 min. Look and control regularly and change the sides if needed. They have to become (lightly) brown.
Take out, cool down and enjoy with fresh butter!
Happy Wednesday!
knowing that soon I will not be able to sew for a while, I did some aprons for the boys during the last few weeks and added some appliqué (bird) and embroidery work (muffin) to beautify them.
I didn’t really use a pattern. Just by cutting an eventually working shape out of old newspaper, I “tried” it on them and then began to cut out the fabric (both made of old trousers) to start sewing….
They look pretty and we’re off now to do some baking and cooking!
I just wanted to thank you all the lovely and supportive comments on my last post!
Subhanallah, I am really touched by your compassion.
I felt already better after having said things… so yesterday and today everything looks much more positive… isn’t that life, all the ups and downs, feeling and living opposites to really be able to appreciate the good !?
I have a dear friend and sister staying with me since Saturday and hope to enjoy now the next days with her and the boys before everything will change – in which way ever – Allah is with us, I feel it, alhamdulillah …
I hope you feel good as well friends, wishing you a blessed week!
I felt a bit down yesterday. Being pregnant unfortunately means a lot of changes in my mood… and entering now week 39 probably even a bit more…
It is always so hard to let hubby/daddy go.
He has been here for a very short two days visit with the students I talked about yesterday.
Better than no visit, I would normally say. But today I just have to let out the sadness and frustration that comes from time to time due to our inconstant family-life…
These are the moments I just hate.
I am sometimes so sick of the kind of family life we have to live due to his job.
I am sick of waiting for him so often.
I am sick of feeling alone and to cry on my own from time to time.
I am sick of seeing the kids so sad when he has to leave.
I am sick of dealing with their frustration and mine in the same time, while trying to make them happy and understanding.
I am sick of trying not to show too much of that sadness towards him (not to become a burden and not to discourage him).
I am sick of living with the kids often as a kind of single-mom.
I am sick of managing every-day problems on my own.
I am sick of not being able to share the beauty and joy of daily life and having kids regularly.
I am sick of having to reduce our conversations and personal exchange onto a few minutes phone call every day (ok, sometimes it’s more, but please let’s not talk about the amount of our phone bill…).
I am sick of the instability in our togetherness, the constant changes of “hellos” and “goodbyes”, the breaks in our rhythm or better said: not to have a real rhythm as a family in whole.
I am so sorry for him to see the heavy responsibility he has to carry, to earn money which means to be so far from us.
I am so sorry that he has to be alone and on his own so often.
I am so sorry that he doesn’t see more of the kids growing.
I am so sorry that he has such an inconstant life between here and there out of suitcases.
I am so sorry to know that he always fears about our well-being.
I am so sorry to know that he probably will not to be here for the birth or even the days afterwards…
I love him so much. But it is not easy to live with someone whose job means a constant coming and going, although I know it could be much worse and I do not hate that life in general.
I am so thankful to have such a loving husband.
I am so thankful that he cares for us wherever he is, no matter how much work he has.
I am so thankful to feel his support even when he is away.
I am thankful that he tries the maximum possible to be with us.
I am thankful that he has a good job.
I am thankful to be blessed with kids and a beautiful home in a great place to live.
I am thankful to have his lovely family and a community around.
I am thankful for all the chances, the love, the good, the freedom, peace and the beauty we are blessed to live.
Subhanallah oua alhamdulillah!
So please my Lord, forgive me this grumbling and complaint, astafirghullah, provide me with patience and gratitude, and bless him with inner peace and the consciousness that our hearts are always with him. Ameen.
That helps a bit: roses from hubby and again some fresh homemade strawberry cake
Yesterday I had some German architecture students for visit who were interested in the mud/clay-architecture-project we are building up here with my former university; a project to preserve and to develop this old building technique (for more information please contact me).
It was nice to see these young and very motivated people, to answer their questions and to have some exchange about architecture, life and development.
I like these visits and subhanallah, it always shows me how blessed I am to live out here such a different life, to build up these cultural exchanges for more tolerance and a better understanding, to sort of unite the cultures and to be so lucky to have them both as parts of my life.
But after such meetings I always feel a bit empty or soaked out because I am not used any more to meet and to talk to so many people at once, to have the house full of interested guests, to guide them, to explain… I always need then some time to readjust myself, to calm down and to sort out all the thoughts and new inspiration.
So I am looking forward now to a quiet Friday with a bit of housecleaning, good couscous at home and some fresh strawberry cake…
”Jumuah moubarak”!
waking up – washing and getting dressed – a friendly “good morning” and some chat while eating breakfast – seeing a bird sitting by the window – the immediate idea to draw it – and then the wish to become a bird oneself – some books to get inspired and some questions about their lives and habits – some outside observing with the binoculars – and then some work to do until the wings are cut out of old cardboard, colourfully painted and fixed with strings – ready to fly in the hall ! – some story about Icarus, the flying Greek, and some more research in books and encyclopaedias –
and in the afternoon eventually going outside and watching the birds in real…
A perfect unschooling morning I would say… it just flew… and all I have to be is a facilitator ready to follow their ideas, to help to find answers and just to be with them, interested in what they do…
Surely not all our mornings are as “educative” and smooth like this. Sometimes there are no ideas; sometimes the interest stays just for a few minutes; sometimes there is just a lot of playing around… but I think learning is just how life in general is: always changing and not constant. We just have to be conscious, be there, and be aware.
Kid’s breakfast with bread, butter and tea and some sketchbook notes
»It is quite possible that something which you don’t like is good for you
and that something which you love is bad for you.
Allah knows and you do not.”
(Sura Al-Bakara 2:216)
Happy week!
