How to Play Old Maid with your Children

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I loved playing card games as a child, but I forgot how to play Old Maid. So I had to re-read all the rules. If you’re curious how to play Old Maid follow along πŸ™‚

We have this old maid deck and really love it!

The goal of Old Maid is to not have any cards left and not to be left holding the Old Maid card!

Setting up Old Maid: Shuffle all your cards and deal out all the cards (face down). Not every player will have the equal amount of cards & that’s okay.

Player sort all of their cards ands keeps them hidden from other players.

If anyone has three matching pairs they put down a pair (two matching cards) and keep the third matching card. If anyone has four matching pairs they put down all four cards.

The player to the LEFT of the dealer than fans all of his/her cards out (without letting others see his cards). The player to the left picks a card from the fan of cards. If the player picks a pair to one of his/her cards then they put down the pair.

Then he/she will fan out their cards and offer a card to the player on their left. This continues throughout the game.

This continues until all the cards have been left down in pairs and the last player with a single card (the old maid) loses the game.

And there you have it. A quick overview on how to play old maid! Enjoy

Ramadan Books for Kids

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Ramadan Books for Kids

Alhamdillilah, Ramadan is quickly approaching! It has been a goal of mine to provide my children with as many books about Ramadan as possible! Each year I add to our Ramadan library so in this post I will break down what books we have about Ramadan plus what books I intent to purchase for this Ramadan! I love reading Ramadan book to my children each day of Ramadan and want to share that joy with you!

Kids Books about Ramadan, that we currently have and love

  1. My First Ramadan
    This is the very first book I bought for my daughter on her first Ramadan and we have read it each and every Ramadan!
  2. It’s Ramadan Curious George!
    I love Curious George and adore that they’ve made a book about Ramadan for kids Muslim and non-Muslim alike. Also, a friend read this at her daughter’s elementary school and another friend read it at a local library last year for Ramadan!
  3. 30 Days of Learning and Good Deeds (Islamic Books for Kids)
    This book has a mini-lesson for you to do with your kids each day of Ramadan. It focuses on a good deed to implement that day, Islamic knowledge, and I believe a Quran verse to go over! We really enjoyed it last Ramadan and I will most definitely re-read it for several Ramadans, inchAllah, while my kids are growing up!
  4. Ramadan and Fasting Activity Book
    We went through this activity and sticker book last Ramadan. I honestly didn’t do any of the activities since I was working last Ramadan but our children and their nanny seemed to enjoy it!
  5. Ilyas & Duck – Ramadan Joy!
    I really love all of the Ilyas & Duck stories! I find that their books are well written and teach the children wonderful values!
  6. Ramadan Moon
    This books emphasis is on the Ramadan Moon! We read through it a couple of times last year and the kids enjoyed the story line!

Kids Books about Ramadan that we intent to buy this year!

  1. Ramadan Around the World
    We use the author’s Arabic learning materials (I will write a review on these items later) and love them. So this Ramadan I want to ensure that I support her by purchasing Ramadan around the world! My friend’s children have this book and love it! She even said they read it all year!
  2. Rami the Ramadan Cat
    This is stocked through Ruqaya’s Bookshelf, a female owned virtual bookstore! I really want to support smaller Muslimah owned shops this Ramadan so I am super excited to support her vision + books!
  3. Who Will Help Me Make Iftar?
    Another book that is on Ruqaya’s Bookshelf! A story about who will help make Iftar!
  4. Lailah’s Lunchbox
  5. Under the Ramadan Moon
    We checked this out last year from the library and I really loved it so I will hopefully, inchAllah buy it this year before Ramadan begins!

So there you have it, here are all the books we have about Ramadan + the books we intend to buy this Ramadan. I usually rent books from the library but I really enjoy supporting Muslim authors! I think as Muslim parents we should all expose our children to books about Islam + support our beautiful and brilliant authors!

I hope you enjoyed this post and found it helpful!

Kids Immune Boosting Supplemetns + Herbs

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**Please note, this is not medical advice, this is merely what I have been doing + am doing to boost my children’s immune system.**

To help boost my children immune system they have been regularly taking supplements to improve our overall immune response.

The first supplement they take daily is a high-quality multi vitamin! I really love Mary Ruth Organics and we have been taking their Children’s Multi-Vitamin and Probiotics to help build our gut health!

The second supplement / herb they are taking is a homemade elderberry syrup! I have found that a homemade elderberry syrup is much more beneficial than store bought!

The third supplement they are taking is ZINC! I drop zinc in mine and my children’s water daily to help build our immune system!

The forth thing they do daily is drink a homemade fire cider that I make from scratch every 6 weeks or so! The recipe I linked here.

Lastly, we make sure we go outdoors to get as much Vitamin D as possible! I have never lived in an area that lacks sufficient sunshine so I am not sure what a good Vitamin D supplement is but if you don’t have adequate sunshine, I would discuss supplementing with your healthcare provider!

Non-toxic + organic sunscreen guide for kids

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Here are my tried and true favorite non-toxic + organic sunscreens for kids! We live in Texas where it is sunny most of the year and the summer sun is hot & strong! Since we apply sunscreen most of the year I am a sunscreen expert! I have not used conventional sunscreens on my kids because there are a host of nasty ingredients in them that I am not keen on rubbing all of my kiddos skin. EWG has a great post that goes over all the ingredients found in your average sunscreen. Also, master tip I always run every item I use on a daily basis through the EWG app to ensure it is non-toxic!

non-toxic + organic sunscreens

It is important to realize that most non-toxic + organic sunscreens will be a tad harder to rub in and won’t apply as easily as conventional sunscreens. So it’ll take some getting used to if you’re switching for the first time.

  1. All Good Kids Sunscreen SPF 30
    This sunscreen is great because it is formulated for sport use so it is water resistant and is a strong SPF 30!
  2. Blue Lizard Kids SPF 30
    A little bit of Blue Lizard goes a long way and it goes on well! It is mineral formulated and reef-safe, so its an overall good option!
  3. Badgers Balm Kids Face Stick SPF 35
    I love this face stick and have one formulate for adult faces as well! It is easy to apply and is easy to take with you everywhere you go throughout the summer!
  4. Thinkbaby SPF 50
    This sunscreen is formulated for babies! It goes on very WHITE! Just an FYI but works quite well! It is all mineral based and has a higher SPF than other brands listed here!
  5. Kiss My Face SPF 50 Kids Spray
    I love sports sprays because they’re easy to apply to my kids when they’re running around the pool! This one is great and has a higher SPF than others listed! I’ve also used their brand’s face sunscreen!

Here are my tried & true 5 non-toxic + organic sunscreens that I have used numerous time son my own kids & myself! I hope you enjoy. As always remember to reapply sunscreen every 30 minutes to 1 hour during the summer. Also, try to avoid being out in the sun from noon to 3pm when it is at its strongest. Also, check out my post on sun safe infant swimwear for your little one this summer!

XO

5 Journal Prompts to Make You a More Mindful Mom

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5 journal prompts to make you a more mindful mom

I created these 5 journal prompts to help myself be a more mindful mom and I think everyone could enjoy/benefit from them. I’ve been having a rough time parenting these days. Even though I aspire to be a more mindful mom there are moment where I merely react to events that happen through the day. We are at the tantrum twos (I hate terrible twos because they’re merely releasing emotions) and my almost five year old has also been battling big emotions. So I have been reflecting on how I can be a better more proactive parent, rather than a reactive one.

  1. How do you react when something goes wrong (e.g., a tantrum happens, a cup of milk spills, etc)? After reflecting upon that follow up with this prompt. How do you want to react when something goes wrong?
  2. How would you describe your parenting last week? What went well and what didn’t go so well?
  3. Think of one thing that went wrong in the past month (e.g., a spill, a huge melt down in a store, etc). Describe the situation, what happened, what triggered your child, what was your reaction, and what were your triggers? If you could go back to that situation, what would you do differently?
  4. What are things that went well? How can you expand those joyful moments in your daily life?
  5. How can you take a few moments to nourish yourself this week?

BONUS: What brings you joy in your household/family life?

So there you have it, reflect upon these questions and journal them down. They’re meant to make you a more reflective mother which will probably help you bring mindfulness into your daily routine with your little ones.

X0 from one aspiring mindful mom to another

50 Budget-Friendly Summer Activities for Kids

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50 budget friendly summer activities for kids! Have fun this summer!
  1. Make your own ice cream
  2. Go to the library and borrow a book. (Summer reading list by age)
  3. Make a bug book for your kids to journal bugs they find around the neighborhood
  4. Make a plant book for your kids to journal all the plants they find around the neighborhood
  5. Check out a baking book from the library and learn to bake something new together
  6. Go camping in your backyard
  7. Make DIY playdough
  8. Collect rocks from a local park and paint them
  9. Create an outdoor obstacle course
  10. Find free summer concerts
  11. Free movies in the park
  12. Find free bowling events at kidsbowlfree.com
  13. Give your kids some sidewalk chalk and let them play outside
  14. Pool day
  15. Go for a hike
  16. Fly a kite
  17. Water play in the backyard
  18. Play a card game
  19. Make popsicles
  20. Make a cardboard box castle 
  21. Have a picnic with friends at a local park
  22. Check out your local cinema for weekly summer specials 
  23. Head to your local nature preserve and spend the day in nature. Also check to see if they have summer programs for kids to learn about geocaching, fishing, compass usage, etc.
  24. Go fishing
  25. Plant an herb garden
  26. Use kitchen scraps to tie-dye 
  27. Set up a mud kitchen in the back yard or patio
  28. Make a fort using old sheets, blankets, and couch cushions in the house 
  29. Go to your local park
  30. Create a scavenger hunt in your yard or neighborhood
  31. Set up a sprinkler in your backyard
  32. Write a story together and draw out all the artwork 
  33. Make lemonade from scratch and have a lemonade stand
  34. Play board games (I have found all of ours for under $5.00 a game at local thrift stores)
  35. Go to the local farmers market
  36. Find a body of water and take a day trip there
  37. Go produce picking 
  38. Go on a scavenger hunt in your neighborhood
  39. Sidewalk chalk games
  40. Go to the local museum’s free day
  41. Check out store’s free classes (Apple, Microsoft, Lowes, Home Depot, Bass Pro Shops, Pottery Barn Kids, and Michaels) 
  42. Visit your local fire department for a tour
  43. Learn a foreign language
  44. Make a DIY bird feeder 
  45. Set up a pretend restaurant in your house and let your kids serve lunch  
  46. Backyard safari with stuffed animals 
  47. Go on a bike ride
  48. Have a garage sale
  49. Help the community – pick on community serve project to commit to weekly 
  50. Check out Groupon for discounted activities 

Five nature-based activities to do with your kids in Morocco

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We are an outdoorsy family! We love exploring in nature. So it only made sense that we would search for more nature-based activities in Morocco.

We we first arrived in Morocco I was a bit worried that my kids would not be able to explore the outdoors because most cities are rather congested in Morocco. There isn’t ample room for outdoor play in cities but if you dig a little deeper you can find ample room for outdoor play during your holiday to Morocco!

Before traveling to Morocco I researched Maroc Mama‘s Morocco with Kids guides, which is also a great resource to know about if you’re visiting Morocco with kids! Based on our experiences, here are the top five activities we did with our kids in Morocco!

  1. Visit the Atlas Mountains
    We love the mountains so the first weekend we went to a resort in the Atlas Mountains, Terres d’Amanar. You can see our blog post here about why we loved Terres d’Amanar! The Atlas Mountains are easily assessable from Marrakech or Fez and they have ample room for kids to explore, play, and breath fresh air!
  2. Take a day trip to the beach
    As Morocco is a coastal country you can easily reach the ocean from a few different cities. Since we were mainly in Casablanca, El Jadida (just south of Casablanca), and Rabat we has easy access to the sea! Other cities such as Tangier, Safi, and Essaouira are all located along the ocean so you could easily plan ample beach play dates from those locations!
  3. Explore Rabat
    From my short time in Morocco I found Rabat to be a green city. A Moroccan friend told me that Morocco’s King Mohammed VI suffers from asthma so he has actively made Rabat a green city with lush trees and parks. While in Rabat the kids explore the Mausoleum of Mohammed V.
  4. Horseback riding
    My kids love horses, so we took them for a day of horse back riding at the Equestrian Center in El-Jadida! The kids got to pet, play, and ride horses one afternoon and I think it was one of the most memorable memories from their trip to Morocco!
    Note, there are also tours that you can arrange to go horseback riding in the Atlas Mountains, which I hopefully will plan when the kids are a bit older!
  5. Go to a local farm
    This one might be a bit tricky but if you can arrange to visit a local farm in a village it would be super memorable! Village life in Morocco is filled with outdoor fun, sun, and ample time to slow down! My sister-in-law has a farm that they use on the weekends to get out of Casablanca so we took all the kids there and everyone enjoyed the free space and time to roam, explore, play, and rest!

There you have it, 5 things our kids enjoyed in Morocco! Other activities I think older kids could enjoy in Morocco could be surfing. There are surf schools along the coastal cities and older kids who are strong swimmers would definitely enjoy learning to surf!

2019: A Year of Self Discovery

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2019 was a big year. I took a huge leap of faith and prioritized my children and family over my career. It was a scary year and it still is kind of frightening. If I am entirely honest, I am not sure what will happen this year or where my life will take me, but I am hopeful.

A little back story, I quit my PhD program this summer to stay at home with my kids. For some moms that might seem easy but for me it’s scary and it brought up a lot of insecurities. For most of my life, I have hid behind my “titles” and “ambitions”. In my early twenties, I hid behind my academic goals and career ambitions. Then I started to hide behind my titles. Through these titles I was able to find my own self worth, so when I quit my PhD program and was no longer a “doctoral candidate” my self-worth plummeted. For the first time when introducing myself to others I was open and authentic in saying “I am a stay-at-home mom”, whereas before I always hid behind my titles. Being able to add those external titles helped me feel a sense of confidence. I derived a large part of my self-worth from these titles.

After quitting my program and basically shifting gears in life, I battled depression, low-levels of self-confidence, and lost. It was an overwhelming realization that I have never felt adequate. I never had confidence in myself as a person. I only had confidence in “titles” and without those I didn’t see my own self worth. So for the latter part of this year, I have been working to cultivate a deep feeling of self-worth. I am a human. I am worthy without having prestigious credentials. I am a daughter. I am a friend. I am a mother. I am a wife. I am a granddaughter. I am a woman. All of these are enough. I am enough on my own.

5 Books about Snow for Preschooler

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5 Books about Snow for your Preschoolers

It’s January, so we are doing our Snow Unit Lesson so here are 5 books about snow for your preschooler! As a Houstonian transplant from the Northeast I am desperately missing snow and all things winter. This post gives a breakdown of our “Snow Unit Lesson” for the month of January. It provides what we will do each week, reading lists, craft ideas, and letter work to accompany to lessons.

In Week 1, I am introducing all things SNOW and here are some of the books I am optimizing to teach my little ones about SNOW! Here are five books that you can probably find at your local library or purchase off Amazon to help your little one learn about snow and what happens when it snows.

  • Snow by Cynthia Rylant
    This book makes me so nostalgic about my childhood memories of playing in the snow!
  • Let it Snow by Maryann Cocca-Leffler
    This book celebrates all things snow from drinking hot cocoa to sled riding!
  • Snow by Erin Edison
    This explains what snow is, how it is formed, and what happens with it SNOWS! It helps kids understand the basic science of snow.
  • Snow On Snow on Snow by Cheryl Chapman
    A story about a little boy losing his dog in the snow!
  • Snow by Urni Shulevitz

Each week I select 4-5 books to read daily to the children during our Unit Lesson. This allows the children to memorize parts of the book, look deeply at the photographs, and absorb all the information the book has to offer!