Hello and AOA everyone!!!
Welcoming the month of Ramadan with excitement and fervour. I don’t know about you guys but somehow I have started looking forward to it more over the last few years and I feel all geared up for it this year too. Ali isn’t here this year so its just me fasting so that means I only have to prepare sehr and iftar for one person only and that is me. So obviously it doesn’t take much, I can just whip something up in no time and have
it all by myself 😀 But the thing is that the kiddos are growing up and I want them to feel the spirit of the month as well so starting with the very first day of the month I sat the kids down, gave them paper, crayons and scissors and we all made some paper lanterns to hang around the living room. Then we blew up some balloons and added them to the lantern décor using ribbons and voila!

The kids got super excited and even helped me set the table and get everything ready for the first iftar.

We said prayers together and read a bit about Allah and Quran from their favorite book ”My First Quran Story Book” and ”Who is Allah?” We bought these books at the ‘Children’s Reading Festival’ last month.  What a wonderful start to the this beautiful month 🙂

View this post on Instagram

My kids love to read, they take a book to bed each night and read a bit before they close their eyes and go into their magical world of dreams. I make it a point to buy them books the way my Dad bought me books and took me to the bookstore with him so I could choose and look forward to reading. That went on till the day I got married..then I used to borrow his books for reading which he happily lent me knowing I’d take care of them ☺️ books are your companion for life! The wisdom and knowledge you get from a book is immeasurable and even though it’s the world of technology, I still believe in the old fashioned way of picking up a book and reading it instead of searching for an online version of it. As Dr.Seuss rightly said you can find magic wherever you look..Sit back & relax, all you need is a book 📚📖 . . . #books #bookstagram #bookworm #booknerd #booklove #booklovers #letsread #sharjahchildrensreadingfestival #expocentersharjah #wingsandstrokes #theblog #writers #bookclub #bookgram #bookaholic #lifestyleblogger #uae #dxb #shj #dubaibloggers #mombloggers #sharjahbloggers

A post shared by S O N Y A A L E E – sonyalee1 (@theshamrocknotions) on Apr 24, 2018 at 1:07pm PDT

Next day our iftar was at a cousin’s place and enjoyed every bit of the mouth watering food! Yum! But more than that it was the spirit of getting together, praying together and then making plans for the month. Children need to feel it too 🙂

Will be bringing you some fun iftar recipes as well as some easy and simple table décor ideas. If you are not following me on Instagram yet click here so we can connect right away! <3 you can see more bits, pieces & snaps from my daily life there!

The Ramadan/Ramazan argument has pretty much been put to rest this year, yay! Frankly it never really made any difference to me. Live and let live! While we are talking about that let me bring something forward here that for once in your life please stop thinking what others are doing and try focusing on better things. Don’t go crazy when you find someone else eating infront of you or maybe just buying food and then don’t go like OMG I am so hungry – don’t you dare even talk to me about and god forbid I smell/see anything that’s remotely food related, I will definitely go bonkers. We live in a world where there are muslims and non-muslims, where people don’t fast at times because of their medical issues, I say whatever their reason, we don’t answer to God for their actions and practices, let’s focus on our own. 🙂 I think we are adults and know how to deal with hunger pangs and can wait till maghrib to break our fast. Also stop wondering if your friend or relative prayed taraweeh or not, trust me its not a competition so let’s not turn into one. Peace!

View this post on Instagram

Ramadan Kareem everyone! I just wanted to wish you all right around the first suhoor ✨ for starters I want to say Alhamdulillah for everything, can’t thank Allah enough. Just the thought of Ramadan has kept me in such a happy mood all day, the blessings of this month, prayers, iftars and being able to truly connect are some of the best things this month has to offer. I hope we all can find time to truly reflect on a lot of things and embrace the good. Hope this month brings good news and makes ease for all of us. I have promised myself to stay away from Pakoras this year 😂 but let’s see how far that goes 😉 will be torturing you all with iftars and decor and everything in between (also different angles of this photo in the stories coming up lol) Let’s make the most of it together. Tons of love ♥️ . . . #ramadan_kareem #ramadandecor #ramadan2018 #blessings😇 #wingsandstrokes #theblog #dubaibloggers #sharjahbloggers #lifestyleblogger #fairylights #lanterns #candles #homedecor #ramadankareem

A post shared by S O N Y A A L E E – sonyalee1 (@theshamrocknotions) on May 16, 2018 at 5:06pm PDT

Also please be nice to women or men who prepare iftar for you, the salt can be less at times, it can be too spicy, the lemonade can be sour…they tried to put decent food on the table for the family to break their fast together and share the blessings of the month.. be kind…Kindness doesn’t take much but goes a long way! Like I always say, be the reason behind someone’s smile! Cheers!