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For all reading, Happpppppppy Ramadan! Im just getting my fast on for the first time in years so you KNOW Im all excited!

So I MIGHT be doing Ramadan Thoughts of the Day, Im not promising anything but I sure am going to try. What are Ramadan TOTDs? They are usually a thought that I have during the day that is something I think everyone would benefit from or get a kick out of. Since one of my goals this Ramadan is to renew and strengthen and MAKE new friends, I thought I would start out by sharing myself..inshallah I would love to hear your thoughts and comments!

So...Ramadan TOTD #1...as Im eating my Suhoor..it occurs to me that in a TRUE Muslim country, the McDonalds/Wendys/etc would open at 4:30 to accomodate us fasting folks! Especially those of us who are single and dont have to prepare food for anyone but themselves. It sure would be nice to go get one of their sandwiches...and of course, in a Muslim country, the meat would be Halal.

And then I remembered that many McDs are 24 hours.

Has anyone ever been at 4am? I know they SAY 24 hours but I dont trust them.....lol

Ok so I KNOW that when you finally get to break your fast you are terribly thirsty, but please remember to use some control when drinking all that water. Someone close to me was sooooooo thirsty they just kept on drinking and drinking and said when they tried to get up, they could actually feel the water sloshing around in their stomach.

I dont know how true that is but it certainly is funny to imagine.

We are not camels people! LOL

This Ramadan is my first that I actually get to fast, in five years. FIVE years. I've either been nursing or pregnant all this time. So I was really looking forward to this Ramadan, it feels nice! Like its 'real'!

I read a post from another blogger who was talking about all the reward that we get just for doing our normal motherly duties and I realized - you know I might have actually racked up just as many blessings for having kids/nursing them/etc as I would have fasting!!!

Im shamefully stealing some of her hadith quotes:

A hadeeth recorded by Al Tabarani:

Addressing Salamah (radhi Allaho anha), the nurse of his son Ibrahim (radhi Allaho anho), the Prophet (sal Allaho alaihi wa sallam) said:

"Does it not please any one of you that if she conceives by her husband and he is satisfied with her, she receives the reward of fasting and vigil for Allah's sake? And none of the dwellers of Heaven or Earth know about the coolness of her eyes (the reward) she will get for the labor pains she suffered.

When she delivers, not a mouthful of milk flows from her and not an instance of the child's suck, but that she receives for every suck and mouthful the reward of a good deed.

If she is kept awake by her child during the night she receives the reward of freeing seventy slaves for the sake of Allah."

The Prophet (sal Allaho alaihi wasallam) then said: "O Salamah, do you know which women are being referred to? Those who despite piety and
enjoying a respectable position obey their husbands and do not belittle them."

Niiiiice, isnt it?

Im still 'freeing seventy slaves' every night!!! LOL

I got the two boys bookbags for school yesterday. Well, they are so excited about their new bags that today after getting out of the shower and drying off, they put their bookbags on and announced they were ready to go to school.

Thing is, they were missing all the rest of their clothes. It was only when I mentioned this fact to them that they seemed to realize that, yes indeed, they were NOT ready to head out the door to school. 

That was my funny for the day. LOL

So everything is going well, I've just been trying to make the most of this Ramadan. I feel like I have a lot of catching up to do...Im kinda just enjoying the spirit and doing introspection into my relationship with Allah and through him, the world around me.

I'd meant to be more social but honestly I think I overshot myself a little - forgot how much taking care of the kids while fasting would take out of me. (Its ALMOST like being pregnant again, that loss of energy from not eating during the day is bringing back MEMORIES!) I find myself waiting till after Iftar to tackle more major tasks that need to done, and relegating minor, less energy using tasks to the daytime.

I found out about a birthday party held by a friend at the last minute - if I hadn't been fasting I probably would have made it there, even with only a couple hours notice, but with the fasting...I wasnt able to gear everyone up and get moving quite so fast, so we had to sit that one out, unfortunately.

This Ramadan is not only a 'get back on track' for me, (as it should be every year for everyone), Im also using it as a time to implement positive changes in our family routine that can be carried forward through the rest of the year and for continuing years to come. More focus on making Salat as a family, for instance - with all the rippin and runnin we do, that tends to slip by the wayside.

So inshallah Allah will grant me the energy to make it to some iftars in the days before we have to say goodbye to this wonderful month!