Ramadan is Less Than a Month Away, Muslim Mamas (and others who are curious :))

[umsami]

I'm totally unprepared for Ramadan this year. I'm expecting a new baby right around the 1st day Insha'Allah, so it has totally messed up my preparations. Plus, in all likelihood, the new baby, kids, and I will be moving sometime during the month up to NY. Argh.

So, I know it's unlikely that I'll be fasting at all... and my kids are too young to fast (although my eldest wants to fast from breakfast to lunch this year ).... but I still want to get the Ramadan feeling going. I got out our fanoozes (Egyptian lanterns used during Ramadan) and put in new batteries. I'm looking at recipe books for maybe some Ramadan goodies I can make and freeze. But other than that... not a lot.

Do you have any good freeze ahead Ramadan meals? I was wondering if macarona bechamel would freeze well because of the bechemel sauce. I was planning on just freezing some of the cooked beef/lamb tomato mixture. I also found out last week that you can make bechamel in the microwave (!) which makes the whole dish 1000x easier.

[Summertime Mommy]

I went to the public library and checked out a few Ramadan books to read to the kids to kind of start gearing up. I also cooked a bunch of beans today and was thinking about freezing some of them to eat at suhoor. (Don't know if they will last that long.) I really ant to make it more festive this year for the kids, but it is hard because I don't really know any other Muslims. I think I am going to try to change that during Ramadan, I am hoping to make it to iftar at least once a week this year, so the kids can be around other Muslims who are also celebrating. Other than that, idk. I am getting excited though. Does anyone hang up christmas lights in the house during Ramadan? I was thinking that might be neat.

[umsami]

I usually do lights in the house... and outside as well. Just white twinkle lights outside... but it makes it more festive.

[Ammaarah]

Salaam sisters!

I am thinking of doing some freeze ahead too this year. I'm definitely going to make a giant pot of chili and some spaghetti sauce. I am also going to treat myself to a pressure cooker now that I'm finally over my terror of them (I think!) so hopefully that will help make last-minute yummies on the days when I forget I have to feed other humans.

I'm having a baby in December, inshaAllah, so I'm not fasting this year. I know some pregnant women can fast but not me. It's hard to stay in the loop when you're not fasting, but it can be done.

We decorate the house for Ramadan. Colored and white lights and I think I'm going to do some streamers if I can figure out how to make them look pretty. We did a candy countdown thing last year that I'm gonna tweak and do again with the little one.

Take it as easy as you can, umsami - sounds like a challenging time for you. You're in my prayers sis.

[Liquesce]

As-salamu 'alaikom~

Between health problems and nursing and pregnancy this is the first time in several years I expect to be able to fast straight through. I'm a little nervous. Although with the kids underfoot it's fairly often that I find it getting quite a bit into the afternoon before I remember to get myself something to eat and drink so as it is, so I may be better practiced than I think.

I'm probably mostly just going to be keeping boiled eggs and refried beans and yogurt and such on hand for suhoor ... waking up enough to actually cook is not my strong suit, and since I really have always preferred just water (I dehydrate easier than average, so it's better for me) the food is really just a matter of "well, what does my husband like." And for iftar I'm also big on "big pots of things that can be left simmer," and not necessarily big on ethnic foods from Muslim majority areas, so my house is probably going to be the land of chicken soup, pot roast, that sort of thing. Maybe I'll get it together to make one of my father's patented huge, complicated lasagnas this year.

[chimomma]

The last couple of years in the begininng of ramadan I made a huge pan of lasagna and ate the whole think myself over several days. Definitely want to do that again this year. It also freezes well.

I have been fasting less then average the last 4 years due to child rearing and this will be a tough one to jump back into fasting fulltime since it is a hot summer with no AC and long days. I don't usually do festive type things in the house, but try to pray taraweeh in the masjid which puts me in the "ramadan spirit." I am sad because I really don't know how to do that this year with a 1 and 3 year old. They have child care at the masjid, but it is really bad and there is no sending my 1 year old there. Do any of you sisters with young ones pray taraweeh in the masjid? Any secrets to making it work?

[umsami]

chimomma, Assalamu Alaikum:

The masjid we used to attend in Brooklyn had this totally disorganized child care frenzy thing. Basically kids running rampant and an elderly lady guarding the door. It made me so nervous. LOL It must have made others nervous as well, because they rearranged things in later years so that Moms with very young children were still in that room.... but that had put in large carpets and piped in the prayers so that we could pray along. It seemed to work O.K. actually and we weren't bothering the other women who didn't have young kids about. When my kids were very young, I either brought a bouncy chair (we walked usually) or a car seat for them to be in... plus a rug with a bunch of toys. I also would feed them right before so that hopefully they'd sleep a little bit.

[umsami]

I found this on another Sister's site... it's a Ramadan Lapbook!!! It's so cool. Insha'Allah, I'm going to try and make one this year with the older kids. I figure I can start preparing stuff now... so that they can work on it while I'm busy nursing or whatever with the new little one.




I'm so glad that there are some crafty Muslim Mamas out there who post these things!!

[Summertime Mommy]

I found this site today, while googling the Ramadan lapbooks umsami was talking about, it looks like it has some good stuff: http://tjramadan.talibiddeenjr.amana...com/index.html