Almost half way through this Ramadan... so quick! Days are passing by in a hurry, waiting for none, making us think whether we are taking full advantage of these precious days... Alhamdulillah, I am so pleased that just like last time, Rasha is taking her fasts this year as well. Last year, she managed to hold on to 13 fasts, as we didn't want to pressurize her and allowed her to go one on and one off. But this time, even though we didn't force her, she was mighty excited about the month of fasting. It gives me, as a parent, so much joy when I find that she has no hassles waking up as early as 3:45 am to have her cup of milk with cereals or a bread sandwich, and a few dates as suhoor. She quickly eats whatever is kept in front of her, drinks down a glass of water since I pester her much to her dislike and quietly waits for the call of prayer - Azaan - of Fajr, so that she can finish her prayers and go off to complete her sleep. By the way, as Muslims, we are told to make our children start praying at the age of 7. Even though she sometimes feels really lazy, this Ramadan I am trying to inculcate in her a habit of praying all her five times daily, which she is slowly catching up, Alhamdulillah.... She goes with umma for the special Ramadan prayers - Tharaweeh to the mosque, while I catch up mine at home with Azza around. Azza also sometimes wants to try fasting, since she sees her thaatha refraining from food, but then she's too small to start! This time, Ramadan is during her summer vacations, so Rasha is able to manage, however from next year onwards, InShaAllah, the month will have a few days into the calendar year. Will have to wait and watch to see how she will manage. That reminds me that the Ramadans I remember as a child was always at school, with shortened school timings. Unfortunately, my memory has become so bad that I really don't remember how I used to feel at that time, to explain it to Rasha and Azza, and yes, how sad I feel about the same...
I guess after having written a lot about Rasha's fasting, I thought I will share what she loves to drink during Iftars. She always gets excited about the food that is served. Normally I refrain from frying but since she is fasting everyday, umma is making it a point to make something or the other to keep her motivation high. Along with that, we make a juice everyday for her to add on to the excitement. She loves to have her mangoes juiced more than cut, so we have mango juice every second day. This one is just with a little twist - a cinnamony punch. Though she makes faces because of the slight variation in the taste, she still gulps it down! :)
Mango Cinnamon Milkshake
Serve 3
Ingredients:
1 large mango, peeled and chopped
1 cup cold milk
1 cup cold water
2 tbsp honey
1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
Method:
Add all the ingredients in a blender and blitz till smooth. Serve in glasses immediately and relish!!!
Notes:
1. You can substitute honey with sugar.
2. You can skip the cinnamon to make it a normal milkshake
3. You can use full milk instead of milk and water to make a bit more richer
Sending this post off to
Lail's Ramadan Link-in Party... so glad to be a part of it, dear... :)
Meanwhile, please do not forget to check out our ongoing event,
Ahlan Ramadan with giveaways... do participate to win the exciting prizes!!! :)
