Usually in Ramadan we are overwhelmed with invites to gather and spend iftar or suhoor with our friends or other families in the community. This year is a bit different though since we have been sick multiple times and have exams and other work obligations. We did get an invite we couldn’t turn down, though. Last year we took the kids to the sprinkler park and ended up meeting a lovely family when there. They came here from Michigan 2 years ago, but are originally from Yemen. They’ve a friendly, down-to-Earth family. Their middle school sons were so excited to meet my husband and speak Arabic ..read more

A really neat thing happened this year. The three Abrahamic religions had an overlapping festive season. Ramadan for Muslims, Pesach for Jews, and Easter for Christians all overlapped and happened at the same time. Ramadan is the longest of these, lasting for 30 days. At the end of Ramadan, we get to celebrate Eid-Al-Fitr. Every year I like to make little treat bags and hand out to all the children at the mosque and the kids daycare. Sometimes it gets a bit expensive because candy costs a lot. Lucky for me, the stores have marked down all the leftover Easter candy. I probably bought 20+ pounds ..read more

Sometimes when you aren’t born into a religion, you really feel like you’re messing everything up. There have been many times where I feel stupid, like I don’t know what I am doing, and even like I don’t belong. It’s really difficult to cope with at times. True, I did marry into a muslim family which is helpful, but I always feel that I am lacking. But I am clearly doing something right with my kids. Sometimes I feel like I am overcompensating because I try to force as much knowledge as I can down their throats to make up for my lack of knowledge. I don’t want them to feel the way I do- I want ..read more

Last year I tried to incorporate as much media as I could find about Ramadan since it was the kids first Ramadan outside of KSA. One favorite we found was Ramadan Moon by Yusuf Islam which says “Now it’s time again for Eid, Ramadan ran with speed.” I feel that so hard. I cannot believe it’s more than halfway over. I feel like it just started a few days ago and now we are more than halfway done. Honestly it’s been a very chaotic one. I started the month battling a respiratory illness that lasted for over 2 weeks. My mom had pneumonia. Mamdouh took some time off work to devote to his studies, bu ..read more

Ya know, I’m finally coming to realize some days in Ramadan are much smoother than others. Some days we pull out the traditional garb and cook up an entire feast, or we go to visit our friends or spend time in the masjid. Other days, however, we sit alone in the Aldi parking lot and drink off brand apple juice directly from the bottle. Today was the latter. I’m thirsty, y’all. While on the topic of Aldi, I learned something super cool. Did you know they have halal meat? Not all of it, but almost all of their lamb is halal. It’s always nice to find affordable, easily accessible halal meat. It’s ..read more

As many of you know, it’s Mamdouhs first Ramadan outside of Saudi. He was unsure of what to expect but was definitely stressed because the fasting times are much longer here than there. While they’re breaking their fasts around 6, we’re waiting til closer to 8. I know two hours doesn’t sound like a huge difference, but when you’re so thirsty you want to cry it really feels like an eternity. One thing I’ve been telling him is that while we fast longer here, it’s so much easier than fasting in Saudi. The minute I step outside in Riyadh I feel like I need to drink 7 bottles of water. The hot, dry ..read more

Moving from a hugely diverse area like Riyadh to a small, largely homogeneous area like WV hasn’t been the easiest transition. True, I grew up here and am thankful that I blend in; however, it doesn’t stop me from worrying about my children and husband. Is there enough positive representation of other races here? Do my children ever feel some type of way cause they are the only non-white kids? Are they the only Arab kids around? Do they realize this? I encourage frequent play dates with other Muslim, Arab, and Hausa children so that my children can have that exposure to their culture from many ..read more

Ramadan this year looks a little different for Mamdouh- it’s his first Ramadan outside of Saudi and away from his family. If you know me you probably already know that I am obsessed with that man, and want nothing more than for him to be happy here even though I know this is probably a difficult adjustment for him. I know he’s probably starting to get really homesick, so I decided to surprise him by making one of his favorite traditional dishes, lugaimat. The thing is, I have never made it before. I’ve eaten a lot, but never actually cooked it. And I’m not sure what went wrong- I’m really not ..read more

Recently while scrolling through my phone to find a photo a took a while ago I stumbled across photos from last Ramadan. It was a bit jarring to think that it’s already been an entire year because it feels like it just happened yesterday and now we are in Ramadan again. (And here I am blogging again.) Last Ramadan I was so prepared- everything was a bit over compensatory, even. Mamdouh and the kids and I were living in different countries, and I didn’t want us to feel like we missed out on any part of the holy month due to the separation. It was difficult and overwhelming, but I didn’t want th ..read more

I’m ashamed to admit I didn’t know the difference between Kimbap and Sushi till  I met Susie ..read more