Posted on by Daniela

Travel Hacks for Parents

Are you ready for your upcoming trip? Here are 7 hacks to make your travels a bit easier with little kids! In sha Allah/God willing.

1. Pack while kid(s) are sleeping.

Kids love to help especially when they are excited! For example, my lil’ one wanted to pack her own luggage and iron her own clothes. It can be a great teaching and bonding experience, hands down. At the same time, it slows the whole packing process down. Let them choose some outfits, iron a couple pieces. But when bedtime hits, that’s when packing gets serious. I got so much accomplished with uninterrupted time to think, plan and pack! Alhamdulillah/thank God.

2. Travel at night.

Yes, kids will be wired for a bit. The excitement is real now. They might even go to bed late! But at least bedtime is on the horizon in sha Allah/God willing. My kids fell asleep in the car on the way to the airport and my baby knocked out towards the end of the flight. Warning ⚠️ : Your child may get that second wind of energy! Mamas you know when its way past bedtime and they get that extra surge of energy. Yep. Be prepared!! But hey at least they’ll sleep in the next morning. Overall, sounds good to me!

3. Charge that tablet/ipad.

This kept my oldest pretty occupied. Access to games and movies, say no more. Don’t forget their headphones!

4. Pack non-spill cups.

Because who wants a spill, wet clothes or a kid crying over spilled juice! Let’s just say my baby was happily licking his sister’s cranberry juice off his chunky little fingers 😂 (side note: if you’re going on a plane, pack them empty and fill them up later because you can’t get through security with liquids unless you want them dipping test strips in your drink 😒)

5. Bring a few good kid books.

I bought 3 small baby books and this kept my son busy for a good amount of time. I just read them over and over and let him play with the pages. Black and white contrast books really grab his attention.

6. Pack you favorite snacks.

Whatever it is your kid loves to snack on, pack it! For us it was organic baby puffs and swedish fish among other things. It will keep your kids, and yourself, busy and happy!

7. Pack your covered goods nursing cover (even if you’re not nursing). This is a game changer!

Please get one of these! I wrapped it around my baby and I and inconspicuously changed his diaper right where I was sitting! How? Get the wipes and diaper ready. Stand your baby up on your lap. Pull the cover over the both of you and bada bing bada boom. Do everything under the cover. A stand up diaper change with privacy! It helps to have another adult next to you to secretly swipe wipes and diapers 😂 Also, it helps keep baby in place while sitting. Kept it wrapped around the both of us for a bit almost like a stretchy seat belt. Seriously its so multifunctional! Here is the link if you are interested: Covered Goods.

What has worked for you? Please let me know in the comments!

Posted on by Daniela · 2 Comments

A MultiFaith Family

I was hesitant to write this piece because talking about religion can be touchy for some people, but I want to show a different side. A side that embraces love over differences, respect over misunderstanding and coexistence over separation.

For my friends who are not muslim, here’s a quick 411. Some muslims choose to celebrate certain holidays among Ramadan and both Eids, and some muslims only celebrate the Islamic ones. There are different opinions regarding the dos and don’ts of some of them. Hence, the reason for such diversity. Allah (arabic for God) knows best.

Islam embraces family! Here are some examples:

1.Jannah lies under your mother’s feet. Treat yo mama with kindness, love and respect. No matter the differences you share, always be there for her and in sha Allah (arabic for God willing) you can earn your way into Jannah (arabic for paradise/heaven).

2.Keep the ties with kinship. Allah wants us to keep in touch with siblings and relatives. In doing so, we are pleasing the Almighty and it’s yet another way of working our way into Jannah, in sha Allah.

Amongst a family of different religions, one thing remains constant and that is the importance of family. It is easy to get caught up in each other’s differences. I’ve been there. Once those differences are put aside, there’s so much to enjoy.

Some things we do:

  • Family dinners once a month! We do it “potluck” style and take turns hosting. Sometimes we include a game. Some of our favorites are family fued (card game but it comes as a board game too), Kerplunk or heads-up (check out the app store).
  • Movie Night once a week. Invite different family members! For us its usually Grandma, but occasionally our neighbor or other members of the family. We do it at home, but you can switch it up and go to the theater!
  • Face-time! Skype! Video chat! Whatever you have access to. A lot of our family live out of state, so this makes a big difference for us. Even my sisters live out of state! So we do this as much as possible even if its just 5 minutes to say Hey! Whats up? Just Working. Have a great day. Love ya! Okay Bye! Ha

It took time to get to this point. Actions spoke louder than words. It was the simple, constant things that went a long way proving that though we are “different” we are still the same.