Yesterday (Thursday) was a lovely day. First off to Swiss Cottage (which is an area of NW London, not a house in the style of an alpine chalet - although there is one of those near the tube station). Met up with a friend outside the newly refurbished library & sports centre and reminisced about the old sports centre, which used to offer a Saturday session for Muslim ladies in their small swimming pool. The whole issue of modesty is hugely misunderstood by non-muslims, who manage to simultaneously hold several contradictory positions on the subject as soon as Islam or Muslims are mentioned. But enough of that for now.

From there we walked to St. John's Wood where there is a lovely children's playground (oddly enough in the middle of a cemetery). The kids ran around, climbed the wooden structures, got pushed on the swings and generally had a fine old time while us 2 mums caught up with our news.

We walked to the nearby Central Mosque for lunch in their basement restaurant - my friend is not a Muslim and was a bit hesitant at first at the idea of going to the mosque, but I managed to persuade her that it would be fine. And thank God it was - mosques are public buildings and meant to be welcoming to non-Muslims, but unfortunately you will sometimes come across the odd screwball with time on his hands hanging around dying to assert his imaginary authority. There were lots of people at the masjid but no screwballs thank God and we had a nice lunch, until my youngest 2 started running around the restaurant causing havoc so we tidied up and left. There was plenty of food left so we packed it up and took it with us - it's haram (forbidden) to waste food.

We parted outside the masjid and I walked the kids home - it's a bit of a walk but I do love walking, even though Zeno complained almost all the way home that he was 'tired' - funny that because the minute we got home he was tearing up and down the hallway with the toy buggy, and bouncing off the walls. As usual. Zudie and Boudie were also pretty lively for a while but had an early night.

Abuzeno is studying at the moment for his PCV and LGV theory tests so I went over some questions with him until my voice gave out. But he's doing well masha'Allah I think he will pass the tests without a problem.

Right now, Friday 1pm - Boudie (22 mo) is having a nap, Zudie (3yo) is playing and Zeno is doing some maths. we're working specifically on sums involving money, and learning the time. I thought he would learn to tell the time a lot quicker than this but, alhamdulillah anyway, it's a bit of a slow process. Although he is very bright masha'Allah, he only concentrates if it is something that interests him - and maths just doesn't interest him. When we started home educating I thought we would do an hour of maths, an hour of science, etc. etc. Well that didn't work. He lost interest after about 2 minutes and thereafter refused to cooperate despite threats and bribes. These days (2 years later) we spend 10 or 20 minutes on each subject. But then throughout the day we talk about different things and a lot of learning takes place informally, as they say.

I can't believe what a compulsive talker he is - at his age you would have been lucky to get 2 words out of me, but a constant stream of words come out of Zeno's mouth, and he provides a running commentary along with everything he does. I still don't like talking overmuch, and what with this non-stop conversation going on, as well as 2 lively toddlers currently in the throes of potty-training, I find it a bit stressful not to have any time for just sitting and thinking. insha'Allah that'll be something for my old age.