My Son is Sick Today, & I'm So Thankful...

My son is sick today.

I mean really sick. If he isn't sleeping on the couch, as he is right now, he's rolling on the floor clutching his belly between bouts of vomiting and diarrhea. He's crying and moaning in pain and all I can do is rub his back and tell him he'll be okay.

While I am doing that I look around. at our comfortable tiny home. I have everything I need to take care of him here. I have privacy & comfort. Something many families, many children, don't have.

I had a rough adolescence that I rarely talk about. At nine years old my life changed dramatically. Over the next ten years I lived in three orphanages and more than twenty one foster homes. I slept on the streets. I went to bed hungry. I cried myself to sleep. I spent 6 months locked in a tiny 6x6 room with no sunlight and no one but God to comfort me.

But right now, at this moment as I'm reminded of that I'm thankful. I'm thankful for the beautiful family and home that God has given me right now. I'm thankful for the painful things that gave me the ability to appreciate even the ability to walk outside in safety.

One child. One bedroom. No car. Very little money. We are impoverished by American standards, but by my own count we're on top.

I have so much.

Namaste,
Ani

My Newest Kitchen Gadget

I bought a tortilla press! I love tortillas and flatbreads but I don't have much counterspace so rolling them out never quite happens the way I'd like. Enter the tortilla press. Super nifty, you just section your dough, roll into balls and insert between the two cast iron plates.

I made flatbread to go with my leftover falafel this morning. Yum!

Namaste,
Ani

School Valedictorian Tells Us What She REALLY Thinks About Public Education

Free iPad Apps: ABC Phonics

I went to the app store yesterday to find some new phonics apps for my son -- we're learning to read and can use all of the help we can get, and stumbled across this nifty app.

My printer is broken (read: I am too lazy to reinstall the drivers) so I wanted a word tracing activity that he could do digitally. You can have kids trace with their finger, but we use a stylus to simulate the experience of writing by hand.

So far he loves it and I think we're going to buy the full version.

The free version has limited functionality and ads at the top.

Here' a screenshot of some of the other apps we use & love. Music, drawing and reading are our focus right now. :)

Namaste,
Ani

Sunday in the Park

Today was absolutely beautiful so we headed to the park bright and early. So early that we were the only ones there for about an hour! My son & a friend's kids played in the sandbox while I took a much needed solitary stroll along the park paths.

Namaste,
Ani

Spring Products for My Etsy Shop

Just popping in to say hi. I've been super busy lately creating some wonderful new spring products for my Etsy shop -- scarves & hats aren't big sellers in the warmer months!

So far I've got a Yoga Mat Bag for those of us looking to get into shape. Circular & Rectangular market bags. A super cute crocheted Mesh Hat perfect for locs or big hair. And a few hand crocheted hair pins.

Also, I'm doing custom orders again so just drop me a line.

Namaste,
Ani