After spending over an hour talking to my mom on the phone yesterday - I’m very grateful to have such a wonderful mom! 
In continuing my weekly gratitude - this week (and every week really) I’m grateful for my husband. I was truly blessed with a wonderful husband. I often take for granted how wonderful my husband is. He’s not perfect but he’s perfect for me. He’s always been considerate and helpful - he loves to cook which is an awesome bonus! More importantly, he loves me for me - flaws and all (well, at least I believe he does because I’m such a difficult person I can’t imagine he would stay married to me if he didn’t - LOL). So, despite my occasional gripe I still truly appreciate and admire my husband for the man and father he is.
I’ve recently learned from an awesome book, The Emotional Toolkit: Seven Power-Skills to Nail your Bad Feelings that having a gratitude journal is one way to increase one’s happiness. I wholeheartedly understand why acknowledging those things for which you are grateful for is so important to happiness... oftentimes it’s the little things that matter and recognizing those can be just as important. 
Today started off fairly great. I was able to workout for an hour - of course Ilyas had to cause trouble in the middle of my workout and made a mini pool out of the kitchen - so that stressed me out a little. I was able to take a shower and then run some errands. I came home, had some satisfying sushi - I even refrained from eating all of the sushi in one sitting and only ate half and saved the other half for dinner. I was proud of myself! I did have a couple extra pieces of the kid’s sushi because I couldn’t resist but overall, not bad. 
I've been bad! At the beginning of the year I started my "getting fit" journey and was doing phenomenally well for a few months - I was exercising every day and eating healthy... then I got really sick and my journey took a 2 month detour. Unfortunately I ended up gaining more weight than I had lost! It was a low blow to say the least. However, I take ownership for the downfall and I'm going to get back on track.
I understand the value and importance of anonymity. However, I don’t understand why people insist on the cowardice of hiding behind the face of anonymity to say nasty things. I distinctly remember being taught, “If you don’t have anything nice to say don’t say anything at all.” 
Ingredients
Buying Jeans for Aaliyah is challenging at best. Her fluffy little tummy and the fact she prefers low rise jeans makes it difficult to find good fitting jeans that aren't too tight around her bum (she has a terrible plummer's crack problem). I oftentimes have to buy jeans 2 sizes too big in order for them to fit her correctly - which are ultimately too long as they were meant for 7 or 8 year olds with longer legs.
Fish Tacos are a big Southern California/Baja California "thing" - they are quick, easy and oh so delicious!
The joys of children are oftentimes mistaken for the most frustrating moments. Ilyas is mama's little "helper." Of course his version of helping is almost always trouble and results in more work for me. 
I'm so proud of Aaliyah! She has already finished her math for the entire year and she will be starting her first grade math curriculum shortly. 
This is Aaliyah’s favorite dish. Most days she’s not very interested in eating meat unless it’s accompanied by a sauce she really likes - thankfully, she LOVES this sauce.
Henry Thoreau once wrote, “For every thousand hacking at the leaves of evil, there is one striking at the root.” 
In a nutshell - homeschooling is one great adventure! I like to believe that children learn from the moment they are born; life, itself, is one BIG learning experience. So, technically, we’ve been “homeschooling” since birth!
If you want to learn more about the program we're using visit the K12 website I highly recommend their program thus far!
As previously mentioned in my “about me” opening – I have been formally diagnosed with a mental illness. Considering my reader base is all of about 5 people or less I feel comfortable enough to be candid, after all, being able to talk about it helps me cope. 
Years ago I used to sew my own clothes... When I was pregnant with my daughter I started a baby quilt for her, which I have yet to finish (primarily because Aaliyah decided to arrive 3 weeks ahead of schedule and I never had a chance to learn ho to finsih the quilt). Once I started working from home in 2009 my first "big purchase" with the money I earned was for a fancy schmany new serger (because my old one died in the middle of a project). I fell in love with sewing all over again. My next big splurge was on a new top of the line embroidery/sewing machine - it's a sewing dream come true! 
Next to writing, if there’s one thing I can do and do it well, it’s cooking and baking!
For those who know me - you know I'm a Muslim... and for those who are only acquainted with me then you may know that I'm a Muslim but you may not know much else about how I became Muslim (when, how, where, and why)... Well, it's a fairly long story but an interesting one and I'd be happy to share the story if you're interested in hearing it - just let me know! 
Madness, as a noun, is defined as:
