Finding JOY in SCHOOL!

Look at that cute little stinker!! This picture is pretty accurate at portraying her personality. :)

Sometimes I have a really hard time thinking of things to do with her that keep her busy and learning! Aaron and I had been talking to a while about what we could do for her. We now live in the country in a rented home, and Aaron has our only car so he can get to school. So I am generally stuck at home with her most days--and with it being winter time, that means cabin fever.

But, even if we lived in the city, there isn't a whole lot offered for Terrah's age (she'll be 3 April 18th) which means I really have to be and do everything for her. And...it's exhausting! If you've ever met my daughter, you'd know what I mean! :) She's great, has lots of energy and a love of life, but dang... sometimes I need some help!

Then I remembered when I was younger my mom had done something called Joy School with me. I remember really liking it! So I started investigating it again, and I love the routine it has, and the values it teaches! It seemed like the sort of thing I needed to help me with Terrah. I also thought it would be a good practice run to see if doing Home School is something I'm cut out for! :)

So, a few weeks ago I signed up with them! It's a very reasonable price, I think, and they give you so much! Everything is online, which is great--I can pick and choose what I want to print. They give you music to help you teach your child...just lots!  The idea of Joy School is that you do it with other moms with kids (ages 3-6), and rotate weeks of who does the two hour class. I would love to do that, but without a car, that's not an option for me!

So, if you're in my area and would like to have your kid in Joy School, let me know! I'd love to have other kids come so Terrah has some more human interaction than just with me, and it's always fun with more people! :)

To learn more about Joy School, you can go to their website: Joy School

If you're thinking of joining up, let me know and I'll give you my username--it will help me out! :)

I'm very excited to start this! I'm adding a few more things to my plate lately (With my other weight loss blog, Do My Socks Match) But I feel confident that with Aaron and other family and friends supporting me that I can do it, and do it well! 

So I'm a little behind…

Hello everyone! I just found the blogger app, and thought I would update!! It's been almost three years since my last post. Haha! So I won't try to update on everything! Just key points.

1. Sleep
…is a precious thing. And after 4 months of Terrah being with us, it was almost a forgotten thing! My sinus infection was still with me, despite people telling me it would go away once Terrah was born. Terrah became a bad sleeper. I couldn't lay down and breathe-- I was dependant on NyQuil to get any amout of sleep.

And thus we struggled for over a year of life. Blah!

2. Adjusting to life as a mother
…has not been as easy a transition as I thought it would be, to be honest. It's been a much bigger challenge than it thought it would. I realize that that is connected to experiencing post partum depression, as well as not sleeping-- but man, people were not kidding when they told me motherhood would be the hardest job I would have! Suddenly, showers were a luxury. Changing out of my pjs and into any other clothing was dressing up. I was spending 6+ hours again with my sleeping baby (always trying to get some sleep when she did, I slept with her. It rarely worked. ) my life had changed so completely, I struggled for a while trying to rediscover myself.

But, for the most part, I couldn't imagine my life any other way. I remembered what my life was like when I could just call up a friend and go out for the night, or sit and read a book for hours without interruption…but I didn't want it back. I loved the newborn baby laying over my shoulder, smelling the way only new babies can smell. I loved the baby that was so proud when she learned to roll over, and always had a ready and happy smile. I love this toddler with a thirst for life and going past. I love this child who loves her daddy, grandparents, cousins, and babies so much. I love the challenge that she is for me and for all she is teaching me, and I love that she will be my baby for all eternity!

3. New skills!
The first exciting thing I learn was photoshop. When Terrah was about 7 months old or so, I started itching to learn something new. I was feeling lost, and needed to pick up a new hobby. Photoshop was great! I've always been interested in photography , but we couldn't afford a camera, so I learned how to use photoshop tore touch pictures I did has, as well as learning more with digital scrap booking. It's something I continue to do and love :)

The second skill I picked up was sewing. When my sister in law, holly, was expecting her baby girl, I wanted to make her baby something, but didn't know how. I've always had a love of blankets, especially quilts, and my sister Tami was big into making car seat covers for infants, so I asked my mom if she would teach me how to sew (since my sister lives in Utah-- boo!!)
Let me tell you, that machine was so scary! And cutting up such beautiful fabric made me want to run and hide! I've always had a fear of starting new things and then having them not turn out they way I wanted--so I rarely took on new challenges. But becoming a mom made me want to over come my fears, and I wanted to be able to make lovely things for people they could treasure. Anyway, I love holly's car seat cover so much, that I decided I wanted to make and sell them. I did a mom to mom show I St. Catharines, however, two days before the show I came down with a horrible flu. I did the show anyway, but didn't sell the amount of car seat covers I had hoped to. The sewing went on hold for a while--not because I was disappointed, but because I had sewn every nap time and night for over a month. I just needed a break. :) but I'm back at sewing now, and love it! I now find that once scary and intimidating hobby RELAXING. :) and yah, I make cute stuff :)

Well; that's update #1! See you in another 3 years :)