Happy New Year!

I hope everyone has a very happy, healthy and safe new year started!

This year my family is going through several changes all at once. First our little dude is blasting into his toddlerhood at about 30,000 miles per hour. We have entered the world of tantrums, meltdowns, independence and exploration at full tilt. While it is amazing to watch him learn and grow, it also scares the crap out of me most of the time. One of the plans for this blog, while exploring the joys of motherhood, is also to be a resource for other homeschooling moms. In the coming years I will be posting units and activities I will create for different areas of education, finally putting my teaching degree to good use! One of the things that draws me towards homeschooling is the room for creativity it provides and the ability to create lessons around what the child is already interested in rather than a premade curriculum designed for thousands of children to follow simply because they are the same age. I intend to start soon with early childhood/head start type activities. I am hoping to begin sensory bins soon, but my little guy is cutting his last incisors now and everything is going in the mouth.
My world has changed a bit as my work situation has changed. After my son was born I changed jobs to be able to be home more when I realized he had no connection to me anymore because I was gone so much. For a little over a year I worked as a BHP with children and family in their homes and in the community. It was a wonderful job that I enjoyed, but of course life happens. I have difficulty driving sometimes in the Maine winters due to my anxiety and I was trying to figure out how to change positions before winter when my partner's care caught fire randomly. We were not going to be able to afford another car and his job is mostly driving so he has to have a vehicle. I switched my focus to working as a cashier at a store close to home and he took over my vehicle to continue working. Working less hours and being home more does actually save some money to offset what I'm not earning as well as only keeping one vehicle running. As an added bonus, I am home with Seth for the most part and of course I will need that time for homeschooling as well as our next adventure of potty training.
Lastly, my partner has been dealing with some serious health issues that have been difficult and scary for us as a family. I'll spare the details but for the last few months he has been in and out of hospitals with heart attack symptoms while being consistently told there was nothing wrong with his heart and they weren't sure what was causing them, "but if it happens again come back." Finally we seem to be getting closer to an answer having to do with a hiatal hernia that he has as well as possibly some issues with his gallbladder.
My hope for this year for my family is health and happiness.