Word on the Street with Stephanie

Having just submitted my final assignment for this online course, I can finally say that I'm finished! I have already worked out my lowest possible grade (yes I realize that makes me a nerd, don't judge) and have concluded that, barring some major error on my part, I will definitely be passing this course. I cannot even describe the relief I feel. I have already warned my family and friends that should I ever mention taking an online course in the near future, they are more than welcome to remind me of all the late-nights, the seven weeks I have spent riddled with anxiety and the lack of time I had for EVERYTHING except this course. I realize that, as an educator, I have committed to being a lifelong learner and will have to take other courses in the future but it will be a looooong time before I walk the plank again. Now if you'll excuse me, it's 9pm and I have a date with my television.

I know I know, I've been slacking on my posts. Well get in line because I've been slacking on just about everything besides feeding my child. My course will be done in 12 days and I can finally start enjoying my summer. I also really need to catch up on house chores. Baseboards, windows and floors oh my! If only sleeping was optional! Then I would be able to fit everything in. I sure hope this course helps me land a teaching job. With the upcoming election I can only hope things go my way (for a change). Otherwise I will have wasted a lot of time, effort and money and will need a career change before I've even started. I swear I'm through complaining. My family is happy and healthy and that's all that matters. Plus I'm kicking ass in this course :)

It's official! I am terrible at time management. On top of taking care of my infant daughter and running a household, I decided to take a course that will hopefully get me onto an occasional teaching list. In my head I assumed I could sit down to do homework during nap times and it would be a breeze. I...was....wrong. But don't tell my husband I said that! In my head it worked out perfectly and I would be able to stay on top of everything. I figured that when I needed a break from doing work I could get up, stretch and fold a load of laundry. In reality, I scheduled nearly every minute of my day and, let's be serious, who thinks doing laundry is a "break"? When I get fed up of being on the computer what I really want to do is watch a few minutes of tv or log onto one of my social media outlets and see what's happening in the outside world. I just have to make it through one more month and then this course will be finished. Until then, laundry and housework w...

At some point, I decided that it would be a good idea to take another course. I am currently earning my certification in teaching at the Senior level. It is online and I thought that, with proper time management, it would be a piece of cake. It is not. There is a lot of work to do and although it isn't my first online course, it is my first since having a baby. Her nap time used to be "me" time. I could sit down, eat and just relax but for the next 7 weeks or so, as soon as my daughter is sleeping my bum needs to be firmly planted at my desk, doing work. It isn't enough to simply keep up with the course work. I never know when we are going to have a bad day so I am doing everything possible to stay ahead of the course work, just in case. I just have to keep reminding myself of the bigger picture: it is only a few weeks and once I am finished I will have increased my chances of getting hired by a school board. In the meantime, I am encouraging my loved ones to stay...

I don't know what it is about the month of May but regardless of how the weather has been, I expect nothing but blue skies and sunshine. I realize that we are behind in the weather department this year but I'm ready for some sun already! My daughter is finally at an age where I can do stuff with her like put her on a swing at the park and we have had very few days this year where I've been able to do that. I made the mistake of checking the forecast and all I see is rain, rain and more rain and it's got me in a bit of a slump. What do you do when the weather refuses to cooperate?

As a a soon-to-be stay at home mom I have come up with some simple yet effective ways to stay on top of our budget. I have found that we get accustomed to having access to all of our funds via debit and credit cards, which can make it difficult to reign in our spending. To combat this, my husband and I have developed a system that works pretty well for us. We sit down together once a week and review our spending habits, pay our bills and plot our income on a graph (my husband is in construction and is considered self-employed, therefore every pay cheque is different). We have also learned to use cash whenever possible. We decide how much we will need for gas, groceries and "life" and take the cash out of the bank. When that cash is gone, we are done. We are not allowed to take out more mid-week so planning is key. Of course there are emergencies that come up but we deal with those on an individual basis. As far as coffee money and other small issues are concerned, it's ...

Today my husband and I are attending a children's safety workshop along with some other family members. It is important to us that we both know what to do in the event of an emergency. My daughter gags and chokes quite often as she tries new foods and textures and I lovingly tease my husband for the way he panics. Some babies are great with new foods and some are not. Ours is the latter. She loves food and is always interested in trying out what we're eating but the second it is in her mouth she will either gag or try stuffing her mouth with as much food as she can get her hands on. I'm afraid I will be breaking her food into tiny pieces until she is an adult. Admittedly, it is scary to watch your child gag and choke but they almost always cough it up on their own. I have become quite efficient at scooping slimy bits of food out of her mouth with my fingers. My husband, however, gets wide-eyed and starts jumping around without really doing anything to help. I have my fin...