Good News!

Life is settling down and we are getting in to a new rhythm. Everyone is just about healthy. Jon and Livi have a little bit of a lingering cough. Jon is going back to the office after working from home a lot last week. I don't mind him working at home one or two days at a time but nearly a whole week is a little much. It throws off our schedule and revs up the kids for Daddy's attention when he has to work. 

By the end of this month our schedule gets busy again. I never though we would be "that" family. You know the kind that has each kid in some sort of extra curricular activities every night and is running around to get to them all. I didn't mean to. It all just creeped up on us. Everything fits in really well and we get some funding for a lot of it so we aren't even out much financially! I'm feeling pretty blessed! A lot of the reason that I let it get so busy is because I obviously want the best for my girls and want them to have every opportunity. For Sofie, I feel like I'm doing catch up. She was so deprived for so long we want her to benefit from all there is to offer. Everything she is in has a purpose and they just happened to happen at the same time. Maybe she'll nap better now that she is busier!

Livi is in preschool Tuesday's and Thursday's. Wednesday morning she has Dance. A half hour after Livi's Dance, Sofie has an Occupational Therapy play group through the CDC for 6 weeks and is only costing us $10 for materials. Thursday's, starting again after Easter, Sofie has her Music Together class which is SUCH AMAZING therapy for Sofie for we will be continuing this as long as she needs. Thankfully, half the cost is getting subsidized by the Lower Mainland Down Syndrome Society! Saturday's are busy though. At 10:30am both girls have swim lessons. Livi is entering her first swim level and Sofie and I are going to be in a Parent and Tot class. Hopefully, I'll get a week or two off though and Jon can take Sofie so I can watch Livi! Sofie's lesson's will also be half covered by  the LMDSS. Then Saturday afternoon Sofie has Special Olympics ActiveStart which is basically fun therapy to help her learn to run and jump! This only costs $20! Awesome! 

I have some super amazing news for the girls! Remember my preschool dilemma? Well it was all fixed today! We decided a while ago to put Livi in 3 year old preschool, two days a week when she was 3.5 years old. She started in February. She goes to the school around the corner from us. It is a little chaotic and she is already above the curriculum they teach the four year old's, but we decided on it for purely social reasons. We wanted her to develop a bit socially. Today, I just go word that we got the money to send both girls to the Montessori school that we really wanted was way out of our price range! With Sofie's special needs top up we are only going to be paying $60 per month for both girls together! (Not each!) The girls will only be going 3 days a week, rather than the schools desired 4, but that was our choice. We didn't even apply for 4 days of funding. I don't think any of us are ready for 4 days a week yet, plus Sofie only gets an aid paid for 3 days a week. 

I am so excited for them. Thank you Child Subsidy! I have high hopes for this school and it has a great reputation. They are going to challenge Livi academically, while going at her own pace as the Montessori style is known for. It is calm and very structured, which is the kind of environment that Sofie will thrive in, plus they regularly use sign language! I also liked how they teacher approached Sofie. She shook her hand and talked to her, where the teacher at Livi's current school frequently babies her a bit. I don't mind her getting babied. She needs it right now. But, from a teacher who knows she is almost 4 years old I really appreciated the age appropriate response. 

We are finally just about all caught up with our finances, after being so far out with lagging medical bills from before Sofie had her Care Card and the transition and wait times for pay periods from Jon being on parental leave and returning from work thanks to our tax return! We will also finally be getting the disability supplement we've been waiting for. It will be a monthly payment but it work retroactively too! Yay! We are finally out of our line of credit... That is not to say we are out of debt! We still owe on most of the adoption and Jon's school loans. It never ends. But, tonight I am feeling less stressed about out money. We can finally redo our will to include the Henson Trust which we need for Sofie and I can get the crown I've been in need of but couldn't afford for a few months! Some will be put aside for a small vacation this summer and the rest will be off to debt... Waaa waaa.