Uncategorized Archives - The Inside of Life

Testing 1, 2, 3

October 24, 2023December 1, 2023 Melissa AtLee

Hello world! Boy oh boy has it been a terribly long time since I’ve been here. I’ve missed you, dear blog. So what have I been up to in the last three years? Let’s see, for starters, I had a baby! Sweet baby #5 was born right smack in the middle of lockdown, and she’s turned out to be the greatest joy during a challenging time. She’s now a crazy toddler who gets into all kinds of trouble, including fishing out used Covid tests out of the garbage and drinking their contents (yup, that happened). I always said that I would love to have a baby while having teenagers in the house, and God being so good has made all my dreams come true.

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Education, Family, Kids, My favorite things, Uncategorized

My Favorite Things – Family Time, a trip to the Moon, Read, Read, Read and much more

April 5, 2019April 29, 2019 Melissa AtLee

Greetings! March has been a great month, not only because spring has finally arrived (only in name, perhaps, but I live in hope!), but also because many of our winter classes have come to a glorious end. This means that we have freed up some of our evenings and weekends to spend together as a family, playing board games and going on hikes. Ok, so we’ve only done one hike so far – that’s a picture of my hubby and daughter enjoying precious bonding time at Pefferlaw Creek Farms. But now that the weather is warming up (it WILL happen), we look forward to many more family hikes.

Here’s what I’ve been loving this past month:

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Marriage, Uncategorized

Marriage Saver #2: The Love Languages

March 25, 2019March 26, 2019 Melissa AtLee

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Have you heard about the Love Languages? Dr. Gary Chapman crystallized the concept in his iconic book The Five Love Languages . Seriously, every couple should own this book. It holds very important truths about how to love our spouses. My only regret is that it took us 10 years of marriage to find out about it!

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My favorite things, Uncategorized

My Favorite Things – a Ceili, Homeschooling news, Seth Godin and more

March 17, 2019April 29, 2019 Melissa AtLee

Spring is in the air. Spring is in the air. Spring is in the air. If I say it enough times it shall be true. Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

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One thing that I love about living in Canada is how crazy the weather gets. You can truly experience all 4 seasons in one month. I kid you not, this past February we have experienced antarctic temperatures, ice storms, snow storms, freezing rain, thunderstorms, and a few days of balmy spring weather. While in many places talking about the weather constitutes inane small talk, here it is the one topic which joins us crazy Canadians in solidarity. We shall survive! While we anxiously await the arrival of spring, I invite you to go through my fave stuff of the month.

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Marriage, Uncategorized

Introducing a new series: Marriage Savers

March 13, 2019March 17, 2019 Melissa AtLee

I love marriage. I love it on a personal level and as a societal institution. I wholeheartedly believe that happy, strong marriages are the foundation for a happy, strong society. It is through marriage that most of us are meant to find love, fulfillment and personal growth.

I also know that a great marriage, the one you really really want to have, takes hard work and dedication. A great marriage doesn’t just happen because a nice girl falls in love with a nice boy and they decide to embark on the ultimate journey together. It’s a great start, but it’s only the beginning. Then life happens, with all of its exciting and boring and in-between ups and downs. There are new jobs. Jobs lost. Money problems. New baby. Sleepless nights. Sickness. Relocations. Irrational toddlers. In-laws (or outlaws). Hormonal teenagers. New wrinkles and love handles. And that’s just the normal stuff.

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Kids, Uncategorized

Happy 12th birthday!

March 2, 2019March 19, 2019 Melissa AtLee

Can this precious little one really be 12 today?

Today is a very special day – my firstborn son turns 12. The cliche is so true – time goes by fast. On this special occasion I find myself reminiscing back to that moment when I found out I was pregnant. We had struggled with infertility for 3.5 years, which is not a long time but long enough. I remember bursting into tears as soon as I saw that blue line appear. Then I fell to my knees, thanking God for giving me the miracle of new life.

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Education, Kids, Uncategorized

10 Things I Hate about Homeschooling

February 23, 2019March 17, 2019 Melissa AtLee

Ok, maybe “hate” is too strong a verb. It’s more like “10 things I struggle with and would like to get better at”, but it’s not quite as catchy. The simple truth is, for all the amazing things that homeschooling brings to the table, it’s super hard. I have wanted to quit so many times that it’s become a bit of a (tiresome) joke for my husband. Some seasons I feel like it’s nothing but struggles. Struggling to get the kids going in the morning. To get them to start their school work. To focus on their schoolwork. To stop picking fights. To get their feet off the table and their fingers out of their noses. All the while, the dirty dishes are piling up, the fridge is empty and I don’t remember the last time I exercised.

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Education, Kids, My favorite things, Uncategorized

My Favorite Things – a Podcast for Parents of Boys, a Homeschooling Documentary, Poldark and more

February 6, 2019April 29, 2019 Melissa AtLee

It’s been so cold that Niagara Falls has frozen over. How cool is that. Tara Walton/The Canadian Press/AP

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January in the northern hemisphere, especially if it gets arctic-level cold like it did last week, is the perfect month to hibernate – reading books, listening to podcasts, and bingeing on shows. In other words, January can be an introvert’s paradise. Count me in.

In no particular order, these have been my fave things this month:

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Family, Kids, Marriage, Self-care, Uncategorized

New in 2019: Resolutions

February 2, 2019May 22, 2019 Melissa AtLee

Happy New Year!
Photo by Roven Images on Unsplash

I have never been into making resolutions. It’s probably because I have such a poor track record of accomplishing big goals that the last thing I need is a visual reminder of all the goals I’m not “crushing”. Over the last year or two, however, I’ve felt the need to become more intentional about my life. Perhaps it’s because I recently joined the 40s club, and it’s given me an existential crisis – where am I, where have I been and where am I going? Or perhaps it’s because my kids are getting older and I’m no longer on survival mode. Therefore I have more time to reflect and make some longer term goals. Whatever the reason, making resolutions for this new year is making sense to me. You can tell I’m new at this, for it’s already the end of January and I’m still in goal setting mode. Oh well. Baby steps! So here they are – many of them are half-baked but I won’t let that stop me!

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Education, Family, Kids, Uncategorized

Ten Things I love about homeschooling

January 28, 2019March 25, 2019 Melissa AtLee

Our glorious skiing holiday. One of the many perks of homeschooling!

My family just returned from a glorious week skiing in Tremblant, Quebec. I’m currently on my 17^th load of laundry and I’m praying that the washing machine gods have my back. Skiing in January has become an annual tradition for my family and extended family – 13 and counting. We all love to ski and now our kids are quickly becoming avid skiers. To those of you who just have little kids at home – hang in there! Before you know it, your kids will be able to join you in all the activities you enjoyed pre-kids. Soon after that they’ll be leaving you in the dust (or snow). It’s beyond delightful watching them grow in skill and independence.

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