Just Ask
advice, ideas & inspiration for families

February 2015

Baby Sign Language classes ~ Register early ~ Space is limited
 
Introductory Workshops for those just starting out    
Saturday, February 7, 3:00 - 4:30 at Kaiser Permanente, Redwood City
Tuesday, February 24, 12:45 - 2:15 at DayOne Baby, Palo Alto
Saturday, February 28, 10:30 - 12:00 at San Carlos Recreation Department
Saturday, March 7, 10:00 - 11:30 at Healthy Horizons, San Mateo/Burlingame
Six-Day Playgroup Series once your baby is around six months and older
Saturdays, February 21 - March 28, 3:00 - 4:00 Zoom at Kaiser Permanente, Redwood City
Tuesdays, March 3 - April 17, 12:00 - 1:00 Boom at Blossom Birth, Palo Alto
Saturdays, March 21 - April 25, 10:45 - 11:45 Zoom at Blossom Birth, Palo Alto

In This Issue
Happy Valentine's Day!
Paul McCartney's
Paul McCartney's "My Valentine" featuring
Natalie Portman

Here's a gift for you ...

 Wishing you and your family a sweet and love-filled
Valentine's Day.

Bill, Kathleen and the
Touch Blue Sky family of instructors, coaches and
massage therapists

Teach Baby Sign Language!
TeachBabySigns
Do you love baby sign language and enjoy sharing your enthusiasm for signing  with other families?

Are you looking for an fun way to bring in extra income?

Do you like leading groups in
activities, songs, and signs?

We're looking for eager and engaging part-time independent contractor teachers to add to our network of instructors who teach at hospitals, parent resource centers, and homes throughout the greater San Francisco Bay Area.  

About Us
Family Photo
Touch Blue Sky is the collaborative work of the husband/wife team of Kathleen Harper and Bill White.

We help parents live with more joy by illuminating new ways to nurture, communicate, and connect with themselves, each other, and their children. We love to share what excites us with families throughout the Bay Area and beyond, including sign language programs for families and children of all ages, and one-on-one life coaching sessions and workshops for moms.

For more information, please visit the Touch Blue Sky website and feel free to contact us with any questions.

We look forward to seeing you soon!

Take care,

Bill White
Sign Language Director

Kathleen Harper

Certified Life Coach/
Program Director

Join Our Mailing List
Visit our blog



Like us on Facebook
Kathleen / Mommy Mentor


Like us on Facebook
Bill / Sign Language
for Babies & Children


Find us on Yelp
Had a great experience
with Touch Blue Sky?

Please take a moment to add your voice to our Yelp page and inspire others to seek out our classes, coaching, and massage therapy.
Taking Off the I Suck Sweater

ItchySweater
Every now and again it happens - my sleep falls apart and I'm wide awake at 3:00 a.m. for no particular reason.  When my boys were small, there were always reasons: fussy babies, breastfeeding, nightmares, the occasional tumble out of bed.  But now the house is quiet. Everyone is sleeping soundly.  Everyone except for me.

I'm now on day six of little sleep. I feel like my brain is wrapped in heavy wool.  I can only hold onto tiny scraps of patience for my boys and none whatsoever for my spouse, Bill.  And my usual soft spoken demeanor is replaced by a potty-mouthed, irritable shrew. I feel like I've lost several layers of socialization and this, as you can expect, wreaks a wee bit of havoc on my marriage. 
 
I commented to my husband this morning that every rough patch in our relationship corresponds to a time when I'm not sleeping well.  When he asked me what that means exactly, I didn't have an answer other than a random fact pulled up from a dim corner of my brain: correlation does not imply causation.  When he looked at me weirdly, I shrugged.  I'm in an insomnia-induced brain fog; nothing makes sense.

But there is some truth to the causation comment. In the past, I was so willing to take the blame for the problems that arose in my marriage (well, maybe not on the outside in the midst of an argument but definitely on the inside where self blame and shame made themselves at home.)  Owning the responsibility for all of the problems in my relationship was like wearing an itchy, too tight sweater, all day long.  I wove this "I Suck Sweater" from my beliefs of what a good mom should do, what a good wife does, and my outfit was decorated with buttons of all of the ways that I fell short.  

Saturday Sanctuary - February 7th  
Rock Solid Relationships
HeartStones
Parenthood can create a hard wedge between you and your spouse - disagreements on the division of labor, lack of time and energy to truly connect, stress from sleep disturbances, financial issues, childcare responsibilities.  At this Sanctuary gathering, we'll talk about how to make your relationship stronger - starting with yourself.  We'll touch upon resentment, which Brene Brown describes as a "huge red flat that you're burning out," and discuss ways to satisfy and soothe your essential inner self.  Our art project will be to decorate a "talking stone," a talisman used by tribal cultures to create a safe and trusting space for each person to speak.

Saturday, February 7th  

San Mateo  

 

Morning Sanctuary 

10:00 to noon

$40

Full!

 

Afternoon Sanctuary

2:00 to 4:00

$40

Register Now! 

 

The groups are just for moms so that you can take the time for yourself without distractions from your family. Space is limited to only eight moms; registration is required.  Light refreshments are provided. 

 

Come to Saturday Sanctuary for Moms to rest,
relax, and renew.  You'll head home happier.

Contact Kathleen with any questions or please visit the Saturday Sanctuary page on the Touch Blue Sky website for more information.
BabySignSection   
Baby Sign Language
I LOVE YOU Emery
Teach your baby to sign
I LOVE YOU

 

Touch Blue Sky offers many ways for you and your family to learn, practice and enjoy baby sign language:

 

- A 90-minute Introductory Workshop where you'll learn about the benefits of signing with your baby, how to integrate signing into your daily routine, and start your signing vocabulary with 40 signs. 

 

- Playgroup Boom and Zoom - two different playgroup series that meet for six one-hour sessions.  Both Playgroups include the essential basic starter signs but vary in the more advanced vocabulary.  

 

- VaVOOM! Touch Blue Sky's new Toddler/Preschooler Signing Series that meets for eight 45-minute sessions.

 

 
Coming Soon!
Register Today ~ Space is Limited
Bill teaching 1
Babies are welcome but not required to attend

Introductory Workshops
Birth to 18 months old
 
BabySigns 
Kaiser Permanente, Redwood City 
To register call 650-299-2433
Saturday   February 7    3:00 - 4:30

DayOne Baby, Palo Alto
To register call 650-646-7644
Tuesday   February 24   12:45 - 2:15
 
San Carlos Recreation Department
Call 650-802-4382 or click here to register
Saturday   February 28   10:30 - 12:00
Activity Codes
Individuals #28771,  Couples #28770

Healthy Horizons, Burlingame
Call 650-347-6455 to register
Saturday   March 7   10:00 - 11:30

Redwood City Recreation Department
Call 650-780-7323 or click here to register
Saturday   March 7   12:30 - 2:00
Activity codes:
Individuals #03.163, Couples #03.165


Six-Day Playgroup Series
4 - 18 months old
 

Kaiser Permanente, Redwood City

Open to the community! 

To register call 650-299-2433  

Saturdays   February 21 - March 28
3:00 - 4:00   Playgroup Zoom  
 
Blossom Birth, Palo Alto 
Tuesdays   March 3 - April 17
12:00 - 1:00    Playgroup Boom

Saturdays  March 21 - April 25
10:45 - 11:45
  Playgroup Zoom



Host a class at your home
and earn a free registration!