My post is up late today because, after talking with my husband, Brady, on the phone this morning, I knew it was necessary for him to write a guest post today. Either that or he make his own blog and have a much bigger following than me on his first day. So here he is! Read on, and be thankful you weren’t him today!

So last night I noticed that one of the tires on my work van was flat and I’d have to pump it up this morning before I went work. So I took a little extra time this morning to go to the Red Bull to pump it up, however, as I was there I could hear it leaking and felt around a little bit and noticed that it was worn right down to almost nothing in just one spot. So I knew I would have to get to a tire shop today to buy a new tire and have it put on, but I know place that’s open a bit later and I’d have lots of time after work. So I got on the highway.

Nothing out of the ordinary as I drove most of the way into the city but just as I was nearing the Dalmeny turnoff I passed a hitch hiker. Now I have never picked up hitch hikers and never really planned to but I also don’t want to kill anyone so I moved to the fast lane so as to give him lots of room as I passed. But even as I made it clear that I was not about to stop he jumped up and down and waved his arms as big as he could right up until I passed him. I moved back to the slow lane and kept on my merry way. And it was just 30ish seconds after I passed him that I heard the menacing hum of my rear tire disintegrating. And then it blew.

Luckily I was hauling all of my tools this morning so when the tire blew I had enough weight that my van stayed driving straight and I was able to pull over to the shoulder and get stopped without any trouble.

But the race was on.

Now I had to get my tire changed before that blasted hitch hiker caught up to me and inevitably asked for a ride. So I was movin. And I managed to get all the way to the point of getting out my little donut of a spare tire before I heard “Hey Man, if I help you change your tire can I have a ride to Saskatoon?” And in that moment I knew that I couldn’t tell him NO and feel good about it. From a quick assessment I saw he had a fat lip, some bits of dried blood on various parts of his face, what could have been a broken nose (although it may have been broken before and never reset), and a broken and bleeding hand. He was busted up and vulnerable and not super threatening. Plus I’m pretty sure I could’ve taken him in that moment. 😉 so I said yes.

We got the donut put on and lug nuts tightened however as I started to lower the jack I had a sinking feeling that the donut wasn’t gonna have enough air pressure in it to hold the weight of my van. And I was right. By the time I got the jack out, the donut was almost completely flat. And my compressor had no air pressure in it. So off we puttered in search of some electricity. The nearest farm yard was about a kilometre away and down a gravel road a little ways so I just went slow and hoped someone would be awake. But when I got out to go knock on the door I looked at the donut and saw that it had gone completely flat and separated from the rim. No hope of pumping it up with my compressor so I got right back in my van and we limped back to the highway.

It was then that I knew I would need outside help, and the only person I knew to call was Hailey’s Mom. She has CAA. I’ve been told that my call didn’t wake her but I still have my suspicions. She came as quick as she could. Jeanne to the rescue! And all the while I have this hitch hiker in my van, who by now I’ve learned is named Nigel. He has two kids. And was in a bar fight last night. I’m pretty sure he spent the night sleeping in someone’s backyard and must have been walking since about 5am because he had walked most of the way from Radisson to Saskatoon by the time I passed him at 730.

As soon as Mom showed up she got on the phone to CAA and asked that a tow truck be sent to bring my van to the tire shop I was thinking of earlier. I went back to my van to ask if Nigel wanted to come wait with us instead of alone in my work van and he accepted but after only a few minutes in the car with us he asked if he could go sleep in my van while we waited. I knew my van wasn’t about to be stolen so I gave him the keys to keep it running so he could be warm.

Then Mom had a better idea. Instead of waiting for a tow truck, we could just put my shredded tire in her trunk and drive to the tire shop ourselves. So she cancelled to tow truck and I gathered Nigel and what was left of my tire and we got back on the highway to Saskatoon.

Nigel said he lived on Idylwyld and asked to be dropped at a 7-11 so we readily and happily obliged. And with that we wished each other good luck and went our separate ways. No death threats, no drugs. The only thing he asked for besides a ride was a smoke. I don’t smoke. Poor guy.

Good luck Nigel!

From there Mom and I had a really wonderful time together. We drove the rest of way to the tire shop and I bought a cheap used tire to drive on til I can buy a whole new set. We then picked up coffee before we drove back out to my van. Mom very kindly waited til I got the new tire put on and the van was back on the ground before we hugged goodbye. Thanks again for all your help Mom!

And then I went to work.

*****

My husband is home alive, with a work vehicle than at least runs better than it handles on the highway, and with a killer story to tell. Hopefully you enjoyed mixing it up!!

We had a bit of a rocky night of it with Rowan, and I woke up for the day feeling quite tired. Also, I must’ve slept funny, because my shoulder would likely have felt better being detached from my body. It was a pretty crumby-looking morning, but it was up to me to let it stay crappy. My choice would affect my entire household. So, we turned it around.

The kids were wonderfully helpful today. We did all of the laundry in the morning and early afternoon, and it was today that we learned that Dekker can reach the top of the washer. He likes to help with laundry but I had really just started, so his usual job of unloading the dryer wasn’t ready for him yet. He asked to load the washer, and I told him thank you, but that he wasn’t quite tall enough. He insisted that he just wanted to try, and he was tall enough! So he loaded a whole hamper full of the kids’ clothes into the machine for me, piece by piece. He even hauled full hampers out for me when the time came. It was awesome. He and Laela barely scrapped, and honestly, Rowan slept almost all day. I sure hope he gives us a bit tonight! But it was a really good morning. Lots of coffee and cuddles and laughing. We watched the Duggars on TLC and I watched Laela carry around her dollies, laying them on the playmat, in the bouncy chair, and I even saw her lay one on the ground and bring a diaper over to lay on top of it. She’s certainly nurturing!

I spoke to Brady over lunch and he suggested that we go out for supper. Even though he gets out of the house way more than I do, its almost always for work, so he gets cabin fever sometimes like I do, just not as often. I agreed that an outing would be lovely. Plus, I had tried on some super cute capris at Walmart the other day but they didn’t have my size, so I figured maybe we could all go hit Walmart and do a little shop. Supper and Walmart. Our classic family outing 🙂

Thankfully, all three kids slept awesome through nap time and were refreshed and ready to go. Brady even made it home by a decent time to shower and help get everyone ready and out the door.

This would have been Laela’s easter dress had we made it to church that weekend. And Dekker wouldn’t allow me to take his picture, but he was sporting his awesome new shorts. Too bad!

It gave me some time to find some summer clothes that fit, since today was sooo warm! And I even had a few minutes to add some color to my makeup.

Too bad I couldn’t get a more accurate picture of the color, but I rocked yellow eye shadow today, which was a lot of fun!

We ate at Montanas today for the first time in a very long time, and it went over well! Laela was pretty sad for part of it, we don’t know why, but I blame the family at the table next to us. While it was plain to everyone within hearing distance, their kids were giving their parents a run for their money, but I have never heard a mother yell and berate her children so viciously in public. It broke my heart to listen to it the whole time. They were at their table when we arrived and were still there, fighting, when we left. Luckily, the food was good and our kids were entertaining enough that we didn’t have to focus on them too much. But it was sad. I felt for everyone at their table.

We left the restaurant on a good note when the kids each got their cookies. Once out in the van, Dekker asked where we were going next, and I told him Walmart. He was immediately happy and anticipating the stop. He climbed right up onto the back of the cart and laughed the whole way in.

We didn’t do a whole lot in there. I did find some cute capris for a great price, which spiralled into my finding shorts, and probably the worlds most comfortable jeans as well. For $17 a pair, how can you go wrong?? Brady also got a new pair of work shoes, and Laela got some flats. And that was it! Which was great, since we arrived at Walmart at 8:00pm, already past the kids bedtime. We hit Tim’s on the way out for coffees, and drove home quietly. Good thing we didn’t hit the guy walking on the shoulder of the highway in black clothes. C’mon, people.

The big kids are sooo tired and ready for bed, but Rowans in his cradle with a serious case of the hiccups. Normally, hiccups are cured with a nice drink of milk, but he is full and not interested. So hopefully he goes down soon. But if not, it was still a great day. Hopefully tomorrow is great too.

It will be. Its my choice.

When I was a student, I skipped class sometimes. I’m pretty sure the vast majority of us did at one point or another. Well, yesterday, I blew off choir. I drove halfway there, and stopped in to visit with my mom. And then we decided to go shopping. It was pretty awesome actually 🙂 My mom got a few things done, bust mostly she humored me and we did a little bit of shopping for me. I didn’t buy much, but it was nice to take my time, visit with her, and get a couple of things I’ve been needing to get. I bough a dress shirt, tried on some adorable capris that were in the wrong size 🙁 and snagged some bath products. I bought Rowan some muscle shirts (since he’s ripped and all) as well as duvet clips and some new pillows. So really, nothing big or exceptional at all, but it was so nice to take our time together! I have been wanting to make my mom a cd for a while now, so I made it in time for yesterday evening with intentions to give it to her on my way through town, but instead, we listened to it as we drove to our few different places. I think it went over well.

I’m kind of sad that I never think to take pictures on our few dates, but hopefully I remember one of these times and I get her cute face on here finally!

At my last doctors appointment, we spoke about birth control options. She made a joke about falling pregnant immediately after having had a baby, and I laughed back and commented something along the lines of “I’m already grouchy, lets add even more hormones to the mix!” She responded back with the thought that we never know if we have too many or need more. Hmm. It kind of had me thinking. I’ve been struggling pretty hard with feeling grumpy the last week or two, which I think is normal. We have a TON going on around here, plus I’m around that sex week mark where people often say you’re back to normal. “Normal” is nothing more than a setting on my laundry machine to me, but today, I feel like my own personal normal is close to coming back! Basically what I’m saying is that I feel more balanced today than I have in a long time. I feel incredibly positive. Glass is not half full, but its overflowing 🙂

We had a great night last night. I was exhausted and was dozing off around 9:30 and was out before 10:00! Rowan woke up at 1:00am and 5:00am, which are nice long stretches for us, especially when we’ve already gotten three hours of sleep before the first wake! He woke for the day at 8:00am, and he and i watched a bit of Friends before getting the others up for the day. Dekker and Laela were wonderful over breakfast. They ate tons. Dekker was so charming, telling me that I look “fablious” and that I have good manners 😉 He rocked his manners like a champ as well! Once Dekker was done, Laela held out her bowl at me. I went to take it and asked if she was done. She had it in a death grip, though, and shook her head. Confused, I asked if she wanted more cereal, and she nodded her head like mad. “Ya!” So Laela had her third bowl of cereal before she was finally finished. These kids are crazy.

Both big kids were incredibly pleasant after breakfast as well, and played really well. There was only one small spat between the two older ones. Laela poked Dekker with a toy hotdog bun and he tattled “Laela punched me in the wiener!” I may or may not have laughed hysterically. Dekker took incredibly well to any correction I gave him, replying with an “ok” or “yes mom” each time rather than his usual arched back and grunt. Both he and Laela couldn’t keep themselves away from Rowan either. Whether he liked it or not, he was included in every game.

Ok, I did save him from the games once or twice so he could rest.

Dekker told me “I take good care of Rowan” when I went up to make him a bottle. When I got back downstairs, I was informed that he would be feeding Rowan his lunch rather than me. And I’ve gotta say, I did almost nothing in the process of Dekker completely successfully feeding Rowan his bottle!!! It was so adorable! My little fireman feeding his baby.

As we neared nap time, Rowan was starting to get a bit twitchy laying on his playmat. Instead of picking him up immediately, I figured I’d try him out on tummy time. We don’t do much tummy time in our house, because we hold our kids a lot and they get lots of neck exercise (necsercise?) that way. I figured, he was already upset, so this would either upset him more or give him a change of scenery. And no word of a lie, you guys, he LOVED it!! He lifted his head a decent amount but when he was tuckered out, he still switched from side to side a bunch, all on his own. No one wants a flat head! Dekker was insistent on being all snuggled up against him, and at one point, I heard him say “Rowans my friend.” I could have cried. He snuggled closer and said “My friend wants a kiss.” Rowan is Dekkers first ever officially proclaimed friend, and who better than a sibling?

Look at these next ones as a progression 🙂 Just taken seconds apart.

Finally, Rowan lifting up his head to see his brother more clearly.

So its just mid-afternoon, and I’m feeling so good. I’m feeling really positive about my family, and hopeful about my house. I feel like I’m progressing well with my physical health, and I feel rested and caught up. I’ll top it off with some singing tonight and hopefully days like these keep coming!!

Today was exactly as it should be – cozy, yummy, and spent in jammies. The kids ate well, played great, and scrapped very little. This was especially good because I spent a decent chunk of the morning on the phone. Between their breakfast and lunch, I had very few minutes actually interacting with them, but they did a wonderful job being independent and quiet. When they went down for their naps, I started to doze off. I figured I should actually take the opportunity, so I moved Rowan and I upstairs so we could sleep in our beds rather that in our beater recliner. However, once I laid him down, I woke up a bit and ended up just catching up on YouTube. It was a really comfortable first day back at home.

When Brady came home after work, he went to get Dekker and Laela up, and my cell phone rang. Do you know who it was? It was our very first call regarding the sale of our house 😀 It was very quick, and promised nothing, but it was exciting. The woman on the end of the call inquired about our price, number of bedrooms, etc. When she had our info, she said she would talk to her husband about potentially coming to see the place. And that was it. So as I said, it didn’t result in anything, BUT its the very beginning of hopefully selling our place and moving on to our next step in life!

I hung up and had a mini cry in my room. I was sooo excited, yet there really wasn’t anything to jump around about. Its so scary to see potential but have nothing to hold onto. Faith, guys. I’m working my butt off to have some semblance of faith about this whole thing. But He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak! I won’t lie, I feel incredibly flimsy at this time in my life. Lucky for me, God knows, and his promise to strengthen me is something I will happily accept!

So. The itty bitty beginning has come. I hope it quickly becomes the end of the house selling process.

This weekend was so full and wonderful that Brady and I felt like we wanted to keep moving. We had planned for a nice comfy jammie day at home, but once the kids were down for their nap, we were sort of itching to get out of the house. We made a mini plan of what we could potentially do in the city.

We got the kids up pretty quickly after they started moving around, and chucked them in the bath. Dekker and Laela always bathe together, and today, Dekker wanted to stay in and be part of Rowans bath too, so I hung out with Laela in my room for a bit. She was so adorable!!

I couldn’t resist showing her off a little bit, so I quickly FaceTimed my parents so I could show them her beautifully curly, freshly bathed hair. Also, Laela is enjoying watching herself in the mirror these days so she liked her picture in the corner of the screen. Dekker came and joined in the FaceTime and before long, it was just too late to go to the city. I mean, we could have done it, but it would have been either an unreasonably short trip, or we would have to keep the kids up way past their bedtime. I’m not too terribly worried about a later bedtime, but after the last two days bursting with energy, I wasn’t sure how they’d do being up later. We didn’t want to risk it. So we stayed home, which was good too.

The kids ate some leftovers for supper, but Brady and I had eaten a bit later while they napped, so we planned to eat once they were down for the night. After their supper, we all went downstairs and instead of watching some tv, we threw Zumba into the wii and Brady and I jumped around like idiots for probably about an hour. It was hilarious and we were awful at it, but it was a decent workout even just to stay moving that long. The kids jumped around and waved their arms, and we all “worked out” a bit. Then it was diapers, tidying, and to bed. I’m curious if even just that short little faux-work out will affect my sleep.

So Big and Middle are tucked away, and Little is having his bottle before he hopefully goes down right away, and then Brady and I can figure out some supper and run a tub. He’s back to work tomorrow, and we’re back to normalcy yet again. We did a pretty good job of catching the house up after being gone for a few days, but there’s a bit more to do, so maybe I’ll do some cleaning tomorrow. Otherwise, we have a pretty relaxed week ahead of us. If anyone wants to come play, just say the word!

Well that visit with my sister and brother in law went by sooo fast! It doesn’t seem fair, yet I know we’ll see them again soon, so that helps. The kids were nice and warmed up to them, but another day or two would have done wonders! Luckily, they have established a few really funny little inside jokes with the kids, and I’m sure they’ll remember them well in the coming months.

We played some cards and ate lots of snacks and just generally enjoyed being in each others company. The kids actually napped today, so we had some nice quieter time, and we even got to FaceTime with my brother and sister in law and their two kids who couldn’t be with us this weekend! I haven’t seen those faces in months, and it was nice to finally lay eyes on them. Man, those boys are changing! Its crazy to see their oldest and know that Dekker could be talking quite so clearly in just a years time!

We had a solid pizza feed for supper, with some caesar salad and fresh pineapple. The kids ate a ton, as did the rest of us. It was super delicious, and I’m not even sure how much of a snack I’ll want this evening. I’ve been so full at the end of these last two days! But they’ve been great in lots of ways, and food is one of those ways.

So just like that, our visitors are leaving, and we’re back to a somewhat more “normal” life. I think they’ll be sad that we’re not going to go visit tomorrow, but I think a nice comfy home day is necessary for everyone. I have learned more than ever these last few weeks that we need to keep normalcy a bit of a priority. Not necessarily at the top of the list but it should be on the list at least. Even when the kids are just clawing at the door of constant activity, I know they need downtime, quiet, and routine. Therefore, tomorrow will likely consist of jammies, playing downstairs, and yummy food. I’m looking so forward to it!

Our long awaited visit with some of my siblings has arrived! My sister and her husband are out for the weekend, and it was sooo good to go visit for the day. We told Dekker this morning where we were going and he brightened up immediately. Its so cool to see him excited to see people rather than be nervous about it, and he really remembers them from Christmas when we saw them last. Thankfully, he was comfortable with them right away when we arrived. Laela, on the other hand, but a bit more hesitant. No big smiles or warmth, but rather holding onto me with a death grip for the first half hour or so. It didn’t take long after that for her to want to get down and play, though, and all was normal again. Rowan is still pretty unaware of his surroundings so he did great being held by new people all day. He was an agreeable little lump.

In the afternoon, when the kids went down for their wildly sleep-free naps, Caity, my mom, and I made paska buns! For those who don’t know, paska is a sweet, yummy, easter bread. We spread icing on top and add sprinkles. Its a delicious treat, and a very special treat that we only make over easter. So we made the dough, let it rise, beat it senseless, let it rise again, made it into buns (because they’re more fun that slices of bread), let them rise, and finally baked them. The consensus was that they were delicious and soft and PERFECT! Easily the best paska I’ve had in years. I always love paska, but its always a little bit dry and crumbly, and this was not at all that way. It was delicious.

The kids played hard into the evening. Luckily, I had planned ahead and brought jammies for everyone. So we did diapers and jammies at grandmas house before cleaning up and taking everyone home. Dekker and Laela slept on the drive home, so we carried them in and put them right to bed. No, they are not the kids who stay asleep during the transfer, but we didn’t really talk to them, and they were carried the whole way, so it was very calm and restful. I haven’t heard a sound from their room since we put them down.

We’ve still got Rowan to put down, but I’m anticipating a soak in the tub soon. I’m not sure about a snack tonight, though. I am full to the brim from our taco supper and paska for dessert. And I know there will be even more deliciousness tomorrow! This is such a quick visit, but we’re so thankful to have it! On that note, I’m off! Hopefully everyone enjoyed the stat as much as we did!

I took the kids out today, all on my own. Maybe it sounds easy, or like I should have done this weeks ago already, but I’ve been so lucky to have had Brady around a decent amount since Rowans been born, so I haven’t needed to go out with the kids on my own yet. I’ve got them all ready and to the city, but I haven’t actually taken them in anywhere, just the four of us.

So I made the pretty lame call to take them to the last surviving Target location on the opposite side of the city on its very last day, right around lunch. Genius, I know. Parking was far and I could barely muscle the cart through the slush by myself. It was pretty challenging actually, but the guy holding the sign promised 80% off of everything! So I had to try!

Sooo Target was an absolute wasteland. Thats the only way I can describe it. Immediately the kids were quiet. We all sort of observed the store from the entrance, as if hesitant to enter. Large spaces empty except for garbage. Babies screaming. A funny smell. No one was smiling. Disaster area.

I tried to keep it light. I figured, we had no deadline, so we could wander and take our time, no sweat. However, almost everything was picked clean. The products that were still available to purchase were confined to carts lining the main aisle through the store. People were surrounding them like *insert gross analogy about animals eating each other* and therefore, blocking the aisles with their carts. It took very few moments of that before Dekker got nervous riding on the back of the cart and wanted to come walk beside me. Which is fine until someone bumps into someone else and he gets even more nervous. So here I was, walking through the makeup with my son walking beside me, while fully hugging my left leg. So I waddled (or stood still because no one can move in those aisles either) and tried to talk with Dekker and make it all seem normal.

There was almost nothing left. People weren’t kidding. Even down the makeup aisles, everything that was still on the shelf was either open or obviously destroyed. I found a few little things that I snapped up, but very little. Finally, I knew Dekker was at his breaking point and decided to go line up. I figured, even if we had to wait a while, at least in the line up we wouldn’t be as crushed by people and we would be able to see more of our surroundings. Well, was I right! The line snaked all the way to the back of the store. We picked up a few more products while we waited in line, but for the most part we just talked about how Dekker “wasn’t feeling well” but that we’d be done soon and we’d go get some food.

Almost an hour later, we made it to a till, and finally, Dekker lost it and burst out crying. And in turn, so did Rowan. I’m pretty sure everyone else in that store was feeling the same way, so thankfully, everyone was really understanding and no one gave us dirty looks or even seemed perturbed. Our cashier immediately snagged what she figured was for Dekker – a toy boat that he had saved from the rubble – and passed it to him. He calmed right away. I thanked her for understanding my kids, and she just raved about how patient he had been and that she was very proud of him.

As soon as we were moving again, Rowan calmed. Laela was fine the entire time, which was amazing considering she’s the mischievous one who I expected to be the most antsy. We walked back out to the van, and the sun had cleared up all of that thick slush we could barely get through before. I loaded everyone into the van and got them some food, a milkshake for me, and a coffee for Brady, and we drove off to Brady’s current house to bring him a treat.

The drive home was quiet and long. Everyone was bushed. But it was good and successful and I’m glad we went. No, we didn’t accomplish a heck of a lot, but now I have officially taken the kids out on my own. I know I can now! And this was NOT an easy place to try out first, thats for sure! But we did good, and I’m confident that a trip to Costco or Superstore or Walmart next time will be even smoother. Because this one was insane!

I have earned a relaxing evening but I don’t think its in the plans. A couple loads of laundry need to get done before the weekend, and I’m a day or two behind on dishes, which means I’m getting low on bottles for Rowan. Stuff has got to get done!! On it!

LAST THING! I promise! Rowan can FINALLY fit jeans! They’re a bit big, but I did my math wrong a couple of days back. In 3.5 weeks, he’s gained 3 lbs 5 oz!!! He’s growing at Dekker’s rate, he just started smaller 🙂 We may have another tank baby on our hands very very soon!

Look at that faaaaace!!! He’s so sweet!

The kids and I stayed in today, and I can’t begin to tell you how nice it was. I’m not sure when the last time was that we weren’t either out and about, or doing jobs around the house. I mean, besides normal routine jobs, like dishes or making the bed. I feel almost lazy, but I’m trying to be smart, and I think having a few days like this is important.

Dekker looked so adorable with his new haircut yesterday, and it carried over like crazy! He looks so grown up and I’m pretty sure he knows it. He had a great attitude all morning, which was super refreshing! Laela was chipper like she often is. And Rowan wasn’t so hot today, but he and I had a rough night. I have to say, after the longest and slowest drink the world has ever seen, plus three diaper changes, I was pretty over that particular night feeding. Of course, he couldn’t get his burp out which resulted in me getting up to burp him about six times after said feeding before he finally got his relief and he went to bed. Its ok though, he’s still pretty cute.

The kids played great in the morning, and napped well in the afternoon. Again, Rowan took a little convincing, but its to be expected. This evening, we had frozen pizzas and I have to say, with Dekker’s favorite cheese pizza on the table, he asked to try the bruschetta pizza. We’ve never been able to convince him to even try it, but he ate a whole piece and a half before deciding he liked the cheese pizza better and switching back. I know it seems small, but it actually isn’t. Its exciting that he’s willingly trying new things! Go Dekker!

I’m hoping to venture into Saskatoon tomorrow, just for a little bit. We don’t need anything specifically, but this is my very last shot at Target before it officially closes this weekend! I’m not shopping over Easter weekend, so now is my chance. I hate to think of all of those lipsticks that I’d be abandoning if I didn’t go give them a chance! So the babes and I might try to duck into the city, just for an outing and maybe a treat 😉 I like my kids. Like a lot. If anyone cares to join us, just let me know!