The goal of today was to just lay around at home as a family and be cozy. But in the later morning, we decided it might be wise to venture to the city in search of another fan. Its just bloody hot. As tends to happen, our list of things we “could also do, if we were looking for things to do.” So our quick trip that was going to be Costco, and then maybe one more place if they were sold out of fans, turned into Costco, Superstore, Wendys, Walmart, Canadian Tire, Dollarama, Tim Hortons, and home. My goodness!! But we did awesome!

We got a BIG fan at Costco, which I’m actually pretty excited about. We usually run a couple of tall skinny oscillating fans that are a bit more pleasing to the eye but don’t move as much air, so we bit the bullet and got one of the really fall ones with the big round fan at the top. Its promising to be better. Brady is assembling it right now.

Aside from that at Costco, we got Rowan a couple more sleepers, a few groceries, and a hardboard version of that hilarious family picture we took the other day.

I’m not sure I’ll ever NOT think this is a fabulous picture. Its way too good. And now its on display in our house.

I’ll admit. We went a little overboard at the next stop. Superstore was clearing out a number of wonderful things that I opted to take advantage of. Plus, I had wanted a few things the last time I went through there but had been an adult and passed them by. Brady said I should feel free to snag those things from the other, and also supported the other purchases. So besides our groceries, we came out with a few makeup products, a set of mixing bowls, my one and only glass bottomed springform pan, and a couple of little beautiful things for our gift tub. We got Dekker a couple awesome pairs of shorts for next summer too. Lots of big wins.

The kids did great at Wendys, as per usual.

Diaper changes in the van are made easier after the purchase of anything in a large van.

Walmart was next, where we didn’t get a whole heck of a lot at all. Beach towels for the kids and a bathing suit top for me. We’re going to the lake at the end of the month and since we haven’t been in a LONG time, and never with all three, we’re already thinking of what we need to have on hand and organize. Towels.

We were hoping to get a little wading pool type of thing for the kids at Walmart but couldn’t find anything, so we ventured across the street to Canadian Tire where we found a nice variety. We couldn’t fit the one we wanted in the van, so we bought a smaller one and made it work. We were hoping for two anyway, so Brady will pick up a bigger one this next week with his work van. But aside from that, we got a new set of rolly luggage. Ours is on the outs, and this was one of those wicked deals where the $200 set goes down to $65. So we snapped that up and Dekker “drove his lawn mower” all through the store to the till. Good kid. Ro was sleepy at Canadian Tire.

We did a super quick drop into Dollarama on our way out of the city for some glasses and a bit of medical stuff for Brady to refill his supplies that he brings to work. Then we grabbed coffees and headed home.

I should say here, we rocked the day with a new diaper bag! Made for us my a dear from by hand YESTERDAY!!! With all the action, I didn’t get to take really good detailed pictures of it filled with all of our stuff, BUT you can at least see how cool the design of the front looks anyway 🙂

That picture really doesn’t do it justice, but since we will DEFINITELY be using it again, I’m sure you’ll hear more about how it was specially designed for our family, how comfortably it carries, and how obviously trendy it is. Brady loves it a thousand times better than our other diaper bag, and Dekker would barely let go of it long enough for us to be able to pack it. BIG WIN! If you’re interested in something like this, let me know and I’ll connect you to the write girl 😉

It took quite a while getting everyone inside and into bed, much less everything else inside and put away. Half of it is still sitting on the counter, lets be real. It’ll get done. Its been a big but WONDERFUL day!!

However, we tried really hard to stay in today, and it just didn’t work out. But tomorrow is another day. We will, once again, try to hide out for the day. While we’re loving all the action and company and outings, a quiet home day is really important to keep our family running smoothly, and I think that day is tomorrow.

Today was brutally hot. No, I not complaining. While it is obviously uncomfortably hot, I welcome this over winters biting temperatures. So naturally, I invited my friend Kim and her three boys over to watch Frozen.

Dekker wasn’t particularly social and kind of lost it a time or two so unfortunately, he had to go down for a nap even though he had friends over. While all three of my kids slept, the rest of us hung out downstairs and tried to stay cool. When Kims youngest pooped all over himself, I opted to throw a load of laundry in. As that was happening, I heard Kim scream. I ran out and saw her pointing to an ENORMOUS bee/wasp/scary thing buzzing around one of our windows.

Now before we get all controversial and talk about how bees save the world and you shouldn’t kill them, we needed to kill this one. Haters be hatin’, but they hate SILENTLY! Deal? Deal.

Both Kim and I usually petition our husbands to handle such circumstances, but it was just the two of us, and the boys we had with us weren’t big and strong enough. So I booked it upstairs and brought down a margarine container with the intention to trap it. But I got too scared about what I would do if it escaped while I tried to close the lid. So I went back upstairs and grabbed, yes, a sandal. By that time though, the bee the size of my head had disappeared. So we waited on pins and needles until suddenly Kim screamed again and pointed over to its enormous flying body. I grabbed a stool and stood nearby trying to work up the courage. Guys, it took a while. I waited and squealed and jumped off the stool and got back on and definitely woke my napping kids, but when the courage came, I screamed like a girl (naturally) and wailed on that thing. I have no idea if I got it first try, as it flew up when I lifted my shoe in a somewhat aggressive motion that I’m sure you can picture. I then proceeded to beat the living daylights out of it and scoops its obviously dead and dismembered remains into the margarine container, close it, and THEN breathe a sigh of relief. It was then that Kim finished my sentence for the first time.

Me: Oh….
Kim: M G!!!

Kim, where have you been all my life??

So we survived and probably placed the fear of God into her kids when it comes to bees, but we recovered the situation with the yummy Boom Chicka Pop popcorn from Costco and VeggieTales.

It was sad when the day wrapped up and they left for home, but we had a good time. The two littlest ones bonded today.

Her little chunker is also pretty much adorable on his own 😉

I had made ham in the crock pot all day but no one was very hungry in the heat at all. So we had more so snacky foods for supper. Then we tidied toys and proceeded to have the BIGGEST ticklefest ever!!! I personally attacked Dekker the other night and tickled him for probably a solid ten minutes. He’s big enough now that I can rough him up a little bit, so I practically lie on top of him and just bite on him. He HOWLS with laughter and grabs at my face and tries to tickle me back. Tonight, he was anticipating this, and hey, it got him into his room without any fight! Or I suppose the tickle fight 😉 Anyway, as I was personally attacking him with tickles, I felt the little Miss jump onto my back as well. Two against one. I fought hard, and eventually Dekker said “no thanks” amidst his laughter that was dying down. I released my prisoner to get some water, and Laela lay down in his spot, and made her tickle sound. “Ligga ligga?” she asked?

So I attacked her a bit more gently but with the same hysterical reaction. She was SO sad when it was time to go to bed. But it was a fabulous bedtime, with lots of tickles and cuddles and kisses and just general craziness.

SUCH a good day, SUCH a good evening, and now hopefully, a cool bath and a coffee. I’ve had a great week, truly, but a weekend will be really nice too. Some nice relaxed days before the week begins again!

**PS: I dont have pictures of tonight ticklefest but this is Dekker after yesterdays. See the sweat all built up under his eyes and on his cheeks? It looks like he’s been crying, but I promise he wasn’t.

I love my kids. And Kims kids. SUCH a great day <3

The kids and I spent the morning together, but right around lunch, my friend Nicole and her son came for a visit. I don’t see them too often but we always have SUCH a nice visit when we do! Its also nice because Dekker and Laela love babies, and she brings one who is exactly four months older than Rowan. So still little and harmless, but he’s more interactive and mobile. Its a fun dynamic.

Laela specifically got a big kick out of him, and wanted to touch his hair. I kept hearing her say “Hi Roro” to him, but we switched it up to “Hi baby” and it made more sense for everyone.

The kids had eaten most of their snack before they arrived, and they went down for a nap not too long afterwards. I’ve been phasing out naps for Dekker at least, because I know he would sleep better at night, but these last few evenings have been unbelievably hard, starting around 5:00pm. Its a complete disaster, and I can’t do that everyday. I need to remember that making a change doesn’t always have to be a cold turkey type of situation. Things can be different from day to day sometimes. Its not like I’m implementing a hard and fast rule. Just a change in routine.

Nicole and I made some big delicious salads and visited about health, hobbies, houses, and nothing else that spontaneously fits into that alliteration. We got in a few good hours of talking before she had to go. It was really refreshing to have her around again 🙂

About an hour maybe after she left, the kids all got up from their naps, and we went downstairs. Its super sweaty outside, and we hid out in the cool basement. I was changing diapers and once I finished Rowans, he rolled over from his back to his tummy!! This was his first roll, and it was so smooth! I reached over for the camera, but he had rolled back the other way, back onto his back!!! The kids and I made a big fuss about it, clapped like crazy, and terrified poor Ro for a moment. But we recovered, and celebrated in a less shocking way.

Now Brady is on his way home, and we are planning for a positive evening full of playing and eating and joy.

** As I scanned this page before hitting “publish” I read the title of the post as “Flintstones.” Anyone else??

After having a big cry this afternoon and chewing off all of my fingernails, I think I can recap positivity on today, haha! I’m not a freak. I’m not a freak. I’m NOT a freak!

I had Hailey over today. She brought her three daycare kids and I had my three kids, so it was a full house! Dekker was, once again, pretty antisocial, and did a lot of fussing, even when the kids would bring him toys to try and entice him to play with them. It makes me sad that he won’t just put himself out there 🙁

Lunch was another story entirely though!! I was on the phone upstairs when Hailey came up to make lunch. She silently put together plates for Dekker and Laela as well, out of the food that she had brought! SO nice! One less thing I had to deal with in that moment. Once off the phone, we all sat and watched the children, specifically my son, DEVOUR his lunch! Seriously, he ate as thought I’d never fed him. He ate 1.5 ham sandwiches, two small handfuls of carrots, two handfuls of snap peas, two handfuls of grapes, and a whole apple!!! It was crazy town!!!!! Not surprisingly, he was much more energetic in the afternoon. Unfortunately, he still didn’t branch out and play with the kids, but he was less cowering and much more open to conversation. One of the kids even came to tickle his feet and he laughed like crazy! So it looked up.

Once everyone left, Deks and Laela began getting on each others nerves. I turned on the tv quietly and tried to give them some downtime but they were both on edge and hatin’ on each other. Not ideal. But I tried. It had been a big day for all of us.

Brady came home also exhausted and grouchy after a long day. He had been on the phone a lot in the afternoon and had lost a lot of time, causing him to have to work late. But his mood was awful, and we decided to eat after the kids were down, because their moods were awful. Haha! Clearly not our best day.

Then, for the second time today, Dekker ate like he had never been fed. He ate all of the leftovers we had on hand, two big handfuls of cucumber pieces, tomatoes, celery, and because we were running out of ideas, he had a cheese sandwich. Oh. My. GOSH!!! It was nuts.

Because of the crappy moods, we had decided to put the kids down early, and they practically ate right up until it was time to go tidy toys up downstairs. That got done, and they went down pretty sad. Rowan, however, finally ate a good sized feeding. His feedings have sucked (literally) for the last couple of days. I keep reminding myself that the other kids would pretty much stop eating when they were working really hard on teeth. When this evenings feeding went so smoothly, I checked his gums and sure enough!, we have his first tooth!! Its just barely through, but its there!!! I hope he gets at least a tiny bit of relief before the next one comes. My kids tend to get teeth in twos, at least. But then again, both Dekker and Laela had two teeth by the time they turned four months old, and Ro is now 4.5 months old with just barely one. Who knows whats coming next?!

Anyway, I don’t want to bring anyone down. I try so hard to focus on positivity, but today was a tough one. Thanks, Hailey, for being around and tolerant of our life and the conflicts that come along with it. I appreciate you <3 Hopefully tomorrow will be the next day and fresh start that we need around here!

The kids and I went to the city this morning. We hadn’t really planned on it. We always need groceries, but it wasn’t pressing until I used our last coffee kcup. I knew we NEEDED to go in, and soon. So I figured, what the heck, our only plans for the day are evening plans! We didn’t have to be home during the day for any reason. I got everyone dressed really cute and we were off!

We conquered Costco just fine, and the plan was to hit Superstore next. However, even if we leave the house nice and early, it still takes a while to get anywhere. So while the Costco trip was a decently short stop, it was 11:30 once we got out. So we opted for lunch first. We stopped at Wendys. In my opinion, its by far the worst Wendys location in the city. They often get our order wrong, forget something, or the food is just not as yummy. But it has a way better seating arrangement for a group our size, so we go there.

The kids attracted a decent amount of attention un the restaurant, but they ate well and earned every second of that attention.

Of course, Rowan took that opportunity to poop. Now, if you know which location of Wendys we’re at, you know that myself and my three small children would take up the entire bathroom. Plus, if someone is cursed with being in the same bathroom as all of us, the change table stretches out and blocks off both sinks. Its a great set up. So Rowan continued his dump while we drove to Superstore. I brought everyone into the bathroom to go change him up. (PS: At what age is it not appropriate to bring Dekker in with us? I’m certainly not leaving him outside on his own!)  It was then that I realized I had one wipe. One. So I was that parent. I would have just grabbed some toilet paper but again, change table outside of the stalls, and I didn’t want to leave him on the table. So instead, I wiped up most of it, hahaha! What else could I do??

Anyway, that was the most eventful part of Superstore. I bought the kids too many clothes (summer stuff is on clearance, by the way!), a pack of wipes, just in case, and all of the groceries we needed. Dekker even asked for cookies at the bakery with manners and everything. It was a big win all around. No one cried or melted down or hit anyone or anything of the sort. It really was a win.

We brought Brady and iced capp and left for home. They took an impromptu nap on the drive home, which is perfect.

Don’t worry, I took the picture in the driveway 😉

I was able to sneak Rowan in his car seat and a few groceries to the house without waking the big kids, but realized a bit late that the keys were still in the van, so I plunked everything on the entrance porch and went back for another load. I had purchased a number of things that were large or awkward to bag, so they were loose, and made for a lot of trips to and from the van, but it was good exercise, and a way to let Dekker and Laela wake up slowly. When the van was unpacked, I freed the kids, and Dekker helped Laela up to the door. They finally caught on to holding hands with me in a line today 🙂 I love that.

My proud mommy heart grew as I tried to actually get the kids in the door. Laela went in first and Dekker next, after picking up a bag from the deck. Once we were all inside, Laela closed the door behind us. Haha, ok, straight up, that was annoying! Because there was a lot still on the deck needing to be brought in. But still, Dekker dutifully carried in bag after box into the house, and Laela closed the door constantly behind us. Once everything was inside, Laela locked the door, and we took off shoes. Instead of their usual rush into the house to play, they both hauled groceries from the entrance into the kitchen itself. Bags of veggies, boxes of cereal, and they both lifted in a big box of kcups. Laela even stacked them up, making them a “tower,” which was very exciting for them, lol! Best accomplishment of all, Dekker managed to drag Rowans car seat into the kitchen. Thats HEAVY for him! But he did it! I was so proud 😀

While I put the stuff away that needed to go in the fridge, the kids asked where the other things went. Over my shoulder, I said “downstairs.” And without my knowledge, they began carrying groceries downstairs. I found this…

I put everything in their respective places and marvelled at my kids desires to help. Even once we were all settled downstairs and I was about to feed Rowan, Dekker rushed upstairs to get him a blanket.

Dekker and Laela have been playing well too. Laela keeps caressing Dekker’s head lovingly, like she did when they were wrestling yesterday. She came up to me while I was changing a diaper, gave me a big hug all on her own, and even moved in for a big kiss.

I am fully blown away by my beautiful kids today. I cannot believe I’ve been given these three gifts. They make me so, so very proud.

<3

I witnessed Dekker and Laela play wrestle today for the second time ever. The first one I caught on video, which I was and still am so grateful for! This time, however, I didn’t have the camera nearby, and my phone was too full to make a video. So instead, I just got to watch them play fight. A memory just for me. I’m fine with that too.

I am THRILLED to report that the whole match was filled with laughter, and it did NOT end in any tears or angst. They were both happy the entire time, and I believe it just petered out naturally. I can’t not at least TRY to share it with you, so I’ll try to recap it as best as I can.

** Be forewarned, before anyone says it, I know that some of it will sound dirty and questionable. IT ISN’T!! Its kids playing, deal? Deal.

We were in the basement, and I had just changed Laela’s diaper. While she was still laying down, I yanked her pants back on her. Her way of making this possible is to lift her legs up just about to her face, and I can sneak them over her bum in the back. Does that make sense? She basically folds herself in half. She’s cool like that. Anyway, I walked away from her to go chuck her diaper up the stairs, and for whatever reason, she didn’t get up right away, and opted to lay on the floor with her legs in the air, froggy style.

Without any warning or prompting, Dekker jumped into diaper changer position. He stuck his head between her legs (in the air) and nuzzled his face into her tummy. She howled with laughter and batted at his head. He was full of smiles and looked over at me, almost to ask if this was ok. I nodded at him, and he did it again. He received an even bigger laugh this time. Game on.

He began mimicking the things I do to tease Laela. He blew zerbits on her feet and poked her sides. He had her thrashing around in hysterical laughter. At one point, he reached behind her knees, and leaned completely overtop of her, effectively crushing her and sending her into gales of laughter! That was definitely the high point of the tickle fest. From there, he seemed to relax a bit. The laughter got lighter. Laela rested her legs on Dekker’s shoulders. He zerbitted her feet again. And that was basically how it ended. But you guys, it was SO cute!!!

I love my kids, and that they like to tickle each other and show affection in the form of teasing and playfulness. And I LOVE that no one got hurt or upset ONCE in that whole wrestling match!!! Thats a win in my books!

For the first time in a long while, we stayed home today! We had no one through, and we didn’t go anywhere. Well, we had a neighbour pop by for a cup of sugar, so to speak. Ok, it was actually chicken stock, but thats not the saying! Otherwise, though, we kept it quiet. It was interesting, haha! We are usually home bodies, but recently, we have LOVED all the activity in our lives! I used to be lucky if I had an outing or company planned once in a week, but these days, I’ve been so blessed to even occasionally have day company as well as evening plans!

I promise, I’m not sitting here saying that no one was willing or happy to come visit, or that I was unable to go out and make it happen that way either. I just didn’t. And whether thats a valid reason or not, I’ve made a decision about this time in my life, and all the action.

Whether or not I could have had more company and closer friends before, I have it now, and because its happening now, its new and exciting, and keeps me busy. I think it is really really helping me stay happy while we’re still living here. I don’t want to complain, because I am so thankful to have a beautiful home in a beautiful place to call our own. Nothing is wrong with where we live, except that our hearts are elsewhere. Its hard. I’ll leave it at that. What I’m trying to say is that NOW is the time that some wonderful people are really coming into my life again, or some for the first time, and some have been constants in my life for a long time. All these things considered, I’m so blessed to be busy, and surrounded by people I truly love. You know who you all are 😉 I don’t know what I’d be doing without you to help fill my days!

All of this considered, though, I want to make it clear that we are still VERY MUCH looking to sell our place and move on to the next adventure. These people and plans and love are keeping me at bay. Barely. I’m in way better shape than I’d be if not for my friends, and while I’m pushing myself to say the word “content,” I still ache to be home, where we really feel that is.

So.

BUY OUR HOUSE!!! PLEASE!! I’m not kidding, does anyone know anyone looking??

Just keep swimming, just keep swimming…..

Our plan for today was super basic: laundry, and a bit of research. I have a bud of an idea that might make meal planning work for me, so I’m looking out for the ideal meal planning template. So I had plans to sit around in between laundry switches and search for that online printable.

We got on the ball with exactly those plans. Brady got the kids breakfast while I gathered up the dirty clothes and towels and dragged it all downstairs. (Not to self: Install laundry chutes in the next house.) We were on our second load of laundry when I got a text from my friend, Kim, saying we needed to get our husbands to meet sometime soon. Very few texts later, we had been invited over for steak and a play date. I love spontaneous invites like that!! We decided to get together after afternoon naps, so we chucked a salad together and got ourselves ready and together while the kids slept. Once everyone was up, we dressed them and got on the road.

I’ve gotta say, its so fun to meet people who feel like we’ve known them for years. Conversation was so easy with them, and while Dekker was in a special place today (sigh) Laela played so well with their kids, and Rowan only had one good cry when he was hungry. The one thing all the kids could agree on, though, was water. They have an inflatable pool on their deck, and everyone got in. It was so funny to watch! Laela specifically was throwing toys around, soaking everyone. The four kids old enough to be in there were absolutely soaked from head to toe. They would then come and cuddle in towels before squirming to get down and back in the game, whether the game was still in the pool or back in the sand. So. Much. Fun! They even got in the sprinkler, but Laela was pretty worked up when she couldn’t seem to get away from it. She was kind of walking in circles around it, but not moving far enough away from it, saying “all done” over and over again. It was adorable. They all did great though! We ate steak, pasta salad, and salad salad for supper, and it was all delicious. All of it. Oh, and dessert was ice cream and apple crisp!! Delicious! The kids kind of sucked at eating it though, haha, and there were blobs of ice cream all over the floor!! Not ideal, lol, but it was super tasty 🙂 The messiest foods always are.

We didn’t stay too late, since we all have young ones who go to bed at reasonable times in the evening, but it was really lovely to go out visiting for supper and some fun time outside. Granted, the smoke is pretty wicked today, but we kept an eye out and weren’t outside the entire time at all.

I completely agree with the idea that the good things are worth working for, but its been so nice meeting some lovely people and having it be quite so smooth and easy.

Psst! Hey, Kim and Aaron! We like you guys.

Its only been a few days since the last time, but Hailey was able to come out for the day today, this time completely kid free! This almost never happens, so we took advantage of it and chatted our faces off all afternoon. My kids went down for a nap a very literal fifteen minutes after she arrived, so we had lots of time to talk about anything and everything.

Brady was able to take a day off somewhere in the next little while, so he picked today. That way he could get in some nice visiting with Hailey, mow our lawn, and actually get some day time in with everyone. It was so nice to visit, all three of us together for a while. There is really never a shortage of topics with that girl.

We were lame and decided to eat out. It wasn’t the smoothest outing we’ve ever had, haha! The wait seemed to just about kill the little ones. Rowan was sad but wouldn’t eat or sleep. Laela was just perpetually tearful, and it seemed that every time she moved, she hit her head on something. And regardless of what was said or done, Dekker “not like iiiiit!” Sooo that was special fun. The food coming helped a lot. We had a pretty good mess of burgers, fries, salad, and chicken covering the table, and I believe we all left full, so success?

The littles went to bed pretty quick after we got home, and the rest of us had some iced tea and brownies in the living room before Hailey was off to her next exciting plan of the evening 🙂 And we are already settling into our non-exciting but always-nice plans of having a soak and watching some Netflix. I’m certainly not complaining!!

I really had a completely perfectly wonderful day 🙂 It was filled with socializing with friends from different places, and there was never once a dull moment. I really, really loved today <3

So behold, a photo post of my afternoon! Firstly though, Kim, we didn’t even take a selfie together!!! What gives?!? Oh well, our cute kids speak pretty well for us.

We had so much fun with our new friends! As you can see 5/6 of the kids were super social. We were all even able to eat downstairs without making a mess! There were very few spats, which made it easy. So. Much. Fun.

But the day did have to keep moving, so they headed home in the mid-afternoon. A little while later, Brady came home and hung out with the kids a bit while I put on a bit of makeup before heading to the city for the evening, where I hung out with these beautiful girls for a few hours.

We planned out our lives and drank pink gin in Sprite. It felt so funny to go into the city, aiming to be at my destination by 7:30. I am almost always planning to be HOME by that time! So I found some pretty lame old humor in that. At least I think I’m funny.

But its good to be home now. SUCH a loaded day after an unreasonably early morning, but its all been so wonderful 🙂 I hope everyone had even a fraction of the day that I had.

I’m so fortunate.