I FINALLY got to visit with my mom today. We talk on the phone a decent amount, and really, we see each other a lot compared to many of my friends whose moms live in different locations throughout the world, or in heaven, and I’m very grateful for what I have. Lately, though, my mom and have seen each other through gatherings with others, in busy situations, or for very short periods of time. I can’t remember the last time she came out for the day to play with my kids and visit with me. Today, we finally got to have that day!

Mom came in the morning, right after the kids were done their breakfast. They were clearly suffering from Grandma withdrawal, and latched onto her like tiny little love magnets. So began a few solid hours of tickling, kissing toes, showing off toys, story telling, eating, and honestly, screeching. The kids were SO HAPPY to be reunited with my mom!

Of course, she and I did get our visiting in amongst all of the loud talking. Dekker was particularly polite and when I’d ask him to wait a minute until we were done talking, he would just say “Ok” and sit quietly until there was a milliseconds pause, when he’d chime in. It was adorable.

Mom stuck around until the mid afternoon, and then I loaded her up with all of the random dishes I’ve acquired from her in the last month or two, and she was off. It was sad. But the kids were feeling low key at that point, so I left them downstairs with The Magic School Bus on, and I got some supper together. I defrosted the fish, made a pasta salad, made dressing and chopped broccoli for another salad, and even fried up some bacon so we could have fresh bacon bits in the salad. Brady fried up the fish once we got home and honestly, supper was delicious! Dekker fussed through parts of it, which we expect, knowing its not his favorite meal, but Laela ate her entire serving without whining at all!!! That always feels like a win.

Now that the kids are down, i’m feeling really dizzy, and there is still stuff to do around here before the evening is over and I can sink into a bath. Hopefully that time will come sooner than later!!

I am thrilled to report that we FINALLY had a rockin’ playdate out here with Kim and her kids!! We always enjoy their company, of course, but Dekker is fairly reserved, and doesn’t participate too much. I was a bit nervous for today, since the kids are still pretty exhausted from our weekend away, but they seemed to be anticipating the company.

Dekker: Is Kim comin’?
Me: Yup, they’re driving right now.
Dekker: She’s on the highway?
Me: Yup.
Dekker: Why she’s not in the driveway?

When they did arrive, the kids did their usual. Laela squealed in delight all over the place, pointing at our guests, and Dekker cowered in the corner, asking me to hold his hand. I helped the two older boys get in and kick their shoes off, and they blasted downstairs right away. Kim made her way inside with some treats, her diaper bag, and the baby. We grabbed some coffee and slowly made our way downstairs to see how the kids were playing. It was the usual scene – toys spread everywhere, Laela playing with Kims boys, and Dekker sitting on a chair, watching it all happen.

We did that for a while, but it was soon lunch time, and Kim and I went upstairs to get some chicken strips and veggies. WE laid out a blanket, put their plates on it, and turned on Cars. From there, the fun began!!! Dekker FINALLY started visiting with the boys. He actually initiated a few conversations, which is a big deal for him. From lunch, they began playing, and sharing with each other! At one point, the loudest game in the world broke out, and we thankfully got it on video. Its won’t be on here, as I don’t have the time or desire to load it onto YouTube, but they all just talked and yelled gibberish words at each other. It doesn’t sound like a lot of fun, but they were howling with laughter!!! It was so lovely to watch. There was no fighting, very few misunderstandings, and just lots and lots of play.

I delighted my heart to see Dekker so in there, being so friendly and fitting in so well. I knew he could do it!!!

I love our kids. My kids, her kids, all the kids. It was a great day.

Guys, it is SO nice to be home! I know we have the comfiest bed in the world here, but it has never felt softer, or so perfectly formed to me as it did last night. No, I haven’t been sleeping in uncomfortable beds or places, but my goodness, my bed is the best. Its an interesting perspective to want so badly to be living somewhere else, yet this really is a soft (see what I did there?) place for us to fall. I’m comfortable in our house, in this aspect anyway.

I needed to do laundry today, but then I reevaluated what “need” means, and decided what I truly needed was rest. So thats what we did. I got the kids up and told them we were going to play downstairs quietly and watch some tv, and they were both SO ready for that kind of day. They ate a ton of breakfast and then sat and played with their links for probably a solid hour before moving on to more active play. But really, they were just as tired as I was today.

After snacks and playing with Rowan a bit, Dekker pointed out that he figured it was nap time. That is almost unheard of, so I went with it. I said “Oh, you’re right! Let’s go upstairs for a rest,” and he said “Ok!” and headed on up! Laela followed him up, put her toy on the counter, and they ran off to their room. Dekker climbed up into his bed immediately after taking his glasses off, and Laela lay on the floor beside her crib. I got everyone situated, and Dekker kind of lovingly forced me out of the room. “Ok, ok, goodnight mom.”

I had a really nice phone call with my mom once they were down. We caught up and made some datea to see each ther, but soon after that, I went and tucked myself into bed. I watched some YouTube, and looked up some recipes for Laela’s upcoming birthday, and was generally cozy and lazy and comfy.

Brady is hoping for a similar evening of lazy, cozy, comfy time as well, so I’m cutting this post short. Time for diong very very little. Its been so long since we’ve done nothing for a few hours. I can’t wait!

I don’t have too much to say on todays post, but hopefully the pictures will speak for themselves. We had a very long but lovely day of travel, and it is positively DELICIOUS to be home! The kids willingly got into their bed as soon as they were in jammies, and I don’t expect much of a wait to get them to sleep. Regardless of the time, we are DEFINITELY running a bath tonight, because I have so missed my bathtub. I feel like I’ve hardly had soaks in August, and now its September!!

So all you get today is pictures of how well my kids fit in with their extended family <3

Sorry, I petered out in caption writing. I’m just pooped!! Time for bed. But I hope you can tell just by looking at the pictures, even without the captions, how much love there is in this family. Such a fabulous time <3 I hope we see all least some of you guys again soon!!

We head home tomorrow, which I have mixed feelings about. Truly, on a total surface level, I am so sleepy and ready to get home and back into our normal routine. But being here has been lovely for everyone.

I think Brady has really enjoyed catching back up with his siblings. We all lead pretty crazy busy lives, so we don’t keep in particularly close contact over the phone or even really texting. Its been really nice to actually hear about everyones lives again, and in person. I’ve also enjoyed being able to spend time with my brother and sister in laws and get to know them a bit better. With distance and life, come to think of it, we haven’t seen them all too terribly much since we got married! Like, yes, more than a couple of times, but not lots. Its been good to be around everyone, all together, and get some good visits in.

Dekker and Laela have had SUCH a good time! They are making friends with their cousins, playing incredibly with them, learning new games, playing with the puppies, and they even had their first quad rides. (I’ll be honest. I missed the whole quadding experience, and am a bit sappy over the whole thing 🙁 I didn’t know Dekker and Laela had their first quad rides until they were over. Wish I was there to take pictures. *tear* ) They’ve had lots of new experiences, and it seems like they grew up a lot in these few days. Rowan has also grown and changed since arrival. He is SO bouncy and wriggly, and loves to be held by anyone up for the challenge of hanging onto him. His cousins make him laugh almost constantly, and he likes to chew on any unsuspecting auntie or uncle who holds him. He’s incredibly social, and I would say he’s gotten goofier since we got here. This visit has done the kids very very good.

But tomorrow we go home. Eleven hours in the van, but hopefully they go as smoothly as the drive here. It will be good to be home. I believe this is our last big gathering/trip for a while. Still lots going on to look forward to, but its all close to home. It’ll likely take the kids a while to wind down from this, but its been so good for them. Cousin bonds are finally forming on our end 🙂 Jonquil and Keith, John and Julie, Dan and Char, you all have FABULOUS children!!! <3

The idea here is that basically, everyone is camping on Bradys parents property. The kids have basically lived outside. Its been a fabulous day that has been completely out of the ordinary for us. I don’t think Dekker saw the inside of the house between breakfast and bedtime. We even ate outside, so our kids went from freezing and in jackets, coats, and mitts, to hoodies in the sun, to covered in ketchup, to all cleaned up for family pictures! Someone was going to come take our pictures tomorrow morning, but plans changed, and tonight was better. I was pretty nervous, since the kids hadn’t napped, were already totally bushed, and then were expected to sit still for pictures, which is always a challenge with the little ones.

Fun surprise, though! Pictures went SO WELL! No, we weren’t dressed all cute. I had no makeup on, Dekker still had ketchup on his nose, stuff like that, but it was a huge win 🙂 The photographer called Dekker by name and teased him through the pictures. I know it was because he wasn’t listening well, but it was adorable, and he felt so important. Because of that, grandma and grandpa were able to get the cherished grandkid picture! I won’t give details, in case they’re meant to be kept under wraps (I don’t know the rules) but they display so well exactly where this whole big family is right now. Its going to be perfect. I think Phil and Elvira are pleased 🙂

We put our kids down pretty much right after pictures, and they were furious, and then asleep. Well, Rowan and Dekker were out within moments of being put to bed, but Laela cried for quite a while. She was SO worn out. The rest of us sat outside and visited. The other kids played more and we all drank hot chocolate. But I was just too freezing, and I’m not downstairs in bed, trying to help my feet recover and, lets be honest, waiting for Ro to wake up. This poor kid is pretty over all the busyness of the last several weeks. He needs some normalcy and a routine again so badly! But we’ll soak up family gatherings for a few more days before reality strikes again. We’ve got time. It helps that he’s so cute.

After eleven hours in the van, we have arrived at Brady’s parents house!! We were greeted by the entire family, dogs included, right out of our van. They received us so warmly, though the weather disagreed at a brutal 9C. We shared hugs and greetings until our kids got a tad overwhelmed, and then we all piled inside.

In no time, both Dekker and Laela were in there with their cousins like they’d been together for a week already. It was endearing to see it all happen so fast! Dekker paired up with his cousin whom he lovingly refers to as “that yellow kid,” thanks to his minion shirt. Laela was great and social with pretty much whoever came her way, but I’ll just say that the girls are quite outnumbered, but they sure stuck together 🙂

All of the kids went down relatively soon after we arrived, and most of the rest of us stayed up for a visit. We didn’t last too long, though, Thankfully everyone seemed ready to call it at a reasonable time. Everyone went their separate ways, and we headed to our room downstairs.

It was then that we discovered a massive packing oversight. We have no formula for Rowan. Correction. We have one pre-measured container of formula that will make one tiny bottle. That is it. There is no way it could get us through a night. It doesn’t help that we came to this discovery at 11:00pm. So as I type this, I have a wakeful and very angry baby on my lap, and we’re waiting for Brady to get back with something. Anything!!! Hopefully Shoppers is still open and can save us from what this night could turn into. It’ll still be at least an hour though. Hopefully his tough tummy can handle a new brand, because we’re short on options!

Today has been fairly smooth until this point, and that is taking into account a day in a van with a four year old, a two year old (almost) and a six month old.

Biggest parent fail yet, hands down.

It took me a while to figure out why today felt like a Sunday, but I think I’ve got it! We got the kids up, fed them, dressed them, and we rushed out the door to get to my parents house. Granted, if it had been Sunday, we would have been uncharacteristically late, but it was a crazy, choppy night, and it took a long time to get up. Either way, we headed to my parents to hang out with my mom for a couple of hours. Its so hard to see each other these days with the busy schedules we both keep up, so we arranged for a bike ride and lunch. Dekker biked the longest bike ride he’s ever done, and he did beautifully! He was really tiring out by the end, which made perfect sense, but he was pleased. Its SO much nicer to bike in a town that is paved, especially when he’s just learning.

We did lunch with my mom after our outside time, and ate very well, as always. The kids promptly trashed her living room moments before we needed to leave. She needed to get ready for her company, and we had lots to do over the course of the day. The kids are always sad to tidy toys and leave, but with the promise of Walmart and Costco to come, they were quick to tidy up and ask for help with their shoes. My mom helped them get ready, and walked us out to the van. She gave each Dekker and Laela a Cars fruit snack for the road, and passed some hugs and kisses around too. Rowan is in a big boy seat now…

… because he’s too tall for his bucket. Most baby seats go up to 22 lbs, and we knew he was 19 lbs, so he was approaching the weight limit, but suddenly we realized that he was just WAY too tall for it! We ordered his new seat recently, which turned out to be super convenient, as he weighed in at 22 lbs today!!! Thats a beefy 6 month old 🙂 I love it. (As a side note, Laela weighed in at 24 lbs. Unreal. And Dekker, 38 lbs. ) In case you were wondering, his seat is in there as tight as it could possibly be. I made sure.

We got to Walmart first with a special idea in mind. Now that Ro isn’t in a bucket anymore, and he is definitely not sitting up in a cart yet, and I don’t have a carrier, we weren’t sure how we would actually rock three kids in a grocery store! Walmart only has one seat in the cart itself, so Laela sits there, and Dekker stands on the end and rides, or he walks. But even if there are two spots to sit in the cart, Ro isn’t strong enough AT ALL for that. So we toyed with an idea, and it worked!!!!! It resulted in this…

Dekker LOVED pushing Rowan in this little umbrella stroller!! He did SO well, and honestly, it helped a lot! Once he really gets the hang of it, this could actually make it possible for me to take them all shopping on my own, just for this short time before Rowan can sit up. The only thing Dekker did that wasn’t ideal was he moved a bit slower than people in Costco tend to move. The few times I gently tried to encourage him to move faster, he’d say “If I go too fast, Ro might fall out. I’ll just go slow.” Hey, rather that than the alternative, right? Thankfully, practically all of the people we held up didn’t seem to be in a rush, and more so just seemed to think Dekker was the best thing since sliced bread. They all looked fondly at him and told him he was doing a great job. It was so sweet <3 I loved it, and thankfully, so did he! I mentioned to Brady that it was so relaxed for a Sunday. Turns out its Thursday. Who knew.

Post-Costco, we grabbed some coffees from Tims, and I chatted with my sister, Caitlin, on the drive home. I’ve had a kind of brutalish last week, and it was nice to be able to hash some of it out with her. God sure knew to let Brady have this week at home with me. Its been a huge help and support, but having my sisters and friends at the ready as well has been EXACTLY what I needed. Thank you, Caity, for the call.

Upon arriving home, we unloaded the van and brought everyone in. We began the race to do laundry and get organized. Our evening has consisted of packing, folding, hanging, and organizing. Kids are bathed and brushed and in bed, and Brady and I have been trying to get the bulk of our packing done tonight. We’re heading out to be with Bradys parents and siblings and their kids this weekend. It won’t be an exceptionally long visit (two days there, and two in the van :/ ) but I think its supposed to be kind of chilly and unpredictable, so we’re choosing to overpack and be as prepared as possible!

Now, its time for supper and a soak before bed. I’m sleepy, and hungry, and I want poutine, so I think thats the plan! Fries and gravy and cheese and maybe some of my secret sauce on the side. SO. READY. FOR. SUPPER.

Our day was beautifully low key. Brady was home, and we had breakfast in bed before getting the kids up. We made some plans, sort of, and took our time getting started with the day.

Once the kids were all fed, Brady took some paint outside and touched up the exterior paint around our front windows. Our realtor had mentioned a few things for us to do if we were looking for ways to improve the house, and some of them were repainting the window trim and the entrance deck. We won’t get to the deck this week, but at least some of the work has been done.

We opted to keep the kids up from their naps today, because Jerilee was coming for the evening, and we wanted the kids to fall asleep well, despite their excitement over her presence. It worked out, and after they ate their perogies and played with Auntie, it was bedtime, and they were ready. They tidied their toys, brushed their teeth, and went to bed pretty seamlessly. Rowan, on the other hand, wasn’t having anything. He wouldn’t eat, or stand, or lay down, or play, or anything. He wanted to sleep, but I really wanted him to eat first! He is my first baby who is pretty over having a bottle. I’m thinking I’ll be making formula in a sippy cup sooner than later, and jumping on the solid food bandwagon as well, because he DOES NOT like to drink and get all dozy. Its a huge pain. So he ate less than two ounces before we gave up and put him to sleep. He was down for about two hours before he woke up, just right ticked off, and STILL wouldn’t eat! You wouldn’t know by his 20 lbs body that he doesn’t like to eat. However, obviously he’s not wasting away.

Brady, Jerilee, and I watched some trashy tv and ate perogies and wings and cheesecake. It was a great evening 🙂 But I am now sleepy, and we have a good but big day ahead of us tomorrow!!! I’m so looking forward to it 🙂

Kim and I made plans to hang out this evening, so I picked her up shortly after 5:00 and we headed in for supper. I had no idea it was a thing, but we hit up Boston Pizza for pasta Tuesday. Since when??? Anyway, we each got some pasta and a drink, and Ellijah ate his little baby snacks and cooed and was SUPER well behaved. We each paid a nice little bill, thanks to the pasta special, and headed to grab some Starbucks before we ventured on to – you guessed it! – Value Village.

We went to the one on the far side of the city, just to mix it up a bit. We had a few things we were looking for, and admittedly, we didn’t get any of them. Neither of us went particularly crazy, but we got some clothes, she got some shoes, I got a super pretty Pyrex bowl, stuff like that. Ellijah, again, was SO good, but got a bit restless and stopped for a little snack while we were in the change rooms.

After a pretty good run around to try and locate the toy he chucked out of his car seat, we were able to get our stuff and ourselves back to the van. Our “quick stop for a few things” had become a two hour shop, and we closed Value Village tonight. We grabbed a couple of coffees on the way out, and had SUCH a nice drive home. We regularly talk about how fast our friendship came to be, but it has been such a blessing, and we have a wonderful time together, if I can be so bold as to speak for her as well.

Poor sleeping baby was in Rowans car seat, so he had to be hauled out of his comfy place to go inside :/ But he gave me a nice smile while I hugged his mommy goodnight. From there, I headed home, and was greeted by lots of great stories about how the evening went, and how fabulous my kids are. Lots of wins tonight for me. A great evening out for me, happy kids, happy husband. All is well! I hope your household was happy this evening too, Kim! If so, we should do this again sometime…