We have, once again, worked our crazy butts off in this place, to the point of my leg ALREADY detaching from it!! Its unfair, really, but today was the day I finally felt things progress and change. I was motivated in the morning, and got on stuff with gusto. I’ve found these days daunting, no matter how hard I’ve tried to keep a positive attitude about them. Today felt better. Probably because its crunch time. But hey, it worked!

We have a few empty rooms in our house now, and a living room FILLED with boxes! We have our keys and things begin tomorrow. We can’t actually get into our place and live there for a few days, but we’re starting to move things tomorrow. It was going to be a very kushy, relaxed process, and it isn’t so much anymore, but the scheduling that we have is actually letting it be fairly spread out and organized, which feels good too.

This is a bit of a strange way to spend New Year’s Eve, packing and hauling and dismantling our home, but its a very exciting step towards the rest of our lives, and I’m SO very thankful to be doing it!

It wouldn’t be right to end our year sore and crusty, so we’re finished up our tasks for the night, and Brady and I will be taking our last soak in our beautiful tub tonight. Our luxury soaker tub is probably the thing I will miss most about this place. So we’re going to enjoy ourselves a soothing soak, and drain 2015 out with it. Tomorrow morning is when the real excitement begins!

Everyone, have a GREAT New Years Eve! Be safe, and enjoy yourselves immensely! I hope you are all blessed and joyous in the coming year <3

We finally got our Jerilee out for a visit today after SO LONG! I feel like we’ve been hermitting it up a bit these days, but I think our friends have understood and supported the craziness that has been our December. But this business about only seeing Jerilee once a month has gone far enough. No more of this nonsense. So she came into our huge mess of a house, made her way downstairs (the only place in the house that still has furniture) and we had our Christmas together! We exchanged gifts between ourselves, and she spoiled the kids with toys as well. It was such a lovely time to just visit and celebrate and be in each others company.

Because of how life has ran recently, the kids are struggling a bit in a few different ways, and their attitudes are pretty rough. So they went to bed early, which was sad, but they had a really nice time with their auntie first, which helped. When they went down, Brady threw some yummy appetizers into the oven, and we had a very yummy, albeit casual, Christmas dinner together, on paper plates 🙂 It was delicious, and the company wasn’t half bad either. There was lots of encouraging conversation to be had, and lots of planning and excitement. It was so good to get Jerilee back into the house, and hang out, just the three of us.

But time keeps moving, and she eventually had to head home. So she did that, and I’m doing this. Brady is paying a few bills for the month. Then to bed, because its late, and there is always lots to do around here!!!

We are back at our place for the night. After another night at my parents, we had breakfast all together before we loaded up the van and headed out the door.

Quick side note here about packing out group to go places for extended periods of time. This last time, we packed in hampers and tubs, and MY GOSH!, it was SO much nicer than suitcases! It was quick, things didn’t get wrinkled, and packing to go back home was so much easier than usual. I highly recommend to everyone, pack in tubs.

Anyway, we got home and got the kids all settled in with their toys again. We were home for less than an hour before my parents showed up! We are SO thankful for their willingness to come help us pack and organize!! We all stopped for lunch pretty much right off the hop, and then we hit the ground running. We worked for a solid four hours, I believe, before my body gave up. So we called it. Yet again, we got TONS done!! I’ll admit, its so hard for me to see the progress when its all still sitting in my living room in boxes, but walking through rooms and writing stuff down, I can see how much is left, and how far we’ve come. Best of all, as my mom kept reminding me, we still have time here. The buyer doesn’t take possession until January 8th, so while we’d rather just move and be done, if we have to duck back over those last few days a few times, so be it. Rather that than make ourselves sick over this and overdo it. All of this rambling aside, though, I know it’ll all get done, and its been a fairly smooth process.

Tomorrow, we’re taking a bit of a break from the crazy. We’re spending our night here, so we’re going to get up slowly in the morning, and take our time. We’ll putter around a bit and try to accomplish a few things as we can. Its all down to pretty small jobs now. I’ll try to call around and change our address too. And at some point in the day, the always-lovely Jerilee will join us for a little bit of a Christmas. FINALLY! I’m sooo looking forward to that! Its going to be a wonderful day.

I have to say, the one thing I will desperately miss about this house is our delicious bathtub. What a beautiful bathtub it is. So tonight, I am very much anticipating a soak in it, joined by my husband, and a Lush bath bomb. It should be an excellent evening. My aching muscles are SO excited!

Lots of you have likely heard me complain about my right leg pain. I want to explain it a little bit better than I have in the past. My right leg hurts only when I’m pregnant, as my ligaments and such begin to loosen. This pregnancy, I’ve been having issues with my leg since the very beginning. At six weeks pregnant (so only having known I was pregnant for two weeks) I had seen my chiropractor twice for the exact pain. Its not ideal.

Now the pain itself. It sounds like I’m being dramatic, but it honestly feels like my leg is just hanging there; a dead limb barely attached, just pulling on the rest of me. It may as well be detached. When its just achy, I limp around and can laugh at it. When its in really rough shape, it physically can hold no weight. Brady has to walk beside me and basically BE my right leg in order for me to even get around the house.

After SUCH a huge work day yesterday, my leg was at the very worst I have seen it. Laying in bed, completely still, in the “safe” sleeping position that will not hurt my body any further, it was pulling. If I breathed too deep, it pulled. Very sharp pains, almost taking my breath away. As I laid there, still. It was absurd. Luckily, I was completely exhausted, and slept decently well anyway. This morning, however, while I had seen improvement, I was still limping like crazy. So Brady and I called Dr. Mike’s office, and lo and behold, he was working today!

I couldn’t be more relieved. I’m still quite sore, but I’ve been putting off going to see Dr. Mike for a while now, and I’m paying for it dearly. He adjusted me beautifully, and I feel genuinely relief! But still some aches, and then the aches from being put back into place. I’m so pleased, though. I asked some questions, and he gave me so much advice! I was trying to combat this pain all wrong! I’m not supposed to stretch. I’m supposed to move. I told him I physically can’t put weight on it sometimes, but he told me other ways to move my leg without standing even! As long as I’m moving it in the right direction, it doesn’t matter. This makes me feel SO much more hopeful that I don’t have to be in such a shocking pain the entire time I’m pregnant, and can actually maybe maintain myself a bit.

However, I’ve also learned my lesson. At a time of saving money, one thing to NOT scrimp on is chiropractic. Don’t put it off. Its 110% worth it! THANK YOU Dr Mike, for saving my butt today. Literally. My butt. The right side, specifically. I love having my leg attached to my butt once again.

An enormous chunk of the move got done today!! There is still more to do, but our family has been so supportive and gung-ho to help, so we took them up on their willingness and got a ton done! 

Bright and early, I went to the container with the men and we reorganized the whole thing. We pulled a bunch out, and were able to pack it way more efficiently. It was amazing to see space just free up like that! 

After two solid hours in the freezing cold morning air (it was even colder in the container ❄️) we went back to my parents place for a delicious lunch of turkey dinner leftovers, pizza, etc. We didn’t waste much time, and headed back to our house right after lunch. The kids watched some Paw Patrol (and Rowan slept) while the six of us worked like crazy to get stuff going. Things were packed, chucked, moved into a trailer and taken back to the container, etc. We made plans for some stuff, and boxed up some stuff to take to our rental. Sooooo much got done! I’ll be honest and say I’m still a bit overwhelmed about the whole thing, but I feel like it’s very under control and like today has gotten us amazingly far!!! I’m not sure we could have successfully moved without today, so I am incredibly thankful for it! 

I am, however, very tired, like the rest of the bunch. My right leg is always finicky when I’m pregnant, but it may as well not even be attached to my body at this point. So painful, and it can’t carry any weight. Hopefully dr Mike is working some this next week because brady and I are in need!! 

But it is now very much time for bed. Sleep well all!

So my mom, my sister, and I braved the crowds for a little bit of Boxing Day shopping! I haven’t gone since I was a teenager, and even then, I have a vague memory of going once in my life. It wasn’t my thing then, but I was really anticipating today. Shopping with people of a life mind helps a lot, and our group was very much on the same page. We knew we only wanted to check a few places for a few certain things, and we wanted a coffee break in the middle.

We ended up doing pretty well, I’d say. We got the bulk of what we were looking for, which is always a win, and it really wasn’t too crazy. I really think the parking lots were busier than the actual stores. Brady and I have been trying not to spend very frivolously recently, with the move coming and such, and I was SO good, but I did buy a few things. I bought Dekker and Laela each a sweatshirt, and a long sleeved shirt for Ro. I bought Dekker some new underwear, because he needed them anyway. My best purchase, though, was at Thyme Maternity, where I bought two pairs of incredibly comfy pants for $30, together. WIN. It felt like a very successful day. Good shopping, good coffee, and good company. Yes, yes, and yes.

This evening, we ate pizza and planned out tomorrow. Everyone has been loving and willing, so we are all going out to our house to get some stuff organized for our upcoming move. I’ve been feeling a bit anxious about it, but working pretty hard not to feel so out of sorts about it. I accepted that it wouldn’t get started until after Christmas, but now that Christmas has come and gone, its time, and having tomorrow be an organization day helps a LOT. So I’m genuinely looking forward to that! First, though, we sleep. Well, first first, we watch Netflix in bed. Then we sleep. And tomorrow, we START!

The kids had their chance at their gifts this morning, which was a loud, rambunctious affair. But that was surrounded by the usual – food, playing, Mario kart, and lots and lots of talking. 

I won’t lie. It was a slightly more challenging day with the kids. They are so very excited and happy and overstimulated that they are incredibly hyper, and not as respectful as they usually are. Yes, playfulness is wonderful. But arguing as much as they have is not wonderful. It’s been a tough day of breaking up fights, discipline, and just being even more “on” than usual. But I know it all comes out of a good place. We watched a video that my siblings had made for the kids right before bed, and Dekker sat with his arm around me the entire time, occasionally leaning over and kissing me, just like I so often do for him. It was a beautiful end to the day 🙂 they’re really incredibly sweet kids. 

Tomorrow, us three ladies are braving Boxing Day shopping. I know, it’s not likely the brightest idea, but I’m so looking forward to it!!! Should be a fabulous day tomorrow, and likely the next day or two after that. 

Merriest of Christmases to you all!

I’ll warn you in advance that there will likely be a number of posts like this one over the next week or so. I mean posts that insist that we’re having a riot and are completely happy, but are not particularly lengthy or detailed. Take these shorty posts as invitations not to spend too much time online and rather go do Christmas stuff with those you love!

We headed to my parents this morning, to stay for the next handful of days. We spent our time with my parents, as well as my sister and her husband. Our kids settled in really fast, and I can guarantee that their day flew by. They played hard and loud and happily all day, ate well, talked TONS, and went down hard at bedtime. But they were more than ready, and it worked out well.

Once the littles were tucked away, the rest of us had our Christmas of opening gifts and being together. We had a super lovely, low key time of sitting by the fire, having some treats, with soft music playing. After gifts, we watched a few little classic Christmas short movies, and then decided to pack it in for the night. There will be much more to come tomorrow 🙂 Today was lovely though. My heart is full. Its good to be here with family.

Merry Christmas Eve <3

After a pretty brutal night for me, it was SO NICE to sleep in a bit! However, we had an appointment at noon and we didn’t have too much time to spare.

My voice was completely gone, so I was trying to wrangle the kids with a whisper, which isn’t the most effective way, but eventually they caught on and were super adorable and whispered back. Once they had breakfast and I had tea, I sent them downstairs to play and I got ready for the day. Once I was ready, I packed the diaper bag, picked everyones clothes, and brought them downstairs for the kids. They got dressed really quick and were upstairs fighting with their coats in no time. We all made our way out to the van and got buckled in. When we were finally ready to go, it was perfectly on time! So no big rush, but no real time to spare either.

We met Brady over his lunch break and drove to our rental! Eek! It was so good to see it in person, and be able to plan a bit what to bring and where stuff will go. We brought all of the kids with us, like I said, and they did a great job. They were polite and excited, and loved exploring the place. Dekker told the owners “I really love this house.” So I think he approves 🙂 It looked great, and we’re very excited to get there first thing in the new year! Its SO good to have that nailed down, finally. We have a place to live!! Yay!!

After our visit, the five of us hit up McDonalds and grabbed a quick lunch before Brady headed back to work. I drove the kids home, and we all sat in the van while they slept for quite a while after arriving home. Once everyone was awake enough to go inside, we did make our way inside, where the kids happily played for the next hour or two.

In kind of a quick decision, Brady and I decided to rock our family Christmas tonight. We couldn’t imagine waiting until the 29th-ish, or whenever it would fall, and its been SUCH a strange season for us this year! We’ve been so busy and preoccupied and while we’re happy and excited, there is obviously stress and fatigue that comes with it. All in all, the move has completely overshadowed Christmas. The kids have no idea that Christmas is actually here. Their only reference point is that we’re getting a new house after Christmas. I know it won’t be like this every year AT ALL, but it makes me feel sad that they’re so unaware. So we decided to pull it off tonight!

When Brady got home, we made a supper that the kids loved. They ate fast and were happy. Then they went and opened up all of their presents, which was SO FUN! Never before have they been so into it! Even Rowan was super wound up with all of the excitement. Dekker’s favorite gift was probably his slippers, and a $5 truck from Laela. Laela loved her baby carrier from Dekker and her new necklaces. And Rowan liked his matching truck to Dekkers, as well as the bell he ripped off the bottom of the tree, lol! So wins all around! It was such a fun evening. We let the kids stay up a little bit later so they could play and enjoy their new toys, and then they didn’t even have to tidy up. It was a really really good time.

Now that the littles are down, the work begins for Brady and I! We’ll settle into my parents for Christmas tomorrow, so we have to pack this evening!! And then have a bath. And probably eat something. So there is still lots to do, but it’ll be good, and I know we’ll get it all done. Its been a great evening, and I know the coming days are only going to be better 🙂 Merry Christmas!!

Except in this case, the BOOT came back!! A friend of mine wrote me a Facebook message today inquiring about which location we had lost Rowans boot. I told her, along with a few other details about it. She responded by sending me a picture of ROWANS BOOT!!! It was apparently hanging out at the photo lab. We had been through there on the day we lost it, but we assumed it would have wandered its way back up to customer service. But nope. It was on the counter in the photo department, waiting to be found, and I’m SO thrilled that it was!!! I won’t lie. I cried. I know, its just a boot, but besides the fact that they’re kind of expensive boots, they’re incredibly soft and versatile, gender neutral, and we sure hope to put kids in them for years to come. So my pregnant hormones bawled their eyes out, and we made plans to run into each other later that day. If you’re reading this, thank you thank you thank you again and again! And really, knock social media all you like, but that played a role in getting this little boot back! So wins all around there!

We were at my parents for a bit this evening, and the kids got to bed super late (as in just recently, down around 9:30) but they went down SO smoothly! Its not usually so much a fight as it is a storm of tears and mourning. Tonight, Brady tucked Laela in and she pretended to sleep. As in Brady called to her and asked questions and she lay still with her eye closed, giggling. Dekker got into bed and tucked himself all in without being told or complaining. Our kids are rockstars.

To top off our day, I’ve been getting sick over the past couple of days, and today has been “that day” in a cold where I gag every time I cough. My throat is so itchy, therefore, I’m scratching it with lots and lots of snacks. So onto that! If you’re up reading this, grab a throat scratching snack and go to bed. Its late, and Christmas is coming. Rest up!