I wrote my angsty, frustrated post yesterday about not being tech savvy, and rather than just feeling better and relieved after ranting, I felt motivated! Thats probably the best outcome I could have had. I worked every spare moment I had that afternoon, and poured over templates and themes and pages until I found one that was pretty close to perfect. Not completely perfect, but I figured that along the way, I’d understand parts of it more and be able to put it together into exactly what I wanted, even if it wasn’t quite right at first. A few hours in, I saw three little icons that would show me what my page looked like from desktop computers, tablets, and phones. And to my dismay, the mobile version destroyed the header. I am aware that my current template isn’t particularly mobile-friendly, with the tiny print, which is another reason for wanting to switch the look up. So all of that hard work lead me to absolutely nothing. Kiiinda disappointed, but now I have another thing to consider when choosing a template. Just armed better for my next battle with blog themes.

This morning was nice. However, Brady had a bit of a rough one, and wasn’t feeling as productive as he wanted to be. Around here, we appreciate the importance of a regroup more than just pushing and pushing and getting more and more frustrated, trying to go fast and faster. So after a late breakfast, I got the kids kids dressed and ready, and we drove to the city to bring Brady coffee and a donut. A coffee break with the fam is a nice pick me up, or so he’s told me. We listened to some old Andy Grammer (highly recommend his older album) and made our way in.

The drive-thru at Tims was SO dumb today. It wasn’t lined up at all, but MAN they couldn’t seem to grasp what I wanted. I ordered two double doubles, a boston cream donut, and then I asked if they ahd any donuts with fruit filling. This is about how it went:

What?
Do you have any donuts that have fruit in the centre?
Oh, ya, we do.
……..Ok, what do you have?
For what?
For donuts with fruit in the middle.
Ummmmm…like the gourmet donuts?
No, I just want a basic one with fruit in the middle.
Ok, so one boston cream and one chocolate dip?
No. Not that at all.
*order disappears, another car drives through the other side*
Hi, can I take your order?
No, its already been taken. I ordered two coffees and I’m trying to order donuts.
Oh, oops. What were they?
Two double doubles, a boston cream, and I’m asking about a fruit filled donut.
Oh. I’m not sure we have fruit donuts.
You know what? Forget the donuts. We’re good. Just the coffees.
Ok, so three double doubles and a boston cream donut?
No. Not that. Just the coffees.
Ok, hope we have this right, drive ahead.

Sooooo I was kind of annoyed, and drove out of there with two coffees, feeling like a bit of a failure. But my husband was happy to have us, regardless of whether or not he got a donut. He ate his lunch and we had a little visit. I think he was feeling better before we even got there, but it was nice to visit and break up the day.

Now we’re home, and half of the group is napping while the big ones play lego and have some quiet time. And I”m doing this before I get ready for later today. I have an evening of shopping, coffee, and opening up Ipsy packages ahead with Kim. Should be nice! I can’t wait to get the kids wardrobes filled up and ready for fall!

I’m getting more and more annoyed with this stupid blog, haha! Seriously! It does. Not. Work.

In high school, I had a blog. I forget what it was called. It was powered by Blogger, and was fine. Nothing riveting, from what I remember. Then, at bible school, I had another blog. That one was called “Utopia of a Troubadour.” I’m pretty sure I just liked big words. It was also a Blogger blog, and it was also pretty basic. I remember wanting to change the template at one point, and I found one online that I liked, but it wasn’t technically a Blogger template. However, a friend of mine tweaked it a bit, and made it happen. I remember him typing in his own codes and making it happen.

I thought it would be easy to tidy up around here but it really hasn’t been! I spent hours sifting through WordPress-friendly templates and I just don’t like any of them! I may just have to settle for something I don’t love, which is ok, I suppose. A challenge that I’m met with is that I post daily (in case you guys hadn’t figured that out yet) so I have very limited time to redesign the face of my page. I’ve played around with a couple, just seeing if I could make them into something that I like, but I can’t save what I’ve done! I have to either “cancel” or “activate.” Thats crap! I guess I thought this whole thing would be more user friendly, but apparently I was mistaken :/ Another thing I was wrong about was the ability to buy my domain name. I thought that could be done – buying the name outright! I expected to pay a chunk for it, which I’d be willing to do at this point, but apparently I will forever be paying a monthly fee for it. C’mon, internet! Help a girl out!

Sooooo that is my tangent for the day. The search is still on, and continue to expect some changes and hopefully some improvements down the road. Be patient when you do see that somethings being done, if you can, because it might not be able to all come together in one day like it should. And PLEASE! If anyone knows how to help with any of the things I’m griping about, I’m listening! I’ll take any and all help I can get!

I feel hopeful for what is to come. I don’t want to put too much information out there, but mostly for your sakes, rather than my own. I’m pretty open, if you haven’t noticed. So I’m sorry in advance if anyone doesn’t want to know. Feel free not to read. Thats fine too 🙂 No harm, no foul.

I’ve been seeing an incredible physiotherapist who specializes in womens health, and its a darn good thing she does, because she and I click. We both work very intentionally to be optimistic, but we both have dry, sarcastic humour. She is loaded with information, and I love information. Knowledge is power, seriously. That saying is a cliche for a reason – because its super true! I love how she thinks. Its encouraged me to think a bit differently, and to be intentional about positivity, always.

So. Pelvic health, guys. I’ve been working hard at this for a while now, and I’ve learned a lot. I’ve been learning what is going to strengthen what, the importance of each exercise, and the reality of my position as a child-bearing mother.

Its not been easy to always sneak away to do my exercises, and while I know the goal is to be able to do them through everyday life events, almost subconsciously, but its important to learn them really well first. While I know how to do them all, I need more practice in order to actually strength my pelvic floor. Its strangely difficult to breathe and flex the right muscles at the same time, haha! Who knew??

The biggest event of today’s appointment was a pelvic floor exam. Through that, I learned that my muscles are not quite as strong as is ideal, and there are a few “imperfections,” so to speak. But with that, there are no real red flags or anything to indicate impending doom.

I asked a lot of questions, and now, the rest is up to me and my well-informed self! I will see my physiotherapist again in about six weeks and see how I’ve done! In that time, I want to make a very conscious effort to do some form of kegel or exercise every day. If anyone desires to remind me, I would GREATLY appreciate it! Even on Facebook, lol! I won’t be embarrassed. Pelvic health is super important, so I can handle it. And if you think to remind me, do a couple yourself!

Before I begin this post, can we all just stare at Solly as he rocks 6-12 month clothing?? He seems pretty happy about it, while his mom is almost fainting at how fast he’s growing!

After spending the morning and early part of the afternoon at my parents, we headed to the city for some shopping.

 

With the great clothing sort, we’ve discovered where there are some holes in our kids wardrobes. Dekker and Laela, being the oldest boy and oldest girl, don’t have too much in the next size up. We’re not going without, don’t worry. I’m not complaining. But its a nice excuse to go buy a few things for the upcoming cooler months. Rowan has Dekker’s hand me downs, but the seasons were different, so he’s got a lot of tshirts. So we decided to head in for a few minor grocery items, and a couple of clothing items, just so we’re not caught off guard on these cooler days.

The shop was a great success!! In true show-and-tell fashion, I took pictures of everything, minus a couple pairs of underwear and a new pair of jeans I bought for myself. And a lipstick, as usual. Behold! The adorable things my kids will wear to welcome fall!

This is obviously not the most detailed picture, but these are all long sleeved shirts for Dekker for school. He currently wears mostly tshirts, and while they fit, they won’t for very much longer. So these will be perfect. A couple of them were $10, most were $6.

The first shirt here is Rowans, and yes, the orange one in Dekker’s stash is the same. Then thats ons long sleeved shirt for Laela, and one tshirt. She has literally one tshirt that fits nicely under a hoodie, so she could use another. And then two pairs of leggings. Because sweater dresses.

We bought Rowan a fall hat/toque when we were in Edmonton a few weeks ago, and today, we stocked up the rest of the kids. Rowan’s is the same as the top one, only a little bit smaller and grey rather than blue. They’re all gonna look sooooo cute in these!

These are my favorite purchases for the day! My kids never really wear shoes until they can walk, but mostly because I can never find any that stay on! As the weather starts to get a little bit cooler, I’d feel much better if Solly had some shoes. And these stay on!!! Which is a HUGE win! And fringy boots for Laela, which I am THRLLED about. I wanted some for Rowan too but Brady says they’re too girly. I guess thats ok…

Seriously, I feel surprisingly excited for fall this year. I couldn’t tell you why, because I love the warm weather that comes with summer, and I know how short lived this season is around here, but I am very positively anticipating autumn, and I don’t want to try to explain it away. Embrace whats coming!

I spent several hours today sorting through those tubs of clothing I’ve been complaining about. I have a pile for each size that I found, and it makes for a LOT of piles! I’m positive I have tubs downstairs filled with clothing of each of those sizes, and I just need to add to them, but the goal is first to sort, and then find where they belong. In the afternoon, however, my brother texted me and said they were heading to the playground soon, and invited us to join. We accepted right away, knowing how nice it would be to break up the day a bit, play outside with the kids, and visit a bit. We were right. It was a lot of fun.

Our playground date was probably about an hour only, and Dekker was so sad to go home, but it was definitely time. It was getting later into the afternoon, for one thing, but it was really hot, muggy, and windy outside. So we parted ways, and made our way home just as my parents arrived with some corn on the cob, fresh from a nearby colony. I’m SO anticipating some of that in the very near future!

My parents only stayed for a few minutes, and once they were headed out, I continued the great clothing organization. I am pleased to say that, for the moment, it is DONE! I know, that sounds super non-committal. I have sorted absolutely everything that I can find. I’m positive there are more mixed up tubs and bags downstairs, but for now, I have accomplished a TON! Everything is separated out and ready, and I’m really anticipating getting the tubs moved downstairs into a somewhat organized stack tomorrow maybe. Our clothing tubs are a BIG part of what we store, and I feel like once those are organized, some space should free up in our basement. Or at the very least, it will motivate me to start organizing the rest of the basement and get rid of all of the junk I don’t want to store anymore. The purge never ends!

I think I’ve worked enough today, though. My back is sore from the amount of bending, crouching, carrying, and hauling that I’ve done today, and I’m ready to lay back and have an evening of solitude with Brady. I love our evenings together. I’m a lucky lucky lady.

I didn’t get to add a picture of my new hair yesterday, since my laptop blows at updating pictures and I was too lazy to get them on here another way. I am less lazy today, so here it is!

We kept the shaved side nice and short, and brown, because why not. Otherwise, we hacked some bangs into the situation, and gave the actual length some layers and texture. There is SO MUCH HAIR up there!! Yikes! I never really clued in to how thick my hair was until recently. I think I’m truly starting to like and appreciate my hair for the first time. Would I love curly hair? Absolutely. Do I love what I have? Actually ya, I think I do. Win!

This morning, Brady stayed home later than usual, and took Dekker to his eye appointment. Usually, we drive in and meet him there, and we haul everyone in, because otherwise we have to entertain them in the van for a long, long time. But with Brady being home with us this morning, it worked so much better for just the two of them to go in. I would have happily went with him, but Brady is Dekker’s safe place in situations like that. He always sits on Bradys lap at Dr. Rubabs. So they had a little morning date, and I hung out with the others while they were out. Facebook informed me today that it was three years ago that we were told to start patching. We’ve come through a few different stages and obstacles along the way, but I’m pleased to hear that Dekker did pretty well at his appointment today! He cooperated pretty well with the games and exercises, and when he did get upset, the doctors were able to change up their methods and re-engage him. Apparently his script has changed a smidgen for the worse, but nothing big enough to warrant a new pair of glasses, so we keep on going and praying. I’m really happy he was less panicked with the exams, though. Always improving, this boy.

Brady and Dekker came home with Tims for me. We had a short visit so I could hear all about the appointment, and then Brady headed off to work for the afternoon. The kids played a little bit, and ate lunch, and I just finished putting Rowan down to bed. He was SO dozy in my arms. He easily puts himself down to sleep, so I have no real need to stand and rock him or anything, but he was just so still today, so I snuggled him a little bit longer than usual. He lifted his head after a while and his usually smiling face looked so serious and calm. He leaned forward and I kissed his forehead. He gradually moved his face higher, so I kissed his nose, and eventually made it to those huge, puckered lips. In true Rowan style, he burst out laughing and came in for more and more kisses. I was soon covered in slobber and goldfish remnants, but it was totally worth it. We had lots of good kisses, until I finally asked if he was ready for a nap. “Ya!” So down he went, happy as a clam. A sleepy clam.

The day has gone smoothly thus far, and I have high hopes for the afternoon as well. Brady, Solly, and I are all going to Dr. Mike for treatments, and then we’ll hit Costco and head home for the evening. Fall is in the air! I’m not sure why I’m anticipating it so much this year but I really really am 🙂 Feeling good today!

Hubs had the day off! Our family slept in nice and late this morning, and Brady got the kids breakfast while I spread out in the en suite and got ready for the day. I love those opportunities to really play with my make while I watch some YouTube videos, or listen to music, or talk to myself. Its nice to feel a little bit pampered, even if I’m the one doing the pampering.

I passed some kisses around and was out the door around 11:15am to make my leg waxing appointment at 11:45. I got there on time, and my usual waxing girl tag teamed with a trainee. I’ve only had that experience once or twice before, and I’m more than ok with it. The three of us had fun together! But its always shocking to have both legs being waxed at once, haha! Its harder to anticipate what’s coming, but its efficient. I left my appointment feeling all fresh and considerably more comfortable in my shorts.

My next appointment wasn’t until 2:00, so I ducked over to Costco and bought Solly a pair of jammies, as well as some dry shampoo. I headed back to my hair place about an hour early, and I wandered the mall a little bit. I resisted my shopping urges, even though the people in the London Drugs cosmetics department remembered me and showed me around the new products they knew I would like. They were right. But I was a grown up. I bought a Starbucks and thats it!

I was completely thrilled with how my new hair turned out! We cut bangs into it and layered it and just gave it something new while still growing it out. It was starting to feel boring, and this is just SUCH an improvement! I feel very feminine, and like my hair is more interesting than before. A big win. My hair girl is a super champ. Seriously, if anyone needs a hair girl, I have one for you!

I came home right as Solly pooped all over himself, so I pulled out his new jammies and put them on him, and they are PERFECT. I may go back tomorrow and buy more jammies in more sizes because they are super duper nice. We spent the evening all together, and shortly before the kids went to bed, Jerilee arrived for an evening of Bachelor in Paradise. We had waffles, breakfast sausage, peaches, and grapes for supper, which was ridiculously yummy, if I can be so bold. While we watched, Jerilee did some laminating for school, I folded laundry, and Brady bailed to change the oil in the vans. So it was a more productive evening of trashy tv than usual, but I think thats great.

It was a really really nice evening, but its time to wrap up our great day and head to bed. I’m sleepy, and tomorrow is going to be a bit of a broken up day, with some appointments in the morning and then in the later afternoon. We’ll come home in between, though, and Brady will work in the middle as well. It should be good, though! This has been such a fun week so far, filled with so many good events. I’m hoping tomorrow will just add to the list.

But first, sleep.

Conversation…

Kim and I spent lunch and the afternoon together, sipping lattes and talking life while our kids played, ate, watched a bit of tv, and celebrated Dekker’s birthday. They brought cupcakes and a present. The last couple of hours of our play date were SUPER calm, while Rowan, Solly, Ellijah, and Maddox all napped! Dekker and Em watched tv and Laela played in the basement. Brady wrapped up the afternoon beautifully by bringing us Starbucks. The day couldn’t have been nicer, really. Thanks, Kim, for making today a special one for Dekker, and for being relaxed around my family. You guys fit in so well. Love you all!

Rejection…

Remember a while back I was saying the blog needs a facelift? That hasn’t changed, it really does need one. While the look hasn’t changed, I’ve been trying to be a bit more intentional with my writing. I’ve been making an effort to be a bit more structured, and to have more of a specific point beyond just “this is what I did today.” I definitely still have those posts, but I’m just trying to do better. What you maybe don’t know is why I starting thinking I needed to try harder. A while back, on Instagram, I saw a magazine calling for a mommy blogger to feature. I psyched myself up, and wrote them an email, where I talked a little bit about myself, and linked them to one of the posts I’m the most proud of. Today, I got my first rejection email. And truly, I can honestly say, I hope it is the first rejection email of many. Because promoting myself, while unfamiliar and vulnerable, felt pretty great! It is what motivated me to try harder in this. Whether this blog ever becomes anything bigger than what it is (which is small) it never hurts to strive for improvement, and to do the best you possibly can. So WOOT for some good, down home rejection! Thank you, Instagram, for kicking my butt!

Organization…

I have been putting off a HUGE job since we moved here! And this evening, I FINALLY got started! Between moving out of our first home, and getting into this one, the kids sized up. TWICE. ALL OF THEM! And with us moving four times in six months, with most tubs in storage, and no time or feeling of being settled, the outgrown sizes went into tubs, all together, haphazardly. I HAVE to sort through those stupid tubs, because Solly is sizing up and I need the next tub! Yet that tub doesn’t have much in it, because it was all mixed into the other tubs! Gah!!! So as I sit in bed writing this, I am staring at six large tubs at the foot of the bed. Wait. Seven. My bad. Can’t count. I have gone through probably half of them, and things are going surprisingly smoothly! Of course there are a few stragglers that belong in tubs that are hiding somewhere downstairs in the box mountains we’ve got going on, but I knew I just had to get started and it would go quick. And I was right! I won’t finish tonight, but since our room was finally in order, and now I’ve filled it with tubs once again, I’m pretty eager to get them out of here. But not tonight.

And not tomorrow. Tomorrow is going to be SUCH a fun day! Eek! Getting my haaaaair done! And then Bachelor in Paradise. Because one night a week, I get to be a trashy human being. Don’t judge.

As great as tomorrow will be, though, today was a huge win 🙂 I hope you all had great days too!!!

My mom came over mid-morning and we had SUCH a nice visit! Don’t get me wrong. I love when my entire family is together, with all of the siblings and nieces and nephews. Its a fun crowd, and I love them all to the ends of the earth! But I also love the one on one I get with my mom on special days like today.

I sat in the recliner and rocked Solly while she sat on the couch and chatted with me, while playing with and reading to my kids simultaneously. We swapped once in a while, and she’d hold Solly while I changed a diaper or satisfied a request. It was relaxed and super enjoyable.

We had egg salad, chips, and apples for lunch, and Solly slept on me for a bit. It was super nice. We had lots and lots of girlfriend chats, about good and bad, and it felt so safe and warm. I can talk to her about hard things I’m going through, and she can understand where I’m coming from and support me. I feel somewhat guilty, because it sometimes feels super one sided, but I know there is a boundary, and while I feel like my mom is one of my very best friends, and I love how our relationship has evolved over my adult years, she is still a mama caring for her baby. I appreciate it very much, being one of her babies. I hope we can always have this beautiful balance.

Eventually, my mom had to go home to her own house (I wish we could keep her) and the kids and I stuck around and awaited Brady’s arrival. He’s now home, and we’re making perogies and smokies for supper! I’m SO hungry! This will be our first evening together that is back to our normal routine, where kids are in bed at 7:00, and we have a few hours together. I’m very much looking forward to it. Maybe we’ll crack out a movie and make a date out of it! Any Netflix suggestions appreciated!

Was anyone wondering?? I realized the other day that its been longer than I thought since we started the process, and I haven’t updated.

Her first day on the potty was great! She wore underwear, loved it, and was very aware when she was having an accident. We could see the wheels turning, and she would go back and forth to the bathroom until it was officially time and she would pee, whether in the toilet or in her panties. She was trying to learn how to make it happen at the right time, and how to judge. Its all part of it.

The next two days, she just had accidents. No potty success. But that was fine, we rolled with it, because the whole thing was happening based on her wanting to start. She had instigated the whole thing. Her interest was great, but her timing could have been better. We are some of the busiest we’ve ever been, so her days where we should have diligently pumping her full of fluids and ferrying her to and from the bathroom a hundred times a day were filled with outings and phone calls and just not enough attention. We’ve had family visiting over the last little while, and we opted to bring her to the gatherings in pull ups rather than in underwear, since our success had been very limited. No pees on the potty for likely a week. Nothing doing.

This morning, I got her out of her bed, her pull up just hanging off of her body. I sat down in front of her, and asked her “Panties, nighttime underwear (pull up), or diaper?) She kind of just regarded her options and didn’t answer. I said to her “Should we do diapers again? Just for a little while?” I didn’t want her to feel discouraged, and while I KNOW she can do it, I think there is just too much crazy right now. I’m not doing a good job at helping her succeed. So I asked. And she said “Ummm, ya.” I had offered her this option not long ago and she was devastated at the idea of wearing diapers again. But I think we both know we need to give it a rest and try again in a bit.

So. New plan! The little miss can rock diapers again, and we’ll start incorporating some potty time, mostly as a routine. First thing in the morning, before bed, etc. We will give it another go once we’re a good chunk of the way into Dekker’s school year. Maybe October. Unless she really wants to go again sooner! But I know we have stuff coming up in September, and not as many free days. Its all good stuff, but distracting, haha! We’ll block some time off in October and see what we can come up with. But I’m not worried if she’s not. I know she’ll train sooner than later, but I feel like its actually a very grown up move on both of our parts to step back, take a deep breath, and wait.

I welcome everyones full support and shut down any negative comments, haha! Because I am more than comfortable with this decision 🙂 Me and Laela, we’ve got this.