We weren’t quite as well researched as normally are going into this stay due to its spontaneous nature, but we knew we had found a place with two nice big bedrooms that would easily sleep us, as well as a big pool/play area as a bonus! We knew we had some form of a kitchen, and a full bathroom. Deal. Thats all (more) than we need!

We were right about a few things. The bedrooms are big and comfy and the kids are totally happy in them. The play area is amaaazing. The bottom level is big and open and breezy for little little ones, and the whole thing can easily be run through by adults as well! Its easy to be in there with the kids, which is fun, since the times we’ve gone, its been pretty much empty otherwise! Lots of wins with the hotel. One thing we were wrong about that turned out to be great is that we actually have two bathrooms!! Always a fun surprise. A bit weird, though, that they’re both out in the main area, as in no en suites. But its a win because one of them is really big, and its where we rolled Solly’s play pen for the night! And he was totally happy in his own room 🙂 Win!

Two bummers about this place. Bummer number one is that we have no closets. We have one teeny one for coats and that is it. We packed everything on hangers because that has worked beautifully for us the last few times we’ve travelled, but this time, its now a pain in the butt. Not a huge deal, I guess, but even drawer space is very limited. Such a big room meant to hold at least 6 people should have closets, shouldn’t it? Which brings us to bummer number two. Our “kitchen” leaves a little something to be desired.

We saw pictures on the website of much fuller kitchens, with cupboards and a small cook top, a dining table and a couple of chairs, etc. However, now that we’re here and have looked further into it, that’s only in the one bedroom suites, not the two bedrooms. Wouldn’t a room for 6+ people ideally have a kitchen? Maybe not, but we definitely do not have one! Feeding our kids just got a whole lot trickier!

Their cuteness makes up for the spilled cereal.

Breakfast wasn’t the worlds most complicated thing, though I wish I had brought a bigger bite cereal, like fruit loops even, rather than a flake one. The flakes are so much harder to get off the carpet. Lunch was harder. Brady moved the coffee maker into the second bathroom that we aren’t using for bathroom stuff, and set up an electric frying pan that we brought “just in case.” He pulled the mini fridge out from under the counter and used the top of it as additional counter space. He made it work, but it was a bit crazy. Trying to convince the younger ones to stay at/near the (coffee) table was a fun challenge as well. Supper is going to be an adventure as well! Oy!

If we ever stay here again, at least we’ll know what to expect ahead of time! We will expect to eat out the entire trip, haha, because its WAY too tight to do meals in here with just the six of us, when the four kids are still little! Now we know. Oh, and we know we don’t get any dishes 😐 Not. Even. Any. Sooooo we’ll all eat off the small handful of kids IKEA dishes we brought!

Seriously though, it’ll work fine 😉 The food we brought is simple and will be easy enough to prepare with the little college-ish appliances we brought along. Pizza night tomorrow will be our one treat night! Yay for food that can be eaten off of a napkin on the floor!

Road tripping, that is!!!

I know. It was terrible.

Guys, we made it to Winnipeg today! It took us longer than usual, which was around 10.5 hours. The kids were definitely eager to be done driving, and asked a TON “how many more minutes,” but they were more than polite and no one reached the point of tears. I’d call that a win!

Oops, I lied. Solly cried towards the end. Its hard to poop in a car seat. 💩

We made a few short stops along the way, to eat or pee, but it was pretty straight forward. The kids were entertained by watching out the windows and listening to music. It was such a happy trip.

Everyone was thrilled to actually get into the hotel and see ours rooms. The kids ran back and forth from room to room, just squealing. Solly, how has just started walking in the last few days (finally!!!) slowly followed after them, getting knocked over, getting back up, and giggling up a storm. It was SO sweet.

Everyone is down for the night, and were quiet right away. Brady and I are right behind them, as we are just as wiped out. Do you remember my massive to-do list from yesterday? We did it ALL yesterday evening, and then had a weird night where he and I were both awake from about 3:00-5:00, and then up at 7:00. Its been a while since we’ve been up in the night for such a long stretch, so it was a tough time waking up in the morning. I know, we’re spoiled, blah blah blah. Trust me, we’d rather be up doing night feedings with a little baby than sleeping through. But hey, what can we do?

First, snacks. Because supper was snacks about four hours ago, and I’m hungry! And then a couple of episodes of Big Bang Theory before sleep. I’ll tell you guys all about our hotel tomorrow!

Let me tell you. If I get half of today’s list done by the time I fall dead asleep on my pillow tonight, it’ll have been a seriously successful day! By the end of the day, Brady will have drive to and from the city four times. He’s on his third trip as I type this, but thats good. Stuff is going to get done.

This morning, he went and finished up a house and was back before I even got the kids up for the day. He took part in the morning, and got the kids eating and made Dekker’s lunch while I threw in a load of laundry, folded an old load from the dryer, and put a meal in the crock pot. My mom came to hang with Laela and Rowan, while Brady and I took Solly to get Dekker off to school. From there, we headed to the city for errands. We hit five different places for five different things and made it home in time to feed everyone lunch. Once everyone was settled at the table, Brady headed back to the city to fix something on a house he did, because it couldn’t have been noticed just a couple of hours earlier. Now, all three kids here at home are in bed, napping, and I’m doing this as fast as I can while trying to throw back a cup of coffee and eat the goldfish crackers that were discarded during snacks.

Still to come, I have more cooking to do, and my load of laundry just sang to me from the basement. I have a TON of organizing to take care of, and a few small tasks to do that I know I’ll forget if I don’t do them very soon. As in “today” soon. Oh and I need to wrap some presents! My gosh. I say again, if I even come close to wiping this list off, I’m going to feel VERY accomplished!

Last thought of the day. I asked Solly where his nose is, and he just laughed at me. He wouldn’t show me, but he started pointing to my face. I moved in closer and he giggled harder, but eventually poked me square in the nose with the wet goldfish cracker in his hands. So he may not have found his nose yet, but he found mine! It makes sense, really. Mine is adult size and his is still just a bitty little button. He so so cute.

I have this pending dream I’ve mentioned on here very vaguly in the past, about being able to have people in my home, and to help them in some way. I don’t want to go into great detail, because I have yet to even sort out all of my thoughts on the matter, but I have some aspirations that are constantly bubbling up that make me excited and overwhelmed and curious all at once. Part of this dream involves me being available to a lot of people. I want people to be able to reach me when they need me. What is tricky about this is that, while I think I can fairly safely say that I’m an extrovert, I’m also a homebody, and sometimes I’m pretty antisocial. I really love my family, and I often choose to stay in rather than go out because our “normal” is already busy without having to go out and find something to be busy with. Does that make any sense? I’m basically saying I’m not great at being busy. Yet SO many of the things I want to still do in my life involve adding yet more activity to my life! Sometimes, that aspect gets me all discouraged.

Today is one of those funny days where I feel like a chicken running around with my head cut off. (Pretty sick analogy when I’m over here, dreaming of raising chickens, also.) I feel like I ran ALL morning. I didn’t, but compared to an average day, I was busier than usual. I didn’t get coffee until right before I had to pick Laela back up from preschool. I found myself getting quite overwhelmed, but I tried to step back and look at the situation for exactly what it was. Like how some things are more obvious to people who are further from the situation, I tried to step away. And really, the busyness wasn’t my issue. It was all of the little things that are coming up in the next week or two that I feel like I’m going to forget. Today isn’t crazy, but my mind is! So I sat down and wrote down all of the little things I was worried about. Find the deadline for when I need to order Laela’s school pictures. (which are ridiculously cute, by the way) Remember to order for her preschool fundraiser. Need to wash the kids water bottles. Pay for the epicure cheese maker thing. Remind Brady to pick up forms and groceries. Look up where to find a certain book for Christmas. All over the map, none of the things really relate, but they are ALL important and needing to get done very soon.

As soon as I had that list written, I felt lighter. I was able to look back on my morning and not feel like it had been chaotic, but great! I had accomplished a handful of things, I had helped someone, I had gotten my kids where they needed to be, everyone was fed, and I could actually sit and enjoy the sun streaming in the window!

Its these tiny moments that give me hope that, one day, busyness won’t have to stress me out so much. I can LOVE home, and quiet, while still functioning beautifully in busyness! I CAN achieve these goals that I have, and it WON’T kill me! It sounds small, but it was a motivating morning.

I need to come up for a better word for “busy,” because its seemed like such a negative thing for so long, and it needs a facelift. Persevering? Having a full plate? Dynamic? Wholehearted! Yes!

We looked over everything in advance this year, and made a list of what winter gear we needed and what we already had. It wasn’t too bad of a scene. Dekker and Laela still fit their stuff from last year, pants and jackets. Solly fit what Rowan wore last year. We did not have a set for Rowan, so that went on the list. Beyond that, everyone had mitts and toques, and everything else. ALL we needed was pants and a jacket for Ro. So we got them, and everything was smooth.

Until this weekend, when we actually bundled everyone up, and Solly’s boots wouldn’t stay on. They are far too small. We have the next size up, but Rowan is wearing them.

We’re in a tricky situation with the little boys, because they’re SO close in size!! Rowan is pretty average in his size at this point, and Solly isn’t exactly big, but he’s tall, and that puts them in almost the exact same size. Solly is in 18-24 month currently, but if its not a diaper shirt, its too short. So really, if we’re buying him clothes, we’re buying 2T. Rowan still fits 2T, but just to avoid buying all the same sizes and having TONS of 2T stuff, we’re starting to move Rowan into 3T. It fits, but its kind of hangy/bulky. Not my favorite style, but we’re working with it. This all being said, Rowan could wear his stuff from last year, but would be a bit on the smaller side, and Solly would be without, since the next size down that we have is 12-18 months, I believe, and there is NO way Solly would fit that! So, Rowan scored new outerwear but now we need new boots, and we meed them soon!!

Maybe, if this kid would ever walk, I wouldn’t feel so dumb buying him $40 boots. Why, I ask, are boots SO much even from basic, non-branded places?!?! Gah! Winter wear is my nemesis. Every. Single. Winter. WHY do I have to pay SO MUCH for something I don’t even like?!?!

First work problems. I know. Just let me get them out.

…as the street scraper whirs outside…

We had plans to have a low key morning with our sickies and start decorating for Christmas. Nothing too crazy at all, I promise! We have this beautiful vaulted ceiling, which results in big open space above our kitchen cabinets. Last Christmas, we gathered together a variety of mismatched decorative trees and lined them up on top of our cabinets. We ran white lights behind them so they would glow in the dark early mornings and the evenings. And guys, it was SUCH a gorgeous set up! At the end of the season, it seemed such a shame to take them down. If I remember right, they stayed up there through winter, long after our other Christmas decorations were taken down. I wish I could think of other beautiful things to put up there in other seasons, but then I would have to store yet more decor, and my goodness, Christmas decorations take up so much room!! But this little tree display is by far my favorite area of decor in our house!

The goal of today was to start there. The kids could choose which tree would go where, and they all LOVE Christmas lights, so they’d be excited as it was all put together. However, our little angels were not quite so cooperative this morning, and by 11:00, everyone was exhausted and frustrated and needing to rest. So, Brady bathed them quickly before lunch. It was too late for Solly, unfortunately, and he was half asleep during his bath. So he missed lunch completely and went right to bed! Good thing he slept in this morning and ate breakfast a bit later. Rowan had a little rest in his bed after throwing a total fit in the tub, then had lunch and fell right to sleep in his bed no problem. Dekker and Laela ate a little and are playing Lego quietly. Brady is having a shower and I’m in bed. We are tired, haha!

It will be nice to duck out of the house and spend the evening at my parents, for a relaxed supper and a chat. Christmas decorating can wait another day. But not too much longer 😉 We are more than ready!

I went to a Christmas marketplace event at one of our local churches this morning with a friend of mine. My original plan, when we decided to go together, was to walk! Cold weather or not, exercise is a thing that some people do on purpose, right? But then it snowed about 10 cms last night and I nixed my plan. Driving would be fine. I offered to pick her up in the bus, because that sucker can drive through anything.

I still stand behind that, because it was a breeze to drive all last winter, but it also had winter tires last winter, and we don’t have them on yet. And it really shows!! Probably the main thing I dislike about our bus is that its rear wheel drive. I know there are benefits to both ways, but I really don’t like rear wheel drive on such a big vehicle. As if my turns aren’t already fairly wide, now its so much easier to slide right on through! Even more than the size of our bus, readjusting my driving intentionally for the rear wheel drive detail was a pain in the butt. Or the rear. You get it.

Once I got back home, Brady and I discussed the afternoon. I had a leg wax in the city in the early afternoon, and I was a bit apprehensive about driving there on my own. I’m not ultra-afraid of all winter driving, but its this very first chunk that I dislike extra. No one else knows how to drive anymore, and the roads are just slick, with no build up of snow or grip or anything. Not everyone (myself included) has their winter tires on, and just all of the little details like that make me not want to drive in traffic. I could have, but instead, we decided to all run in together as a family, and make a grocery shop out of it.

Brady took the three older kids into Superstore while Solly and I hung out in the van. He snored quietly and I listened to The Rocket Summer and played on my phone. It was so restful and nice. From there, I went to my waxing appointment, which I like more than you would think. Its a self care thing, where I get to be pampered, refreshed, all while enjoying a chat with someone I really like! I say it all the time, but I have the best people, in every field. We hit Costco afterwards, which was a breeze because the kids just love it, haha! Anyone else’s kids LOVE grocery shopping? I feel like I may never use the pick up “click and collect” system, because they’re just so happy in a grocery store, haha! Way to be the odd one, Hailey…

We came home happy but a few in the gang were quite tired. We stretched out on the couches and watched some funny music videos on YouTube while Brady fried up some perogies and bacon for supper. It was such a nice evening! Even though it was cold outside 😉 Maybe winter doesn’t have to be fully miserable…

I realized this morning that Dekker had hot lunch at school! I try so hard to be organized, but the last two hot lunches, I’ve filled out the form and sent money back to school without looking at the date for the actual lunch! Not the brightest, I know. But its usually for the following Friday. I texted a friend and she confirmed it. Yes! I LOVE not making his lunch, haha! Its not like its complicated, or that I don’t like helping him out, but not making a lunch means sitting at the table with my breakfasters and sipping coffee. Its nicer that way. One day, when we have enough school-aged kids to justify it, I’m going to buy a schwack ton of bread and fixings, and we’re all going to make a month work of sandwiches for lunch in one sitting. Its going to be amazing!

I took Dekker to school, all bundled up in snow pants and all of the winter gear he’d need for -50. He was super happy, and happily ran off into the snow with his friends. There’s not much of it now, but the forecast suuuuucks, so we know its coming! Winter tires are going on next week!

While Dekker was at school, Laela asked for her “homework,” and did a couple more pages of her work book from the other day. She is just loving the practice.

She wanted to keep going, but I called it at two pages, and that was ok. She had little brothers itching to play with her, so life moved on. I took that opportunity to grab a shower! Woot!

Parts of my latest hair color have been fading and starting to loos brassy. It was getting to a point where I was actually self conscious, which isn’t me. But a big yellow streak right on the top of my head was hard to hide, whether it was down or tied up. As I was in the shower, I remembered I bought a toning shampoo a while ago that adds a purple/blue tinge to the lighter pieces of my hair. Life saver, right? So I used that today and let me tell you, it saved my hair’s butt! (Yes, my hair has a butt.) Its definitely more blue than purple, but I’m kin of into it.

I had a quick re-shave with my hair girl this afternoon and she lovingly curled my fuzzy freshly washed hair for me. It felt good to be rid of those weird yellow pieces that looked so green next to the blue. This is way better.

I made it back to town just as it was time to pick Dekker up from school. It’s so windy and snowy today, and there is only more to come. But there are positives. Mukluk weather, for one thing. … There’s probably another positive thing, but its eluding me for the moment. But I think we can agree that mukluks count for two. Right? Right.

We’ve all been some form of sick for a little while now. Thankfully, its NOWHERE near as awful as our spell of sickness last year. Its just kind of an annoying, persistent cold. No big deal, really. Yesterday, however, Laela developed a super yucky chesty cough, and while she tried pretty hard to cough into her arm every chance she got, it was probably successful once every five coughs. I decided yesterday already that today wouldn’t be a good day to take her to school. Even though her mood was happy and she seemed capable enough, I didn’t want her to be coughing on everything and everyone at preschool. When I broached the subject this morning, she hesitated, but surprisingly agreed to stay home. She loves preschool, so I knew right then that she was’t feeling great, and she knew it. She was content to stay home and colour.

A few minutes before I left, she pulled out her paper and some markers, and asked me to draw the number 2 at the top of the page. I did it, and she started practicing!

She did great! But lost interest pretty quick. I then remembered that I was armed with education, lol!

I bought these little work books in summer with the intention to casually run through them with Dekker and Laela right before school and preschool started, just to get a good refresh for Dekker and some motor skills with Laela. August turned out to be not our best month, if you remember, so it never happened. Well, today was the day 🙂 I pulled out Laela’s pre-K one and she went to town on it!

She held her marker the right way, even, which was awesome!! Sadly, I had to leave right as she got started, but once Laela got to the letter portion, Brady documented it for me.

I was so excited to see how eager she was to practice letters, and how she herself initiated the whole thing! She’s such a sweet little girl <3 Even when she’s sick, she’s still impressing me.

Way to go, Laela!!!

I had written out yesterday’s post in the afternoon, but I didn’t want to post it until I had a picture of each kid in their costume, which didn’t happen until the evening. I intended to quickly add the pictures and post it right before we went out trick or treating. However, once everyone was dressed and ready, we took pictures and bolted immediately in an effort to avoid everyone overheating in their absurd amount of layers. And I forgot to post. Ah well. I put it up as soon as we got the kids to bed, and now today, I’ll tell you how it went!

Last year, the kids were very shy to say anything to the people giving them candy. My best memory of last year was when Dekker and Laela went to the ONE house on their own while Brady and I stood at the street. It was towards the end of our night, and they were familiar with the process. When someone came to the door, Dekker said in his most stern voice “trick or treating.” We died laughing. It was hilarious. This year, however, all three of the older ones were eager and saying their piece, following it all up with their pleases and thank yous. It was cute. But let me tell you, it was slowww going! Rowan was so very uncoordinated, and it took him forever to get up and down the stairs. Of course, we helped him, but they were being so independent and cute, and we liked letting them just go by themselves sometimes. It was pretty funny to watch. It got a little hairy a couple of times when our slow movers suddenly were joined by masses of larger, faster, louder children on the tiny little entrance steps. Our kids aren’t fans of that kind of thing, but they rolled with it pretty well. Only Rowan got hung up on other people a couple of times.

We drove around and stopped at the houses of people we know, and a couple of other random houses along the way. Our kids had a total riot, and so did we. It was cute and cold and happy and it always helps when the kids are happy. We stopped and talked to a few people, and stayed far too long at others 😉 You know who you are. It was refreshing to get out and about and to see everyone having fun.

We strategically dressed the kids in comfy, pj-ish clothing that they could sleep in, so once we got them home, it was a very quick process to get them to bed. The entire evening, including bedtime, was meltdown-free, and we didn’t have to shush them once after they had been tucked in. The house, on the other hand, was an enormous mess! It was covered with disregarded costume pieces, laundry from getting into the costumes in the first place, tags from the new ones, outerwear was all over the stairs, candy covered the island as well as small handfuls of garbage from the candy that had been eaten along the way. Such. A. Mess. Brady and I agreed to deal with it in the morning, haha!

I can confirm now that it is all tidied up, candy is sorted, and costumes are put away. With that, Laela is napping with the little boys today, and Dekker is heavily participating in PJ day at school. That is going to be one tired group! And I am absolutely part of it!! Everyone either at school or in bed means that I can be in bed too!!!