Month: December 2018

The Last Weekday Before Christmas

So, oops.

I completely missed the memo that today was the last weekday before Christmas holidays!! Foolishly, I made city plans today, and was in Saskatoon for the bulk of the day! While it was pure insanity, I’m happy I went in and got those few things done!

I got my legs and arms freshly waxed, which was overdue and felt OH so good! I got my nails redone also, which was necessary. Both of my thumbnail gels had come clean off, and things were looking rough. Plus, with the gel off of those, they were thin and sharp and I was starting to pick at my skin. So it was more than time. It felt good to get that taken care of. I opted for some plain medium grey nails, because if you know me at all, you know I think grey is the comfiest color, and that feels like a good theme for the season!

I had some time to kill after that and was on a mission to find one more Christmas gift thats been eluding me. I tried Winners but walked out empty handed. Trust me, I could’ve bought a handful of things for myself easily, but I resisted. I resisted there, anyway. Made up for “missed opportunity” later…

I hit Walmart for a handful of necessities, and scanned around for that gift I couldn’t find. I ended up in the makeup zone and snagged a couple of items I’ve had my eye on for a while now. Again, I could’ve done a lot more damage than I did. I bought two out of the three things that I really wanted, and left a few other fun things behind, so go me! Still couldn’t find that gift, though.

Leaving Walmart was bananas. BANANAS. I had already parked aaaaall the way in the back, which is my usual go-to move, but like even further back! Everything was so tight, I was having a pretty brutal time getting out of my spot, and these two wonderful women came to my rescue and guided me out. What a relief!

I made my way to my last appointment, to get the side of my head touched up. Good thing I gave myself extra time because it was completely crazy downtown!! I circled the block a couple of times before I buckled and took a parking spot about a block away. But it was fine. I was still a little early for my appointment, and my hair girl had just finished up with her previous client! We actually dug in a little deeper today, and she washed my hair and tried a new style in it. It didn’t work out how either of us were hoping, but its still a fun look, and was nice to just chat and catch up a bit before Christmas. I love her. She’s the best.

I hit Lawson mall as a last ditch effort to find that present. I searched the whole place and came out without, again. I did buy myself another thing. Don’t judge me. It was just little. A shirt. No biggie. But nothing for that last gift. Oh well. That person already has presents. I just wanted ONE more.

I made it home to my whole family, wide awake and happy. Dekker and Laela were home from their last day of school before Christmas. Wavy was awake from her nap. Rowan and Solly were playing happily, up from their naps. Everyone was well! Laela and I ducked out together to drop off a Christmas gift quickly before supper, but now we’re all cozied in for the evening!

Well, they are. Brady and I are heading to practice for Christmas Eve at our church!! Are you guys coming? Its open to everyone, at 7:00pm on the 24th, and I hear the music is going to be good!! 😉

Happy Friday night, friends. Snuggle in and enjoy the very beginning of the holidays!

Christmas Concerts 2018

Today was the day! Dekker and Laela had their school Christmas concerts. It was SO CUTE. I’m sad that I’m not able to share pictures, but to respect the privacy of others, you’re just going to have to trust me on this. Our group of admirers were cute, too!

It took a little while before our kids made their appearances, but it was worth the wait!

Dekker was SO excited to do the dab in front of everyone *face palm* and while he sang and did all the actions, he was completely deadpan, which made it sooooo much funnier! Doing all the motions with his hands with no wiggle or expression change. It. Was. Hysterical.

Laela’s class came up towards the end. She was placed at the end of the rows, and she twirled and swayed as she sang along to their song. Again, SO cute. She looked so floaty and comfortable up there.

To wrap up the performance, the entire school filled the front of the gym snd sang a handful of songs together. I could pick out both kids easily, and watched them as they sang and did actions and participated beautifully. I was fluffy proud of them both. I’m so happy with their school and their teachers and everything they’re learning.

Was such a happy afternoon, holding the baby snug in the back of the gym.

One more day of school before the break!!

Improvement in the Midst of Busyness

My cold is going to lift in time for Christmas. I can feel it! Or I’m just making it up. But I’m counting on it, anyway!

I was in rough shape yesterday evening, and Brady told me I could load up on cold meds and knock out for the night, so I did. I know at one point, my coughing woke Waverly, and I know Brady got up and fed her, but I don’t remember that part. Whoops. My bad. Sorry, guys. With that though, and Brady’s willingness to do the morning for me, I slept in beautiful until around 9:30. I’m not all better by any means, but I can feel improvement is on the horizon! I’m not holed up in bed, miserable, but I’m resting my voice and body, and they’re both SO thankful. They told me. 

Brady and I are part of the music at our church’s Christmas Eve service, so I really need a voice before then! And ideally I’d have one through the rest of the season. 

Today has been successful. I have some voice, unlike yesterday, but I’m using it sparingly. I’m still hiding out upstairs for most part. Drinking water and trying to eat more than just cough candies. I did have a quick outing today, though. Going out seemed to make my body happy, to move around and get some fresh air. It was good to be around people again, too. I feel so fortunate to have the chance to just hide and rest and recoup, but I also miss my people. 

I hope you’re all well this week, or at least well in time for Christmas! Now is NOT the time of year to be riddled with illness! Stay healthy, my friends. 

They’re Out!!

Yesterday’s debacle is finally sorted out! I ventured out yesterday in search of envelopes. Martensville had nothing to offer me, so I drove into the city and hit Staples. They came through, and I walked out there with what I needed. That evening, Brady was out for a couple of hours, and I sat in bed, watched YouTube, and addressed everything. It didn’t even take that long! While it was annoying to lose all the time I thought I had saved by addressing the first batch of envelopes, this way they were all in front of me, organized into groups of cards to mail, drop off, send to school, or to give to people we’d see during the holidays. 

We decided to make a day of it today! My cold turned miserable yesterday evening, so Brady let me sleep in and got the kids off to school this morning. He even remembered to send their teachers gifts and – you guessed it – Christmas cards with them! Once they were on their way, he dressed the little boys and got basically everything else ready. I dragged my butt out of bed and dressed myself and Waverly before we all loaded up in the van. And guys. We CRUSHED it. 

We drove around town and delivered the local ones to everyones houses. We hit the post office and mailed out all the maily ones. We dropped by the church and stuffed a bunch in mailboxes there. Then we drove to the city and dropped off the gifts and cards for our doctors, and drove aaaaall the way across town to give one to Brady’s site supervisor. So many cards out the door!!! All thats left are the few that we’ll hand out when people come over this way, and a couple that we need to drop off with small gifts. I’m SO thrilled to have the bulk of that taken care of! What a huge success getting that off my list!

We finished off our city trip with some Costco shopping. Its kind of funny how people there are starting to remember us. Our cashier commented on how well behaved our kids were, and then noted that there were fewer of us than usual. I tend to forget that we stand out, because we feel pretty normal to us! But maybe not standard to everyone else 🙂 

We took the kids out for some lunch before driving home. 

I feel lighter having those cards on the go! We have a small handful left, but I’m also pretty sure we accidentally got extra from our order. Not complaining! We were cutting it SUPER close before, and this feels better. 

Whats left to do? Christmas concerts are this week, last minute appointments, etc. I’m so ready to kick this cold to the curb and get my Christmas on!!!

About the Christmas Cards

I’m VERY happy to finally be able to say that we have our Christmas pictures in hand!! It has been an ORDEAL! Let me break it down as short and sweet as possible. The Readers Digest version.

I ordered our Christmas cards from Vistaprint towards the end of November. Now I want to say that I really like Vistaprint! I’ve used them for Christmas pictures before, as well as invites, signs, stickers, shirts, etc. I’m a solid Vistaprint customer. Their clarity for photos isn’t 100%, but its pretty good. I love the beefy cardstock they used for invites and cards, and have always been satisfied with my results. Except this time. I ordered our pictures, and they shipped out the next day! I was thrilled. I loved the design, and the price was so good thanks to the extended Black Friday promo. I was super excited. 

When they came, I was pretty disappointed. I tried to be happy, because I was super excited to have them in hand, but the color was SO washed out, and the “clarity” wasn’t clear at all. They were pixelated and green and weird. On top of that, there was what appeared to be a printing error/smudge on the front, in the beautiful stark white background. But it was December, and I wanted these cards out. So I swallowed my angst and decided to send them out anyway. However, I emailed Vistaprint and told them how disappointed I was. I sent a picture along with my complaint and showed them the smudge on the front. I said I was unhappy with them, but I didn’t have time for them to resent them to me. I wanted a refund, plain and simple. 

The morning after I sent that email, I received one back. They assured me the smear was part of the template (it isn’t, I’ve looked back and zoomed in) but that they were going to be SO generous and send me out a fresh batch without the smudge. They said it should arrive mid to late December, and hopefully that would be fine. “I trust this issue is resolved” the email read. Along with that email was an order confirmation for this renewed order the Vistaprint employee had put through. So I had a big, frustrated cry. Because I didn’t want to wait for another batch! And if I did, I would’ve pointed out the horrible color and clarity issues. Instead, I’d be waiting for a batch that was minimally better, that I still wouldn’t want to send out to our loved ones. I emailed back and said that no, the issue was not resolved. I pointed out how I specifically said I didn’t have the time to wait, and that I wanted my refund. The next day, I received a standard refund email, along with a shipment confirmation of 100 envelopes… Apparently they cancelled the cards but still sent the envelopes. Don’t ask me, guys. It was SO dumb. 

I took to Facebook. Some of you already know that. Was there anywhere that could get me good cards in good time?? And there was! I sought out Melissa at Green Pixel Designs & Printing, and she saved my butt. She put my order in that day!! I ordered 100 matte, double sided, 5×7 cards for almost the exact same price I received in refunds from Vistaprint. In the days to follow, I was nice and fired up and motivated to get stuff done. I took the envelopes that came with the bad Vistaprint cards and addressed every single one I planned to send out. I put in lots of work and felt SO accomplished when it was done. Such a perfect stack of white envelopes just waiting for their cards. The day I got those cards in hand, I was going to stuff those envelopes and get them ALL out my door!

Today has been the blissful day where I FINALLY have those cards in my hands, and wow. Guys, they’re SO much better than Vistaprint’s cards! SO much better! The clarity is way better, the color is way nicer, they’re matte instead of glossy (for some reason, Vistaprint wouldn’t let me switch to matte) and the writing on the back fills the card out way nicer. Its just so much better. 

As planned, the moment I had them, I grabbed the box of addressed envelopes off the island where its been living, and wouldn’t you know it. Vistaprints 5×7 cards are NOT 5×7!!!!! So every single envelope that I previously addressed to save time is a loss, because the envelopes are too small. Think about how a 2×4 chunk of wood is actually about a half inch smaller in each direction. Yup. Apparently that’s how Vistaprint prints cards. I. Was. Livid. Still am, a little.

I went upstairs and had my pity party. Like a BIG one. I already have a cold today, but my throat went from sore to raw during my cry. But, I’ve gotten it out now, and its time to keep on trucking. This afternoon, I’ll drive to the city or Martensville or wherever else I have to, find myself some envelopes that fit real 5×7 cards, address the heck out of them, and get those suckers out tomorrow. Because I’m done waiting. I have the cards finally, and they’re BEAUTIFUL. I’m SO thankful to be able to send out cards this year. They’re such a small gift, but I can’t imagine how else to reach out to everyone who has rallied around us this year, so this is going to have to do! 

Thank you, Green Pixel, for picking up the torch and making this happen for me! And thank you to Cher for the beautiful family pictures! My heart is happy to have such pretty cards to send out!

Just in Time for the Holidays

I’ve had a sore throat for a few days now, but its been mostly overnight. I’ve been hoping its just an issue of the house being dry, but after a night with a humidifier next to me, my throat is officially yucky and phlegmy. I’m getting sick. Because its Christmas. So why not? 

Maybe its actually great. Maybe I’ll get it all over and done with before Christmas, and if I’m a good human being, I’ll manage to keep it to myself. 

An impending sickness paired with yesterday’s challenging evening, Brady’s work-filled Saturday, and this mornings choppiness, I feel like I could go to bed tonight right now. 

We’re spending the day at home. I have to get these gifts wrapped, because they’re just sitting out in our room and I keep forgetting they’re there and letting the kids go up for one thing or another. It has to stop! So its time to wrap them. At least the kids gifts. 

This week is the LAST week before Christmas! Are you guys ready? Anyone not even started yet? I have a couple of things I’m still waiting for to come in the mail, and another thing or two I’d like to buy if I can find them, but it’s ok if I don’t. That person has other gifts bought for them already. I still have to get my Christmas cards out, and they’re not in my possession yet. However, I’m SO proud of myself! All envelopes are addressed and labelled and ready to go! So I have NO EXCUSE not to send them out! But I’m very much hoping I’ll have those in hand in a matter of days, and they’ll be out the door on the same day. I’m SO eager to get them moving!

Brady is almost done work for the calendar year! I’m so looking forward to this week playing out, and then soaking up the holidays with my family for a couple of weeks. I’m so ready. Are you guys ready? 

2018 Resolutions: How Did I Do?

I looked back for my new years resolutions, and I’m really happy I called them intentions. I felt less crappy about the fact that I didn’t remember any of them. There is just less pressure tied to intentions than resolutions. Anyway, I’ll stop nitpicking words. I only had three intentions this year and I don’t fail at ALL of them, so I’ll count that as a win!

Intention number one. Set money aside for Christmas. Nope. Did not do that. Maybe next year. 

Intention number two. Step up my blog game. I feel like I did that! Like its nothing crazy, but I did a few things different! I maintained my series and did a few mini series in there, too. I plan a bit better and pre-write posts when I have time so I can have better content and more thought out posts. I made a blog instagram page. That being said, I said on my “intentions” post that I would try to have specifically planned blogs every Monday and Friday, and I didn’t do that. But I still think, as a whole, I improved.

Intention number three. Stay more organized and don’t lose your mind when things get busy. I’m still not great at this, but I’m getting better! My appointment book helped a lot, as did open lines of communication with my husband and the people around me. Our group of friends and support has grown immensely, and I know better than ever that I can ask for help and receive it. I promise, I know it goes both ways! I do put into their lives, too! I’ve said before that having something extra up each day is as busy as I care to be, and sometimes even that feels like too much. I’m learning that I actually kind of enjoy that level of busyness! Some of the most fun days in the recent months have been the days where I literally have different company in the morning, afternoon, and evening all in one day! I’m learning that jobs can be stopped and started. I don’t have to blitz everything I do in one sitting, though its ideal. Its ok to be busy, and do as much as you can in the day, but its good to love your life, too!

Making “resolutions” like this is the way to do it for me! I’m sure I’ll be back in January with some fresh ones! Did any of you set intentional goals this year? How did you do?

Stay Awaaake!

I’ve been missing my little Waverly a lot recently. She’s been sleeping most of the days away. We so rarely see her. So as I’m attempting to keep her up a little bit longer this evening, she’s not particularly thrilled. So I’ll leave you with this very short, unexciting blog. Its got a few cute pictures of the little sleeping beauty herself, in her wakeful glory! 

Meanwhile, look at the mane on this kid!

Isn’t it amazing?!?! Its SO gorgeous, and SO smooth! Its like butter, really. If you touched his hair, you’d understand even more why I’m happy to leave it untouched. 

It was such a lovely day of company and coffee and cookies. The evening holds promise for perogies, a bubble bath, and some New Girl. If you like New Girl, drop everything and watch it, because its off Netflix as of December 31st! Priorities, people. 

I hope you all had as sweet of a day as I did! Brady is working tomorrow, but I’m fortunate enough to have company tomorrow, too, so it’ll hopefully feel less like a Saturday and more like a regular day at home without Brady. I love my friends. 

#tbt

I’ve told you guys before that I revisit Waverly’s birth photos regularly. It used to be every single day, but as life gets fuller and time moves forward, its a bit less. But today was one of the days where I did go there again, and my oh my, what a day it was! 

Waverly was awake for probably her first hour on me, yet there was no crying or fussing or wanting for anything. She just lay on my chest, perfectly content and still. 

I remember feeling the utmost relief to finally have her in my arms, and I couldn’t help but feel like she was relieved to have me in hers, too. She had been SO active on the inside, but once she was outside and with her mom and dad, she was good. She was maybe just as happy to have us as we were to have her. 

It all just comes rushing back when I look through her pictures. She kept us on our toes more than any other baby during her delivery. The unexpected bleeding. The drops in heart rate. The longer-than-average (for me) labour. And then when she was finally born, that hair. That crazy umbilical cord. That teeny little body. From start to finish, that girl is an individual! 

It felt like a good day for a throwback, because its weighing so warmly on my heart today. I’m still often brought back to the fact that baby #5 did come home, healthy and well. Our little Bambina. What immense healing she brought along with her.

We love you, Waverly Violet!

Chilled Through

Today isn’t even that cold. But I’m cold. I think I just feel wintery. Anyone else?

Brady has a day or two off this week. It must be having him home that’s making me feel like its already the holidays. I’ve been spending the home days in leggings and comfy sweaters. Drinking more coffee. Christmas lights are on. Almost all the work is done. School can end and Christmas can start anytime now! We’re all ready. 

I wrapped all teacher and doctors gifts last night, plus another one or two. I’m usually a tad obsessive and keep every “good” box that enters our house for the sake of wrapping gifts, but since I’ve been better about letting some go to recycling, I have no good gift wrapping boxes!!! Either I’m going to end up buying boxes or just giving out a lot of lumpy gifts. OR I’ll wrap gifts in food boxes out of the pantry. I’ve definitely done that before. Just thinking about getting everything wrapped and out under the tree makes me excited. I’m feeling festive. 

We’re getting the music organized for the Christmas Eve service. The school Christmas concert is coming up. Holiday plans are finally coming out of the woodwork. Final year end appointments are being scheduled. Everything is about to roll over. 

I’m planning some posts looking back on 2018 as a whole, and how we did on our “resolutions” this year. Wish I remembered what they were… That’s awkward. I’ll look them up but something tells me I may or may not have failed hard, haha! Oy! Oh well. This year was a win for at least one VERY obvious reason! We’ll talk more about that soon 🙂 For now, I’m just so happy that Christmas is almost here!