Its been a while, but it was bound to happen again at some point! I got the call from the school yesterday that Dekker was complaining of a tummy ache. Apparently he had been upset and crying on and off all morning, so they decided it would be best for him to go home.

When I got this call, I had just gotten all the kids down for naps. I felt a bit helpless for a minute there, but I knew Cher was on her way over for a visit and would be in town within a few minutes. I told the school I’d be there shortly, and they said to come gather him at the office.

As soon as Cher pulled up, I left, giving her a two second rundown of what was happening. There was no panic, but I didn’t want to leave him floating by the office in the admin’s hands for too long.

When I arrived at the school, he was sitting in a doorway with his stuff piled beside him. He looked pretty zoned out. He had a chocolate moustache and a cupcake in hand. I crouched down to talk to him and help him gather his stuff, and heard the high pitched happy little voice that I know all too well.

“Hi, Dekker! Hi, Mommy!” Laela squealed as she walked down the hallway past us. I greeted her back and Dekker stared into nowhere. It was time to take him home.

We walked towards the van and I asked how he was feeling. It had been kind of suggested to me that maaaybe he was upset about having a substitute teacher that day, or maaaybe he didn’t like gym, or something like that. Maaaybe he wasn’t actually sick. So I tried to open the conversation really gently, and asked him why he thought he was feeling sick, and when it started. He immediately broke down into tears, saying his stomach and head have been hurting all morning, and that it had been a really, really hard day. I reassured him that I believed him, and that I was more than happy to take him home. I suggested we’d maybe save the cupcake, and he willingly handed it over. On our drive home, I asked if he’d had any lunch, and he hadn’t. I asked if he wanted some, and he started crying all over again.

“No thanks, mom,” he said. “I think I just want to go to bed.”

So thats what he did! Usually, when I keep a kid home from school, I ask that they nap/rest during quiet time. But he was the one who initiated it, and went totally willingly. I put a bucket by his bed, just in case, and tucked him in, but he resurfaced soon thereafter for his water bottle. He was just shrucking and teary the entire time. He said he was ok, but he wanted to go to bed.

That was around noon. He slept for a good while. I went to check on him around 2:45, and he was awake, but still weepy and miserable. I hugged him, and realized, he was HOT! He was fevering good and proper. I offered him some Tylenol, and told him it would take a little bit to kick in.

“Can I stay in bed while I wait?”

Yes, of course!

So I gave Dekker his medication and he tucked back in. I went to get Laela from school pretty quick after that, and by the time I got home to check on him, he was in way better spirits! He came out of his room and unpacked his backpack from before. He put his lunch in the fridge for another day, and he even played with Wavy a bit!

We haven’t had a sick day in a while, and this was a pretty gentle way to have one. Dekker is such a good sport, and so self aware! I’m very proud of him for knowing what he needs, even when he’s upset, and standing up for himself.

Feel better, Dekker! ❤️

I’ve gotten this question a handful of times, so I figured I’d talk about it! Is Rowan potty trained? Very recently, the short answer was “no.” But you know I’m going to give you the long answer 😉

Our current short answer to that question is “pretty much, yup.” Yes, he’s four, and that seems late. But we had reasons!

One big reason was his personality. While fabulous, Rowan has a really floaty personality. I’ve often said he’d never take off in a public place, but if the wind blew, he’d be gone. He just kind of goes along with whatever. With that general carefree nature, he was pretty neutral on the subject of bathroom stuff. He seemed completely unaware of when he would go, and it didn’t bother him to have a wet/dirty diaper. Waiting for him to be “ready” took forever. 

Another factor, which I won’t go too in-depth with is that Rowan pretty much always had diarrhea. We’ve since figured out his lactose intolerance and turned that whole thing around. We couldn’t imagine trying to potty train a kid who was in a perpetual state of the poops. 

The last factor around why we waited with the potty training is just that life picked up, and we weren’t in a rush. We knew he’d use the toilet eventually, and frankly, this was not the first time we’d had three kids in diapers. Changing his diaper didn’t put us off. It was just life. So we weren’t feeling the big need to push him to train, and he couldn’t have cared less about it.

Around Christmas time, kind of out of nowhere, Rowan decided he wanted to wear underwear. Which was AWESOME. Its always SO much better when the kid initiates it! He successfully used the toilet a handful of times, but our quiet, low key Christmas picked up and literally every single day of the holiday was loaded with plans and play and company. It just was not the time to potty train, so we put him in pull-ups, and he used them as expensive diapers over the holiday. Sadly, after the holidays, Ro was over it, and didn’t care to try and potty train. Booooo.

You’re probably aware, but Rowan turned four towards the end of February. We talked a lot about how he was officially big now, and it was time for underwear and toilets and all that stuff. And he was into it! He rocked pull-ups for a bit, but it was just too easy for him to pee in them. He peed in the toilet often, and was totally capable, but when he didn’t feel like it, he wouldn’t. Our incentives didn’t affect him much, either. So we bit the bullet and finally put him in underwear, anticipating at least a few days of peeing on the floor. Lo and behold, he did SO well!!! He definitely knew what to do, and he didn’t pee on the floor once! However, as many kids do, he saved most of his business for nap time and bedtime, when we’d put him back in a pull-up. So last week, for naps, we left him in underwear. Ad let me tell you, he SOAKED that bed a couple of times! WOW! Thank the Lord for mattress protectors!! Hahaha! Lucky for us, he was super put off by the wetness of his accident. He was finally affected by his messes! It seemed to open his eyes.

The last several days have been accident-free! He’s still usually wet in the morning, but that will be along shortly, I’m sure. I had to share all of this today just so I can tell you what happened last night. I’m still torn about whether to be horrified, or giddy, or so so proud. Maybe you can help me out. 

***

Yesterday evening, Brady went down to the kitchen for something (Any other late night snackers out there?) and found Dekker, Laela, and Rowan ALL in the bathroom!! Just hanging out! He obviously sent everyone back to bed, as no one was actually using the bathroom. Just having a party. (Ain’t no potty like an S Club potty!) The kids all went back to bed, but I learned this morning, this was not their last potty party of the night.

Upon getting Laela up for school this morning, she told me she helped Rowan in the bathroom overnight. I figured she meant that evening party, where clearly at least one of them had gone into the bathroom with intention to use it, and maybe she had been there with Rowan while he peed or something. But apparently that wasn’t what she meant at all. 

Apparently, she had gotten up to pee, and while she was in there, Dekker and Rowan had both knocked to come in. She finished up and let them in. Dekker peed and left, and Rowan took his turn. Apparently he peed, and then pooped! AND LAELA WIPED HIM UP!!! I’m sure I looked like a total fool as she told me this story, but I was TOTALLY floored.
“Its really ok, mom.” Laela explained. “If I hadn’t helped him, he wouldn’t know if he was clean or not. He doesn’t know how yet. I just helped him like you used to help me.”

Totally. Floored. 

Is that awful? 

Or adorable?

Or mature?

Or gross?

Or amazing? 

I can’t decide for sure, but I’m inclined to just be so proud of my daughter, who knew what I would do, and took it upon herself to do just that, even though its a bit of a dirty job. 

I’m also SO proud of Rowan for pooping on his own, in the middle of the night, when he could’ve very easily used his pull-up. He didn’t want to! He wanted to use the toilet!! I’m SO impressed with his newfound self awareness! 

I post these things for my memories, and to maybe encourage others who don’t do everything the most conventional, common way. Its vulnerable, and I hope I can count on you guys not to judge us. I probably say “To each their own” multiple times a day, every single day. I respect you, so please respect us 🙂 I am SO proud of the direction we’re moving in with Rowan, and his maturity level!

Soon, I assume I’ll confidently be saying we’re down to only two in diapers!! Even now, Ro is only in a pull-up overnight, and if they’re going to keep having potty parties, I could see the pull-up not being necessary for too much longer! I’m so so proud of them all!

Husband Post!

Hailey wrote yesterday about how she’s away for the weekend at a craft retreat and today is our one full day at home without her. Nothing I haven’t done before. I like being able to manage all the kids on my own for at least a weekend. I feel like that an important thing to keep in mind for me as we have a more than average number of kids.

So while this was not our smoothest morning, we still managed to make it enjoyable and productive. The kids and I all woke up for breakfast around the same time and even Wavy enjoyed some cheerios with us.

Pretty quick after breakfast I set Wavy up in the living room with some toys and her baby gym and while the other kids ran circles around her, I grabbed the big vacuum from the basement and started vacuuming all the bedrooms and staircases. Just as I was finishing up the last set of stairs Laela got my attention with our smaller vacuum in hand and asked if she could vacuum the hard floors. As quick as I could say ‘Sure! That’d be so helpful, Sweetie!’, Rowan took her place with our carpet sweeper in hand asking if he could clean the living room rug. I was so pumped so see them volunteering to help that it motivated me to keep going.

I put on some music we recently purchased that the kids love and I started cleaning the main bathroom. Before I had even pulled out the lysol wipes I had Rowan and Dekker both asking what they could help with, and Laela was only a minute or two behind them. So, I set them all to work wiping down door handles, cabinet handles, light switches, chairs, cabinet fronts, and anything else we could think of that gets little kid sticky over time. They gave me a solid 30-40 minutes of cleaning!

Now our house smells like bleach, everything is back to its natural colour and theres about 50 wipes in our garbages. 😂

Solly and Wavy didn’t help at all but they were super cute and just added to the morale. 😊

Beyond that I also took some time to pull up the bottom track of our main bath shower doors. I could see mold starting to peek out from underneath it and its never sealed properly since I installed it before we moved in. Its always leaked a little water down the front of the tub during showers and when the kids splash.

So I cut the old silicone, pulled it up, cleaned up all the mold from under the track and put a thick new bead of silicone down underneath the track before reinstalling it.

No baths tonight! 😂

So thats been our day thus far. Hoping to keep it light and fun this afternoon. Lots of music and jumping around and yummy easy supper. Maybe macaroni tonight. 😍

Side note, if you haven’t heard this song yet, please go check it out. It was an instant dancey favourite in our house! It’s not as much about drinking as you’d think from the title. Don’t judge!

As mentioned, I’m going away this weekend to get my crocheting on! I’m looking forward to trying a whole new avenue of crocheting, and I have a few to choose from. Who knows where I’ll end up, but I’m very much looking forward to it.

I spent some time yesterday getting things together. Many women who go to this retreat either do paper crafts (cards, scrapbooking, etc.) and many others do quilting. They have to bring WAY more stuff than I do. I bring a couple tubs of yarn with some extras thrown in. I feel like I just went to one of these retreats, even though it was a few months back, but I think I have a pretty good handle on what actually needs to come along with me. What I didn’t use last time, and what I forgot and needed! Here it all is!

Basic clothing – sweats, leggings, and a stack of grey shirts. I’m not even kidding. I added a grey/blue one to make me feel like I had variety. But I’m just bringing all the comfy stuff. I’m not even bringing jeans. Sock and underwear. Don’t forget jammies, so sharing a cabin with a group of people doesn’t get awkward…

Food – So meals are provided but its suggested to bring a snack for people to share. I’m behind on this, but the plan is to bake up some quick Ghirardelli brownie cookies before I head out. Also, last time, coffee creamer hung out in the dining hall but not in the craft area where we spent most of our time. Sooooo I’m bringing creamer too, because, coffee snob.

Toiletries – Almost nothing. Toothbrush and paste, brush, deodorant, and moisturizer. Chapstick. The end. I might bring mascara so I can look put together if I want to. But I likely won’t want to.

Sleeping bag and pillow, obviously. Phone charger. Maybe a snuggle blanket. Trying to decide how cold its going to be there…

Crafty stuff! – YARN! So much yarn! In with the yarn, I have my iPad (for the sake of patterns) and a binder with patterns already printed off. I have a pencil, a good eraser, a sharpener, and a notebook. I have a beefy extension cord to plug in whatever I need, and for my tablemates to share. I have good scissors and all kinds of little hooks, needles, and accessories. I think I have everything I need for any of the ideas I have brewing, but because I’m not dead set on any specific one, that leaves wiggle room to have forgotten something small, and to switch to a different option.

Last time I went to this retreat, it was SO cold. Its still winter, but I don’t have to tell any of you local friends that this weather is BEAUTIFUL in comparison to what we’ve been having. It feels like Spring! Its possible I’m wearing leggings and bringing my capri length leggings, just in case 😉 Crafting is an extreme sport, after all.

I’ve been trying to go to the city less these days. I’m really striving to use what I have and not immediately replace food when we still have lots. I try and think of days to the city in terms of about $20 in gas. If we’re running in for a little part of piece of material for something in the basement, is it worth it for the $10 purchase and the $20 gas bill? If not, we wait until we have a bigger/better reason to go in. Its not foolproof, and I’m not perfect at it, but its an effort I’m making.

Today, however, we needed to get a few things at Walmart that weren’t just groceries, so we made a bit of an errand morning out of it. For whatever reason, I’m more excited about it than usual!

First of all, we hit Lululemon. If you remember, Brady ordered me a pair of leggings for our anniversary. I chose the size, mind you, and I chose wrong. So that was a crappy thing, to go try them on and realize you had aimed too small. I had to return them and reorder. Merp. But today, I went and tried them on, and had them measured to hem. I’m SO excited to pick them up next week!!!

Ok, now to Walmart. It really wasn’t riveting, but it felt really productive.

Laela needed underwear. I recently realized she’s been in the same ones for WAY too long and the only reason they still fit is because they’ve stretched with her. I pulled out some new ones that I’ve been holding onto for a moment such as this, and they’re HUGE! They’re the right number size, but a different brand. They’re just way way too big. So today, we grabbed her a pack of underwear that is super cute and was super cheap. I hope they’re perfect for her because that would be so awesome!

Wavy and her bowels need some extra help these days, so I was able to find some squeezy pouches with prunes in them, and a few other “motivating” ingredients, haha! The last time I had looked for pureed prunes, they had been almost impossible to find, so it felt good to walk out of there with a good stack.

Also for Wavy and her lack of milk drinking, we grabbed her some sippy cups. Now, I don’t know about you guys and your families, but we always prefer the straw cups. It just seems like a wise skill for them to learn. That way, anywhere we go, baby/toddler can just drink from a straw. But, Solly for sure had a brutal time taking to any kind of sippy cup! He was over a year by the time he finally figured it out. To be fair, the ones we always buy have a pretty hefty leak lock on them, so this time around, we grabbed a new kind in the same price range. These ones still look like they’ll be leak proof (ish) but after bringing them home and unwrapping them, I can vouch that the leak lock is way lighter. If she actually sucks on the straw, its going to work! So here’s hoping she figures this out sooner than later!! They’re really cute, too, which helps.

The last thing I was excited about from Walmart was yarn. Now I have LOTS of yarn, but I’m going to another craft retreat this weekend and I have a project in mind that I needed specific yarn for. Specifically unspecific, actually. Don’t try to make it make sense. Regardless, I was doing some research, and the particular brand I was looking for (cheap and still soft) was SO cheap at Walmart!!! So I was able to find all kinds of pretty colors and not even break the bank! I’m SO thrilled and SO looking forward to the retreat! It was hard to decide what to make this time around (because, warm weather) but I think I have some fun options!

We ran a few more errands, and I fed the kids lunch in the van between our last few quick stops. They went down for naps right when we got home. Now, Brady and I will warm up some lunch and take a load off until naps are done and Dekker comes home. I love a good productive morning and super lazy afternoon!