Yesterday was such a positive day 🙂 Got some good things done, felt less overwhelmed about some things, and spent some time with good people. I had a really warm cozy bath before falling asleep and sleeping HARD.
Uuuuuntil about 4:00am.

I have one particularly “spirited” child who LOVES a good midnight wakeup these days. I am less fond of this behavior (not this child) and am finding it particularly exhausting to continue along this course of action. But, we’re working with it. However, after this 4am wakeup call, I was pissed. I was in no way going to fall back to sleep. Thankfully, the obnoxious wakeup had woken Brady as well, and he lovingly suggested we watch a bit of Netflix together. After an episode or two, we were both easily back to sleep.

I vastly prefer uninterrupted sleep to interrupted sleep, but such is our life currently, and thats ok. Brady is home this weekend (YES!) so he got up a bit quicker than me and I was able to doddle and get up slowly. I did eventually surface, and we ate some breakfast before he got started on his day of basement finishing. He’s in his wheelhouse today – finishing carpentry! Doors, trim, casing, window boxes, etc. Now that the bulk of the bathroom is done, he’s starting on his usual stuff 🙂 Its going to be SO pretty!

While he’s been doing stuff, I’ve had a phone call with my mom, made some plans for Sunday, and have drew out what pattern I want to make for Dekker’s toque and scarf. I want to make each kid a matching toque and scarf this year, and they’re SO excited about it. I kind of want to make them secretly though, so they’re surprised by the end results. Because of that, Waverly is the only one whose toque and scarf are finished. Well, “scarf.” I opted for a doubt thick neckwarmer kind of… I’ll show you another time. But, 2/10 pieces are done, lol! Doesn’t feel like many, but at least one kid is taken care of!

I’m going to work a bit more on that during nap time, I think, and Brady will keep working on the basement. Lots coming up next week but I feel less overwhelmed about it. I’m just ready for it to come! It helps, too, that I have a fun day planned for tomorrow and a couple of fun things planned for Monday too! Aaaaand Brady is HOME for the first day of school!!!! YAY! He’ll be working like a madman for the rest of the week, including Saturday (boooo) but I’m so thankful he’ll be home for the first day <3 Thats always the goal – that we can all drop off and pick up the kids on their first day 🙂 Thank you, Lord, for timing everything beautifully and never forgetting the little things.

These days have felt pretty overwhelming recently. I think, without really knowing it, we’re all just aching for the next season of school to start. For routine, for new experiences, and for the kids to have breaks from each other. The kids are bored – its clear – and then need a change of scenery.

I’ve felt very overwhelmed with this particular stretch of waiting. The kids attitudes are deteriorating, as is mine. Lots of things feel like too much. My island is covered in school supplies, and ALL I need to do is get the kids backpacks, put the supplies in them, and its done! But their closets are AWFUL. SO far gone. And the thought of putting all those new supplies into such a messy place feels bad. But I won’t have a chance to clean those closets up before school. No way, no how. But then do the supplies live on the island literally until school starts? And then am I gutting their closets to death that first day of school? So they come home to all of their things gone? That seems cruel. But seriously, its a pretty overwhelming thought to me! We all have our stuff, lol! And for me, its my island, and that spirals into all kinds of other things.

Somehow today, that all feels less horrifying. I talked a lot about the kids closets yesterday and I feel a bit more prepared to deal with them. So with that, the backpacks can go back there, and they’ll be fine. My kitchen is currently a mess, but I know I’ll have no problem cleaning it up while the kids eat lunch and then the dishwasher will be some nice white noise for the nappers. And the things I often let sit WAY too long – like dead flowers in a vase – thats no biggie. I’ll clean those up along with dishes. It all sounds so small but some days, all the little crap just piles up and feels HUGE. And today, it feels doable 🙂 Even tidying up the mess that is my bedroom! That sucker needs work, and I’m not afraid of it!

Things that make a difference, I think, have been really talking about these things out loud. It all seems silly when its said out loud, somehow. It also helped that I had company this morning! I haven’t seen my neighbour hardly at all ALL summer, so she came and spent an hour or so with us this morning while the kids ate breakfast. It was AWESOME. She brought positivity and laughs and a fresh person for the kids to show EVERYTHING to! Haha! She helped me feel better this morning. And, it helps that Brady has a short work day today! He’s been working much longer days recently, since he took a job working at a cabin two hours away, and I’ve been missing him. He’ll likely work on the basement with his extra time today, but it’ll be SO nice to have another parent home. I was SO spoiled in many ways having him off work for a while. We struggled in other ways, obviously, and I’m SO grateful his work has picked up again, but the inevitable adjustment to him being gone again has been hard. I’m happy he’ll be home earlier today 🙂

Sooooo if you wander by my house today or tomorrow and I’m all stressed out and anxious, and nothing actually got done, don’t judge me! Haha! Be happy that I felt capable for a minute 🙂

Wish me and my sanity luck!

First of all, I was SO happy to have more people sign up for our handmade gift exchange!! Eek! Its not too late to sign up (I’m looking at YOU, everyone saying you’re not creative enough) so I’m going to perpetually remind you guys 🙂 Be prepared.

*****

Sometimes, because many of you are my Facebook friends, things will get repetitive. For instance, this post! Hahaha! YOU know about Dekker’s lost tooth, but the blog doesn’t, and the whole point of this thing is memories for me!! So, I’m writing about it.

A couple of days ago, we drove into the city for some last minute school supply shopping. In an effort to save time and money, we brought food for them to eat on the way. It was basically lunch, haha! We made them sandwiches, chopped veggies, and cheese strings. We were driving down the highway towards Saskatoon when Dekker suddenly pulled a broken record move.

Mom! Mom! Mom! Mom!
Whats up, Dekker”
Mom! Mom!
What???
I bit my cheese string and my tooth came out!

I looked back at him, and he was SO pleased with himself, smiling his big bloody smile. Nothing says pride like being covered in blood, right?

I told him I didn’t even know he had a wiggly tooth, and he said “I guess I did!” He and I are SO different. I hated when my teeth came out. I waited until those suckers were literally hanging by one corner. I would NOT pull them out. I’m SO impressed (and thankful) that Dekker is happy to lose his teeth. I definitely expected him to be considerably less fond of it!

On the note of teeth, in the last few days, Waverly has cracked two of her eye teeth!! The top ones! Her bottom eye teeth have been bulging underneath her gums for weeks, yet the top two are scratchy and less swollen now that they’ve made their way through. No wonder she’s been sleeping more recently.

Alright folks, we’re all caught up on teeth for now! My children are at the island making Christmas ornaments out of toilet paper rolls, sooo excuse me while I go take part in that.

A while back on a post titled “This Post is About Christmas,” I spitballed ideas about doing an unconventional gift exchange. I’ve had the idea for a long while but couldn’t really imagine how I’d put together such a thing. How could I do a gift exchange between people who didn’t know each other? Well, maybe they don’t have to… As I wrote that post, ideas started flowing, and I got excited all over again! Imagine my surprise when people actually went for it!!! Ack! I’m SO excited!!

I currently have a list of EIGHTEEN PARTICIPANTS! I’m SO happy its actually happening! But I want more 😉 I’m on the verge of making a Facebook group with a list of “rules” for participants to go by, such as a date to have either mailed, delivered, or arranged with me to drop off their gift by. I’m going to ask everyone to answer a few basic questions so people can learn small details about the person they’re giving a gift to, if they don’t know them personally. I think I’m also going to include a buyout. It seems harsh, but since we’re doing it so far in advance, I can’t have people bailing out a month down the road, leaving someone without a gift. So there’s going to be some kind of buyout. I think I’m also going to add a list of ideas, in case people are stumped 🙂 There are a few other guidelines, but I’ll get to those once the group is formed.

The stipulations of “homemade” will have some flex. It will differ for everyone. Gifts can be made from scratch, or could be upcycled from something else. I want to put a price on it, but that will also differ if people have materials in their home they can use. So I have to put more details together, but I want it to be affordable and fun for everyone.

I think I want to do this Secret Santa style. There are gift exchange generators online where I can put in peoples names and emails, and they’ll email you your person. So even I wouldn’t know who got who! Would that be smart? Or should I pull names from a hat and contact everyone personally? Either way, even if I don’t know, if a person is truly stumped, you could, of course, always come to me to ask for help!

Basically, this is me giving you another chance! I called a couple of people out who didn’t respond, so you’re currently not on the list, but I’d love for you to be! Anyone who wants to should feel totally free to join! It doesn’t matter how close of friends we are or where you live! We can work with you with shipping if necessary, and I’m happy to help with local delivery. I want anyone who wants to be in to be able to be in! 

You have until September 15th to join!!

One week!!! One week until school starts! I’m honestly so ready for it 🙂 I’m not ready for the early mornings, or the after-school hours before supper, or the lost time with my big kids. But I’m excited for my big kids to see their friends every day! For them to get back into the swing of learning and growing! For Rowan to start preschool! For Solly and Wavy to get to know each other, and to see Solly in the “big brother” role more often!

I’m excited to get into the swing of the new school year with some of my new goals about being brave, being involved, and trying new things.

Not only do my kids start school next week, but Cher’s next semester kicks off next week! She and I finally got around to our “birthday date” yesterday evening. We grabbed a thing or two at a mall, ate some subs, and went to Landmark to see The Lion King. Can I just say, it was SO much better than I thought it would be?? I had heard good things, and was excited for it, but once the aspect of talking animals dawned on me, I was a bit nervous it would be cheesy. It wasn’t! It was so accurate to the original, really heavy in some parts, and Timon and Pumba were hilarious!!! I loved it. We laughed a lot. It was awesome. It also helped that the recliner chairs were SO farty, and we were SO mature… 💨 Popcorn may have even been thrown. But thats what happens when you get there too early and need to entertain yourselves! Happy birthdays to us!

All thats left for me before school actually kicks off is getting the kids some last minute things. They both need indoor shoes, and a couple of other things. Dekker’s school supply list contains both a “fancy notebook” and a dollar store journal. Not sure what to make of those just yet. How big? Should they be coiled or nah? How many pages? I don’t get it… But I’ll figure it out, hahaha! Hopefully didn’t wait too long!

My kids like to have what they call “dark parties.” Solly coined the name. It basically means they take any light-up toys and close up in a dark bedroom and “party.” Dark parties usually end in blood, or at least tears and fighting, so they’re outlawed from time to time. With Dekker’s recent birthday, the kids all acquired some new light-up toys, so dark parties were back on. 

On a particular day, they all piled into one bedroom for a dark party, and I remembered the last time around had become a bit of a control freaks paradise, or a control freaks worst nightmare. Depends on which control freak is winning, haha! So I figured I’d try to harness some of the crazy before it began. 

In this next part, I should be read in a cheesy announcer voice, and the children’s answers were all cloaked in maniacal laughter. 

Me: Does this remain to be a positive dark party?

Them: Ya!

Me: ‘Tis important to remember this dark party belongs to each individual member. No party-goer shall tell another party-goer how to party.

Them: Hahaha! 

Me: Do all party-goers remain to be happy?

Them: Ya!

Me: (makes eye contact with each kid individually) Do YOU have your grump on?

Each kid: NO! 

Me: (stares for awkward three seconds) Carry on!

And then I closed the door on my belly-laughing children.

It was the BEST way we’ve EVER resolved a conflict. It was the BEST way I could’ve made these suggestions to them without anyone needing to defend themselves. It was just AWESOME. I felt really good about it as I left their party and headed to the island to prepare some stuff for lunch. 

And maybe fifteen seconds later, their door opened and the kids filed out in an orchestrated fashion and attacked me in the kitchen with a big giggly group hug. We all laughed and hugged and I kissed each of them. And as fast as they showed up, they filed back into the bedroom and continued their dark party. 

And I cried in my kitchen. Because I felt such love. Such unprompted, genuine, joyful love. The love you can’t force or count on, but is just SO extra special when it comes along. 

Goodness, I love my little people!

Today is Sunday. We are horrible at getting to church, especially in the summer. There’s always a reason not to go. But we really, really wanted to go today! Our pastor was speaking on something we really wanted to hear! That, and just the basic need for Jesus and community. There’s even a lunch after!

We got the kids up early and bathed everyone, dressed everyone, and fed everyone. Some of the kids weren’t in the best of shape, but we can’t always demand perfect. Its not fair to us, or them. Its too important. So we decided to power through.

Except then there was Waverly. In her little dress, laying on the floor on her blanket, unmoving except for her little hand playing with her hair. She lay so still, and smiled at us, but didn’t want to move. She finally sat up, and yawned one of those goooood baby yawns. A couple of minutes later, she was rubbing her ears and her face and crying. Just a tired little fussball. And I knew that if we brought her to church, we’d pace the whole time, and even with that, I knew she wouldn’t be settled. So I decided to stay home with her.

I sat on the floor a bit with her, but she didn’t want anything. I’d hold her but she’d push me. I’d set her down and she’d cry. We listened to music and she wiggled for a minute before plopping back down and rubbing her face all over again.

She was still dressed for church, so I decided to change her back into jammies. I wanted her as comfy as she could be. And the moment I lay her down…

This is her token sleepy reaction. Those three fingers in her mouth and her hand to her hair. Always. Once she was laying down, she was happy. So I knew what she needed.

While I had her laying on the floor, I looked inside of her mouth. That brought some clarity. She is pushing ALL FOUR eye teeth right one. One has just cracked through (YAY!) but the others are bulging under her gums! Poor dear is just feeling it. She is SUCH a tough cookie!

So Waverly is napping a little earlier than usual, for obvious reasons, and I’m working on her scarf for winter. Since I’ve added new yarny skills to my repertoire, I want to make them matching toques and scarves. Did you know thats TEN things?!?! Yikes! Hence why I’m working on it in August. I’ll show you when they’re done 🙂 I’m actually really excited. But I’m getting off track! Gah!

I’m sad to miss church today, but I’m glad Brady was able to take the kids and I got to have a few little minutes with Wavy to myself. She’s so strong, and so animated, and so close to walking! Eek!

A little late, but here’s the skinny on Dekker’s eighth birthday party! 

Dekker had a list of what he wanted to do on his birthday. It read:

Montanas
Grandma, Aunty Jerry, Cher
Bike ride

In the beginning of the summer, he was “planning” for a really lavish party somewhere expensive with EVERYONE he knew attending. This was much more our style. I was so relieved that he was truly happy with this! Lol!

So while his bday was on Wednesday, we made our way to Montanas on Tuesday, because in case you didn’t know, kids eat free on Tuesday!! Also, our amaaaazing balloon twister alternates Montanas locations on Tuesdays 🙂 We couldn’t not go on the right day!! We made a reservation and arrived shortly before 5:00. The manager served us, and informed us right off the hop they were understaffed and overbooked. We had noticed, haha! It was hoppin’ in there, but we never had to wait long! Our server was basically running the entire time, but she was super friendly, and addressed each kid individually rather than just counting on me to tell her what they wanted. I liked that. 

While we waited for our food, I tried to take pictures of people. Didn’t work out great, but it was alright 🙂 

We missed you, Cher! 

Then the balloon guy came. He is always a total riot, but I think I can pretty confidently say he remembers us! We haven’t seen him tons and tons, maybe five times ish, but he remembered Dekker’s name, and he knew that Rowan was a boy! Thats not especially common, so I think he remembers us 🙂 He made ALL of us a balloon! Photos after the fact:

Dekker got a dirt bike. Laela got a monkey in a banana tree, Rowan got a goat (my fave,) and Solly got a hammer. My mom got a little guitar, but unfortunately Dekker got SO excited that he took it. Mom forgave him 😉 And Jerilee and I got bracelets. Because we’re fancy ladies. 

So Dekker was MOST excited for the song and hat and the whole Montanas’s shabang. Last year was the first time we went through with the actual production of a Montana’s birthday and he had rocked with it. He was SO excited for it this time again 🙂 He did great, and did even greater at eating his two desserts! Lol! He was SO jazzed on sugar, it was pretty cute. The other kids indulged in their cookies and wagon wheels and beat on each other with their balloons and had a generally energetic, happy time. 

Dekker opened a STACK of presents. He hauled in the bday gift department this year, WOW! Lego, books, lazers – some lightup and some noisy, a card, and a skateboard!

We had a LOT to carry out of there at the end! (And that was only the gifts from that day! Yikes!) We took a VERY energetic bunch of children home to bed. 

Except a certain birthday boy had one more item on his wish list for his birthday. 

Dekker and Brady went for a post-bedtime bike ride.

She came home with a nice light cool sweat and a huge happy smile. He was SO settled. Content. He felt loved, and it showed. 

The BEST kind of birthday.