Man. You guys were so kind about my moping regarding all of our van window issues. Thank you all for not leaving me to feel belittled or silly. It means a lot to me. Thank you.

I thought I’d throw a quick update your way on the subject.

So as you know, the minivan is needing a new windshield. Brady had put a call in last week already, to try to confirm some insurance stuff. We have extra insurance for the bus glass, and when we bought the minivan, Brady asked that it be added to the policy, but he never heard anything back on the subject. For a minute there, we were pretty worried it hadn’t happened, and we would be out the total cost. Thankfully, today it was confirmed that we will only pay $100 for the minivan windshield replacement.

The bus side window is next, and I’ll be honest – I don’t know the cost yet. We did get paired with an insurance adjuster, however, and she called this afternoon to go over the details with Brady. She said it seems pretty straight forward, and she believes she can approve us to skip the whole damage assessment part of things and get us straight to the auto shop in Warman to get it cleaned up. What a relief.

I hope this is the end of it, but I am incredibly grateful for how smoothly the insurance process has been so far. It is NOT every day we are all flawlessly content with our insurance providers, is it? But today is that day 💜

I don’t know if its the season or just straight up bad luck but man. We have had a really bummer time with our vehicles and their glass this season.

A month or two ago, the bus took a big rock in the face and the windshield cracked right in the eye line. It was a bummer, but things happen, and we have extra insurance that makes our deductible on windows less. So we got to it and got it replaced.

A few days ago, Brady took gravel to work and some little sedan unknowingly threw a gigantic rock at the minivan. Brady said it was SO loud, he ducked. It left a big ole bullseye, once again, right in the eye line. So once again, calls are in, and we’re waiting on another new windshield.

And then yesterday, we got the mother of all rock chips. “Chip.”

Don’t get me started. My entire hand fit right in there. So I started the van to move it into the garage, and the moment I shut my door…

*sigh*

So I pushed the rest of the glass out and drove the thing into the garage. It is now covered with cardboard and garbage bags, and it’ll have to do for now. But man. Man. A lower deductible saves less money when you have to pay it so many times.

Also, does anyone remember that the bus has had the drivers side mirror ripped off twice this year?? Man alive.

It’s going to be ok. I have tools.

But for real, it will be ok. I’m pretty grumpy, but it will all get cleared up shortly and it’ll be like it never happened. Until then, I’ll be inside.

Don’t worry, I know it doesn’t rhyme. As Solly would say, I’m in this. *taps head*

It is blustery and crispy outside today! I am so grateful that I have nowhere to go today. I was going to have to go in, and I wasn’t dreading it. A little Walmart run with Waverly sounds like a pretty good time to me! But rather, the whole family went in yesterday evening, which was excellent fun, and also saves me the trip in the wind today.

Today holds laundry. I always put off the towels and sheets, and we are officially out of kitchen towels. So its time to make it happen. Maybe addressing some Christmas card envelopes to send out to family and friends who live at a distance, as well as the professionals we love and care about but won’t see before Christmas. Also, crocheting. Because I started a new blanket that gives full summertime vibes and I am really enjoying it!! That being said, with all of these blustery days ahead, I plan to be shut in for a good while, so if you need any crocheting for Christmas, speak now!!

Wavy and I will be holed up today, cozy and warm, while the rest of the town is snowing and blowing!

I am SO excited!!! Our Christmas cards walked through the door this morning, courtesy of Green Pixel Designs and Printing! Cher has taken beautiful pictures for us year after year, and Melissa crushes the Christmas card design every single time. We are so fortunate to have our people! 💜

That being said, our family pictures are very different this year 😆 Its possible they will go down as our best ones yet. Or they’ll get lost in the mix over the years, as our style may have changed forever. These are the BEST Christmas cards we have ever printed. EVER. Like. Hear me when I say we are not self absorbed, but also, you want one of these things on your fridge.

So this is my public request for MAILBOXES! Guys. Get ’em! Brady can get you one from work, even! A few years ago, a couple of people gave me heck over not having a mailbox, so guess what I did. I got one. And occasionally, people put stuff in it! We would like to be those people, leaving stuff in unsuspecting mailboxes. But first you have to have them. So consider this your gentle heck, and save me the trouble of having to loop string under the envelope fold so I can hang it somewhere.

If you are a mailbox-free hooligan, where do you want me hiding your card? Help a girl out.

Or

Just get a mailbox.

We had the genuine privilege of spending the afternoon and evening with our dear friends, the Dahlsjos 💜 The kids didn’t know, but the adults did, and it was a REALLY fun surprise for everyone! It felt like it had been much too long since we’d been together, and then suddenly, it felt like no time had passed.

There was a lot of chasing and playing. Lots of reading. Lots of drawing. Lots of music. Lots of Pokemon. And much to my delight, lots of crocheting!

We had an almost-birthday boy on hand, so there was also lots of good food! Though let’s be real – we don’t really need an excuse to eat good food.

We very much missed our fourth 💜 But he was very busy tying up one million loose ends around home, so we will have to catch him next time!

Priority one was getting all the hooligans back together, and I can say with total confidence that mission was accomplished! 💜

We love you so much, Dahlsjos! We’re looking forward to seeing you again in the new year! 💜

In case any of you weren’t sure, it is indeed not Saturday. It sure feels like one around here, though.

For starters, the kids have the day off. Which I just learned yesterday. Yikes! I’m sure I should’ve known before, but the days off around Remembrance Day definitely overshadowed this one. Whoops! So with everyone home this morning, hanging out in jammies, with Encanto playing over the Echo, it very much feels like a weekend. A Saturday.

More specifically, it feels like a Saturday with Brady working.

But guess what. We get one of those tomorrow 😩 So two in a row, lol! Not actually, but kinda.

I am anticipating Saturday, though. I’ve been working on something fun recently, and there is more fun to be had tomorrow! I’ve been following a crochet-along on a Facebook page that I’m part of. In this case, it means that every few days, a section of a blanket is released by a different designer, and whoever wants to be part of it will work it up, and the blanket will grow gradually. I admit I jumped on the bandwagon late, but I caught up, and as of yesterday, I am completely caught up, eagerly waiting for the next section. Which comes out tomorrow!!! Eek!

I also finished another crocheted Christmas gift yesterday. The two projects I was actively working on are completed, at least as far as I can get them! I’m never caught up, lol!

A good reason to look forward to Saturday 💜

How was preschool today, Wave?

Good!

Tell me about it.

Ummm… I – when we were outside, ummm, there was three sleds! So and today there was only two sleds. And when we were outside, I only got to have one turn.

Ok. Who pulled you around?

Ummm. Ummmmm. I dont know. *gasp* One time, Jxxxx and Kxxx pulled, but they were toooooo tired, hahaha!

How about inside? What was fun today inside?

Inside? My favorite part inside was making my craft. Yup. Thats my only favorite part.

What craft did you make?

I made a teddy bear out of paper.

Ok. What was special about the teddy bear?

That was fun. Ya.

Deal. Did you sing good songs today?

Yup! We got to sing our good morning song! We did! Because the power wasn’t off. It was on!

What other songs?

Christmas song… I think so. *gasp* Mrs. Hxxx has her Christmas tree up!!! There’s mitts on it!

Cool! That sounds pretty!

Yup. She had pretty Christmas lights. Different colors.

Wonderful! What else can you tell me about your morning?

Ummm… I played with… someone… with a big bin and Skye’s airplane. Different characters. Zuma was a blue one, and also orange, so… I dont know why. He was just that color.

What was the story about today?

Three baby bears and a mama bear. I dont know what they did, though.

Was snack good?

Mhmm.

Well. Anything else you want to share with the class?

Mhmm!! I dont know what, but…

In case you were wondering how school goes for Wavy 💜 She’s a goof, but she loves life.

A while back, I wrote about our garage, and how much a heater would simplify things. It would negate the need to warm up Brady’s vehicle every morning, while also keeping our bedroom warmer. Brady did a lot of research and tried to set up how we could get a natural gas heater plumbed in, but it just wasn’t going to happen without spending hundreds of dollars on install. Many people suggested a couple of electric heaters, but our garage was only wired up with smaller outlets.

We landed on secret option #3, which was re-wiring an outlet in the garage to run a stronger electric heater. Will it cost more to run an electric heater than gas? Yes. Will it cost more than the space heater we had pumping out there 24/7? Nope. So it was our next best option after letting go of the natural gas heater plan.

Brady got in touch with an electrician friend of ours, to confirm he had thought of every part that he would need to do the wiring, and our friend lovingly offered to come help. Brady didn’t fish for it whatsoever, he just offered 💜 Which was really nice.

Saturday morning, the two guys, along with the three younger kids, worked in the garage, to the furnace room, and back to the garage, getting things redone in a way that made it possible to run something stronger. Brady had purchased a nice beefy garage heater from Zak’s, and they installed it up on the roof in a corner of our garage, and put the thermostat within reach. Only a couple of hours into it, and we have a nicely warmed garage.

Brady is so happy to have his vehicle warm and ready to go every morning.

I am so happy to sleep without a heating pad.

The kids are happy with their winter gear living in the garage now, and being able to get dressed in a bigger space. I am also very happy with that setup!

The garage being heated is something we’ve wanted for a nice long time, and this winter, it was time to find a solution. We are SO grateful for helpful friends, as well as Brady’s job at Zak’s and the convenience it offers.

Yet another project down!

With winter comes dry weather. Thats not news. We’ve turned up the humidity in our house in an effort to save everyone’s throats and skin. But my little Laela is starting to rock overnight nosebleeds like I did as a kid.

She had her first one a few days ago. She actually woke me up to tell me about it. She told me she had cleaned herself up the best she could but her sheet had blood on it. That was fine, I told her, and assured her I’d help her clean it up in the morning. She confirmed that it was fine and she was fine to go back to bed. All was well. But man alive, when it was time to get her up!!

Blood was smeared along her bed frame, and her sheet was soaked. It was THICK. I pulled the sheet off and it was as though it had never been there. Her mattress was thick with blood, right along the seam. It was crime sceney. I put a rag on it and it squelched. It was SO gross.

I spent a lot of time that morning scrubbing that mattress with cold water, trying to lift the blood out. The water in my pail was as dark as the blood had been on the bed. It was wild how much there was. But I got that sucker good and clean! I left her room feeling like I had accomplished something big.

Except the next time I went into her room, I saw more blood. Which felt weird, but I figured I had probably just been looking at it too long and didn’t realize there was more there. So I scrubbed at it again.

And then again. Finally I took a picture when I was confident it was clean, and I left for a few hours. And then I came back, it was bloody again!

That is how much she bled. Enough that it kept growing and spreading and coming to the surface.

I worked at that sucker all day, and got it nicely cleaned and dried. There may be a pinkish hue right along the underside of the seam, but even that is debatable. Frankly, it was all overshadowed by Laela’s story, where she went to the bathroom in the night, thinking she needed to blow her nose, and seeing her face absolutely covered in blood in the mirror! Ack! Poor girl!

Aaaaanyway. Last night she had yet another nosebleed. Thankfully she caught it in time and it was a lot more manageable than the last one. But the shop for a humidifier is on! Ours recently caved, so we need to acquire another one asap to try and help get her face under control, lol!

Sorry about all the blood talk. Just what we’re working with these days!

Hydrate your faces, guys!

Today went a whole different way than we thought it would, but it was really exciting! I’ll tell you all about it! With some backstory, to catch you up.

Brady takes a medication for spasticity in his right leg. I’ve mentioned clonus a lot – when Brady’s leg jumps on its own. That, paired with some unceasing tone, is a real pain. His medication makes him incredibly drowsy, and has negative effects on his nights of sleep and the morning to follow. It works, but its not ideal. So a few months ago, Brady started seeing a new physiatrist, and they talked about botox.

Quick thing first – a physiatrist sounds made up, but it isn’t. Its a physician who specializes in physical medicine and rehabilitation. They hang out in the brain, spinal cord, nerves, etc. A very important position to fill for someone in Brady’s position.

Botox! I know some of you will have feelings about botox and injecting crap into our bodies. I totally get it. But hear me out. Botox is actually a pretty common thing for paras and quads when it comes to mobility! Bradys nerve damage in his spine directly affects his muscles, specifically in his right leg. That sucker is either spasming, or its seized up and stiff. The meds he’s been on do not in any way enhance his quality of life. His physiatrist said he is a fabulous candidate for botox, but the only hangup was the cost.

Botox is expensive. YIKES! If it became a good solution for Brady, he would need it every three months, and it would be about 2K each time. There is just simply no way. Dr. Guselle insisted it should be covered by Sask Health, but City Hospital rehab told us it was considered elective and would be out of pocket. So in Brady’s conversation with his physiatrist, he expressed that one issue, and his doctor said he’d have someone dig into it and apply for some funding on Brady’s behalf. Hopefully we could at least get some off the top, and if we had to cover the rest, we would find a way, because the man needs and deserves to function the best he can.

We were notified a while back that Brady had a followup appointment at his physiatrist, presumably to discuss going forward with the botox treatment. But a few days ago, Brady received a call from a pharmacist, asking some questions in order to get things going for his upcoming injections 😳 His injections we knew nothing about. Brady asked her if he was covered for it financially, and she didn’t know.

Over the weekend, we were a little annoyed that this appointment was already booked without funding. Who knew how long it would be until we were actually covered, and then we’d have to wait however long to actually receive the treatment. But there was no way to confirm anything until Monday, which was appointment day.

As Brady was on the road, driving in to his appointment today, he received the call that he was covered financially. FULLY. Between the Saskatchewan drug plan and the SAID program (Saskatchewan Aids to Independence) he is 100% covered for the treatment!!!

So Brady found out about 20 minutes before his appointment that he was getting botox!

Ok, so, by “botox” I actually mean Dysport. Its basically the same. It spreads easier and it better for larger areas, like in Bradys case, his calves. Botox is more concentrated for little areas like crows feet. So in this case, Dysport is the name of the game!

From Brady: “The cleaning process was cold, which I assume means wet. I felt the ultrasound wand on my leg. The applicator was an average sized syringe with a 4″ long needle. The injection felt like a pinch next to my shin, and then there was an ache deep inside in the muscle. Only one injection on the front (anterior tibialis) and four or five in the back (gastrocnemius.) I was back in my van two minutes after my appointment was set to begin.”

Brady says his leg is very tired now, which makes total sense! It feels under pressure, like its wearing a compression stocking. But its not uncomfortable, and he feels optimistic! If this is all is takes, quarterly, to keep his leg in check and his body off of his spasticity med, we are here for it!

We will keep you updated as time goes by! Apparently botox peaks around the six week mark, which will be right around Christmas! Here’s hoping for more comfort and control in the coming season!

This was such a welcomed surprise today. Happy Monday, friends! 💜