This afternoon held a check-up at the optometrist for Mr. Rowan!

He was really excited to bail on the afternoon of school and head out with me and Wavy!

His eye appointment was really awesome, actually! Wavy sat really quietly while Rowan went through the motions with reading the lines of letters smaller and smaller and smaller. It felt victorious when his eye doctor noted yet further improvement in his vision! She showed us the row he used to guess at, and he read it with ease today, guessing the next row down in size. Marked improvement! With that comes a new trial pair of contacts that should come in the next two weeks. We’ll see how those go, and continue patching in the meantime. Its working!!!

The appointment was done, and it wasn’t worth it to go back to school, so we perused Canadian Tire for a little bit. I bought a couple of things I needed, as well as a thing or two I did not need 😬

I’ve been scoping these gnomes ALL year. Finally bit the bullet before they disappeared into the fall abyss. I think they’ll sit amidst my Christmas decor this year. At their patio set. Maybe they were at the nativity scene. We have options.

Since then, we’ve hit the playground for a bit, and retrieved Solomon from school. The kids are playing downstairs, and I’m looking forward to an easy suppertime.

Its a good day. Tomorrow might be eeeeeven better 💜

As if she wasn’t already the sweetest little thing, Waverly started ballet yesterday 💜

Technically it started last week, but she was sick so I kept her home. Laela got her first day in last week. Now this week, we’re short Laela at ballet, but Wavy got her chance!

I am SO happy ballet came to town! SO many cute little kids! Ack!

We’re down a couple of kids this week. Every child had their own room last night! Except the morsel, but thats different.

Solomon was still fast asleep when I went to his room.

Wavy was the same – fast asleep.

Rowan was awake, but way less with it than when I usually go to him.

Kids sat at the island for breakfast, because, there was room. Then they got ready, and the two boys headed off to school on their bikes together. Today isn’t a school day for Wavy, so she’s stuck with me.

Cher came for a shorty coffee before she got into her day, which was a nice light, relaxed spot of the day!

This morning, the two kids at home got baths. Lots of playing. I worked on a handful of things – laundry, tidying, lots of running up and down the stairs. You know those days where you do WAY more stairs than others?? Whew!

We will leave shortly for an appointment, and maybe accomplish a small handful of things while in Saskatoon. But we have to be back in time for school to be out, as well as to take Wavy to ballet!! 💜 Did you guys know she’s in ballet?! Anyway, its not a long class so I should collect the boys and hang at the park or something while she’s in, and then we could all go home together. Should’ve set that up this morning… huh. I’ll have to work that out still, haha!

*pauses the blog to message teachers*

After school means more work! Hopefully Brady getting home at a good time. We’re trying to clean up a bunch of things over here and its taking more hands than we have! And with the biggest helpers gone, we have to make every minute of time count!!

*forgets to finish blog and leaves for Saskatoon*

Off to get the laundry out of the dryer before we head to pickup and ballet!!! 😅

There isn’t much that is more beautiful than camping in the fall.

I bet you can smell this picture. The fire and the fresh air. You can feel the crispy breeze, and hear the rustling. The armrests on the chair are cold, but the coffee is hot. This spot leaves nothing to be desired.

This weekend was spent visiting with loved ones…

crocheting…

and burning as much wood out of our garage as possible.

The campground isn’t out of wood, we just wanted to get rid of some scraps that were sitting unused for long enough.

We are almost done with this beautiful season of laking. The docks are in.

There are two weekends left, and we will only be there for one of them. We are missing the next week, but will be present and excited for the last one! I LOVE lake season, but I also love home season. And things have been going at an absolutely wild pace, so I imagine the lack of back and forth will have to slow things down, at least in some aspects. But while we have it, we will enjoy it.

There just is really almost nothing better than fall camping 🍂

Wavys first day of school was a very cute success 💜 She played dress up, ate next to nothing, and played HARD at recess. She had no hang ups with her first day. Not even one. 

She did have a fairly rough evening, which adds up perfectly with her newly full, likely overstimulating day at school. No one faulted her for that. She hasn’t missed a beat on the subject and is ready for more. 

Kindergarten takes forever to start, which I do understand with the home visits (which I LOVE) as well as the staggered start for each class. But Wavys first day came at the very end of that staggered start, meaning she will be attending on a full schedule already this week!! And honestly, good thing, because the crazy never stops, and it might be easier with one less kidlet in tow. I might even rest during quiet time in the day!! 

🥳

🤔 

Who am I kidding? Ain’t no one got time for that 😅

Today, the elementary school welcomed back the families with a breakfast of pancakes and ham, served by the teachers. It’s one of my favorite school events. It wasn’t always, but I really felt oddly griefy when Covid took it away. I am so grateful to have it back! It’s always a bit chaotic. And sticky. And loud.  But it’s so nice to see everyone and make connections again, or for the first time. 

After the breakfast, we went home, but the students went on to do the Terry Fox walk event. It definitely means more to me more than it used to. 

Life experience does that, hey? 💜 

Upon coming home, I worked my pancake butt OFF! (Ha! Works on two levels) It’s been one of the busiest days of the year for me but I’m really happy with how much work I did 💪 

And now 🙌 to camp. Because it NEVER gets old 🥰

😳 Remember when Wavy was born?

This was yesterday, right?

Well. Today she started school. BIG school. Real school.

She was SO eager, and even though it was cold out this morning, she would not be stopped or slowed down! I’m positive every kid asked for help carrying their heavy backpacks on their first day. Not her.

She was just SO ready and excited!

We sent the kids off to play once we reached the school, but took Wavy in to her classroom to get her situated. And let me tell you. This girl did NOT need anyones help. She was into it! Literally…

She was playing and occupied almost instantly, so I had to flag her down to give me a hug goodbye. And then home we went! As though we hadn’t just dropped off our little Waverly Violet at the big kid school 💜

She was so ready, and I am SO happy for her 💜

Yesterday evening, there was some work that needed doing, and it needed to be done in good time. Surprisingly, there were a few too many people underfoot to make quick progress, so I took the kids to the park for an hour. Or at least that the was the goal!

The sky was incredible!! It was windy and smelled amazing, but the forecasted weather seemed totally unremarkable. As the kids played, as well as a TON of other kids, the lightening started. It was really lovely still, and we are no stranger to storms. I had rain in the back of my mind, obviously, so I quietly tried to think about a bail out plan. But it was an easy one. Four of the kids had biked, and could get home really fast. Laela had walked with me, and she loves rain and storms just as much as I do, so I know she wouldn’t be upset to walk in the rain. Morsel in a stroller would be totally secure. With that plan in mind, I knew we were fine to stick it out.

The kids gravitated towards each other rather than the other kids at the park. Watching them group off and play together really filled my heart. It was like they owned the playground, and it was a good fit 💜

We had been at the park for maybe 45 minutes when the thunder started up a bit, and rain came. None of it was big. But it was happening, and it was dark, and we were rocking that 1:6 ratio, so it was time to go.

We made our way home in the weather, happily. It was quite a bit darker upon getting home, and we all felt like we had made it through a storm, yet no one was too wet or cold. It was just the right kind of wrap up to the day.

With all the talk of this next upcoming “polar vortex,” I already miss the rain 💜

On the calendar this week, today held NO appointments!!! 🥳 So naturally, Wavy grew something oozy and infected on her leg in an attempt to get us into the city after all! 😅 Why would we ever stay home for a day?!?! ‘Twould be preposterous.

The mask, thanks to the last couple of feverish days. She was totally happy to wear it! 💜 She never ceased to impress me.

In we drove for a same-day 10:30am appointment, and didn’t wait long at all before we were called back. She was weight, measured, and had her temperature checked. We only waited in an exam room for a couple of minutes.

The resident who came in seemed a touch standoffish. She seemed somewhat monotone and intimidating, at first. But once she had all the info, she was SO soft and kind to Waverly, and it showed. Wavy was so comfortable with her, answered all of her questions, and cooperated beautifully with the exams. When it was all over, medication was ordered, and Wavy was praised up big time, and given a small handful of stickers.

And then I was also really impressed with her, so we went for donuts. Because he absolutely earned it!!

She’s just a little joker, but its an amazing quality of hers! The doctors she saw today loved her, as she winked at them and gave them thumbs up. She is silly and warm and brave 💜 Good job, beautiful Wavy!!! I cannot believe you start school so soon.

Sometimes, getting the kids to do chores is like pulling teeth. Can most of us relate to that? There is that beautiful stage where they love to help, and then suddenly they don’t anymore. That was a tough one for me, because they helped SO WELL, and now its more of a micromanaging scene some days. I don’t like that.

Laela is my kid that gets pinned with laundry more than the others. Don’t come for me, it is NOT because she’s a girl. Not at ALL. It is because she’s more thorough and diligent than the rest of the kids. Plus, its a bigger job, she’s one of the older kids, and she doesn’t gravitate towards the same jobs as Dekker. So she does laundry on and off, and its awesome. More in summer, for sure. So she has been in a busy season of laundry.

Yesterday, we got home from camp and got to work unpacking, bathing, organizing, eating, and getting ready for school the next day. Brady took a couple of kids into the city to pick something up from a purchase I made earlier that day, and I kept the house running while they were out. I bathed the younger ones. I helped the sick one and juggled the wiggly hands-on one. I kept laundry going and finished two loads. I put the two to bed and played with the third until everyone came home. By that point, I was just so tired. I hugged them all goodnight and Brady and I finally had supper.

This morning, I went down to the kitchen to begin the day and was met with this.

And that is one of the reasons I accept that struggle of having my kids do jobs. Because then they aren’t so entitled about what should be done for them. It is SO much nicer to launder clothing for people who appreciate it than those who take it for granted, don’t you think?

Anyway. It was a really sweet touch. Laela and her little love notes 💜 She is such a beautiful girl.