Behold! My favorite day of the year!

We spent a grand total of $146.50 today. Here’s the breakdown!

A bassinet for the lake. $15.

Brady got a super cool bit set for $40, and an antique planer (the huge one) for another $40.

We got an older double stroller for the lake for $15. No picture of it, though!

We spent $17 on donuts and iced coffee! Always a highlight!

Aaaaand the rest went to little stuff! Hats, books, games, toys, puzzles, and even a cute umbrella to provide extra shade in a stroller or car sear. Again, for the lake!

These kids 💜 Some of my favorite people right here. A few more heavy favorites not pictured 🥰

In true garage sale fashion, a couple of the kids are breaking down and the house is a mess 😅 But its worth it for the fun that was had!

I took all eight of my kids to Costco today. It was a first. The kind of first that was apparently palpable, as someone offered to take a picture of all of us as we were all exiting the van and getting babies into carts. I took her up on it, and have some very cute pictures of all of us that of course I can’t post on here. Ugh. Such a bummer. But, trust me, it was pretty cute.

We did a GIANT Costco haul, buying lots of doubles of things, thinking ahead to the weekend we’ll spend at camp. We bought lots of things we’ve been out of for a good long while. Some convenience things. Lots of snacky lunchy things. Some baking stuff. Wipes. Condiments. It was a solid haul, and we came away with most of what we came for. No lettuce. No snap peas. No dried strawberries. No english muffins. No propane, though that one was on me. Still. After spending a fortune and hauling three carts and eight children through the store, we came out with more than enough!

Once we got back to town, we dropped Dekker off at a prearranged event, and went home. The rest of us unloaded all the groceries and everyone got a job. I got all the babies in and stuck a couple in high chairs. I made a bottle for the smallest one, and tried to get them all settled and eating. Rowan started doing his usual afternoon job – dishes, while Laela, Solly, and Wavy started to unload the groceries. I helped with that, too, but not too much, as a certain little lemon drop needed my assistance quite often. Once my unloaders were done unloading, they put the fridge and freezer stuff away, and I promised to put the rest away. Laela ended up volunteering to feed the lemon drop the end of the bottle, and at that point, I realized my Waverly had totally snuck off and dodged her job.

So I earned a helper! Hahaha! She and I organized every item that had come into the house. We made the pantry make sense. We opened packages and put them in better containers. We cut boxes open so we wouldn’t have to when the time came to open them up. And then Wavy did laps and put aside all the things we will take to camp in their own box elsewhere in the house. When that was done, she took the garbage out to the garbage and the recycling out to the recycling.

Being that she had unfortunately lost most of her free time, I cut apart a couple batches of granola bars that I made the other day and had her wrap them up for the freezer. She worked really hard, but it was that final task that brought out the remorse. So it felt like a win, but it wasn’t mean or horrible. She wasn’t alone even once through it. I don’t know. It felt like a success somehow.

I will admit that right now, I’m sick to my stomach, barely able to sit up to write this post. Which is very disappointing :/ Because while it was a decent undertaking, I truly enjoyed taking all the kids out!! So I’m bummed my body is responding so badly, but I have no regrets!

If I knew any of them would ever see it, this is the part where I would thank all the awesome people in Costco today who celebrated my large family with me, not once making me feel judged or like we were an inconvenience. It felt like a warm group in there today, and I’m really grateful that it played out so nicely 💜

It will not be the last time! I sure love those kids!

While Dekker had an opportunity to join the local high school for the track meet last year, this year was his first year competing as a high school student. I found it to be another cool experience leading up to the day, as Dekker finds his way, regardless of those around him and what they prefer. Dekker has a lot of really athletic people in his class, and often feels a bit lesser than them. Being on the set of Frozen Jr last year was a great push to like what he likes, even if his friends don’t, and that continues to carry on!

So today is track day, and Dekker was expected to participate in three events. Track is not Dekker’s favourite activity, and he managed it SO WELL. He chose two events, and then he requested to help work the concession. I loved that. I was told by multiple people that he worked SO hard all morning, and that he likely ran more in those hours than he did in his races.

However, he ran beautifully in his races. Even though he doesn’t care for it, Dekker ran hard and gave his races his all! He got second place in the 200m…

And he got second in the 400m!

He ran with friends and he truly seemed to enjoy himself, but was very happy to come reconnect with us after each race! He even very casually went to the ribbon table and asked for a sixth place ribbon for me 🤣 because…

Purple! 💜 He’s such a goof.

It was a lovely afternoon out in the sun. My back and shoulders are SO burned, hahaha! Worth it! I’m just that much more ready for summer 😎☀️

I am CRAZY proud of you, Dekker Thomas! It is truly an honour to me your mom, to love you, and to be loved by you 💜 You did amazing today.

At one point today, I had ALL THREE BABIES sleeping! Yes. It can be done. But when its done, its usually short. VERY short.

Thankfully, I had pulled out some frozen bananas earlier in the day and they were all defrosted and ready for me. I preheated the oven and got to making some oatmeal bites as fast as I could.

This recipe comes together super quick, thankfully. I mixed them up and as I was scooping them into muffin cups, a baby started fussing. I went back and forth a couple of times, trying to calm the lemon drop while also trying to finish the oatmeal bites.

I popped them into the oven and went to rescue the lemon drop.

They only bake for about 20 minutes, which I spent rocking a baby. But once it was time to take them out, I set the lemon drop down somewhere safe, and went to take out the baked goods.

And good they were!

Never enough baking in the freezer! I needed to make granola bars instead but they take longer, haha! This still counts as a success!

Happy Wednesday, everyone ☀️

As I drove in the city today, I noticed a white service van driving with a pylon on the front. As they do. But it struck me that it looked like a rhino. Come on. You totally see it, too.

If this post doesn’t accurately express the level of fatigue I’m feeling today, I don’t know what will 😅

Pylons are orange.
Vans are not.
Poems are hard.
Rhinos.

It didn’t all get done today. Not quite. Still waiting on the soccer game, though we’re told its still going forward in the rain! The MRI is after that. I’ll do some shopping. I didn’t weigh babies today, but tomorrow is another day. Did I mention we have three of those now? 😅 We do, which definitely adds to our party level over here!

I had a brief moment today where two babies slept in their beds and one napped in the swing next to me. I ate a little lunch in that time, and actually rested. It was short lived, but I liked it! Something tells me those moments in time will be few and far between!

I’m half asleep and the fullest part of my day has yet to begin! I’ll leave you with this picture of Laela, thinking she’s calling everyone a loser, when she herself is the total dork in the room 😅

Gonna try and grab some burgers in Stoon before Bradys scan.

Nothing about this blog post goes together…

After spending two out of the last three days in the bus, I can say we are all so happy to be home 💜 The weekend was incredibly lovely. I have ZERO regrets. It was so good to see so many of my relatives once again, some for the first time in decades, as we celebrated a life well lived by my grandmother. While the visit was unbelievably quick, it was absolutely better than not going at all. I truly believe my grandma would’ve had SO much fun this weekend, seeing everyone together, eating good food, and reminiscing. I think all the efforts put into this weekend would’ve made her feel so warm and fuzzy.

Coming home is good, though. Seeing our close people out here felt really good for the soul, also. And reuniting with our babies, who stayed back with aforementioned close people 💜 We are SO fortunate to have the village of people we do. We could NOT have gone this weekend without all the help we received!

Everyone is tucked in. Most are asleep. Some deeper than others.

Tomorrow holds so much already 😅 No rest for the weary! School. Ballet. Gotta weigh a couple of babies. A soccer game. An MRI. Who knows what else will come up!

Just typing it out makes me tired. To bed I go! Goodnight, all 💜 Talk tomorrow.

It has been a lovely day. A LOADED day. A very peaceful day of celebrating a life lived. Funerals are hard in general, and doing them with kids is an added challenge, but I really couldn’t have been more proud of my kids. As the ONLY children at the burial site, they stood calmly and respectfully through the entire thing, and politely chatted with family members as aunts and uncles came to meet them. They did SO WELL. 

Everyone who put into this memorial weekend made it SO beautiful and SO nostalgic, and in my opinion, so unbelievably honouring. I truly think it would’ve been enjoyed by anyone who came through the door, including the beautiful individual who passed away 💜 

The day has come to a close, and I think our entire group here is feeling that fatigue good and proper! Hopefully there is more rest to come tomorrow. 

But first, we sleep!!! Goodnight, all 💜

As we drove today, we noted these in the fields. 

Transmission towers.

Normally they wouldn’t be exciting but three of us speculated what they looked like, and it felt like our own version of a Rorschach inkblot test. 

Brady sees someone flexing. 

I see a handstand. 

Laela sees a dress on a hanger. 

I’ve done Rorschach tests before and I usually see a uterus, hahaha! But this is not a standard uterus image. What do you see? 

I can’t even begin to recount all of todays events to you. Its been a very full day, with much good and plenty to busyness. It is 9pm. I am haggard. I know Brady feels the same. Dekker is almost home from youth, and then we can put him down and hopefully hit the sack juuuuust about immediately.

Tomorrow holds an early morning wakeup, and yet another full day, though it will provide a change of pace, for which we will all be grateful, I’m sure.

But today was in a league of its own, hahaha! I went out in full sweatsuit. Which never happens.

No sweatsuit shame! Just saying, its not my MO. But today called for it, and this was before the day got really crazy!!!

This such is a wild time of our life, and I am not mad at it 💜 Not one bit.