Indoor activities edition! 

Hello friends! Welcome to another scattered blog post that is a bit of a mess, but is justified by me calling it a “mixed bag.” Today’s mixed bag is about all of the things we’ve been keeping busy with when the wind is keeping us inside. That being said, there is zero order. So, be ready. 

First – the kids.

Waverly’s newest word is “windy.” She’ll come in from outside, hold her hands up to me, and cry “windyyyyy!” She’s been knocked out of chairs outside, thanks to the wind. Laela has also had the patio door whip into her hand and gash her open. My poor kids. SO many bandaids already this Spring! 

During the inside times, we listen to a lot of music, and the kids read almost constantly. The middle boys will sit and look and books to no end, and Laela and Dekker will commandeer the recliners and tuck away for hours. My old Family Circus comics are a big hit, but Dekker cracked out “Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing” and loved it so much! He wrapped it in less than two days! I’m SO excited that he’s into full blown chapter books now! 

The kids have been colouring a lot, as have Cher and I. She printed off some awesome colouring pages she found online for them, and we’ve been enjoying them alongside! Besides colouring, our kids have picked up Skipbo! Brady and I play it pretty regularly as it is, and we’ve convinced Cher to join us, though she hasn’t played Skipbo in years. My mom joins too, and she was the one who discovered Laela knows how to play! Since Laela learned, she has been teaching Rowan, and while Dekker doesn’t love card games, he knows how, too, and plays along often enough. It’s SO fun! 

When all of the usual go-to’s are played out, the kids resort to chanting “Mets Featherbottom” while marching through the house. 😳 No, I do not understand why, but its true. Its LOUD. 

As for us adults, we’ve been rolling with basic life stuff, but far more diligently than usual! I’m cooking a lot more, trying new recipes that are actually going over really well! Just today, we made a yummy cookie dough dessert, and some home iced tea. Neither are hard jobs, but they’re things I wouldn’t normally prioritize. Tonight is taco night, and I’m not scrambling. Meat is already made. Woot! 

We’re also cleaning a lot more, trying to stay on top of things better than I used to! I’m trying to diligently put as much away as possible so I don’t stress out over clutter and mess. I’m trying to stay super extra on top of dishes, tidying off the island top, keeping the fridge empty of old leftovers, the floor as swept as possible, etc etc etc. Finally bought a toilet brush for the basement bathroom, and a couple of nail brushes to get the garden off of my hands at the end of the day. These are all such standard things, but if nothing else, this break all together is an excellent time to fall into some good habits. 

I’ve been crocheting and knitting again, which I’m really enjoying! I’ve missed being creative, and now that my hands are back in working order, its a relief to be able to do a little here and there. I have a few other projects I’m thinking of and have the materials for. Just have to find the time! 

During all of this inside time, we’re still responsible for our garden and flowers! We’ve put up the appropriate cages and stakes, covering tall things so the wind don’t get them, watering, poking at, and trying to maintain what we’ve worked so hard for! 

None of this makes any sense 😆 Hopefully you follow a little. Its a busy time, but in a good way. Its bananas, but I’m not mad at it! 

*Another guest post from Cher!* 

Over the past couple of years, I have gotten really familiar with Hailey’s kids and her style of parenting. I have noticed that it is very similar to how I was parented as a kid and so it is easy for me to understand where she is coming from. I have always believed in having clear rules and boundaries for kids, especially during the hardest times because being a push over parent is not only hard for the parents, but it makes life harder for kids when they go out on their own as adults. Kids need structure and consistency. Empty threats and inconsistent battles only end in mistrust. 

I know that we all lose our patience sometimes. Maybe we lose our patience too quickly, or too often, but we all know that we ourselves need patience. One of the things I take comfort in as an adult is how Patient God is with me because Lord knows I need it, but he has been. He has been patient with me from the beginning, just like He is with everyone else. He sees everything through for absolutely everyone. 

All of the Born kids are very kind and loving and sweet. They all have their own unique personality and quirks about them, but I am going to write about Rowan because he, just like all the others, has something VERY special about him. He is passionate beyond his years. I first started to notice this passion a little over a year ago. One day I came over for a visit and Rowan told me that he gave his life to Jesus that morning. He seemed to understand even as a four year old what was going on. Since then, his prayers have been deeper than most kids: “Thank you Jesus that Dekker and Laela have Science Saturday because they really like it.” This shows how Rowan sees other people’s joy and has the capacity to be happy along with them. Other prayers I hear him say before lunch or supper will include his thankfulness for nature and how Jesus loves us and made all things. Sometimes it takes me back as a surprise at how in depth he can think.

Around the same time that Rowan gave his life to Jesus, he also began to struggle with his emotions. He has since then began to understand that when he gets angry, sometimes he is angry with himself, and not necessarily at the situation, but it took a little bit of tweaking for him to get there because it felt like this passion came out of nowhere. 

I watched Hailey and Brady change so much in the past year because of this. I saw them be sad and worried and confused. Rowan’s uniqueness in capacity for feelings was developing quickly. I know that Hailey has written a blog before about how she yells at her kids. I stumbled upon it recently, actually. It almost feels weird to read it now. You would think that after managing five kids (from my perspective as a single, childless 30yr old) that the yelling would only get louder or there would be slack. WRONG!

There was a point when they didn’t really want to go on dates because they were unsure how a babysitter might feel with Rowan if he got up after bed a few times. (By the way, he was still excellent, just needed some reminders) I watched them troubleshoot so many things. They took away some items he might play and get distracted with. They got him a lovely weighted blanket so he felt extra comforted at night and would sleep better. When things were at their peak, Hailey put a photo of Rowan as her screen saver so she could see him even MORE and just love him through it. And she did. 

Hailey and Brady have stuck with every “threat” they have made when he needs structure. They have teamed up and tapped each other out so they can have a fresh attitude if things are stretching out longer than usual. I think the quarantine has helped a lot with that, but even before March, even last year, there has been such a change and it’s with everybody! It is so wonderful to see how beautifully Hailey and Brady work together, encourage each other, and motivate each other to be the best they can be for their kids. 

Rowan has such a love and grace for his parents, just like they do for him. They worked tirelessly for and with Rowan. I just want to clarify that Rowan is NOT a problem child, nor am I trying to sugar coat anything for them. I am really thrilled to have witnessed the improvements that have happened. When Rowan gets upset and both Hailey and Brady talk to him calmly and in a way that he understands what is going on, it feels like there has been a breakthrough in communication. Where does their patience even come from? Instead of being mad at him, they accepted him and are shaping him without wishing he was a different kid, because he doesn’t NEED to be different. He needs to know where to put his passion. 

The last thing I want to say is how special Rowan is to me. He brings me stuffies when I am sad. He will bring me a blanket or any soft thing if I am cold. He LOVES to help me pack and always is asking to do favours for me. He has started to put away groceries and make sure we aren’t in need of anything we could have that he could help us with. He fills my water bottle when it is empty, and he hugs and kisses me before bed. And I’m just the guest. Rowan would do almost anything for anyone. His heart is HUGE and I am so blessed to be able to know him and watch him grow up. I call him Growan.

Cher here again! This week was super busy so there wasn’t as much prep for today, however, it was still very entertaining and fun!

We decided to go with the egg and bottle experiment. Mostly because we needed something a little less time efforty. Is that a word? So on our shop today we got a Starbucks drink for the glass bottle to use for the egg. Drinking the contents was the hardest part of the experiment. It was pretty brutal.

Hailey made egg salad for lunch (thank you, it was delicious) and then we made a couple extra for our experiment with the kids. I would say the first time was kind of a flop, but we laughed so it was also a win.

So we had our lighter, bottle, paper, and peeled eggs and we were ready to go.

It took a little while to keep the flame going because I accidentally took too much paper to fold and it was thicker than it needed to be.

The egg sunk down very slowly until it was almost through and then it got stuck, so after we realized we would be watching it until bedtime, I decided to push it down and try again for the second one. Oops!

The second time I used way less paper and Brady was able to get a super good flame… the only problem was that Hailey was trying to take a time lapse but the egg went through so fast that we almost missed it. It was pretty good though. We explained to the kids why the first one didn’t work and why the second one did. Then they watched Brady get the egg out of the bottle for the second time, and I am pretty sure that was more exciting and eventful than the experiment itself. However, it was still lots of fun to do Science Saturday with the kids again.

I am loving these little experiments and how excited they get about it while they eat lunch and try to look for clues as to what we are doing this week for Science.

I heard Laela say today “YAY, It’s Science Saturday!” And then I reminded her that she didn’t like science, but she corrected me. She likes OUR science and not school science. Maybe because they don’t get whoopiee cushions and chocolate after? Sorry Prairie View!

Before we let them go read, I asked them to close their eyes and put their hands out and they each got a kinder surprise… because eggs. So relevant, I know. It’s fun though, and I love how Dekker and Laela never expect treats or gifts, they just love hanging out with adults and watching us try to know what we are doing. When I say we, I mean me.

Yesterday was SO cute. It was super hot out, and the kids were super happy! 

Brady worked hard to place some boards under the fence so we could build the topsoil up a little, and everything looks so much nicer now 🙂 Aaaaand I crocheted on the deck, because, hard worker. Haha! We both got SO tan! I have never been this brown! 

It was a really nice morning. 

In the afternoon, it became clear that it was just too hot not to have a pool going, so we chucked everyone in bathing suits and embraced the mud of the backyard. 

If you come over and there are hunks of dried mud all over our house, pretend you don’t see it! 

Rowan isn’t in these pictures because he was invited across the alley to play with some friends 🙂 Lucky boy!! It was so special for him to go on his own, being the middlest kid, that doesn’t happen all too often just yet. 

I took Wavy in a little early, and she helped me set the table. Did you know a toddler can set the table? 😳 She remembers better than I do who sits where, and sets the kids plastic dishes on her own. She also empties the dishwasher and knows where some things go! Its awesome. 

After supper, we decided it was too hot to take the kids out again and risk heat stroke, so we stayed in and rinsed the day off of everyone. Body baths, I used to call them as a kid. 

While that was happening, I received a message from a friend that she had found and purchased for me TEN tomato plants!! Isn’t that SO thoughtful?! She also offered me some super cute plants to keep inside, since I seem to be REALLY enjoying plants these days. She isn’t wrong! I’m so happy to have more cute plants to keep alive 🤞 🌱 

When I headed outside to meet her to receive her lovely gifts, I discovered another gift on my doorstep!! 

A peony, I believe from Laela’s teacher 💜 She and I discussed flowers the other day when we saw her on our walk, and I told her peonies are my favorite. She must’ve separated hers to share with me. Isn’t that lovely?? Man. I feel SO loved and thought of 🥰

It was a beautiful day, and today will be beautiful too ☀️ 

Today’s blog is another post with questions!! Fewer than the last one, I promise, but it became clear to me last time that you guys are a wealth of information!! We all know/care about different things, which is one of those positives about everyone being different! It would be SO boring if we were all just the same. 

So, its question time! Yard question time!

• I’m pretty sure all of my tomato plants died. Its really sad. Cher and I loved on those things so good, and then shocked the heck out of them by not putting them outside enough before planting them in the ground. And then the wind finished them off. Its so sad. I’ve been reassuring myself that, really, I can just go buy some tomatoes 😆🍅 I promised myself I’d be chill about this years garden, just plant things in the ground and see what came up. Spoiler alert 🚨 Tomatoes will not come up. So, the question is, has anyone seen any tomato plants still out and about in stores? As in Costco, or something similar? I’m not hitting greenhouses at all, so it would need to be a convenient place, like a grocery store. Anyone? Any tips?

• More about plants. Lilac trees, specifically. I was gifted one, and I decided to place it in the front corner of our property. I had gone back and forth on trees, and what I might want or not want. I LOVE the idea of having a lilac tree! And once it was planted, it got me thinking. What if I put a row of them along our front yard? That way, when we have neighbours, we have some gentle separation without being weird jerks, and until we get those neighbours, we’d get some cover from the wind in our front yard 🙂 Thoughts? I think a row of purple lilacs is SO us 💜 (Emily, I don’t know if you read this or not, but I LOVE your lilacs! #inspo)

• Last one. Grass. I still don’t know whether we’re going to hydroseed or just seed ourselves, but I have a question. Maybe its an easy one. Last time I talked about grass on here, everyone agreed to only plant in Spring or Fall. Why is that? Is it because of the heat? Is it just more annoying to keep it watered in Summer, but doable? Or is there some big reason I’m missing? 🤷‍♀️ Help?

I’m going to leave it at that! Our yard is coming along so nicely, and I’m enjoying putting it together and brainstorming and dreaming of what it’ll all be one day. I would welcome your input 😊🌱🌤

Yesterday was a VERY cute day, all around. 

This kid was pretty cute, to begin with. 

The ground was still so wet from the recent rains, but I can proudly say I am the keeper of new garden sprouts! We have more of everything we had before, and now we can add carrots and cucumbers to that list! 

Woot!

I dressed Waverly in a shirt with cats on it, and I couldn’t help but see it was juuust missing a Tiger King reference. Hi there, all you cool cats and kittens!” 

Wavy also called Froot Loops “poopoops” at breakfast, so that was a win. 

Then the kids played outside, on the swings and trampoline. The big kids were diligently helpful, getting Waverly’s boots on and off, and heaving her onto the trampoline. 

Quick rabbit trail. Rowan asked Rae, our across the street neighbour, out on a date the other day. Their date was yesterday, and they made fox masks and cookies together ❤️ It was so adorable. 🦊 🦊 

Today, Rowan was bragging about how Raaaaae has a teeeeeapot. I, too, have teapots, and the kids were fascinated. That information, paired with the fresh cookies, was the ideal setup for a tea party. So we did that, too!!! 

This was the obvious highlight. ☕️ 

Thank you, Cher, for so many beautiful pictures, edited and crisp for me, as usual 💜 

We wrapped up the evening with a new chicken dish I’ve been making, with mashed potatoes and corn. Aaaaand a healthy dose of kids bossing each other around, getting on each other’s nerves, and fighting 😆 Real life! 

Wavy says everything now. Seriously. Everything. I couldn’t count how many words she says. It would be moot. She says them all. That being said, some of her words are her version 😉 But those of us around her know what she means. 

So let’s play a guessing game. Do you know what her words mean? 

1. Tooties 
2. Soosie
3. Cackoo
4. Fwing 
5. Poopoops 

Guesses? She is hilarious, and sweet, and SO good with her language. Beyond the words she says in her own way, she also strings words together well. “I want to…” is a big one. “Can I have…” “Hi, …” “Help me, please.” “Good morning.” The list really goes on. She’ll say anything and everything. It’s SO fun to talk to her!! 

Ok, are you ready for the answers? Take a second before you read the answers! 

Ok! Here they are! 

Tooties is excuse me. Works for getting past someone and also, conveniently, farting. 

Soosie is sorry. Its adorable when she bumps into someone or drops something she needs help with. 

Cackoo is thank you, and she uses it beautifully. On her own, she says cackoo after she finishes a meal, or if someone helps her. 

Fwing is swing. Its her latest favorite thing. She uses big swings now. Its possible I cried when we took down the baby swing. 

Aaaaand my favorite – new this morning. Poopoops is Froot Loops. 

“I want poopoops!!” Lol! Don’t we all. 

This is probably dorky but I LOVE when my children develop new freckles, or as we call them at our house, dots. I think they’re such sweet little details, and so individual to each kid. Dekker was born with a birthmark on his leg, and Laela has some cute red spots on one of her feet, but the others weren’t born with any notable markings. As they grow and age, they change, of course, and they’re developing beautiful little dots 😁 These are my favorites!

Dekker is my mole kid, for sure. His freckles tend to pop a bit more and be a bit bigger. But the little dots on his face are so lovely. One is darker, obviously, but there are a handful of little light ones up by his eyes, too!

I know, they’re small, and hidden by his glasses most of the time, but man, I love his face dots. When they showed up, somehow he looked older.

He also has one on the bottom of his foot! I didn’t know that could even really happen, but in the last couple of years, I developed a new dot on the bottom of my foot! So apparently its normal!

Laela doesn’t have too many dots. She has one little sweetie dot in her armpit, excellent for tickling! 😆

All of her dots are delicate, just like she is. Its such a pretty little detail. 

Rowan has some really nice dots! My favorite one in his smile line. 

I don’t know what I love so much about it. Its like a secret dot. Sneaky, like him. 

Solomon’s best dot is on his forehead. 

I really like that it falls where his natural part falls, as though its meant to be seen! Again, like Dekker’s, its really small, and you’d likely never notice it, but I do. He is SO light and fluffy, and this is just such a tiny little detail. 

Wavy has a dot on the back of each leg! 

She’s had these for a really long time already, and I don’t know why, but they make me feel like she’s just SO much older. But she is SUCH a go-getter, and has big, grown up girl legs, so I guess it makes sense. 

All of my children have accepted my dorky love for their dots, and often bring me teeny tiny little scratch marks or spots of dirt, exclaiming about their new dots. They are SO EXCITED when it actually does turn out to be a new dot that stays 🙂 I’m also so excited, obviously 😉 I love their details!! 

I am LOVING the rain these days 🌧 LOVING the rain! Yesterday was truly my favorite kind of day – grey and rainy, but not miserably cold. No hail or sleet. No danger of flooding. Just beautiful rain. 

Cher and I went for a long walk in the morning rain. It was so muddy along the road we were walking, so we took a different route home and did a lap around the pond on the way home. We came across a couple of geese, which isn’t unusual. Have you seen the cute little news stories where there are mother ducks with upwards of fifty babies following behind? They’re tagged all over my large family facebook groups. Yesterday, however, we saw a couple of geese, swimming to the edge of the pond, with only one little fuzzy yellow baby. I wonder if even animals have jealousy in regards to things like that, as humans occasionally pine for things we want but can’t seem to acquire. Having babies, specifically, is SUCH a hard subject for those who want to grow their family and, for one reason or another, cannot. I don’t want to delve into the subject too deep, but I wonder if animals feel the same. I wonder if those geese see the big duck families and get some angst. Maybe not. I have no idea. 

Anyway 🤷‍♀️ 🦆🦆🦆🦆🦆 💜

The rain poured all day. We ate honey chicken for supper, because comfort food. The heat was on so the windows could be open. It was my kind of day. 

After the kids went to bed, Brady, Cher, and I played Skipbo for a couple of hours and ate popcorn. It was SO chill. 

And when the time came where we “should’ve” probably gone our separate ways for the night, we decided to watch a movie instead. So we watched Juno, went to bed late, and woke up to more rain. 

It was a lovely day. 

Our garden is SO watered. Lol! Almost too much so. Our rain barrel is overflowing. I cannot wait for all the green things that will surface in the coming days!! Eek! 🌱 

Hey, it’s Cher again writing about Science Saturday. As I mentioned last week, we have committed to doing five weeks in total, bringing us to the end of June. Although science is not the most exciting subject ever for kids, we are trying to teach them about things they will actually encounter at their age… like what teachers do, except with less organization and structure.. and stickers. 

At the beginning of the week, Dekker had made a fart chart and recorded everyone’s toots over the next day or so. I thought it would contribute nicely to this Science Saturday because it’s about carbon dioxide/gas. Brady had written out eight questions in advance that pertain to the fart chart and farts in general. The last question was prompting them to write a poem about farts, and we were all pretty excited to see what they would come up with. 

After I first learned about Dekkers fart chart, I went to Dollarama and bought both Dekker and Laela some whoopie cushions as a funny surprise once the experiment was over. I was fart too excited to see their faces when they first opened their gifts. 

Fart Experiment:

Okay, so this is just your plain old vinegar and baking soda reaction, but we told them we were making a fart. It was toot. 

Step One: We got two small bottles of coke from Co-op (vanilla-orange flavour) and we drank it with our lunch. 

Step Two: We rinsed the bottles and filled them with one cup of vinegar. 

Step Three: We then added about 4-5 tsp. of baking soda into each balloon and attached the balloon to the rim of the bottles. 

Step Four: We then got the kids to dump the contents inside the balloon into the bottle. 

Immediately the balloons started to fill with carbon dioxide and we had no time to lose. I think even us adults were having as much fun as the kids watching it blow up like that. During some moments, it even felt like it might burst, but it did not… and I am very thankful that I did not make a mess in my best friends kitchen. Though I know she would have assured me it was absolutely okay. Nobody wants a mess! I thought it was funny that Dekker took a step back at one point because he was unsure. 

After the balloons filled with gas and the bubbles calmed down, we took the balloons off the bottles and tied them. Dekker and Laela naturally wanted to throw them in the air, but since they were pure carbon dioxide, they pretty much just thunked onto the ground. Brady explained to the kids that when we blow into a balloon, there is air and carbon dioxide so it isn’t as heavy as 100% carbon dioxide, so that is why it didn’t drift in the air.

Coincidentally, the helium balloon from Solly’s birthday was still flying high, and we got to explain how helium is lighter than air. Anyways, super educational.

Following the heavy balloons, the kids had to answer the questions that Brady had pre written and report back to him before they were allowed to open their surprise.

Some of the answers were pretty hilarious, like number 6: Why do you think some people fart more than other people? Laela: “Eeg Saled.” Number 7 was: What do you think a fart really is? Dekker: “a stingky gas.”

We weren’t terribly strict with it because it was an exercise for them to think about what gas is, why it exists and how it happens. It may have been a stretch to include the whole fart idea to the chemical reaction with the baking soda and vinegar, but I’m pretty pleased with it, and so were they. 

I tried to take a photo of Dekker opening his gift, but he went so fast that it was just a blur. He wasn’t quite sure how to use it, so I accidentally tooted it a little close to his face and startled him, poor guy. Lessons learned, even as an adult. 

Laela was so cute opening hers so carefully and lightly tooting it with a big smile on her face. 

In conclusion to this Science Saturday, I would say that the kids successfully learned about gravity and gas. We even briefly talked about how humans make gas: eating too fast, eating foods that make you gassy (like egg salad), upset tummy, and movement, and the different reactions that take place to make carbon dioxide and air.