Two days ago, I wrote about Laela being sick. She threw up in her bed overnight, and took the day off of school. That night, she fevered, so I decided to keep her home the next day as well, so as to protect everyone else from catching whatever she was fighting. By the end of the day, though, she was super energetic, completely back to herself, and begging to go to kids club. We told her that missing school meant missing kids club, but she should be able to go the next day.

Then there was this morning. She was up easily, dressed and ready and at the table, eager to eat breakfast and get moving. I realized within five minutes or so that she was doddling pretty hard. I asked her to pick up the pace, and she took another bite, but her zeal was gone. A few minutes later, she told me she had a tummy ache and asked to stay home. I asked a few questions, about tried to decipher what kind of tummy ache she had. Was she actually sick? Was she just nervous to go back to school for some reason? Maybe she simply hadn’t eaten enough yesterday, and thats why she hurt! I asked her if she felt sick, and she said no. Just had a tummy ache. She said she didn’t want “the students” to get her sickness. I suggested that she should maybe go with her tummy ache and it might even itself out. Her chin quivered and she said again “I don’t want the students to get sick!” In that moment, I believed she was nervous to go to school, for fear of throwing up again, but at school this time. I wouldn’t want to barf at school either. I agreed that she could stay home for the morning, and we’d see how she was then. I want to be conscious of her needs, even if she’s anxious more than actually “sick.”

Aaaaand then she barfed. The lightweights can skip this paragraph 😉 I know you’re out there.

Laela was sitting on the couch, reading a book, while I chatted with Cher and my mom. It was a total pleasure to have them both over at the same time, and it was also really handy, turns out. We were all in the living room when Laela asked me for a bucket because she thought she might throw up. I was caught off guard, and hesitated for a second before I got up and headed for her room in search of a bucket that I thought had been beside her bed overnight. I had made it two steps in that general direction when she covered her mouth, and spewed barf evvvvverywhere!!! I picked up into a run towards her room, and intercepted Waverly, who was heading towards the action. I deposited her in Laela’s room, but found no bucket. I foolishly ran upstairs for one while my mom just grabbed a dish in the kitchen and caught the second burst of vomit. And the third and fourth and how many more after that. I made it back down to her, where my mom was holding a pan in front of Laela and Cher had scooped Wavy up to keep her from splashing around in the vomit. Thus began a quick moving half hour of wiping down my child, couch, and floor. My mom lovingly scrubbed my living room rug and put Laela’s blanket, clothing, and some dirty towels into the laundry. Cher brought paper towel and cleaning stuff, and kept Waverly out of the mess. And in the centre of it all was Laela, feeling worlds apart better, being super strong and brave through it all. She was pretty tired, but knew when she was done and was totally patient while we cleaned up around her. She kept her spirits high and didn’t complain at all. She’s handled her boring day and boring food like a champ. I’m SO impressed with how brave she is when she’s sick.

So in case it wasn’t clear, we’ve rocked another full day of quiet play, reading a lot, drinking lots of water, and lots of naps.

I’m going to keep her home tomorrow, too. Its just too much sickness, and I don’t want to spread the “fun” around. While this is not the season I want my family to be sick in, rather now than even closer to Christmas! Let’s just hope and pray that Laela keeps it to herself! ❤️🤞

There is a legitimate countdown happening in our house. Every morning, the kids ask how many days until Christmas. Today, they remembered on their own. There are 28 more days until Christmas. And thats great, but also terrifying. There is SO much to do in those four weeks!

I’m close to being done Christmas shopping, and most of the rest is just waiting for this weekend when there should be a bunch of sales. The only thing that has thrown me for a loop is the book I had chosen to buy for Waverly. Here’s the thing. Its brand new, and I saw it would be available mid-October. Fine, that was reasonable. When mid-October rolled around, only the paperback and hardcover version became available. I JUST learned that the board book version isn’t coming around until June OF 2021!!!! Not even next year! The next next year! I’m ticked, and while Wavy is pretty good with books nowadays, I’d so much rather give her a book that was a little tougher, so she could haul it around and turn the pages easier on her own. What book would you choose for her, friends? The BEST book for an almost 1.5 year old girl.

I’m still working on some homemade gifts but they’re coming along! I feel optimistic!

I need to kick the sickness currently in our home as soon as possible. And keep anyone else from contracting it. Laela is home again today. She fevered last night, so I decided to keep her and let her body heal today, even if she’s not actually sick anymore. I know the public school division has a guideline where they’re asked to keep kids home until they’ve been fever-free for 24 hours. Our division doesn’t have that guideline, but I think its really smart. So she’s home, lounging on the couch, reading books all day long. She’s happy, and her body is resting. So I’m happy.

My baby just woke up, so I’m going to go retrieve her and get her breakfast going. I was suspicious yesterday that she was getting a bit sick, so wish her luck! 🤞 We need to stay healthy

Today was super out of sorts, but in an odd way. 

Upon getting Laela up, we learned she had thrown up in the night. She had chosen to take care of it on her own, and had changed her jammies and had slept on the other side of her bed. I was kind of shocked and reassured her that we wanted to know if she was sick in the night, and she should really know that she could come up and ask for help. She promised me she knew, but had opted not to risk waking Waverly. She told me she was perfectly fine doing it on her own. I was really surprised, but I also wasn’t, because she’s a super brave, capable little girl. All of those details aside, she had thrown up, and would need to stay home for the day. So that was that. Dekker went off to school on his own. 

Then there was Rowan. He was getting ready for preschool and was in bad shape. Not sick necessarily, but SO grouchy. There was a time a while back when he didn’t do so well at preschool, and had had a tantrum, with lots of crying and fussing. That day, he had told me he hadn’t slept well. And today, he had said the same thing. He hadn’t slept. So we decided it was best to keep him home. He was choked, but just for a minute or two. Maybe he knew it was a good choice.  So that was that. 

However, I was on the calendar to be the parent helper today! I knew it was going to be odd to be there without Rowan, and I wasn’t wrong! It continued along the theme of being a super weird morning. 

Four children showed up at preschool. Four. Less than half of the class. It was SO strange to have such a small group, but I truly enjoyed it. It was so low key, and while time didn’t move as fast, it was nice and quiet and relaxing. It was easier to talk amongst the group and the free play stretches were really calm. It was super different, but also super nice. 

When I got home, Brady had the kids eating lunch, and shortly thereafter, I moved downstairs to get some knitting going. I’m really enjoying all of my projects, and I think I’m enjoying them extra because I’m more confident it’ll all get done in time. I can breathe a little easier. 

Now that we’re towards the end of the afternoon, I can update that all four of the kids at home today napped. Laela is still comfortable at her spot on the couch, but seems in good spirits.

Rowan is maybe a bit more optimistic this morning, but he’s also pretty slow moving. We’ll likely know soon if he’s going to turn up sick, too, or if he’s just in need of some extra sleep. Wish us luck!! 

Breakfast for supper tonight! Because its both delicious, and has been a backwards day, so we’ll keep that feeling going. 

I have a handful of cute pictures that didn’t make it into a blog post but are worth sharing, so we have a bit of a mixed bag today, but hopefully no one objects! I know I don’t!

Wavy has started to just lay down on the floor when she’s tired, whether its soft or hard. This day was particularly cute. 

On Saturday, Dekker was invited over to a friends house during nap time. Laela was at a bit of a loss at what to do with herself. Earlier in the day, I had been invited across the street to help make Christmas treats, and had turned down the invite because we were doing our own Christmas stuff that day. I went back on my reply, and asked if Laela and I could come join for just a little bit. We were welcomed over and Laela made two trays of chocolates. 

The grand chocolate day always feels like a very special event, and we were thrilled to be included this year ❤️ 

Ha! This one wont make any sense. I have a mug than says “love grows here,” and when the kids say it, I always hear “love grows hair.” I mentioned it to Cher, and she shared (Cher-ed) this doodle with me, lol!

Three in a tub! Haven’t done that in a while!

We left Wavy’s hair after the bath and didn’t brush it. Its SO beautiful!!

Aaaaand then she rubbed a bunch of cinnamon bun into her hair over supper, but she just really enjoyed her food. 

The sugar hit eventually and the funny faces broke out. 

It was cute. 

And so was this hug goodnight ❤️

Dekker sure loves his sisters! He’s an excellent big brother, and I can’t wait to see what kind of man he’ll be in the future!

Ok, the mixed bag is emptied out! For now, anyway 😉 I’m sure I’ll be back with more eventually. I was thinking I should do a post on the pictures I have in my “favourites” folder one of these days…

Thats what Rowan said the moment the tree was up and fully decorated. And really, he’s not wrong. 

Wavy slept through decorating, but that was ok this time around. She was SO tired at church, and slept for about four hours this afternoon. It would’ve been crazy to wake her for an event she couldn’t even really participate in. But the other kids really enjoyed it. 

These kids also enjoyed it, but mostly just watching it happen 😏

Aaaaand we even weaseled this kid into helping! 

❤️

Our kids have some special hand painted decorations from my mom that we always hang right at the top of the tree. They’re beautiful and the kids value them very much. They handled them so carefully for their pictures to be taken. Waverly woke up in time to hold hers. She was maybe slightly less gentle and aware 😆 but she’s ultra cute so its ok. 

It was a really, really nice afternoon getting our tree all done up. Did I tell you guys we set out the rest of our decor the other day? I think I didn’t. We have our little trees above the cabinets, the lights strung on our railings, and the wreath on the door. We are SO festive over here! 

This is about as put together as we get these days, but I sure wouldn’t trade this gig for any other.

Here we are again, watching Wavy make so many big changes! I can’t not post about them! Some may be repeats, and I’m not going to look back and see what I have talked about and what I haven’t. The post of today’s post is to highlight just how different she is all of a sudden! Someone said to me the other day, in a discussion about her development, that she is almost two. And she isn’t! She’s about a week out from being 17 months. I’m sure all of these things are typical, but she just seems SO bright to me! I love this list 🤩

Firstly, Waverly is pretty much back to her old self after shots, teething, and a hospital visit. That was a good stretch of shakedowns, and I think she’s finally feeling more like herself. I know that feeling personally, and I’m SO happy for her that she’s back!

Wavy says all kinds of things. Hi and bye. Mom and daddy. I want that. Wear that. Whats that. Eat. Mine. Bite. Yum. Blanket. Grandma. Watch. Dance. Book. Bed. Amen. She mumbles through her siblings names sometimes, and yesterday, she said “LOVE YOU” clear as day ❤️ It. Was. Awesome.

She makes jokes and loves to play! She’ll hold something over her head and say “Ta-da!” She plays a great game of peekaboo, chase, and catch. She loves to be hung upside down and swung in circles, and hangs her arms out like she’s on a roller coaster. She has a dolly she’s favored recently that she carries around and gives kisses. Yesterday, she spun slowly in circles with her baby up in the air. She loves to dance and sing. She sings along to one particular version we have of Deck the Halls. If I had to guess, though, her favorite songs are probably Joy to the Mountain by Hanson, and No Matter Where You Are by Us the Duo. She also loves to pretend she’s on the phone, and holds toys to her ear.

Wavy is super smart and understands a LOT. She knows how to be soft. She can identify her nose, mouth, hair (or ponytail,) hands, feet, and her fave – her belly. She obeys when asked to sit on her bum (another part she recognizes) and will stop when asked. She knows which bed belongs to which kid, and loves to go get her older siblings up from bed.

She eats everything, though recently, is less inclined towards bread. But she’s actually really cooperative and has NO issue with eating whatsoever. Some of our other children always had a beef with food being mixed together, and she does not. She’ll eat anything, and often out-eats her siblings. Not Dekker 😉 but the others. She LOVES smarties (thank you, Halloween) and she just ate cheeseballs the other day, haha! I want to say what her favourite food is but no joke – she loves it all.

Wavy thinks she is the funniest thing. She loves to laugh. She will babble a joke, and then giggle a grunty laugh, very similar to my own, actually. I not-so-secretly love that.

Cher added to the list that she is “better looking and smarter than everyone else’s kids.” She’s not wrong.

I’m sure there’s more, but we’ll leave it at this for now. This little miss is such a bright light in our family. They all are, obviously. No question. I love them all desperately!!

I have finished yet another homemade gift! I wrapped it up today at nap time, and I am feeling SO accomplished! I can’t wait to show you all the things I made for the kids, but I’m waiting until they’re ALL done! And with any luck, that will be by the end of the weekend 😊 I’m excited!

With that going so quickly, I was able to let down in a different way in the afternoon. Yes, I still have projects to do, but Waverly was sleeping, effectively hijacking my other yarn and projects. So rather, I relaxed for the rest of the afternoon. I watched The Office, ate yummy leftovers, read with the kids, and kept them alive. Brady worked hard on the basement, which deserves its own update soon!

I was taken out for supper tonight, which was special and celebratory. We mall walked afterwards, and I bought Dekker his “want” Christmas gift. He’s going to be SO excited! I looked for a couple of other things but, no dice. Still, it was nice to get out of the house for a minute and not be worrying.

Wish me luck, friends! Tonight calls for some Netflix, popcorn, and hopefully a bunch more knitting! One day I’ll be a grandmother and I’ll feel less embarrassed about the mad amount of yarn crafts I do.

I guess I don’t know that for sure. Odds are, though, I have at least ONE grandchild coming, right?? 🤞

I complained about my shoulder pain the other day. You probably remember. It was just over the weekend. Its been this constant irritation, but besides the fact that it hurt, I was frustrated with the unanswered question of it. If I pushed through the pain, was I making something worse? Was there true damage in there? Was there a build up of fluids that I should be worried about? Or was this just a strained muscle that was taking longer than average to heal itself? 

So I went to physio. My physiotherapist is one of the most knowledgeable people I’ve ever met. And she’s SO warm and soft. And funny. I like her a lot. So naturally, I got in touch with her. However, she specializes in women’s health, specifically the pelvis, these days. She said she would absolutely do her best for me, but if she wasn’t confident, she’d refer me out. I was willing to take that risk, and booked her soonest appointment. Tuesday at 3:30.

She came to the waiting room around then and called someone else. She looked at me and apologized for running behind. I assured her it was fine. I’m willing to wait for a person who I know won’t rush me through either. She takes the extra care needed every time, and I knew this wouldn’t be any different. 

She first asked me how my family was. I told her about our scare with Waverly, and she just stared at me as I gave her the details. Somehow its validating to have people around me also not have knowledge of breath holding spells. It makes me feel less idiotic for not already knowing about them. I know. Pride. I’m learning, I promise. There is ALWAYS more to learn. We did eventually get into the details of my shoulder, and she pulled out detailed diagrams of the muscles in our bodies, and we discussed what hurt where and what’s all connected. She always brings it into perspective anatomically, and I love that. I actually loved the “bones and muscles” part of biology in high school 🙂 So this was right up my alley. What she said made a lot of sense and we got to the treatment. 

She checked my neck and back and shoulders. She confirmed that I do NOT have curvature of the spine 😒 Surprise surprise. She had me move my arms in different ways and we talked about how different joints rest in different ways. Finally, I lay down and she just worked on the sore spots, opening them up, relaxing the muscles, and elongating things. I sat up and she did the same. There were times we laughed so hard, her head was on my shoulder. It was such a good, uplifting appointment. She has that quality that Dr. Guselle has, that leaves me feeling lighter and hopeful after every appointment. 

We had no big resolution. She gave me some good stretches I could do, but mostly, she took the fear out of it. No, I wasn’t damaging anything by using my arm. I was allowed to push through the pain. But she advised me what not to do to give myself a bit of a break. 

It appears the muscles all around my rotator cuff are angered, and just need to let down again. She said its not uncommon at all for all kinds of shoulder tightness to gather up exactly where my pain is. So its nothing so scary. She said many people with this kind of pain come to her all hunched over and pinched, but said I’m still doing great for mobility! So thats a win! She reminded me to open up my shoulders when I’m reaching up, which I don’t think I ever do right. 

Time to be more intentional about how I lift things. Also, intentional about doing shoulder rolls, neck stretches, and all that good stuff! 

There is so much still to do this year, and while we still have a whole month – MORE than a month left, I feel like I’m surely going to forget something!

We have our Christmas coffeehouse gig coming up in two weeks! That means LOTS of practices in that stretch. Plus we also lead worship this coming Sunday. And at our church for Christmas Eve, so we need to be super organized musically! 

If you’re part of the homemade gift exchange I’ve organized this year, consider this to be crunch time! If you’re mailing gifts, Those need to be out your door in the first week of December! If you’re delivering locally, that needs to happen between the 10th and 15th. And if you’d like ME to deliver for you, that will either be on the 13th or 14th. I haven’t been asked to do that by anyone yet, so if there’s a need (which is totally fine!) I’ll pick a concrete date. But guys. Thats like two weeks away!!

I have Christmas concerts to attend. 

I have events I really want to take my family to.

I have Christmas shopping to finish.

I have gifts to finish up, though I’m making good headway on that recently! Feels doable finally, like it will all get done in time. 

I have gifts to wrap, cookies to bake, and decorations to put up! 

We have a basement to finish! And its going to happen!!!

On top of all of those important things, I have to keep on living my life! That means housework, food, snuggles, homework, reading stories, playing toys, kissing wet faces, and putting into our closest people. 

I wouldn’t change it 🙂 There is still a whole month left, and the important things will get done. And in the same breath, there’s only a month left! Ack!!! 

For now, we puzzle and dance until lunch. 

Because really, what’s more important? 

Brady is home today. He and I decided to have a box of KD for lunch once the kids were down for naps. We’re trying to be intentional about our time together while also being productive with his time at home. But a coffee date in the morning is really nice, and lunch together is nice too. 

So the noodles has boiled and the butter was softened. It was all ready. I put the noodles in the strainer, then back into the pot, and carried it over to the island to mix it all up. 

I picked up the cheese packet and was momentarily annoyed that everything was ready, except I hadn’t opened the stupid cheese packet. Macaroni is best hot and fresh, so it always feels like a race to get all the parts together. So I quickly grabbed the envelop and have it a good shake. 

And guess what. The cheese packet was indeed open. It just wasn’t unfolded and popped open, so I hadn’t noticed the end had been torn off. 

Wow. 

Let. Me. Tell. You. 

That crap went EVERYWHERE!!!!!

I’ve never laughed so hard in my life. 

There was cheese powder all over the island. All over the floor on three sides of the island. All over the oranges I had peeled for us. Not a spot on the noodles, of course. That would just be silly. 🙄 And as an added bit of fun, the cheese powder was all over yours truly. It was on my  sweater, on my socks, down my shirt. It was ALL through my hair, and in my ears. SUCH a mess.

It was itchy.

Now, I have physio today, and my hair is WAY too greasy to go out in public. But my shoulder pain makes lifting my arms up to my head (washing my hair) really difficult. I knew my physiotherapist would understand my predicament so I had decided to embrace my grease. 

After this, however, I’m not sure how understand she would be if I came in covered head to toe in cheese powder. So I sucked it up and washed my hair. But not before we swept and wiped and rinsed off the oranges and stirred shredded cheese into our noodles and cleaned up the whole huge mess I had made. 

Guys. Lunch did not taste yummy. It was pretty disappointing, actually. But I REALLY enjoyed the laugh, honestly. Felt good for my body to think something was funny. I’ve been pretty pent up since Friday, and this was good for me. 

Even if the food wasn’t.