Guys. Yesterday was such a gong show. I could make it into three blog posts at least. The day of promised productivity fell flat, where I didn’t get a shred of my list done. And not in that standard mom “there aren’t enough minutes in a day” way, but in a pretty overwhelming, needing to have a cry kind of way. The morning was a bust, and an afternoon of hope was a total waste of time. So I ranted again, and Brady sent me upstairs to our room to hide out and get some work done. 

Aaaaand then Waverly shook things up. 

Picture this scene with me. If you have kids, you may have seen it before. Brady was hanging laundry in a closet, and Wavy wanted to be picked up. She was sitting on the carpet, fussing. In frustration, she whipped herself back, and she hit her head, as you would expect. She started to cry, and Brady picked her up. He hugged her, but she started to push him away, hard. She started to shake and vibrate, and her cry turned into a scream. As it seemed she was about to relax and take a breath, her head tipped back, and her eyes rolled back in her head. 

Brady caught her head and called her name, trying to keep her awake. When she came to, she didn’t cry, and was almost falling asleep. He ran upstairs to where I was on the phone and said he needed backup. Waverly had no colour in her face. Her lips were dull. She was slow blinking, dozing off. He told me she had hit her head and seemed to have passed out. His explanation was short and to the point, but it felt like an eternity as I saw her keep dozing off on his shoulder. Isn’t that like the number one rule, that they shouldn’t sleep right after a head bonk?? I rubbed her back and bugged her enough that she finally started crying again and woke up a little. Brady walked down with her and I ran out to my van to get our health cards. Health Line was already ringing on the other end of my phone. I had already texted one of my her nurse friends. I was ON it. This was NOT ok. 

There didn’t seem to be a cut and dry answer, but there was definitely a lean towards going in. Had she badly injured herself? Had she had a seizure? We didn’t know. I called my mom and told her what had happened, and she ran right over. Brady and I were waiting in the entrance, and took off as soon as we could. I was nervous to go alone and try and navigate the new hospital on my own, and it turns out that was a good thing. 

I should say, the new hospital is lovely, from what I’ve seen. But dropping off at emerg was confusing. Where does someone park to just drop off?? Does anyone know? We couldn’t figure it out, so we backpedalled and parked in the oversized vehicle lot (a bonus of driving our bus!) and walked there. There were definite moments of thinking “hopefully no one hits us with their car, because we’re definitely on a roadway” but we just went as fast as we could.

Once inside, someone confirmed we were there for Waverly, and we were directed over to a separate children’s registration. That was a nice touch. It was quiet over there, and everyone was very nice. They asked her name and birthday, and when I went to get her health card from my wallet, they assured me it was fine, and she was in the system. Just from her birth! Cool, hey? I liked that, too. We were through that initial stage pretty quickly and were brought to a room within a couple of minutes. 

The rooms were nice. Big. Glass door so it didn’t feel dungeony. Cute animal paintings on the wall. A few too many shiny tools at eye level, so we couldn’t put Wavy down really, but she was nervous and tired and uncomfortable anyway, so we held her the whole time anyway. People came through a few different times, wanting retellings of the story. They asked a lot of questions, and it seemed like everyone was taking our concern very seriously. I appreciated that so much, because I’ve had enough kids and enough head bonks to know everyone is usually fine. But I’ve never had a kid react the way she did. Never ever. It wasn’t standard. And they agreed. It seemed clear that the nurses were leaning heavily towards seizures. 

Except that Waverly’s neuro exam was perfect. She had started to perk up, and she was chatting and dancing and waving and showing off. She wasn’t thrilled about being poked and prodded at all, and cried through her ear check, heartbeat check, and temperature. But she was a rockstar on every level. 

The nurse who was with us for basically the final decision making process wasn’t confident, so she went and consulted a doctor working emerg that night, and she came and spoke to us about what we’re going to call Wavy’s final diagnosis. 

We believe that Waverly had a pallid breath holding spell. More often a breath holding spell a reaction to anger, but sometimes, in response to pain, a young child’s body will forget to breathe. The body then passes out, like a safety feature, to force the child to breathe again. Its not an intentional temper tantrum thing. The child isn’t in control. It just happens in some kids. And apparently, Wavy is one of those kids. So when she was crying and upset already, and then she hurt herself good and proper, she got SO upset and cried hard enough that she quit breathing. And thankfully, she fainted, and when she went out, she was able to breathe again. 

I’ll throw in a tidbit from aboutkidshealth.ca because they explain it a bit more professionally, but its just bang on. (Whoops. Bad wording. Too soon.) It says: 

“Pallid breath-holding, which is less common (than cyanotic,) is triggered after a child experiences pain, for example, after falling or hitting their head. This can lead to changes to the child’s nervous system, which cause as the symptoms such as forced breathing or jerky movements.” 

The website also lists common steps in a breath holding spell. They go like this:

1. A brief, shrill cry. 
2. Forced breathing out, followed by stopped breathing.
3. Blue, purple, or pale skin. 
4. Fainting or loss of consciousness.
5. Jerky movements (short, “seizure-like” movements) only in extreme cases.

Straight up. It SUCKED. It was completely terrifying. We were reassured over and over that breath holding spells are not actually harmful, assuming she wouldn’t faint into something hard or fall off of something, but in general, the breath being held won’t hurt her. But everything we’ve read also acknowledges that its very frightening for parents. And that is not wrong. I don’t remember the last time I was so scared. 

We made it home around 9:00pm. The house was quiet, and my mom was contentedly in the living room, waiting. We told her all about it, and Wavy hacked into the toys and played with grandma. We were so thankful she had stayed awake for the drive home and we were able to see her settle back into her home and really be herself again. 

But I was even more thankful that she woke up this morning. I knew she would, but there is just something about that morning after a good solid head bonk where you really thank the Lord a little extra. I don’t know what I’d do if anything happened to her, or to any of our children. 

That was a really, really scary evening. I don’t wish these things on anyone. That being said, I knew nothing of breath holding spells, so maybe someone else can learn something from our experience

Waverly had some adorable moments of rallying this morning 🙂 She was SUCH a peach.

Brady is home today, and we took the opportunity to have a little coffee date before he went down to the basement to get our laundry machines hooked back up. Wavy really wanted in on the coffee action. 

Wavy fluctuated between playing and crying the entire time. She would play and read and dance and tease us madly, and then suddenly, she’d drop her toy, back away slowly, and plunk down ten feet away for a big ole temper tantrum 😂 And once she had a good cry, she’d look up at us and giggle a little, as if it was all a game. A game that only she enjoyed. But even she didn’t enjoy it that much. It was a very confusing game for everyone. 

While she was in one of her stretches of inconsolable crying, Rowan emerged from his room where he had been playing. He called to her, and she stopped crying. He invited her to come play with him and Solly. She didn’t move. He looked around for a second, and then ran and grabbed her blanket off the floor nearby. He waved it at her, and she giggled madly and ran after him. It was short lived, but I loved that moment so much. He heard his sister crying and decided on his own to try his hand at comforting her. It was awesome. Rowan is an excellent friend. 

We were all able to work with Waverly for a while, comforting her in between her games, but finally she wasn’t laughing or crying anymore, and it just came to this. 

It was very clearly time for bed. She didn’t fight it. 

Now that the littlest Miss is in bed, the day holds laundry, knitting, coffee, mdf, naps, food, music, forts, and an afternoon appointment. 

Have a lovely Friday, friends! ❤️

Poor Wavy. Poor poor Wavy. Our littlest monkey hasn’t been feeling 100% for a while now. It started almost two weeks ago with shots. No big crazy reaction, but general fatigue and a little fevering. She’s just been snuggly and not as hungry. Nothing we can’t handle. She’s still been sleeping through the night and eating and drinking enough. She still LOVES a good homemade granola bar. Those trump all. 

She’s just maybe been a bit less personable. And if you’ve seen her in the last two weeks, you know she’s still pretty sweet and goofy, despite her not feeling great. 

Two days ago, she started to rally a little. She would dance a little bit to the songs she liked and played peekaboo. She talked SO MUCH that day! Guys, she says SO much SO clearly! She was so fun that day! 

Aaaaand then yesterday, we got this. 

If those aren’t teething cheeks, I don’t know what are 🤷‍♀️ That nose too. Rashy. Teething. No denying. 

Except that Waverly already has sixteen teeth. What’s left? Two year molars. Already??? She’s 16 months. I’m all for early, easy teething, but this feels REALLY early! If that is indeed what this is, I really hope those molars come in fast, and don’t just tease her for the next six months. 

Today has been a rough one. After a lovely night of sleep for Wavy from 6:30pm to 8:30am, she woke up ready for bed 😩 The poor little Miss was a bundle of emotions. She barely ate anything, didn’t want to drink anything, and once I let her down from the table, she cried pretty consistently. I had to take Rowan to preschool today, so I loaded all three kids up to take him. That was a welcome distraction but she was still a total mess. She cried for maybe the next hour or so. Solly helped her out of her funk at one point with some little reindeer antlers he found…

but it was short lived. 

Thank goodness, Cher offered to come stay at the house while I picked Rowan up, so I could put Waverly down for her nap early. When I asked Wavy if she wanted a nap, she giggled and headed up the stairs. When I scooped her up, she lay across my shoulder and didn’t make a peep. Not a single sound. She was ready. 

Poor Wavy. Poor poor Wavy. Feel better, sweetheart ❤️

This morning started FAST! I suppose thats what happens when the phone dies, effectively turning off the alarm, and you don’t wake up at the right time…

I lulled awake to Brady leaving the room swiftly. He was going in to work a little later today and had offered to get the kids up for school. So I had not a care in the world when I heard him leave. But within seconds, he motored back upstairs and came over to my side.

“Hailey. Its ten after eight.” 8:10am. Our kids leave at 8:20.

Soooooooo

I jumped right up and started stumbling into clothes. My first thought was “Give them each a granola bar. Make it exciting, not a bad thing.” He agreed and ran back down the stairs.

It took me a minute to find underwear and get into leggings, and of course Waverly woke up with the commotion, but I got down to the kitchen as fast as I could. It was pretty busy down there, but everyone was happy. Dekker and Laela had just gotten dressed, and I scooped them into the bathroom to brush their hair. Then I hustled them into the kitchen. There were two granola bars out, and I literally just grabbed their water bottles to go with their “breakfast.” They laughed and began wolfing down their food. Brady was at the island, making lunches. Of course no bread was defrosted for sandwiches, so crackers and cheese would have to do! Honestly, they’ll be psyched when they find that for their lunch 🙂 Once they were packed, I grabbed their backpacks and Brady loaded their lunches in. Dekker ran to brush his teeth, and Laela was just moments behind. Howeverrrrrr 😬 we were just a little late, and I decided to let Laela go to school without brushing her teeth. Just today! They always brush their teeth! But this time, something just needed to be bypassed. So she giggled and ran off to get bundled up, with chocolate still on her teeth. #ilovemydaughter #isupportdentalhygiene #icanonlydosomuch #cantbelate

I don’t think I’ve ever seen Dekker and Laela get ready for school so fast, but they LOVED it. It was probably the most fun they’ve had getting ready and out the door. Maybe we should sleep in more often…

Its basically Monday today, but in a good way. The big kids were super happy to get off to school today. I didn’t have to nag anyone in the morning. They had all slept well and were eager to get the day moving. They bundled up at warp speed and basically scratched at the door until everyone had given hugs and we released them into the wild. It was cute. They were ready. Rowan was the same way about a half hour later. No qualms with going to school. So ready.

Before school ❤️

I, on the other hand, am dragging hard. I slept well – uninterrupted, deep. But I’m absolutely beat. I couldn’t tell you why, but I could fall asleep right now. Coffee helps. Also, responsibilities. I have to do some dishes this morning still. I have to go get Rowan from preschool.

I have kids to play with and read to. 😍 I have an appointment to call about today. I actually have a couple of things to book but one at a time will have to do. Did I tell you guys I got a referral to a OBGYN and I have pretty cold feet about who I received? Ugh. Not sure what to do about all that yet, but today isn’t the day to figure it out.

Waverly has been under the weather for a good few days, but today I can tell she’s starting to feel better. She’s still clingy and easily wounded, but she’s back to dancing this morning! I haven’t seen her dance in days, and she loves to dance! She’s had a few little moments this morning where she’s put her arms up and twirled, so I know she’s starting to feel some improvement. She also slept 14 hours straight last night, which likely helped a lot. I could go for a 14 hour sleep.

It feels like the beginning of a week today. Like a Monday. But that just means the weekend will come sooner, and thats good news ☺️

Did everyone else notice the full moon vibes today? Our house struggled today. Maybe it was just an off day. Maybe it was coming back from the challenging day that yesterday turned out to be. But sometimes, when everyone is going a little haywire, I look up the moon cycles, and this time, I was right. Full moon! 🌕

Dekker cried a lot today. Thats not his usual. He was extra confusing, wanting certain things but crying and getting upset when he’d get what he wanted. Or being sad about something, and not letting us try and solve it. It was odd. Wavy was off, too. Still pretty pleasant but exhausted and a bit less personable than usual. She didn’t eat much. Rowan did pretty well, and napped well. Solly and Laela were in pretty good shape. But extra snuggly.

It wasn’t a bad day. Had coffee with a friend. Worked on some Christmas gifts. Listened to lots of Christmas music. Brady put together song sheets for our coffeehouse gig coming up, and worked some more in the basement. I can’t believe its actually happening, slowly but surely. We’ll be done before we know it! Maybe in a month, roughly. Eek!

Tomorrow has nothing on the books. Kids go back to school. Ro goes back to preschool. Brady goes back to work. I’ll stay here. We’ll see what I end up being busy with, but so far, its pretty open and I’m looking forward to it!

Before the day ends, we have band practice. I’m also looking forward to that! Does anyone think they might come to the coffeehouse in early December? Its on the 5th, and we really hope to see lots of our friends there! Still needing a babysitter for the three younger kids, but I want as many people as we know who want to come to COME!! Its going to be such a fun one!

I’m ready for these kids to get back to school and for us to get back into our regular groove. Our groove where I can do Christmas things during nap time and no one is there to spy…

I finally made it back to church today. Partly because I was part of leading music and part because someone reminded me that the technicalities of actually getting to church can be worked out. With there not being much of an option for Waverly and I during Sunday school before church, I usually stay home during that stretch. For Brady to load everyone up just to come back home to pick me up would be so much extra work, and that makes it really easy to just stay home. And honestly, sometimes thats nice. The quiet break is really needed and appreciated sometimes. But getting my family to Sunday school shouldn’t be what prevents me from going to church. Obviously. Aaaaanyway, that was a ramble. I went to church today. We all did. But Wavy and I did spend Sunday school time at home. She makes funny faces now, for the record. Its adorable.

Her hair though 😍

Music went well. Waverly wasn’t feeling 100% this morning at all, so I held her through most of the music on stage. She only had one mini hissy-fit where she wanted to grab the microphone and protested me. But we rallied. And someone lovingly took her for the closing, knowing full well she might cry. That was nice. Beyond that, I spent most of the service going in and out, trying to shut down a loud child. It wasn’t an easy first Sunday back at all, but I was glad I got to go, see people I really care about, and I had the opportunity to stand up and thank everyone who came together and helped us through our miscarriage. It was long overdue, but it was important to say. It means a lot to our family that our miscarriage was acknowledged by our church as a legitimate loss, not just a health thing or something “routine” that so many people go through. It was never downplayed, and people continue to check in on me. We are so fortunate to have the community we have.

After church, we headed to spend the day with my mom. We had grilled cheese buns with bacon on top, and pickles for lunch. It was delicious! The nappers went down shortly there after, pretty seamlessly. Brady took Laela to Costco at that point, because we were accidentally out of diapers 😳 Whoops. Dekker and my mom built an extra fancy paper airplane together. And I knitted like a grandmother 👵 because I’m cool like that. We had some Christmas music on in the background and everything. It was a super nice afternoon.

When supper time rolled around, Dekker and Laela got to work helping grandma make the pizza. From making the dough to spreading the sauce to sprinkling toppings, they were elbow deep in it! They did great!

While the big kids helped make the pizza, the little boys played and took turns with the sunglasses. They both looked fly.

I texted a picture of them to a friend saying they were “too stylin,” and autocorrect changed it to “too stupid.” 😂 I laughed super hard. Hopefully thats not horrible…

Wavy napped a lot and needed to be held a lot. It was cozy, though. We all took turns ❤️

It was almost time to pack up, but mom stole me away to talk Christmas for a minute or two. While we holed up in a room to talk in private, we heard the kids counting closely outside the door. All on their own, they had started up a game of hide and seek. Because they’re the best.

MAN I love my family.

I have some pictures that I want to share that didn’t specifically fit into the posts I wrote. So today will be something of a mixed bag, but I like that ☺️ Hopefully you do, too! Some are pictures Brady took. Some are progress pictures. Some are pictures Facebook showed me that I loved all over again. Anyway, enjoy!

Remember how I said Waverly loves to dress up? I wasn’t kidding. She asked to wear one of my tank tops the other day. “Wear this?”

A couple of days ago, Wavy wanted me. ME. I am rarely her answer for comfort. Always her daddy. But that day, it was mommy all the way. And of course, as you’d expect, it was when I had my hands full already, standing at the stove. But I was so happy she wanted me ❤️ So we fried bacon together. I even gave her her own purple tongs to play with.

Come to think of it, she probably just wanted the bacon. I don’t blame her.

So this isn’t a great picture, but Rowan threw up the other morning. He wasn’t sick after the fact so I’m not sure what actually happened, but he was ok. But, when he wasn’t feeling well, he came upstairs to our room and we got him a bucket just in time. Dekker heard the commotion and came upstairs to help. He is SUCH a loving, willing brother. Once Rowan’s nausea had subsided, Dekker helped Ro get settled downstairs on the couch with blankets, a bucket, his water, etc. Sorry he’s in his underwear, but, real life.

The day Rowan barfed was the day I was away, actually. Thank goodness he rallied right after throwing up and was firing on all cylinders for the rest of the day! That day turned out to be a cute one. Dekker worked on his Smithsonian kit thing and chiselled for diamonds all morning. He was both excited and dusty.

Laela played with Waverly, and built Duplo with her. Wavy loves her siblings SO much.

And no pictures of Solomon, lol! Because it was a busy enough day that sometimes, stuff gets missed. Sorry, Solly! We love you!

Then Facebook reminded me that we bought our van 🚌 three years ago! Look at little Rowan back there!

And look at him again!! 😍 He is SO cute!! They all are!!

One last flashback picture…

Sollys round head and little tongue 😛

The one thing I splurged on yesterday was a little decorative Christmas tree. You might know, if you’ve followed along long enough, that we put little mismatched trees up above our kitchen cabinets every year. I didn’t buy any new ones last year or maybe even the year before, so I bit the bullet and bought a cute little weird one yesterday.

Its dilapidated and awkward and crooked and I love it. It fits us perfectly.

Brady finished the tile under the laundry machines! Woop woop!

Lastly, I offer you a picture of my happy, albeit messy, place. (Our new duvet is part of that!)

I have SO many fun projects on the go and I need to get moving! I was at a standstill for a bit there, lacking the colours I needed to complete half-finished projects. And now that I have almost all the colours I need, I have no excuse left! While I organize gifts and make crafty plans, Brady is outside, saws running and dust flying, as he cuts MDF in our front yard. We are both working, in different ways, to complete our projects. Its a good season.

I spent today with my mom, from morning until evening, moseying through Saskatoon with Christmas in mind. It was SO lovely.

We first went to an appointment, where I planned to knit in the waiting room. Turns out, I left key components of what I needed in the car about fifteen or so miles away. Not actually that far, but far enough that I was going back to get them! Rather, I made some plans on my phone and got excited and organized for the day.

From there, we drove to get some early lunch and discovered that now BOTH Tony Romas are closed!!! When did that happen?! We were so disappointed, but rallied, and drowned our sorrows in shrimp and Red Lobster. A solid second choice 👌

Look at her, accusing me of taking a picture of her 😇

We made our way to Stonebridge, which was the main event. We had a handful of places to hit there, and neither of us are really ever in that area. We started at Walmart, because I’m having trouble rounding up some of the yarn colours I need. I found a bit there, but not much. We didn’t find too much else there, but it was nice to wander through anyway. Then we ducked into Carter/Osh Kosk, Warehouse One, and Marks. Found a few things here and there. Got Wavy her “need” gift. Then across the street to Homesense, which was actually the whole point of the day. We wanted to peruse Homesense and feel festive and excited, while looking for a thing or two. I did manage to resist a LOT, but I buckled and purchased a little tree to add to our array of trees that goes above our kitchen cabinets every Christmas. I didn’t buy a new one last year at all, so it felt justified, even with limited funds. It was fun to get into the excitement of it all. Aaaaand after Homesense, we went back across to Dollarama, because we were thirsty. Guys, those Pure Leaf iced teas that are SO good are at Dollarama in the little fridge for just one dollar!! I highly recommend the raspberry one. It just tastes like summertime. Fresh summertime.

Stonebridge wiped us out a little, but we were determined to keep going. To Preston Crossing we went, for Old Navy, Walmart again, and Michaels. Would you believe I still don’t have the colours I need??? Goodness. It shouldn’t be so difficult! But I’m closer than I was this morning, so I’ll take it!

It was starting to get dark so we packed it in, determined to get home before the freezing rain came back again. We grabbed a quick bite of fast food and brought it back to my moms to enjoy before heading back home. I felt so fortunate to spend a day with her, getting excited about the season to come, making a few plans, and just being in each other’s company. We have a beautiful relationship ❤️ I sure love you, mom. Thank you for inviting me on this date.

** A handful of people tried to get in touch with me today, and I wasn’t especially reachable. I’m sorry about that! But I’m also not. I loved today too much to be diligently responding to things. Give me a second or two and I’ll try to respond to things tomorrow 🙂 **

I have a lot of things on my mind these days, and they tend to come out pretty jumbled and incoherent on here. But I’m trying! Today, we’ll focus on this particular alliteration – P words! Playing. Planning. Productivity.

Playing! Today we spent the morning at a friends house. By “we,” I mean me and the kids. We went and spent a couple of hours at their house, where I had a friend to visit with, and the kids had friends to play with, as well as new toys and games, etc. It was a really nice morning where I kept an eye on Waverly, but otherwise, the kids were happily occupied. A fire was crackling in the living room, and there was almost no arguments to referee. I even had a brief opportunity to show one of her children the tricks around loom knitting! He had started a while back and forgot how to continue, and I got to show him the ropes (yarn) again and refresh him how to do it. Something about that just made me happy 🙂 🧶 I love all that crafty stuff.

Also on the subject of playing, the big kids are downstairs playing LEGO while the little ones nap. I cannot wait until anyone can use the basement without our needing to supervise constantly. But today, Brady is down there, so they can be, too. And I can be up here, blogging, and writing a few other things down. We’ll get there.

Ok, I’m going out of order. Productivity! Brady’s been working hard getting jambs and casing painted. He’s doing two coats on each, and has spread out in the garage. Heaters are pumping and he’s diligently working to get the coats done even both in one day if possible. The sooner the better!!

He was even able to get started working on the tile floor under the laundry machines while I was gone with the kids in the morning. He’s continuing to work on that now, as its pretty important to have the flooring taken care of before putting on door jambs. So he’s working on all things basement, and I’m getting more and more excited!

Back to planning!! I’m in such a planning mode. Planning the basement. Planning how we’ll get through the next month or two without forgetting everything. Planning gifts and outings for Christmas. Planning my delivery day for the homemade gift exchange and how to get everyone all necessary info. Planning fun family activities. Planning music for our next coffeehouse on December 5th. I got all jazzed up talking about Christmas baking with Jerilee last night and I’m just extra excited now! I want to make everything. But I should start with just making anything at all, lol, before setting my sights too too high. 😆

Its a very busy season. Or at least its coming up to a very busy season. But I feel optimistic and excited!