Last Thursday held a special event for my Miss Laela. She got included in further track, similar to Dekker, in Saskatoon. She competed against other younger kids from other schools for the day. It was HOT, but she was so happy to be there 💜 

Wavy and I got there in the morning for high jump. Laela was by far the shortest kid in the group, but she managed to clear a couple of the higher jumps. We would woop from our spot waaaaay off to the side, and she would smile and run back to her group. 

I won’t lie – it was a total mess from there on out. She was not confident in what events she was supposed to be participating in, so we sat through the 60m sprint because she insisted she was running it. In fact she wasn’t, lol! She apologized, and said she got the sprints wrong, and that she would be in the 100m rather at 1:00pm. This wasn’t ideal, as I had a phone appointment with my doctor around noon and needed to grocery shop for camping in that time as well. Originally, I would have a three hour window in there, but we lost time in the morning, and needed more time in the afternoon. *sigh*

So Wavy and I took off and got lunch just before Dr. Guselle called. We chatted through our appointment, got everything covered, and when it was done, there wasn’t time for shopping. So back to track we went, juuuust in time to make it to the second race that Laela didn’t run! 😅 And I had somehow missed an event she insisted she wasn’t doing! ACK! This was just not our day for scheduling! Wavy and I lurked, and chatted.

It was nice to actually see Laela a little.

She is SUCH a good sister!

As Laelas event got closer, Wavy mentioned to me that she was hot and thirsty. Of course I had forgotten her water bottle, but I reassured her that we would get a drink really soon. It wasn’t two minutes later when a loving friend asked me if they could take her to get a lemonade. If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a million times – It truly touches my heart when people want to love my children and choose to love them when they don’t have to. I used to resist those moves and feel guilty, but I’m working to change that. Waverly was SO happy for her treat, and I was truly touched. Thank you, friend. 

Laela’s last event finally came along, and she rocked running long jump like a boss!

Again, we were so far away. It was disappointing not being able to be close to the events, but when track is back in town later this month, we can be ALL up in everyones business! But until then, you’ll just have to take my word for it. She did SO well. Ran like the wind, had great form, and jumped far! She did great! 

At the end of the day, she mentioned that she was a bit disappointed with how the day ended. 

“I didn’t get any ribbons. For anything.” 

Now, guys, I don’t know how to do healthy competition. I have WAY too much guilt to feel competitive, lol! So this is not my strength. And before I could even attempt to discuss with her how she was feeling, she saved it. 

“I still had a LOT of fun. I’m not worried about it. Just. Wish I got a ribbon.” 

And she moved on! 

Ugh. I’m so proud of her. She is a total rockstar. I’m happy she got a chance to compete in the city, and feel special in that way. Go, Laela, go!!! 

Aaaaand back to Wednesday! Hahaha! You guys see what I mean, right? It was SUCH a full day! Event number three was Solly’s bday! Thanks to Laela’s haircut, things went late, but it was still a riot! 

Our main birthday event is that our birthday kid gets to choose all of their food for that day. Often its on a weekend, but Solly’s day fell on a Wednesday, and he simply could NOT wait for the weekend! We had Eggo waffles out of the freezer for bfast, which was a definite treat! I let him be a bit more choosy with his lunch, though it was still out of our usual stuff. He was happy with it 🙂 His highest priority was having grandmas homemade pizza for supper! So while I was off galavanting with Laela in Saskatoon, my mom babysat, all the while making pizza with Sol 💜 Thank you, mom! I’m sorry I wasn’t there to take pictures!

We had homemade pizza, jello, and chips for supper. It was delicious. Supper was done after the point where bedtime has usually already begun! Ack! But the birthday had to go on! So our came the cake!! Ice cream cake, as Solly had requested, and Brady had ordered.

The kids were like kittens, hahaha! Fully fixed on what was about to happen!! 

We sang, and he blew out the six candles I put in the cake, because apparently even my subconscious can’t wrap its head around Sol being seven. 

He wasn’t put off. 

Present time was next, and I don’t I think I’ve ever seen Solomon so hyper. He was just spinning! Panting like a dog, ripping at stuff, stoked beyond belief.

He got lego and an Avengers balance board, to name just a couple of his gifts.

He was super happy with what he got, cards and gifts alike! 

The day went very long and everyone was LOUD and JAZZY and WILD until the breakdowns began, lol! And boy, did they ever!! Wavy missed bedtime because she started crying and just absolutely could not stop. Everyone else made it to prayer time and thanked Jesus for all the fun they had that day. It really was a gooder. 

It was SO fun to celebrate our dear Solomon Brady. We love you, Solly!!! 

Back to Wednesday, guys! After Waverly’s time at kindergarten, the kids came home from school, and shortly thereafter, Laela and I headed out Saskatoon for her long awaited haircut!! 

Laela has wanted a haircut for a pretty long while. She had braids last summer, and then I dragged my feet, haha! And then in the new year, Frozen came up, and we signed a contract not to make any drastic changes to her physical appearance. I kid you not, the day Frozen was over, Laela told me she couldn’t wait for her haircut! So, we booked one. And that happened this week! 

We drove in together, just the two of us, and took some “before” pictures. At first, it was to document the length of her hair, obviously. But it grew from there because she is just so stinking silly! Performing really woke that girl up in some ways, and she is way goofier and more theatrical and posey!! So. We had fun. 

Finally, it was time!! Laela got her hair washed in the sink for the first time. She loved it, haha! Thought it was hilarious. 

Man she’s cute. And she just got cuter. 

Carlinna did the initial cut, and then blowdried it all up before she’d do the finishing touches. Laela loves that stuff. The salon experience. Its blatantly obvious 💜 

As I predicted, Laela would absolutely not let anything be changed after that point. I think Carlinna was allowed to trim a piece or two in the front to get it perfectly even, but that was it! She loved it SO much! 

Goodness she looks JUST like my cousin, Elise, here! Crazy! 

All in all, it was a total success 💜 She is SO happy. She says its light and fluffy and she is SO much happier. It doesn’t pull when she puts her backpack on. It doesn’t hurt to brush. She seems so much brighter. I am so happy for her 💜 

Goodness, guys, there is so much going on over here, its just been a wild time! 😅 But today has, once again, been productive and busy. I’m SO grateful I can actually manage busyness again. What a weird thing to take for granted.

This morning, the kids got up and ready for the day. With the sun comes new freckles 😍 You know how I feel about the kids’ dots.

They ate, packed their backpacks for the day, and then got into the camp stuff! A couple boys buckled down on dishes while the others did some packing for camp this weekend. Lucky for me, biking to school leaves more time before they leave for school, so they worked and got lots done this morning. All three boys have their clothes packed and ready. Laela was in the middle of packing for both herself and Wavy when she had to head out, but she’ll finish it up after school. Kids have packed up glasses and cases. Stuffed toys. Swim stuff. Books. Shoesbootssandals. There is a whole running list, and they check the boxes as they pack them. Once they’re home, footwear will be chosen, jackets packed, and hats located and set aside. Still a good handful of loose ends, but we’re on our way.

Once school kids left, Wavy and I got to the food prep!

Summer days include a TON of fresh veggies! We love to eat a big chunky chicken salad meal when its hot at camp, plus we have chopped veggies every day at lunch time. Six lettuce hearts. Six peppers. Six cucumbers. A bunch of cherry tomatoes and carrots. There is also a bunch of sliced meat for lunches, and I sliced and shredded about 3/4 of a block of cheese. We are set for picnic lunches coming out the nose.

I usually chop three or four of everything, but we have friends at camp that we love to eat with, so it definitely doesn’t hurt to have extra along. And whatever comes home goes into school lunches!

There is still work to do, but things are pretty under control. Kids have done all they could in the morning. I have everything that isn’t clothes in one place. I have a fridge and a freezer list to check off when it’s time to pack coolers. I need to carry everything outside, and I need to move the van around so its super quick to pack when Brady gets home.

Yes, I can load the van myself. Its not a problem. However, these first couple trips to the lake are fuller loads, and its going to be trickier to fit all the things into the van along with his wheelchair. It’ll all fit. If we can fit a kayak in our van, we can fit just about anything in our van. So once he’s home, he’ll likely do most of the van loading while I gather up a supper to eat in the van.

Its going to be a good weekend. I’m ready for it. Just so so grateful for our lake spot and all that comes along with it 💜 Thank you, Lord.

Wednesday was a super full day for our family, with multiple events that warrant their own post! So please forgive me for backpedaling in the coming days! 

Wednesday afternoon held a big event for Wavy – kindergarten orientation!!! She was STOKED to go!

We walked there today in the blazing afternoon heat.

We were greeted by a handful of teachers and grade six students. Wavy was absolutely in her glory, as everyone seemed to know who she was, and they were all full of questions for her. She felt like a rockstar! She was given a name tag and the tour began! 

We were led around the school and showed important points and places, familiarizing her. We eventually landed back at the kindergarten room where she wrote her name, did some cutting, etc. 

She eventually found herself planting pretty glass stones in dirt that grew fake flowers instantly, and she was hooked. So I left her to play and I headed out with the other parents to listen to a shorty presentation about what kindergarten looks like. Let’s be real. None of it was new to me. I know my way around there. But it was nice to see with the other parents, none of which I knew personally, sip coffee, and chat a little. That alone was worth it. 

And it was undeniably a good experience for this little girl. 

She was positively filthy from planting flowers, and was not eager to leave. But the recess bell rang and I convinced her out the door with the promise of a little bit of recess time. She found the middle boys and played with them for a few minutes before we called it and headed home. 

All in all, she was a very happy girl 💜 It was a great afternoon for her, and she is jazzed for kindergarten! I think she’ll fit in beautifully. I am SO proud of her 💜

Our dear Solomon Brady turns SEVEN today. Which is NUTS. He has had a BIG year! 

His year in grade one has been a really productive one! It started off a little slow, but he was making his way, having friends, learning to read and write. He finally even chose a dominant hand!! He’s a righty! 

He woke up a bit after Christmas, and he started really sounding words out well. And then he got even better when he got glasses!! 

He lost his two front tooth and got his glasses in the same week, which was just about the cutest thing that has ever happened in the world.

Lately, Sol has stepped up his big brother game, and he is SO playful with Wavy!!

Does this hit both extremes, occasionally leaving them in huge fights? Yuuup! But they are really, really good friends! 

Solly loves his bed, homemade pizza, and having his hair buzzed short. He wants to be a mechanic when he grows up, living close by his family. He is very innocent and sweet. Obedient. Down to clown. Snuggly and smoochy. Fun to tuck in for night, and to wake up in the morning. I am such a big fan of this boy 💜 

Happy birthday, Solomon. I am SO happy you were born all those seven years ago.

You are a complete delight in our family, and for you, I praise the Lord. 

Wavys preschool class had their wind-up for the season today, and it was just SO cute. As per usual, I cannot post many pictures because, other peoples kids are not my kids to make choices about. But! I have a couple you can see 💜

We were there first, so we waited in the van together for a bit. One on one time is pretty precious 💜

THEN everyone came to play, and it was a total whirlwind!

She is one happy little ham.

She played super hard, and was a sweaty mess by the end of it all, but a very sweet smelling, sticky, messy mess 💜 I sure love this girl, and I am SO happy she crushed preschool the way she did.

Moving on up in the world for Waverly! Kindergarten is next!!

Since mid-last week, Brady has been having dizzy spells. This is out of character for him, but he’s continued on like normal, because life happens, and we don’t always feel 100%.

I, myself, regularly have dizzy spells. I have historically low blood pressure, so its not uncommon for me to stand up, walk across the room, and sit down on the floor. I’ve been told at times that I’m being too dramatic, but its either that or I hit the deck, so rather, I sit the deck (heyooo) and avoid injury. I’m a thinker.

Brady, however, does not have low blood pressure. He rarely feels dizzy. Only when he’s really good and sick, specifically with a big congested head cold.

Which he doesn’t have. Brady isn’t sick. But he is having dizzy spells bad enough to lay him out on the couch, or sitting in his wheelchair with his head between his legs. Its not ideal, and its definitely out of character for him.

The funny thing is that being off balance is WAY easier when you’re on your feet!!! I definitely thought the opposite – that Brady would be better off being dizzy in his wheelchair, but that is absolutely not the case. Now, there is the addition of motion sickness, almost, so its so much harder to manage because with it comes the nausea!

Today, he had a dizzy spell at work, first thing in the morning, and he was fed up. He texted Dr. Guselle, and she requested he come in for an exam. And she is not a “come in the moment you feel a feeling” kind of doctor. She said with his history, we have a low threshold for arranging imaging or consults. So Brady called in and booked the soonest appointment he could.

He texted around 9:05 that he had an appointment at 9:45. He immediately clocked out and got on the road, and I promptly bailed on my coffee with Cher (sorry, girly! 💜) and Wavy and I loaded up to go get in on that appointment.

Brady was hooked up for a five minute blood pressure test immediately upon arriving in an exam room. It was normal for him. The senior resident he was seeing came in and conducted some routine exams. He said there is a possibility of some fluid in one ear, but its so minimal that its hard to even confirm if its there, much less if its affecting him. Brady has no other signs or symptoms of being sick. Not one.

The doctor decided he’d like to check Brady’s heart, so he called in a nurse who got him all set up for an ECG. She left to give him “privacy” while he took his shirt off. Good thing, because he’s hella shy…

I’m totally kidding, lol! She was very sensitive to her patient, and that was really kind of her. We just had a little giggle in the meantime.

Once she came back in and was hooking up all his leads, Wavy whispered “She’s putting stickers all over him…” It was VERY cute.

The resident was super straight up when he came back in. He read the results and said there was nothing glaringly obvious that he could see, but he also is definitely going to send it to be read by someone who knows a lot more than he does, haha!

The doctor told us that dizzy stuff comes and goes, and he can’t really confirm what it is, but he is going to throw everything at us to confirm what it isn’t. Which made a lot of sense and we really appreciated! So we left with a blood requisition and the promise of follow-up on the ECG if any was warranted.

A quick aside. You may be worried about what we were most worried about – brain stuff! The tumour that grew in Bradys spine was technically a brain tumour, so he has occasionally had the brain included in his MRIs, just to check on things. With this, the brain was the first worry. The doctor quashed that immediately and reminded us how things wouldn’t fluctuate this much if there was a tumour growing. The same as when it grew in Brady’s back, he didn’t go back and forth between having no sensation and getting it back over and over. He lost sensation, and then it changed a bit here and there, but it stayed “wrong.” Bradys dizziness is just spells. If something wonky was happening in there, it would stay wonky in at least some capacity. So that was a relief to all of us.

We were out of there in just under an hour. Brady headed back to work, and Wavy and I hit Walmart.

We had a successful shop, and Brady made it back to work safely. He did try to pop in for bloodwork, but the wait was too long. Tomorrow is another day.

The morning was big. Productive. Full. Exhausting. Successful.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to turn on a mindless YouTube video and pick away at a meal plan for this coming week and weekend. I know its only Monday, but we’re back to the lake this weekend! And we have another birthday this week! And a few appointments. Whew! 😅

Remember that Sunday that my schedule changed and I straight up forgot to blog? Same. So here I am, today, remembering to blog.

Today, Brady and I took the kids to church, and came home to have lunch with my mom and Cher. We were less prepared than we prefer to be, but life definitely went on and everyone was patient while we sliced up a bunch of meat, defrosted buns, and got lunch in order. My mom brought a really good fruit salad with all the fancy fruit in it, and we had sandwiches. Easy peasy, but oh so yummy 💜

We ate until late, and then put a couple little ones down for rests. Grandma and Dekker went out on an excursion to find cans and bottles, and Laela and Rowan played separately for a little bit. Brady took a nap, and Cher and I had coffee and a visit.

The kids have ALL opted to spend time outside this afternoon, and another very easy meal is in the plans for the evening. With another big week ahead of us, I’m grateful for simplicity amongst our close people 💜

We went back and forth a little bit, but we decided to stay home for this weekend. Brady works today, but I could’ve gone up with the kids. However, its still early in the season, and I decided we had enough on the go that making that trip happen would be a bit more of a challenge than I was interested in taking on by myself. This last week was very full of events, as is next week. So home we stay, in an effort to rest, and to give us a bit more time to prepare for the next trip.

Brady went off to work this morning, and I got the kids up late. I gave them an easy breakfast and made a list of to-dos. Everything was low pressure.

As kids finished up eating, Cher came over for a morning coffee date, and all of the kids went to play in the backyard. It was relatively peaceful out there, for which I was grateful! It was a really nice quiet morning. Thank you, Lord! 💜

All the kids ate lunch really smoothly and happily, and it is now quiet time over here. A couple are in bed. A couple are outside. One is inside. And I’m doing this – blogging. But! I still need to do things. Plan supper. Cut up granola bars I made. Print something off for Dekker. Write an important email. Continue laundry. Write out the June calendar. And possibly – wait for it – rest? Maybe start making a light plan for next weekend at camp. The weekdays are fuller recently, so ample organization goes a very long way for my brain.

Buuuuut first, I’m gonna hang with Dekker while he eats a freezie and reads on the couch next to me. Because, priorities. The other things will get done.

Its good to be around for a lazy day, and then for a Sunday with church and the family 💜 Happy weekend, friends.