This whole last stretch of life has been just bananas. In that, we’ve all had LOTS going on. I know its not just us. As I look back in my photos, I see a handful of things I want on the blog, and none of them really go together 😂 Sooooo mixed bag! And I’m numbering it because I’m positive it won’t be the only one! 

Before I forget to add it, because I don’t have photo proof, Laela pulled out a tooth!! Maybe a week ago ish. Yay Laela! That thing had been loose for a while. 

Look at how LONG Rowan’s hair has gotten!!

Laela’s note to me ❤️

We’re potty training Solomon! 

And Waverly 😳 She has a hungry bum, lol! 

Brady and I have started playing cards every night before bed 🙂 Its SO nice. I actually super love it. 

We will never have enough schoolwork for Laela to do. 

My magnet broke off of my phone case 😒 and Amazon sent my replacement to Jerilee’s house. Merp.

I briefly online shopped, and am officially in for the long haul! 🧶 

Aaaand I have a weird finger thing growing that I can’t really get treated, because, non-emergent. Sooooo hopefully I can figure this thing out on my own! 

I think thats it?? 🤔 Its a pretty wide variety, wouldn’t you say?? I’ll do bigger updates on the bigger topics eventually, like potty training. I wasn’t going to share about it, because potty training is in my top three least favorite parts of having kids 😂 and I wanted to leave myself room to give up. But, it seems we’ve got nothing but time and nowhere to go! 🤷‍♀️ So it was a good time to train Solly. And Waverly is an overachiever, so she wanted to join in the fun!

Its bananas. Wish us luck!! 

I think we could all use a good laugh these days. I’ve been saving jokes, pictures, and funny articles here and there, and I figured it would be worth something to lump them all together into one post. If your sense of humour is different than mine, you may not appreciate this post to its full capacity 😉 But IIIIIII think they’re funny!

This is a text convo from Brady the ONE time he went for groceries before everything shut down, the Monday school got cancelled.

This is pretty bang on 😆

Brady’s sweat pants wore out, and I see a super happy face on his knee! Anyone else? 😀

THIS!!!!! 🙌 I DIE!!! Don’t pretend you don’t get it. I know you do. 🚁

Sing along! 🎶

This little pair of butt cheeks loves a good fort, but she settles for lame forts sometimes, too. ⛺️

Maybe you saw this one already. But its true 🤷‍♀️

This, also, is true.

Ok so wait. Haven’t chicken-catching women always been attractive?? 🤔 🐓

Aaaaand possibly my favorite one 🙌

Hopefully this doesn’t shine me in too weird of a light, but we could all use some good light ☀️ these days! There are SO MANY funny things out there, but you have to dig through a lot of crap to find them. Feel free to add something you think is super funny in the comments! Let’s laugh together! From afar. Like at least two metres. Because, social distancing…

We did another project! And by “we,” I mean Brady did. Hahaha! 

Our furnace room is a mess, and it has been for a long time. I’ll defend it a little and say it was an organized mess. We had a shelf of kitchen stuff. A corner of dress up clothes and costumes. A TON of storage tubs stacked under the stairs. Building materials and extras also under the stairs. And right in the middle of the room was the big stuff that kind of didn’t have a home. Laundry racks. Bulk paper towels. Some empty tubs. The list goes on. 

I’ve been begging for storage shelves, and they finally happened! Rather than Brady going and picking up materials, we had them delivered. We don’t usually have something delivered that he could otherwise pick up, but it seemed smart this time around, for obvious reasons. It cost less than we anticipated, and Brady jumped right in to the job! 

So here’s the unflattering “before” picture. As you can see, stuff is pretty heaped up. 

It wasn’t so bad that we couldn’t find anything, or that there was a bunch of garbage in there. Just no method of organization. And here is the “after!” SO much better! 

It still a furnace room, but it’s SO much tidier. Now, when I enter the room, I realize how much I veer to one side to avoid the heap of stuff that used to be to my left. What a relief to actually have space in there!! 

Not to mention under the stairs!

Now, when we want a tub out from under there, we don’t have to try and unstack them first and haul a bunch of them out. This works WAY smoother. 

We still have the basic wood shelf we had used previous for storage, and I think we’ll hang onto it, maybe to stack up the drums when they’re not in use, or something else. We’ll see what needs storing from the garage yet. And we have the material to build another nice big shelf on another wall if needed, but we’re waiting to see. 

We’re beyond “moving messes” now and things are finding their actual homes! I’m SO happy! 

We spent the morning outside. Its beautiful out. The kids grabbed shovels and played in the snow a little while I walked with Waverly on the road. She isn’t a big hand holder, but she humoured me today and led me up and down our street, over and over again. After a while, she wanted to walk on her own, occasionally joining hands with me and then rejecting me seconds later. Cruel move, Wavy. As tends to happen, our family floated together, and the snow play was put on hold while we all did laps. 

At first, Wavy was super uncertain of the uneven ground, and wouldn’t set foot on any snow, any patch of gravel, or even a wet spot that darkened the street. Eventually, she would, but she’d ask to hold my hand. And by the end, I’d offer her my hand and she’s decline, in her polite, high pitched, “no.” 

When walking slow laps finally got boring, we moved across the street and decorated our neighbours driveway 😆 Sorry, not sorry, Tom and Rae! 

All in all, it was a terribly cute morning. Everyone is nice and tired from the fresh air. I’m a little cold still, but I wore a spring jacket and capris, and it was worth it! The kids are a bit scrappy, but food is helping. I’m also a bit scrappy, but again, food will help. Maybe some Netflix. Maybe some crocheting. We have nothing else on the books today! Maybe an actual intentional walk later on. Maybe not. We’ve got nothing but time 🤷‍♀️

While we’re all preoccupied with the quarantine, there are still other things going on. Before this all went down, I was working on getting a handle on some crazy pain I’d been working with. I had immense pain in my hands, wrists, shoulders, and on any given day, basically everywhere else. It was completely out of control for a very long time. The last I updated you was mid-February, where I had decided to start taking an antidepressant in an effort to calm down the pain centres of my brain. For a minute there, I was taking two antidepressants in the morning (figuring out doses,) six extra strength Tylenol, four Naproxen, and one stomach protector. Every. Day. 

A beautiful thing has been happening. My pain is going away. Quicker and more seamlessly than I had anticipated. Today marks six weeks since I began my medication. My new medication is supposed to take 6-8 weeks to work fully. I’m currently on a child’s dose. Yet, earlier this week, I stopped taking Naproxen completely, and suffered ZERO CONSEQUENCES. Its WORKING!!! 

It feels so validating to know the choice I made was the right one. That all of my waiting and stretching and resting was fine, but that it was legitimately something else that needed fixing and support. My brain! It just wasn’t going to catch up, or at least not for a LONG time. Taking this new medication has improved my quality of life immensely, and I have zero regrets taking it! 

So I’m currently on my antidepressant, which is only one pill that is my correct dose. And I’m taking Tylenol arthritis besides that. With those two things, I am caught up and comfortable. Praise the Lord for answers and wisdom. Sometimes, His answer doesn’t seem like a popular choice, but His way is always the best way! 

I know we’re not the first, but its worth recording that Brady officially got word that his work is done for the foreseeable future. That sounds SO daunting, but thats how they worded it. I supposed “rescheduled” is a more accurate description, but it has yet to actually be put back on the calendar. It will resurface eventually, but for now, all of his scheduling is postponed until further notice. 

April was going to be a beautifully lucrative month, and to see that pushed back with no prospective dates in mind is a bit ominous. But, health wins. I feel surprisingly peaceful about it. I might feel differently tomorrow, but today, I feel ok. 

I feel thankful that we have some money in the bank and a nice chunk invoiced out that will keep us afloat for a little bit. If this happened six months ago, we would be in TROUBLE. Praise the Lord for catching us up a little before this all hit. I feel thankful that EI exists, and grateful that this will be a first for us. How fortunate we are. I’m thankful for everyone around us, who have lovingly kept us in mind and offered to drop off groceries, activities, etc. 

This is new territory for all of us, but I love that Brady will be home. That removes SO MUCH of the risk of us getting sick, or passing on sickness we may carry unknowingly. It also means my husband is home to hang out with us!!! Woot!! I’m a big fan of him, and we work pretty well together. 

We just received a load of lumber in our garage so Brady can build us some furnace room shelving. Yay! And hey, if the quarantine lasts long enough, maybe we can get a fence up, too! 

See me finding positives?? Lord protect us! 

We snuck in a walk yesterday before the snowstorm hit. And by “snuck in,” I mean we planned and went on a nice hour long walk. We decided to walk aaaaall the way across town to my moms house, with the intention to talk to her through the front window, make some snow angels, and walk back. Just laying eyes on people we love really makes a difference. 

As we walked, we noticed all of the great pictures in people’s windows. Good job, our town! It’s SO nice to see people making efforts like that. It was also really nice to see people along our walk. Everyone is very respectful of space, but its nice to see people and chat and relate. 

We were less than a block away from my moms house when we saw her leave her driveway for her own walk in the other direction. Booooo! Hahaha! But thats ok 🙂 We went and left snow angels anyway…

They didn’t really turn out 😂

But it was clear we had been there, anyway! If there was to be any question, we took a picture with the picture mom left in her window for passers by to enjoy ❤️

She is SUCH a good sport. I really love her. 

The walk back was not quite as nice as the walk there, and we ploughed through the last block or two with heads down, motoring forward. The wind was was sharp when we had left, but it was definitely picking up by the time we got home! We turned Wavy around in the stroller, but she was still pretty chilly, though still pretty pretty, also. 

The kids were rosy and tired when we got home. They snuggled in blankets in the living room rather than helping with supper like they have been doing. We just had hot dogs anyway. It was yummy and easy and the kids were happy. 

It turned out to be a really nice outing, and I’m glad we pushed through when we did, because the snow is upon us again! Hopefully not for long tho 🤞 I’m itchy for Spring! I’m itchy for a lot of things, and it is very clear that all of those things are out of my hands, hahaha! Who makes plans anymore anyway?! Not me! 🙋‍♀️ 

Its Monday. Dekker was supposed to have his poetry house today. Families were invited to listen to his class read their original poems, and then enjoy some hot chocolate and cookies together. We were all going to go. But it seems that has been called off for the moment, like everything else. So, in honour of Dekker, here is his limerick! 

I once had a very young boy.
I decided to name him Roy.
He loved to eat.
He loved the beat.
He ate an entire toy. 

-Dekker (March 2020)

School may be closed, but important things are still important, and Dekker was SO excited for his poetry reading. Even I felt a little disappointed when he told me his poem the day his school stuff came home. I wanted to hear him recite it in front of a crowd, but nope :/ I know there will be more school projects and presentations to come, but this felt like a big one. I’m so sad to have missed it. He is, too. 

Happy Monday, friends. Enjoy the beautiful weather, if you’re doing the outdoorsy thing. I hear snow is on its way, but let’s hope and pray its coming to the end of the snowy season and that with Spring weather comes healing and peace. 

We got out for a walk as a family yesterday evening. It was SO nice and SO refreshing. I was a little nervous as we headed out that we’d run into people along the way, but everyone seemed to be on the same page and kept to the other side of the street. Not long ago, I would’ve felt insulted by that, haha! Now, I’m just appreciative. SUCH strange, hesitant times. 

It was beautiful out! Everyone wore jackets, toques, and mitts, but there was no need for snow pants or anything particularly warm. My little family just added to the beauty 😍

Usually, when we go for a walk, we walk around our little nearby pond once or twice, but not yesterday. The road was almost completely dry, but the path to the pond was totally snowed over. Stroller? Wagon? Sled? We didn’t know 🤷‍♀️ So we opted to skip the pond and just walk down the street and see how far we got. 

We ended up going the length of still another street, and then all the way back. We only had one kid say they were tired, and that was right before we got home. At one point, we walked past Laela’s teachers house. She asked if we could go knock on the door and say hi. I reminded her that we weren’t supposed to really be around anyone right now, and she asked if we could just do it maybe super quick. I told her I was sorry, but no, we couldn’t. Her chin quivered a little, and I took her hand as we walked on. She looked up and me and smiled. It was some good unspoken communication between us. I’m trying to just be grateful she loves her teacher so much, and not sorrow so hard for her loss. 

We got home after a LONG walk, and everyone was just feeling so great. Invigorated, it seemed. And it was oddly early. We made great time! So we opted to get everyone ready to for bed and then watch some music videos downstairs on the comfy couches. That was a pretty solid choice. Not the highest quality of photo, but you get the gist. 

Everyone was nice and worn out, and we enjoyed a little music as everyone wound down. It was kind of the perfect evening. Getting outside, breathing fresh air, laying eyes on a few people we really love (ie: my mom, a few of our neighbours) and listening to music and snuggling up together. 

I’m really thankful for my relationship with Brady in all of this. He makes the whole quarantine thing feel slightly less ominous, because I genuinely love spending the days with him! As much as work is important, I’m very thankful he has this coming week off, and that we can just breathe together. 

In case you’ve lost track, today is Sunday 😉 Have a beautiful end to your weekend, however your next week looks. 

I had to laugh this morning 😆 

Our children LOVE baked oatmeal! Brady (aka Breakfast Man) makes it for them most weekends, and its always a huge hit. Recently, as I’ve said, the big kids are very interested in cooking and baking, and want to get into it more than ever before! So this morning, Brady talked Laela through making baked oatmeal. She loved it, and did a great job. Her egg cracking needs some work 😉 but it was very cute, and it tasted great! 

While she worked on that, Brady talked Dekker through brewing coffee. This wasn’t a first time, but still something that is good to oversee 😉 He got the filter, counted the scoops, etc. I was so proud of them both, working so hard and wanting to learn. And I was proud of Brady being SO patient to let them!

The kids spent the next half hour in the kitchen, staring 😳 No joke. Dekker watched the coffee brew, and Laela didn’t actually watch the oatmeal bake, but she watched the timer count down. Twenty. Five. Minutes. Ya, no joke. 

I started to feel a touch like a horrible mother, because how ridiculously laaaaame are we that the kids are entertained by staring?? Have I trashed their brains somehow?? But then I remembered that they had cooked and prepared thing they were PROUD of!!! No wonder they wanted to wait for the finished product. I’m deciding not to question my parenting right now, and to rather just be thankful that I have content children who aren’t scratching at the doors in a big bad way just yet. 

Dekker was excited when it was time for coffee. “Oh boy, I hope its good!” 

And Laela swelled with pride when everyone thanked her for breakfast instead of me or Brady. 

It was a good day. We may not be “homeschooling” but I’m pretty happy with our new learning curve.