Wavy is consistently sleeping through the night these days! Thank the good Lord! The little dear only wakes up if we get up to use the bathroom or cough or lull her ourselves. This is making our need for a basement bedroom seem a bit more urgent. She is more than ready to be out of our room. No more bottles. She just goes to bed, and she sleeps all night.

Except right now. Poor Miss Waverly has caught our cold. It positively refuses to quit, and its taking her down with it. Yesterday, she was a bit temperamental, but still in good spirits for the most part.

But last night was not great :/ She was up three or four different times. Normally, if she lulls, she fusses for a minute or two and goes back to sleep. But last night, she felt like garbage, and was considerably more mournful upon waking up. We could hear her stand up in her bed and weep and wail. We felt for her, and went to get her, wipe her nose, and give her a drink. She slugged that water back so much, her throat must’ve really hurt. She woke up at the right times to give her some medicine, and we even sat with her and watched a little Netflix while we waited for it to kick in. She was a picture of misery. Very very cute misery.

Today hasn’t been much better for her. She’s slept most of it, and when she was awake, she’s been pretty sad. She slept through lunch, so when she woke up, I gave her a handful of goldfish crackers before she was, once again, a puddle of tears and needed to go back to bed.

I only wish I was so cute when I’m sick 💜

Get better soon, Wavy! We miss your happy smile and playing with you!

Funny thing. I can’t find the post where I made my super vague resolutions this year. I know it exists, but none of my keyword searches can bring it up. With that, I was looking for it for a pretty silly reason. If I remember correctly, I called out a keyword/theme for this year. And if I remember correctly, I think the word I chose was incorrect. I don’t remember what I did choose, which is why this all sounds a bit silly, but we’re halfway through the year, and and its taken a really positive turn towards…..

BRAVERY.

More and more, I feel pressed towards things that scare me. Not a bad scary. A stretching, growing, vulnerable scary. Like a really healthy, exciting scary. A scary that’s making me grow up a little, and while no one loves being pushed out of their comfort zone, I’m really thankful for where I am and all I’m learning. 

Here are a few of the things I’m doing that scare me! 

I’m being honest about the fact that I’m not great in the kitchen, and I’m genuinely working to improve it! That seems small, but admitting you’re not good at something is hard all on its own. Taking on the challenge to better yourself is a whole other thing. And then doing it publicly (on the blog) is a whole other thing!! But I’m glad I’m doing it 🙂 I like sharing the things I figure out I’m good at, and the things I flop. Makes a higher pressure situation feel lighter. 

I’m taking more risks. Not high stakes risks, but recreational risks! I know that sounds silly, but let me explain. I’m mostly talking about our band. I hesitate so much to mention our band, because it feels silly. Like we’re chasing some high school pipe dream. But we’re not. We’re actually just really enjoying playing music together, and conveniently, we’re kind of good! Playing the car show three years in a row now feels a bit bananas, but I often write stuff like that off as us being local, familiar, and convenient. Yet, that’s not the case. We’ve been sought out a few times, and are starting to widen our gaze in terms of what is within our reach. We don’t have many big band goals, but we sure have a great time! Its been important to me to kind of close my eyes and jump in when we search out a new gig idea, band purchase, or complicated song. My ego doesn’t want to take the risk but the rest of me is up to it, it seems! 

I’m in search of a side hustle. A real one. For lots of reasons, not just money, but for me. I’ve had it in mind for a while, and honestly, I have a handful of pretty good ideas! But they all feel risky. And I’ve hesitated, and held back, not wanting to try and fail multiple times in public. But that’s just pride. And we all mess stuff up! We can’t always ace everything. So that possibility shouldn’t hold me back, but of course it does. It holds a lot of people back! But there again! Is that a good enough reason not to try? So while I’m not sharing things on here just yet, I have a few plans in mind and I’m quite determined to move forward with one or some of them. I’m a fairly creative person, if I can even let myself write that, yet SO many creative avenues are tapped around here, I easily get defeated before I even begin. Thats going to change. 

Its a bit late in the year to tweak my New Years resolutions, but I can’t find them anyway 😉 Why wait until January to start something new? TODAY is a good day to be brave!

I have a post planned for next week, and needed a bit of help. Cher was gracious and took some photos for me. We planned a shoot together and we got it done earlier this week. I’m very excited to share it with you in time, but today, while she was editing, Cher sent me some of the pictures she snapped after we had gotten home and settled back into regular life. Guys, it wouldn’t be fair to not share them. My child is just WAY too gorgeous.

I’m not sure what happened, but Wavy had a cry. And then it turned into a snuggle. A GORGEOUS snuggle.

She rallied. I nibbled her fingers.

She is just so soft and friendly and beautiful and cuddly and a VERY popular family member! I don’t say this because I favor her at all, but her siblings sure do! She’s everyone’s fave.

aaaaand she knows it 🙂

When Brady’s been home for a long time, I really settle in to having him around. I love when he’s home. We all do. We’re big fans of our man. Yet we NEED work, so I’m in FULL support of him going to work as well. Sometimes those days are extra long, though, with me being back to single parenting and the kids missing their dad. Its a good, healthy thing. Its good to miss each other.

Today, Brady is at work. Its not been his smoothest day, nor our smoothest day, but its still a good one. A day where I’m happy we have nothing crazy on the books. A day when I’m happy I let the kids play at the island.

I’ve spent a chunk of the day working on projects, snuggled under a blanket. Its cold in here, but I’m not mad at it. Somehow, the idea of fall coming doesn’t feel daunting at the moment. I LOVE summer, and I always mourn its passing, but somehow, this year, I’m all for Autumn. Bring it on.

We’ve been living in a perpetual Catch 22 this last year or so. Brady’s work has been slow, thats no secret. We’ve been getting the basement done, slowly but surely, in that time. When there’s little work, there’s little money, but when there’s much work, there’s no time! Isn’t that always how it happens? That being said, God makes a way, and we’re hanging on. Things are getting done more slowly than we had hoped, but they’re getting done nonetheless.

The last couple of weeks, we’ve been really, really busy. Since getting home from the lake, we’ve been going hard on the basement, and are finally seeing beautiful progress. I want to post pictures but I’m going to wait until things are a liiiiittle closer to done. Without showing you pictures, however, I can tell you we’re close to having things operational anyway. The bathroom is the biggest part of the work, and its SO close! Everything is plumbed in and working, but everything needs to be sealed and waterproofed, so to speak. We need to tile around the tub surround, add trim and a mirror, but otherwise it all works! Woot! A door wouldn’t hurt, either 😉 Carpet will probably have to wait for a bit, too. Still on the hunt for a big ole throw rug for a temporary bedroom solution, if anyone has one they’re selling! Ceiling will also wait, but thankfully the rafters aren’t all gross and spiderwebby like I would’ve thought they’d be. Its all very close to cozy and livable.

That all being said, Brady finally has some work coming in <3 Praise the Lord! He’ll be busy for the next week and half, so far, and we are SO grateful for that! However, the basement will be sitting! Waiting! Gah!!! I know, we can’t have it both ways, and we NEED the work, but I know it’ll eat both of us alive that nothing is getting done in the days. Which means evenings are going to be FULL of basement work! Except evenings are already so full! We have lots of band practices coming up here, with us having another gig next week (woot!) plus we have some kids events this week, as well as friends and family we love to see in evenings. We have a birthday to celebrate next week, and countless things on our never-ending to-do list. Never a shortage, am I right?? Before we know it, it’s going to be time for SCHOOL to start!! I would SO love to have this basement business sorted out before then!

So wish us luck in this crazy busy time! Its a really wonderful time of our life, to be honest, and I’m so grateful for all we have going on and who is all part of it. I’m really enjoying our life. Just hope we don’t miss anything!

Yesterday was a super full day. Full but so good!

Once the kids were down for naps, I headed to moms to help get her birthday party together! For a good couple of hours, we chopped food, organized trays, moved around the backyard, set up a game, put up a sign, and went over and over and over her lists. Then we sat for about twenty minutes, and then got back up and did the finishing touches, like putting drinks in the dispensers, setting out some veggie trays, and building a fire. Guests started to arrive right on schedule, and the party went off without a hitch! Her friends were all SO happy to be there, and visited contentedly around the fire until it was time to start supper. We filled foil packs with potatoes, onions, carrots, sausage, butter, and spices, and let them cook over the fire while the visiting continued. It was really special to see everyone making friends with each other when so many of them didn’t know each other otherwise. Food was flipped and checked, and sure enough, they were all beautifully done. No one’s food burned or was underdone. The potato packs, paired with a few sides, were SO indulgent. Just delicious!

We had planned a game of croquet, but the visiting was just too smooth to interrupt. Mom opened a stack of gifts and cards from the group, and people started to peter out. When it was just mom, myself, and one other guest, we cracked out the croquet and cheated our way through a game. Mom won, as she should 🙂 I wish I had more pictures from her party, but it was one of those times when you just don’t get there, because you’re too busy being in the moment. And sometimes thats best. Mom and I cleaned up a bit more once everyone had left. It was dark by then, but we made it work 🙂

While I was at mom’s party, Brady took the three older kids to the opening night of Family Adventure Week! It started very close to the kids bedtime, so it was a bit of a stretch. But they made it happen, and the kids had a really good time! They sang songs, listened to a bible story, and went on a photo scavenger hunt! This picture even won them a prize 🙂

This was a good one, too 🙂 Happy times.

Meanwhile, Cher lovingly moved her plans around in order to help us out with childcare. Bringing all five kids to the event on his own wouldn’t be a pretty big undertaking. While possible, it wouldn’t have been smooth. Cher keeping the two little ones at home was the best possible option.

Once Solomon recovered from being left at home (“When’s Rowan coming back? Its Rowan’s bedtime!”) he settled in, and they had a really special little date. He doesn’t get to be the oldest very often.

All things considered, yesterday was basically bananas, and I wouldn’t change it. We all had SUCH a good day! Brady and I are in the thick of our colds right now, which is a bit of a bummer, but the general excitement of the busy days helps distract us from the sickness. And really, rather we’re sick now than next week! Round two at Clearcut Coffeehouse is coming at you NEXT THURSDAY!!! Who wants to come?? 🙋

I LOVE campfire food, but believe it or not, Brady and I have never had a fire pit in our entire adult/married life! We have the pit we will use when we can finally have a real yard, but won’t be installing it until that time which will hopefully come next year! 🤞

I’ve been hungry for pie irons for literal years, but never pressed to make them happen. Definitely not a big deal. But when my mom called me and asked me to join her for some pie iron “leftovers” last night, I was all in!

She had company the day before, and they had made these super fancy pants high maintenance pie irons. I say this will nothing but love, because I went over there expecting pie irons made out of your basic pizza stuff and maybe one with pie filling for dessert. But no. This was SO much bougier. SO much better!

We made our pies out of brie, apples, chicken, bacon, and a fig spread. They. Were. Ridiculous. I felt like the fanciest campfire cook ever. We sat outside in the chillier than average weather, and just enjoyed the fire, and each other’s company.

Time moved quickly, and suddenly, it was 10:00, so I went home. I was met by my husband, playing some games on his phone for his much deserved rest time. He had done the whole evening with the kids on his own, and then had installed a bunch of the outlets in the basement! That man doesn’t stop.

My clothes still smell like campfire this morning, and I’m not mad about it. Not at all.

Yesterday’s post was a bit of a grab bag, and today could easily be the same, but there are two specific events I’ll focus on.

Miss Waverly Violet. *sigh* I love her. And she’s almost done being a baby. Formula is all gone, the brezza is all gone, and I think bottles are almost out. People have all kinds of opinions about how long bottles should be in the picture, and you can kindly keep any negative opinions to yourselves 😉 We haven’t pushed Wavy to be done with bottles, but last night she very simply fed herself her milk bottle and was so ready for bed. I can just tell she’s almost done with it. She doesn’t need it anymore. Once she’s been sleeping through the night consistently a little longer, I think we’ll be done with her bottles for good.

Today, for one reason or another, my tiniest Miss was SO tired SO early. I wanted to stretch her at least a little bit longer so she could have some lunch and nap at the normal time, but nothing would really suffice. I hauled her onto my chair, where she wiggled and didn’t settle, until I put a cozy blanket over both of us. She lay on her side, popped those three little fingers into her mouth, and slow blinked for maybe twenty minutes. She never fell asleep, and I admit I was disappointed when her siblings came around and she popped back up, full of energy for them, but our snuggle was SUCH a special snuggle.

Those snuggles are fewer and further in between these days, as she tries to walk, says words, and grows and changes into toddlerhood. I’m not ready for you not to be a baby, Waverly.

So many little things to write about and none of them really go together! So, be ready for a bit of a hodge podge post!

A couple of days ago, Rowan decided it was time he rode a two wheeler. He asked if we could remove the training wheels off of Laela’s old teeny tiny princess bike. Brady did, and Ro proceeded to take his first wobbly bike ride up our street. He was SO proud of himself. By literally the next day only, he was able to start and stop on his own. He. Is. Amazing!

Its possible he wiped out hard after this picture was taken, but was immediately relieved to learn there was photographic evidence of him “biking with one hand.” Lol!

Another milestone alert is for Waverly! Part of our rush for getting the basement done is that our little girl is still sleeping in our room, and we’re ready for that to change. She lulls constantly, any time we move around, get up to pee, or get to bed later. But she’s WAY less invested in her milk. So much so that we’ve stopped giving it to her. She LOVES food way more, and drinks almost enough at her meals. We’re suddenly at the point where she has a bottle before bed, though I don’t think that’ll last much longer at all, and thats IT for bottles. Formula is over and done with, Brezza is washed and packed away, and her baby stage is coming to a close before my eyes. Its crazy. But Waverly has begun sleeping through the night, and will very soon be in her own space for night. I’m both happy and sad. I’m happy we’ll all sleep better, but I’ll miss her. She was the peachiest little overnight guest.

Unrelated to milestones. Cher came over today and asked to take the big kids to the park during quiet time. There was a big loose dog nearby, unbeknownst to them, and she managed to get them all up on top of a structure and distract them for a while until the owner showed up and retrieved his dog. WIN! I appreciated the break so much, and the kids were SO happy. Thank you for that, my friend <3

I’m onto a new crafty project! Thank you to those who shared their input on Instagram today about my weird scarf pattern. While the majority of you said the project was fine, it was not a shut out. And I was on team “this is ugly,” so a decision was made. I pulled it out. But I’m much more excited about what I’ve started, so, win for me!!

No picture of that, because, spoilers.

Basement work continues! Its a MESS down there, but once the bathroom is installed, the big boxes can be flattened and put away, and there will be a bit more room to move around. We still have a ways to go, but we just need the space to be usable. That being said, we can’t foot every bill for every think we need to finish it just yet. If anyone has a big, cushy Costco-esque carpet kicking around that they’re done with for the moment, please let us know. The flooring part of the basement is going to be a doozy, and if we can makeshift it for a bit, I think thats the route we’d take. Sooooo throw me a message if you can help out in this way! There will be pictures to come soon enough 🙂 But nothing looks too different today than it did yesterday!

Whew! I think thats it for the moment! I’m sure I’m forgetting something, but conveniently, I’m here every day 🙂 See you tomorrow!