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About the Christmas Cards

I’m VERY happy to finally be able to say that we have our Christmas pictures in hand!! It has been an ORDEAL! Let me break it down as short and sweet as possible. The Readers Digest version.

I ordered our Christmas cards from Vistaprint towards the end of November. Now I want to say that I really like Vistaprint! I’ve used them for Christmas pictures before, as well as invites, signs, stickers, shirts, etc. I’m a solid Vistaprint customer. Their clarity for photos isn’t 100%, but its pretty good. I love the beefy cardstock they used for invites and cards, and have always been satisfied with my results. Except this time. I ordered our pictures, and they shipped out the next day! I was thrilled. I loved the design, and the price was so good thanks to the extended Black Friday promo. I was super excited. 

When they came, I was pretty disappointed. I tried to be happy, because I was super excited to have them in hand, but the color was SO washed out, and the “clarity” wasn’t clear at all. They were pixelated and green and weird. On top of that, there was what appeared to be a printing error/smudge on the front, in the beautiful stark white background. But it was December, and I wanted these cards out. So I swallowed my angst and decided to send them out anyway. However, I emailed Vistaprint and told them how disappointed I was. I sent a picture along with my complaint and showed them the smudge on the front. I said I was unhappy with them, but I didn’t have time for them to resent them to me. I wanted a refund, plain and simple. 

The morning after I sent that email, I received one back. They assured me the smear was part of the template (it isn’t, I’ve looked back and zoomed in) but that they were going to be SO generous and send me out a fresh batch without the smudge. They said it should arrive mid to late December, and hopefully that would be fine. “I trust this issue is resolved” the email read. Along with that email was an order confirmation for this renewed order the Vistaprint employee had put through. So I had a big, frustrated cry. Because I didn’t want to wait for another batch! And if I did, I would’ve pointed out the horrible color and clarity issues. Instead, I’d be waiting for a batch that was minimally better, that I still wouldn’t want to send out to our loved ones. I emailed back and said that no, the issue was not resolved. I pointed out how I specifically said I didn’t have the time to wait, and that I wanted my refund. The next day, I received a standard refund email, along with a shipment confirmation of 100 envelopes… Apparently they cancelled the cards but still sent the envelopes. Don’t ask me, guys. It was SO dumb. 

I took to Facebook. Some of you already know that. Was there anywhere that could get me good cards in good time?? And there was! I sought out Melissa at Green Pixel Designs & Printing, and she saved my butt. She put my order in that day!! I ordered 100 matte, double sided, 5×7 cards for almost the exact same price I received in refunds from Vistaprint. In the days to follow, I was nice and fired up and motivated to get stuff done. I took the envelopes that came with the bad Vistaprint cards and addressed every single one I planned to send out. I put in lots of work and felt SO accomplished when it was done. Such a perfect stack of white envelopes just waiting for their cards. The day I got those cards in hand, I was going to stuff those envelopes and get them ALL out my door!

Today has been the blissful day where I FINALLY have those cards in my hands, and wow. Guys, they’re SO much better than Vistaprint’s cards! SO much better! The clarity is way better, the color is way nicer, they’re matte instead of glossy (for some reason, Vistaprint wouldn’t let me switch to matte) and the writing on the back fills the card out way nicer. Its just so much better. 

As planned, the moment I had them, I grabbed the box of addressed envelopes off the island where its been living, and wouldn’t you know it. Vistaprints 5×7 cards are NOT 5×7!!!!! So every single envelope that I previously addressed to save time is a loss, because the envelopes are too small. Think about how a 2×4 chunk of wood is actually about a half inch smaller in each direction. Yup. Apparently that’s how Vistaprint prints cards. I. Was. Livid. Still am, a little.

I went upstairs and had my pity party. Like a BIG one. I already have a cold today, but my throat went from sore to raw during my cry. But, I’ve gotten it out now, and its time to keep on trucking. This afternoon, I’ll drive to the city or Martensville or wherever else I have to, find myself some envelopes that fit real 5×7 cards, address the heck out of them, and get those suckers out tomorrow. Because I’m done waiting. I have the cards finally, and they’re BEAUTIFUL. I’m SO thankful to be able to send out cards this year. They’re such a small gift, but I can’t imagine how else to reach out to everyone who has rallied around us this year, so this is going to have to do! 

Thank you, Green Pixel, for picking up the torch and making this happen for me! And thank you to Cher for the beautiful family pictures! My heart is happy to have such pretty cards to send out!

Just in Time for the Holidays

I’ve had a sore throat for a few days now, but its been mostly overnight. I’ve been hoping its just an issue of the house being dry, but after a night with a humidifier next to me, my throat is officially yucky and phlegmy. I’m getting sick. Because its Christmas. So why not? 

Maybe its actually great. Maybe I’ll get it all over and done with before Christmas, and if I’m a good human being, I’ll manage to keep it to myself. 

An impending sickness paired with yesterday’s challenging evening, Brady’s work-filled Saturday, and this mornings choppiness, I feel like I could go to bed tonight right now. 

We’re spending the day at home. I have to get these gifts wrapped, because they’re just sitting out in our room and I keep forgetting they’re there and letting the kids go up for one thing or another. It has to stop! So its time to wrap them. At least the kids gifts. 

This week is the LAST week before Christmas! Are you guys ready? Anyone not even started yet? I have a couple of things I’m still waiting for to come in the mail, and another thing or two I’d like to buy if I can find them, but it’s ok if I don’t. That person has other gifts bought for them already. I still have to get my Christmas cards out, and they’re not in my possession yet. However, I’m SO proud of myself! All envelopes are addressed and labelled and ready to go! So I have NO EXCUSE not to send them out! But I’m very much hoping I’ll have those in hand in a matter of days, and they’ll be out the door on the same day. I’m SO eager to get them moving!

Brady is almost done work for the calendar year! I’m so looking forward to this week playing out, and then soaking up the holidays with my family for a couple of weeks. I’m so ready. Are you guys ready? 

2018 Resolutions: How Did I Do?

I looked back for my new years resolutions, and I’m really happy I called them intentions. I felt less crappy about the fact that I didn’t remember any of them. There is just less pressure tied to intentions than resolutions. Anyway, I’ll stop nitpicking words. I only had three intentions this year and I don’t fail at ALL of them, so I’ll count that as a win!

Intention number one. Set money aside for Christmas. Nope. Did not do that. Maybe next year. 

Intention number two. Step up my blog game. I feel like I did that! Like its nothing crazy, but I did a few things different! I maintained my series and did a few mini series in there, too. I plan a bit better and pre-write posts when I have time so I can have better content and more thought out posts. I made a blog instagram page. That being said, I said on my “intentions” post that I would try to have specifically planned blogs every Monday and Friday, and I didn’t do that. But I still think, as a whole, I improved.

Intention number three. Stay more organized and don’t lose your mind when things get busy. I’m still not great at this, but I’m getting better! My appointment book helped a lot, as did open lines of communication with my husband and the people around me. Our group of friends and support has grown immensely, and I know better than ever that I can ask for help and receive it. I promise, I know it goes both ways! I do put into their lives, too! I’ve said before that having something extra up each day is as busy as I care to be, and sometimes even that feels like too much. I’m learning that I actually kind of enjoy that level of busyness! Some of the most fun days in the recent months have been the days where I literally have different company in the morning, afternoon, and evening all in one day! I’m learning that jobs can be stopped and started. I don’t have to blitz everything I do in one sitting, though its ideal. Its ok to be busy, and do as much as you can in the day, but its good to love your life, too!

Making “resolutions” like this is the way to do it for me! I’m sure I’ll be back in January with some fresh ones! Did any of you set intentional goals this year? How did you do?

Stay Awaaake!

I’ve been missing my little Waverly a lot recently. She’s been sleeping most of the days away. We so rarely see her. So as I’m attempting to keep her up a little bit longer this evening, she’s not particularly thrilled. So I’ll leave you with this very short, unexciting blog. Its got a few cute pictures of the little sleeping beauty herself, in her wakeful glory! 

Meanwhile, look at the mane on this kid!

Isn’t it amazing?!?! Its SO gorgeous, and SO smooth! Its like butter, really. If you touched his hair, you’d understand even more why I’m happy to leave it untouched. 

It was such a lovely day of company and coffee and cookies. The evening holds promise for perogies, a bubble bath, and some New Girl. If you like New Girl, drop everything and watch it, because its off Netflix as of December 31st! Priorities, people. 

I hope you all had as sweet of a day as I did! Brady is working tomorrow, but I’m fortunate enough to have company tomorrow, too, so it’ll hopefully feel less like a Saturday and more like a regular day at home without Brady. I love my friends. 

#tbt

I’ve told you guys before that I revisit Waverly’s birth photos regularly. It used to be every single day, but as life gets fuller and time moves forward, its a bit less. But today was one of the days where I did go there again, and my oh my, what a day it was! 

Waverly was awake for probably her first hour on me, yet there was no crying or fussing or wanting for anything. She just lay on my chest, perfectly content and still. 

I remember feeling the utmost relief to finally have her in my arms, and I couldn’t help but feel like she was relieved to have me in hers, too. She had been SO active on the inside, but once she was outside and with her mom and dad, she was good. She was maybe just as happy to have us as we were to have her. 

It all just comes rushing back when I look through her pictures. She kept us on our toes more than any other baby during her delivery. The unexpected bleeding. The drops in heart rate. The longer-than-average (for me) labour. And then when she was finally born, that hair. That crazy umbilical cord. That teeny little body. From start to finish, that girl is an individual! 

It felt like a good day for a throwback, because its weighing so warmly on my heart today. I’m still often brought back to the fact that baby #5 did come home, healthy and well. Our little Bambina. What immense healing she brought along with her.

We love you, Waverly Violet!

Chilled Through

Today isn’t even that cold. But I’m cold. I think I just feel wintery. Anyone else?

Brady has a day or two off this week. It must be having him home that’s making me feel like its already the holidays. I’ve been spending the home days in leggings and comfy sweaters. Drinking more coffee. Christmas lights are on. Almost all the work is done. School can end and Christmas can start anytime now! We’re all ready. 

I wrapped all teacher and doctors gifts last night, plus another one or two. I’m usually a tad obsessive and keep every “good” box that enters our house for the sake of wrapping gifts, but since I’ve been better about letting some go to recycling, I have no good gift wrapping boxes!!! Either I’m going to end up buying boxes or just giving out a lot of lumpy gifts. OR I’ll wrap gifts in food boxes out of the pantry. I’ve definitely done that before. Just thinking about getting everything wrapped and out under the tree makes me excited. I’m feeling festive. 

We’re getting the music organized for the Christmas Eve service. The school Christmas concert is coming up. Holiday plans are finally coming out of the woodwork. Final year end appointments are being scheduled. Everything is about to roll over. 

I’m planning some posts looking back on 2018 as a whole, and how we did on our “resolutions” this year. Wish I remembered what they were… That’s awkward. I’ll look them up but something tells me I may or may not have failed hard, haha! Oy! Oh well. This year was a win for at least one VERY obvious reason! We’ll talk more about that soon 🙂 For now, I’m just so happy that Christmas is almost here!

We CRUSHED it!

Today was SO productive!! Its amazing how much stuff can get done when your husband is home for the day!! 

Once Dekker and Laela were off to school, we dressed and loaded up the other three kids and headed to Saskatoon. We dropped his van off at our fave tire shop to get a much needed alignment and balance, and we began our long day of errands. 

We hit the nearby mall, where I picked up a couple of pieces that were missed when I bought something the other day, and I returned something I bought twice. Because memory lapse. I grabbed a caramel brulee latte on the way out and met Brady. While I was in the mall, he had been grabbing himself a coffee and a Tims gift card for a friend. 

Then we went to Canadian Tire and grabbed a shwack of Christmas lights. The two minute hail storm this summer broke SO many of ours, and our insurance agreed to cover the cost of new lights! They won’t go up this year, because we didn’t get on it fast enough, but at least we’ll have them on hand. 

Then to 8th St we went, for Superstore, Winners, and Rush. And lunch! We didn’t get everything we wanted on 8th but we did ok.

We ate lunch and weighed our options. We had three hours left until we had to be home in time to meet Dekker and Laela. We still needed to pick Brady’s van up in there, too. But we had some time, so we figured we’d go for it. 

Our least successful stop was Midtown. Luckily I just went in on my own and didn’t drag the kids in. I was hoping for a quick in and out trip there, but the ONE thing I needed was discontinued! Nooooo! I tried a couple of other options but I think I’m out of luck :/ Will have to come up with something different for that particular gift.

We hit the other Winners (MUCH more successful!) before backtracking to Costco. We found everything we needed, including teacher gifts! Win! We filled up there as well, and ducked back into the city for one final stop at a convenience store before going to pick up Brady’s van. It wasn’t quite ready yet, so we abandoned Brady there and I drove home to meet the kids.

I made it home with time to spare! I got the little ones inside and upstairs, and I fed and changed Wavy. Then I got everything inside and unpacked the groceries and gifts where they all needed to go. I felt pretty accomplished, having everything put away before the kids even got home! Win for me!

Now, the whole clan is home, and its almost supper time! I feel pretty accomplished! Yet my room is TRASHED with presents! I need to clean up all the excess clutter so I can truly spread out and wrap gifts until I drop! 

Are you guys done Christmas shopping? Wrapping, too? I had such lofty goals to be done early, but it just didn’t happen this year, haha! No big deal. I’ll still be done in time 🙂 

Besties Christmas Road Trip

While I know you guys have been seriously enjoying having Brady writing the blog this weekend, he has passed the reins back to me! I’m SO happy to be home with my family, but I truly enjoyed the breath of fresh air in Edmonton! It was both productive and relaxing. I loved it. I’ll break it down for you in short form. 

Jerilee came to pick me up around 7:00am Saturday morning. We made a little stop in North Battleford to drop something off and then continued on. Finally the sun started coming up. It was SO dark for SO long! We stopped for Starbucks in Lloydminster. I got a vanilla latte and a breakfasty treat with chunky sugar on it. On we went!

Edmonton was way easier to get into this time! We usually spend a lot of time slowly moseying through construction, but not this time! We headed right to the mall and while we didn’t go nuts like we usually do, we did a lot of walking and shopping and backtracking with very little stopping.

I had a pretty specific list, and neither of us went too crazy. It was a controlled day of shopping. But we both burned out pretty early. We usually hit the Old Spaghetti Factory on the first day of our Edmonton trip, but we were done at the mall quite a bit before supper. Rather, we decided to go check into our hotel and get our hot tub on, and worry about supper later. 

Except that the hot tub was broken!!! Aaaaahhh! We were SO disappointed! And our feet were SO tired, haha! I know, I know, first world problems. 

So rather than soaking in the hot tub, we went and lay in our beds and just took a break. Finally, though, it became time to get some food going, so we weighed our options (for way too long) and finally settled on Montana’s for supper. It was a very good choice. I ate so much, and didn’t regret one bite. Delicious! We fought the fatigue hard that evening and forced ourselves to stay up until 10:00. Because yes, we are old people now. 

 Being old paid off, because we got a good sleep and felt better in the morning. We snagged some muffins and oranges from the breakfast room and ate upstairs while we slowly got ready for the day. Now I say “get ready” loosely. Jerilee and I both used to waste at least an hour “getting ready” when we first started going on these road trips. Since then, we both like makeup WAY more, yet the less we put ourselves together for these trips, haha! So this time around, I “got ready” by wearing clothes and putting on deodorant. Win! 

We saved Ikea and the box stores in south common for our second day there. I can confidently say that day #2 was much more successful! My best purchase was probably 12 hand soaps plus a couple of mini gifties for $35! Woot! I also found something for Waverly I’ve been looking all over for! The fourth Gap location finally had it! I got myself some new clothes that actually fit my non-pregnant body, which feels like a big deal. Its not a secret that I hope to have more kids in the near future (Lord willing!) so I don’t really put in heavy effort to fit regular clothes in between. Plus, I’m quite fortunate that my legs and hips don’t change much, so maternity jeans are just “always jeans” for me. But buying a few regular shirts felt so good! None of them sag under the boobs or are unreasonably long. I’m happy with my finds. Ikea was also a win, where I got a couple things I’ve been waiting to get for the kids for Christmas, plus some little kitchen things, an outdoor entrance mat, and succulents! I kill pretty much every plant that walks in the door here, but recently, my surviving succulent had a baby!! So my confidence convinced me to buy two more, lol! We’ll see how the fare. 

We hit up Olive Garden for a late lunch, where I ate my body weight in gnocchi soup and breadsticks, before hitting the highway. We were both fairly tired and the ride was quiet until we realized we needed to be pumping some better music! “Good music” turned into road trip playlists on Spotify which turned into 90s playlists and then to one hit wonder playlists. It was SO fun. If you want to feel like you were there, listen to “What Makes You Beautiful” by One Direction. Ya, it was quality music, lol! 

We got home around 10:00pm. We made great time! Brady was super on the ball, and opened the garage up as soon as we were backed into the driveway. We hauled in my bags, and my husband – love of my life – goes “Wow, is this all you got?” Ack! He’s a good man. I love him. You guys do, too. He’s pretty epic. 

Jerilee headed out and I think she hit the sack almost immediately. I, on the other hand, had a bubble bath waiting for me!! So I did that first, and then went to bed. 

What an amazing weekend we had!! Love you tons, Jerilee! Merry Christmas trip to us!! 

Flowers For Grandma

So today has not been the smoothest day so far. It’s the second day of a weekend without their Mom and the kids have been fighting me quite a bit. Back talk and pretending they don’t hear me, tantrums, you get the picture. And I have to admit that I have not been the perfect Dad today either. I’ve lost my cool a handful of times. My anger is something I’ve always struggled to control and I’ve had to get pretty good at apologizing to our kids and they’re always so gracious. 

I’m gonna share one story from yesterday real quick to bolster how awesome we think our kids are, like we don’t do that enough already.

Just about every time we walk past the flower section at Costco, Dekker pipes up and asks if we can buy flowers for Hailey. Now Costco flowers are generally well priced and decent quality but we just don’t always have money to buy flowers every week so usually the answer is ‘That’s a lovely thought dude but i think we should leave it for another time.’ He usually understands and we keep moving. Last week I agreed. Laela got in on it real quick and both of them chose the same bouquet for their Mom to enjoy when she got home from her hair appt. It was lovely and sweet and they brought it up every chance they got for a couple days.

Then yesterday morning we were all at Costco again for our weekly purchase of milk and bananas and very predictably, Dekker piped up when we were passing the flower stand. But this time he says ‘Dad, can we buy flowers for Grandma?’ and Laela started bouncing and joined in immediately. ‘Ya! Can we buy flowers for Grandma?!’ 

So with a little guidance and mediation I managed to find a bunch that the both agreed she would like and we brought them home for her. And she was delighted.


So I’m gonna wrap it up there and just share some pictures from last couple days. Even when they’re turds our kids are still adorable and beautiful. 

Enjoy your Sunday afternoon everyone!

I love winter!

So I’ll start this off by saying that this is another guest post. Hailey does not love winter. In fact, she despises it. That fact that she still lives in Canada is a little surprising considering how much she dreads the first snow, and how permanently cold she is all through winter. But I love her despite the fact that she loathes winter. And she loves me despite the fact that I LOVE it!

I (this is Brady by the way) realized a long time ago that I just got happier every year when it would get down below zero for good and we got our first snow that didn’t melt away the next day. I know, I’m a weirdo. And it’s not like I enjoy being cold, I’m just not bothered by it. So before I start explaining things that I really want to write about separately, here we go.

4 Reasons that I LOVE winter!

1 – Crisp Air – You know when you walk out your front door and take a your first real breath outside and you gasp and lose your breath because it’s just so gosh darn cold? I love that. I try to recreate it a second and third time when it happens to me. It’s so refreshing, like a cold glass of water for my lungs. And the way it nips at your face? Ah. perfect. It’s made it extra fun since I grew a big beard because now i can watch out of the corner of my eye as my face slowly turns white with frost. 

2 – Driving – I know most people hate driving in the winter but I find it so enjoyable. I took every chance I got to stunt and do donuts whilst winter driving in my teens and early twenties. Surprising right?  Haha Nope! Not surprising. I had a Camaro from the 80s. I was THAT young punk! So I got nice and comfortable driving a vehicle when conditions are less than optimal. And I enjoy the challenge, that it makes me pay attention, that blizzards add and element of not knowing what to expect as I drive to work. It makes driving more fun for me.

3 – Solitude – A small part of the reason I enjoy going to work so blindingly early everyday is because I know I’ll be the only one there for at least an hour, maybe longer. I get that same feeling during the winter. People are less likely to be our and around when it’s -30. Everyone stays inside where it’s cozy and warm. Understandably. I like being out doing things, by myself. I’m an introvert and while I’ve learned how to be a decent conversationalist and somewhat outgoing with people I know, I much prefer to be alone or just with my lovelies.  When I was growing up on a farm as a preteen, I lived for when I got home from school and could drop my backpack in the back door and take my sled or crazy carpet and go wander the hills and pastures behind my house looking for a new hill to fly down. 

4 – Coming Inside – Don’t you just love coming back inside after being in the cold for a while? After shovelling the driveway? Or spending the morning snowboarding because skiing is for suckers? Or going for walk while pulling the kids on a sled? To peel off all the layers of winter gear you had on, straighten out your wrinkled sweats and go find a place to thaw the chubby red ice cubes you used to call toes. It’s just perfect. Maybe grab an extra cup of coffee or hot chocolate to warm your tum? I’m gettin all warm and fuzzy just thinking about it.

I think I’m gonna wrap it up there with four. The kids are in bed and I’m gonna enjoy a bit of supper before I head outside in the currently -22 degree weather to work on my van. And enjoy all these things I just told you about. 🙂 

Stay warm everyone.