Once Again, Stinking Blog Host…

Yesterday’s blog went up late, and this is why. 

If you guys have been along for the ride for a while now, you know I’ve had some bumps in the road with my blog hosts.

It all began with WordPress, when I chose it over Blogger. I had a blog in high school through Blogger, which was fine, but I was advised that WordPress was a bit more customizable than Blogger, and I felt I was ready for that challenge. So I build my blog on WordPress and was able to make it pretty much exactly how I wanted it. 

A couple of years in, out of nowhere, I was uploading photos to a big post (Was it a birthday post? Lake day post? I don’t remember.) and I was notified that I was just out of space. Just like that. Nowhere to go but to pay and upgrade that moment. I was INCREDIBLY frustrated! I wasn’t opposed to having to pay and grow my blog, because really, that itself felt like an accomplishment, but there was no warning. There was, however, no other option, so I upgraded. But it was clear I was going to run out room again eventually. So I started shopping for a new host. 

I was recommended to Bluehost. It had good reviews, and it was well known. I looked into it and discovered I could purchase a package that gave me unlimited space! THAT was what I needed, and I signed up as soon as I could put together a template that I was happy with. I wasn’t 100% happy with it, but I figured I could tweak it along the way and make it my own. Except I never did. The whole web design thing doesn’t come naturally for me, and I can slave and slave over it with little to no avail, sometimes even making it worse. 

I’ve been stuck on Bluehost for quite a while now and I can honestly say I wish I had either never switched, or that I switched to somewhere else. The ONLY thing that Bluehost offers me that matters/works is the space. Its sucked at everything else. No developers seem to update their blog themes, so I’m usually behind with lots of glitches. My pictures are regularly sideways for certain people on certain browsers, and when I inquire with Bluehost, they tell me to ask the developer. I do that next, and they say to ask my readers to clear their caches. I have NO control. 

Last night, it got all messed up again and I was SO mad. I opened up a new post page and was greeted by an ENTIRELY NEW LAYOUT. Aren’t there usually grace periods when you know its there but you don’t have to jump on board right away?? I like to let bugs get worked out before I jump on updates, or do some research so I know how to use it when it comes along. Well, that was not the case. The whole stupid thing is different now, and not user friendly. Worst of all, it would only show the thumbnail views of my pictures, and they were horrid. As in “heads cut off” level of horrid. For the life of me, I couldn’t get it to show the full pictures! Cher offered to come over, being way more knowledgable in the world of blogs/computer errors and fussed with it while she ate breakfast sandwiches with us. She got it fixed somewhat, and I can now make the pictures show up normally, but not without fixing every single one manually. Its so dumb, guys. SO dumb. 

So I’m feeling the need to switch my blog to another host. Which is SO out of my comfort zone. I’m wondering if maybe I’ll hire someone to help me. I’m happy with how my blog looks, but if I could have it my way, it would actually look SO different!! My blog looks as simple as it does out of necessity. I don’t know how to change the things I want to change. I have lots of little ideas of what I’d add where, and its probably as simple as adding widgets, but those things confuse the heck out of me and I just know so little about it. I could get it there, but I don’t want to mess up my blog! I know its boring sometimes, but its kind of like my memoirs, just super duper early. I have 6.5 YEARS of our lives saved on here!! I don’t want to mess it up 🙁 But I want it to be good, too. And I want to enjoy doing it. Today, I dreaded sitting down to write because I don’t like the setup. Yet here I am. I’m not bailing. Not over this. But I’m pretty annoyed with all the changes over here. I’m not afraid of change, but I would’ve loved some heads up!

I used to feel a bit “good riddancy” at WordPress. Still do. But I don’t like Bluehost either. Whats next??

Waverly’s Five Month Appointment

I took Wavy to the doctor today for a routine appointment. After an incredibly taxing morning with the three littlest ones, I was SO ready to get on the road, put on some good music, and get out of the house. 

There was ONE parking spot left in the entire parking lot, and after just a little readjusting, I got into it. Brady was already there to meet me and hang out with the little boys when I went in with Waverly. I tried to feed Wavy one last time before going in, but she wouldn’t have it. So I took her in a little grumpy, but very very cute, as always. 

The parking lot may have been FULL, but the office was not. Wavy and I waited maybe five minutes before we were called back. The same woman who always calls us was there, and as usual, just gushed over Waverly. I got her all undressed and we weighed her. She weighed in at 16 lbs 10 oz, which is what I had written four days ago on her monthly update post. So either she didn’t gain any weight, or my scale has some wiggle room, but at least we know its close! She’s about 26″ tall, putting her up there in height. Good work, Wavy!

He checked everything over and seemed quite enamoured with her. She was less enamoured with his ice cold hands but never even cried. Just seemed to startle at every touch. She cooperated well and was super pleasant. We’re so spoiled. She makes it look pretty easy. 

She passed everything with flying colors. Clear lungs, clear ears, eating and sleeping, peeing and pooping, etc. She does all the right stuff at all the right times. We talked about solid food and milestones. We talked about how gorgeous she was, her soft hair and skin. 

We covered the usual topics of Christmas, school, and a few other things. Its so comfortable there. I tend to feel like everyone is my friend, and my doctors are SO friendly, but they’re definitely still doctors, and professional, which is good. We’re so fortunate to have the doctors we have.

When I brought Wavy back to the van, Brady and the boys had driven to Tim’s and brought me back a coffee. I already felt refreshed just having a little break with Wavy, chatting with my doctor, and having a few HUGE laughs over embarrassing childhood memories. Top it all off with a coffee and I was feeling pretty good! Unfortunately, Brady headed back to work after that, and I went home with the crazies. 

Overall, if one can “win” at a doctors appointment, Wavy did.

All the nurses there are SO sweet to her.
She didn’t pee on anything inappropriate. 
She didn’t cry.
She smiled at her doctor.
She’s high in the percentiles.
She’s HEALTHY! That one is probably more important that the others 😉

Mad skills, Wavycakes! I am SO proud of you and your mad health/social skills! Way to be the sweetest little baby girl ever!

YESSSSS!

Guys!!! My Christmas cards came today!!! I was worried they wouldn’t make it in time, but they did! And faster than Vistaprint even originally promised they would! I’m so stoked! I will spend the next couple of days addressing and dropping off as many as I’m able. Ok ok, it might wriggle into next week but I hope not. I’m so eager to get those things out of my house!

Also today, a couple of Christmas presents showed up in the mail! I ordered a couple of small things off of Etsy for Waverly and my baby nephew, and crossed my fingers that they’d make it in time. And they did! YES!

I’m not looking to push my luck, but I ordered a couple of things from Amazon and had them sent to a friends house in hopes they’ll actually arrive at a city address faster than my PO box address. After that, I think I’m done risking ordering things online! There is still shopping to do, but not too much. I can handle it.

Something about these things getting organized and crossing them off my list makes me feel a bit more capable. I had lofty goals of having all presents accounted for and wrapped in November and WOW did I not accomplish that goal, but it is coming together, which I’m thankful for!

Tomorrow is a doctor appointment day for Waverly, and the day after I hope we can get our tree decorated finally!!! And Saturday and Sunday I’m off with Jerilee to wrap up Christmas shopping! It HAS to be finished after this weekend!! And then its gift wrapping party at Hailey’s house!!!

Why the Blog was Short and Sweet

You probably noticed yesterday’s post went up late. It was also a shorty. It was good reason, because yesterday was SO full and SO great!

It began with Jerilee! She came over for a MORNING coffee date! We used to hang out in the daytime all the time when she worked shift work, but things have changed and it almost never happens! But it did this time! She brought a couple of lattes and we spent the morning together! We put together a plan for our road trip coming up this weekend, and got all excited about whats to come. Was SO so nice.

Next, I spent the afternoon with Cher. We visited as we accomplished a couple of in-house errands together, and then spent some time with the kids when they got up from naps. She brought bagels for lunch. It was a super nice afternoon!

She headed out fairly quickly after Dekker got home because we had places to go! I got the kids dressed and we drove to Saskatoon to meet Brady and my mom. She had already chosen a Christmas tree, so Brady loaded it into his work van and we all went out for supper. This was a tradition years back when we lived in Radisson, but it kind of ended when we started getting a fake tree (because impatience.) But this year seemed like it would be fun to make it happen again, so we did! We drove to a nearby McDonalds and actually went in to the restaurant, which is actually a pretty big deal. Our kids are wonderful, don’t get me wrong, but its just so much easier to eat in the van rather than hauling everyone inside. So when we do go in, the kids are super excited! They ate great, and everyone even got a cookie at the end.

We stayed a little while, but then it was time to clear out. We cleaned up our spot and got everyone loaded back into the van. We got home right at the kids usual bedtime. I was pretty pleased with how well they headed into the house and got started with bedtime stuff. Dekker volunteered to help Solly get out of his winter gear, and the others could get themselves out of their stuff and into the house. I took Wavy upstairs to feed her and put her to bed, and Brady manned bedtime for the others. Once everyone was down, I texted Carrie.

Carrie and I are doing music for a Ladies morning thing this week, so we had decided to get together yesterday evening to practice, and also to start organizing music for the Christmas Eve service this year. Who’s coming to that?? Its going to be SO fun!! Carrie arrived somewhere around 8:00 and we visited (on and off topic) until around 10:30. It was so good to get at least some of our ducks in a row for both events.

When all was said and done, Brady and I were a special blend of exhaustion and adrenaline. It had been a full, great day! So we lay in bed and ate brownies and watched “Life in Pieces” for a little bit before falling asleep. It felt great. But, it explains yesterday’s short post. So there you go.

Who Looks Like Who???

It was such a dark day today. Even with the blinds open, it never really brightened up. Just for entertainment’s sake, I took a couple pictures of the kids with the flash on. And I kind of loved how they turned out!!!

I love how eveningish the photos look, and how happy the models look 😉 I was surprised at how little squinting I captured. What surprised me even more was this side by side.

Yes, I reused the original pictures from above. Bear with me.

These boys are SO HANDSOME!!! And while they’re in no way lookalikes, they have more similarities than I thought! I’m not sure I’ve ever made a comparison picture of these two. Rowan looks so much like my moms side of the family, and Solomon looks like baby Brady. But in this picture, those eyes are so similar! Not quite exact, but Rowan’s are also more open than Solly’s, and it makes me wonder what other little details I’m missing that are similar amongst my kids! Rowan and Solly’s eyes and brows are pretty much matching. Nose and mouth, not at all. Hairline, nope. Chin, definitely, but all of our kids have that bitty little pointy chin, and who knows what Solly’s jawline will turn into when he drops the end of his adorable little baby chub? I’m NOT counting down the days for that milestone!

Its been a full day, and there’s still more to go, so today’s post is short, but very cute, if I do say so myself!! Sleep well, friends!

Five Months of Waverly

Today marks five months since we brought Wavy girl out of me and into this big, scary world. Lucky for the world, its that much sweeter now that she’s in it. She’s added an amazing warmth and peace to our family. I know she’s still just a baby, but I’ve often said that she has pretty much all the best characteristics from each of our other kids, just all wrapped into one baby! Lucky girly. Lucky family.

I know at least a handful of you have noticed! Wavy has chunked up!! She currently weighs 16 lbs 10 oz!! Thats over two pounds gained in the last month! Yet she’s still SO little! Dekker had outgrown his bucket seat by this point! Wavy will still be in it for a nice while here 🙂 Her hair is getting longer and longer, and while it may not look curly anymore, it is still amazingly curly when its freshly washed! There’s just too much of it and its too heavy, and the curl doesn’t hold. Likely as it gets longer and thicker, it should show a bit more. A big change in her physical appearance this months is her TEETH! Those two bottom teeth are nicely through now. I often go in there and rub them a little, and she giggles like crazy. As they grow further and further above her gums, her whole look will change, so be ready! I always think I’m going to ache and miss their little gummy smiles, and to a degree I do, but I always LOVE that little toothy look too!

Wavy is learning and changing all the time. She’s stronger and happier on her tummy, and even learned how to roll from front to back this month. She is also well on her way to sitting, which is CRAZY! She’s definitely still not ready to do it on her own, but she often goes from sitting to lifting her legs and her head in a desperate attempt to sit up. We’ve started putting her in a bumbo from time to time, which she really likes! I know not everyone is keen on the bumbo, and we only use it for a short stretch of time anyway. Promise. She just really loves being able to see everyone from a sitting position rather than from the floor.

We’ve finally struck a bit of a schedule with Wavy, but I’m pretty sure its only temporary. Since she’s been teething, she sleeps all. Day. Long. I miss her!! But her current schedule is that she sleeps most of the morning, wakes up for lunch and sleeps until supperish. Then we wake her, usually, to force her to have some wakeful time. Once the other kids go down around 7:00pm, we feed her and let her stay up as long as she can, which at this point is about 7:30, lol! And then she goes down. Sometimes, with this particular schedule, she wakes up around 10:00 or so and we can top her up, but usually she’ll wake up once a bit later on, drink, and then sleep until lunch the next day. Moral of the story is that she sleeps WAY too much and I miss her dreadfully. She’s SO sweet.

Praise the Lord for FIVE MONTHS with Waverly!

What I Want For Christmas

Hopefully no one judges me too hard for making a pot like this, but its the first day of December, and I’m out Christmas shopping all day, so it feels valid. (Yes, I wrote this yesterday so I wouldn’t have to blog today. Because, like I said, I’m shopping.)

I spend a lot of time every year figuring out what to get everyone for Christmas. Its a long process that I actually really enjoy! I try to be creative and resourceful. It can’t always be perfect, but its fun to try! And just for fun, I thought I’d share what I want for Christmas!

Feels like I need to say that I’m not asking anyone for these things! This isn’t a plea for people to buy me gifts. I just thought it would be fun to share! Some things are reasonable and others suuuper aren’t. I keep a running list as desires come to me, so here is the bulk of it, in no particular order.

A lash perm and tint! I’ve always wanted to try that out. My lashes are sad, short, and straight.

Pampered Chef waffle sticks! I only just learned about those things and they look so awesome!

Mukluks! Mine are five years old and are starting to come apart.

Super High Rise Wunder Unders from Lululemon. I love my pair of high waisted Wunder Unders, but I love the sound of the super high waisted ones even more!

The “Sultry” eye shadow palette by Anastasia Beverly Hills. SO pretty!

Also the “Extra Spice” palette by Makeup Revolution

You guys know that entrance mat that says something like “Just so you know, there are lots of kids in there?” I have been tagged in that Facebook post more times than I can count! I should probably finally get one…

A plastic lipstick organizer for inside my makeup dressers.

A pop socket for my phone.

A piano tuner kit so I can work on my piano slowly at home rather than paying for tunings.

Bosch dough mixer. (This is one of the vastly unattainable ones. SO expensive)

A curling wand.

Charmed Aroma candles, because they’re fun.

This sweatshirt!! https://www.facebook.com/commerce/products/2206397189387368/ You got this, mama!

A robot vacuum thats tall enough to eat Cheerios.

Lush sleepy lotion.

A gratitude journal.

Microblading! (Another unattainable one. SO expensive!)

Hopefully no one thinks I’m super duper selfish now. I know there are WAY more important things that aren’t tangible or wrapped up under the tree. I LOVE those things. I don’t care too much about presents, but I think we’re lying if we say theres nothing that we want that could be boxed, wrapped, and put under a tree!

So now you know about me! Whats on your wish list? Share a thing or two in the comments!

Tear-Free!!

I am SO happy to say that Waverly had her first tear-free bath today!!

I know some of your babies love baths, but ours never ever have. Wavy has been the closest, with having one or two where she didn’t cry immediately. Other than that, its taken a long, long time for our kids to appreciate the bath. Before you even ask, yes, we’ve tried the shower, too. They scream like you wouldn’t believe. Its awful. We’ve. Tried. Everything. They just hate the bath when they’re young, and sometimes when they’re older, too.

If you’ve been a LONG time reader, you might remember the struggle we had with Dekker. Bathing him with like a full contact sport. We tried absolutely everything, and we bathe him for a couple of years, holding him down like a rabid dog while he screamed for mercy. Those were some HARD years. The only thing that helped was age. So while I LOVE baths, my kids do not.

But today, while I can’t say she loved it, she definitely didn’t hate it!

What a relief! We usually end up just bathing her and pulling her out immediately, but instead, we did what so many parents get to do, and we chatted and I slowly poured water all over her and she cooed and splashed and it was just so awesome and normal. I loved it.

Let’s hope for many, many baths like this!!

A Little Break

I took a little break this afternoon. Brady finished his work around 11:00 and was home shortly before noon. We had a shot chat before I left. I didn’t put myself together more than clean clothes and deodorant, but it was fine. I wasn’t going anywhere that I felt I’d be judged for my top knot.

I went to get my nails done today! I admit, I was feeling a little unsure about it. My nail girl is on maternity leave, and I’m pretty loyal to her. Going elsewhere feels incorrect, somehow. But I went to the same spa, and saw another girl there. And she did a lovely job! I got me some beautiful nude nails for the month, nice and short, too. Exactly what I always want!

I kind of didn’t want to leave. I try not to delve too deep into all the drama, but we’re in a challenging stage in our home these days, and I’ve had a lot of moments where I just feel like my head is going to explode. Getting out for the afternoon was a much anticipated breath of fresh air! I wasn’t totally ready for it to end. As I was driving home, I thought of something I could go pick up, as it had been on our list for a while, but we keep forgetting. Aaand then I missed the turn. So I rather did an impulsive thing and turned in at Value Village. I have a few things I’m constantly on the hunt for, so when I’m in on my own, its a good opportunity to go do a quick look. And it was successful! About a half hour later, I came out having spent $15, with a shirt and sweatshirt for myself, and two hoodies for Waverly. Go me! I’d show you but they’re all in the wash, because stinky.

I’m now home with the fam, anticipating an evening with Brady and Jerilee. And also sweatpants. Real clothes are so overrated, am I right?

Spoiled punk that I am, I’m going out for most of the day on Saturday, too! And the next weekend! Goodness, I’m one lucky girl to have so many fun things to look forward to!

Milestones for Waverly

Ok. Here’s the thing. I’m not very good at keeping memory books for my kids. I have one for each kid, and I have some info in all of them. But I’m not as diligent as I could be. I’ve spent a decent chunk of time beating myself up about it, but not too long ago, I realized that this is our records. This is our memory book! So whether one day I go back and find all the little details of my kids milestones and put them in their books, or I give up and hope my kids just read these books and find the info themselves, it is recorded. Unfortunately, I didn’t start the blog until Dekker was around 10 months old, so I don’t have all of his first year on record. But he has the most in his memory book, so hopefully it all levels out 🙂

I’ve been doing monthly updates on Waverly, which I’m really enjoying. I almost feel like I should do a “Whats my Kid up to” post each month on the corresponding day they were born. Thoughts?

Anyway, because I’m doing monthly updates on Wavy, I tend to hang onto info abut milestones until the 2nd of the next month, but I also want to have the exact date on record, and in this case, I’m just too excited! Hahaha! Don’t judge me. Its a mom thing.

I mentioned on November 24 that Wavy had cut her first tooth. Now that tooth was like a teeny tiny bit poking out for a couple of days already, but when it really pushed through was when I counted it. It was out almost all the way across. On the 26th, she went to bed with most of that tooth poking through her little gums and woke up on the 27th with TWO teeth completely through!!

Was SO awesome! She felt SO good about herself, too. Not complaining at all!

She continues to chew away at her hands, happy as a clam. I wonder how many more are on their way out! Our kids tend to teethe in twos, and the first four are often pretty back to back. Give yourself a rest, Wavy girl! I know you’re a pretty top notch individual and all, but you do NOT have to be an overachiever at such a young age!!