If you guys remember, this time last year, we were moving! We were madly packing, storing, cleaning, purging everything in order to be out of our place at the right time. I feel like I keep saying that this isn’t the Christmas I was hoping for or expecting, and to be straight up, neither was last Christmas. Last Christmas was pure chaos. Because of this, our few small traditions that we had started with the kids got skipped. We have been determined not to let that happen again. Yet its not a secret that this Christmas season has given us a run for our money. Its obviously not been easy.

Our traditions from the past years are very simple. We go out for dessert in the evening, enjoy much more sugar than usual, and then spend the rest of our evening driving around Saskatoon and enjoying the Christmas light displays. The kids love looking at Christmas lights, and they also like dessert, so these seem like obvious, simple choices.

Sadly, sugar doesn’t help the situation we’re in around here. The kids health is definitely improving, but they’re all still emotional wrecks. Very sensitive. VERY. We don’t want to push any of them at this point, because I truly don’t know what I’ll do if everyone backslides and gets sick again. But we don’t want to miss all of our traditions for a second year in a row.

So this evening, we drove to Saskatoon. We picked up my family ring from our jeweller (eeeeek!) and then opted to grab everyone a light supper. No one was super hungry, as has been the trend with the sickies, so they basically just ate apple slices and a few french fries. But it was better than nothing. Then, we drove to the biggest Christmas light display in the Nutana area, then to the Charlie Brown themed street, and then home.

So our traditions were compromised, but not sacrificed. So I can’t complain. By the end of it, the kids were saying they were ready to go home, and no one complained once about it being bedtime. We were SO happy to be able to get them down only 20 minutes later than their usual bedtime!!

Now that they’re down, Brady and I are cooking up yet another meal brought to us by my loving parents, who are helping us SO MUCH by consistently taking things off of our plates. Or, I suppose putting things on our plates? Off of our proverbial plates? You know what I mean. We have been SO well cared for, its almost unbelievable. I am so very much looking forward to supper tonight, and a nice warm bedtime with my hubs. It feels good to have accomplished at least part of our traditions tonight without pushing the envelop too much.

I’ve really learned a lot this Christmas. I can’t wait to recap it all for you. But thats another post.

Merry Christmas lights!!

While I know that Christmas is not about presents, BUT we use a method of buying gifts around here that I thought I’d share about, and maybe offer up some ideas for those of you who do things similar to us, or might to in the future.

Firstly, we were not able to do our Christmas savings plan this year, for the sake of general disorganization. If you all remember, we moved a ton in the beginning of the year, and just couldn’t remember anything beyond necessities. So we didn’t get to prepare the way we would have liked, but what we did the year before was a weekly savings plan. Every week, we set aside money in a jar. Being that there are 52 weeks in a year, we started on the first week, and saved $52. The next week, $51. So yes, its an expensive kick off, but then you’re not trying to save that much towards the end of the year when you want to be buying for Christmas. In our case, once we reach $20, we do $20 each week until the end of October, and have saved about $1400 already! We use that money for everything for Christmas. Gifts, food, a date, traditions, new jackets, gas if we travel, etc. If we don’t use it all (like for instance, this year, when we’re staying home and in) the money carries over or moves into a separate savings account.) But I digress. If you like this savings idea, an even easier way would be to save a $20 every week. By the end of December, you’d have just over $1000. So if you were to double up once in a while to finish it up early, you can have a nice chunk of change in preparation for Christmas. (or a trip, or a purchase, or really whatever you want.) Thats how we like to make Christmas not feel like a super broke season.

That was quite a rant about money, haha! Onto bigger and better things! Our method of gift buying is likely familiar to a lot of you. We get each kid something they want, something they need, something to wear and something to read. On top of that, we get them a thing or two for everyone to share, jammies, and socks and underwear if needed. This year, the kids picked names and they each bought a gift for one of their siblings. Thats it! Yes, with four kids, it comes out to a LOT of gifts, but its a really great way for everyone to be involved, and to also not end up with SO MANY TOYS. They’re going to get toys from everyone else anyway, so its ok if some of their gifts from mom and dad (or Santa, if you do Santa) are a bit more practical.

I know it took a lot of brainstorming for me to think of good gifts for each kid in each category, but I think thats part of what makes it awesome. Helps parents get creative and think before going into stores and coming out with whatever looked good. While I TOTALLY respect going in blindly and finding THE thing, it doesn’t always happen that way. Its nice to be prepared sometimes.

Ok, onto the presents!! If you’ve made it this far, I hope its worth it! I’m going to be annoying and detailed, in case someone wants to use these ideas in the future, because I personally am really happy with what we ended up with, and the kids aren’t complaining either.

Starting with Dekker, I’ll say he’s a five year old, in his first year of school. For his “want,” we got him a LEGO Creative set that is specifically designed to build different kinds of race cars, which is RIGHT up his alley. Wheels from any toy are always a hot commodity around here, so it seemed quite perfect. Dekker’s “need” was tricky because if our kids need something, we get it for them, so we just took this category as a suggestion to get a more practical gift. For this category, we got Dekker a new pillow. His is flat as a pancake and isn’t even rectangular anymore. His “something to wear” is a digital watch, as he’s learning about numbers and time at school. Plus, I think it’ll be nice to be able to give him a timeframe and for him to understand what that means a little bit better than he does now. So, an orange watch, with a button for it to light up. So far thats the best part 😉 Lastly, Dekker’s “something to read” is a subscription to Clubhouse Jr. Unfortunately, his first issue hasn’t come yet, so we had to explain to him why he didn’t actually get a present for that round. He was really cool about it, though.

Laela is next. She is three. For her “want,” we got her two beautiful, soft little dollies. We wrapped them in their blankets, and put them in this special little baby crib that I had when I was a little girl. When I got it, it was white and beautiful and weathered, and years later as a gift, it was refinished, and a beautiful little teddy was painted on the side. Now, little miss has it in her possession, and even a couple of little dollies to care for. Her “need” is also a very special gift, because Brady built her a jewelry box! I know, if she needs a jewelry box, her life is pretty good, but I thought a handmade jewelry box would last forever, and be nicer than the Dollarama baskets that her necklaces are currently tangled in. Her “something to wear” is a chain necklace with a name pendant on it. I ordered it off of Etsy, and it came out even prettier than I expected! Its her first chain necklace, and she loves it. Lastly, her “something to read” is a subscription to Chirp. To be honest, I was really hoping to get her Highlights instead, because I loved that magazine when I was little, and there is even a younger version called High Five that looked great for her. But they were SO EXPENSIVE!!! So maybe another year. We’ll see how she likes Chirp this year.

Ro is 22 months today, so I guess I should stop saying he’s one and a half. Whoops! His “want” is a set of vehicles from Costco. They are bigger than Hot Wheels, but can still be held in one little hand, if you can picture that size. They are the kind of cars/trucks that you can pull back and then they drove across the floor. And they’re soft! They’re a bit rubberish and squishy, so I don’t fear them ramming into my walls, accidentally into heads, or wherever else. Very toddler friendly. Rowan’s “need” was a pillow, the same as Dekker’s. Ro doesn’t have a pillow yet, and he was THRILLED about it. He spent the rest of the morning sprawled out in the middle of the floor on top of his pillow. He’s a big fan. His “something to wear” is a headwrap from Buff. Brady used to wear them all the time when his hair was long. It can be a hat, headband, bandana, you name it. He wasn’t a super fan of it, but I’m not too worried. When I’m all congested, I don’t like stuff on my head either. We’ll try again down the road. I’m super excited for him to wear it! Its super cute and he’ll look so hardcore in it, haha! His “something to read” was actually two books by Leslie Patricelli. If you’ve never read her books, you should, because they’re hilarious! Very simple, but Dekker and Laela still love them and laugh through them. His from this Christmas are “Faster Faster” and “Blankie.” I highly recommend “Potty” to anyone potty training! Its really cute 🙂 Also “Toot” if you can appreciate that farts are funny. If you don’t, definitely don’t get it. Its SO funny.

I’ll admit that, once again, Solly has been asleep all day, but I’ll let you in on what we got him 😉 Hopefully he won’t read this before he opens his gifts. Solly boy is coming up on 7 months, so baby stage. He was the hardest to get creative for, because babies don’t need much, and don’t play with much, and being that he’s kid #4, we have pretty much everything that babies require. But! He still has to be involved, obviously. So here’s what we got him. For his “want,” we got him a Lamaze toy. They’re so great, and I never buy them because they’re just a bit pricey for a baby toy. But we’ve acquired a few along the way and they’re just really good. Conveniently, I even found one at The Bay when they were having a sale. Woot! His “need” is a baby record book, for me to one day actually fill in the information for. Yikes! Please tell me I’m not the only mom who sucks at this! But my intention is there anyway, haha! His “something to wear” is a lovely pair of boots that my talented friend, Nikki, made for him! Her shop is closed until after Christmas, but a girl must give credit where its due! Lastly, Solly’s “something to read” is actually two more Leslie Patricelli books, this time “Higher Higher” and “Hair.” Those books are just a win for everybody, but for sure for under 3.

On top of these gifts, each kid got two pairs of two piece jammies, and they all got a sleeper to match each other! I’ll see if we can swing a “matching siblings” picture but I make no promises! The little boys aren’t the most cooperative. Also, they got one book to add to their collection of “Little Blue Truck” books. They’re gold, and I randomly found a Christmas one at Walmart recently. The main gift I wanted to get them as a shared gift was a Paw Patrol set. They don’t watch the show too much anymore, but they still base SO MUCH on it. Their favorite colors are all based on their favorite pups. But we have a single character toy and that is it. So we got them a set with every single pup in it, in its uniform, in its vehicle. That was a HUGE hit.

The last gifts they got were from each other, because as I said earlier, they picked names and each bought for a sibling. Dekker and Solly pulled each others names, and Laela and Rowan picked each other as well. Dekker and Laela were the kids that grasped the idea more than the others, obviously. It was fun to talk with them about what they might like to get their brothers. Dekker wanted to give Solly a stuffed toy, because he figured a baby should have something soft. He opted for a stuffed Zuma, which I actually awesome, because Dekker would LOVE a stuffed Zuma, and he wanted to give Solly the best thing. He asked me to help Solly buy him a garbage truck. Laela had it in her head that Rowan should get a train for Christmas. We found the section with the Hot Wheels sized trains, but she wasn’t into those. She randomly found a single squishy train bath toy. She was instantly sold. And Ro was adamant on getting Laela an oversized stuffed puppy. He picked one out of the box, and that was that. I was so pleased to see everyone have ideas and opinions on what to get each other, and was even more thrilled that we could find each thing for a nice price. The kids all love the gifts they received from one another, and they were all very excited to see them opened. It was a pretty adorable exchange.

Aaaaand done! It sounds like a ton, and I know we are totally blessed to be able to buy this many gifts for our kids. But if you boil it down, I don’t feel like we overdid things. Everyone got 4-6 gifts, (in the case of the boys getting two books) some jammies, and a shared gift. The end! I am so happy with how it all turned out, and I hope you guys enjoyed this frightfully long winded post!! If not, sorry! Lol! You probably didn’t stick around this long if you were bored 😉 Thanks to those of you who did!

If anyone decides to do the yearly savings thing in the New Year, let me know! I know we want to get back into the habit of it, so some accountability would be great!

I hope your all really enjoying your Christmas seasons, or will begin celebrating very very soon.

We had a change of plans this morning. The whole crew out here was going to come to our house for a waffle feed, but it was cancelled due to the fact that we’re just too dang sick. On top of our consistent sicknesses, Brady has finally joined the crew in the achy, coughy, snotty game, Solly is extra barfy today, and Laela’s eye is still swollen. I’m suspicious that she’s just congested like Rowan was recently, but if she were to actually be carrying an infection, it would be bad to pass that along. So we wait, and hide out in an antisocial way, until we improve.

Our day has obviously played out differently than we originally expected. We’ve spent the day in comfy clothes, watching the new episodes of Paw Patrol, playing Lego. Rowan is still down from the night. I’m not even kidding. I just checked on him again, and he is still alive. But he is obviously feeling it. Christmas yesterday seriously wiped him out. I’m thinking he’ll get up for supper, hopefully stay up for a little bit, and then sleep through the night as usual. But the big kids are relaxed and quiet today.

Laela’s eye is still swollen and juicy but she isn’t touching it at all, which is encouraging! I think if it hurt or itched, she’d be rubbing it like crazy. She’s also being super cooperative and letting me clean the gunk out of her eye with warn water on a washcloth as needed, which is really great of her. As a little girl who is in the thick of learning how to assert herself and make her feelings known (I’m putting this very diplomatically) she is going along with me really well on this! Hopefully it’ll pay off and we’ll be able to rectify her issues without having to bring her in anywhere. But if she is still red and swollen tomorrow, there will be no more reason to wait. We’ll take her in at that point.

A loving, concerned friend brought us a supper for tonight, which is just about the more wonderful thing she could have done. It left me feeling very motivated to be able to help others, even at the busiest time of the year. Hopefully I can make a bit of a plan for that when we’re out of this sick cycle. A new years resolution ish, perhaps. We shall see. My “resolutions” are always super vague, but I like them a lot. Be thinking of yours!!

I hope you all enjoy your Boxing Day and don’t blow too much money on shopping!!

It has definitely been a different kind of Christmas this year, but not as different as I thought it might be. We went to my parents and spent the day there with them, as well as my grandma, and Simon and Grace and their family. It was a full house, but thankfully, all of the kids came in their jammies. So it was that kind of day, which was nice and relaxed. Our kids are still definitely sick, and Rowan and Solly juuust made it through present opening time before going to bed. They were both so ready.

Once the kids had opened presents, we had a glorious brunch of eggs, sausage, cinnamon buns, buns buns, oranges, and who knows what else. It was all so delicious. Adults opened gifts after that, which produced a lovely haul for each and every one of us!

We spent the rest of the day playing toys and reading books with the kids. I think I can safely say that we all felt pretty wiped out. The majority of us were sick, in varying degrees. When it was time for supper, we sat down to another super feast, this time of turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cooked carrots, gravy, cranberries, etc. It was SO delicious, but sadly, its so hard to eat big meals when I feel quite this awful, so I didn’t even have much :/ Took much more than I should have. How do you eat when you can’t breathe??

Laela lost it halfway through supper, but the others ate pretty well. We had a quick FaceTime date with Caity and Stefan, so we could all be together even if just for a short time, and then we packed up and headed out. So. Much. Crying. Hahaha! Oy, our family is still really going through it.

Now, at the end of the day, Laela has a red, swollen eye. As we were discussing what to do with her, she was nodding off and asking to go to bed. I’m praying that, with her being quite so tired, she won’t rub it at all, and it’ll improve overnight. And if it doesn’t and we have to take her in, at least she won’t have worsened it. Right?? Ack! I hope I’m making the right decision… There is just SO much going on, and I fear the loss of sleep would be her undoing.

As the trend seems to be, I ask that you keep praying for us! I wish we had a funny family picture to share, like so many of you do, wishing everyone a Merry Christmas from our house to yours! We DO wish you a merry Christmas, but just couldn’t exactly get it together enough for a picture. One day we’ll be well enough again, and you’ll see pictures of our kids with smooth hair and a booger-free face. One day…

Merry Christmas, guys. I hope you’re having a lovely holiday with some special time spent with your family and friends.

I continue to be more and more amazed by this season. In both good and bad ways. I can tell my voice is aaalmost gone, which is very nerve wracking for me. I can lose my voice tomorrow, but not today. But in a much better way, I am consistently amazed by those around us.

In case you’ve been living under a rock, our family is sick, to put it simply, and the kids just can’t seem to rally. Brady and I committed to help with the music for this service a LONG time ago, and it is way too late in the game to try to change things up. I’ve been wondering how we would swing it, bringing the kids to church. Knowing they wouldn’t be physically capable of being anywhere at 7:00 and on, I was literally considering how we’d likely drive them to church in the van, and sit in there, have someone switch Brady and I out when it was time to sing, and we’d go back out with them in between sets. Ridiculous, I know, but there is just no other way. Last night, after singling a few people out, I posted a desperate (read – pathetic) cry on Facebook yesterday asking if anyone would be willing to come watch the kids/house while we practiced and through the service. And sure enough, a selfless friend came through. And its not like she had nothing going on either. She’s making a sacrifice for me, which is hard for me, but I truly couldn’t be more thankful.

I feel lighter knowing that this evening is taken care of. I still have enough voice to make it through tonight, Brady isn’t sick yet, (knock on wood he stays that way!) and my kids will be in very capable hands this evening. We can honour all of our commitments, and we have help with our kids.

This morning at 11:00am, I drove to the city and got the side of my hair redone. I booked it two weeks ago, having zero idea of how sick my family would be at this point. But at this point, it felt like a move towards self-care, to put on clothes, get out of the house, grab a coffee, etc. My hair girl is always awesome, and being that her day wasn’t slammed full, she curled my hair all up for me, and sent me on my way looking fresh and done up, which I have not felt in a VERY long time.

After my appointment, I met Jerilee for lunch and coffee, and bought some shoes. We had a nice mall walk and visit. I love her. It was nice to finally feel like a human being, and to be that way with a friend! It felt like a super uplifting outing.

I really have some wonderful people in my life, and I am truly grateful. This is such a funny season to be feeling so down and out, but I know its not just us. I hope there is a time down the road that I can be there to bail any of you guys out of hard situations, because we have been saved more than our fair share this year!

Now, I am now home, and two of my jammie-clad kids are sleeping, with the other two are quietly playing Lego among their sniffles and coughs. My husband is finally getting his chance to wash up for the day after hanging with his kids all morning. I’m VERY thankful for these people in my life, too.

In the midst of all of the crazy that this season has brought us so far, we are so very blessed. I am so very blessed.

I want to go back and talk to you guys about yesterday. It was a really hard day, but a few bright things happened in the evening that I wanted to share with you!

1. My mom brought us supper. It was SUCH a relief not to have to think about making food, and while Laela wailed through supper (as she did for 90% of the day) everyone else ate good, full meals without complaining. Thank you, mom!!
2. Sometime during supper, Dekker’s ear cleared!! I could tell right away that he was SO much happier, and felt more confident and happy. Having a sense kind of drop off had really freaked him out, as it would any of us, I think. We saw the same thing a couple of years ago when his vision failed and he had to patch his good eye. It was such a relief for him to get that sorted out and have his senses back up to snuff. (Spoiler alert! Now that its the next day, that kids whole face is draining out of his nose, and it is sooooo gnarly! Wiping that thing is a full time job!)
3. After kids were bathed and jammies were on, a friend from across the street dropped by with a big plate of desserts and treats for us! This was SO sweet because baking is one thing that I just didn’t get to do a whole lot of this year, and I’ve been disappointed about that. We are no longer lacking in sweets around here. Also, I so much appreciated that she was brave enough to drop by and visit with us and all of our sick kids for a few minutes. Its a ballsy move when we’re all so under the weather, yet we are so thankful for anyone brave enough to stick their head in here! We feel less like hermits, haha! (Now that I know you read this, I feel like I’m talking about you when you’re in the room 😉)

Thank you for caring about our family and contributing in the ways you all have! We feel loved and cared for and thought of. Thanks, friends and family, for not forgetting about us when it seems we’ve been tucked away out for SO LONG. We don’t desire to be so closed off, but we also really don’t want to spread illness. Please understand that we’re not trying to hide, but rather to be smart for our family and considerate of yours!

I hope your celebrations will all be starting very soon, if they haven’t already! My family is currently Christmasing, so off I go!!

For the last three or four days, Dekker has been deaf as a post. I won’t even sugarcoat it. Just out of the one ear. I’ve asked him many times if his ear hurts, and he insists that it does not, but that the one just isn’t hear as well as the other. It sounds a bit made up, but we’re having a LOT of conversations that go like this:

Dekker: See what I built, Mommy?
Me: What is that?
Dekker: Thank  you.

Sure, that makes sense to happen once in a while, but its happening a lot more. Also, Dekker is asking to leave the table three or four times because he can’t hear me answer him, and I imagine that will get old fast for him as well. These, along with a number of other examples, finally brought me to the conclusion that he needed to go to the doctor. It could just be from all of his congestion, being that all that face business is connected to the ears, or it could be a reboot of his recent ear infection. Its in the same ear, so I didn’t want to leave it too long if damage was being done.

I called Dr. Guselle’s office yesterday and they said she was off today, but they could get me in with someone from her group. I would always prefer to see Dr. Guselle, but for this, I trusted pretty much anyone to be able to look in his ears and see if there was an infection or not. Basic stuff. So yes, I agreed to see whoever could fit him in. We got an appointment for 2:00.

Now that this afternoon is winding up, I’m winding down from his appointment. His stupid, stupid appointment. Did I get the information I went for? Yes. Dekker does not have an ear infection. His ears are simply plugged because his whole face is loaded with fluid from his cold. This is good news. But MAN! If I had been a first time parent, that doctor would freaked me out!!

I asked him if there is anything we can do at home to encourage his ears to drain/pop/whatever, and he told me there wasn’t. He said it could last months, so speak up. If he starts saying it hurts, or his ears start pussing, he may have burst an eardrum. He told me to give it a month and if he hasn’t had relief, I should bring him back and we’ll get him in line to get tubes in his ears. I was very polite, but asked “Already? Like, after one ear infection? Doesn’t it have to be a common problem before people talk about tubes?” He was quick to defend his information, and just spouted off how it was a simple procedure. So I smiled and nodded and let his say his piece. Then we left. His single piece of advice to me was “speak up.”

We drove home after that, but made a quick stop at our local drugstore. I spoke to our pharmacist and he gave me a few ways to help encourage his face to drain. He agreed it may take time, but also agreed that the doctor we had seen had gone to our worst case scenario pretty quickly.

Now we’re home, hoping for the best as soon as possible. If anyone has any experience with the SUPER plugged ears for extended periods of time, and has some great surefire way to fix them up, please let me know your experiences! This is pretty new for us, and it goes against my grain to have my voice raised constantly when talking to my kids. I work hard enough not to raise my voice.  We can use all the help we can yet.

I won’t lie. Today has been tough. Beyond everyone being sick, its just been a struggle, for lots of reasons that I don’t want to hash into. Solly helped immensely by sleeping until 2:30 from this morning when I saw him briefly around 7:30. While I love having him up and around with us, being baby-free helped with a few things.

I just took a mild emotional blow and have decided to hide upstairs indefinitely. Thank goodness Brady is home now, and can cover for me while I bury my head under the covers.

This has just been something of a day that feels free of all positives. So I will keep some of those grouchies to myself and try again tomorrow. Wish me luck!!!

Does anyone judge people’s levels of sickness based on their sick moustaches? It isn’t accurate across the board but there is still something there, I think. So here you have it. Our moustache report.

Everyone started lulling for the day around 11:15am. As in we went into the quiet rooms and found the kids laying awake in their beds.

In case you missed it on Facebook, Dekker didn’t go to school today, which I am SO disappointed about, because he is missing his first ever school Christmas program. I woke Dekker up from school, and it took a LONG time. I slowly convinced him out of bed and got him to the table for breakfast. He was barely coherent, and the only time he made much sound was when he delivered big, deep, wet, chesty coughs. Lots and lots of them. He was snotty and coughy and so very miserable. I knew almost right away that it just wasn’t going to happen. I put his cup in the fridge and put him back to bed. No argument from him. He fell asleep right away.

Now that he’s up and at ’em, having slept more, he is in slightly higher spirits. But I have to keep reminding myself to actually look at him. He is still so snotty, and those coughs are just awful. It would horribly inconsiderate of me to send him to school for the program. So I do think he’s on the upswing, but he’s far from recovered. His moustache doesn’t make him look like a pervert at all!! Lol!!

Laela was still totally cuddled under her covers when we went to get her. She is probably in the best shape today. Her nose is running less and her moustache is even healing up.  Of course, she is still coughing a ton, and seems a bit tippy and off balance, but she is back in a better-ish mood. After breakfast, Brady was loading some dishes into the dishwasher and she came up to him and between sniffles, asked “Need help wiss anysing?” Totally on her own accord! She was quite disappointed that he was finished, so I brought her downstairs and we threw wet socks into the dryer together. It was cute. Nice to see her be able to open her eyes again, and be goofy.

Rowan is in the roughest shape today, by far. I can’t remember ever seeing his eyes so swelled shut, and he probably can’t remember ever seeing, period. He is coated with boogers, coughing a ton, and is just SO very wiped out. Poor monkey. I doubt he’ll be up and around much longer but he’s having a moment of positivity, and we’re rolling with it. I’m SO thankful that he’s as good natured as he is, and almost always lets me wipe his nose drama-free. However, he stinks. He needs a bath badly. That will, however, remove his sick moustache, as it is a different variety than his older brother and sisters.

Solly has no moustache to show you! He is still baby faced, which is not at all ironic. He is so friendly and still looking so healthy, but he is sooo gurgly with phlem and spit and thanks to this fun cold symptom, he has vomited sizeably a handful of times. Just milk not going all the way down effectively, but it still sucks. I know he’s not flu vomiting, but he’s also not getting as much to each/drink these days. Merp. On a separate note (TMI, poop talk) we were pretty sure Solly had some kind of minimal bowel obstruction recently, and that appears to have been resolved! Without going into details, clearly he is getting enough fluids to heal at least part of his sick little body.

Brady has an achy body and I woke up with a cold. Sooooo continue to pray for us! We are SO excited to be helping lead a good amount of music at our church’s Christmas Eve service, and while the message is more important than the actual sound, we’d love to be in better health that day, to lead people as effectively as possible. Don’t forget about us, and be praying, if you feel so inclined.

It seemed like a rocky season of illness and challenges for so many people on so many different levels. If you aren’t praying for us, that is fine. But pray for whoever God lays on your heart. We all need support in different ways. We’re all doing our very best.

Dekker and Laela are in reasonable shape this morning. I think I may even be ballsy enough to send Dekker to school tomorrow. Solly and Rowan, however, seem to be down for the count. Neither are fevered, barfing, or unpleasant to be around. But both are sleeping SO MUCH.

I have seen Rowan for a total of 45 minutes today, and thats on the high end. I know it was less than an hour. He slept in like crazy, and I finally went in to see what the good word was around lunch. He was awake, laying quietly, chewing his blanket. He didn’t actually want to leave his bed, but it didn’t take too much coaxing. He took forever to eat a small amount of lunch (yes, I pumped fluids. I know the rules) and when I let him out, he walked to the living room, dropped onto his bum, and just cried and cried. I asked if he wanted to go back to bed and he cried “yaaaaa!” and reached up his arms. Sooo that was a quick sell, and I haven’t seen him since. I would find it alarming if Dekker hadn’t been the exact same way. I’m SO thankful that my kids sleep more when they’re sick.

Solly is the same story. He was up for a slightly longer stretch than Rowan, but he’s so miserable when he’s awake. He needs comfort, but he’s twitchy, and can barely breath and drink at the same time, so he’s just over it. I understand how he feels. I’m over it too.

With the big kids still snuggled up and zoned out in the living room, and the little boys napping 98% of the day, I’ve been getting my gift wrapping on! I’m not done, but I took a god bite out of it today and I’m really happy with that! I have had to let a few of my goals for the season roll off my back this year, which has been hard, and with that, I’ve had to get past my distain for starting a task and having to finish it another time. I hate that. But I think I mostly hate it because I don’t trust myself to finish it then. Sometimes, that side wins, because I’m human, but instead of being angsty about silly things like that, maybe my efforts would be better spent on becoming a more trustworthy person, even if the person I feel I’m failing is myself. Whatever. Now I’m rambling. I just need to cut myself some slack, thats all.

So I got a bunch done, and then I slid down behind the island to check something on my phone and ended up laying on the floor. It took a LOT to get my butt up off the floor and be a grown up again. But I did it. As that “grown up,” I moved my butt to a couch and am hanging in the living room with the kids, blogging and watching Chuggington. There could be worse ways to spend the day 💜