The last couple of days have been bigger with Brady working late and early, trying to get a large bid arranged at Zaks. The last couple of days, I also haven’t had much of a voice at all. So its been a fun challenge to communicate with all eight kids at once with no voice on my own without breaks! 😅 I tease. Its just life, but its felt extra wearing these last couple of days. Yesterday evening, I took them all in to bring a baby to a visit. First we hit Nordon Medical, which I cannot say enough nice things about. Seriously. If you need medical supplies, that is the place to go. So I went across the city to Nordon, and then back to the NW end for the visit. And then to Walmart, as you do, when babies need jammies, big kids need shoes, and moms need baking ingredients.

Once Walmart was taken care of, we headed to get supper. It was at that point that we figured Brady wouldn’t come in and join us. He hadn’t left work yet, and if he did, he’d barely make it in time to eat with us and drive home. It didn’t make sense. So he kept at it and I got the kids fed. I ordered at the window instead of on the app, so I forgot to order myself anything 😅 But Dekker is a sweetie, and shared some fries with me. He sits in the front seat now 💜 Because he’s all adult and stuff.

We were mostly done eating but the visit wasn’t quite over, and Rowan was starting to get pretty antsy, so he asked to come snuggle with me while we waited out the end of the visit. That kid is NOT getting smaller, I’ll tell you that!!

The visit ended on time and we retrieved our little sweetie before heading back home.

Thank the Lord for a husband who was home, and feeling accomplished and prepared. He was tired, of course, but not kid tired. You get it, right? He had headspace for them when I was feeling quite worn, so I was greeted by a smiling, willing man who had ran me a bath and promised me supper once the kids were down.

And he provided! I had a nice soak let my voice finally rest for a little. I tucked Rowan in, because he really wanted me to, but Brady did everything else.

Today, I can have at least a little rest time in the day, assuming the babies allow it. I’ve got my peachy jammie pants on, my “indoorsy” sweatshirt, and a blanket with campers to snuggle with. Solly has his first piano lesson today! Rowan has his second parkour class today! And we have a welcome back thing at the high school in the evening. So I’ll have to be a human for that, but not before!

So first. Post this post. Then, get the babies up, because they’re all moving around. Then breakfast and coffee. Hopefully some playtime and relaxing, and naps not too far off. Maybe I’ll crochet at some point. There is still much to accomplish this week but I so badly want to be well for the weekend up at the lake, and I’m determined to let my body rest and recover!!

Todays the day to hopefully put my feet up a little.

Whew! Say that five times fast! ☝️

What I’m referring to is a cross between a breakfast sandwich and a grilled cheese sandwich, served as a breakfast for supper dish. Its not as complicated as it sounds, I promise.

Yesterday was a bit rough, I won’t lie. I’m catching a cold and as the day wore on, my voice got less and less. Then Brady ended up having to work quite late, so I was on my own wrangling the kids at the most hands-on part of the day. This isn’t foreign to me, but while I’m entirely capable, my energy was dwindling alongside my voice and I just really wanted the backup of my husband. But! Such is life sometimes. My kitchen was a mess and as I brainstormed what to make for supper, I googled a little.

I wanted to do something with eggs. And I came across a different way to make breakfast sandwiches, and thought it would be worth a try. Its a bit of a fussier way than I’ve done in the past, so I knew while I was testing it out, it would be slow going. But!! That way was going to be easier to manage with no voice, because I would just feed whoever floated by. We are big believers in eating all together, but I opted to do it differently, just for a different kind of day, to try something new.

And it was FUN!!! Solly ate one first. Wavy joined for the next one, and the two of them fed breakfast sandwiches to the babies! WIN!! Eventually Laela floated by, and Dekker surfaced. We had to call Rowan to come get some food. Everyone ate at least one sandwich, plus a good handful of fresh garden tomatoes, courtesy of Rae. It was a delicious supper and, in my humble opinion, totally worth the fuss!

I fried a pack of bacon, sliced up some cheese, and got to buttering bread.

They go like this.

Medium heated pan. Maybe a scooch over medium. Add some butter. Enough that the pan is nice and slidey.

Whip up two eggs. (Wow. I just typed aggs. Thats my level of fatigue, lol!) Salt and pepper if you want. Pour them in there.

Add your bread in there when the eggs are still wet and yucky. Two pieces, butter side UP. Lid it so they cook through without overcooking. Its a skinny egg layer.

It is important to actually make sure the eggs are cooked before this next part. Like, maybe overcook your first one, just so you can see. Because you need to flip the whole shebang and its MUCH harder when the eggs are still soft.

Voila.

Now in some of the videos I saw of people making these, they would cut the edges off. Why, you ask? I have no idea. Fold those suckers up onto your bread. Throw some cheese on, and some bacon. Next time, I would crumble the bacon instead of leaving it in strips. Maybe its less aesthetically pleasing, but then the whole thing doesn’t come out at once.

Then lid that pan so your cheese melts good and proper while the toast gets crispy.

Flip that sucker in half, fold the one toast on top of the other, and you’re done!

Wait wait WAIT for it!!!!

👻

A GHOST!!!

Brady confirms they were indeed delicious! 🏆

And I concur, they are. Though they are best served up in bed, while everyone else is on the other side of your door 😌

And that’s it for todays “Tales for Supper.” Hope you tune in next time. I’m sure we’ll eat again…

I have always wanted to be a person who has a command centre. A nice little house hub that helped me feel organized. For calendars and planners and important mail and all that other stuff that floats around without a home. All good things. Things I need to look at and pay attention to. And try as I might, there just does not appear to be a place in my home for such a spot.

So. This is what works for me. And what helps me feel a bit more human. Its small, but its nice, and it helps.

This picture doesn’t include my calendar, because it can’t, for obvious reasons. So what I can show you is this.

A cute mug full of pens that I like. These ones smell like brunch foods, and they don’t bleed through. I LOVE them. Plus a little ghost pen from my mom that works WAY nicer than I thought it would! A stylus or two. And I believe thats a crochet hook in there, too, because I’m me.

A cute notebook that Cher and I share 😏 Cher helps me with domestic jobs in my home, and that book is for communicating between the two of us whats been done, what still needs doing, plus cutie little notes here and there of appreciation and bestihood. If I think of something that needs doing that I don’t have time to do, I can write it in there and I know we will address it together.

And a cute little planner from Costco. I have always wanted to be a planner person but its not been a great system, as I still need to put everything on the paper calendar for the kids to see, and into the phones for Brady to see. So why another place to fill in??? However!! I’ve discovered a beautiful use for a planner. Foster stuff!! Each day I put in there anything important or noteworthy that the babies do, where we go, or what I hear from the social workers. THAT is an amazing way for me to log my foster stuff – in a planner. It may have taken more than a year but I finally found a method I like! Hahaha!

There you have it. My very small, and somewhat lame, “command centre.” It may be small and lame but its cute and effective and I’m so grateful. It brings confidence to have places to put my thoughts and necessities. I can feel organized and somewhat in control of things. And the things I’m not in control of can still be on record. Win win!!

Today in planner: Requested stroller solution from the ministry, all three workers applied. Waiting to hear.

We rest!!

After a really worky day yesterday, I woke up with a sore throat and very little ambition. Conveniently, the whole family felt much that way, and rather than pushing ourselves further than necessary, we did some sitting. It wasn’t an idle day by any means, but it wasn’t as in depth as yesterday.

Brady put up another security camera that we haven’t gotten to, and got our thermostat working after it got messed up yesterday. Then, he actually sat and let down. It has been months since he’s felt that level of ease, he told me. So he sat and played some phone games and just rested well.

I baked muffins – 12 dozen – and I crocheted this little headband!

Cute, right?

As the day winds down, we are nice and tired, but not to that extreme level of fatigue that sometimes hits.

Tomorrow will be fun. A day for NEW PHONES! 🥳

We WORK! 💪

Ok but not actually so severely, hahaha! We decided to stay home this weekend and get some projects done around here that have been sitting over summer, or are just hard to get to. If there were to be a weekend of camp that we’d miss, this was the right one. So we stayed home!

Brady and I had Cher over for coffee before the kids got up, and ate the end of the rhubarb crisp. Then we went our separate ways for the remainder of the morning and we all got into our own things!

Priority ONE today was getting a door on the pantry!! Not because its so so important to keep our food closed, but because the babies get in there and they refuse to stop sucking on my bottles of vanilla extract!!! 🤣 I’m over it! It’s time to stop already! We had been blocking the entry with a chair but now they’ve found their way past it. Time for a real solution. And now we have one!!

Brady also hooked up the wifi on our laundry machines and got the apps for our phones. I know thats not everyones cup of tea, but in a time when my life is so unbelievably busy and noisy, it is very helpful to have a notification on my phone to tell me when laundry needs switching. As I sit in the living room, I can tell you there are 47 minutes left on my current wash cycle 😎

My chores aren’t as lofty or impressive, but I ordered some patches off of Amazon for Rowan, and I got our September calendar put together. I really really wish I could post our calendar on here because its just NUTS how busy it is! 😅 But I don’t need the internet to know ALL of my comings and goings, lol! So you’ll just have to take my word for it.

Brady is currently attempting to babyproof a kitchen made up of cabinets that refuse to be babyproofed, and I’m realizing we forgot to eat lunch…

Never enough minutes, but the ones we have, we aim to use wisely!

Happy Workyday!

Today I made the executive decision to serve my family dessert for supper. I had defrosted rhubarb out of my freezer yesterday, and made the choice to defrost a bit more and make a big fat crisp. I found a recipe I liked the look of, doubled it (duh) and voila! It turned out really, really well!

Ok, before you say it, I KNOW its not a supper food. I know. But sometimes we have a treat, and thats ok, so don’t come for me. My family eats great. We’re allowed dessert for supper sometimes.

As it baked, I realized it wouldn’t quite cut it as the whole meal and we’d need some kind of extra. This might be enough if the babies didn’t eat as much as they do, but they’re growing, and eating a ton. So I needed to add.

I asked Brady to pick up ice cream on his way home, which he very happily agreed to do.

Still. We needed something else. I remembered that I had bought yogurt the day before that was ONE DAY away from expiry, and therefore cost $0.65 for the whole container. I divvied that up between the yogurt eaters. Not enough for everyone but thats ok.

And since yogurt fills absolutely no one, I toasted up some english muffins and slathered them with peanut butter. Anyone else make toast and the like in their oven? No? Just me? Cool.

We topped it all off with a glass of milk, to which Dekker took the liberty of adding strawberry syrup.

Thank goodness no one who lives here is lactose intolerant 🤣 Because YIKES they’d be in trouble. We ALL would be in trouble!

Despite the fact that the meal was all sweet and very much a treat, it was super delicious and an awesome morale boost after a huge first week of school. It was fun and yummy and the gratefulness was genuine, which always feels really extra nice.

The moral of the story is this. Eat dessert for supper sometimes. Whether you have or not. Its worth it.

Yesterday I said my three goals were expenses, the calendar, and to bake. Not in that order. The order was irrelevant. But this is how it went.

The day began with coffee. As it should.

A GHOST!

I worked on expenses as long as I could but they definitely still need work. Unsurprisingly, I didn’t keep especially diligent records of all the help I needed and requested in and around Bradys surgery, and then through his radiation. So I have to dig back (all I see is dick bag lol!) and I’m hoping to be able to get it at least close to accurate! It’ll just take a bit more digging in.

The calendar I got about half of the month done. There is SO much to add to it and I don’t have all the schedules in hand yet. I need to get more of that done but I’m definitely done enough for the first couple of weeks of school.

And baking! I baked four loaves of banana bread! And when I went to make another batch, I realized I didn’t have enough bananas, and added some pumpkin puree to the mix. I threw a crumble on top and got them baked up beautifully!

Kids had already snuck pieces when I took this picture, haha! Apparently the banana pumpkin loaves pass the test! Win!

As an aside, I baked 4.5 dozen oatmeal bites today as well.

And I made a small overnight oats to try with the babies tomorrow.

And and I made a homemade creamer alternative to try.

Aaaaanyway, yesterday ended with Rowan going to his firrrrrrrst (drumroll, please) parkour class!!!

Its very hard to take pictures with other kids in the group, but Brady got a couple when Rowan was the last kid in the line. Win! Ro had a blast 💜 I really, really hope its a good fit!

Today, my meeting cancelled, so Cher and I made a mad dash in to Walmart for some groceries, pens, and a couple of clothing items for the girls. We were in there for less than an hour but we had a really really nice time 💜 I made it home just in time to get babies having snacks and down for naps before the big kids got home from school! Whew!!

There have been some good successes, and at the very least, progress made 💜 Thank you, Lord, for every minute you give us!

Today is the kids second day of school, and now that they all know what to do and where to go, I have hopes for today being my first day to actually DO things!!

The big goals are as follows:

BAKE. I would’ve loved to start the school year off with all the baking I’d need to easily manage breakfasts and lunches, but as it happens, I ran out of time. So I hope I can do that today! 🤞 Eggs are on the counter, and butter is thawing. I’m ready!

CALENDAR. I haven’t filled in the calendar for the month yet, in part because I didn’t know all of the details yet, and also because (say it with me) I ran out of time. So hopefully I can do that today!

EXPENSES. Ugh. You hear about how foster care has a ton of paperwork, and so far, I’d say its actually really manageable, except that I am SO behind. Like SO SO behind. I started into fostering with such a complex case and was instantly behind, haha! It was not an easy kick off to learn on, thats for sure. So I have months to catch up on. I have a new system I know will be really good to implement, but I want to catch up before I start using it. So. I hope I can do some of that today. A social worker is coming out tomorrow, so I’d love to be able to put some forms in her hands.

This is aaaaall assuming the babies let me be productive today 😬 Wish me luck, guys!! Ack!!

The kids are back at it!!! School kicked off this morning, and we were ready for it! As in ALL of us here. Not just me. Also them!! It was time! Brady stayed home for the extra hour or so and we all went together to drop kids off, find boot room doors, etc. I had goals to take doorway pictures like everyone does every single year, but I’ve sort of tried to keep our location slightly more locked down since we moved. Of course, privacy has already been lost so it probably doesn’t matter, but 🤷🏼‍♀️ here we are.

After school, I asked the kids their highs and lows of the day.

In no particular order…

Wavy started grade one today! Full time school for this munchkin!! She said her high points were outside recess, inside recess (thanks to the air quality worsening throughout the day), and making a new friend at school with a new kid. She couldn’t tell me a low point.

Laela is in grade six! The oldest kids in the school! She couldn’t stop telling me her news. She got to pick her locker. She gets a kindergarten care buddy. She gets to chew gum in class. She loved being back with her friends, and she LOVED that they already did WORK!!! Hahahaha! Her low point was leaving for the day 🤣

Solly is in grade three! His high point of the day was not doing work, hahaha! He also loved the assembly. He kept saying the day just felt super exciting and everyone seemed really happy. Also no low point.

Dekker was really happy to be back in high school. Grade eight this year!! His immediate answer to his high point was taking industrial arts this semester! He was hoping for it all last year, and now he finally gets to take it. And he really likes the teacher, too. He signed back up with the school concession, and he joined a club over lunch. His low point was the new rules about gaming on phones and computers. He used to go to school early to game with a couple of his friends, and now thats out. That was their time to just hang out and be guys, doing guy things. So he’s sad to lose it. Don’t get me wrong, I am ALL for no more gaming at school! But I can understand the disappointment, also.

Rowan is in grade four, but is placed in a grade 4/5 split. Being in an older split is such a good fit for him! His favorite parts of the day were finding an old computer to play on during inside recess, as well as putting all of his supplies away. He liked feeling organized, I think. And guys, when I asked him his low point, he didn’t have one. NO low points for Rowan. That is pretty YUGE potatoes, if you ask me!

Of course after school got all messed up for all of us, and definitely not how I would’ve preferred it went on the first day of school, but such is life 🤣 We ate KD and popcorn chicken and called it a night. Tomorrow is fresh, and we are all so ready for the routine!

I hope your children had a really beautiful first day of school 💜 I feel so fortunate that mine did. Thank you, Lord.

We packed up from camp fairly quickly today around lunch time in order to get some food in PA and make it home in good time to get everyone unpacked and cleaned up for the night. As carried on with the theme of the weekend, in the first twenty minutes of the drive, we were alerted to the presence of a wasp in the van. Brady started to pull over, and without missing a beat, Dekker asked for my sandal and climbed back there in search of the wasp. It really surprised me!! He whacked it and it fell behind some stuff in the back. No one could confirm or deny its official death, but Solly – our child most afraid of wasps – was not concerned about it at all. So we pulled back on the highway and continued on.

Five minutes later, we had a similar scene. Pulled over, Dekker crawled back there, no wasp to be found that time. Back on the road.

Until we entered PA and someone started announcing “Wasp! Wasp! WASP!” So we did it again, and Dekker hammered that thing with my sandal over and over and over. He told us he had trapped it between the window and the plastic trim. I asked if he wanted a handful of kleenex to give it a really good squish, and as he scoffed at me, Laela giggled and said the wasp was definitely good and dead.

We stopped for fries and milkshakes (classy) and Dekker was granted a LARGE milkshake while the rest got smalls. But he earned it by, and I quote, WHOLE DEADIFYING the wasp!

I never would’ve expected him to go wasp hunting in the back of the van with all the other kids back there, but I was very pleasantly surprised 💜 I can’t believe he’s so grown up.

School starts tomorrow. I’m ready. And not in a “I can’t wait to be away from everyone” kind of way. I’m excited for routine and balance and a few things to slow down and a few new things to come into our life. The new season will be a good one, I am confident. But the one we’re in is beautiful, too 💜

Sleep well, all 💜