It’s so strange to have the kids home for one day in the middle of the week. Seriously. I understand its a teacher’s prep day, which I have nothing but respect for, but I think most of us home with our kids think its super funny timing, haha!

Brady is still working today, because normal people have jobs, so its me and the kids at home today! And the lucky punks that they are, I’m making them work! Ha! Ok, but not actually that much, because I, too, don’t want to work. Dekker and Laela sorted laundry and started it going, and Rowan did breakfast dishes. But thats it! In fact as I write this, Wavy is dancing very sweetly in circles around the island to the Frozen soundtrack that we have pumping. Rowan and Solly have lego going. Laela is doing Sudoku beside Dekker while he is planning out a wheelchair accessible home for Minecraft. So. Its busy, and really, it’s the best.

As for myself, so far today, I’ve helped Laela with some prep for her *gasp* audition tomorrow! She’s trying out for the school play, which is a first in our home 🙂 So we did some reading, and some singing, and we’ll do more later. But we probably put about a cool 45 into that. I also put a good chunk of time into writing out our February calendar. I’m not very good at that, even though I vastly prefer paper to phone calendars. However, Brady prefers phone calendars, so its simpler to do most of it on the phone. But these days, there are things that are specifically the kids things, and putting them on the calendar, whether I’m artistic or its super crudely done in a messy, half dead sharpie, means they can keep track of some of those things themselves. Things like school spirit days. Skating and curling days. Show and tell. So. Hopefully the colourful sharpies and stickers really pays off this month, hahaha! I need some bonus sanity in the coming weeks!

I hope today, we can get through the bulk of the laundry, so some more audition prep, and I’d really like to declutter a few small areas of the house. Conveniently, the decluttering has no deadline on it, so if I decide not to, I will just leave it, hahaha! That is something I can most definitely do here and there while the kids are at school, too 🙂 Maybe today I leave decluttering and replace it with crocheting and enjoy all my singing kids!

Hey, check me out! Just sent an important email before even finishing this post! Another thing done!

So. Its cold. Its winter, so thats not surprising, but its been so beautifully deceptively springy outside that the cold is just hitting harder. Brrrrr!!

Rowan had a birthday party yesterday afternoon, so while Solly and Wavy took rests, Dekker and Laela ASKED to go for a walk!!! They’re nuts, but they loved it! They were even a little late getting back. Over an hour out in the bitter cold!

I was surprised at Dekker, as he HATES being outside in the cold, but Laela loves it 🙂 So it was a pretty cute scene.

The day wrapped up with everyone home, eating an enormous pot of soup that I made. I tried a new recipe and absolutely everyone ate it and liked it. Which was convenient because when I say I made an enormous pot of it, it was truly that much. My largest pot was so full, when I stirred with any oomph, it spilled over. So. Good thing everyone liked it.

Bedtime was cute. I snuggled with the fuzzy one.

He loves being fuzzy. He keeps presenting his head to be rubbed. Maybe it’ll bring good luck.

And now, today, it is once again freezing outside. Rides to school. No recess. No skating. But lots of cozy inside time, which I cannot complain about 💜 Thank you, Lord, for the roof over our heads.

Solomon and I have had a deal.

He has insisted on keeping his long hair, and I have LOVED it. But when he started making a fuss over brushing it, I told him it would have to go. I said we had to brush it every single day, or we’d have to cut it, because its something we need to keep nice. So he chose brushing, and tolerated it WAY better each day. So the hair stayed. Until it was just so stinking long that I started to need to tie it back. That was a bit of a tougher sell. After just a few times of my tying it back, it became an issue. But he HATED the idea of having it cut.

The other day I mentioned it again, in an effort to slowly get him used to the idea. And he surprised me by saying “… well how about a home buzz?”

A home buzz it is!!!

So this morning, before church, I unceremoniously snagged him from his lego and told him it was time! He immediately froze up, but Rowan sidled up to him and said confidently “Solly!! YOU 🙌 can do this!” It was so stinking adorable, and Solly was officially talked into it.

Before I show you anything, I know its not a perfect cut. Far from. But it was his first go, and he was pretty wiggly. And nervous. Rowan diligently sat in front of Sol and moved his toys around to where I was asking Solly to look, in an effort to help him know where to look. He was SO helpful, and SO caring!

Towards the end, we had a few tears when I wanted to clean Sol’s neck up without a guard on the trimmer. He was physically shaking. He watched all of us touch the trimmer, and he even finally touched it, but he still wasn’t ok with it. He cried big tears and said “PLEASE put a guard on!” So I did. Guard 1. We’ll get him there in time 💜 Today was just the first crack at it.

It was over seconds later, and Rowan loudly announced “WOW! Solly, you look SO handsome!!”

He was not wrong! 😍

His little tummy is my favorite thing about these pictures, though. Oof. He is SO cute.

Solly was quick to throw his shirt on and get back to playing. Rowan was just so excited for him, and started him “fuzzy head.” It became a very cute contest to see who was fuzziest, lol!

It was a successful cute morning, and Solly feels so fresh! Feels even more so like spring!!

I made tacos yesterday. The kids really like tacos, so its an easy sell for the kids. They all eat tacos really well. I, on the other hand, have to make a stack of them in advance because most of the kids are a little too little to assemble them, judge amounts, or fold them up. So its a very “up and down” meal while we make the next one for one kid, and by the time we’re done that one, there’s another one asking. Its busy, but they all eat without complaining, so I’ll take it!

Rowan helped me open cans for the meat. I can’t believe I never considered that can openers are for right handed people! Hahaha! Man alive! We found a way for him to hold it from behind and crank it with his left hand, but it took some figuring, lol! Who knew!

I chopped up a mountain of lettuce, peppers, and cucumbers. We had salsa and sour cream. Cheese. A ton of taco meat. And I believe we went through about 20 wraps.

I overshot, and couldn’t quite finish my second taco. Brady generously offered to take it off my hands when he was done his, but it was too drippy to set down. So he just went for it.

I win’t lie, it was a very delicious supper. I’m still thinking about it. I think we’ll rock leftovers for tonight. I’ve missed lettuce. I hope one day its a little easier to come by and/or afford. Vegetables should not be SO expensive.

Anyway. Taco night. Yaaaaay!

I haven’t always been very confident in the kitchen. Thats not a secret. I’m still not really, but I’ve never been the fun mom who has her kids in there, elbow deep in whatever she is cooking or baking. But yesterday, Waverly really wanted to help make granola bars. So I let her. And she was kind of awesome!!

She scooped the oats and the rice krispies all by herself. It was terribly cute. Look at that little tongue!

Of course, it took her an extra little while, so I did the rest of the dry ingredients, as well as all the sticky stuff. She was really happy to be involved. We made two batches together, and nothing flopped, haha! So I think that alone shows some personal growth, hahaha!

We made a batch with mini chips and sprinkles, and a batch with candy coated chocolate balls and craisins.

They weren’t perfect. All the mini chips melted this time, so they’re kind of chocolatey, but not with pieces. But maybe that’ll be better?? And because the chocolate in the other batch was coated, it didn’t melt, and therefore it didn’t add any sticky factor, so those ones turned out a little more crumbly.

I wrapped them all up with press n seal, and we’re good to go for another aaaaalmost two weeks.

This round cut into 46 bars. So, nine days.

Regardless of how perfectly they came together, Wavy ate all the crumblies off the island and confirms that it all tastes really good 🙂

I’ve come to really like making these things. I wish I had the same love for the pizza buns but I really don’t, haha! Any other good sandwich substitutes that I can reasonably make for five kids lunches, lay them on me!

You know those horrid time suck articles where you scroll through a hundred pictures and only two are funny? Well once in a while, there is a real, true gooder. And I’m going to share one with you from the other day, because MAN I laughed. Boisterously. Out loud. A small preview of my type of humour, in case we feel differently…

They are all absolutely ridiculous. Some take a second to understand, but they’re worth it, I promise you!

Anyway. Here’s the link, friends! Fifty laugh-worthy pictures! A super easy, quick scroll if you have only a couple of minutes to waste 😉

The days aren’t easy right now, and thats ok. We’re all doing our best to roll with the punches, and specifically, be grateful for as much as we can, to highlight the positives amidst everything else!

Yesterday, Brady had an inventory day at work. They closed the place down, and worked late. So it was just me and the kids, which is most definitely doable, but we sure love the buffer of having Brady home in those hours. However, it was very smooth, and quite struggle-free!

Kids came home and did their reading, and then played really well together until supper.

I kept food really simple, and everyone had grilled cheese bagels and cucumbers. Rowan rebuild his cucumber, which surprisingly, everyone really got a kick out of, lol!

After supper, the kids naturally dispersed, and actually played in groups – a couple downstairs and a couple in a bedroom. Meanwhile, I scrolled a little and got some giggles.

Yup. Saving this idea for another day.

When it came time to wrap up for bedtime, it was a little doddly but nothing out of the ordinary. Normally, Brady reads a bible story to the group, and this time, Laela begged to read to everyone. So she did.

I know it seems silly to say, but I can’t believe I have kids who are old enough to read to the whole family with confidence. Its just wild. Or school supervision. Or trying out for school plays. All that stuff is just bananas to me.

I slept hard, and feel decently rested. However, I’m going to take it super easy today. I was going to make granola bars, but I still have lots in the freezer, so that can wait until tomorrow or the next day easily. I’m going to leave some room for my heart, brain, and body to rest today 🙂

Thank you, sweet Cherice, for that sage advice this morning 💜 I’m absolutely going to take care of me and make sure I let myself do some comfy things.

Tomorrow, I have to try to stay organized with kids who need to bring skates and helmets. I have to get Wavy to preschool. I have to go to a morning appointment. I have to buy a birthday present. All in the morning. So today, I will put my feet up. Sip my coffee. Maybe crochet. Do puzzles. Whatever feels nice for Wavy and I.

Let’s just hope Brady gets home earlier today!! We all miss him!

With the last two days being pretty full, today will be a more relaxed one 🙂 I got the kids to school, the littlest to preschool, and then I picked Cher up for coffee.

We spent a couple of hours catching up about the day before, which held a lot on both of our ends 💜 We sipped coffee and spent time just being together, kid free. It was really lovely and restful. I’m so glad the timing worked out so well.

I dropped Cher off after I picked Wavy up. She was playing hard outside and absolutely loving life! She is SUCH a stone cold weirdo.

I plan to spend nap time upstairs, crocheting, being at rest. I’m trying to be super easy on my body, as it reacts to stress so much differently than it used to. So rest and relaxation is on the menu!

There is a lot going on behind the scenes over here. I literally made a list of everything that I feel apprehensive about, so I can very gradually check things off that list as they are completed or solved. Its not a list that makes me feel worse, I promise. It helps me stay up to date, and not completely caught off guard when another thing comes up. I can just put it on the list, and then ever so slowly, those things will be done, February will be over, and I will cope better when our busy life 🙂

I don’t care to worry, but it’s easy to do. I choose peace and contentment. God already knows how all these things will work out, however that may be, and I trust that. I just have to ride the wave, regardless of how smooth or bumpy it may be!!

Brady and I had a very early morning appointment in the city. Rather than stressing about timelines and racing back to work, he decided to take the day off! Conveniently, he has days off that he earned last year, and he wasn’t able to use them all up! So he took today off, my mom looked after Waverly, and Brady and I spent the morning and afternoon out and about, doing some errands, but mostly just taking our time.

Our appointment was a good one. When we got out of it, our van was blocked in by a outdoor mat delivery truck. We lingered for a couple of minutes until we saw the guy come back with mats over his shoulder. We got buckled up and ready to go, but then he came back out with fresh mats, and went to his drop off! Lol! He could’ve just snuck back a couple of feet, but ah well! Brad finagled us out of our spot eventually and we drove by the river.

We made a bunch of stops, and honestly, had pretty minimal success, lol! We were looking for some gifts, and I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that stock of just about everything is limited. So we came to terms with buying some things on Amazon rather, and let that all go. We stopped for lunch along the way, and once again, took our time. There is something really super nice about having that kid-free break sometimes.

We stopped at a few places to try on some glasses, because as you know, we got new prescriptions and we need to update our glasses. Also, Bradys current glasses are literally cracked right in the centre of the lens. So its time. We found some ok ones, but at the end of our day out, we found our way back to our eye doctor in Warman and found glasses for both of us. This is the first time we have EVER had vision care, and the first time in years we’ve even had health coverage. The last time we had health benefits, I was pregnant with Dekker. So actually being able to take some money off the top of our exams, contacts, and glasses is a real gift. We are both incredibly grateful! Hopefully we’ll have them in hand in a couple of weeks 🙂

We came home to my mom making supper, and a happy family. It was really nice, albeit busy, in our house. Kids were rowd and loudy (yes, I said it) but we made it through, lol! Supper was delicious, and then the really wild ones went downstairs and played hard until bedtime.

I am so beat, haha! Not bad beat, but pooped! Yesterday was really full, and today was full, too. Lots of good things, but lots of things in general! I am ready for bed! Brady already said to be, “Bedtime at 9, ya?” so I think we’re on the same page.

Goodnight Have a lovely evening! 💜 Get some sleep. Sooner than later, probably.

I won’t lie. The morning did not start out well. I’m not even entirely sure what kicked it off, but Rowan and Solly had a fight. They threw some hits at one another, and it ended in the destruction of each others things. Everyone was mad, and both of them had been really, really mean. There needed to be some sort of solution to rectify the situation.

So I decided on the spot that rather than a punishment, per se, I decided that for today, Rowan and Solly would be best friends. That meant extra care and consideration. That meant downtime was spent together. Games were to be played together. Jobs done together. Only kind words were to be spoken, and mistakes were to be met with quick forgiveness. As we would do with our best friends!

And guys, it was such a cute thing 💜 They were both ALL for it. As soon as that decision was made, they took off to play together. Almost immediately, Sol got knocked over or into, and he burst out crying. Rowan immediately apologized to Solly and was eager to help him. Solly reassured him, amidst his cries, that was ok and that he forgave him. It was just very smooth for the first bump.

The day played out, and the boys rode out their time of being best friends. They played, did dishes, and kept each other in the loop. I heard Rowan a number of times say things like “Be right down, Solly!” or things along those lines. I loved it, and they did well through the entire day. Even when we went out, they stayed close.

I felt really good about how it all turned out. Ro and Sol don’t spend a ton of time together. They are very different kids. But today, asking them to be close and extra conscious of their actions towards one another was SO GOOD for them! I hope they remember this, and that they can be closer in years to come 💜

Thank you Lord for these sweet middle boys! My heart is very full.