We rarely ever buy the pre-made meals from Costco, but sometimes we’re lucky enough that other people bring them to us! Woohoo!!
My mom walked two of the pre-made chicken alfredo penne meals through our door the other day. At first, I popped one in the freezer and one in the fridge. And then I knew better and put them both in the fridge.
In case you were wondering if I have a pot big enough for both of them, the answer is yes. Easily.
They heated up SO nicely, and the kids were stoked, as they LOVE this meal.
Also, if you were wondering if we ate the whole thing, we came dangerously close.
If we were all feeling in perfect health, it would’ve been gone plus a big bowl of salad on the side. But this was a delicious, easy, comforting one-bowl meal for us yesterday.
I recommend the pre-made chicken alfredo from Costco! There is a LOT of chicken in it!
I know the blogs have been lacking. I’m sorry for that. I’m truly doing all I can, and I know NO ONE is putting pressure on me to pump out stellar posts except myself. There isn’t a mountain of fun things to talk about, unfortunately. I’ve tried to share the positives we’ve had in the previous days, with little stories and pictures here and there.
To turn towards some down moments, I’ll tell you our band was booked for a really fun gig this coming weekend that we had to cancel. It SUCKS. We were sought out, and after I completely forgot about the inquiry, they continued to pursue our band. We were even getting paid. So it SUCKED to cancel that.
While I pout about that a little, I’m feeling inclined to start making some lists of camp stuff. Our lake opens in about three and a half weeks, and we hope very much to get out there and get the place organized and set up before the kids join us over one of the following weekends.
I wish I had taken better inventory but I didn’t. I think I left all of our linens out there, which was stupid, because they’ll ALL need to be washed. But we can even do that there.
We will bring a bunch of stuff to live in the fridge. Some drinks, condiments, etc. Clean up ANY signs of ANY rodent activity, of which we had NONE last year! We will get the bikes all pumped up. Get the batteries put back into the golf cart. We’ll bring the kayak down to the water. There is a lot to do out there that I’m sure I haven’t even thought of yet. But we have lots of things to bring that have been accumulating in a box or two, and they need to find a home in their new home!
If I was SO organized, I’d be super happy if we could get material up there so we could complete the deck! You might remember last year, we built a beautiful patio with a nice cover so Brady would have a confident area of level ground. It turned out SO lovely.
As the season wore on, however, we really wished we had built the awning over the entire deck. That one small bit of the deck that it did cover was just the stairs, and then the kids would sit on the stairs, making it really hard to access them, and impossible for Brady to get in and out!
So if we could get super organized before then, that would be IDEAL.
I know there are other things I can’t think of. These are my current thoughts on the subject. Priority one is just getting out there.
I have sooooo many other things to figure out even sooner than that, though.
I need to get prices for underground sprinklers.
I need to make some very important phone calls that I’m nervous about and can’t quite talk about publicly yet.
I need to to get everything sorted out for my farmers market table starting towards the end of May.
I would like to acquire another water dispenser with hot and cold functions for the lake. We actually found we needed hot water a lot last season. That plus we had the ice maker going constantly. A dispenser might solve everything, plus free up some space! Our home dispenser is pretty old and rattly (read: LOUD) at this point, so maybe we’ll get a new one for home and use our current one at the lake? I’m not sure yet. But I need to decide.
And I really want to write up a bit of a schedule for lake stuff. Last year, Cher diligently came over and helped with unloading, laundry, food prep, and anything under the sun that needed doing to get us back out the door. You name it, she helped!! She is still happy and willing to help us, but I would be thrilled to have a plan in place where the kids pitched in more. But that might just come naturally as we start actually getting to the lake.
There is a lot to look forward to. I am incredibly fortune to have so many positives in the upcoming months 💜 Thank you Lord for giving us the lake, and for bringing us through a YEAR of chemo!! Last year, Brady took chemo at the lake. None of that this season 💜 Praise the Lord!
Doesn’t every little girl want a pony? I mean… I never did. But some do, I think.
Do they? Are ponies still things people care about? Is My Little Pony still a thing?
Out 👏 Of 👏 Touch 👏
Good thing this blog isn’t actually about ponies.
But! It is about this!
You might remember that Waverly had SO much hair as a baby. It was a notable trademark of hers. And then right around age two, it started falling out and she started eating it. So that was that, and we shaved her head. A couple of times, actually, for dermatologist appointments and such. Thankfully, the hair regrew and the habit did not.
Today was the FIRST day that ALL of Wavy’s hair fit in her ponytail! And she was HAPPY! She left it in all day!
This photograph brought me back to one of her other firsts. This was the previous first time that Wavy’s hair all fit into a ponytail 💜
Same hoodie, even! Different size 😉
She was six months here. Thats a good chunk of hair for a six month old. And now, as a three and a half year old, its finally back! I am SO happy she has her hair back 💜
She rocked the bald look better than anyone else could’ve, but this is good too 💜
Welp. I got out of bed today! So thats good news, lol! The day have been far from thrilling, but I have a few things I could share, just for fun 🙂 Enjoy the simplicity of our days.
I have been drinking a LOT of that David’s Tea Cold 911. It really hits the spot for me, and hear me when I say I am not a tea drinker. This has been good. Dekker smells it and comes running. He loves him some “sickness tea,” whether he’s sick or not.
Wavy was looking pretty cute today. Though her outfit of choice was not ideal for the mud in our backyard. The pants did eventually take a hit, though I don’t have photographic evidence. Still. She is terribly cute.
The kids played in the backyard a lot today. The weather was SO nice! Solly got just a touch sweaty 😆
Rowan not so much, but he really wanted me to take a picture of him, so, voila 🙌
This is definitely a picture I stole from the internet, but I love it! Such a cool idea, hey? An old red wagon, and what looks to be the legs off of a vintage singer sewing machine?? And a faucet and hose! I love it!
After supper I found Brady here, in the middle of the living room, groaning “Oooooh stretch so good!” You know you sit in a chair all day when laying flat as a board is a stretch!
The best part of the day 🙌 After a trip downstairs, I discovered that hunks of mud had made their way down our carpeted stairs towards the basement. I was immediately overwhelmed, as tends to happen these days, unfortunately. Dekker jumped in instantly and offered to vacuum the stairs and the entrance 💜 He is starting to grumble less and gracious offer to help with things, and its absolutely beautiful to watch. I mean, just look at Wavy and Solly! They’re clearly into it.
The days are long and challenging. The night are broken and not especially comfortable. But we plod on, trusting that God knows our needs! We have yet to be left hanging or in need. We’ve had sickness in our home for just a few days, and we have yet to cook for ourselves. Meals are already taken care of for tomorrow, too. We are so fortunate 💜 Thank you, friends, and thank you God.
I was asleep long before 10 again last night, but woke up with real pain around 4. Brady woke up with me, got me meds, and we turned on a show until I could fall back to sleep. It was a relief, but once again, I woke up completely sick. So it was another day of baths and staring, and for Brady, it was a day of solo parenting.
To be clear, I hate this. Probably more than he does. I hate leaving him hanging this way. If there was any other way, I’d take it. But there is no getting around this one. Nope.
After a long gross day, I’ll tell you a few positives.
Cher brought me a smoothie and some chocolates this morning 💜 That was LOVELY.
Both my mom and Rae (my other mom) got groceries for us today. Rae hit Costco, and my mom went to Superstore and Walmart. We are officially caught up on staple items!
Cher and Sandy brought us supper tonight. Lasagna and caesar salad, with dessert that I haven’t eaten yet but if the rest of the meal is any indication of what I’m walking into, I’m very much anticipating it.
A couple of the kids snuck up to my room with cards and notes of love, saying they missed me and loved me.
Lastly, I’ve been too tired to crochet (I know, that says a lot) so I’ve just binge watched a bunch of Netflix, and honestly, its been fun. Can we discuss the facial expressions in The Ultimatum? Anyone?!
The days have felt hard. I don’t desire to just hide up here and not be an involved member of my household. I very much hope to be back on my feet very soon. But I am grateful for all the care and help I’ve received along the way 💜 I even have tomorrow’s lunch accounted for! Once again, Cher and Sandy to the rescue 💜
We had a party all organized for tonight to celebrate Brady finishing chemo. Yesterday, I had a bit of a cold, so I decided I would wear a mask to the party. No big deal. People have lives, and I have no business spreading sickness if I can at all help it.
But I woke up this morning absolutely feverish, and SO much sicker. So while today should have been a day of celebration, I spent the entire day upstairs while Brady solo-parented. And that SUCKED.
It was incredibly difficult to call the whole thing off. I hate that kind of thing. I would’ve rather let everyone party while I stayed upstairs. But my people would never allow that, and unfortunately, now everything is postponed for a while. *sigh*
Good thing Brady’s finishing chemo isn’t dependant on a party!
Good thing Brady knows he is dearly loved regardless of the timing of his party, or even the existence of the party!
Good thing we have so many positives to look forward to, and we just added another – a chemo party!
Friends, we have finally arrived 🥺 As of last night, Brady completed his twelfth FINAL round of chemotherapy!
The gif is dorky, but it hits me in the feels. Because this is absolutely a milestone to celebrate!!! An entire YEAR of chemotherapy is behind us, and we can stop living in limbo, cycle to cycle. We can finally see what Brady is capable of outside of the limits of chemo. If you remember, he started his radiation treatments while he was still living in rehab. They dragged on for five long weeks, and then he was supposed to get a month to breathe between radiation and chemo. He was SO spent, and the moment he started to get his bearings back, right at the three week point, they decided to jump and get him going on chemo right away. And we’ve been on the chemo train ever since.
With this, we have yet to see what Brady’s full capacity is. It will take time to learn this, but it comes at the best time. In mere weeks, we will be able to go to our camp spot and start preparing for the season ahead. No one told the weather about that plan, apparently, but it’ll take the hint soon enough.
I feel a tiny bit struggly with this whole thing, because you’re supposed to be able to see progress during chemo. And we don’t get that. Which is cool in the way that nothing has grown back, and we’re happy to know that! But it does make the whole chemo thing feel fruitless.
I know I’ve talked about this before. I am grateful for chemo. We did ALL the steps we were given, and we feel confidence in God’s covering, that He will prepare us for whatever comes and He will carry us through! So we hold onto that and ONLY that!
All the messy medical stuff is behind us for now, and we are both very excited to move forward, away from the limbo and waiting game, and into whatever our life will become! God knows what we need.
Thank you to our friends who follow who love us and care about our details such as these. Sometimes its hard to be honest about my emotions when I know not everyone who reads along is in our corner or “for” us. But for the support, love, and celebration we’ve received, I thank you!! 💜 You are not missed or forgotten!! I appreciate you all SO much!!!
As is custom, I have made a vat of party mix we love, and Brady and I will eat it for supper after the kids go to bed. Because he can! So he will!
Goodbye, chemo. As is said in House MD, we hope to never see you again!! ✌️
I am SO relieved that today is better than yesterday! Its still quiet time, so hopefully I haven’t spoke too soon 😆 While the weather is blustery, inside is quite lovely. The wind sound is something I actually don’t mind. Its part of spring. It sounds like rain is on the way, though at this point, it’ll be snow. But, what can I say? I like it.
The day has held Lego, reading, researching, and the kids even tidied their closets! That job inspired some crafting from the things they found, and Cher and I were graced with loving notes and pictures.
Dekker found a map and immediately got to work looking for Tom and Rae’s camp spot.
We are ALL ready to get back into the camping swing of things!
The day is not perfect, but we aren’t expecting perfect. Soon, we’ll have coffee, turn on some music, and ride out the rest of our daytimes hours inside. I’ve got all of my challenging stuff for the day done!! So now we breathe 🙂 I hope many of you do the same 💜
I will be the first to admit that today has been an incredibly challenging day. We’re human. We have bumpy days. Its fine. But its been more challenging than most, and while those days are not glamorous, nor days people really desire to put out there for all to see, they’re important to remember and learn from. Also, I know we are not the only people who have them!! So let’s lift each other up, shall we? 💜
Yesterday was a total blast, and everyone was full and exhausted by the end of the day. Everyone fell asleep easily and quickly.
But then, sometime in the night, Rowan woke up. And being the ever-so-social lad that he is, he came to tell me.
So naturally, I couldn’t fall back to sleep until my room had gone from pitch black to morning sun. I spent those hours replaying every difficult conversation I’ve had, every medical trauma we’ve gone through, and spiralling through everything I’m still afraid of, ie: money, jobs, future, etc.
So that was not a boatload of fun, and made for a very short night for me.
And also for Rowan.
The morning can really only be described as brutal. So many arguments. Everyone so dysregulated. So much irrationality. Almost nothing went smoothly. It was hard and had Brady and I dreading the long Spring break to come.
I cannot say with confidence that those feelings are gone, but I can say that we got a beautiful break 💜 After naps, Cher took the kids into the backyard and refereed for us for the entire afternoon. And then they made sandwiches and had outdoor supper while Brady and I continued to work on our own things in peace.
Once supper was done, it became clear that Rowan was just at the end of his rope. Or maybe its more accurate to say he was teetering on a ledge. He knew all the things that were going on, and was choosing to argue. He just felt like fighting and it showed. Cher tipped me off that bedtime might be a challenge with him, so I decided to go out and pep talk him before it all went down.
And it was worth it! He recognized that he wasn’t doing well, but he didn’t want to miss out on the rest of the day or bedtime prayers with everyone. So HE made the choice to go inside, get all ready for bed, and read books in his bed until it was time for bedtime. He said himself “I think being away from everyone would be a good choice for me.” Outside, he did NOT want to be self aware, but he changed his tune, and we reached a beautiful compromise! For the first time today! Whew!
Bedtime will roll around right away here, so wish us luck!! At this point, we just need smooth. And then we need sleep. All of us.
But first, post-bedtime supper and an episode of something funny. We could all use a laugh after the day we’ve had!
