It was such a nice day today. Cher and I have been trying to get a shopping date on the books for a while, and it finally came to fruition today!

We began at Lawson Mall, where I picked up a birthday present for Solly’s upcoming day later this month. We stopped at Tim’s for java and a little bfast before we continued on.

Our favorite stop is always Value Village, and guys, I had a list today. Today was the day to fill in the kids wardrobes for the upcoming season. Dekker and Laela always need new, as they dont have the hand-me-downs that the others have. But then, Rowan and Solly wear mostly the same sizes, so they just need a bit more collectively. We recently dug into our old tubs and pulled out everything we could find for Wavy, but there were definite holes. She had almost no tank tops, and no shorts. So today was the day to fill in the holes.

It was a great success. I got a good stack of tank tops for Laela, some shorts for the boys, some shorts for myself as well, and a handful of other things. The ONLY thing I got that I probably could’ve left behind was a little ceramic bathtub that I plan to use as a soap dish. Lol!

Post-VV, we hit Walmart to see if we could fill in the rest of the clothes. Well, first we reported a guy who was driving like a maniac, almost hitting pedestrians, other cars, etc. HUGE shout out to the Preston Walmart security guy!! He was awesome! Back to shopping, lol! I am pretty desperate for swimwear, so I found something that will hopefully work well. I found some muscle shirts for the boys, and swim shorts. Dresses were bad there, and Laela has NO summer dresses. So we left Walmart without dresses, but it wasn’t our last stop.

Superstore was quick, resulting in just some basic tank tops for Waverly.

Lunch was an obvious highlight.

• 

• 

We shared deep fried pickles, battered fish, and poutine 💜 It was delicious, and our first meal where we sat down and actually enjoyed food in a restaurant together. I loved it!

We decided we hadn’t had enough thrifting yet, so we hit the south Value Village. We finally had success and found two dresses for Laela, plus a couple more little things. A tank top for me. A small birthday gift for Wavy. A mug, because I can’t not. It was great!

Second round at Walmart resulted in one more muscle shirt that had the wrong size at the previous location.

Aaaaand then we went to Indigo, and chatted with a lady for upwards of a half hour! Yikes! Luckily, we got what we came for, but our perusing of the stationary section was cut drastically short. Ah well. The day was NOT lacking!

We had a really nice drive home after such a full busy day out and about together. There really is never a dull moment. We really love spending time together, so the day felt like a total treat. We don’t do these kinds of days too terribly often, but I sure treasure the ones we do get 💜

Thank you for the day, sweet girl! Thank you for driving. Thank you for lunch. Thank you for waiting patiently while I tried stuff one. For running for sizes. For asking for help that I needed. For going into multiple locations of the same store to find me exactly what I wanted. It is always a pleasure to be with you 💜

Now to get these kids to bed and have some supper with Brady! I love being away, and I love being home. I feel very fortunate!

It felt good to have another Monday on the books. I know it sounds really strange, but its just the truth. If you look back over the months of 2022 so far, we have had a PACKED year. Lots has gone on, much that was on the blog and lots that wasn’t, and I think I can safely say that we have been perpetually tired. In April, the kids had a week off, and in that time, most of us fell sick. It was a sickness that really hung out, so while the kids were well enough to attend school, we had them wearing masks.

Our poor kids, haha! Almost everyone at school has ditched the masks, except our children. We committed to masking them until chemo was over and done with, as Brady’s immune system needed some extra time to beef up. Of course, the moment chemo was done (YAAAAAY!) we all got sick (booooo!) The kids were not happy about masking that week after the break, since the plan had been to be done at that point. But they handled it, and today, they HAPPILY went to school, mask free!!! 😁

Meanwhile, these two were home today.

Look at how much older they look!!! Ack!

This morning held morning coffee with Cher, with the kids playing and reading and coloring. So far the afternoon has held quiet time, Netflix, and crocheting. And now, for the first time in about two weeks, Brady is out in the garage 💜 and the kids are biking in the street.

Don’t mind me. I think I’m heading out there myself.

Happy Monday, friends.

If you’re local to us, you likely know the school has a rockin park. However, there is a park on the older side of town, very close to the home I grew up in. My brother’s kids started calling it the pizza park after an elaborate game of pizza making that took place several years back, and the name stuck. We almost never find our way out in that direction, but today, the kids were invited across the street, and Rae took them aaaaall across town to the pizza park, armed with treats.

I wasn’t there, but from what I could see, it turned out to be a very cute day 💜

• 

• 

• 

• 

This last one is a biggie because Solly doesn’t care to be uncomfortable or try new, hard things. He doesn’t love a risk. And he tried this on his own 💜 Good job, Sol!!! I am SO impressed by you!!!

They played and picnicked and then came back to play games, read, and work in the garden. Our kids will likely always remember these special visits with their beloved bonus grandparents across the street!! We are so fortunate to have them!! 💜 Thank you, Tom and Rae, for being so present in our lives and for loving us all so well.

Lots of talk of summer and camping and sleepovers and plans for the future. I’m looking forward to the coming weeks and months.

This weather calls for SHORTS!!!

All five kids rocked shorts today. One was too pokey and didn’t get in the picture, but it still counts! Everyone was outside most of the day, soaking up some sunshine! Grandma brought freezies the other day, so that just added to the great morning they had! I heard no fighting from the outside crowd, and it was SO refreshing for everyone, I’m confident!

Dekker had some solo time on the trampoline this afternoon, and he sheepishly came inside to tell us he had split his shorts ALL the way across the butt. We had a good laugh and shrugged it off. It happens.

It was less cute ten minutes later when he split and effectively ruined a second pair of shorts.

Good thing I have Value Village shop booked this week! 😅

Just about everyone in this house is (ready?) short shorts, myself included. And tank tops/muscle shirts are in low supply here also. I’ve got to check out the sandals situation before I go out. Its time to set ourselves up for summer 💜

I won’t lie. I typed “supper” instead of summer. I have brown dog. 🐕 Don’t judge me.

It has been a long week. None of us are sick anymore, but there are lingering symptoms that have kept us close to home for most of the week. But this morning, we Cher-ed coffee on the deck and enjoyed the positive temperatures, albeit a little cooler on the shady deck. The kids jumped on the trampoline and swung while we visited, but soon, it was too chilly and we called it. The morning was finished up with lots of stories on the couch. It was a very relaxed morning.

This afternoon, I had the pleasure of going to another counselling appointment. My mom drove me, which is a huge gift. Its almost like we go on a little date together, even though we run virtually no other errands, or do much extra. Counselling is important and I feel fortunate to be able to go! But anyone who has ever gone can relate to how exhausting it is! So we drove together, I had my appointment, and we drove back together. I really really enjoy her company. We have a really nice time together 💜 I am so fortunate to have her close by.

I came home to all my kids in the backyard, and Brady waiting with freshly brewed coffee. It was SO nice. We chatted about my appointment and I let down a little in the recliner.

My body is exhausted. I’m getting over sickness. I have my period. I went to counselling. It has every right to be a little on the fatigued side of things. I don’t care to make excuses, but stepping back, of course my body is spent. I earned this fatigue 😅

So while my natural instinct is to say we should go for a walk this evening, because the weather is SO beautiful, I think we’re going to keep it close to home. Kids will do some dishes and play outside until bedtime.

And then, for the first time in a while, Brady and I are going to eat after the kids go down 💜 Which is basically a date for us. I’m really looking forward to that!

I hope you all ended your week with a super enjoyable Friday. I know we sure did!

Sleep in tomorrow!

Yesterday, I texted Brady and I Cher that I had brown dog.

Or course I meant brain fog.

But I typed it bad enough that my phone changed it to brown dog.

It really just proved my point.

Then, in the afternoon, I pulled an iced coffee out of the fridge, added cream, and went to stir it.

But I grabbed a fork instead.

I laughed at myself and said something along the lines of “Foot the pork back.”

Because I had brown dog.

Still do.

Anyway.

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 💜

Get ready for your short, fun fact blog post!
I recently discovered that Rowan believed the movie was called Judy and the Beast.
JUDY.

So. There you have it. That’s all I needed to say.
You’re welcome.