It was kind of a tough day. It shouldn’t have been, since Laela slept nine hours in a row last night! But it was. The home phone rang at 8:01 this morning. I know lots of people are up by then, but we are not. It just seems inconsiderate to me to call someone you don’t know sooo early! However, it was a business. CRA, to be exact. Brady had to change something about his business and they wanted to double check a few things. I was freshly awake, therefore not very awake at all, and I asked him to please call Brady, as he is the primary owner of Born Contracting. The man from CRA assured me it would be quick, and that he just needed to confirm the address, so I agreed. And he says “To confirm you’re who you say you are, I need the last three digits on your social insurance number. Seriously?! So I had to get our of bed, dig through the diaper bag for my wallet, and find the card for him. The whole call “just to confirm our address” took about fifteen minutes. I was pretty mad. Getting back to my room, Laela was stirring, and I could hear movement from Dekker’s room too. I decided that 8:00am was a reasonable time to wake, and that I should make an effort to stay awake in hopes of an earlier night tonight. But once the littles settled back down, I gave in to sleep. For a whopping fifteen minutes. Then the entire house woke up. So I felt like garbage for most of the morning.

The day could have been a lot worse, really. Brady was home for the day by noon, which was so refreshing and honestly, suuuper helpful today! He even brought me my Timmy’s earl grey tea double double! Dekker was very twitchy and quick to throw fits today, and Laela would not eat. At all. I’ve been working food into her all day the best I can, and she is currently having what is usually her last feeding of the night. She has consumed about 15 oz, which she is usually closer to consuming roughly 25. The kids were just off today, and I’ve decided to blame Canada Revenue Agency. And Laela’s almost teeth. And Dekker’s eyes.

Lucky for Brady and I, both kids napped at the same time in the afternoon! So we took nice long showers and chatted about things we’re excited about! We didn’t talk about the kids, or Bradys job, or things we need to work on. We talked about dreams and anticipation for new adventures! It was fun 🙂 It sure is important to get those conversations in when you can! I needed those positive thoughts today.

At this point in the day, Dekker is in bed, Laela is “eating,” and once this post is over, I’m going to run a tub. But before I do, I’ll just add in a few few cute pictures of Laela in her funny new stage of sticking her tongue out constantly. I know that sometimes my pictures all look the same, but they are all very separate and gorgeous and perfect to me.

Oh oh oh! And both of my kids. Dekker initiated this cuddle session. I dare any of you to be cuter than these kids!

Happy thoughts and sweet dreams.

Today was solidly average. It wasn’t awesome or super boring. We had lots of nice moments and a few meltdowns. We didn’t do much at all. It was comfy and lazy and really, it was exactly what we needed.

Here are a few pics from today that depict pretty much how the whole day played out.

Dekker also rediscovered his blue chairs and brought them out into the sitting area. I wish he had three little friends to sit with him…

Laela slept a bit this afternoon. And that was about it for her…

It was a super low key day everywhere except my head. As per usual, my list of to-dos is growing!! We still haven’t taken down Christmas stuff, haha, so thats a priority! But I have to book a chiro appointment for Laela, counselling for me, waxing for me, and check on Babies r Us to see if they have something I’m looking for. We need to sort our recycling, as its taking over out furnace room, and go through all the kids toys and tub them. I have a running list of things we need to buy to make our house feel in order over the next little while. Its amazing how much stuff we’ve accumulated in the last year or two! The part of our house that looks the worst though, is our bedroom. Brady and I live in the dumpiest part of the house, except for our tub, of course. We really want to get our room set up in a way that feels like a liveable space. We’ve also resolved to get our taxes done as soon as possible, since we don’t have to wait for T4s like we used to. So that will likely happen soon too. Or we really want it to anyway. We have SO MUCH coming up, and so many tight deadlines, I feel like a lazy day like today is really what I needed before certain craziness starts.

Something that is silly and unimportant but that I really want to do is decorate our jar for our money saving goal. I know, who cares, just stuff the jar in a drawer. But I want it out so we don’t forget about it, and I want it to be cute. Its easily one of the last things on the list, but I don’t want it to fall by the wayside. I have the jar, and I have the idea. I even have paint! But sadly, I don’t think I have the time. And if I do have time, I should be doing something much more productive with it. Trying to pick priorities over here. Anyone want to make me a cute money jar??

Considering the lazy day, I’m opting for a lazy post and a lazy evening. Which means I’m done. Good night!

Our company has gone, and the house is sooo quiet! They were lovely guests, and we all had a really wonderful time. This morning, Dekker was easily coaxed downstairs by his cousins, and everyone played and listened to a Berenstein Bear book being read aloud. It was a great morning, and we were sad to see them go. Hopefully we get to visit with them again soon!

We spent the afternoon catching up on laundry, doing a few dishes. and not a whole lot else. While our company was far from “work,” we are tired. Dekker went down for his nap well and Laela played on the floor quietly for a decent amount of time, giving Brady and I time to zone out and lay completely still. These moments sure don’t last long, but they were a treat.

Poor Brady has to go back to work tomorrow, while I get to lay around with my kids in our jammies and accomplish very little. I’m totally looking forward to it! We have yummy leftovers from the weekend to feed us all, so I don’t have to think too much about meals even. Should be a super low key day over here. Anyone care to join the lazy fun?

How is it only 11:00pm? We are all wiped out, and I fully blame the nice walk we took in the gorgeous weather today! It was a lovely little outing. Dekker and Laela rode in the sled, the adults walked, and the boys seemed to just slide from hill to hill along the road. It was fun and brusque and sunshiney. I loved it. This is the best kind of tired to be.

Keith, Jonquil, and the boys brought so many great toys for Dekker this weekend, among them a bunch of Duplo and an easel for dry erase markers, chalk, and paper, of course. Well, that easel is a HUGE win! By the end of the day, Dekker was covered in marker, from right between his eyes down to his socks. I chucked everything in the wash the second he was undressed at the end of the day,  but currently, the yellow and orange are still being somewhat persistent. We’ll see. I have his shirt soaking in a nice cold sink of water with some detergent. Hoping it’ll all come clean by tomorrow. But if not, it was still worth it. He was so happy to play with the markers, as if it gave him a whole new independence he had never had before. I’m excited to try to find some big paper to clip up there so he can go nuts with his crayons too. Maybe eventually paint, but I’m thinking he wouldn’t appreciate the mess at this point.

We spent a lot of time downstairs together while the boys played Mario Party and built big trucks and wrestled. It was fun to watch and to photograph. Laela took nice naps on both Auntie and Uncle. We even played a few games of tile rummy but I didn’t win so that’s irrelevant.

Ok something funny is happening here. It’s saying my connection is lost and it’s officially not backing up this post, so in gonna finish it up before it’s gone. Sleep tight.

Before I even start writing today, I want to say a BIG thank you to everyone who showed me love on yesterdays post. I received an overwhelming amount of support in comments on the blog, on Facebook, and through private message. You are all so wonderful to me. Thanks for caring about my family.

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We have the privilege of visiting with some family this weekend! Bradys sister, brother in law, and their three boys have come out for the weekend! The boys even skipped school! They arrived in the late afternoon and we all settled in together nicely. The boys found things to do, and Dekker warmed up faster than I have ever seen! Normally, even one visitor puts him a little on edge, but the three boys loved him up sooo well, and he was running with them within a couple of hours. He was devastated to go to bed, but he will be pleasantly surprised to find them still here in the morning. I’m sure of it.

We all just went our separate ways after milk, cookies, and many recounted labor and delivery stories. I feel all warm and fuzzy. I’m confident that, even if we weren’t family, we would be friends 🙂 Wish you guys lived closer!!!

Off to bed for us. I’m sure Laela will be up in a couple of hours anyway. Sleep tight, if you aren’t already.

I wrote a post back when I was a few months pregnant with Laela about crying in the car. I felt silly confessing to all of you that my safe place to cry is my car, and I use it often. Including today.

We had a really nice day. The kids and I spent the afternoon with my mom and grandma, and then Brady came for supper of homemade pizza. My mom makes the best pizza! Afterwards, we decided to backtrack to the city and do some grocery shopping. This week has been so busy, and my lazy days have been crazy with wind and freezing rain. Really not much opportunity to get out, and we’re having family over this weekend! So we doubled back and hit up Costco and Superstore. The kids did great for being up so late.

On the drive home, I had my first car cry in a while. But it was very much a cry that I needed to have. I cried over Dekker needing surgery. It really makes me sad 🙁 I know there are kids who suffer through SO much worse, so much younger. Yet, I think I can still feel this way. Our situation is our own. I don’t always have to downplay and compare. I am so sad that Dekker needs to have surgery. I know it will at the very least bring improvement to the situation, and it has the potential to fix his eyes completely! However, to get either of these results requires me to sign a form that allows him to be put under general anesthetic and have doctors use knives to cut on him. My heart hurts. He will also have a bit of a recovery ahead of him. Nothing crazy. A bit of Tylenol for pain, but lots of eye drops and NO eye rubbing. I wonder how I’ll monitor things like that. I wish I didn’t have to. I wish he didn’t have to. My son tries sooo hard to be obedient, and not to have too big of a pity party, but I don’t think its fair that he has to be challenged and pushed and messed with so often! No. You know what? I’ll have my pity party. Because soon, I’ll have to be the strong one. My son has had his share of shit for being just two years old. It is not FAIR!

So I cried in my car. And I mean cried. Full on, tears full of mascara rolling down my cheeks kind of crying. My body physically aches for Dekker and his situation. February will be a different kind of month for us, thats for sure.

I just want this all to be over…

Brady has found a friend in the guy who paints for Daytona Homes. Often, trades don’t want to be around other trades in the houses, and therefore, they don’t get to know each other. But they’ve become friends over the last several months, despite all that! His wife had a baby girl just before Christmas, so they could relate on the family aspect as well. Brady was doing some finishing in their basement yesterday and today, and they invited us over for supper! I never expected to find friends in Brady’s line of work. At least not until he hired people and then we’d get to know them. But we were both actually really looking forward to an evening with them.

We had so much fun! Our family of four and their family of six all gathered together for a supper of authentic mexican food! If I could spell what we had, I would, but I can’t. They resembled taquitos but they were fresh and flavorful, with spicy homemade salsa and cheese on top. Dekker even loved them, once he gave them a chance. Laela has perfectly quietly in her car seat next to the table while we ate, and then came out to play once we were done eating and went to sit in the living room. Their two older kids did some Just Dance Kids and the rest of us visited and got to know each other. Well, us ladies talked about having babies anyway. I don’t know what the guys talked about. It was so fun, though! Its nice to find new friends 🙂

We made it home before the freezing rain is scheduled to start, so thats a positive. Though, if it really does rain over night, Brady will have to drive to work tomorrow morning so we’ll see how that goes. The kids and I will hole up a bit tomorrow, I think, and have a quiet day. I’m not venturing out, or asking anyone to risk their lives to venture out to me.  I like a boring day.

Soon, Laela will be down and we’ll run a bath. I’m missing evening snacks so much 🙁 Does anyone have ideas for healthier, justifiable snacks that are easy and super delicious and possibly covered in chocolate? Or not. I’ll take what I can get…

Jerilee and her sweet new ride made the trip out for the day. I feel like I haven’t seen her since long before Christmas, which is far too long. Sadly, I had two fairly “sensitive” kids on my hands today, and the visit wasn’t as relaxed as it usually is. But we worked with it, and she’s such a good sport. She even came with Christmas gifts for the whole family. Jerilee…

We like you.

Dekker did settle in after a while, and had a few good moments…

but fussing and constant whining was not far away. He was struggling. It was sad. I played with him, cuddled him, gave him a yummy lunch, and had a few talks with him, but he just couldn’t seem to keep it together. Poor boy. He went down for his nap fairly early, but he really needed to.

Once he got up, he and Brady had eggs and toast for supper, and I had some leftovers. Dekker ate really well (which is somewhat uncommon these days) and drank lots of milk from his cup. He’s still pretty new to it, and we only give him little bits at a time, for fear of spills, mostly. He also prefers to hold his cup with only one hand, and can’t reach his hand all around the cup nicely. So I give him maybe an inch at a time, and he had three refills 🙂 Thats two days without a sippy cup and he’s had no complaints. Yay! There were also no complaints about his very first jello fruit cup.

We played downstairs for an hour before bedtime. Then he came and jumped on the bed a bit, got some wrestling out of his system, and had a drink of water before he hit the sack. We had a little bit of cuddle time with Laela…

before feeding her and putting her down. I can’t believe she’s sleeping at 9:00! Thats a nice change from 11:00pm very night. Our kids certainly set their own schedules, and we really like them!

Time for my soak before we hit the sack. No snack for me 🙁 At two weeks postpartum, I had 20 lbs of baby weight left to lose to be back at pre-pregnancy. Who cares, right? At two weeks, who is even thinking about that?! And now, 3.5 months later, I still carry those stupid 20 lbs >:( So, I’m giving up my evening snack. Somehow, my bath is just that much less satisfying. I guess I’ll be a big girl and learn to eat a bit more at supper.

Oprah says not to eat after 7:00pm. Doesn’t Oprah know all?

We skipped church. Again. Don’t be hatin’.

We slept in until 10:00am and surfaced about a half hour later, fed our children, and drove to my parents’ for lunch. They weren’t heathens and had gone to church, so we actually beat them home. While we waited, Dekker spread out through the house and played toys. When they did arrive home, we whipped up a quick lunch (and by we, I mean they) and sat down together for a good solid visit. Dekker drank from a cup again today. I think he used a sippy cup at breakfast for convenience and efficiency, but he used a regular (plastic) cup the rest of the day. He ate lunch well, and played toys great afterwards. It was sad to leave Grandma and Grandpa’s, but he was asleep before we hit the highway.

When we got home, we put Dekker in his bed and he slept. And Laela had remained asleep in her car seat, so we left her sleeping in her seat, and Brady and I lay in bed and watched a bit of Netflix. We had a nice, long rest before Laela was starting to squeak. Plus, it was coming up on supper time, so we had to get that started anyway. We had fish and scalloped potatoes for supper, and again, Dekker ate and drank like a champ! A recent stage we’ve hit with Dekker is not being able to sit still through a meal. He went from being great at feeding himself and eating a decent amount, to him fighting every bite that we had to feed him, whether it was a favorite meal or not. Most of his stages (minus the baths from hell) are short lived, so we don’t get too worked up about them, but of course they’re frustrating in their time. Luckily, Dekker has never exhibited signs of wasting away, so I’m sure he’ll eat plenty when he’s hungry. I feel like he’s been in a growth spurt since birth. Maybe he’s just slowing down now! Who knows. He’s wonderful, either way.

Our schedule was finally somewhat normal today, and we actually got to have jumping on the bed playtime with Dekker again! Its been a while. Lots of late nights around here. But he came and jumped and played and actually cuddled! I was kind of sprawled out on the bed, and my legs were a little bit apart. He walked between them all the way up to me, sat down on me, and lay down facing up on top of me, with his head sort of in my neck. “Ni night.” It was completely sweet. I grabbed his blanket and covered us both up, and we just lay quietly. Until his silly little joking voice said “Helloo.” Not wanting it all to be over yet, I offered to sing a song with him, and he accepted. So we had a quick song before he sprung back up and jumped around some more. But it was sweet to me.

Both kids are sleeping now, and its 9:10!!! I can’t say that happens often, but I like it! Time for a bath and an earlier night. Bad habits are forming around here…