The Daily Hailey

I took one of the babes for a visit this afternoon. Because of the day of the week it is, we have a few kids going in different directions. With that, I only brought Rowan, Solly, and another one of the babies along. A smaller group that usual, thats for sure.

When I dropped off at the visiting apartment, I didn’t feel content. It didn’t feel good. Like. Everyone was safe, of course. Visits are supervised. No one is alone. Everything is truly ok. But it was a less familiar visit situation than most, and I felt yucky leaving. Two hours to kill.

What was really unexpectedly nice was that both of my boys were SO STOKED to sit and read their library books in the van. They asked specifically if we could just park and read. To which I said YES because I had also planned for this possibility and had brought some crocheting along!! So sat still. Quiet music going. They read. I crocheted. We just. Had. Peace. Even though my heart didn’t feel peace.

The time finally came and I went and picked up from the visit. BIG content hugs. Familiarity. Exclamations upon entering the van. Everyone was happy to be back together. Lots of tickles and giggles getting buckled up for the drive home.

We got home and plunked the little one in a high chair to supplement their supper of popcorn and juice. Meanwhile, the house was wrapping up for the day around the usual time. It wasn’t long after getting home that the first round of bedtime happened and the house got that much quieter.

While the visit today was not my favorite thing, and it didn’t feel good to me, my body was grateful for an afternoon away. Some rest time. Music. Crocheting. No fighting or refereeing or arguing. Just hanging out, and resting my body, doing something I enjoy.

The iced coffee didn’t hurt either.

Laela is home! I have no pictures, but you’ll have to take my word for it. She is well and happy and tired and she really enjoyed her first ever youth retreat 💜 I LOVED youth retreats growing up, and its so fun to see my kids revel in them the ways I did, making friends from other towns, learning new songs, and experiencing that type of community that a person can only find at camp.

As independent as Laela is, I was thrilled when she texted me this morning and assured me she was having a blast, but was ready to come home 💜 Now, she is home. Well fed. Slow moving. Rowan did her usual dish slot, and everyone went to bed without struggle. Which is handy because tomorrow is a busy one.

Please, Lord, grant us good solid rest, and strength for the day that ONLY comes from you 💜 Amen.

We did a little work this morning. We’re short a Laela, but the rest of us agreed to get some jobs done this morning so we could rest in the afternoon during nap time. We dug into our huge toy bin upstairs and organized it enough to make it overflow slightly less. I got some things off of what we call our camp table that lives in the kitchen. We had some more goals, but some things come up, as they tend to do, and a few things got mildly derailed. but it definitely wasn’t too bad. Everyone got their baths and I think at least one kid practiced piano. We’ll call it a successful morning.

We lunched and sat a little, and Brady and I watched an episode or two of our show. But when we could hear the babies start talking and we knew it was time to get the day back in action, we decided to break it up a little bit.

Babies got up and we all hauled out to the city for a low pressure trip. We had only two goals.

Go to Michaels to buy some of the yarn they are discontinuing that I LOVE.

Drop off a donation at Value Village.

And there was the promise for a fast food supper for the kids.

Everyone happily went along with the plan, and in we went! Michaels wasn’t a huge success but I’d say a moderate success. Almost all of the colors I was hoping for were gone, but there were some, so I’ll take it. And then, I tweaked the plan a little bit and asked if Brady would leave me at Value Village while he went to pick up supper. So while they all picked up food, I thrifted a little on my own. It was a really nice break 💜 I left the store with three books, two puzzles, and shoes for the three older boys. Again, a success, for sure!

I haven’t gone out in a long time. It was refreshing, but my body is tired. Wind down time has arrived.

Wish us luck for getting to church tomorrow!!

The kids were off school today, which often calls for a pretty peaceful home day. That day was not today.

It began with a social worker visit. LD’s worker, to be exact. She came and visited. Asked her questions. Took her notes. Then left.

Shortly thereafter, Spoons’ worker came. We discussed some changes afoot in that particular case plan and spitballed ideas for some change. This is a new worker to us, and she doesn’t like to speculate or look too far ahead. Which I get, but I also enjoy the candor we had before with previous workers. I guess we’ll see.

We ate lunch a little early and napped Munchie Mix.

Early afternoon, my piano kids went off to a rehearsal, and the rest of us loaded into the bus for a doctors appointment. We did not forget M&M. Just let baby nap a bit before hitting the road.

We saw our lovely family doctor for the first time in a long while. We caught up just a little, got a skin issue checked, and tweaked a couple of meds for a couple of us. LD and Spoons left with a sticker for each hand, and the other kids got a boston cream donut on the way out.

We got home, put babies down for a late nap, and took a breather.

Around 5pm, I took Laela to the church for a youth retreat.

Except the event on the calendar was an hour off, so we went home, pumped out a fast supper, and I took her back for 6pm. Came home and caught the end of supper.

Got everyone down.

🥱

I am pooped, but it was a good day. Time to wrap the day up a bit. Popcorn and The Good Doctor is the order of the evening!

Last summer was surprisingly smooth for our family. I think in part, it was because we kept a bit busier. Kids were in a few more things, and we made efforts to have less idle time. And it paid off! So as the weather starts to look up a bit, we’re all starting to think in the direction of the seasons to come.

Shorts and tank tops. Fires. Beach days. The camp chef. Toddlers on bikes. Big kids in kayaks and on paddle boards. The golf cart. Later bedtimes. Sunsets. Bike rides in the day. The spray park. Maybe a couple good crashing storms if we’re lucky.

Low. Pressure.

I know spring is not upon us yet. But I’m letting myself go there a bit, and just coast in the whats-to-come. I’m not wishing time away. Not at all. I know better. But I can happily anticipate warm weather without guilt, I believe.

It has been a LONG stretch of mean illnesses, and today, Cher came back to our place to start working for us, once again! It was WAY too bad over here to have anyone through, but today was the day! She walked over this morning, and once I knew she’d be close, I went out to harass her, just for funsies, like I do from time to time. It timed out perfectly with Laela leaving for school. When she saw Cher in the distance, she picked up her pace, which just opened the door for a footrace to auntie. I won, in case you were wondering. But my body wasn’t thrilled, so it was the one and only footrace I participated in today. Cher did, however, take a picture of Laela and I because she continued to school and we continued home. As underdressed as I was, I thought it was kind of a lovely picture.

Thanks for taking it, Cher 💜

We got some things done in the house today, but I’d say it was pretty lovely and low pressure. A really peaceful first day back. I am very grateful for the help I have, the best friend I have, and the house and family I have. We are so fortunate 💜

Ok! Final diaper change over here and the last babe is off to bed!

Yesterday, we talked wins. And I have a couple more from today that I’d like to share. Continuing from yesterday…

Win number four. I had one commitment out of the house today. I had to go to Saskatoon in the afternoon. After the spontaneous snow we got, the roads were PACKED and ICY. Most people online who usually say “Guys, its just winter conditions” were more on the “STAY HOME” side of things. And before I even had to think about it in depth, the person I needed to go see got in touch and suggested we reschedule, even though I was the one driving and she was not. What a weight lifted off my shoulders!!!

Win number five. Brady took another good solid sick day at home. While feeling somewhat better today, he is still physically exhausted, which makes total sense to me, being that I’m still recovering from all of that. But we did have coffee together today 💜 which we haven’t done in a very long time, and it was really nice for my heart.

Win number six. Our lovely accessibility expert/contractor/friend came today and made the finishing touches on our en suite 😍 I had every intention of todays post having pictures but now that the baby is napping in our room, I realize I didn’t take all the ones I wanted to share. So maybe tomorrow. But its done!! Or, as LD would say, DUNNNNNNNNNNNNN.

I think thats all for today. I was so happy to stay home. So happy to have a coffee with Brady. So happy to have my bathroom done. We sure have a lot to be thankful for, don’t we? 💜 Man. Praise God for making some things just SO easy.

Win number one. Our neighbour let me know this morning that she had supper already on the stove for us. Which was amazing. Something I didn’t have to even sort of think about for the day. Food is super tricky when people are sick. And even trickier when only part of the group is sick. Because this half wants some thick alfredo pasta dish, and this half over here wants butter toast. So today, receiving a text that promised a pot of homemade vegetable soup and bread, all dairy free, was a life saver.

Win number two. Munchie Mix is peeing!!! I know that sounds dumb, but it is a HUGE victory! In fact, baby produced THREE pee diapers IN A ROW without diarrhea!!! Guts and healing, and hydration remains strong. Praise God! One big step in the right direction, away from the hospital!

Win number three. Rowan banished me to the bathtub this evening. I could’ve cried. It has been a LONG, unclean stretch, where someone is always sick on me, or around me, or I’m the sick one, or something has happened, and I think “when this part is over, I’m going to clean up really good.” And that time just keeps not coming. Frankly, it still hasn’t, but today, Rowan cared about that. As he helped me keep babies entertained during their baths, he suddenly announced “After they’re down, and you get Munchie Mix down, you’re going to trust us kids to be solo so YOU can have a bath in here!” And true to that, as I fed M&M, Ro went and put a little lamp in the bathroom, a step stool for my laptop to hold my show, and he grabbed me a towel. We made a bunch of joked about shaving my very neglected armpits. In I went. And the kids all did totally well. Babies stayed quiet. Big kids had no issues. Everything was peaceful, and I could shave my pits and scrub the suspicious layer off of my skin.

As an update on the family, we are mostly doing well. I do not feel sick anymore, thank the Lord!! My body is still completely wiped, though, which is crazy. Standing for even a few minutes has me bending over and trying to prop up on something. But I definitely have more energy than I’ve had in a good while, and I feel capable of doing a bit more. Big kids are all fine and in school. LD and Spoons are well. Munchie is healing nicely. And then Brady. We believe he is taking his turn. Which really sucks. But also is seeming somewhat manageable. He stayed home from work today and slept until 11:25 😳 Considering we get up together at 6am almost every day, that was a LONG sleep in. He got up for some oatmeal lunch and lasted maybe an hour before he went back down for a couple more hours. He has been up for a few now and we will watch a little tv now here before crashing out again. Neither of us will last. He is not hungry, but still eating and drinking. He is sharing the same hostile symptoms as I experienced, however, thanks to his paraplegia, he is NOT in pain! Which is a HUGE relief!!! This illness has been incredibly painful, and if he can manage some of the yucky stuff and the fatigue without the relentless physical pain, we will count him so lucky!!!

We are well. We are getting better. Slowly but surely. I do believe this is our fourth round of all of this. If you are the praying type, please PRAY this to be the LAST one for a long, long time.

Sincerely,

The VERY tired, VERY blessed Borns.

Welp. I am not as poetic as Cher, but you are indeed stuck with me. I am back.

Hello again, friends. Let’s talk about these last few days.

They have been incredibly rough. The ONLY time I can recollect ever being laid up in bed with sickness is when I got covid the first time. It was nuts, and left me in bed for two days. I definitely needed a third, but then Brady got smoked with his first day and there was no other way, so I got up and got to it.

I remember when covid, my head was all over the place, and I lay in my bed unmoving, staring at my laptop watching Netflix for hours. At one point, my show ended and the just picked another one for me, willy nilly. I remember thinking “huh” and just accepting it because I was too out of it to change it.

But THIS whole thing right here 🙌 is NUTS.

Thursday, I texted Brady at work and he came home to help me. And by “help me” I mean I went to bed.

Friday, I spent just about the entire day in my room. Brady stayed home and found ways to get the babies where he needed them. I, of course, helped when and where needed, but I keep it close to the vest.

Friday night was its own special battle against my own body.

….. but I didn’t…..

Saturday was a VERY painful day. My body was screaming in pain from all the cramping and tightness and violence it was going through. Meanwhile also being on my period, it was impossible to even know what pain came from where at that point.

Today – Sunday – carried some lift, but unfortunately, the day was difficult in different ways. We have some trauma over here, as you may know. Medical trauma for sure. And if I had to guess, I’d say I’m getting in trouble for being sick. The kids are mad, and that is hard. I don’t have extra strength to fight with them, or extra mental energy to be sooooo patient. It is just a hard road.

Tomorrow is school. The kids are ok. They definitely seem past the sick part of the sickness, lol! I will be home, thank goodness. LD and Spoons seem ok. Munchie Mix is still working on it, but I believe we are still in the clear in terms of hospital visits 🤞 Aaaaand we’ll see if Brady makes it to work.

God knows. I have absolutely nothing left to give or to hold or to throw at this illness. God is with us. With Him, we are stronger than ever! 💪 Glory strength, baby! With some petty tears on the side.

There once was a baby, just six months old,
Who gave their poor mama a story retold.
Their tummy went merpy, their diaper stayed dry,
And mama said, “Oh dear, this just cannot fly”

To the hospital zoomed the poor little sprout,
For their tummy had tossed all the liquids right out.
They hooked them to tubes with a drip-drip-drip drip,
And Pedialyte slurps with a sippy-sip sip.

“No milk!” said the doctors. “Nothing for the tot!
Their tummy must rest, it is quite in a knot!”
So baby just screamed with a suspicious glare,
Like, “Excuse me there doc, do you think this is fair?”

But drip by drip and sip by sip,
The fluids returned with a sloshy-splash tip.
And everyone waited, the nurses, the crew,
For the magical moment of PEE NUMBER TWO!

“Oh please!” cried mama, exhausted and pale,
“I have seven more children, and soon need to bail!
Just pee little honey, just sprinkle or squirt!
A drizzle! A trickle! A tiny wet spurt!”

At last came the moment, the diaper went SQUISH!
Thank you to God who granted our wish!
“HOORAY!” nurses shouted, “The bladder has won!
Pack up the baby , the hospital’s done!”

Home went the baby, all plumped up and bright,
With formula bottles both day and all night.
It slurped and it burped and looked healthy with glee,
And mama thought, “Finally! Peace! We are free!”

But wait! Oh dear reader…. the story twists here.
A rumble of sickness began to appear.
One kid got the bug with a groan and a sigh,
Then another, and another…. and another! Oh MY!

Each child took turns with the tummy-flip flu,
A barfy parade and the sickly poo-poo!
Mama looked around, and didn’t know what to do…
The bug made its rounds with an epic debut.

Now mama is sick and exhausted to bits,
Surrounded by gassy blanket burrito fits.
Although baby drinks milk pretty easily,
Mama still whispers, “Please also… pee.”

For baby seems lively and silly and spry,
While mama keeps checking each diaper nearby.
They gulp all their bottles and only leave poo…
Which signals the start of hospital trip number two.

So mama just sighs with a sniffle and plea:
“You’ve already had your turn, so please just go pee.”

-Cher