You’ve seen Wavy in her many outfits. I know I’ve shown her style on the blog before. She is terribly cute regardless of her clothing choices, but her personality shines in all kinds of different ways. She loves clothes. And she loves to change her clothes. Aaaaall the livelong day.
That being said, today is pink day.
She is rocking a pink dress, with a pink shirt and a pink hoodie overtop her dress. Also leggings, and her new hat from Greenlee Construction.
Her outfit alone spoke for itself, but then this picture showed up and it was undeniable. We commented on how pink everything was, and she giggled and announced matter-of-factly, “Ya, its pink day.”
So mark it on your calendars, folks! March 31st. Pink Day. Report your participation to Miss Waverly, making of rules.
Did you hear it like “The House that Jack Built?” Because I sure did.
Aaaaanyway, Brady built a bed frame!
My mom commissioned him to build her a simple, sturdy bed frame. The purpose was to hold a single mattress, but to fit a second mattress underneath it. She wants to be able to have people come to stay, but the two single beds set up all the time took up SO much space. So this was a perfect idea for her. Brady was confident he could make it happen, with some style and class too. The legs are super cool and VERY sturdy. To save some time and money, we used an extra set of bed slats from Ikea, so that was also a win!
I’m petitioning for one for us next. We have some mattresses I’d love to move out of our furnace room and into a bedroom, so this would likely solve that issue! Me next!
Today was a day we’ve been waiting for! A day where Brady, my mom, and I can all go in together and get new phones! Our original plan way back was for my mom to inherit one of our phones when we went to get new contracts. But as time has gone on, Brady’s screen got cracked and one of my speakers got crackly. So while the plan changed a little bit in that way, we made the plan to go in together and add my mom to our account! Doesn’t hurt to get a little bit off of all of our bills, right?
Right. All three of us were long out of our contracts, so it was definitely time.
The last time Brady and I had changed our phone plans was last summer. At Kinasao, we have zero wifi options. So we always are using data when we’re on our phones. Which is fine in the way that we don’t need to live on our phones when we’re at the lake 💜 But we also do use them pretty frequently. Brady is active on Insta now, and I blog every day. We need some internet. So last year, we boosted our data plan in an effort to worry less about rolling over our gigs. Telus finally offered unlimited data, with the speeds slowing after 15G. So 15G each of full speed high speed data. We got that plan for only $5-10 more than what we were originally paying.
When we went in today, one of the first things they told us was that our plan didn’t exist anymore. They said we could keep it, but could never tweak it or change it really. For informations sake, we were told the next best plan was another $10 up, and it would give us 45G of worry-free internet EACH. Now that is WAY more than we need, but it was enough to tempt us. Now, I am a firm believer in finding good deals, but knowing the difference between necessary good deals and unnecessary good deals. If you buy a million good deals, you’re still spending too much money, right? Right.
But then they told us, by adding my mom to our account, we all save $10 off our plans.
Meaning this new, WAY better plan, was the same price as the last one.
Sooooo thats how we walked out of there SO set up with amaaazing plans! Our internet at home often sucks, so we spend a good chunk of time with our phones off of our wifi anyway. This way is just so worry-free, and you’d better believe thats something we value a lot in this family!
Brady got the dark blue phone, and my mom and I got the super light pink ones. We all got clear Otterbox cases, screen covers, and fast charger bricks. It was successful, and we are TIRED. Hahahaha! Yikes!
You know how camps have work days? Redberry has work days. Kinasao has work days. Like a big ole clean up where you prepare for the season ahead. Lots and lots of people come, take on jobs, inside and outside, easy or difficult, whatever there is to do. They eat a yummy lunch and work hard. You know those days.
When I look around my home, I feel like we need a work day. A whole big fat work day.
A day where furniture moves into different rooms. The pantry is reorganized. The under the stairs storage area is gutted, gone through, and reorganized. The shed is gutted and purged. The dishes move around the kitchen so Brady can reach all the important things. The kids closets are free of toys and books that belong in the toys and books, and all paper is recycled. The basement toy shelf is unloaded, sorted, and put back together. The floor gets a GOOD vacuum. The lightbulbs are all switched out for the LEDs we have, waiting.
The day would close with a gigantic dump run. At least that would be my real hope.
It sounds great, doesn’t it? Yet, I know its my home, and my mess, and my responsibility. But I’ve never felt so behind, buried under all of our stuff and the jobs that we’ve fallen so far behind on.
But. Adulthood. Ugh.
For the record, if there were a work day, I would have pulled pork, buns, and coleslaw for everyone. Just sayin’. It would be a sweaty – albeit yummy – day.
We’ve been having SO much fun creating stuff over here! It all feels very Spring-themed these days, and that is ok by me! You might’ve seen yesterday, but Brady made a handful of propagation stations to sell! They are a completely gorgeous, minimalistic style, made of hardwood with dovetail joints. No nails or screws in these things. They are beautiful, and I’m very much hoping all but one sell so I can have one.
Or I’ll just keep the man. He’s even cuter than the plant stands.
His works are far above mine, but I’ve been playing with some super bright colors that make me feel VERY Springy! Just a little stack of dishcloths, but they belong at our lake spot. Or your lake spot. Or your kitchen. Definitely my kitchen.
I always have a few projects going. The cloths are an easy thing to work on without having to think too much. When I have a couple of hours to actually think, I’m starting to work on my next commissioned tartan. Like I’ve said, there is an amazing amount of math and prep work that goes into them before an order is even really confirmed. So I’m working on that when I have down time, and things like cloths or plant hangers when I have more distraction around me 🙂
If you’re looking to add a little color to your life, whether its leafy green or otherwise, you know where to come!
I’m starting to think I should make Saturday the day where I catch you guys up on what else has happened during the week. I love posting about intentional things, but then some other things get lost in the mix. So behold 💁🏼♀️ the things that got lost in the mix of the week!
I started making plant hangers this week! They are suuuper cute, in my opinion 🙂 I also really enjoyed trying to explain to Brady what “boho” means 😆 (Prices range from $15-25, depending on size)
Laela has a stuffed bunny named Chester that she really loves. The other day, I believe the 22nd, was Chesters birthday. At school, Dekker got special permission to print off some gifts for Laela in honour of Chester’s birthday, and he tracked her down at recess to give them to her 💜
Brady and I hit Value Village the other day in search for rubber boots for the kids who needed them for the season. We came across this penis Paris themed container that warranted a photo.
We did eventually find some boots, thankfully. Apparently we are late to the game! Yikes!
Aaaaand we saw these cute little summery guys at Canadian Tire. I know my kids would LOVE them, because they LOVE soft things, and they’re SO excited about summer, but they were $15!! 🤮 Cannot justify that five times!
Brady and I tried out the local Olive Garden, finally. Thankfully their lunch menu is nice and cheap. We both really enjoyed it!
Cher taught us some medical terminology that gave us a good laugh!
Another good laugh was Rowan losing his last front tooth. He lost it at school and came home with a mad lisp, hahaha! It was AWESOME.
The internet showed me some super cute photos of the boys when they were so much littler 💜 Oof. They keep aging…
Aaaaand closing this off with a picture of Brady and I as we waited for his Instagram live to start last night! We had a final video with them, where Brady and I both answered some questions and talked about how the Maker Community Project has changed our life. We had a lot of good laughs and a lot of warm encouragement. It was a lot of fun!
Thats it, friends! Thats our week in a nutshell! Care to share anything from your week with me?? Drop it in the comments 🙂 I care about your time, too!
Today I wrapped up my first ever commissioned family tartan blanket! I have been really enjoying making the woven, plaid blankets, so this was a welcomed challenge! I put away what I had been working on and went for it!
The client – a friend of mine – sent me a tartan, which I rebuilt on a website called plaidmaker.com. The reality was that the thread could not line up accurately, because it was hundreds and hundreds of strands. So I had to just try my best to make it close. There is more math involved in these plaid blankets than you’d think! The pattern because more saturated, but it was close. I had the proof confirmed, and got to it!
This was the most complex plaid I had ever taken on, and while it took a bit more concentration, it wasn’t actually that much harder at all! More color changes, for sure, but definitely doable!
In the last couple of days, I’ve worked on the assembly. Weaving in all the chains and twisting up the tassels. And today – voila – it is DONE!
The tartan has only TWO strands of red in the whole thing, but they pop SO beautifully! I love them! 😍
I learned a few things making this blanket. I was worried it would be WAY too long, but I made the chains shorter and let them be a bit tighter. It holds the blanket WAY nicer than leaving them looser. Less holes. More structure. And an appropriate length for a throw blanket. I am SO happy with how this one turned out!
Aaaaaaand… best of all… its kid approved!
Deller: You finished it?? Can I hug it?!?!
Now if I could just pump out a couple thousand of these real quick, we could build a house! 😆😩😵
I’m a couple of days late, but Tuesday night wrapped up Brady’s eleventh chemotherapy cycle!
The whole chemo thing has just been a ride 😅 The first few cycles were daunting and scary. We had SO long to go. The beginning was just tough. Then, from the first dose of his seventh cycle, it felt like we could actually take deeper breaths, because we were officially on the other side of it. Moving towards the end. But then the cycles got harder. With every passing round, Brady is affected worse. And while we breathed easy for a couple rounds, they felt harder and harder, because the end was coming closer and closer. You know how that last stretch of waiting for something feels like it takes an eternity? Ya. Its like that. But what I can tell you about this cycle is that, while Brady was once again affected negatively, sick and exhausted, we know there is ONE LEFT. ONE!
For the first time, I can honestly say I am anticipating the next chemo cycle. I’m ready. I want it over with. Brady feels the same, though he is obviously not excited for the hassle and struggle that comes with it. We are both ready for chemo to be in our rear view, thats for sure!
I’ve referred to Brady’s chemo cycles as his menstrual cycle before, right? #sharkweek
At his pre-chemo appointment last week, Brady inquired what the next step was. As in, after chemo. Is that truly the end of his cancer treatment? Because that’s never been really officially confirmed. You’ve heard me spiral about how he’s having the longest cancer treatment cycle with absolutely NO tumour to be seen on his scans. There is nothing to watch shrink, or grow. So. Is this the end? Or will he remain on this form of “maintenance chemo” for longer? Do you want to know their answer?
We’ll talk about that at next month’s appointment.
😒
So we have the pleasure of waiting for that, where we will know the plan for who knows how long with absolutely no warning. Cool. Cool cool cool.
My vote is that Brady is DONE with cancer treatment, and we follow up with MRIs like he has been doing. His next one is due to happen in June. So maybe we’ll go from there. But I hope very much to continue on with our life at that point, without any ties to any scary treatment anymore.
Whew!
One more round.
Five more days.
Twenty-five more pills.
And then we’ll blow cancer a kiss, bid it adieu, and carry on 💜
Speaking of carrying on, here’s a song for you to listen to. Its a tear jerker for me, but very relevant.
All bets were off last year. Undeniably. We couldn’t fathom anything beyond our front door. Maybe it sounds selfish, but it wasn’t. It was sheer survival. We are SO grateful for those who came around us who actually understood that. It was not everyone, unfortunately, but life keeps moving, and praise God, ours is slowwwwwly inching its way back into some semblance of a routine.
We used to go for walks every single evening. We started it a couple of years ago, and it was SO good for us. Here’a a little throwback…
In winter, of course, it all gets tabled. Especially now, as Brady can only get through so much snow/muck with the Batec. While we know there is still more snow to come, we have gone on a couple of walks before bed, and my goodness – I am SO glad we’re back to this.
Brady’s Pro Framer hoodie!
Rowans face, lol
I used to give them “challenges” on our walk, and these two (we call them the twins, lol) ask for them constantly. Things like – skip to the next driveway, run like a stickman, side step to the tree, flap your arms – stuff like that. When they get far enough ahead, I usually call for them to do jumping jacks. And its usually when we’re at a familiar driveway. So keep an eye out for them 😏
Our walk last night was fun. It was really nice out, so a couple of kids opted for hoodies instead of jackets. They ran and fell and played and splashed. They got SOAKED, and they had SO much fun 💜
I am incredibly grateful for my family 💜
We went to the rink, because Solly wanted to go run the sidewalk and ramps around the entrance. Brady joined in, too, and got a little aggressive with it. This is his face after he almost hit me.
He’s a goof. He had it under control. Still.
Aaaaand then Solly wiped out twice and accidentally pooped his pants a little 🤦🏼♀️
Soooo we went home. Lol!
No regrets. Not one. I know where we live, and I know it means there is still more snowy weather to come. But man. How amazing would it be if it all just stayed away and we could reinstate evening walks already??
You know when you make reeeaaally good meals, and your kids kind of turn up their noses and ask for bread with butter? Right. I think you guys have either lived it or can picture it pretty clearly. Most of my kids are very suspicious of any and all “new” food. So that is why Brady and I sometimes eat after the kids go to bed – so we can enjoy good, real food without having to fight with anyone. To be clear, we do often eat the same things as them, and we eat with them LOTS! They are not left or neglected. But to be able to eat and enjoy our food is a pretty nice thing when we get the chance!
An example. Steak. Steak is SUCH a good meal, but goodness, our non-meat eating kids would be so unhappy. We would be riding them to eat their food the whole time, meanwhile wasting more money than average on steaks for kids who didn’t want or appreciate them. Make sense? Yes. Yes it does.
Over the weekend, we had some celebrating to do, and my mom ordered in Chinese for however wanted it. That wound up to be the adults, and Dekker! Dekker has never had asian food, but he was SO gung ho to try!!
Dekker 👏 eats 👏 everything. 👏 He is SUCH a good eater. I love feeding him. This was a first, and he was SO excited! Even when it took longer than we wanted to get it to the house and on the table, he was fine to wait while everyone else ate their KD, as they chose.
Well, friends. It was a success.
This is one happy dude. He tried everything, and happily received more of this and that as he ate. It sounds dumb, but it was fun to watch him try all kinds of new things and choose his favorites. Lemon chicken was a big one. Lemon sauce could go on anything he ate. Sweet and sour pork. Rice, and skinny noodles above the fat noodles. Chicken balls, lol!
It was SO fun to eat with him, and I know he LOVED eating with just the grown ups. As a kid, who didn’t feel SO important when they were singled out to join the adults in the room? I know I did. And I really enjoyed seeing him thrive in that element.
I know I’m supposed to dread him aging and growing up, but I don’t 💜 Its such a treat to know him.
