There is something super special about a kid when they know they look great, and you can just tell in their walk, or how they carry themselves. Now don’t get me wrong. Looks are not the most important. I’m ALL for inner beauty, believe me. Yet still, I love when the kids feel good in all kinds of ways. Of course I want them to be happy if they can be!!

Lately, Solly has started tying his hair back in the ponytail. He tried it over Christmas and has done it every day since. Which I have LOVED. He just feels so fly, and it really shows 💜

This weekend, we were gifted some boxes of boys clothes, and let me tell you. Sol Bond was unlocked.

Solly is absolutely feeling himself in this moment, and does it ever show!!! 😍 This little heartbreaker spent most of this mornings church service snuggled into me and looking up waiting for me to give him a kiss. Didn’t hurt to be all tucked in next to him! He was SUCH a cute confident little man!

I hope you ALWAYS feel this good, Solomon. I am SO proud of you EVERY day, but that strut today was so fun to watch, and I hope I get to see a lot more of it 💜

More change is afoot. More than I am grateful for and also apprehensive about. More elimination. Which I asked for. It was me. Because its important. But its also hard!

So today, you will get a picture of my supper, and that is all.

Penne. Beef. Salt, pepper, and garlic. Plain tomato sauce. Tomatoes and mushrooms. Alfredo after taking out a scoop or two.

And carrots. Butter, salt and pepper after scooping some out.

And water.

Allergen free for the one who needs it.

Its gonna be a challenging few weeks over here! Wish us luuuuuck! 😅😬

Last year, Dekker had to get some work done at the doctors. I don’t want to blow all of his details, but I do have his permission to share the story, because its a zinger 🤣 So I’ll be a little vague, but I’m sure many will follow. 

So Dekker went in twice for some simple procedures. They weren’t fun procedures, but they were common enough. He had a great doctor who we could joke with, who was super soft, and who just so happened to also be connected to Kinasao! All around a really wonderful person to be connected to! 

At these appointments, there was some cauterizing. Quite a bit, actually. As I’m sure you can imagine, the smell was pretty strong by the end of it. You probably know the smell I mean. That burning flesh smell 😬 It was not a nice smell. 

And out of nowhere, Dekker commented “Mmmmm! Smells like popcorn twists in here!” 

Our doctor was floored!!!
“Dekker!!!! You just ruined popcorn twists!!!” 

MAN did we ever laugh!!! 

🤣

Come Christmas time, I was setting up gift ideas, including our doctor, and I suggested we give a Christmas card to the doctor who helped him out this year as well. And then it struck us. 

We should give her popcorn twists. 😳

We bought a big bag and Dekker wrote a note that went something like this:

“Remember that time you burned me and it smelled like popcorn twists? Thanks for that.”

We felt pretty good about that message, haha! 

And thankfully, so did the doctor. She texted me mid-Christmas break and said she laughed SO hard, hahahaha! 

What a win 😅 Goodness. Its nice to have a funny memory tied to a tricky time such as that. I think all of us got a good laugh out it. 

Dekker, you are a great sport 💜 Thank you for being exactly who you are! And for letting me post this. 

Welp. Tis the season for grocery delivery people to start taking back alleys again.

🤦‍♀️

Don’t ask me why. I even have it typed in ALL CAPS in my instructions NOT to take the alley! I say YOU WILL GET STUCK!!! But apparently uber maps things thats the ideal way to our home. Try as I might, they still occasionally make the trek back there. Its been a good stretch since the last guy tried. Last winter.

Today was the second time they texted asking for help digging out their vehicle. I wanted to be kind, and since supper was not quite yet on the table, I figured I could run out for a couple of minutes and if it was a quick fix, I could help. I ran back there and… no vehicle. Nope. None.

I texted the guy back and he was in a different alley of a different street! He tried to reassure me that it was just one street over, and asked if I could help. I said I was sorry, but I had eight children all to myself at that point, and I couldn’t.

Now, unlike the last guy who was suuuuuper bitter that we couldn’t help him, this guy was incredibly gracious, got his car out after a little shovelling, apologized for the delay, and told me he totally understood why I couldn’t help. SO kind.

And now, because he did bring our groceries, I have enough enormous flat box for the kids to stack into and yell for pictures to be taken of them. Notice I did not specifically say the babies. There were absolutely big kids involved each time. I’d show a picture or twelve, but of course, I cannot :/ Merp. Take my word for it, though. “Mom! CHEEEEESE!” Aaaaaall evening. A very cute problem to have. This particular box also doubles as a stage, if you were wondering. Or a soapbox, perhaps.

It’s been a cute evening. I am SO tired. And I’m going to eat lasagna in bed later. So the day should wrap up pretty nicely 💜

Spoons and LD have had a tricky time adjusting back to the regular routine of school. They have become so well conditioned to having everyone home, rowdy, and at their disposal for the last few weeks. So naturally, they are pretty attention seeking and extra needy.

And I have had the pleasure of sitting on the floor and reading with them more these days. Without all the action of the holidays, with everyone home, and with Cher jumping back into working here in full swing, I have been able to spend more time just playing with the babies. If ONLY I could post pictures. Ugh.

A fun shift has been reading books. Neither of the two have ever really had the interest or attention span to sit and little to a book. Even a little board book. But that changed over Christmas! They would sit for book after book after book! They will both stack onto my lap, each with a book in hand, I’ll read both, and they’ll get up for more. Its FUN!

They also got some Little People that they LOVE, and they will eagerly exclaim “Guys!!” when they go for them. We can sit and read and stack “guys” into little random homes throughout the living room. We can stick Squigz to the floor, or wrap ourselves in blankets and take funny selfies. It has been a true treat to help them through this transition time by being a bit more playfully attentive while they adjust.

While its overwhelming sometimes, I wouldn’t trade having all three little ones stacked on my lap for anything.

I am SO fortunate to have them here to love, and to be loved by them, also! And! To be so well supported by our loved ones so we can take this time to slow down a little when the babes need it.

What a precious gift for our family 💜

Yesterday being the first day of school back from the new year, I asked the elementary school kids to take notice of a couple of things. I know that January brings skating and curling, and each kid has different days for different activities. I knew the teachers would be getting in touch, but I asked the kids to keep an ear out for the information on their own and try to lock it in. I asked them to tell me when they got home if they remembered. Low pressure. Nothing crazy at all.

When Solly came home, he stood in front of me with a sheet of paper and told me exactly what day his curling was on, what day his skating was on, what their starting dates were, and what was required to participate.

He was SO thorough!! I thanked him for relaying the information to me so quickly. I assumed he was reading notes his teacher had everyone copy down, but when I asked, he casually said “No, no one made me write it down, I just took a couple of notes.”

😳

This 🙌 is NOT like Solly.

I stood and stared at him with my hands out in total, utter shock. PLEASED! But SHOCKED!

And the little monkey reached out, and shook my hand that was outstretched in total astonishment.

🤣🤣🤣

Is that not completely hilarious?!?!?! MAN did I laugh!!!

Anyway. I was SO impressed with Solly taking initiative the way he did. He went over and above to write everything down for me, and bring it to me right away upon getting home. He is a forgetful one, and less attentive to most details, but he nailed it yesterday 💜 Man. SO impressed.

Last year, Brady applied for a forgivable government loan to get our en suite redone. And they granted it!! We’ve waited a while, made our plans, and today was the day it officially began!!

If you’ve seen our place, you might know that our en suite is roughly the size of a postage stamp. It would be an ok size for Brady and I pre-para. The wheelchair made it super tight in there. But the commode chair is even bigger, and then the shower bench just sucks up ALL the floor space. Considering all the medical supplies and bathroom things we need to store in there now, its just SO much need and SO little space.

Our closet is much the same. Small. Pretty close to useless.

So we decided to combine them both into one long bathroom, and work out some type of closet system in our room. Its not perfect. It will take some adjusting. And our smallish bedroom will be smaller still.

But! It will work better!!! So we are VERY excited for this renovation!!!

We worked all weekend to get our bathroom and closet cleaned out, and tried to make sense of our things in a way that would at least make them usable, though not pretty, while the work was being done.

Today, our guy came. Jared. He owns OSC Accessibility, and he is truly a joy to be around and work with. He came first thing and got right into it. He worked fast and intentionally, with a podcast going in his ear, cleaning up every inch of anything he left behind. He did ALL the demolition today. ALL of it. The wall between the two rooms is gone. Lots of drywall is torn down and flooring is pulled up. And ALL the fixtures are gone. Amazing, hey?? In ONE day!

He’ll be back tomorrow. I can’t wait for this all to get moving along. I can tell after even one day that it might be a challenging adjustment over here. Not having a bathroom when you’re used to one will be challenging for both of us. Going into the main bathroom is fine, of course, but we do have that one kid that dives out of his room the moment he hears movement in the house, so, theres that. Plus nap time is going to be a bit of a challenge. Munchie Mix napped in the pantry today 😅 The others will get the hang of it. And hey. If they don’t, they’ll go to bed earlier in the evening. No harm done! All in all, we are just SO unbelievably grateful for the chance to make this change to improve our situation! For Brady to be able to move around freely in the bathroom. To SHOWER without SO much struggle and effort. It will be new freedoms. I can’t wait!

Day one is in the books ✅ I couldn’t be happier with how it went. Thank you, God, for blessing us in this way. EASE!! What an enormous gift we’re being given!!!

Yesterday, we worked to go through our closet and got rid of some older clothes we were done with. We offered a few shirts that don’t fit Brady anymore to Dekker, and guys. They fit.

Sure, they’re a little roomy, but WOW is it ever fun to see him growing up so much all of a sudden! I know I’m supposed to dread the aging but I actually am enjoying some parts of it. And this is one part I really like 😍 Dekker wearing Bradys clothes. I love it.

Thats it thats all 💜 I like seeing Dekker wear Brady’s shirts. Its adorable and sweet. As are my men.

Todays events were SO cute!!!

If you remember, one of her Christmas gifts was getting her ears pierced!!! I got in touch with our friend who just so happens to be a piercer right here in town, and she was willing to commit to making it happen before school was back up and running. And that day was TODAY!!!

In her own words, she was “scareder than she was before” but she was also bubbling with excitement!

Jolene is bomb. It goes without saying if you’ve ever met her or had the pleasure of having a service provided by her. Her husband also happens to be the guy we go to for tattoos! We’re big fans of them!

Laela came for moral support, big sister style 💜

Jolene talked Wave through each step she was doing. And guys, she didn’t even flinch. Not for a second!!

Reminding Wavy to breathe, to reassure her body and brain that everything was ok.

Jewelry innnnn…

And DONE!!! 🙌

It was SO quick! In and out! Almost wished it took longer since it is always really, really nice to be in their little shop 💜

Wave was SO thrilled, and when it was all over and she could let down, she had a cry 💜 Which we had even talked about ahead of time so she knew it was normal and TOTALLY ok. The anticipation is worse than the actual pain. She totally agreed, and was SO happy when she got to see her earrings in the mirror!

So. *whispers* If you see Wavy tomorrow, make a fuss about her earrings, ok? She feels SO special!

*ahem* But you didn’t hear it from me.

😏😍

It’s been a busy Christmas. A really good one! But a busy one nonetheless. There is pretty much always a puzzle going at Christmas, am I right? Yes. I am. However, this time around, there just wasn’t a lot of time for one. Not to mention the challenge of keeping a space clear for it where it is free from babies sticky fingers. So we just didn’t do one. 

Except it BUGGED me. I MISSED puzzling! And my island was so clear, just waiting to be filled 🤣 It’s just always a part of Christmas! 

So yesterday evening, I pulled one out. I did all the fussy work – sorting out the border pieces, building the border, and setting out the rest of the pieces intentionally. 

Today, I stood at the island for a bit while the kids read quietly in the living room, and I worked on it. Not so slowly, they all made their way over to where I was and they joined the puzzle. Now I’m not one who can’t share my puzzle. I can. And today was a tough one  for it because WOW were the kids ever loud and obnoxious and so incredibly challenging to exist so closely around for so much time 🤣 I say it all with love. I literally had a kid making animal sounds, shoving their head in between my arm and my body, expecting a head scratch. I was left deep breathing by the end 😂but I DIDNT nitpick their fun, or kick them out, and they never got out of hand. 

And I’m really glad I stuck it out. They LOVED being at the island, puzzling with me. We finished it. Easily. Together. 

Some days, that kind of noise and nonsense is just too much for me. And I could feel that point approaching. But I chose to soak in the together time and I’m really glad I did. And I’m glad they stayed and puzzled. It was a nice memory to make together. Hopefully many more puzzles in our future.