Cabin fever is an illness that lurks around this house a lot, and as I mentioned in my post a while back about goals for the upcoming year, I’ve decided to take action against that. Its within my power to be healthy in this particular way at least, so I claim that!

This morning, I woke up with a touch of cabin fever and we decided to counter it with a trip out of the house. We looked at our grocery list and really needed very few things. But we brainstormed a bit and thought of a few other things we could fill the day with that would need to be done soon anyway. Just because they weren’t food didn’t mean they didn’t need to be done! So we all got ready and headed out right after breakfast. I know the cold weather will eventually come back, but I’m choosing to embrace the part of me that feels like spring, so we all wore our spring jackets and I didn’t make anyone listen to Christmas music even! Go me.

Our first stop was Target. As I’m sure everyone in Canada has heard, Target is closing its doors. Its Canadian doors, anyway. I’m one of those people who isn’t particularly attached to Target to begin with, so I don’t care very much. However, I like them for a handful of things. No, for anyone wondering, the mad sales haven’t come out yet, but I didn’t want to wait for everything to be picked over. The kids sat super well while Brady and I hemmed and hawed our way through bedding and bought ourselves three new sheet sets, three new crib sheets, and a new blanket. We LOVE our blanket, and I don’t think we’ll ever replace it. We have a beautiful, custom made, extra large king blanket, and today, we purchased a thin, summery quilt. But this particular quilt I have had my eye on since the very first time I went into Target. It was time to bring it home. I also ducked into the makeup section and bought a couple e.l.f. products, since Target is the only place around who sells the brand. Hopefully I don’t really love any of it, since its kind of my last opportunity!

We grabbed lunch afterwards, as the kids were already fading. At least Laela was. She was so tired, poor dear, but food always helps, right? Once we were all fed, we ducked into Superstore for our few groceries and of course, cookies for the kids. We were in and out very quick, which is always good with the littles.

Home Depot was last. We bought some paint samples the other day, and loved two out of the three colors. They were all fairly light shades of grey, and I think we need one shade darker. So we stopped in to grab another sample of the next darkest shade in line and actually talked to someone fairly knowledgeable. He gave us lots of info, and showed us the products we were looking for so we’d know how to plan and how much of everything we’d need. We grabbed a few little supplies so we can at least start prepping for the paint, and then just grabbed our sample.

The kids napped the whole drive home and were too awake upon arriving home to go back down, so they were a bit touchy for the evening, but did ok. We painted the swatch almost immediately after arriving home, and it looked exactly the same as one of our other colors. Its dried darker, which is nice, but I’m not sure its quite different enough. Sigh. I wish you guys could just drop in and see the colors. We need input!

After some supper and some solid playtime, both kids were shot. Laela was crying, sooo ready to go to bed, and Dekker was furious with all things and apparently sooo not ready for bed. Good thing we know him. So getting him upstairs into bed was a bit of a challenge but he’s there now. Oh! Third night successfully in megabed, for anyone wondering. Full success 🙂

I had a great, cabin fever free day! And tomorrow, Jerilee is coming over to watch our kids so Brady and I can go on an actual DATE! As in shopping, dinner, and a movie. Woohoo!!! Going out two days in a row is one thing, but being hands-free one of those days is a pretty special treat 🙂 Can’t wait!!

So I’m sorry for the total cheat post yesterday. I know there was virtually nothing in depth about it, but it was such a great day, and there was no way I was going to cut into Jerilee time to blog. Sorry! Such is life. And I’m pretty sure I do this daily, so a cheat here and there should be relatively acceptable. I’m assuming you all forgive me. Thanks guys 😉

So! Yesterday! Brady had been working a private job for a couple of days, and was able to finish off the last few hours of work in the morning, so he came home, got himself ready, and we left for the city. We waited in the waiting room less than ten minutes before getting into our appointment, and were maaaybe waiting for two minutes in the exam room before Dr. Guselle arrived. It was a fully room with us all in there, but so rarely are in the kids in good enough shape to come in. But they were this time, and she greeted them and they were very comfortable with her. We talked a little bit about Christmas, and how I was feeling. I’m pretty pumped that I only gained three pounds over the holidays!! She confirmed that the prescription she gave me a month ago for my ridiculous acid reflux was working, and asked about dizziness and swelling. I’m so pleased that I haven’t had any swelling of my hands and feet with any pregnancy thus far, and the dizziness seems to have passed as well. Yay for feeling well! Minus my pelvis, of course, but I’m working on that. Kind of out of my hands and into Dr. Mikes.

Dr. Guselle went through the usual motions of checking my blood pressure, measuring my uterus, and listening for baby. It makes me nervous that babys heart rates go down so much by the end of pregnancy, but I know its normal. I just prefer the 160-170s over the 130s. But there was lots of movement, and everything is growing at the right speed.

I’m INCREDIBLY pleased to report that our baby boy is officially head down!! I was nervous before, knowing that he was breech, and quite comfortable there. Not me. I wasn’t comfortable. He was though. But Dr. Guselle triple checked, and even showed me where I could sort of pinch my lower abdomen and feel the head. Really, really awesome. Praise the Lord for a really good chance of a vaginal delivery!

Lastly, we talked briefly about how I was feeling regarding actually delivering. She knows my nerves are pretty much shot on the subject, and that I’m trying really hard to be brave, but failing a little bit. I had actually expected to post about this a while ago and ask for help, but I was nervous it would get too controversial. I’m just going to quickly break down how I’ve been feeling on the subject, if you guys have time to read it 🙂

I was told immediately after having Laela that I would be offered the option to have a scheduled induction. Knowing that my body could do what it did (labour for only 1.5 hours), I had every medical reason to be induced. That way, I would know that I would be in the hospital when the baby was born. I wouldn’t have to have that terrifying feeling that I had last time, driving to the hospital in a panic, and almost not making it into delivery. As soon as I was told I could have an elective induction, I was relieved. YES! I’ve since worked through Laela’s delivery a bit more, and I feel like I have a much better handle on it. I was confident that I didn’t need the induction. I know that I CAN deliver naturally, because I’ve done it, and we all lived. But as the delivery draws near, I’m finding myself in fear of labor for the first time. I wasn’t nervous to deliver Dekker for a second. Not at all. I wasn’t afraid of the pain, or the unknown. I was excited! And his delivery was awesome!! So I was really anticipating Laela’s starting too! Now, for obvious reasons, I’m scared of labor. And fear plus pain is one of the worst combinations I’ve ever experienced. So with all of these thoughts running through my mind, I began to really reconsider the induction. YET, there is no medical reason why I shouldn’t just wait it out! While Laela’s birth was chaotic, technically, it was a health and uncomplicated delivery! Every health care provider will tell you the “ideal” is to wait until baby is ready, and then you’ll go into labor naturally, which I agree with on a lot of levels. I feel like I’m having to choose between physical and mental health. Am I making any sense? There has been a lot of flip flopping on my part in the recent past. If my best choice is to wait until ten days past, what if he still hasn’t come? Then I’ll be induced anyway, and then the kid will be itching to come, just like Laela, and I’ll have another one hour labor. My “best” choice seems to be my highest risk, and the option that will definitely wreak the most havoc on my brain and heart. I’ve really been struggling with this, knowing the choice is mine.

So Dr. Guselle asked very casually how I was feeling about the whole thing, and I had so hoped to have some resolution in my head, or some answer to give her, but I didn’t. I just kind of shook my head, and said I had no idea what I was going to do, or what was the right choice, and that I really wasn’t looking forward to the whole thing. She took it all very calmly and just checked her calendar. Her on-call days aren’t booked that far ahead just yet, but she is currently on call at the hospital on Mondays, and my technical due date is a Monday. So she very casually said “Well, why don’t we just say we’ll induce you on your due date for now? You’d probably be the most comfortable going through all of this together with me, right?” Ummm…YES! That is my ideal circumstance! She mentioned a couple of times that lots of third time moms go a week or two early, but having carried Laela nine days over, I’d be incredibly surprised if I went into labor on my own early. So we’re sticking with March 2nd, and as long as I don’t labor for days, she will likely be the person to deliver!! We’ll keep a close eye on baby the last couple of weeks, and if I’m starting to have any real changes, or lots of pre-labor, we may reassess and change the day, but tat is currently how things stand. I left her office feeling so understood, so listened to, and like she completely gets us and is rooting for us. I feel light, and at ease. Relief.

I learned a lot through delivering Laela. One of the big things that I learned is that plans are just place holders for what is actually going to happen. I didn’t go into Laela’s birth with a long list of demands by any means, and many of us know that delivering a child is one of the most unpredictable things in the world, but I had no idea it could go so backwards! Sooo opposite of what the “plan” was. So I accept that the plans I made with Dr. Guselle could change drastically at any moment. I accept that I could be induced and labor for days. I could go into labor naturally and have a picture perfect delivery. Or, I could go into labor, rush to the hospital, not make it, and have the baby in the van on the highway. Any any way in between. Anything can happen. Its sooo far out of my hands. But I’ll make plans now, to help myself feel better and prepared, and then we’ll see what actually happens.

After this appointment, I feel more excited. While I still am nervous about delivery, I’m more anxious to see how its going to start. Once its started, I think I’ll be able to get into the zone (lots of you ladies know the zone I’m talking about) and once all the crazy of labor is over, I will actually have a new life to hold and cuddle and care for!! I absolutely cannot wait to get this little boy out of me and into a cozy flannel blanket and home to his family. We are all anxiously awaiting his arrival <3

* Sorry for the novel of a post. I hope I didn’t babble too much. I’d love to hear your guys encouraging take on things. Thanks for taking the time to read.

I feel so light and airy after today! Its pretty late, and hubs works bright and early tomorrow, so I’ll give you the Readers Digest version of the day, but I think I’ll expand on things about more tomorrow 🙂 I’ll tell you the two highlights though.

Today was my 33 week prenatal appointment, and it was really, really successful. This is my first pregnancy where I’ve actually found myself dreading certain things. I’ve never had those feelings in the past, but this time around, I’m nervous about lots of upcoming things, decisions I have to make, and general health and wellness. I had so many wonderful answers given to me today, and I realized more than ever that my doctor is 100% rooting for me, and our family. She gets me, waaay better than I thought she did. I left the office feeling light and relieved. I’m so pleased!

Another fun story from today is that Jerilee came out for the evening. The kids were completely wired for not having napped in the afternoon, so they were completely hyper, showing off, and racing around, and making jokes. It was constant for the hourish that she was around before they went to bed. Brady took them upstairs to put them down for the night, and our plan worked! Earlier, we had set up his brand new blanket and pillow up on megabed, and Brady easily enticed him up there. He’s currently sleeping soundly in megabed for his first night, with hopefully many to follow. He loved his new bedding! Once Brady resurfaced, we made a late supper for the three of us of snacks and bad things, and we watched the Bachelor premiere that we’d all missed from last week. It was so much fun to watch it all together 🙂 What a fabulous group of beautiful people I have in my life! There are many more, don’t you all worry, but it was such a fun time.

The evening was awesome, but thanks to glitchy wifi, it took a looong time to watch the episode and Jerilee is just on her way home now, so hopefully we can find an alternative way to watch next time. But it was worth the fuss. Solid fun.

Ok, time for sleep. I’ll post more details about my doctors appointment tomorrow. I know there is likely a solid group of you guys who don’t care, but it was a really enlightening and uplifting time, and I’m eager to share 🙂 Sleep deep, if you aren’t already.

Today was actually a pretty awesome day 🙂 As I’ve mentioned, my mom isn’t feeling awesome these days so we haven’t seen her too much. But this morning, I got the kids up, dressed, fed, and out the door to go see her for a few hours!

In the morning, the kids were sooo cute getting dressed! Dekker is starting to have opinions about what he wears, and he kiboshed the shirt I picked for another one. He was very complimentary of Laela, and told her multiple times that he “loved her pretty little dress.” It was pretty much adorable to see him dote on her. They sat and ate very well for breakfast, so I could go get my makeup on and my teeth brushed. When I surfaced from the bathroom, Dekker said “Oooo! I like your lip stuff, mommy!” That little boy is SUCH a sweetheart! I noticed then that he had finished his cereal (likely a while ago) and was waiting for some yogurt. But he hadn’t even asked because he knew I was “busy.” I was waiting for him to ask! My bad. So I grabbed him and Laela both some strawberry yogurt and got that started.

We drove to grandmas house afterwards, and the kids were sooo ready to be there! They were entirely comfortable, and happy to play toys and hear stories. Its so nice that Laela can go up and down the stairs on her own now too, since the sunken living room makes for lots of stair climbing. They just moved in for the couple of hours that we were there. It was so nice to catch up, even just a little bit, with my mom. Dekker was pretty devastated when I began tidying the toys up, but grandma promised him a little treat on their way out. Once everyone was in their jacket and boots, all three of us got to enjoy a little chocolate, which actually really seemed to lessen the blow of leaving.

Since getting home, the kids have napped, and I’ve visited on the phone with Bradys mom. We haven’t talked…I’m gonna say its been since Christmas?! Anyway, it was necessary!! We caught up for a goooood long visit, which was quite lovely. We talked about how great the holiday had been, what we’ve missed in the last month, and whats coming up! Baby talk, work talk, etc.

It was really nice to get in a good solid visit with both moms today 🙂 But the kids are waking up, and Brady is on his way home, and I am sooo hungry! Talking about food will do that to you. (Thanks for that, Elvira 😉 ) Time to take on the rest of the day!

*Consider that this entire blog is written in a very, very quiet room that must stay that way. Whisper!!

The kids were awake when I woke up, but not crazy awake at all. They were very quiet, but I could see them moving around. Dekker was rolling around in his bed, talking quietly, and Laela was actually sitting in her crib with her little legs hanging through the bars, so she could face her brother. They often play louder and louder, and I finally get them when they’re god and ready after lots of boisterous play. Today, they never really turned the volume up too loud, so I got them a bit earlier. Everyone was happy and content, and ready to be up. Just quiet.

We all had cereal at the table, and Dekker talked about how the tree continued to not be in our living room, and that Griffmas appeared to be over. Laela quietly ate her Cheerios and listened to our conversation. Once breakfast was over, the two littles immediately went downstairs together and I stayed up to do the dishes. It was really quick today, since the dishwasher had dirty stuff in it, and I only had to add in some dishes from our late night snacking, and now breakfast. Really not much, but at least it got cleaned. I went to join the kids shortly afterwards.

They were playing happily together, but both just wanted to come sit on my lap and be comfy for a bit. So we watched a little tv and sat together, again, quietly.

The afternoon was welcomed with lots of noise, and unfortunately, some anger. Yes, my anger was present, but I mean that Dekker is working pretty hard on his temper right now. I know, he’s three, and somehow thats supposed to excuse stuff, but it doesn’t. The kids went from quiet and content to Dekker being super mean to Laela. Over and over again. When it was approaching their regular nap time, I talked Dekker down once again and told him how important it is for him to be nice to Laela, and that if he was frustrated, he could always just walk away. I told him the next time he blew up at her, we would just got down for nap time then instead of waiting until the normal time. Within minutes, he got visibly angry at her again. Her crime? Kneeling next to a box of cars that he was not playing with. Yup. Reasonable, I know. So I sent him upstairs, screaming all the way, while I gathered Laela, and our lunch dishes, and shut off the lights.

When I got to the kids room, Dekker had taken his glasses off and was laying in bed already. I set Laela down and she rushed over to him immediately. She is sooo forgiving. He reached over and sort of put her in a headlock/hug, gave her a kiss, and said “I just love you.” I know he does. I snagged Laela and put her in bed, and they both looks nice and cozy when I left.

I didn’t go turn on the monitor right away. I went to the kitchen and washed a couple of my gnarliest makeup brushes first. But I forgot to wear my belt thing and it seems those few minutes killed me. So I grabbed a drink and went to put my feet up and turn the monitor on. Both children are cashed out. Less than fifteen minutes. Dekker hadn’t even ruffled his blanket. Its now been over an hour and they still haven’t flinched. I’m sooo thrilled that they both went down so well! Funny how it comes at a time when I was finally accepting that Dekker just wasn’t going to nap anymore. I was just hoping to force them on him over Christmas, and then expect them to be gone for the new year. But nope! Clearly, he really needed one today!

While I normally try to be relaxed about their day sleeps, and move around the house as much as I need to, today, I will not move until they are awake. I will remain in my room until they are up and around in theirs. They need their sleep, clearly, and I welcome the quiet time with open arms! So does my sore butt and legs.

The fun of the weekend is over, and we’re back to the fun of the weekdays! I always feel awesome when I wake up to the sound of silence, like today. The kids were awake, and playing happily and surprisingly quietly in their room together. At one point, I observed Dekker standing in front of Laela’s crib, singing her songs, and she danced and danced to his music. It was beautiful and heart warming. I love those kids.

Breakfast was seamless, and the kids went down to play on their own. While they were downstairs, I did the dishes and called the government about my student loan. Every year, I have to put some info about my loan into my tax stuff, and I never get the letter in good time. So I called and asked for the number I needed, and they said it wasn’t generated yet. So I’ll try again in a week or two. But at least I tried! As a brief side note, I’m pretty sure I only have one year left to pay off my loan!!! I’m paying it off putridly slowly, and I know I could boost the payment, but its such a small, easy payment, and I’m not too choked about it, so we’ll pay it down for another year and then be FREE! Yay!!!

Upon arriving downstairs, I was met by two littles on their new chairs, playing with toys on their laps. It was pretty adorable. I had plans to spend the morning laundering the things we bought the kids yesterday from Value Village, but decided instead to keep it comfy. After such a big day yesterday, my kids love a good pj day. But I did feel the need to accomplish at least something, so we opted for beautification 😉 Nail painting!!

I opted for purple for Laela, since she had pink last time. I’m not thrilled with the shade. Its not very bright in person. But oh well. She doesn’t seem to mind it.

Dekker wanted to be part of the fun, and he picked green, which was super cute, in my opinion. Don’t be judging me for painting my sons toe nails, please! He hangs out with girls all day. Why shouldn’t he join the fun??

I painted mine as well, but they didn’t exactly warrant a picture, so you’re just gonna have to trust me. Hopefully we’ll get Brady in on it later this evening 😉

After the fastest spa treatment in the world, the kids and I took some goofy pictures before Dekker decided to go upstairs. Sometimes he goes up there for just a second to get something, and then sometimes he stays up there for a half hour. I never worry. He never gets into any mischief. And mainly, I know he likes his space, and that sometimes he finds Laela’s constant presence overwhelming. So he goes away when he knows he needs to, and he’s usually really friendly when he makes it back. This time, he was gone for quite a while. He resurfaced after maybe a half hour. He brought down all of the Little People princesses that Laela got for Christmas in a little box, and presented them to her. He also told me that he turned on the Christmas lights. And then he went about his business, playing toys in the basement like always. I love him.

Thankfully, both kids were very ready for nap time. Not that Dekker wasn’t sad, but he was asleep after probably ten minutes. This doesn’t happen all that often, but I love it when it does. He’s currently been sleeping for two hours! As the kids are sleeping, I’m in bed. I sound lazy, huh? Well, I’m taking my rests where I can. Ten to one says I might not ever get this 100% quiet time again! I’m not sure Dekker will still be napping by the time his little brother comes around! Who knows. My anticipation for those coming days is really growing. I can’t wait to have my new little boy in my arms! But I’ll take the goofballs that currently live in my house, too 🙂 Big fans of those kids.

I’m having SO much fun actually feeling positive these last few days, so I hope no one is annoyed at my positivity! And I also really, really hope that I’m not going to be dubbed as shallow on this post, but we went into the city just to run a few errands and just had a wildly successful shopping day! Successful enough to make into a photo post even, haha! So hopefully you can enjoy, because we really did. We feel great, and like today was so much more fun than we originally had planned.

The whole thing started with spring jackets. Stores are starting to sell out their winter stuff and bring in spring, and The Children’s Place is a store whose outerwear I really like, but thats about it. The little girls spring jackets were on sale online, I really liked two of them, but I figured I’d be responsible and see if I could find something cute at Value Village first. Her last denim jacket came from there, and it looked brand new. So right after breakfast, we all piled into the van and headed to Value Village first.

We did really well at our first stop! We got a little something for everyone. Brady got a couple of new work shirts. I got a cute coral spring jacket that currently cannot fit over my belly but likely will in time. Other than that, here’s what we got!

Tiny little measuring bowls!! Not the whole set, but I thought they were super cute, and I kind of have a weird affinity for tiny bowls. And a cow creamer!!! Because mooooo!

This shirt for Dekker 🙂 Its too big on him right now, but it was cheap and hilarious. I appreciate a good stick man joke.

These will also be too big on the new baby, but we thought they were super stylin’ and could not be passed up.

Yes, Laela got the most. She got a denim jacket that is actually brand new, as in it still has the Old Navy tag on it. The sweater beside it is actually fleece lined and beautifully soft, and was only $2! And the little yellow dress is lined and gorgeous and comes with the little yellow matching gitch. Big wins all around, I’d say!

After Value Village, we hit up Circle Mall. I figured, since we got the denim jacket for so cheap, we could justify going to The Children’s Place and getting the other jacket that I liked so much. I know, its twisted logic, don’t judge. But I was met with easily our best deal of the day! No little spring bomber jacket (totally over that now) BUT all their winter wear was on sale! I had seen that it was online but there was nothing for us in any of the kids sizes, so I had given up. But this store was stocked and ready! Everywhere, there were signs offering 50% off, so I jumped. I texted Brady, he agreed, and I went for it. Jackets ranged from $80-$90, and snow pants were around $50. I bought all THREE of the kids a new jacket and pair of snow pants, and instead of paying around $400, I paid $140!!!!! And guys, they are going to look sooooo good!

Dekker and Baby Jim’s new stuff for next winter…

And Laelas!

They will be sooo warm! I was momentarily disappointed when the boys jacket I liked the best wasn’t available in either kids size, but who can truly complain when the price is quite so good? I can’t! I bought 12-18 month for the baby. Hopefully it’ll be close. It might be huge, but he might be huge, so who knows! I think the gamble was worth it. If not, I’ll resell it. Not worried.

Superstore was next. We only needed a handful of things though. I went to pick up a prescription refill while Brady and the kids bought canned corn and cereal. I met them in the laundry detergent aisle to hunt down a new stain remover. Oxy Clean, let’s see what you can offer me. Before we left, we got the kids cookies, because we can’t leave without cookies! They were both pretty pleased and polite as they demolished their cookies. Cute cookie kids.

We went to Home Depot to look at paint chips, and came out with samples for what we hope to paint our house with! We actually found one sheet that carried three colors that we loved! I’m really looking forward to getting some swatches up and seeing how we feel about the colors. My one beef with that, though, was that each sample cost $5!! Definitely not the best deal we got today :/ But hopefully we’ll get our answer anyway, and then can get on with the process. I’m just excited to have them in my house!

Our last hit was Costco. We got there right before closing, and I went in for laundry detergent while Brady and the kids filled up with gas. Costco gas was sooo cheap, PS! Inside, I doddled through the clothing section and bought Dekker a new pair of swim shorts.

His are getting so small, and they’re so young looking. These are wicked trendy and I loved them. Then, I wandered around the back section of cleaners and paper products for about ten minutes, not trusting my brain but not finding the laundry detergent. I finally asked for help and she told me it was on sale so it had all sold out. Bummer. I perused the store a bit more than I should have apparently, and ended up stealing a lone cart (don’t judge!) and buying two kids sized recliners!! We’ve wanted those cute kids bucket chairs for a while now, but can’t seem to find any, so these were PERFECT! They were the first thing we accomplished upon arriving home, and went over very, very well!

Dekker’s latest funny face is hysterical, hey?

Luckily, the kids are in bed now. A day without naps was actually brutally hard on both of them, and they both fell asleep a number of times and had to be woken up within minutes. It wasn’t ideal. They were pretty riled up when we put them down, but they’re definitely winding down and quieter now. Funny how exciting days get them that way 🙂 Super overtired but can’t shut down because it was just too fun!

Meanwhile, Brady is doing some tax stuff, and I’m blogging, obviously. We still haven’t eaten, but hopefully thats not far away. And a soak! My body is sooo ready for a soak! I wore my pelvic support belt thing all day, and I still feel like my right leg might just fall off at any moment. I hope it doesn’t, but as usual, I’ll keep you guys in the loop on that.

This was one heck of a way to celebrate being 33 weeks pregnant 🙂 What a fabulous day!

I think its fair to say we’re been both comfy and productive today. The kids didn’t lull until after 8:30 this morning, so Brady and I watched some Greys Anatomy in bed while they woke up a bit. We went and got them together, which we rarely get to do, changed them, and then Brady got them breakfast while I gathered up all the laundry and got it sorted and started downstairs. We had a few new things that just needed their first wash before wearing, like new work socks for Brady and some sweats for Dekker. I swear, we bought that kind some 3T sweats just a month or two ago and they fit beautifully, and now, if he bends at all, they are ridiculously short. Turns out he’s growing up!! The 4Ts looks massive, but maybe they’ll shrink up in the dryer. Anyway, it all needed to get done.

Once the kids were done breakfast, Brady made us some eggs and toast, and we all cuddled up in the basement for a movie and cuddles. And playing, because Laela is a total daredevil now. She’ll climb up onto the very top of a two-step stool and just stand there and clap her hands like crazy, while I throw up in my mouth, waiting for her to hit the deck. She has a couple of times, but recovers quickly. In fact, the other day I was on the phone when she took a dive. It was just a shorty so I didn’t go racing over. But Dekker observed the fall and raced to the end table, grabbed his water bottle, and rushed back to her. He sat in front of her and fed her water until she stopped crying. He’s an incredibly big brother.

After our movie, it was right around nap time. We told Dekker it was going to be rest time in about ten minutes, as we always do. Usually, he responds with “Ya, without whining!” A very good response, in our opinion. But today, he absolutely lost it. So it would appear that whining was in order. I tried to let him just be sad and that would be ok, but he started getting out of hand and I determined that nap time was, in fact, right that very moment. He was devastated, and screamed the whole way up the stairs, but he actually was asleep within just a few minutes of being tucked in, so he obviously needed the rest.

When the kids were freshly in bed, Brady and I dechristmasified our house. The tree still has to get thrown out, but we’re waiting for the kids to wake up first, since it’ll be loud. But the wreaths are down, the ornaments are packed up and moved downstairs, the bigger decorations and nativity scene are gone, and through the process of putting stuff away, I even purged a bit more crap from my basement. Mondo, ugly vases that I once thought were artsy and creative, but now just realize are ugly and take up way too much space. Once Christmas was down, we got all comfy in our room and Brady has started his last quarterly report for the year, which is the last info we need before we can put our tax information together! I’m definitely looking forward to that. I’ve been cutting some shelf liners and researching paint types and colors for when we paint our place. We’re very seriously thinking of blocking off our living room from the kids and just starting to putty the cracks and nicks. Its going to be a gradual process, whether we want it to be or not, so we may as well start soon! Time to go get our hands on some paint samples and play with swatches 🙂 Maybe I’ll learn to like painting through all of this!

I already hear the kids moving around, which is not the ideal solution to having a productive afternoon, but such is life. Hopefully they’ll go down really nicely at the end of the day then 🙂 Silver lining, all the way.

So while they’ve been small things, I’ve been trying to get a few odd jobs done around the house these days. its felt really good, and I’ve enjoyed seeing little parts of our home tidied up, or just slightly less scattered than before. I don’t have the highest of standards, haha, but I’ll take any improvements that I can get.

Today, however, I didn’t really accomplish anything. I did dishes this morning, but thats pretty much the extent of it. The kdis and I did lots of playing, cuddling, and snacking. They did lots of pooping, so I did lots of changing, and our house did a lot of stinking. It was eventful without being productive, and I think thats fine.

One thing I did accomplish without really lifting a finger was booking a few appointments. I’m pretty bad for constantly pushing things back. Laela is pretty far behind in her shots right now. Let’s not all get on the vaccines debate please! We do the vaccines recommended by the health region at the recommended times, but while they’ll vaccinate anyone that isn’t fevering, I don’t feel good about taking them in until they’re in almost perfect health. Call me paranoid, but the doctors came to the conclusion that Dekker’s eyes crossed because his immune system just took too big of a hit in a short period of time. I don’t want to live in fear, and if Laela’s eyes are going to cross, they’re going to. But I haven’t felt comfortable taking her in for her shots recently. Whether its been a rash, a cold, or teething, every time I plan to take her in for shots, something comes up and plans get cancelled. Well, we are FINALLY all past that gnarly cold (for the moment anyway) and I have booked an appointment for Laela’s one year shots. She’ll be closing in on 16 months by the time we get there, but I’m not concerned, and feel like it was a good move. So I booked that finally, as well as a meeting with a life/disability insurance advisor. I got lots of suggestions from people a while back, but have currently opted to meet with someone who will come to my house after my kids are in bed. Yay! We’ll see if her plan fits our needs, but its good to get the ball rolling anyway. Both of those appointments are about a week and a half away, but they just happened to be the times that worked, so I took the appointments.

I know that seems pretty small, but it feels good to me to finally have that stuff in my calendar. Plans always feel good.

As for plans, Brady and I have some big-ish plans for tomorrow, but I don’t want to say too terribly much in case none of it happens, because I’ll be super embarrassed, haha! But stay tuned for some potential productivity!

** Lastly, and completely off topic, I said a while back that baby Jim was wildly and completely breech. I don’t know much, but I haven’t felt those sharp, low, LOW kicks in a few days, and I’m feeling many more pokes and spanning motions on the top of my tummy. I’m really, really hoping this means he’s flipped. And REALLY hoping he’ll stay put. My kids have pretty significant noggins so gravity should aid us in this, but for those who have been praying, please don’t stop! We’ve gotta keep this baby head down!

As I quickly mentioned last night, we bought a couple of big binders from Walmart to reorganize our worship music into. This is the kind of task that I always mean to do but never get there. Any other time, those stupid binders would have sat in the the side table in our living room with the rest of our music books until our tiny, overstuffed music binder finally broke. Then I’d likely grumble a bit and finally put together all of the music from that binder, plus the huge stack that hasn’t fit into it ever, and get it all put together. BUT I rocked a better attitude and decided to get on it first thing this morning. This is a bit of what I was talking about in my “resolutions” post. Its not a huge job or anything at all, but its something that needs to get done, so why not do it if I have time! Its just sorting a binder. Its really just saying the alphabet over and over in my head and punching holes. Plus, doing it now will likely save me time in the future, as the pile of music just builds and builds. We were so good at putting the new music away immediately for a while, but as the binder got too full, it just stopped happening.

So I sorted and alphabetized and punched holes all morning. I got our whole old binder plus the huge stack reorganized and into a new, MUCH bigger binder. I also separated all of the Christmas out into its own, smaller binder. Everything thats a cover song or mainstream radio music is in its own place as well. Its all good to go! I feel very accomplished, having completed a decent sized task. However, I dont know if I sat funny or what exactly but my butt is killing me and my right leg feels as though it might fall off, so I’ve traded in my chores for my bed, and am taking a load off while Laela naps and Dekker talks quietly in his bed. Might update the laptop in a minute or two. That should be a riot and a half. This is literally as exciting as our day will get, I’m thinking. But its good. I already got something done anyway. Not a total loss 🙂