Ok! A couple of days late, but, happy Father’s Day to Brady!! 

Brady is not only the ideal partner in life for me, but he is an unbelievable dad. He embraced the role beautifully, and softly, and naturally. I remember feeling SO uncomfortable after delivering Dekker, and how he so easily swooped in and changed diapers, swaddled, burped, and advocated. Neither of us knew anything about babies, and he fell into the daddy role so seamlessly. 

Now, he is the father of five beautiful children on earth, and 3+ in Heaven. Its been a RIDE building our family, but God gifted us the same hearts. I am SO grateful to have a husband whose goals are the same as mine. Whose convictions are the same as mine. Who loves our people as much as I do. 

Brady works hard to be the best man he can be. And I saw that with total and complete honesty. He is working to raise the standards for men, to not only fit the stereotypes, but to give to his family, wholly and fully! I could brag and brag, but you can just take my word for it. Thanks to Brady choosing to love his family this way, our boys will have the influence of a warm, loving, gentle father who includes them, explains things to them, teaches them respect, consideration, kindness, and to love the Lord their God with all of their heart, soul, and mind. 

I could not be more thankful to God for giving us Brady ❤️ 

A couple of days ago, we went on a long mosey walk, to check the mail and entertain the kids for an hour or two. We landed at the high school track, and I’ve gotta say, that was the BEST. 

At first, the kids just joked around and ran here and there, but then it became laps, and it was SO crazy to see how far they could go! The younger ones had shorter attention spans, obviously, but Waverly would trot/walk around the whole track, just to be with everyone else. 

It was just SO cute, all around!

Brady and I have both talked about our desires to be more active, and we’ve tossed around the ideas of maybe running with the kids if they show interest. Brady did a lap around the track with Dekker, and it really seemed to make him happy 🙂 Both of them. 

You may not know about me, but I used to be a pretty decent runner. It was a LONG time ago, but my mom insists I was a very natural runner. I LOVED running. I am garbage at team sports, but track was my jam in school. The 1500m was my race. I remember, in seventh grade, my school ran grades 7-12 at the same time, and I crushed absolutely everyone by about two blocks. All that to say, I loved running. It was SO easy for me. And sometimes I want that back. 

I ran a lap with Laela, too, and I have to say – I really really loved it. 

I can confidently say that Laela is a natural runner. 

She is amazing. 

Its so crazy. Her stride is huge, and she has mad endurance. She’d run a lap, stop for a few seconds to chat, and run another lap. Then she’d run across to walk Wavy the rest of her lap. Then she’d run another. Then she’d backpedal and run back to meet Rowan. Then she’d run another. I think she lapped the track six times? Maybe more? I’m not sure. While I can’t see myself run as a child, I can pretty confidently say she runs like I did. Effortlessly. I was SO impressed. 

It was actually sad to leave the track that day, but I’m confident we’ll be back again. In the meantime, we may have to nurture some skills we didn’t know about! I’m excited!! 

We’re a day late, but better late than never! We did do Science Saturday on Saturday, but I had already blogged in the morning, completely forgetting our usual system. And now its Father’s Day, but that post will be a day or two behind regardless. Aaaaanyway, here you have it! 

We did the lava lamp experiment!! Maybe you’ve seen it online. It looks suspiciously easy to make a lava lamp tornado ish type of thing. Suspicious enough that maybe you wouldn’t even try it. All it claimed to need was oil, water, food colouring, and an alka seltzer tablet. I looked a little further into it, though, and it seemed like it was real, and doable! All I needed to find was the tablets ($5 for 24) and we decided to give it a try with the kids.

We used a stemless wine glass, so it looked fancy. Laela poured the oil and Dekker poured the water. They layered. The water sat on the bottom of the glass, below the oil. 

I did the food colouring, because they couldn’t agree on a colour. Also, because I didn’t want food colouring all over our island. 

It just sat at the bottom of the glass in blobs. 

Lastly, we bust an alka seltzer tab in half and each kid got to drop their piece in. 

Behold! Lava! 

We could’ve watched it all day.

When it slowed, we did another tab. And then when everyone was up from naps, we did yet another tab, so everyone could see. It was SO exciting! 

So, while I can’t speak to ALL the sciency aspects of it, I can tell you that it works, and is definitely worth a try!! 

Choose a glass or a bottle, and fill it about 3/4 full of oil. Top it up with water. Then add roughly ten drops of food colouring. Aaaaand alka seltzer! In my research, some places said to drop in a tab, and some said to break it up a bunch and drop it in piece by piece. I vote break it up into as many pieces as you have people 😉 

Its cute, and it works. Enjoy! We did! 

First of all, thank you for all the feedback on our new housekeeper! Her name definitely fits her personality. The kids call her by name already, and I’ve got to say, after her two runs yesterday, she has done an excellent job! We are BIG fans of Meryl.

Onto the point of todays post – CLOUDS! 😍

Cher and I went for a drive after bedtime yesterday to pick up pizza, and the clouds on the way there were unreal. As you can see, it was bright in front of us, and weird and dark to the south. It was bananas. Bananas beautiful!

They looked even crazier once we were within Warman, though MUCH harder to get a good picture of! No power poles for me!!

And on the way back, pizza in hand, the clouds gave us one last hurrah!

It was SUCH a beautiful day of clouds! The only thing that could’ve made it better would’ve been a hefty thunderstorm. But nah. Maybe another time 🙂 I’ll take what I can get. I LOVE clouds.

Better late than never! I decided I wanted a robot vacuum of some kind for Mother’s Day, so I did some research, and Brady did some research, and we landed on an Ecovacs Deebot 600.

She is already a much-loved member of our family. The kids love her. We spent a full half hour this morning watching her drive around our house. 

Ok, Waverly doesn’t love her. She spent that half hour in someone’s arms or up on a bed. Dekker shrieking “run for your life” didn’t help. Meanwhile, Rowan watched her go into his bedroom, and he ran to turn the light on for her.

It was hard to tell if she was doing much of anything, but it became very clear at the end that she had done a good job after all.

We’ve lovingly named her Meryl Sweep. She hangs out under the coffee bar, and will only be surfacing after bedtime and sometimes during naps. 

Welcome to the family, Meryl. 

There are just way too many pictures that need posting, so prepare for a completely random pic dump. And if some of them are repeats, I’m sorry and also not at all sorry. So many cute things that need remembering. 

Salted caramel Bailey’s in chocolate milk 👌

Three in a tub!

Still curly on the bottom of her hair! Do you think it’ll stay?? PLEASE stay!

Wavy swings like crazy on the big swings now 😩

Poor Solly, lol! After a morning of sweating in a helmet, he looks pretty rough 😆 But also VERY cute.

The kids all need a wipe down at the end of outside days, and the girlies included my less than clean feet in the mix!

Wavy and Auntie 😍

We’ve been eating a LOT of big chunky salads around here! Can you spot the happiest chicken nugget hunk that ever lived? 🤔 Lived? Existed.

Wavy and Daddy

Lilacs from a friend 💜 They were such a nice brought touch in our kitchen for a day or two!

Laela plays a great game of Skipbo now, and this was a particularly exciting hand!

She was laughing SO HARD. Look at her little belly!!

My helpful boys!

He just looks like summer. See the tickler behind him? He didn’t, lol!

Never has a brighter bathing suit existed. She glows.

Sprinkler action!!

Look how BLONDE!!! And how dark!! Its crazy how her hair looks lighter than her skin all of a sudden!

Little grump 😆

Laela made baked oatmeal!

Solomon got tangled trying to put his shorts back on 😂

He was unimpressed.

Foot soak! Listerine, vinegar, and warm water. It was surprisingly meh 🤷‍♀️

Giving this whole thing a try. And its working!! WAY faster than I anticipated! This was just overnight!

We’ll end on these snuggly girlies!

Sooooo was that enough? Lol! SO many things, but they’re all cute and necessary to remember! Share some of your pictures in the comments, if you so desire! I’d LOVE to see what others have been up to!

I know you’ve noticed I’m on a plant kick. I definitely haven’t kept everything alive, but I also haven’t killed everything, so I’m calling it a win. 

My windowsill that holds all of my succulents is super overfilled and I’ve been wondering where to put my other plants, both current and future. In my searching, I came up with a couple of cute ideas, but only a couple that I could do on my own. So I did one! Well, two. These! 

I crocheted these cute little plant hangers with 100% cotton yarn, like the gathering bags I’ve been making. That way, it feels nice and beefy, and there’s very little stretch.

My first observations are that they’re super cute, and they feel great, but I like the small one a lot better. The big one wants to be more upright. Basket-like, almost. The littler one hangs nicer. That being said, I don’t have command strips on hand to actually hang them, so take that opinion with a grain of salt. 

These just make me want to grow my own little herb garden all year round above my kitchen sink….. 🌿 🌱 💚

Another small project done! ✅ Brady closed in the bottom of our deck stairs in order to make room for firewood!! 

He used leftover fence boards on the outside and some poly on the inside to keep the bulk of the rain off! I am SO happy to have that area closed in and a usable space! Today, we even had the pleasure of filling it with wood. And by “we,” I do not mean me. I barely even mean Brady.

We can thank Dekker for unloading the wood out of Brady’s work van, and Solomon and Rowan for loading it into Solly’s wheelbarrow and hauling it over to Brady to stack. 

Aaaaand now we’re officially ready for summer!

🔥 

Indoor activities edition! 

Hello friends! Welcome to another scattered blog post that is a bit of a mess, but is justified by me calling it a “mixed bag.” Today’s mixed bag is about all of the things we’ve been keeping busy with when the wind is keeping us inside. That being said, there is zero order. So, be ready. 

First – the kids.

Waverly’s newest word is “windy.” She’ll come in from outside, hold her hands up to me, and cry “windyyyyy!” She’s been knocked out of chairs outside, thanks to the wind. Laela has also had the patio door whip into her hand and gash her open. My poor kids. SO many bandaids already this Spring! 

During the inside times, we listen to a lot of music, and the kids read almost constantly. The middle boys will sit and look and books to no end, and Laela and Dekker will commandeer the recliners and tuck away for hours. My old Family Circus comics are a big hit, but Dekker cracked out “Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing” and loved it so much! He wrapped it in less than two days! I’m SO excited that he’s into full blown chapter books now! 

The kids have been colouring a lot, as have Cher and I. She printed off some awesome colouring pages she found online for them, and we’ve been enjoying them alongside! Besides colouring, our kids have picked up Skipbo! Brady and I play it pretty regularly as it is, and we’ve convinced Cher to join us, though she hasn’t played Skipbo in years. My mom joins too, and she was the one who discovered Laela knows how to play! Since Laela learned, she has been teaching Rowan, and while Dekker doesn’t love card games, he knows how, too, and plays along often enough. It’s SO fun! 

When all of the usual go-to’s are played out, the kids resort to chanting “Mets Featherbottom” while marching through the house. 😳 No, I do not understand why, but its true. Its LOUD. 

As for us adults, we’ve been rolling with basic life stuff, but far more diligently than usual! I’m cooking a lot more, trying new recipes that are actually going over really well! Just today, we made a yummy cookie dough dessert, and some home iced tea. Neither are hard jobs, but they’re things I wouldn’t normally prioritize. Tonight is taco night, and I’m not scrambling. Meat is already made. Woot! 

We’re also cleaning a lot more, trying to stay on top of things better than I used to! I’m trying to diligently put as much away as possible so I don’t stress out over clutter and mess. I’m trying to stay super extra on top of dishes, tidying off the island top, keeping the fridge empty of old leftovers, the floor as swept as possible, etc etc etc. Finally bought a toilet brush for the basement bathroom, and a couple of nail brushes to get the garden off of my hands at the end of the day. These are all such standard things, but if nothing else, this break all together is an excellent time to fall into some good habits. 

I’ve been crocheting and knitting again, which I’m really enjoying! I’ve missed being creative, and now that my hands are back in working order, its a relief to be able to do a little here and there. I have a few other projects I’m thinking of and have the materials for. Just have to find the time! 

During all of this inside time, we’re still responsible for our garden and flowers! We’ve put up the appropriate cages and stakes, covering tall things so the wind don’t get them, watering, poking at, and trying to maintain what we’ve worked so hard for! 

None of this makes any sense 😆 Hopefully you follow a little. Its a busy time, but in a good way. Its bananas, but I’m not mad at it! 

*Another guest post from Cher!* 

Over the past couple of years, I have gotten really familiar with Hailey’s kids and her style of parenting. I have noticed that it is very similar to how I was parented as a kid and so it is easy for me to understand where she is coming from. I have always believed in having clear rules and boundaries for kids, especially during the hardest times because being a push over parent is not only hard for the parents, but it makes life harder for kids when they go out on their own as adults. Kids need structure and consistency. Empty threats and inconsistent battles only end in mistrust. 

I know that we all lose our patience sometimes. Maybe we lose our patience too quickly, or too often, but we all know that we ourselves need patience. One of the things I take comfort in as an adult is how Patient God is with me because Lord knows I need it, but he has been. He has been patient with me from the beginning, just like He is with everyone else. He sees everything through for absolutely everyone. 

All of the Born kids are very kind and loving and sweet. They all have their own unique personality and quirks about them, but I am going to write about Rowan because he, just like all the others, has something VERY special about him. He is passionate beyond his years. I first started to notice this passion a little over a year ago. One day I came over for a visit and Rowan told me that he gave his life to Jesus that morning. He seemed to understand even as a four year old what was going on. Since then, his prayers have been deeper than most kids: “Thank you Jesus that Dekker and Laela have Science Saturday because they really like it.” This shows how Rowan sees other people’s joy and has the capacity to be happy along with them. Other prayers I hear him say before lunch or supper will include his thankfulness for nature and how Jesus loves us and made all things. Sometimes it takes me back as a surprise at how in depth he can think.

Around the same time that Rowan gave his life to Jesus, he also began to struggle with his emotions. He has since then began to understand that when he gets angry, sometimes he is angry with himself, and not necessarily at the situation, but it took a little bit of tweaking for him to get there because it felt like this passion came out of nowhere. 

I watched Hailey and Brady change so much in the past year because of this. I saw them be sad and worried and confused. Rowan’s uniqueness in capacity for feelings was developing quickly. I know that Hailey has written a blog before about how she yells at her kids. I stumbled upon it recently, actually. It almost feels weird to read it now. You would think that after managing five kids (from my perspective as a single, childless 30yr old) that the yelling would only get louder or there would be slack. WRONG!

There was a point when they didn’t really want to go on dates because they were unsure how a babysitter might feel with Rowan if he got up after bed a few times. (By the way, he was still excellent, just needed some reminders) I watched them troubleshoot so many things. They took away some items he might play and get distracted with. They got him a lovely weighted blanket so he felt extra comforted at night and would sleep better. When things were at their peak, Hailey put a photo of Rowan as her screen saver so she could see him even MORE and just love him through it. And she did. 

Hailey and Brady have stuck with every “threat” they have made when he needs structure. They have teamed up and tapped each other out so they can have a fresh attitude if things are stretching out longer than usual. I think the quarantine has helped a lot with that, but even before March, even last year, there has been such a change and it’s with everybody! It is so wonderful to see how beautifully Hailey and Brady work together, encourage each other, and motivate each other to be the best they can be for their kids. 

Rowan has such a love and grace for his parents, just like they do for him. They worked tirelessly for and with Rowan. I just want to clarify that Rowan is NOT a problem child, nor am I trying to sugar coat anything for them. I am really thrilled to have witnessed the improvements that have happened. When Rowan gets upset and both Hailey and Brady talk to him calmly and in a way that he understands what is going on, it feels like there has been a breakthrough in communication. Where does their patience even come from? Instead of being mad at him, they accepted him and are shaping him without wishing he was a different kid, because he doesn’t NEED to be different. He needs to know where to put his passion. 

The last thing I want to say is how special Rowan is to me. He brings me stuffies when I am sad. He will bring me a blanket or any soft thing if I am cold. He LOVES to help me pack and always is asking to do favours for me. He has started to put away groceries and make sure we aren’t in need of anything we could have that he could help us with. He fills my water bottle when it is empty, and he hugs and kisses me before bed. And I’m just the guest. Rowan would do almost anything for anyone. His heart is HUGE and I am so blessed to be able to know him and watch him grow up. I call him Growan.