It was a full, though not necessarily smooth day over here. It began with Brady feeling a bit crummy, but rallying, as we do. Very shortly thereafter, one of the lovely home care nurses stopped by to discuss a few things with us and teach us some other things. Always learning, let me tell ya! 😅

Through the appointment, the bigger kids hung with the babes and WOW did that get loud! They tried hard, and some kids were less impressed with the help they were/n’t receiving. Sounds like siblings, right? But as soon as we were free to help, I did, and the bigs got a little break. They had pulled out all the dining chairs and draped blankets over them, creating a huge fort. They really did well 💜

Aaaaand then, as keeps happening, suddenly Brady was absolutely unequivocally down and out 😕 He was positively miserable. Frozen. Shaking. Sick as a dog. So, the man got meds, cranked on his heated sweater, three layers of blankets, and I lay on him for about 10-15 minutes until the real shakes stopped. Do you know they’re called rigors?? 😩 HATE that. Anyway…

Once I was done in there, I came out to the kitchen and found Dekker making his lunch before heading out to the high schools final performance of this years musical – Shrek! He was upbeat and good to go. He sure enjoyed being involved in the backstage team 💜 Way to go, Dekker!

He left and the rest of us lunched and kicked off quiet time. The loudest quiet time ever. The toddlers are in a particularly rude stage where they don’t nap during nap time, but then they scream for the rest of the day because they really needed to sleep. Its fun.

While they played in their beds, Brady got up, ate toast, and went back to bed.

I spent a good chunk of time trying to shut the babies down, and being completely unable to let down myself. Whatever. Eventually I gave up, made supper, and got on with the day.

I made rice and curry. The epitome of easy comfort food. We all ate a lot. Even Brady managed a decently full serving.

Once that was over, babies went down. Well, two out of three. The toddlers went to bed. Brady stayed home with them, and I took Munchie and the others to Martensville to pick up some donuts to celebrate Dekker’s time in the musical. We came back to a totally quiet, peaceful house, tucked in on the couches in the living room, and watched a little Mr Bean until everyone was tired. It was perfect.

It was not our best day, but there were also wins, for which I am SO grateful. Well done, Dekker 💜 Thank you for putting in and showing up for the musical yet again. You are an incredibly hard worker, and a delight to be around. I am so happy you are part of our family.

🍩

Guys. 😩 They have discontinued my FAVORITE yarn!!! To say I am choked is a gross understatement. Maybe you can tell by my early morning post that it is already on my mind, bugging me to the enth degree.

I love to crochet blankets. That has been my go-to for a good few years now, and I think its an actual skill I’ve enjoyed nurturing. I still love to make blankets, but I have had a constant nagging to play a little bit in the world of wearables. I’ve dabbled over the years here and there but nothing quite comes out how I want it to. You may have seen the cardigans I’ve made recently. They are SO nice. I know I shouldn’t say that. Its like complimenting a meal I made myself. But they really are just so unbelievably cozy and soft and yes, they are exactly what I wanted.

This particular yarn is the same size as the very standard yarn I usually use, yet it feels and lays heavier in my opinion. So it doesn’t bunch up. It doesn’t feel stiff at all. It feels luxurious.

And now, its over 😪

When I made my cardigan, I was worried it would look pieced together or like there were lots of things that really should’ve been fixed. I asked the kids if it looked homemade, and it went like this.

Dekker: No way! 😍
Laela: Not at all!! 😍
Rowan: YES! 😍😳 I mean no. I mean. It looks SO custom, you couldn’t find it in a store!

It was sweet 💜 I loved their reactions, and I really love how these came out.

RIP Caron Funfetti Cakes. Not sure how I’ll go on making wearables without you 💔

This morning kicked off SO beautifully. Cher came back to work after a long stretch of alternating gross sicknesses with our family. Either we were folded over a toilet or she could hardly stand or speak. Its not been gentle. But today, everyone was well enough to be together. Brady also had an appointment scheduled with a community occupational therapist and our bathroom contractor/accessibility guy/friend this morning, so he didn’t go into work right away. So Cher, Brady, and I sat in the living room and had coffee together. And it was after the five went to school, and the three slept in. Like. It was the dream.

But goodness, I had to laugh 😂 Cher was just regaining her voice, so since we didn’t have to talk over the din of any squawky little ones, she talked quite quietly. Meanwhile, Brady and his chronic sinusitis has his one ear miserably plugged, making him deaf as a post. Brady was situated to my left and Cher was on my left. And there were definitely times where they would talk to each other and the conversation would go weird directions because they could hardly communicate 🤣 I enjoyed their dynamic privately for a while before I saw the confusion cross their faces simultaneously, and then I let them in on the joke.

We had a good laugh and Brady rolled a little closer. It was pretty adorable. I loved it.

It was fun to be the three of us. We don’t do it too terribly often, but we did it constantly during covid times, which are oddly fond memories for us. So once in a while when we get to have a coffee together, despite how much has changed, it feels very warm and homey.

It was a beautiful start to the day 💜 Thank you, Lord.

I don’t eat the banana strings. I’m not a psycho. I think they’re icky. Some people have argued with me in the past, insisting that they are just more of the banana, but we will have to agree to disagree. I believe they are part of the peel, which, despite what Kevin Spacey showed us in K-PAX years ago, is not meant for eating.

I digress.

The babies feel the same as I do. Today, they each had a banana. As they ate in their high chairs, I puttered around the kitchen a bit. I heard the unmistakable baby voice call “Help please!” Upon looking up, I see my smiliest child positively beaming in my direction, as they do, holding a banana string up in the air.

“Mommy. Help please. Gross. 😃”

Then there goes the other babe in the next highchair over.

“Mom. Booga. Booga. Booga.”

But it wasn’t a booger. Just banana on the end of that soft little nosey. 😅

How I love my job. “Job.”

🍌

I am so unbelievably proud of my piano kids right now 💜 This week has brought us the 25th anniversary of the Twin Rivers Music Festival, and three of my kids participated!!! The festival terrified me as a kid, thought I faced that fear a handful of times. The pressure of performing was one thing. The very quiet nature of the event was pretty stoic and intimidating. Plus, the judges were so scary! 😅 Ok, they probably weren’t, but it sure felt like they were in the moment!

I am so grateful for exactly what festival is now for my kids. The judges and other members who put the event on are all visibly happy to be there. The comments are delivered in SUCH a friendly way, and even if someone needs to work on something, it is presented honestly but really kindly. Kids are cute. Everyone claps. And our beloved piano teacher spends all that time at the event, checking in on ALL of her students and encouraging them. It is still a very professional event, and everyone still comes put together, respectful, in line, etc. but it feels so much more like a family event. I love it.

Laela and Solomon both played on Sunday, and I couldn’t go. My mom did, thankfully!! They came home happy! Laela figured she hadn’t done as well as she had hoped, but she placed second in her group and her comments were really good!

Solly didn’t place this year, though he got a first last year so he wasn’t unhappy at all, haha! His comments were great as well!

While I couldn’t go watch them play on Sunday, I was able to attend today! I missed Solly altogether, but I got to see Wavy play her first ever festival piece, and I caught Laela’s second song! I was SO grateful to be able to watch them!!!

Wavy first.

She kept saying she was “nervous, but actually mostly just excited.” She played her piece beautifully with NO MISTAKES!!! We were both so shocked at how smoothly it had gone, since in her practice that morning, she kept getting lost. But she nailed it, and took home second place! The adjudicator loved that it was her first time playing in the festival, and complimented how colourful she was 🥰 It was sweet.

Pose, Wave!

And Laela next.

She was apprehensive because there were only two kids in her group, and she knew the other kid was really, really good. Which he was. However, Laela did beautifully, and also took home second! The very accomplished other kid in her age group beat her by 1%!

We had SO much fun. I wish I could’ve been at all of their things, but I did my best and this worked out. Thank you to EVERYONE who put in to make sure these kids had a cheering section 💜 My mom, for doing Sunday. Cher for coming to help with babies. Brady for coming home a little bit early to relieve and keep time going. It was a precious thing for me to be able to go watch them play, and I am so grateful.

Another year of piano festival in the books!! Many more to come! Amazing job Laela, Solomon, and Waverly! I am SO proud of you all! 💜🎹💜

Monday is ballet day! The schedule is a little hairy, and my mom has been helping me the last few weeks get everyone there on time. Thank you, mom!! 💜 She came today, and we chatted for a little bit about our days so far, and the week to come. Wavy came and joined us in the living room, and asked me to take a picture of her pose. So. Here you have it.

Forgive her dirty tights, haha! She is crazy flexible that one! 🙌

As Laela was getting ready, she came upstairs in her ballet gear, as well as the luscious cardigan I made her recently, and it reminded me I wanted my mom to try on the cozy one I made myself a couple of weeks back. It fits her SO nicely!!! Ack! Too bad the hot flashes would render it unwearable 🤣

Lastly, I will leave you with something really dry to laugh about. If you have that kind of humour. Which I do. Take it or leave it, but I will DEFINITELY be taking it!

🤣 I AM DYING!!!!!

Ok, folks. A mishmash today, but still some cute things to share 🙂 I have crud in my face and I’m ready to eat leftovers in my bed. ✌️

I sat beside Dekker in church today. I usually end up sitting between Wavy and Solly for at least a little while. When Wavy leaves for children’s church, there is often just a space beside me, which is fine. But today, I sat by Dekker. He was a bit discouraged this morning, so I was keeping an extra eye on him, which means that we played juuuuuuust a little during church 😬🤏 We still listened, I promise! But we had some giggles.

At one point, Dekker opened up the bible to follow along. There are bibles at church that live in the benches, so he just grabbed one of those. We were met with more ammo for further laughter that we desperately had to stifle. Though I still took pictures.

I was relieved we could laugh about it, knowing with confidence it wasn’t us who put the artwork there 😅

It was a nice soft church service with Dekker. Once or twice, I put my arm around him to whisper something in his ear, but I actually had nothing important to say. Just wanted to squeeze him.

Happy Sunday night, all! Back to the work/school week tomorrow! Sleep well. 😴

I know I’m not the only one thinking about Spring, considering the seasons officially switched just yesterday. Someone should tell the weather. But, alas, here we are, in Spring 2026.

I’ve been feeling recently like we spend a lot of time fussing around things that don’t work very well for us. So I’ve slowly been trying to make things work a little better. Having fewer things laying around that the babies can’t touch. Making things a bit more accessible. Things like that. Winter is a harsh reminder of Bradys limits, unfortunately. While we have AMAZING people literally surrounding our home who watch out of us, it is still undeniable that winter in particular is extra challenging when the person you love the most in the world is in a wheelchair.

So now that the seasons are shifting, I’m looking ahead to consider what spring will look like, and how to make some things function even better for Brady. In my mind, I really want to get a fire pit area in the backyard set up. Grass isn’t great. Its fine, but the dream would be to have a patio area where the previous owners of the home used to have a big garden. Patio stone costs an arm and a leg, and while we’re really not using Brady’s legs, amputation isn’t high on the list, so we’re going to have to find another way. We were BLESSED with a fantastic deal on second hand patio stones that we were able to use at camp to make our site SO much nicer for Brady, so I ask if anyone knows of someone tearing out an old patio or redoing theirs who may be looking to sell their old stones at a reduced value, please send them our way! We would like to be able to have some gatherings at our place and open our home even more to sibling/family visits for our foster kids, and the backyard is going to be the best option for that.

Second dream would be for our side deck to be usable for Brady. That would mean a couple of different things. Either a barrier free door and a slight ramp to get out there (the threshold for the door is huge and not level with the deck) or perhaps possibly building up the floor of the deck to meet the doorframe. If possible, it would be amazing to have a ramp to get him off the deck into the yard. But that would be a long ramp, and I’m not sure we could afford to rent/build/buy one for a short season.

They’re just dreams. Ideas. Its good to keep thinking ahead and keep our eyes open for opportunities. And now, you know them too 🙂 So if you hear of patio stones or a long ramp at crazy values, please help us get in touch!

I do a ballsy thing from time to time. I buy puzzles from Value Village. This is ballsy because you never know if the puzzles have all the pieces or not. Oftentimes, they don’t, and its disappointing, because who wants to do a puzzle that never is actually totally complete.

However, since having toddlers running around more often these last couple of years, I’ve come to terms with ending up with some puzzles missing a piece or two. While its not my favorite thing, it hurts my feelings a little less when its thrifted because its just life, and I don’t have to be frustrated at anyone or go on any big hunt. With that feeling a bit more relaxing, I’ve had puzzles going on the island at least somewhat consistently for the last few months.

I had a giggle a few days ago when I completed one of our new-to-us puzzles. Not only was it not missing any pieces, but for the first time ever, it came with an extra!!

In the morning when the kids got up for the day, they came to scope the puzzle, and everyone laughed at the extra piece. It was after breakfast that Dekker and Laela kicked off the maniacal laughter. It wasn’t just an extra piece. It was a duplicate!

It’s possible no one will appreciate this as much as I did, but it felt like an odd happening that won’t likely come around again. And I like it. Feels a little special. 🤏 Just a bit.

🌳🌳

I got to have a bath today. It was SO cozy and warm. I scrubbed my body and shaved my legs. I watched some Youtube but eventually paused it as I got lost in a rabbit hole of videos on my phone. And I don’t mean reels on Facebook or trash like that. I found myself watching videos of LD from way, way back to when they were new here. They both filled and broke my heart in one fell swoop. I love that child so darn much.

Yes. Foster parents do get too attached. Thats the whole point of this. To love these children desperately, like they are from your own flesh and blood, so they can KNOW that love!! No matter how good they have it here, or elsewhere, or for how long, there is going to be trauma to unpack, and I will NOT have these kids leave our home feeling like they were “just” foster kids. Nope nope nope. First smiles. First steps. Tickles. Messy meals. Bubble baths. New words. Jokes. All of that stuff is GOLD, whether that kid came out of your body or not. Their need for familial love is worlds apart more important than our desire not to feel grief when they go.

• This is NOT me saying LD is going. Just reminiscing and feeling that deep ache of love and uncertainty.

Anyway. I really enjoyed soaking in the tub, as well as in the rabbit hole that was LD’s infancy. It was a precious time. As have been all the times spent with LD 💜