The Daily Hailey

Cher and I try hard to squeeze in a Christmas shop each season. This one felt like it might be the hardest to swing, yet swing it we did, and we had a blast! 💜 BIG honourable mention to Brady for having the kids to himself today. He has always resisted the stereotype of men “babysitting” their own kids, and makes sure he can feel confident having them all on his own. That feels a little shakier now than it used to, but in order for me to have some time away, the whole fam pitched in and helped out a bit more intentionally. So we could have ALL the fun getting out shopping on!

We always get Starbucks at the Indigo on 8th, so that was one of our first stops.

I obviously can’t say all the places we went to, but we really made good, big use of our time!!! Here are some things that I felt were notable.

I definitely thought this particular cup said “blood work” on it. But. It does not.

Adaptive clothing!! Its pretty neutral and basic, but I would’ve KILLED for this when I had a g-tube feeding kid! Ack!

This particular stuffed toy gave me… ya I’m just gonna say it… butthole vibes.

And I’m still not sure I made the right choice leaving this behind. Opinions?

We went to Smileys buffet for supper. We didn’t eat as much as we often do, but I think we were both more tired than we were hungry 😅 This is by far my favorite picture from our booth hahaha!!! 🤣 👇

Also, feels important to add that ☝️ that sushi plate was for sharing.

We laughed a LOT today 💜

And I wouldn’t have changed anything at all 💜

It was a really, really lovely day away. And when it was time to come home and slip my boots off, the house was quiet, save for my husband and our Munchie Mix, tucked in bed, watching a game on Brady’s phone, totally content. It was SO nice.

I sure love you, Cher!! Thanks for shopping with me again, with my long lists and the hustle and bustle. It is always SUCH a fun day with you 💜

And thank you, Brady, for making it possible for me to be away for the bulk of the day, and not resenting me for it. I love you 💜

Ok! Now to SLEEP!!!! 🥱

Laela here, I just wanted to start off with some good vibes. Don’t I look great?😏

Well, thanks for the compliment. All I wanted to talk about was at school today. (if that’s alright) As you can tell from the picture, it was Christmas PJ day today. I was like one of the only ones wearing PJs today. It felt awkward and embarrassing wearing big, comfy PJs, while everyone else was wearing regular, uncomfy clothes. They’re such slackers.🥱 Well anyways, at least Saturday’s tomorrow. Then the slackers can wear PJs. And I’m talking to you!

We’ve had some sickies around here recently, and today was my day to be sick. It was not my favorite day, but my lovely people showed up for me, which counts for a lot to me 💜

Brady stayed home until the kids were off to school.

Cher came and cleaned, and helped with the babies.

My mom ran my impending errand in the city for me.

Brady came home early so I could go back to bed.

I slept from the kids getting home from school until after supper. What a gift. I did not exit my bed until the first batch of kids were down.

I do feel some improvement. I am VERY thankful for the extra rest and sleep I was able to get. Please, Lord, heal my body overnight tonight. I would love to be able to manage my life again 😅

Today, it finally happened. After a long 2.5 years, Rowan is DONE patching his eye!!!

He has worn a patch consistently for over 2.5 years. During the school year, he has patched for about an hour in the morning before school, and for 4 ish hours on Saturdays, or the whole morning. Summer was different. He patched most of each morning unless we were at camp. NO patching at camp, outside, or with company. Nope nope nope. That wouldn’t have been nice. But it doesn’t matter anymore because he’s DONE!!!

And as things tend to go around here, that is not where patching ends, as our little LD began patching TODAY! 😅 Goodness if only I could share a picture on here! Patching was tolerated surprisingly well for such a little one. Starting with two hours a day and going from there.

So. Its not over. We’re not done patching.

But Rowan is 💜

Congrats to you, my boy!! You made it through something really hard!!!

Is my boy your paper boy?

He’s pretty cute, hey? 😍

Today, Ro left to work on his paper route super smoothly after school. Sometimes its really challenging for him, and it can be a bit of a battle. But going over and over the rules and expectations, and the natural consequences that come from bailing, he always eagerly gets down to business. And today, we didn’t have to go through any of it. He grabbed some Halloween candy (which is a great incentive for him to get out there for a couple of hours!) and off he went. He came home around 5:45, rosy cheeked and happy, having finished half of his houses.

Rowan has the largest route in town! They are grouped in sections based on what makes sense rather that numbers of houses. So Ro has a section of our town that wouldn’t make sense to split. Which means more houses, which means more money!

Did you know kids are paid per flyer? I can TOTALLY respect people who don’t want flyers, but maybe you don’t know thats how our cute kids get paid! 💜 It is not a high paying gig by any means, but it adds up nicely if the kid is a hard worker who can get the job done! So if you don’t mind getting a flyer, even if you recycle it, thats how these kids get paid 🙂 And then they can learn to handle money by actually having some!

The paper route is newish territory for us still, and I love that it will teach some responsibility and the importance of a work ethic. I can see that growing in my boy already. Not that it is always easy. The cold weather is only going to make it more challenging, I imagine. But so far, Rowan LOVES having a job. He occasionally invites the young ones along to join him, partially because sometimes he wants a buddy, but sometimes he does it with me in mind, and I think that is super sweet.

Because Rowan has a longer route, he always does it over the course of two days. So the day you get your paper may fluctuate, but it will always been in the same window of time.

I hope so much that, if you see my boy out there delivering papers, that he is polite and happy and friendly. I really imagine that he is, but I know he enjoys the outing, observing the neighbourhood, and his interactions along the way.

I’m proud of this boy and how hard he works.

I received a completely unexpected call today from someone from our church offering us a STACK of convenience food! It had been gifted elsewhere, and rejected due to dietary preferences, and he was on the hunt for someone to give it to. Not only do we have a lot of eaters in our home, but convenience is sometimes just a HUGE win. And this way it wouldn’t go to waste!! So I VERY gratefully accepted his offer, and he brought by a huge load of yummy things.

As it goes, today I felt particularly wiped out. Brady is still overcoming his illness from the weekend, and the babies seem to have picked it up as well. Thankfully, its going nice and quick, and the ones who have felt sick seem to be able to sleep through most of it and wake up already on the upswing!

But. Energy is low. And it seemed like a very appropriate day for a convenient supper. HUGE thank you to the generous giver for sharing with us!

As the girls came home ballet, Laela flitted up to the island and exclaimed “Ooooo! Is this a puzzle??”

Guys.

It was a teriyaki rice meal.

We made fun of her mercilessly, and it also thrilled my heart that she didn’t recognize a microwave dinner 🤣

Anyway. They were yummy, and easy, which is exactly what the doctor ordered today.

We’re home 💜 Laela had cried at camp right before we left, shrucking and saying “It all just felt too short. Too quick.” And I agree. We all did. If only we could have stayed longer. But I would be willing to bet it would’ve been just as hard to leave then.

We drove home with a pretty quiet van. Everyone was wiped, albeit totally happy. We stopped in PA for some simple light supper from Tims, and then back on the road. We made it home and put away only the necessities. If something obviously was not needed this evening, and was not in a cooler, it could wait for tomorrow. And it will.

Kids are down. Munchie Mix will be in only a few more minutes. Brady and I are doing our evening things to pack it in for night. So I sit here, reminiscing, and trying to find pictures I can share. As has become our life, there are so few I can post that don’t include our babies. But what I can show you is the last picture I took on our way out of the campground. We did one last drive through the lights, and took a second to take a picture at our site.

Our Stitchy, c/o our dear Dahlsjos. Stitch has been representative of our Morsel for a long time now. They had the same mannerisms. The same sweet nature. The same teeth 🤣 There continues to be immense love in our hearts for that child, so this was a very welcomed lovely surprise for us 💜

As the kids say every time we drive off the property –

Bye, Kinasao 👋 What a beautiful weekend.

Until May 💜

While I am disappointed to say that brady has been SO sick and has slept through the entire day here 😔 I can say it has still been an absolutely beautiful day 💜 

Good food. 

Good company. 

Some Christmas movies. 

Only a little work. 

And some outside time to make us extra grateful for the fireplace and hot chocolate. 

God is GREAT. No matter the circumstances. He ALWAYS takes care of us. Thank you God for our Dahlsjos, for Kinasao, and the chance to have this winter retreat. How could things be better?! 🥰

Goodness me I almost didn’t blog! But I have the best excuse. 

Today begins our last lake weekend of 2025. We will not only run the light tour in the evening, but we will wear jammies, drink coffee, be together, converse, and spend time with our dear Dahlsjos for a little bit longer 💜

Happy Bornsjo retreat!! 

Ack! We did not get through the new episodes of Stranger Things last night. Which makes total sense because they are SO long, and we are SO tired 😅🥱 We got through two out of four. Gripping, guys. GRIPPING.

Conveniently, today was nuts. I wasn’t home too terribly much, and when I was, I was not idle at all. So I stayed away from social media pretty intentionally, mostly to avoid any spoilers. I spent hours in my vehicle today, and good thing because I can’t watch without Brady!

So today HAS to be the day. I know many of you don’t give a care about this show and that is A-OK but its the only real thing on my mind right now so its what you’re getting!

That, as well as a picture of Laela looking like Mr. Fredricksen from “Up.”

I can’t not see it.

Is it bedtime yet??? I can’t waaaaait!