The Daily Hailey

Bear with me while I try to tell this story without sharing any information about this child 🤣

After this long of fostering, I’m sure you could put together that not every foster child we have in our home is an infant anymore. So. Spoons is a toddler. An old enough, with it enough, toddler is starting to understand more and do more independently. A lot of this shows up during meals.

Spoons is a great eater!

Spoons hates breakfast, but eats great at lunch and supper. In fact, “lunch” is one of the clearest words spoken by Spoons.

The changes in meals have been things like actually putting the bowl/plate on the high chair tray, and encouraging finishing each item before getting more of the favorite thing. You get it. Sips from cups. Using utensils. Basic stuff.

Yesterday, I made chicken alfredo on tortellini, with roasted parmesan broccoli beside. I made up a small serving for Spoons and put the bowl on the high chair tray, with some broccoli beside. And that kid was elbow deep into that bowl immediately. Thankfully, I can trust Spoons a bit more, and when the serving was done, the bowl was thrust in my direction with a throaty demand for “Mooooh.” I pointed to the broccoli and said that needed to go first. Direction = followed, and I served up another small bowl.

Bowl onto tray. Baby dove in, but started to slow down a little. Licking the sauce off the chicken chunks, but then eating them regardless. At one point, I thought Spoons had officially tapped out, and when I went to check the bowl, it was snatched back out of my reach. I got some pretty epic stink eye after that. Clearly, it was not time yet. It was not until this child lifted the bowl up, put their entire face into it, with just that fat bottom lip sticking out underneath, that the meal was officially over.

One very happy toddler, hair dripping with alfredo sauce, declared “Done!” and held up their hands to be wiped off.

It all sounds super simple and maybe like nothing, but I really enjoyed the dynamic, and just watching this young little one positively inhale the meal I prepared.

Spoons, you’re fun to feed 💜 Goodness I love you.

Last year, I put some new systems in place for school lunches. I truly dislike figuring out school lunches. I’ve never been good at it. The kids never finish it. It drives me nuts. EXCEPT NO NUTS!!! *sigh* You get it. Once we were in the swing of things last school year, I got clear drawers in the pantry and loaded them with intentional lunch things. I also made veggie packs in bags that lived in the fridge. I got a couple of options of individually wrapped things that weren’t necessarily total trash (?) and had the kids pick their lunches each day. Simple.

However, when school started last year, lunches were not yet on my radar, and I haaaaated that feeling. I scrambled. Totally. I would not have a repeat.

Tomorrow is a welcome back BBQ at the school. Then we leave for camp on Friday. We get home on Monday, and they go to school on Tuesday. So this evening seemed like the right time to prep and stock.

The lunch chunk of the pantry holds lots of nonperishable options.

Goldfish that I’ve scooped into snack sized ziplock bags
Oatmeal packs
Apple sauce cups
Fruit cups
Granola bars
Nutrigrain bars
Fruitsource bars
Yogurt strawberries

The fridge is better, don’t worry.

Yogurt
Cheese strings
Babybel
Laughing calf
Honey garlic pepperoni sticks
Small handful of celery, bagged
Big handful of cherry tomatoes, bagged
Apples
Oranges
Cottage cheese, scooped individually

🤔

I think thats it??

I also stocked up well on some lactose-free things, since my one little one is pretty strongly intolerant and I need this kid to…

Think blocks of cheese, as well as those yogurt drink things since they were on sale. And lacteeze, because why not, when I just don’t have it ALL on hand.

I feel quite productive, but also BEAT, so I’m ready to rest.

Tomorrow will be food prep for camping this weekend. One thing at a time 😅

… the wonderful doctor at thecentreformentalhealth! 🎶 Kinda rolls off the tongue, hey?

It has been a good stretch of time since we went to see Rowan’s psychiatrist in person. Today was the day, before school got into full swing.

Yes, I have Rowan’s permission to share that he sees a psychiatrist. He is NOT embarrassed.

We got the hospital, where I parked a little ways away so we could walk through the hospital, which he likes. We waited a while, because the doctor ran a little late, but it was ok. We always get a little silly in the waiting room

Rowan’s doctor here has a really nice way of taking our concerns seriously and really validating how he is feeling without making any of it seem scary or urgent. If Rowan answers a question, his doctor will sometimes look at me for whatever subtle expression I might offer if I feel differently, but we have a nice way of communicating that way where it doesn’t have to make Rowan feel questioned.

Going into the school year, we are tweaking some meds just a little to give him the best chance for success, and we all feel optimistic about it. He explained certain options and changes to us, and we laughed at his poor artwork, his way of putting his resident on the spot if he didn’t know the answer himself, and even teased him about his own ADHD symptoms. It was very comfortable but felt very professional. I liked it a lot, as did Rowan.

We left, grabbed some A&W on the way, and home we went. It was nice to be out just the two of us. Those occasions are rare.

I’m very grateful for this doctor we’ve been connected to. He really cares about Rowan doing well in his life, and he cares about my position not wanting to drug my kid to high heaven if we don’t need to. We have a great balance, and for that, I am incredibly thankful for. For that, I praise the Lord.

After a somewhat gruelling application process and plenty of back and forth with the government, Brady was approved for a home repair program! The goal of the program is to offer a forgivable loan to people who need to renovate their home due to acquired disabilities/changes in mobility. Thaaaaat’s us!!

Our goal for the program is to renovate our bathroom.

I would say the main thing I miss about our Bitner house was our master bedroom. It had a big closet and a big bathroom. Our bedroom here is smaller, with a little bathroom fit for one person not in a wheelchair, and a closet that is much the same. Brady can get into our bathroom, but it does not work well for him at all. We are not people who require perfect by any means, but this bathroom is the size of a postage stamp. Maybe I’ll put some pictures up here sometime, but it feels pretty vulnerable at this point. It is a MESS of things for wound care and bowel program. Nothing fits. The entire countertop is FULL. The bathtub is FULL. Now that Brady has a great commode, its just that much bigger than the crappy one we had before, therefore our garbage can lives in the bathtub too. Its a pretty pathetic scene, lol! And if that isn’t small enough, Brady can’t even get into our closet. So. Something has to change.

In the upcoming renovation, we will be combining both spaces to make one new, albeit long, accessible bathroom for Brady!

🥳

Today we had a meeting with our accessibility guy, and he asked us to start perusing pictures and deciding what we want it to look like, what our priorities are, and what the goals are.

For us, those are:

a shower Brady can roll into it
a better toilet than the one we have now
a sink Brady can actually get his face near
storage

I spent some time this afternoon moseying around on the internet, getting a feel for what actually sticks out. Brady and I both prefer things that work to things that are pretty. But we should also love it, I think. So I saved some things to show Brady later on. It was a really restful way to spend a sleepy feed for the baby.

I’m so grateful we get the chance to make a bathroom that will work for Brady 💜 What a blessing this is for our family. It will be a challenge to keep things within the budget we got from Govt of Sk but we are prepared to pay a little overage if need be to make it work right. We want to only renovate once 😅 So we need to plan carefully.

Hopefully, the ball will begin rolling early October!

We are officially HOME! While this was slightly less holiday-y than our actual holidays, it was still a longer camping trip. So it counts. While this was not our smoothest camping trip by any means, but it ended strong.

Upon leaving, the camper is pretty clean. The fridge looks pretty organized. I got food videos done, and I even counted up the catheters so we can be fully prepared for the next weekend! I really don’t like the scramble of being behind, and its an easy hill to fall down when you live the life we do 😅

I’m already looking at next weekend and feeling organized. But first! We have things up this week! An appointment. A meeting. Our first pop-in at school! It feels like a week to get some things organized for the upcoming season of fall and all that comes with it!

But firster first – even before that – a sleep in my own bed 🥰 I can’t wait!

Dekkers birthday has been traditionally followed with a post-bedtime golf cart ride. This year, however, not only could we not swing it in his birthday specifically, but Brady also has a harder time using the golf cart than he used to. He still uses it and is terribly grateful for it, don’t get me wrong! But going for long rides recreationally is harder on his body. Brady has virtually no abdominal muscles left. So it’s very hard to hold himself up in something like that. For a short ride to get from point A to point B, it’s great. But much more than that gets pretty painful. I digress. 

So this evening, I took Dekker for his ride. Everyone else was in the camper. Babies were tucked. Campsite put away for the night. We grabbed our garbage, since we missed the cutoff for the campground garbage run, and drove it up to the bins. Once we were there, Dekker hopped out of the cart to dump the garbage. He said he was probably warmer than I was so he was happy to do it. My sweetheart. 

He got back into the cart and snuggled under the blanket I had brought for us before I got us back on the road on our way to Bells Beach. And he just leaned over the wrapped his arm around me really tight and intentionally. He put his head on my shoulder and thanked me for bringing the blanket for us to share. It may sound small,  but I felt enormous. I said I knew he had hoped to go on this ride with dad, and that it was ok, and it didn’t hurt my feelings. I told him I was sorry they couldn’t go together this year, and I thanked him for being so kind to me. He told me he had always really enjoyed going with dad, but he was happy to go with me too. I loved our little snuggle as we drove so much.

We drove to Bells and took in the sky. It was gorgeous and peaceful. 

And then we LIMPED our cart back to our site, barely making it back before the battery crapped out on us 😅 It was an adventure, that’s for sure! We laughed so hard the entire way back 🤣 it was hilarious, and not a memory I will forget. As we hurled our bodies forward to the tune of “Stayin Alive” trying to encourage the cart to keep moving, I felt so incredibly grateful to do something so dumb and fun with my kid. 

Goodness, Dekker, I love you. Thank you for your softness and your love. I had a blast with you this evening. Thanks for coming with me 💜 

We made a super fun connection this week. One of the doctors we really love from Dr Guselle’s clinic sent her kid to camp, and Wavy ended up in the same cabin! How cool is that?? I feel very grateful that, while she is a doctor and we have seen her as patients before, she has not held us at arms length at all. Wavy went to their place and spent most of the day with her new friend. Avery and I walked over there to retrieve Wavy finally in the evening, but after a really nice, comfortable chat on the deck, we went home empty handed, as Wave was elbow deep in a burger with the promise of hottubbing to follow. What a pleasure to be welcomed the way she was 💜 It always feels like an honour to have my child loved so well. 

Praise God for this incredible place, and ALL of the beautiful people we get to be connected to. We are certainly not deserving of the love we receive so freely from so many. It’s humbling, and for that, I praise the Lord. 

Dekker Thomas turned fourteen today. 

😳 

FOURTEEN. 🤯

What I will tell you is that my dear boy is growing up so beautifully. He is a perfect balance between hard working,  soft and snuggly, and reckless. He is becoming a very beautiful string young man while still rocking some adorable little boy traits. He would rather sit with the adults than play with the kids, but if Scooby-Do is playing, he is THERE! He goes on solo walks, but will sit and chat with the babies, marvelling at how endearing they are. He is my big boy. And my little boy. And the boy who made me a mom. 

And what a lucky schmuck to have the dad he has. 

I love you, dear Dekker. May you feel blessed by God all your life. I am so grateful for you. 

We picked Wavy up from her first stretch of overnight camp this week. She came flying across the field with her arms out! I scooped her up and excitedly asked her if she had fun. No answer. My girly was crying! 😭 I hugged her good and long, and when she was calm, I checked in. Luckily for everyone, she had had the BEST time!! She just cracked when she saw her family 🥰 isn’t that amazing?! 

During the closing program, she didn’t want to go up front with the other kids. She stayed close to us. But she did go up to show off her memory verses. When she rejoined the group on our bench, she was happily sandwiched between Laela and Solly, where she seemed very comfortable and content. 

She had so many stories. So many favorites. So many friends she LOVED but couldn’t name 😅 it had really been an amazing success, and she’s already begging to go back next summer. BIG yes, girly!!! Absolutely! 

We settled into the evening all together around a roaring hot fire, overtop which we cooked hot dogs for supper. 

It’s great to have you back, Miss Wave. We sincerely missed you 💜 

Brady and I love a good snack before bed. It goes against every rule of health and nutrition, of course, but the snack tends to be something quite indulgent, like Lindor chocolates, or a hearty round of Six Cookies. It feels a little like a date to snuggle in and eat something special.

However.

Bradys mouth hurts. And of all stupid things, chocolate burns! Who would’ve ever thought chocolate would burn?? So most of our treats are out :/ Which sucks.

But with time and trials, we are finding foods that Brady can manage fairly well, and some that he even *gasp* enjoys!!! Lately, our evenings consist of late night toast.

Just. Butter toast. But guess what. It not only doesn’t hurt his mouth, but he can taste it! And it tastes like TOAST!!!

Small victories 💜 I know. But we’ll take them.

🍞🔥🧈