Sometimes I feel like Rowan gets lost in the shuffle of life. He’s our middlest kid, and I think sometimes he feels that harder than I realize. He is SO close with Laela, but she is one of the “big” kids. Ro and Solly are very close in age, but Solly is one of the “little” kids. I think sometimes Rowan has trouble figuring out where he fits, and I don’t blame him.
One thing, however, that stands out big time about Rowan is his understanding of prayer. He has the tightest grasp on the fact that he can talk to Jesus about anything. Our kids always happily pray, its not some forced thing, but the kids prayers are very often standard “thank you for this food” kind of prayers. And those are good! I truly believe God hears those prayers! But my Rowan will thank God for all kinds of aspects of his day, share how he’s feeling, and never seems to be in a rush to end his prayer. Its SO cute, and I think he just gets it in a different way than other kids!
This morning, he asked to pray for breakfast. He thanked Jesus for the day, and for the food. He prayed that the kids would have a good day at school. And then he prayed that God would take the lactose intolerance away. He said “I want to have a better vibe in my body, but maybe I can’t.” And that was it! Amen, and we ate breakfast.
And I just LOVED that. Because Rowan’s lactose intolerance isn’t too big of a deal in our life. It doesn’t bother him much. He’s happy with his almond milk, he has no problem taking his lacteeze when he’s going to eat dairy, and he doesn’t have accidents when we occasionally forget his lacteeze. He rolls with it all pretty smoothly. But he still figured it was worth mentioning to God. And I think thats AWESOME. And I think God LISTENS.
I predict Rowan is going to be a force to be reckoned with in terms of his faith, and I think it’ll be sooner than later. Be on the lookout for that kid!
Seriously though, I couldn’t verbalize it before, but I was just so anticipating school starting. And I was hesitant to say anything because I don’t want to come across as someone who doesn’t LOVE summers with her kids! I DO! I LOVE my little people. But I knew they needed school, and for some reason, I needed school! And I get it now.
Somehow, for whatever reason, now that school has started, I feel more capable. Not based on anything, really. This post might not make sense, but I hope it can make some sense.
I just feel like my goals are the same, but they feel more doable. Less scary.
I have a few little projects I’m working on, some on my own, and some with other people, that I’m really excited about. I’ve made toques and neckwarmers for 2/5 kids, which just days ago felt like not enough, and now feels like an accomplishment! I think I’m really going to buy a table at our local Christmas marketplace, though that one still makes me pretty nervous. I’m in a good swing of things with school lunches and think I could very easily prep for a whole week in advance. Just need a few more containers. I’m feeling great about Brady being back at work. The basement isn’t any more done than the last time I talked about it, but we had overnight guests earlier this week and (drumroll please) they lived!! So clearly we’re on the right track with that too 🙂 The gift exchange group on Facebook is up and at least a chunk of people have confirmed their role in it. (If you haven’t read and acknowledged the top statement in the group, please go do it soon so I don’t have to hound anyone individually!) I’ve ordered my first Christmas gifts for the season just days ago.
For some reason, rather than seeing whats left to do, I’m currently able to see what I’ve done. And that feels awesome.
Not everything has come together, but we’re on day three of the school year and I already feel lighter. Meanwhile, the weather feels darker and cooler, and I’m weirdly up for that, too! Just feels like a positive season right now. There is PLENTY of struggle that I haven’t spoken about publicly, so be reassured not everything is coming up roses, but I’m going to roll with it. I won’t try to explain it when I don’t understand it myself, but I’m thankful for the way the days are going right now. Thank you Lord for helping me see the good above the bad most days. I am SO fortunate.
I walked with a friend to pick Dekker and Laela up from school yesterday. It was so much warmer than the morning had been, which was refreshing. We got there early, and chatted outside with a handful of other moms we know. But a few minutes before the bell, we all went inside and huddled around the door to retrieve our children.
I waited by Laela’s door, and that worked out because she was first in line, bursting out the door with a BIG smile on her face! She had gotten to be the helper on the first day of school, and she was STOKED. She told me had a really happy first day, but there weren’t too many details, and thats ok. It usually takes my kids a few weeks even to just settle into the swing of things and actually retain anything, lol! Anyone else’s kids like that?
Being that Dekker and Laela’s classrooms are so close together, we walked a whole five steps over to pick him up, too. He was just gathering his stuff, and I saw him hug his teacher goodbye. Love that. Once he spotted us, his eyes grew and he just shouted “We got bananas splits!” The chocolate smear on his face indicated this to be true. It was a cute effort that their teacher had made because they are the only split class int he whole school, and she was trying to sell it as extra special 😉 Well played. Well played.
The kids got their shoes on and sweated out the walk back home underneath their backpacks in the beautiful afternoon sun. I couldn’t weasel too many details out of them, as I mentioned before, but they were both just SO happy.
And that was proven again this morning. While Laela ate her breakfast at a snails pace, Dekker got himself fully ready, pulled the bikes out of the garage, and lined up their backpacks and shoes. He was READY. I loved that so much. Dekker has always been totally willing and happy to go to school, but given the choice, he’d always prefer to be home. But today, he was chomping at the bit to get moving. I loved that.
As they were getting themselves out the door, I heard them discussing where to meet at the end of the day. Boot room? Bike rack? I’m not sure they had settled on a location before they left, but they’re such smart, obedient kids, I know they’ll watch out for each other.
Safe to say, school is going well so far. First day was a total success.
It is FINALLY here! The first day of school for Master Dekker and Miss Laela. They are READY! Honestly, so am I. Not in a “I don’t want to hang out with them anymore” kind of way. But I know they need to get back into the structured routine of school, and I needed to snuggle into my new normal, however it will look.
Dekker is just freshly eight years old, and he is READY for school. He’s in a 3/4 split class this year, which will be a stretch for him, hopefully in such a positive way! I’m also hopeful he’ll pick up a bit more french with his homeroom teacher also being the school’s french teacher 🙂 I loved french in school, and I hope he does, too. Dekker told me today he wants to be a miner when he grows up. I asked him what he thought it meant to be a miner, and he said “Searching for gold?” Ah yes, a gold miner. Thats my kind of miner!!
Laela will turn six later this month, and she too is SO ready! You’d never guess her to be five, unless maybe you heard her high little voice 🙂 Laela aches for learning. I’m excited to get her back into the swing of homework, reading, writing, and see that confidence rise and rise. I admit, I’m sad her beautiful little group of friends got split up so much this year, but an opportunity for new friends is always nice, too. When I asked her today, Laela told me, when she grows up, she wants to give food to people who don’t have any. I loved that.
Something I also really like about school right now is that it very naturally shifts Dekker and Laela into friends. They bicker a lot, and they still do during the school year, but school is something they can relate on. Plus walking to and from school together gives them one-on-one time they don’t otherwise get. I love the dynamic. It seemed they were ready to get a jump on that before they even left this morning!
As per my request, lol, I walked the kids to school today. They both asked to bike, but humored me 😉 It was nice. They were SO happy.
They talked nonstop, and I somehow ended up holding both of their hands and walking in a line of three all the way to school!! It was nice to run into their friends along the way and see who lives where. I missed out on some of the social aspect of school last year with them always walking on their own, and truthfully, I’ll likely miss out on it again this year, but I do like knowing they have people along the walk that they like who watch out for them.
I let Dekker off by his boot room rather than taking him to his classroom. He’s a veteran now, totally unafraid of school. He knew where his classroom was, he knows his teacher already, and he wanted to play on the playground. So I hugged him and let him off. I walked Laela to her boot room and helped her find where her shoes went. And out of nowhere, Dekker showed up, laughing, saying he was actually in the same boot room as her this year! It made a lot of sense in reference to where his classroom is. But he wasn’t rattled at all by the change, and just laughed as he found the spot for his shoes.
I took Laela to her room and helped her heave her backpack into her little cubby. We pulled out her new indoor shoes, and then went to meet the guinea pigs! Exciting to have class pets! Then she found the desk with her name on it and examined her new pencil case filled with fresh supplies that were all hers. That seemed to seal the deal. When I was about to leave, I saw her chin tighten up a little, and there was a moment where I thought she might cry. She said she wished I could stay and I told her she’d forget about me completely in the next ten minutes or so 😉 I gave her a bigger hug and she actually seemed more relaxed. So I smooched her and teased her a little, and then I left. And she was ok 🙂
Dekker’s classroom was on my way back to the boot room, and I stuck my face in so I could see where he would land. He was getting himself organized at his locker, and he seemed happy 🙂 His class was bursting with people, so I didn’t go in, but he was so close to the doorway that I harassed him a little from the hallway. I saw he had some of his closer friends in his class this year who he hadn’t had around last year, so thats a really happy thing. He seemed totally happy to be there 🙂 I called him over to me and I asked for a hug, and he stuck those big sucker fish lips out me for a smooch, which I did NOT turn down. I feel like that won’t always happen, so I’ll take every smooch I can get!
It felt SO good having them back at school! Again, not because I don’t want them home. They really like school, and I love that! I’m so happy they’re happy there. Ha! “Happy they’re happy there.” Repetition joke. Also lame.
Okaaaaay so I’ll let you know how it went tomorrow!! Happy first day back!
I should’ve numbered basement updates from the start. #opportunitymissed. Ah well. Here’s another one!
First things first though. Brady was working away on a cabin job for a while recently, and I’ve got to say, he learned an amazing new skill! 😍
He did the walls and ceilings in a handful or rooms – all he could fit into his time there. Isn’t it beautiful?? I can’t believe it looks SO seamless. But I totally can. Because, perfectionist.
He would work long days at the lake, drive the two hours home, do the evening with his family, and then continue on in the basement! As I’ve been saying for a long time, its still not done, but its well on its way!! Here are a few progress pictures of what we have so far. (I’m going to say, though, we aren’t going to get the drop ceiling likely until the verrrry end, so I may say something is “done” when it doesn’t have a ceiling. No biggie.)
The bathroom is very close to done. We ran out of silicone, so we have to finish sealing everything. Need to install a shower rod, towel bars, and a toilet paper holder. Need a mirror. But we know what we want, and where most of it is coming from. Having our previous hardware contact back on the books makes everything feel SO much more feasible.
Brady is a good chunk of the way through finishing the bathroom and one bedroom. Here you can see some casing and trim, and the window boxes up close. I love the deep windows and the big sill. Nail holes need sanding a filling. There is still work to do with the finishing on the closet, and we won’t do baseboards until we have carpet. But thats ok for now.
The beautiful carpet that we were pretty attached to using in our basement is no longer available. In fact, the whole company is closed :/ Booooo. So we’re a little gun shy about carpeting one room at a time. We’d rather have the whole basement carpeted at once. And it doesn’t take a genius to know that is an expensive part of this whole thing :/ So, we wait a little. But if anyone ever sees any great deal or carpet blowout, please let us know! I’m itching for a warm cozy basement, and while we do NOT require perfection to make the space work, its cold down there, and we need carpet as soon as possible.
Hope you guys like the occasional basement update! Definitely not what my blog is usually about, but it is about our life, and this is a HUGE part of it right now!! Wish us luck! We need the extra space for this next season of being more shut inside 🥶
I mentioned the other day on the blog that my kids closets are awful. They are. I wasn’t kidding. Dekker and Rowan’s closet is the WORST. Easily. Its really big, and holds clothing for Dekker, Rowan, and Waverly. It holds guest pillows and some linens in the top, and a massive stack of extra hangers. It has four big half hangers, and a shelving unit down the middle. And on top of aaaaall of those things that the closet holds, it holds STUFF! TOO MUCH STUFF!
This closet gives me pretty hefty anxiety almost always. I do everything in my power not to look into it or go into it. Its so far gone. I hate it so much.
Not only do I hate the mess, but I have struggled very hard with knowing how to deal with it. Because its ALL Dekker’s stuff. And I didn’t know how to throw it ALL away without completely devastating him. Being the oldest, plus his personality, makes him really protective of “his” things. Like he NEEDS his own space, and his own things. And with a family our size, its not so easy to give him all kinds of room. We’re always around each other and in each other’s stuff. I worried about hurting him, or trying to comb through it together. Which would be more painful? And when would I find the time?! So I avoided it.
Until today.
I went on a surprise rampage while the kids ate lunch. I don’t know what came over me but I just went into the boys room and started pulling paper out of their closet. An UNBELIEVABLE amount of paper. I should’ve taken a before picture, but I forgot, so this was the best I could do.
Don’t worry, we saved the little superhero Dekker made at school. We secretly call him Super Bored 😂 Zoom in to see why.
Brady came over with a black garbage bag and helped me load it. He also cracked into their little two-drawer night stand that is just as bad as the closet. Maybe as well do both. Brady willingly did the dirty work of running stuff that needed to be filed away downstairs, toys into the ottoman, and pencils and erasers into the junk drawer. I sorted everything that made sense, but finally just scooped paper out of the bottom of the closet and chucked it. I would’ve been there for DAYS if I tried to look at every single page individually. I threw away any paper that didn’t hold value, but of course I kept anything that I knew was special to him. Dekker LOVES birthday cards. He treasures them all. So I saved all of those, and ANY little trinket or treasure I came across. I tidied things up in there and felt like I could finally breathe!!
Still not perfect, but I don’t want perfect. I just want to open the closet without getting attacked my paper.
Until I realized I’d have to tell him. And show him. I hadn’t said anything before I started. Oh man, I thought. I’m going to catch him off guard and he’s going to be SO upset. But, what was done was done. I completed the nightstand as well, chucking every scrap of paper and putting all the little bouncy balls, notebooks, and special little presents into a tub. I brought the tub out into the kitchen and he suspiciously asked what we had been doing. “Cleaning up,” we told him.
At this point, I was riled up, and I kind of ranted at the kids for a minute or two about the immense amount of clutter they had progressively collected, and that there needed to be more order from here on out. Their closets could never reach that point again, and there were now going to be boundaries about just where thing could live and to what extent.
The moment I finished my speech, Dekker asked to leave the table. He had a pretty small lunch but had finished what was on his plate. I could tell he was pretty eager to see what had been done. He left the table and I waited a few seconds before I followed him into his room. He had the doors open and was standing inside.
“Well. What do you think, bud?” I asked, expecting the worst. He closed the closet door and rushed me.
“Its SO much better! Thank you, mom!” And he hugged me.
And I cried. Because, my goodness. I had poured over the right way to help him with his closet, and finally I just flew off the handle and purged the heck out of it. And turns out, it worked! He was SO relieved, it seemed! My boy loves his special things, but he also loves order. Why didn’t I think of that?! He’s like me in a lot of ways. I think we both feel the same about his closet, but being the kid, he didn’t really know what to do. That whole “parental guidance” thing. He felt the same as me, but he didn’t know where to start! Man. That realization felt SO good.
He came back out into the kitchen and I showed him his tub of trinkets and things he had saved from various places. I told him he had ONE drawer in his night stand for his special little things, and that tub was definitely too full. I told him he should pick through it and about half of it should go. I held my breath as I dropped that bomb.
And he didn’t panic at all! He was up for the task, and immediately dug into it. Within a couple of minutes, he said “Ok mom. I think I’ve got it.” And he had DONE it!!
The stuff on the side with the little blue jar is his “keep” pile. The pool noodle and over is the stuff he’s willing to get rid of. And the Lego box was just on the island. We’re NOT throwing away Lego. We not crazy.
He has seamlessly chosen what he wanted and what he was willing to let go. He kept saying he was really happy to do this, and he felt better. So I felt better, of course. NOT A SINGLE TEAR WAS SHED! I was fully expecting to be the monster, “bad cop” mom in this situation, and I’m SO impressed at Dekker’s heart! These things just remind me that he’s growing up, knowing more and better what he needs and wants. He was way more gracious than I was.
There I go again, learning for my young children. I am SO fortunate.
Yesterday was such a positive day 🙂 Got some good things done, felt less overwhelmed about some things, and spent some time with good people. I had a really warm cozy bath before falling asleep and sleeping HARD. Uuuuuntil about 4:00am.
I have one particularly “spirited” child who LOVES a good midnight wakeup these days. I am less fond of this behavior (not this child) and am finding it particularly exhausting to continue along this course of action. But, we’re working with it. However, after this 4am wakeup call, I was pissed. I was in no way going to fall back to sleep. Thankfully, the obnoxious wakeup had woken Brady as well, and he lovingly suggested we watch a bit of Netflix together. After an episode or two, we were both easily back to sleep.
I vastly prefer uninterrupted sleep to interrupted sleep, but such is our life currently, and thats ok. Brady is home this weekend (YES!) so he got up a bit quicker than me and I was able to doddle and get up slowly. I did eventually surface, and we ate some breakfast before he got started on his day of basement finishing. He’s in his wheelhouse today – finishing carpentry! Doors, trim, casing, window boxes, etc. Now that the bulk of the bathroom is done, he’s starting on his usual stuff 🙂 Its going to be SO pretty!
While he’s been doing stuff, I’ve had a phone call with my mom, made some plans for Sunday, and have drew out what pattern I want to make for Dekker’s toque and scarf. I want to make each kid a matching toque and scarf this year, and they’re SO excited about it. I kind of want to make them secretly though, so they’re surprised by the end results. Because of that, Waverly is the only one whose toque and scarf are finished. Well, “scarf.” I opted for a doubt thick neckwarmer kind of… I’ll show you another time. But, 2/10 pieces are done, lol! Doesn’t feel like many, but at least one kid is taken care of!
I’m going to work a bit more on that during nap time, I think, and Brady will keep working on the basement. Lots coming up next week but I feel less overwhelmed about it. I’m just ready for it to come! It helps, too, that I have a fun day planned for tomorrow and a couple of fun things planned for Monday too! Aaaaand Brady is HOME for the first day of school!!!! YAY! He’ll be working like a madman for the rest of the week, including Saturday (boooo) but I’m so thankful he’ll be home for the first day <3 Thats always the goal – that we can all drop off and pick up the kids on their first day 🙂 Thank you, Lord, for timing everything beautifully and never forgetting the little things.
These days have felt pretty overwhelming recently. I think, without really knowing it, we’re all just aching for the next season of school to start. For routine, for new experiences, and for the kids to have breaks from each other. The kids are bored – its clear – and then need a change of scenery.
I’ve felt very overwhelmed with this particular stretch of waiting. The kids attitudes are deteriorating, as is mine. Lots of things feel like too much. My island is covered in school supplies, and ALL I need to do is get the kids backpacks, put the supplies in them, and its done! But their closets are AWFUL. SO far gone. And the thought of putting all those new supplies into such a messy place feels bad. But I won’t have a chance to clean those closets up before school. No way, no how. But then do the supplies live on the island literally until school starts? And then am I gutting their closets to death that first day of school? So they come home to all of their things gone? That seems cruel. But seriously, its a pretty overwhelming thought to me! We all have our stuff, lol! And for me, its my island, and that spirals into all kinds of other things.
Somehow today, that all feels less horrifying. I talked a lot about the kids closets yesterday and I feel a bit more prepared to deal with them. So with that, the backpacks can go back there, and they’ll be fine. My kitchen is currently a mess, but I know I’ll have no problem cleaning it up while the kids eat lunch and then the dishwasher will be some nice white noise for the nappers. And the things I often let sit WAY too long – like dead flowers in a vase – thats no biggie. I’ll clean those up along with dishes. It all sounds so small but some days, all the little crap just piles up and feels HUGE. And today, it feels doable 🙂 Even tidying up the mess that is my bedroom! That sucker needs work, and I’m not afraid of it!
Things that make a difference, I think, have been really talking about these things out loud. It all seems silly when its said out loud, somehow. It also helped that I had company this morning! I haven’t seen my neighbour hardly at all ALL summer, so she came and spent an hour or so with us this morning while the kids ate breakfast. It was AWESOME. She brought positivity and laughs and a fresh person for the kids to show EVERYTHING to! Haha! She helped me feel better this morning. And, it helps that Brady has a short work day today! He’s been working much longer days recently, since he took a job working at a cabin two hours away, and I’ve been missing him. He’ll likely work on the basement with his extra time today, but it’ll be SO nice to have another parent home. I was SO spoiled in many ways having him off work for a while. We struggled in other ways, obviously, and I’m SO grateful his work has picked up again, but the inevitable adjustment to him being gone again has been hard. I’m happy he’ll be home earlier today 🙂
Sooooo if you wander by my house today or tomorrow and I’m all stressed out and anxious, and nothing actually got done, don’t judge me! Haha! Be happy that I felt capable for a minute 🙂
First of all, I was SO happy to have more people sign up for our handmade gift exchange!! Eek! Its not too late to sign up (I’m looking at YOU, everyone saying you’re not creative enough) so I’m going to perpetually remind you guys 🙂 Be prepared.
*****
Sometimes, because many of you are my Facebook friends, things will get repetitive. For instance, this post! Hahaha! YOU know about Dekker’s lost tooth, but the blog doesn’t, and the whole point of this thing is memories for me!! So, I’m writing about it.
A couple of days ago, we drove into the city for some last minute school supply shopping. In an effort to save time and money, we brought food for them to eat on the way. It was basically lunch, haha! We made them sandwiches, chopped veggies, and cheese strings. We were driving down the highway towards Saskatoon when Dekker suddenly pulled a broken record move.
Mom! Mom! Mom! Mom! Whats up, Dekker” Mom! Mom! What??? I bit my cheese string and my tooth came out!
I looked back at him, and he was SO pleased with himself, smiling his big bloody smile. Nothing says pride like being covered in blood, right?
I told him I didn’t even know he had a wiggly tooth, and he said “I guess I did!” He and I are SO different. I hated when my teeth came out. I waited until those suckers were literally hanging by one corner. I would NOT pull them out. I’m SO impressed (and thankful) that Dekker is happy to lose his teeth. I definitely expected him to be considerably less fond of it!
On the note of teeth, in the last few days, Waverly has cracked two of her eye teeth!! The top ones! Her bottom eye teeth have been bulging underneath her gums for weeks, yet the top two are scratchy and less swollen now that they’ve made their way through. No wonder she’s been sleeping more recently.
Alright folks, we’re all caught up on teeth for now! My children are at the island making Christmas ornaments out of toilet paper rolls, sooo excuse me while I go take part in that.
A while back on a post titled “This Post is About Christmas,” I spitballed ideas about doing an unconventional gift exchange. I’ve had the idea for a long while but couldn’t really imagine how I’d put together such a thing. How could I do a gift exchange between people who didn’t know each other? Well, maybe they don’t have to… As I wrote that post, ideas started flowing, and I got excited all over again! Imagine my surprise when people actually went for it!!! Ack! I’m SO excited!!
I currently have a list of EIGHTEEN PARTICIPANTS! I’m SO happy its actually happening! But I want more 😉 I’m on the verge of making a Facebook group with a list of “rules” for participants to go by, such as a date to have either mailed, delivered, or arranged with me to drop off their gift by. I’m going to ask everyone to answer a few basic questions so people can learn small details about the person they’re giving a gift to, if they don’t know them personally. I think I’m also going to include a buyout. It seems harsh, but since we’re doing it so far in advance, I can’t have people bailing out a month down the road, leaving someone without a gift. So there’s going to be some kind of buyout. I think I’m also going to add a list of ideas, in case people are stumped 🙂 There are a few other guidelines, but I’ll get to those once the group is formed.
The stipulations of “homemade” will have some flex. It will differ for everyone. Gifts can be made from scratch, or could be upcycled from something else. I want to put a price on it, but that will also differ if people have materials in their home they can use. So I have to put more details together, but I want it to be affordable and fun for everyone.
I think I want to do this Secret Santa style. There are gift exchange generators online where I can put in peoples names and emails, and they’ll email you your person. So even I wouldn’t know who got who! Would that be smart? Or should I pull names from a hat and contact everyone personally? Either way, even if I don’t know, if a person is truly stumped, you could, of course, always come to me to ask for help!
Basically, this is me giving you another chance! I called a couple of people out who didn’t respond, so you’re currently not on the list, but I’d love for you to be! Anyone who wants to should feel totally free to join! It doesn’t matter how close of friends we are or where you live! We can work with you with shipping if necessary, and I’m happy to help with local delivery. I want anyone who wants to be in to be able to be in!
