As the title suggests, we had a fabulous day today! I had plans to take the kids out in the afternoon/evening, and as the weather got seemingly colder and colder, I tried to keep a positive attitude and figured we’d work with it. I did not expect for it to go so smoothly!
While we were still home in the morning, the kids ate their breakfast well and were eager to go downstairs and play toys afterwards. For the first time even, I kissed Laela on her head, said a prayer, and let her follow Dekker down the stairs without my assistance. I listened very closely, but let her be, and she made it down on her own easily. Go Laela!! Going down the stairs is something she just mastered over Christmas, so its a new thing. But she rocked it. While the kids played happily downstairs, I did dishes and took all the ornaments and lights off of the tree. Yes, our tree is still up, but it is brown. It dropped needles badly the entire time I fussed with it, so now Brady can throw it outside anytime he so desires.
I joined the kids downstairs for a bit and got them their snack/lunch. I put them down for their nap a half hour early in hopes that they’d get some sleep in before we had to be out the door around 3:00. Laela slept but Dekker did not at all, which is life and that is fine. Both kids were cute and very agreeable to get up and get dressed. I bundled them up pretty severely compared to our usual. We got out the door ten minutes late but I drove (ahem) efficiently and got us to the house Brady was working on in good time to pick him up and get to my chiro appointment on time. They waited in the car while I went in to see Dr. Mike.
I had a great appointment with him today. I’ve been making a really significant effort to follow the rules and because of that, I was in much better shape today! Its hard to sacrifice what feels comfortable now for the comfort of my body over the next few weeks. I hate sitting so straight and sleeping so specifically all the time, but its saving me in lots of ways, so I’ll keep doing my best. We also had a really fun chat, in my opinion. You know how we never get to see people, such as our doctors, in any setting other than their office? Its fun to get a look into their lives, as rare as that happens. But after telling Dr. Mike that our evening consisted of grocery shopping and Wendys, we got into just regular conversation about where to buy groceries and small things about it that make the kids happy. By the end, we had discussed what he bought his nephews for Christmas, and how the Sobey’s in Stonebridge is apparently the place to be. It was fun, and I felt very normal and less “doctor/patient.” I always like that.
Superstore was first, and the kids were ridiculously adorable. They sat great in the cart together and were very patient as we covered the entire store. Towards the end, we walked past the bakery section and Dekker casually leaned to look and said “Oh, there’s cookies in there?” Of course there were cookies in there, and we hadn’t forgotten. We waited patiently and someone came to give them cookies. Pleases and thank yous were exchanged and the kids went to town on their cookies.
We went to Wendys next. It all went very smoothly, as it tends to at Wendys, since the kids love their food. We also beat the supper rush so it was nice and quiet and the kids were very comfortable.
We drove to the nearby mall right after supper and I ducked in to Dollarama for a small handful of things. In that one store alone, I found summer stuff, Easter stuff, and Valentines Day stuff. Insane, right?!?! I actually only got a couple of the things I was hoping to get, but either way, it was nice and quick and we could get back on the road and onto the next place.
Walmart. I’m pretty sure we always hit Walmart when we’re in the city. But it works for us. Plus, we have certain things that we only buy at Walmart, and some things that we only like from Superstore, and so on. So we had a small list of stuff to get, and headed in as a group. I wish the Walmart carts help two kids in the front part, but they only hold one. Luckily, Dekker likes the novelty of riding on the back, so he doesn’t get too upset about being forced out of his comfy seat. I have to say, Walmart was a much bigger success than usual. We were being very good and just following our list, but things we’ve needed for a while kept popping off the shelves at us! We got some new binders to accommodate our growing collection of music that I play off of in church. We got Dekker a real pillow, as opposed to the kids one he’s been using since he started using a pillow. Its basically a flat stuffed animal, which has been great, but he loves big bedding when he sleeps away from home, so we now have a new pillow, blanket, and sheet set to try and convince him to sleep on megabed. Lastly, we got a new infant car seat!! I couldn’t be happier about this. Before you all think I’m frivolous, yes, our current car seat is still valid, but we have hated that thing since we purchased it for Dekker. Its heavy, and awkward, and not very soft. The straps are almost impossible to tighten and loosen, and the crotch clip pieces together like a puzzle instead of just clipping in, so its really hard to get it clipped up. When people have tried to buckle our kids into this seat in the past, they struggle and fuss with it, and often give up. Its dumb. This seat actually has the word “light” in the title, and for good reason. Carrying it with the base still attached is lighter than the last seat on its own. Its much plushier, and the straps are all waaay easier to alter and buckle. Best of all, it was only $100. Every other seat we’ve been considering is at least $180. And the last amazing thing about it is that its the same brand as our old one, so potentially we’ll have two bases! Maybe we could even leave one at my parents place, in case they ever need to take the baby somewhere 🙂 WIN! When we went to pay at Walmart, the cashier was sooo infatuated with Laela, and worked tirelessly to get a reaction from her. Sadly, Laela was whooped, and started blankly at her as she held her hand, cooed at her, and made faces. I’m pretty sure she would have taken Laela home had we let her. However, I’m a pretty big fan of my kids, so we happily brought her home with us instead. It was cute though. The kids just oozed adorability today.
We picked up coffee and headed home after that. It was sad to have to drive separately, with Brady in his work van, but Dekker seemed to think we were racing, and he was sooo proud of his daddy. Both kids fell asleep in pretty good time, as it was already past their bedtime, and considering the short/non-existent naps. Upon arriving home, they didn’t even lull when I shut the van off and turned the lights on. It was so sweet.
We brought them in and got them all tucked in right away. Laela seemed refreshed, but went down no problem. Dekker, however, was dead to the world, and from being removed from the van through his change and to climbing into his bed, he sobbed his exhaustion. It was kind of endearing, though. He was so tired. Not sad, or sick, but pooped after a really good day.
Once the kids were down, Brady carried the groceries and stuff in from the van and we gradually put stuff away. The second that was done, Brady ripped into the car seat box so we could check it all over. Yup, turns out it was just as awesome as we thought it was! We even put the car seat cover that we ordered forever ago on it. Yes, it needs a wash first, but we just wanted to see how it would all come together. Its going to be so soft and nice, and super cute when there’s finally a baby in it!
I looove me some chevron!
So it was pretty much a ridiculously great evening. I’m so pleased with how it all went. I felt very productive in the morning already, and then the afternoon and evening were a big success as well, as we crossed almost everything off of our list. The only things we didn’t get are things that Brady will pick up from Costco on his way home tomorrow. Easy peasy. So rarely do we actually get almost everything on our list! But my goodness, we have earned our soak in the tub this evening!
I hope you guys all had great days like I did. What a wonderful boost of a day 🙂 Sleep deep, all!