Feeling grateful and appreciated this week. In particular, I am thankful for... 1. Chickaletta social distance gathering! FINALLY! We had no idea our last play date in March would be our last play date for the foreseeable future. Or that our last small group on March 11 would be our last one, or that we wouldn't get to see each other at church every week EVER AGAIN (slight dramatization). Last night those who could make it got together in Katrina's back yard for a campfire. We all brought our own snacks and drinks, and talked for what was the fastest 4 hours of my life. It was so amazing to catch up, laugh, share, and see these women again <3.
So lovely (and less squishy than it looks). I certainly hope we do this again soon!
2. @GoCleanCo. This is an instagram account about deep cleaning hacks for your house. I've randomly done a few of the things, but tried out the Bar Keeper's Friend this week on my pots. Magic! Pure magic.
Before
Two minutes later (It hurts me to think about all the chemicals that probably went down the drain though... same with the bleach solution she (the instagram account) recommends for everything...)
3. Embracing the messy play room. This is another social media movement from @SimplyOnPurpose. Something about allowing the kids to be deep in play, even if it means the toy room becomes a disaster. The problem here, is that we don't have a toy room, so it's embracing the messy everywhere. The kids played so nicely yesterday morning as I was sitting at the table - I was scared to move. Total disaster-zone, but one of my COVID projects has been organizing so that everything has a spot. It makes clean up much more efficient.
This doesn't look that bad, but it's zoomed in leaving out piles of things all over the kitchen and the other side of those pillows on the floor :)
Of course the mess is carried outside.
Uncle Adam & Aunty Aly got Emilia a Minnie Mouse tank top & dress for her birthday and it just came in the mail. We let Emilia choose which one to wear that day. She chose both :) She's such a stinker with so much personality.
4. Little bits of history. All of my grandparents came from Holland. We went to visit Holland in 2014 for Tom & Juanita's wedding, and part of our Europe Trip. If I could live anywhere else in the world, Holland would be it for sure! My Oma D (BoBo Moma) has been moved to the Harrison (long-term care) at Elim. Her old apartment now has to be emptied, and she can't take many things with her to the Harrison. It was a little strange since she's still with us, but we were able to go in and take some things of hers that we'd like to keep; like you would after someone passes away. I got lots of crafty things, and these teaspoons that I remember loving as a little girl (and my mom remembers polishing as a little girl), and these salt & pepper shakers.
Now I know how to spell "spoons" in Dutch.
Love these! They totally bring back memories from our 2014 Europe Trip.
Here are a few pictures from one day in Leeuwarden, Netherlands (where Oma grew up).
This is the apartment Oma D grew up in, just down the road from the bakery her parents ran (I think, or worked at...).
Most of the de Jong family came for Tom & Juanita's wedding, and we all rented a charter bus and drove to Leeuwarden one day, where Oma spent most of the afternoon walking around and showing us her life and sharing memories with us. Definitely a day to be treasured forever.
I didn't take many pictures this week, but there was a lot that happened since last Monday! This weekend I randomly decided to paint our main floor powder room (classic Renee). David is also painting the office, so there was a lot of "survival mode" going on with respect to parenting and cooking haha! (A little more Mickey Mouse Clubhouse than usual)...
However, we received a gift box a while ago from PC Insiders with some pizza making supplies. I went out of my comfort zone and made some dough, and Scott lent me his pizza stone and spatula thing. I made up 3 pizzas, which was way more than our family of 4 needed, but gave us some good leftovers!
I started reading this "How to Talk so Kids Will Listen and Listen so Kids Will Talk" book this week. It's all positive parenting tips and methods that I've been trying to work on, so it's a great refresher/reminder. When Dom wanted to come down from quiet time early the other day I was reading so I used some of the techniques in the book and he sat down beside me for half an hour and went and grabbed his own book to read all by himself while I finished up my quiet time! Magic :)
Dom has this hilarious way of playing with these screws from his tool kit. These are no longer screws. They are garbage cans, and the plyers are his "picker-upper". He lines up all his screws and takes his picker-upper and plays garbage truck; picking up each screw and "pbfvvvvvvvv dump!" over his shoulder. His patience and meticulous focus is impressive. This is one of his favorite quiet time activities too. He'll do it on his car mat ad put each screw on one of the bushes or trees, then go around and dump each one over and over.
Mom and Dad spent months having their kitchen renovated, and we had all planned on having a merlot tasting night there when it was done. Well... it was finished about 3 days after COVID restrictions came into play. How anti-climactic! We finally gathered to have our merlot tasting evening, and boy was it delicious! The kids went to bed there, and after last weekend where they shared the big guest bed, I told Emilia they were going to go to bed at Opa and Omas. She said, "mmmm.... own bed." Guess she actually wanted to get some sleep this time! Haha.
Yummy yummy!
Book Club
I am reading "Becoming" for a book club with Marta, Aly, Ashleigh, Aunty Sonya and myself. We had our first meeting last Thursday evening and it was great! I It was nice to talk to my sister-in-laws (sisters-in-law?) without the boys around. We could actually talk! I have to read the next section for our next meeting on June 4th. It's a great way to keep accountable for reading.
Doctor for Emilia
On Friday I also had a Dr appointment with Emilia. Her anterior fontantelle (The hole in the skull towards the front of the head) still hasn't fused. This is not very common at all, and can be a symptom of some serious disorders, so the doctors want to monitor it closely. They did all her measurements, and asked me a bunch of questions, and seem quite confident it's just a "normal, individual variant". She is hitting all her milestones, doesn't appear to be in any pain, and doesn't have any other symptoms of anything more serious. We will go get another checkup in a few months, but all signs point to nothing to worry about! I wasn't really worried, but it's still disconcerting to hear something like that, where the doctors aren't sure why it's happening. She seemed confident it's slowly closing and just taking longer than usual (96% of kids fontanelles are closed by the age of 2).
Job Interview
Today I finished painting the bathroom, but I also had a job interview (whaaat?!). Last year around this time I was just deciding not to return to my full-time position at Fraser Health so that I could be home with the kids more. At that time I saw that the midwives (Community Birth Program) was hiring a Medical Office Assistant for a 1-2 day a week position. I was stoked. I applied and was being vetted for the position, but the person who was going to leave decided to stay a while longer. I then got hired at the Spartan Foundation in September and that filled my part-time work wishes.
The other day I saw on Facebook that the Community Birth Program was again hiring a part-time MOA. Before I could even think about it I had sent in my resume and within half an hour had been contacted to come in for an interview. At that point I kind of panicked. I can't take on a second part-time job, and I have no intentions of leaving my current one! However, I went in to the interview today with an open mind. I was prepared to sell myself and talk myself up. Apparently I didn't have to. They offered me the job on the spot. They had already made up their minds! The interview was less "let's get to know you" and more "so this is the job and we want you, now go think about it." Well that's overwhelming and surprising! His exact words were, "You check every single one of our boxes, so now you can decide if we check yours." Sounds like a dream come true, and it would be a lot to think about, but the pay is significantly less than I'm making now, and I just can't justify that. Especially when David would have to be watching the kids and losing more work or we'd have to be paying childcare the two days I'm at that office.
If it was a pay increase and they offered medical benefits I'd definitely have to think about it seriously. I have emailed the clinic and let them know I won't be able to accept the position. What a whirlwind! I wasn't sure I was going to be able to make two jobs work anyway with where we're at in life, and getting in to David's busy season.
Nice to be wanted and sought after though! Great for the confidence :)
We never plan anything special for May Long Weekend. This year was no different, but it still filled up! Saturday David and I were both at the church for a few hours. We were filming/recording some worship songs to be played with the live stream church services. It was a beautiful set, and Dave and Joel were professional camera men (but for real... they actually are professional videographer/producers). It was so so nice to be in the church, playing bass again with the team - I didn't realize how much I'd been missing that part of my normal.
Both Dave and I had do to a triple-check to see whether that was him or Joel manning this camera. They both dressed similarly, they're the same height, both have dark hair and blue eyes, and have similar builds. Two peas in a pod. (for the record, it is Joel, and we only know because Dave was using his gimbal instead of the wheelie tripod to film)
Blurry pic, but you get the idea - especially when all the lights were off
Brittany's team recorded after us, so I stayed to watch one song. They did a beautiful job and I wish I could have stayed longer! There are perks to Dave being so involved with church stuff lately; Brittany made a loaf of sourdough for us to appreciate all Dave has been doing for the church! (NOM NOM)
In the morning I dropped the kids off with my parents, and Mom brought them back home for nap/quiet time. She then offered to take them overnight on Sunday night so Dave and I could have some "free time". Sooo nice! We had scored an IKEA Kura bed on Craigslist for $50 (seriously, such a steal - and they threw in a $200 bike for free...). I decided on a whim that I wanted Dom & Emilia to share a room this summer so that they could have one A/C unit, and we could have one A/C unit. I'm also working on convincing Dave we can have another baby in this house ;). (No, not pregnant). On Sunday we brought the kids to Mom & Dad's after naptime. Dropped them off, and set off to enjoy our free time. Okay, really we went and ran errands for a bit, came home and unloaded the van and disassembled his crib/toddler bed. We then realized we were getting hangry, so we went and picked up some Hey Y'all drinks (hard iced tea) that Adam was giving away, and bought sushi. We ate sushi at our quiet kitchen island with our new Marketplace stools, relishing in the peace. Then, it was time to crack a drink and tackle this IKEA bed assembly. We have a pretty good system for IKEA furniture now after 7.5 years of marriage. I read the instructions and boss him around, and pretend to help with the labor. We got it all set up and couldn't WAIT to show Dom the next day (today). It probably helped that David put on the Greatest Showman album for me - it always puts me in a good mood.
Oh yea it came with this tent, too. I had full expectations that Dom wouldn't want to sleep in this bed, and/or with this tent. We brought our Trofast shelf from the nook on our stairs up so he could use that as stairs instead of the ladder.
We followed up our furniture adventure with a game of crib and drinks on the patio. So nice!
In the meantime, Mom & Dad have decided to try have the kids share a room at their place AND share a bed. They have a queen size murphy bed, so they put Dom & Em to bed together, sharing a bed for the first time ever. It went pretty much exactly how I expected. They played and giggled and made funny noises and talked and laughed hysterically until 8:30, and then were up at 6:30 jumping on the bed singing the "pancake song" according to Dom. This morning Dave and I slept in til 7 (this is a big deal; 1-2 hours later than normal for us), and then took Sherlock for a nice morning walk at Tynehead. It was PACKED. We couldn't get a spot in the paved loop lot on 96th, so we went to the off-leash lot, and even that was almost full. Didn't expect that! After our walk we went to my parents house and had crepes for brunch with the kidlets and took them home for nap/quiet time.
Love the yellow buttercups!
Mom and Dad said the kids were a piece of cake (or "can of corn" as my Mom says... not sure I get that) - perfect angels. Guess that means we can ship them off more often ;)
We are kind of enjoying entering this new "no baby" phase of life. No more baby gates, setting up big kid rooms, the kids can communicate with us, they play with each other, everyone eats regular food, we only change a few diapers a day for Emilia, I am not a complete necessity all the time, etc. etc. It makes the decision to have more kids an actual discussion - hence the me having to convince Dave. I know if we do have more babies, we will one day hit this point of "no baby" phase again eventually.
Coming home meant we got to show Dom his new bed! We rushed Emilia to sleep as she was getting cranky, and brought Dom to his room. He does not like surprises (much like me this way), so I'd been prepping him for days, showing him pictures of what his bed might look like, and explaining that it's a high bed, and that the crib would be gone, etc. Oh my gosh he was so excited. He spent almost the entire afternoon playing in it, and insisted on video-chatting almost everyone in the family to show them his new bedroom. He's also very excited for Emilia to sleep "beneath" him (he always says beneath instead of under and I love it), so that transition should be a good one this summer.
So excited! His reaction was better than I expected - probably because we'd mentally prepared him so much.
Dave and I both napped again while the kids rested, and I felt wonderful this afternoon. Apparently I haven't been well-rested in a while. Tonight we watched the airplanes fly over in honour of the Snowbird plane that crashed in Kamloops. The Snowbirds were doing a flight tour around the country to encourage people during this COVID crisis, and one plane crashed killing one person yesterday. So tragic.
Don't mind his plumber's butt haha. I didn't notice it until now. He's such a big kid - man. Looks like a 5 year old, not a 3 year old!
Dom is in his new bed now, and I can't believe how well he's adjusted to all this change (sleeping at Opa and Oma's, sharing a bed with Emilia, sleeping in a new bed at home that also happens to be a few feet off the floor, etc.). He's becoming more confident by the day!
Today was a good day. I got lots done around the house, I got lots of work done, I played, I cooked dinner, I went for a walk, I picked up some things on marketplace, I had some me time in the evening for the first time in many many months, it was warm and sunny... The list goes on. This week I am thankful for... 1. My haircut kit. Before COVID started I decided to buy a haircut kit for Dave and Dom. I am finally getting the hang of it, and Dom sat still and let me cut his hair the other day!
Oh my gosh. I am just seeing such a big boy every time I look at him lately. He's so well-spoken (for a 3-year-old), super athletic, and incredibly curious. He has such a kind heart and amazing memory.
I have mom-bias, but I think he's just so beautiful <3
2. Aunty Ashleigh not working. She came over on Thursday and up and took the kids for a walk after lunch. I power-cleaned the main floor while they were gone and actually got to relax a bit during nap time guilt-free. Bonus points - Ashleigh got the manager position at the SCS Clayton Preschool, where Dom is set to attend in September (COVID-allowing).
A little excitement after the walk - a tow truck came to pick up a neighbour's car!
3. Marketplace. Today I picked up a helmet for Dom AND three bar stools for our kitchen! I have been wanting to get rid of our old bar stools for a long time because their backs created a big black wall in the middle of the kitchen. These new ones have no backs and tuck under the island overhang perfectly. It just feels so much more open!
Not the cutest helmet in the world, but it works! And he actually wore it without complaining! He was even more confident on his bike. Again, mom-bias, but I'm pretty sure he's very athletic. His coordination and the rate he picks up new things seems really fast.
"Come on Emilia! This way!'
Little Mommy in Training <3
New stools, nicely tucked away
Old stools. Selling on marketplace - anyone want? :)
4. Neighbours making big purchases. Big in both cost and size! While I was out with Dom driving the BMW, a neighbour brought by this humongous box. They're a couple around our age with no kids. They asked Dave if we wanted it and said, "I mean if I want to make a fort out of it I can only imagine what your kids would do!" So yes... we almost took out our patio door getting it in, but it is now in our living room. I sincerely hope they spend lots of time tomorrow happily playing in their fort.
As we slowly and carefully expand our circle, we've started seeing my parents and David's parents a bit. Still keeping outside 95% of the time (which has been easy with this weather), and still physical distancing as much as possible. This timeline has aligned well with the celebrations for Em's 2nd birthday and Mother's Day.
Last Thursday we visited Gramma & Grandpa for a delicious steak dinner and played in the backyard.
She's so goofy <3
I can't recall if I shared this story already, but the first time we came here (a week or so ago), Dom was playing in this little tent. There is a bigger hole on the side he's peeking out of here. He must have had his hands up on the top of the tent, and was looking out of the hole, when the whole thing tipped over. There was nothing he could do to catch himself so he totally face-planted and started crying. We went to rescue him just to realize he'd face-planted directly into a spot of mud. Mud in his nose, in his teeth, all over his face and his knees. Oh my gosh. I'm a terrible mother, but it was soooo hilarious. Poor guy!
Another gem... boys... I guess it's convenient being a boy and randomly deciding you want to do a nature pee in Gramma & Grandpa's backyard during a pandemic. Later on, Dave and I were sitting at the table, and I hear from outside, "Mommy! I'm doing a nature pee!" I look outside and Dom is standing in the middle of the yard, with just a t-shirt on, but pulled up to his chin, prepping to pee - just into the air I guess. I ran out and encouraged him to go to a tree, so he ran over to the same tree as before and stood there with his hands on his hips and peed. Why was I not prepared for this part of having boys?! Haha
On Friday we just hung around at home during the day, and played outside for a long time. In the evening Scott and Ashleigh came over for our weekly adult dinner, and we stayed up way too late for beer, a fire, and poker on the back patio. I love summer.
Dave created a little race track obstacle course that he and the kids ran/biked/pushed around for a while.
Sherlock always wants to come outside with us, but we always feel like he's too unpredictable and would be totally antsy. I decided to give him a chance, and he just laid beside me while I read my book in the grass, taking in the sights. Good boy!
I thought it would be a good idea to do an outdoor picnic with my family on Emilia's birthday, so we scoped out this spot next to our house and decided it would probably be big enough!
Making some signs for Bobo Moma's birthday coming up. She's at Surrey Memorial and nobody is allowed to visit right now, so the family is putting together a video for her.
Dom was really excited about Emilia's photoshoot, so he and Dave did a few "jumping" shots too.
This is so their personalities
Always playing with his face
Mmmmmm smoothie!
Tuna Poke bowls for dinner. Yummmmmmm
This brings us to Saturday, Emilia's 2nd birthday. I picked up a load of Littlest Petshop toys for free, so we set them up on Friday night so Emilia could wake up to them downstairs. Naturally, she decided to sleep in forever on Saturday morning. We tried to keep Dom occupied upstairs as long as possible, but when he got too eager to come down, I went to try wake her up. The first attempt was unsuccessful. The second attempt she was not impressed with me, but I managed to get her vertical. She came stumbling down the stairs and in her sleepy daze was so excited to see all the fun toys! Got right to work quietly playing.
Wake upppp
Her first hair bun <3
While she discovered and played, Dom helped Daddy make some birthday pancakes!
She is such a little girl. I can't believe it
Aunty Ashleigh graciously offered to come make cupcakes with Dom & Emilia for her birthday party.
Aunty Ashleigh then graciously left me with two kids just starting their sugar high haha!
After naptime it was out to the "yard" to get the party started! Everyone brought their own blankets/chairs, food, and drinks. This was our attempt at following Dr. Henry's rules, while still getting together with our family.
Dom FINALLY got to show his uncles and aunts how he drives his BMW, taking a victory lap around the complex with entourage in tow.
Dom was very helpful and super patient with the present-opening. It's hard for a toddler to watch their siblings open a present and know that they're not getting anything! I don't think there was a single meltdown, and he seemed pretty happy to just be happy for Emilia. We spent the couple days leading up to the party prepping him for this.
Her new mermaid doll with a diaper <3
Mom and Dad are here too, but to the left of Jeff & Marta.
Just 17 more years to wait, Emilia
Dom has developed so much in the last two months, and he was on fire just wanting to show off and interact and talk to everyone. Show them all what a big boy he was. The last time most of these people saw him he was still in diapers.
Uncle Adam brought a Minnie mouse balloon, which was a hit. It is now ominously floating around my house at hip-height.
Sherlock and Benny played tug of war!
This brings us to yesterday - Mother's Day! I spent most of the morning relaxing and sitting outside reading a book. We decided to get Cactus Club takeout for lunch, and eat it on the back patio while the kids had nap/quiet time. Genius!!! It was soooo lovely.
I ordered some Rose and it came in a juice-box. Good job Cactus Club :)
After lunch I went and did some reading and lettering upstairs on the deck. I suddenly remembered this magazine Dave made for me two years ago for Mother's Day. Ahh yes. I should definitely bring this out and read it every year.
After nap time we went to Gramma & Grandpa's to celebrate Emilia's birthday and Mother's Day with them - again in the backyard, and for dinner!
Allana and Gabriel were there too, which meant the kids had two more dogs to play with! Fynn & Voltage. Voltage loved to lick their ears. Emilia was tickled pink
Glad she brought her mermaid doll along, because she was gifted a doll stroller and high chair!
Emilia got two candles, and Dom got to blow out one on his side too!
Then I asked Shelley to bring out some pictures of Dave when he turned two. Man does Emilia ever look like him. Their resting faces are so the same. Same shape face, same chin, same mouth/lips, same eyes. Hilarious.
That was a super fun, super full weekend when we're used to not seeing anyone or doing anything outside the home! Back to regular life today :)
