Lately

On Thursday the big kids had preschool! It has been amazing to have them out at preschool two days last week. It makes such a difference getting that little break.

Thursday evening we went to my parents' place for dinner and visited with Uncle Reynold, who's in town from Holland!

On Friday Kirsten took Sherlock for a walk again. Another thing that makes a huge difference in how our day works! I remember when Dom was 6-7 months old, going for a walk every morning at 8 or 9 am with Sherlock and Dom. Now she gets to do it with Wren and Sherlock! Haha. She says she likes it, but it is a HUGE favour to me, so I try not to feel guilty :) To repay her that day, Emilia invited her over for dinner! We had chicken caesar salad wraps, so that was easy to make a little extra!

Kirsten teaches grade 1 (I think?), so she's good at reading stories to the littles

I think Eva is starting to teethe. Or maybe it's just the development of everything going in her mouth. She chomps down on things now. Including me while feeding sometimes. That's going to have to stop. 

We hired a babysitter for Friday evening and went out to have beer and games at Scott & Ashleigh's new place! It has been 6+ months since we've been together with just the 4 of us, and over a year since we've shared beers and games with all 4 of us!

Saturday morning I had band practice, and then Aunty Sonya arranged to have everyone come celebrate her birthday with BoBo Moma at Elim. It was a gorgeous day, and so nice to get outside and see the family!

Myles

Phoebe. Both these babies are 6 months and sitting on their own and moving around already!

The girls and their babies!

The boys and their babies!

Goody bags for Dom & Emilia from Aunty Sonya! Super fun things that are keeping them nice and busy at home :)

In the evening Dave went out to a car show, and I hadn't walked the dog yet that day. Dad graciously came over and finished up bath time and got all 3 kids ready for bed for me while I walked Sherlock. I wasn't sure how it would go (particularly with Eva so close to bedtime), but the kids were great and he aced it! 

Dad going through Bertie Bott's Every Flavoured Beans. Dom was rather offended when he got an earthworm flavoured one. The game was over after that.

Last year Fall was not so pretty in our neighbourhood. This year is already making up for it

What I came home to :)

On Sunday Scott and I tag-teamed bass playing at church, so I went to church for the 11:00 service and played bass and listened to the sermon. That was nice. I was tired though. It's been a lot of people lately. During quiet time Dom came down very early (as usual), and Eva and Emilia were still sleeping. Dave and I played a game of Snakes & Ladders with him. He felt soooo special, and it was actually fun! He's really good at the math part of that game, and totally understands it. Not that it's complicated, but it's nice to not have to battle the toddler attention span or misunderstandings. 

Thankful Thursday - 273

 This week I am thankful for...

1. Hope. Yes, the church too, but I'm talking about literal hope. I'm feeling hopeful this week that I will be in a good routine and be able to find some balance soon! This week the kids were in preschool both Tuesday and Thursday, and while it's gradual entry, so I just get a couple hours to myself right now, I take the deepest breaths I get all week during that time. (Not sure that sentence actually made sense)... I've been spreading myself way too thin, so having these little breaks to look forward to keeps me going!

Having more time to breathe and get things done during the week means I have more ability to relax and enjoy the little things with the kids too.

Like sitting outside and staring at the trees with Eva

And making pumpkin spice waffles from scratch for dinner with Emilia

And FINALLY hanging up these things in Eva's room! 
*A lot of people may not know, but Eva is actually a rainbow baby for me. A rainbow baby means a baby after a loss. We had a very early miscarriage in December 2019*

The rainbow was made by Ashleigh, and the "Eva" was sent from Holland!

2. Yoga! Now that I'm done the 8 week Beach Body Barre Blend program, I've picked up Yoga again. Ah I've missed it so much! It's much harder to do with kids around, but I've been able to squeeze it in mostly during nap times or preschool so far. I also don't have to plan around meals so much because I can do yoga after eating or drinking anything, unlike the barre blend. I was doing way more intense workouts with barre blend, but just a few days of yoga and certain muscles are sore. Anytime someone discredits yoga... IT WORKS! Trust me! I was in the best shape of my life before I got pregnant with Eva, after doing yoga 5-7 days/week for 7 months. Wooooorth it!

Nothing to do with yoga, but having these lunches made (not actually making them) and look cute makes me feel happy and calm. 

3. Sleepy chillens. The kids were all sick last week/weekend, and even DOM took a nap! I cannot recall the last time he's napped. Probably 2 years ago? And only if he was sick. Amazing. 

So that Eva can sleep in her crib during nap time, Emilia has started having quiet time in our bed. We put her in there with some books, and come back to this every time so far!

4. COVID negative. We got Emilia tested last weekend for COVID. Nobody had a fever or anything, but we wanted to be sure before seeing anyone or sending them back to preschool this week. Emilia is so brave :)

Being sick and trapped inside meant lots of jammies (as if that isn't the norm around here) and lots of quiet play while listening to audio books!

Sloth jammies from Once Upon a Child

She's very into her dolls again all of a sudden :)

Playing Star Wars Operation all by himself

I got Emilia a pair of jammies to match Eva's. She was so excited to match :)

5. Doing family things. We don't have any family photos from the last 4 months at least I think. We definitely have to do that. Anywho, we went for a family walk last week to visit the horses, and then we went to a little car show thing in Clayton to check out some fancy cars! Dave was super excited to show Dom, and Dom was super nervous. Some of the cars were LOUD! 

My favorite part (NOT) was when Dave swatted a wasp away from himself and straight into my leg. I was wearing Eva and had Emilia's hand, so I couldn't even react and swear like I wanted to. It's still itchy now... 4 days later. Bee stings suck! 

The super loud car that made Eva cry, Emilia almost cry, and triggered Dom's meltdown

Dom wore a mask because he was still coughing a little

Eva and I in the Ferrari. I was really just trying to convince the kids it would be cool to sit inside.

6. Chris Evans. I was never into Captain America until we saw it on the big screen downstairs... Now I'm like Yes... this is perfection!

Dave agrees.

7. Dry Fall days. We were planning to have pizza with Jesse & Kirsten this week and were going to do it inside, but then the sun came out and the bees weren't too aggressive, so we managed to eat outside again! 

Got the Colonel Sanders thing going on here

"Aunty Ashleigh's" turn to feed "Phoebe"

No words. Haha! Jesse helping Dave out with the massage gun.