I think busy is just my new normal now for the rest of my life. All good. All good. Days are crazy, but I'm trying to take some more evenings off to recuperate. It works!
This weekend was a whirlwind! We had Emilia's family birthday party on Saturday and did our best to make the day as special as possible for her. In her words, as she finished opening her last present of the day, "THIS IS THE BEST BIRTHDAY EVER!"
On Friday I had to run some errands, so I took Emilia with me while Eva napped and Dom listened to audiobooks so Dave could keep working downstairs. She's the best for running errands. So easy-going and just grateful for the quality time. Not a single complaint!
We brought out the learning tower for Eva! I had forgotten about this thing, but she is now obsessed. So far no tumbles, but she hasn't quite figured out how to get down on her own yet. She's up there every chance she gets though.
The weather has been so... ugly. So wintery and cold and rainy. We saw some sunshine on Friday so decided to try have an outdoor picnic with Jesse and Kirsten for some burgers. Alas, about 10 minutes before eating it started to rain. Pack it up!
These days do make for some nice sunsets though...
Saturday rolled around. Emilia made it known that she wanted to be woken up by balloons being thrown at her, so when we went to get the kids in the morning (they had already come out to go pee, so we sent them back in and they were up in Dom's bed together), we barged in with a bag full of balloons (that Kirsten blew up in record time... It was disturbing) and sang happy birthday and threw them at her. Pure joy, I tell you!
We had waffles for breakfast, and then she opened her present from us. A Lego Frozen castle! Allllllllll year she's been asking for Frozen Lego for her birthday. Nearly every day she'd say how excited she was for her Frozen Lego. She can't have been surprised, but she was excited. I spent the morning building it with her, and planned to continue while Dave took Dom to soccer. A few minutes after they left she decided she also wanted to go to soccer. Birthday girl runs the show! I packed up the girls and off we went.
After soccer she and I finished up the Lego castle and she played very happily with it for a long while. It was hard for Dom... Birthdays are always hard for the siblings. I also remembered we still had to ice the cupcakes we'd made on Friday! Box cake and canned icing for the win!
Speaking of the day being difficult for Dom, we realized pretty quickly how left out he was going to be feeling, so after soccer Dave brought Dom to Walmart where he got (reasonable) free reign to pick out a gift for Emilia. He picked out a Belle doll and a princess colouring book. He was so proud to wrap them with me and give them to her. Made the whole gift thing much easier on him that day since he felt involved.
Her party was due to start at around 4pm, but a few people came early which made for a nice transition to the craziness. It also allowed for gifts to be spread out throughout the afternoon to make it less overwhelming. The Frozen and Princess theme continued throughout the day as she got more dolls, stickers, colouring books, clothes, and even a Frozen pedal bike/helmet from Aunty Lasagna (Sonya).
Emilia continued to be spoiled and have fun with her loved ones and I could tell she was feeling very special. I'm so grateful we were able to give her a "normal" birthday party. She didn't know it, but her last two were COVID parties and were not very normal. I PRAY we can have a normal, indoor party for Dom in December. Maybe rent out the church or something and have a play gym type party.
By the end of the evening Emilia was TOAST. "I am SO exhauuuuusted!" she kept saying. Most people were gone, and a few were playing outside, so Aunty Lasagna took her upstairs, got her ready for bed, and read her a few books. Whew!
*Out of order photos from the party since they came from many sources*
Sunday was Mother's Day! I spent the morning pretending I had no responsibility and kind of did my own thing which is perfect. The kids and Dave brought me a card in the morning while I was still in bed, and then they got to watch a movie while we relaxed, recovered, and prepped for the afternoon.
After Eva's nap we packed up and went off to Agassiz for Mother's Day Linner/Lupper/Dunch? The drive was completely uneventful which was a blessing. Last time I injured my arm trying to console Eva, so I was a little nervous. We had pulled chicken sandwiches for food, Eva had a good nap, the kids got to play outside, the moms got to take a little break, and Dom & Grandpa (and Emilia for a brief period) got to try out the hot tub! The drive home was equally uneventful and I actually got some crocheting done. I'm glad I brought it! Made the drive quicker for me.
Monday was Emilia's actual birthday. Dom gave her his second birthday present, and then Aunty Ashleigh and Phoebe came over for an early playdate. She invited the kids to tot romp with her and Phoebe, so as Eva napped I dropped them off, went home to have some me time, and then picked them up at 11! We came home for a quick lunch, and then Jordyn came over to give me another break. She offered to watch all 3 kids so I could go do whatever. It was like Mother's Day 2.0 with all this free time!
I was out for about 2.5 hours and got to run some errands that had been on my list, but I just wasn't getting done. I went to Mission Thrift Store to get some clothes for myself (slowly trying to build up a wardrobe of clothes that actually fit my new body), went to H&M to get some things for Dom, got some groceries and finally picked up my birthday perfume from Shoppers!
I came home and got Eva down for her nap. Dave and Dom went outside to play while Emilia and I took Sherlock for a walk. Right when we got back we got Eva up, packed up again and went to Uncle Jeff & Aunty Marta's with Oma for Emilia's birthday dinner - tortellini soup of course!
After getting back home and putting the kids to bed, Dave and I sat out on the back patio for the first time this year and played a game together while the sun went down. I have been longing for these Spring evenings where we can do this. Always a highlight and it makes me feel like I can actually take a deep breath!
Today I dropped the kids off at preschool, dropped Eva off with Mom, went to work for 3 hours, picked up the kids and Eva from the school and came home to finish off the day. Zoiks. These days are busy. I am so curious what September is going to look like with Dom in FT Kindergarten and Emilia in PT preschool with different start and end times, and Eva's nap times.
*Proceeds to cut Anna out of the picture with her body haha)
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