It. has been. a week! Lots of amazing things happening, and also lots of stress! Remember how I was talking last week about our van troubles? So Dave replaced the battery and everything and then Friday night AGAIN the van was saying, "check charge system." Seriously. Can't make this stuff up. Brand new alternator, brand new battery. We call the shop and they take it in on the Friday to look at it again. As it turns out there was a loose ground or something on the alternator. They were in a rush to get it put back together when Dave picked it up the first time because they said it would be ready, so I guess they didn't cross their t's and dot their i's. So last Friday we picked up the van together (which was so nice and Dave's parents were at our house with the kids that day). On the way home, I was in Dave's car and he was in the van. I was following him to make sure nothing weird happened to the van on the way home.
SURPRISE!!! At 160 and Fraser Highway, DAVID'S car makes an aggressive CLUNK CLUNK! Five seconds later it goes CLUNK CLUNK CLUNK CLUNK. Shit. I thought maybe I hit a pot hole and got a flat tire. Nope... car is stuck in third gear. I cannot make this shit up. David's transmission blew on our way home from the shop with the van that had been in and out all week already. Whaaaat the actual eff! We called the shop right back and they were able to take Dave's car in. Miraculously we were able to drive it there - luckily it was stuck in third gear since that one is pretty versatile for city streets. The car was definitely not happy though.
All that to say, the timing of these car troubles was actually as convenient as it could be. The kids are on Spring Break and we have no real need for two cars most of the time, we were able to get help when needed, and we're already have so much financial stress right now that all we could do was laugh about this. We should be able to pick up the car today (Thursday), and hopefully that's it for car troubles for the next few years!
Now onto Thankful Thursday! Whew! It's been a really crazy week aside from car stuff too! We had Dave's birthday last weekend, and Dave brought me into his business to help out with admin and marketing, so we've been having meetings with potential clients and figuring out a system and working many hours a day together.
1. Spring Break. I was nervous about Dom being home every day, but it's actually been a lot of fun so far. He's LOVING being home and involved everyday, and has been getting outside, playing with the girls, and especially getting Eva out of my hair! It does mean I make a lot more snacks during the day, but it's been fun and sort of reminiscent of the pre-Kindergarten days. I kinda miss it, but come talk to me after week 2 of spring break haha!
Took Dom & Emilia to the library one day while Eva napped. One perk of Dave being home (work has been slowwwww this year, but that's changing!) is that I can leave while she naps.
Big kids at the library means they can go grab a stack of books, I can grab a book, and we can part ways (sort of) and read in peace. Magic. Those of you with little littles, it gets easier!!
It happened to be a gorgeous day, so we went to the playground for a bit before going home to figure out dinner.
Dom got flashlights and they cleaned the girls' room and played dance party and then sleepover. They kept Eva happy and occupied up there for over an hour. What sorcery is this! I worked for almost an HOUR without her pressing my buttons (literally).
2. Help from Gramma and Grandpa. Last Friday they came over to watch the kids so that Dave and I could go to work. My boss wasn't in the office, so I decided to go to Black Tiger Co. and do some work there. Boy is it ever nice to work in a different environment - one without children running around and WITH windows! Dave and I then got to go for an early birthday lunch together as he was also out working (more on that later), and then I went to the library to get a bit more done. That day was so refreshing!
HIker was more engaged in Lion King than the kids were.
3. Dave's work. So as I've mentioned before, this year has been a struggle so far for work. Not just for Dave, but for most in this profession. Last weekend there was some reignition of passion and light for Dave and he and I officially started working together. It feels like a no brainer since we are polar opposites and compliment each other in every way. Everything he excels at, I struggle with and vice versa. You'll hopefully be seeing some more action on Social Media, some more corporate reels and promotional videos, and we have a couple really exciting projects coming up.
I feel like the last few months is going to act like a slingshot. We've been pulled so far back in many ways, and it's about to release and launch us forward and upward. I'm really proud of the hard work Dave is putting in and the walls he's breaking down, and looking forward to continuing to work together!
We have one project in particular that's really exciting. We will be doing a promotional/story-telling video for Healing Place Counselling Centre/Soul Matters in downtown Cloverdale. We met with the owner, Elsje, this week to discuss it and we left feeling very excited and inspired. It's hard to explain what this centre does in words (hence the desire to do a video), but she did an All of Life interview at church on March 5 and shared a bit about their story and how they hope to eliminate financial, physical and emotional barriers with mental health.
*If you know anyone with a passion for mental health and eliminating barriers who might also have some sort of capacity to partially or fully sponsor and support a promotional video project for Healing Place Counselling/Soul Matters, please please please message me for more info!!!*
While we went to the meeting, we dropped all the kids off at Jeff & Marta's place and snuck out. Marta and Ashleigh weren't there at the beginning, so it was just Jeff & Scott watching 5 kids AND making dinner for everyone. Love it!
Boerenkool and roqueworst for dinner! Eva was dancing and "yumming" the whole time.
Aunty Ashleigh in her natural environment, making creations with wood, sticks, leaves and rocks in the backyard with the kids. Tell me you're an amazing outdoor preschool early educator without telling me you're an amazing outdoor preschool early educator!
Eva and O helping uncle Jeff deal with the hydrangeas.
Possibly my new favorite photo ever.
4. Dave's birthday! Dave turned 32 on Sunday, and he had a poker night Saturday night with the guys, and then we went out to Agassiz for brunch on Sunday! That drive is SO much easier now than this time last year. Eva can just eat snacks the whole way and doesn't scream nearly as much haha.
Short stack
Huge turnout meant that Ashleigh and I could have girls night in the theatre! It's been a LONG time :)
Pancakes, sausages and bacon for brunch :)
In the evening around 6pm we were back home, and I was working on some stuff for Dave and suddenly we (he) hears a *crack/thud* and then power went out. Crap! A truck had SMASHED into a telephone pole right outside on Fraser Highway and knocked our power out. Thankfully the driver was okay, because it was not a small crash. The kids were a bit nervous about the power, but luckily Dave had his new wands from his parents for his birthday to help with bedtime stories!
Lumos
I solemnly swear I am up to no good
That evening we ordered sushi and played games by candlelight (and some light from Dave's work lights haha). The power actually came back on around 9, but we turned the lights back down and finished our game with the candles :) I kicked his butt.
5. Dom's soccer season is wrapped up and we got him in another season starting in April! That will be outdoor soccer at Clayton Park in the mornings. We really enjoyed the outdoor spring season last year, bringing the girls to the park and what not. Looking forward to doing that again.
Alright! And a few random moments from the week...
She's been trying to figure out this strider thing for the last few days. She has figured out Wren's motorized quad thing and will drive that around not really understanding how to steer.
I was making pasta and we invited Jesse & Kirstin for dinner. Wren and Eva were two peas in a pod playing afterwards.
Emilia's birthday wish list/plan
1. A frozen chapter book
2. More Lion King toys for her "collection"
3. Marshmallow (from Frozen)
4. A Calming Bottle
5. Cars
6. "Nailish polish"
7. A Frozen clock
8. Have Pizza
9. Have cake (with a picture of Eva peeking onto the table to see the cake)
10. Sing happy birthday
11. Open presents
Love it! Also she already has most of these things haha.
Emilia trying to help and encourage Eva to ride faster.
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