Lots and Nothing (at the same time)

So, I wouldn't start by saying that life has been crazy lately. It really hasn't been too too crazy. We've had our weeks of crazy busy-ness for sure, but most of the time I'd say we maintain a pretty manageable pace. That said, that pace for our family is different than my own personal pace. (does life as a mom to young kids ever really slow down??) Between potty training, cooking meals, keeping the kids entertained, keeping the house at least semi-clean and tidy, plus doing a bit of work with my business in the evenings...it keeps me going with, what feels like, very little truly free time! But it's good! It's really good!

With our 10 year anniversary coming up in May (and bundle #3 due in June), Nathan and I took a couple days to get away together to celebrate last week. My mom came and stayed with the kids while Nathan and I drove 6-7 hours to Edmonton AB where we hotel-ed, restaurant-ed, and relaxed! Together. Without kids. This isn't something that happens often for us...we probably average one kid-free getaway per year, not including the years I'm nursing the latest baby. So, this was probably our third kid-free getaway in the last 4.5 years of being parents? Yup. It was so nice. As we were driving there, though, we (mainly I) realized that we really had no shopping list for the big shopping attractions (Ikea and West Edmonton Mall) so we could have driven half the distance and still felt like we'd gotten "away." But we enjoy road trips too, so Edmonton it was. And in our super-duper 2000 Toyota Corolla, we only paid about $60-70 in gas for 15 hours driving so I'd say it was worth it...even if we could have stopped in Lloydminster and had less hip pain driving time. Bonus for the trip was that the day we left was Dairy Queen's free small cone day! So you better believe this preggo made her hubby stop in both North Battleford AND Lloyd for a cone. There was also a DQ in the same parking lot as where we went for supper in Edmonton so I was tempted to have a third free cone BUT...hours of driving was catching up with me so I decided to spare my stomach the extra (in)digestion and leave it at two cones for the day. But free is free! Oh my Mennonite will was tested...

I feel like I've found a great balance with my business lately. I can't remember if I've talked about this already here so I'll just repeat myself if I have. In December I took the month off, and then in January I announced that I was closing my business. I felt peace about that decision but the more time that went by, the more I missed it and wondered if I could find a better way of doing it so I could keep it and still enjoy it. I've stopped taking custom orders - orders where people show me a picture and ask if I can make something - and only offer the designs that can be found in my etsy shop. It has meant less local business, because I've also been doing less advertising in town, but I've had steady business online since starting back up! There's always something I'm working on for someone but I never feel rushed or frustrated because I just don't have time. It's been a lovely balance. I'm enjoying the pulled-back version of what I love doing!

The kids have been really thriving in this warmer weather! We spent a sad amount of the winter inside this year. With being in the country (fewer destinations means less motivation for me to leave the house every day like I did in town) and getting progressively bigger and more out of breath as the winter wore on, I found less and less motivation to head outside with the kids. Now that it's warmer and the kids have been able to spend more time playing outside, they have been less whiny and bored which has made my life SO much more pleasant! I was about ready to throw in the towel and move south. Those of you with young kids in a warm climate...you have no idea how nice you have it! Though I  remember days when we lived in California when the smog was so bad that it was recommended kids play inside. I remember breathing in clean Canadian air after living down there for 10 months and truly, it felt like I could breathe deeply for the first time in a long time! So I guess each place has advantages and disadvantages. But warm winters...what I would give to not be cooped up inside for 4-5 months of the year!

Kayden is such a talker, even more now than at Christmas! Her vocabulary expands every day and she just chatters away. She's not as shy as Levi was/is so more people get to hear her voice when we go out. We often get the comment that she looks like she's really young cause she's quite small for her age (about the same size as many one year olds) but then she starts talking and she's just like a little doll. You don't expect her to say much because of her size and then she just chatters away! She is now fully potty trained (daytime), though still has the occasional accident. She caught on really quickly when I started training in January. She still wakes up wet most mornings but stays dry during naps and most days. So we'll either work on nights or just wait and see what happens with time. I'm not totally decided on this one so for now we're just not doing anything special and seeing what happens. Our going away last week has made for more accidents since coming home but I think we're getting back on track now that it's been a couple days. I kinda expected that to be the case so it didn't catch me off guard or discourage me. With Levi, whenever he would regress, I would get discouraged and wonder if we had to go back to diapers, but truly, if you just stick with it and give it a couple days of being more intentional again, they just slip right back into routine. It's pretty normal to start having accidents again after no accidents for even as long as months at a time!

Levi is such a wonderful four year old. I hoped when he was three that four would be an easier age and so far it definitely is! He loves to learn and be challenged so near the end of this winter I started teaching him to read a bit and he has been sounding out words EVERYWHERE! It's so fun to see. He's also been practicing his writing, which he didn't care about at all just a couple months ago. And drawing! He's never liked drawing before and suddenly he will spend long periods of time with just markers and paper drawing pictures and writing words! And when Kayden sees him drawing, of course she wants to draw too. So fun :)

Pregnancy is going pretty well. I go through days of feeling like I'm stretching and growing way too quickly - today being one of them! And then other days I feel just like my non-pregnant self until I look down. I do notice that I get out of breath more quickly than normal. And obviously things like stairs and sleep are becoming more of a challenge with the extra 15 lbs and 10" around my waist! I'm 26 weeks now so about 13-14 weeks to go! It still feels so far away but I guess it'll probably go quickly! I feel so much movement...this kid is really a mover! Not significantly more or less than either of our other kids, though, so I wonder if that means we'll be blessed with another kid who isn't hyperactive? I'll love them either way, of course...!

Well, Nathan just walked in the door and that means it's time to get supper on the table! I'll try to add a couple pics from my phone when I have a few minutes but I make no promises!