Thankful Thursday

Hey team! So, this week Nya went to a play date where she asked her friend (in the car full of their family) whether her mom yelled. Her friend said "no" and Nya said she was lucky because her mom was the opposite. At first I laughed when I heard it and then I was slightly mortified and then I felt frustrated. To be clear, I have yelled at Nya maybe twice in her life because she is so sensitive. If I raise my voice she feels like I'm yelling. Do I yell at my boys? Yes, they are ridiculous and I am human. If you feel like I shouldn't yell, I hear you, it's not my first choice but then I also dare you to parent my crew.  All this to say I've felt a bit down about the exhaustion of parenting. I've never doubted my ability as a parent (weird, right?) but wow is it ever tiring and I feel like me giving 100% is never enough. What will they remember about me after all is said and done?

All I can do is my best and take this time to work on my patience. I am with my kids a lot. Like, a lot. I know I need some time away and a whiny toddler does not add patience to the mix ;) Sorry, this is not very Thankful Thursday-ish so let's get to it...

This week I am thankful for:

1. A great day at Sasamat Lake with friends. We don't go out with friends often and we almost never go swim in a lake so it was fun to do something different. Watching our four in the lake is a bit stressful as we have three kids that are overly confident when they shouldn't be.

2. Our hot tub. It has been a hit. The kids use it during the day and Gary and I use it at night. I'm not sure if I mentioned this but I am very tied to our hydro usage. We have always been well under the amount of comparable homes in our neighbourhood and under $2/day. Well, now we are in the $2-3 per day as the hot tub costs us $1/day to run. It's pretty affordable and I try to never think about it...except my family has to "suffer" when I'm turning off all the lights in our home at every hour of the day–ha!

3. Berry season. Every person in our family loves them and we really need to get some more. Picking wasn't really a money saver so if you know of the best places in Surrey to get berries, fill me in!

4. A hardworking husband. Honestly, this is one of my favourite things about Gary. I know he'd rather be watching sports on TV but he has been so great at getting to "the list" of things that we have been meaning to do. This past week he power washed the house and garage, painted the front door, oil change for the van and air filter change in the car and purged his clothing. He has also been making every meal for us as I've been busy with the kids. Coming up is our ensuite (new vanity, mirror, lights and paint) and new retaining wall in our backyard.

5. Nya making me laugh. "Dad, you are a great artist". We painted the door Arrowhead Lake Blue and it's a bit too bold for me so I'm just waiting to see if it grows on me. I wanted something that did not stand out so we'll give it some time. I made the paint colour decision very quickly.

6. Toddler Girl tolerating the Ergo. We only use it for hiking and thankfully she's very light. I love our Ergo, it's been awesome over the years and I'm sure I can ever get rid of it.

7. The SkyView Lite app. So cool being able to point out the planets when we're in the hot tub!

8. Podcasts. I got into them over the past year and I can't say that there's one that I love but I appreciate learning and being entertained while I drive the toddler around! Makes me feel like I'm using my time wisely which is important to me. 

9. An eBook to read. First of all, I love eBooks because I read them right on my phone (iPhone 7+) so I can read wherever I am. Secondly, I'm intrigued by this book because it is written by a Metis woman who was in foster care as a child. I really want to learn more about Indigenous Peoples (alongside real life interactions) so if you have books, documentaries or podcasts, let me know.

 10. Sensitive kids. Nya, Koen and I read this book together and the kids were nearly in tears. I love that they were feeling it. On a totally different note, you can see that Nya's hair is a bit thin on top. She has lost a lot recently so we will be getting blood tests done and have a referral to a pediatric dermatologist. We have many autoimmune diseases in our family so it's definitely worth looking into. Glad I did not have to push the doctor at all as I was feeling a bit silly going in but he said it right away.

What is something that you are thankful for?

Love,
Louise

PS I used to love using my Thankful Thursdays to share beautiful photos but I haven't pulled out my camera since Whistler over a week ago! If I didn't have the toddler on my back during the hike I would've take it along. So, sorry for the terrible iPhone (and GoPro) photos taken without any effort.