What's Up Wednesday: February 2026

Dave and I will be referring to February 2026 as "irritating February." There was nothing huge which happened but it was a month filled with a lot of irritation. Our car was in the shop twice, we dealt with various health issues which sucked up some time, and we had some minor house issues. Again, there was nothing big but it felt like a never ending game of Whack-A-Mole and every day or two, there was something new to address.

Answering these questions monthly helps me reflect on the past month and I really appreciate having a record of what we've been up to. The questions come from Shay at Mix and Match Mama and Sheaffer at Sheaffer Told Me Too.

image from here

 

What we're eating this week... We are now in week four of not having a kitchen. So we've been eating a lot of take out and simple meals. I'm so sick of fast food and I miss vegetables and fruit. And hearty soups. I really miss hearty soups.

Taco salad is simple to make and we all like it.

  

In other news, our school food bin has had the MadeGood Cheddar Stars and my principal and I are addicted to them! They are so good and I've been enjoying a little bag almost every day, usually with a cup of tea!

 

What I'm reminiscing about... I'm writing some of this post while watching the first Blue Jays Spring Training game of the season. So I'm reminiscing about both last season (when we made it to the World Series) and about when our family got to go to a Spring Training game.

Spring Training game in Dunedin, Florida; March 2023

World Series game in Toronto; October 2025

What I'm loving... I am loving our back splash! I picked it, inspired by the tile we'd seen in Portugal, and it is absolutely living up to my hopes. I can't wait to see our whole kitchen as it comes together!!!

 

 

What we've been up to... We've been living in the midst of renovation chaos. So February has been filled with a lot of pivoting and figuring things out.

We did dishes in our laundry sink for a few weeks. Rachel and I even had to wash our hair here once.

I enjoyed my mornings of coffee-hot chocolate, blankets, and twinkle lights.

Janice made us a crocheted snowperson family and I love them! They sit on the shelf by our tulips and, every once in awhile, the kids move them around, which makes me laugh! This is our only house decoration right now.

Flooring was laid for our renovation.

We dealt with minor renovation inconveniences like having to get drinking water from under the cabinet and make coffee and toast outside the powder room...

...and we showered at Tim & Janice's for a few weeks.

We got our shower and our kitchen sink back!!!

Trim and priming started for our renovation. We're getting closer!

 

Despite not having a kitchen, Rachel still baked cookies.

We finally got all the ice and snow cleared off the sidewalk, porch, and driveway. (And as of this writing, it's covered in snow again. sigh.)

 

Rachel also had a couple of dance performances in February so she had extra rehearsals and I spent a few hours volunteering for them.

What I'm dreading... I'm both dreading (and looking forward to) all the work and unpacking and moving we'll have to do when our reno is done. We don't know for sure when it will be complete but we know we want to paint a few rooms (which weren't included in the renovation and it'll be easier to paint them when they're empty). Then we'll move stuff out of our storage units and our neighbours. And then we'll have to unpack everything. So I'm kind of dreading all the work we're going to have to do to get settled again. Thankfully we'll have a few months to sort everything out.

 

What I'm working on... I saw an idea about sorting through your photos daily. So every few days I sort through all the photos I've ever taken on those days. I don't know if this makes sense or not but search the date in your photos (for today I'll search "February 25") and then all the photos I've taken on "February 25" throughout the years pop up. It's been a good way to not feel overwhelmed by all my photos and be able to get rid of them in small doses. Since I have 14,574 photos I've got a bit of work to do :)

What I'm excited about... I'm excited baseball is back! I'm continuing to write this post while watching the second game of Spring Training and I'm just so happy!

 

I'm also still excited to come home every day and see what's been happening in our renovation! And honestly, I'm also excited that we're so close to having it finished (maybe even by the end of March, if not sooner?!?). 

 

What I'm watching/reading... Well, I was watching the Olympics. Canada did okay but I'm sad we didn't win gold in at least one of the hockey games. I've also been watching Spring Training games. It's been a lot of sports watching around here.

Left: First spring training game; Right: cheering on Canada in Olympic hockey

As for reading, I've either been reading books about being cozy in winter or hockey romances! Hahaha! So I've read The Finnish Way by Katja Pantzar and American Cozy by Stephanie Pedersen as well as the Heated Rivalry series by Rachel Reid. I also read a few books in the Maple Hills series by Hannah Grace. It's been an eclectic month of reading, for sure!

What I'm listening to... I'm listening to a tropical music mix. I'm ready for some sun and warmth so listening to this music makes me think I'm at the beach! Hahahahaha!!!

What I'm wearing... I've been wearing a lot of my warmest sweaters trying to ward off the cold. Usually you can't really see what I'm wearing, because if I'm at home, I'm huddled under a blanket. It's been a chilly February and I need some extra warmth.

What I'm doing this weekend... Dave and I are Jr Youth sponsors at church and we are leading an event this weekend. That will probably take up most of my time, even though the event itself is only a couple of hours. I'm also trying to start working with Sam on getting ready to move his room. When the renovation is done, Sam will have a room in the basement so we need to figure out what he's taking with him.

What I'm looking forward to next month... March Break! Opening Day of baseball! Our reno (maybe) being done?!?!?!?! Hopefully some warmer weather... There will be a lot of exciting things happening in March and I'm looking forward to it all.

 

So that's what's been up with us in February -- we've been chugging along through our reno, playing whack-a-mole with life, and hoping for a slightly easier March. I feel a little whiny today but I think I really need some spring so if you have nicer weather today, soak some up for me :)