tuesday newsday

Christmas is coming! It's Hendrik's fifth birthday first, and we won't be doing anything too Christmas-y until after this coming weekend, but I should definitely prioritize and find time to get started on Christmas baking. On the list (off the top of my head) are nanaimo bars, butter tarts, sugar cookies, and jam diagonals; I'm sure I'll have to add a few others into the mix (chocolate shortbread? gingerbread cookies?), but that's a good start. I'll add a few pounds of butter to the next Costco list.

whenever this one falls asleep in the afternoon, she's up late late!

So big news in the Brinkman household - we're getting a minivan! I never thought I'd say this (or hear my husband say it), but we're excited. They are SPACIOUS and PRACTICAL and offer so many options for seating that I think all four of us will be jostling for the best cabin seats. Le van of choice is the Honda Odyssey, but we took a good look at Kia and Toyota too; the new wheels are ours on Friday... yikes! I won't reveal any of the other swank features, but instead save it for a tour. Alana is excited about the push button sliding doors, and Hendrik hasn't yet laid eyes on it - but I can tell you what he'll be happy about: the built in TV.

We took a family trip to Hamilton last Friday and surprisingly, we didn't need either of the movies I downloaded from Hoopla - the kids were happy colouring pictures printed from Quiver (Hendrik spent almost an hour doing his). We met up with Steve's parents in Hamilton and Hendrik was disappointed I couldn't get the iPad to magically 3-dimensionalize (is this a word?) his drawing - as seen in the video... maybe that's something I'll get to figuring out tonight. It was a Mustangs vs Marauders kind of night, and we didn't even take a picture of the kids in their purple shirts! They cheered for mommy's team (we lost) and then for Daddy's team (they won) and then fell asleep on the way home. Thank goodness Sunday was free from early morning coaching and obligation... we stayed in our pyjamas all morning.

class picture!

After too many late late nights reading A God in Ruins, I finished it - and liked the story and the writing quite a bit. I'll look for some of her other books but not until the semester is over. I feel like I have to repeat this to myself every time I'm on the library website or nearing a branch as I really do not have time to stay up late and read. It's getting late now (well, sort of - 9:00), and I haven't started any of the piles of work that need tending to tonight. So on that note, off I go. Hope the weather is warmer where you are!