winter

Winter is here! A week ago we had a balmy 16-degree day - but not today my friends, not today. It was blustery and awful this morning, and lows were -10ish (I believe)... not nice. The kids were fairly unphased, and Hendrik dragged me out to play for at least 45 minutes. Alana joined, took of her mitts, and then cried her eyes out because I told her it was mitts or inside - cruel! How cruel of me, right? I'm not too sure what else to write about - school is keeping me up late at night, and the kids pile in our bed earlier than we'd like, though when it's to snuggle and read Burnt Toast on Davenport Street (and other new-from-the-library books by Tim Egan) I accept morning less begrudgingly. Here are a few pictures (from le camera) taken over the course of the past week.

playing school - with crowns 

someone is pumped about wearing hand-me-down dino jammies :)

playing in the backyard with our neighbour - i love it here! (and so do the kids)

daddy build, we paint!

love these two

zero degrees feels better - first snow day! (a few days ago)

pic-post

I have been neglecting my camera, and it takes WAY better pictures than my phone. SO! Here's a resolution to use my camera more (a 15-minute post is on the horizon), and some pictures from the last import:

making faces!

kisses for me 

watching... hockey i think :)

there's an edmontosaurus in our living room - quick, feed it!

jellyfish, by h

it's a dino sign! with a stegosaurus on one side and writing on the other: "I can see dinosaurs but nobody else can." (I need a close-up of his almost-legible writing)

painting liz's birdhouse - big reveal tomorrow!

I have more pics - Remembrance Day ceremony, poppies for dinosaurs, at the park with Robyn Doggy (A's favourite stuffy) - but they're elsewhere AND it's late. And time for bed. Until next time!

eek, a week!

Another week is part of history, and what that week was made of I'm not entirely sure. I can tell you one thing - there was more than enough morning anxiety, trying to get Hendrik dressed and downstairs in any amount of time. This kid is a major dawdler, but only for us. We pick him up from school and he flops around on the coatroom floor and then takes 10 minutes to take off his left shoe and then 10 minutes to take off his right shoe and then fish-flops some more, all while his teacher notes, "he never does this for us." Right. We're going to get a timer and create some incentive for getting downstairs to the breakfast table in 15 minutes without whining for daddy to come and put on his socks and then NO MOMMY come and put on my socks and then NO DADDY! help me with my socks (avec tears, of course). Hopefully we can save some parental volcano eruption rumblings and lateness. I must be optimistic.

We went to our first Christmas bazaar of the season this afternoon, and doesn't it seem way too early for Christmas bazaars? Yes. But anyways, this was a Greek one with  Greek lunch and Greek pastries, and there is never a bad time for something like that. We ate pasticcio, salad, souvlaki, spanakopitas, tiropitas and then had coffee and baklava (and cookies) for dessert. The kids ran wild after one too many treats, and then passed out in the car as soon as we were in motion.

Other of-notes from today: I went to a fitness class at the YMCA (Group Power), and it was decent, but a little dinky (I felt my muscles working but came away with a dry shirt); I made banana muffins and butternut squash soup and biscuits for dinner, and then did a pile of dishes while Steve outfitted our bed with winter, flannel sheets. It's supposed to get into the negatives here pretty soon, and we're gearing up - with fleecy jammies (the kids), flannel sheets and new snowpants (Alana). We still need to locate some boots for the chillins, so that might the errand that drives this next week. That and the pounds and piles of homework that I need to do - and should do tonight, but with the tired factor sky-high, an early night might be more valuable than some progress in the school department. Can I do it? Actually go to bed early? I'll let you know....

halloween recap +

Halloween was so much fun! SO much fun - being in a neighbourhood with kids wandering, houses and people (kids, parents, and homeowners) dressed up, and especially: our two little creatures, all excited about candy and doing it all on their own. They were so cute, deciding where to go, walking the walk and talking the talk ("thank you and have a happy halloween!"), and debating whether or not to brave the houses that were donned up with gloom and gore (see above). It was the first year we've been able to really do the trick-or-treating thing, with both H and A aware of what they were doing and why (CANDY). We got home and the kids dumped out their goods and we let them have at it for a while - and then Steve unapologetically left to watch the men's volleyball team (at Western) go five sets against Waterloo. And the kids were on a su-gar high! Man, it sure did make me wonder how my parents handled kids who couldn't handle sugar TIMES FOUR! Yikes. No one was injured, and I just accepted that my little reptiles would be bonkers and go to bed late, and it was much better that way.

pumpkins, candy candy candy candy and loot bags from our neighbour liz - halloween is the best! (until Christmas)

We had a fair number of trick-or-treaters here too, and H and A were happy to take breaks from candy to dish out some more; thankfully we don't have too much left, but that's in large part due to our (me and Steve) efforts at reducing the pile. I'll likely put in some good work tonight and then hopefully be done with it - I'm like my parents, in thinking that the kids (and adults) can have a few days (maybe up to a week?) of candy free-for-all (more or less) and then it's back to normal... until Christmas.

loot bags! dino hockey and alana's zoo - proud creations

And it's November! And winter. There were flurries on Saturday afternoon, and it was -2 this morning when we woke up (sad face) and I'm going to have to get my big jacket out soon and stop dreaming of next summer and of Greece and really just change my attitude and embrace the season. Can I do it? I'll remain optimistic.

I sat on the bench on Saturday night for the first time (UWO Women's VB), and I tell you, that national anthem gets me every time; as an athlete, a coach, a spectator... hearing Oh Canada, especially when it's live, is the best. I'm loving being a part of this program, and sure wish I could be in the gym for every practice. If only ... I didn't have to sleep! I could just do homework and learn to sew and write letters (and blogs and make cards and read books) in the middle of the night. Tonight I'll really have to force myself to go to bed early; the kids had a super busy day (swimming at the Y this morning + play-gym rip-around, then hockey game for Steve and Hendrik (London Knights) and a tea party, colouring and jobs around the house for me and Alana) and with the time-change, they were asleep early... which likely means they'll be up early too. Who knows, maybe this means we'll actually be on time for school (for Hendrik)! A few photos to wrap-up, and then I'll hit the books. (Or should I eat candy and watch Seinfeld? Hmmm....)

happy guy! at school (wait, leaving school)

pumpkin heads :)

alana's masterpiece du jour

dinos + DIY

Only two more sleeps til Halloween! Eeeeeee! Steve brought a dinosaur costume home last week, and it's been on the little man more than it's been off of of him - Hendrik would probably sleep in the thing if he could. And Alana is pleased as punch to put on her Franklin costume and run around growling like a little reptilian creature. And, I'm pretty sure they'd still be on cloud nine even if the candy phase of this sweet little holiday never came to pass. One thing I find amusing: people ask Hendrik what kind of dinosaur he is, and he can't quite say - which is interesting (and highly unlike Dino Dan) seeing as how he can probably name 50+ different dinosaurs. No matter - he's a herbivore and can roar like the King.  

I should be making this a family update post, because check! out! this amazing cabinet! Steve made it. From scratch. It is the home of our coffee maker and breakfast goods, and wouldn't it just look complete with a little plate of goodies sitting there? On a nice little glass plate? Yes. Yes it would. It looks pretty darn complete the way it is - I'm just ready to eat goodies (or Halloween candy).

#11

Some big news is out about my guy, and I was hoping to get a more detailed, in-depth post about Team Canada and Steve's 17 years in the middle - and hopefully I will (I will.), but for now - I just wanted to share this story. He set a record for number of years played for the National Team, and attended every major international competition save for the Olympics; he played overseas for 14 years, in nine countries, for 13 different clubs. I'm proud of him and of his accomplishments, and happy to have been a part of it all - at home and abroad. Lucky me, I get to stand with and next to this man for the rest of my life.

bedtime reads - my loves!

short and sweet

Since an entire week has zoomed by without nary a blog to be read, I'll make this a list-post; but first, how adorable is the above picture? I was shocked - and I mean shocked - that Hendrik didn't respond to his sleepy sister's snuggles with a shove and an upside down spaz-move; I had to slowly back away  to get the camera so as not to startle him out of the loveliness that was happening. Okay, list:

1. Volleyball last weekend was oh so fun, despite the 6:30am wake-up after a few night-calls from the goblins living down the hall. We won the tourney and $30, and went out for dinner and beer before driving back to London - it was an all-day affair, that's for sure. I was quite surprised to wake up with mobility; I wasn't sore! But then ... oh, but then ... after women's league on Monday night ooooh boy, I did not feel good. So I'm not too upset about missing next week's competition; I'm working the election - another all-day affair that might leave me feeling just as worn-out. We'll see!

2. Our new favourite book is, Fletcher and the Falling Leaves - I'm in love! And so are the kids. This adorable fox takes on a few other seasons, and I'm thinking they'll be perfect birthday/Christmas gifts. Hurray for new, much-loved books!

3. At one point in the above-mentioned book, Fletcher cozies up under his favourite tree and falls asleep, and that's just what I wanted to do on Wednesday afternoon between classes. This was the view from my 10-minute, in-between-class chillout, under a full, fall tree:

4. I thought the first part of the semester was crazy, but it was just a warm-up; November is going to be crazy! CRAY-zay. I need to write a paper this weekend, and I think there are seven assignments due in the next six weeks. YIKES. One thing at a time, right?

5. Lastly, this:

twas a happy friday :)

What a day! If you know me, you know I love a book sale - and our kids love 'em too. I was too busy burrowing through piles in the children's section to snap any pictures, so there isn't any evidence of blond heads heads buried in dinosaur (Hendrik) or doggy pages (Alana) (they were on-the-floor, mid-aisle, and ensconced; = love!). We came home with 15 volumes and parted with $15 - I could have stayed for hours! But Miss A fell asleep in my arms and Hendrik and Steve were getting antsy (AND - okay, I don't have time to read any adult books that I could have / would have bought, right?), so we called it quits.

a few of our favourite finds

Does it get better? It gets better.

From there we finally (!) found London's Greek bakery, staffed by a friendly lady from Kefalonia - who was happy to hear that the best feta I've ever eaten came from a big, wooden, Kefalonian barrel (true story). I bought cookies and baklava, tzatziki and cheese, AND a big roll-up of phyllo so we can make bougatsa and portokalopita. YUM! After carrying a dozy girl around Costco (we parted with more than $15 there), we had a delicious dinner - with Greek themes throughout, which was perfect perfection. Thank goodness I'm getting up at 6:30 tomorrow to play volleyball all all all day long - I need a solid burn-off of the syrupy goodness that was the several pounds (or felt like several pounds) of delicious dessert. For now, I'll absorb my cargo-loading (ha! pretty decent autocorrect there: or, rather, carb-loading) efforts on the couch, and then get to the Roald Dahl book - which I haven't read for years and years. Happy Friday!

thanksgiving: picture-heavy post

Happy Thanksgiving! What a day we've had here in Bowmanville - it's like heaven, for kids and adults alike. Since we arrived we've been spoiled rotten with delicious food (waffles, baked goods galore, appelflappen (apple fritters), mulled wine), and it all culminated in the big turkey din dins tonight. The kids went to Watson's yesterday and then over to the neighbours to play in their bouncy castle AND on their inflatable giant bouncer slide, and I made it to the library to get some work done. (I also checked out a pretty pile of kiddy books - see pic below.) I'm not sure if it's the turkey, but I'm one tired mamacita, so this'll be short and sweet here, and hopefully I can get to bed early. Hope this finds everyone happy, healthy and thankful!

hendrik in bed "doing homework" (with his book from the museum), alana's hair loved the slide, and driveway wheels x 2

me going for more mulled wine, a full dinner table, and kids on cleanup duty

watson's!!!

loved all these books!

field trip +

Field Trip!! Hendrik had his first field trip and his first school bus ride this past Monday, and I got to go along as a chaperone. It was super fun seeing him with the other kids, and also getting to be there as a sort of support staff for him and the other rugrats. On the way home another tired out tuckered out three-year-old fell asleep and nearly fell right off of her little bus-bench, so I propped her up and carried her off the bus when we got back to school (it was adorable). Appleland was great - we were apple-educated, had some Q&A (e.g.:"Where does food come from?" THE STORE - true), drank apple cider (yum), saw animals, and got sandy on a massive - and I mean massive - sand hill. Fun! Hopefully I can accompany the kiddies and teachers on the next field trip too.

Sooooo we had a home inspection done a few weeks ago and are thinking about the next step; we'll get an electrician in to see the extent of the knob and tube, and then get our finances in order. Should we be buying lottery tickets? Hmmm... Maybe I'll start a lottery pool at school? Wait, we're talking London, Ontario, not Vancouver - where $2.4 million can get you this:

18th and Ontario

That money here? Man, it would go a looooong way indeed!

3.4 acres, 4 beds 7 baths: London, Ontario

I'd take the friends that come with that price tag though - I'm always missing my Vancouver people! And everywhere-else people too (Denver, Manitoba, BRAZIL! Italy Italy Italy Italy, Greece). And speaking of Greece, I took the kids to the grocery store yesterday afternoon after a Hendrik haircut and happened to hear a lady speaking Greek to her grandchildren, so I piped up with a smattering of the few Greek words I know. I got to talking with the lady, and she recommended a bakery (yes please!) and I gave her my email address with the idea that I could get together with her daughter, who lives here in London. We've already been in touch, and hopefully we can get together some time and eat bougatsa while our children play :).

We're heading to Bowmanville on Friday afternoon for Thanksgiving, and I think everyone is looking forward to it. Family, friends, food - and Watson's! The kids love going to Watson farm, and I'm sure we'll make a few trips. I'm hoping to get some work done as there are more papers, more projects, more assignments... but not always more time to get them done. On that note, I'll get to work...

a short one

Ready for a  kid-sleep/no-sleep rant? Here it comes: getting our kids to go to bed at a decent hour (and stay in bed and fall asleep) has been an epic struggle; they stay up too late, and then don't want to get up in the morning (EXCEPT if it's the weekend, and we don't have to get up early... then they do). I was thinking that an earlier dinner (say, 5:00) might allow for more time for the crazy-apres-meal steam runoff, and in turn allow for an earlier bedtime but nope. Nope nope nope. They still want to stay up late (-ish - I'm talking 8:30) and then wake up several times in the night (each) and then I have to spend way too much energy getting people out of bed and ready for school (mrrrrrrrrrr). Unless it's the weekend, and then they still stay up late and still get up multiple times in the night and then wake up right on time or earlier, and make the parents get up too. I'm thinking this is where weekend cartoons come into play, though I know that if we get started on that they'll be up even earlier on the weekends and be even more tired during the week. BAH! Let this be a sleep speed-bump; hopefully we get back to some restful nights soon. (Rant over.)

I have been extrrrremely productive in the kitchen this weekend (powered by coffee, tea); I made granola, pumpkin spice muffins, carrot cake (in muffin form) and a huge pot of sauce for lasagna, which I need to go and put together (jobs jobs jobs). Alana has been resisting her nap - but went down this afternoon like it was the only thing she knows how to do - thank goodness! Steve and Hendrik went to the pool, so hopefully we'll (they'll) all be tuckered right out and I might get some work done tonight.

School is going well, but without those solid sleeps it's tough to get anything accomplished after the little weasels (as cute as they are) have finally fallen asleep. We're heading to Bowmanville for Thanksgiving next Friday, and there are no classes the week after, so hopefully I'll be able to get away and get things done then. No other news for now - well, there probably is, but the empty lasagna pan calls and the teapot needs refilling. (On that note, I'm looking forward to reading the next Mme Ramotswe - out next month!). Red bush tea and friends (still need some of those here) are good good good, so I'll start with the tea, and enjoy the quiet house...

sunny september

a few shots from the last week or so: H & A in the trunk of the car with oranges and their books, fall in Gibbons Park, our lawn-mower, the tree finds a new home, house shadows, more park views and tucked in tight for TV

After a few weeks of chilly fall days, we've had some sunny summer weather - hurray! Hendrik was home for lunch today, so we made our way to Gibbons park for adventures in the woods, and the colours were beautiful. We'll definitely get back there as much as we can before the weather gets cold and the trees bare their branches; if we keep up the half-days at school we'll have the time. With him home sick last week we noticed major improvements in his demeanour/behaviour - we're not saying he's learned any bad-boy antics at school (yet), just that he's so so so tired when he gets home after a full day (9:00 - 3:30). He's three! I enjoyed having him home too, time with my little guy and gal is golden - except right before bed when I'm at my low and they're at their scallywag highpoint of the day (invisible muted volcano erupting spewing lava all over the place = how I feel in those moments).

adventure is out there!

Steve was away this past weekend at an Athletes CAN conference in Calgary, so we had to find adventure without him (see above pic); we went to the Archaeological Museum of Ontario (where the kids picked out a book each at the book sale: Hendrik chose Memoirs of the Society for American Archaeology - Archaeological Survey of Northern Georgia with a test of some cultural hypotheses (because it had lots of writing) and Alana chose The Megalith Builders of Western Europe (really). They both insisted on reading their books when we got home - whilst they waited for me to conjure up some lunch. I agreed, and let them read in the sun on the porch.

We also took a trip to the local fire hall, and I found some time (late at night when I should have been sleeping) to read about Lillian H. Smith, the Commonwealth's first children's librarian (in the 30s I believe). She's from the Forest City, and the Toronto Public Library branch that holds her name is also where I've spent some time looking at collections of Margret and H. A. Rey books, as well as original Margaret Bloy Graham artwork (the illustrator of Gene Zion's Harry the Dirty Dog books). I have more on my to-read list after finishing the short Believing in Books: The Story of Lillian H. Smith (Hendrik and Alana's archaeological picks are not on it).

Schoolwork calls - first papers went in last week, and I'm not holding my breath for the first grades back (okay, I am); we'll have to wait and see....

house tour - times two!

Finally, here's a house tour... wait, here are TWO house tours! I took one in the early days (I think it was five days in) and then another one this morning. The first is a bit long - with Hendrik as le tour guide, so skip it and go to #2 if you want the moved in Apartment Therapy ready tour...


And it's true - school makes kids sick. (And smart too, right?) Hendrik was home today with a cough, and Alana was sick to her stomach two nights ago after being cough-cold-hacky for a week or so. Since Steve is in Gatineau for the weekend, I spent most of the night either cleaning up puke, consoling a whiney girl, or talking to a friendly Telehealth nurse - take her to the clinic? hospital? Waking up to a two-year-old (or any-year-old) puking in the hallway and then puking again in the hallway isn't fun for anyone, no it is not. Hendrik said his tummy wasn't feeling great this evening, and he was one tired little pup tonight - so I'll have a bucket on standby in case he catches the midnight barf bug.

Que mas? The kids played with stickers and pens and glues for a large part of the day, and played "I'll lock you in the shed" (so named by me). This is something that started outside, and Hendrik would tell Alana to, for example, stop digging in the dirt or else: "I'll lock you in the shed!" Cue appalled look on my face - right? Well the game came to craft time this afternoon, and Alana was in on it too. Hearing her tell him "I'll LOCK YOU IN THE SHED!" was so awful it was almost funny; I just hope that if and when people hear them say that to each other (shocked neighbours? horrified gym teacher?) they don't think it's standard practice chez nous.

Hendrik has also picked up, "Wanna fight?" at kindergarten. I say, No, no Hendrik, that's not a nice thing to say. Fighting isn't a nice thing to do or play, and he says "I'm just joking you mommy, I'm just playing." What to say? PEACE! Flowers! Love! Right....

update du jour

Events of note from the last week (or so):

We went to the fair! On Sunday we caught the last day of London's Western Fair, and it was great. The kids held little chicks, we wide-eye watched cows eat their lunch and people eat over-stuffed over-topped funnel cakes - and there were rides! It was adorable, seeing their gleeful little faces on the cheesy monster truck ride (flying bees, flying swings, airplane ride), smiles and laughter radiating.

School (for me) doesn't have quite the same fun-factor, but it's all going going going. The content is super interesting, and I'm slowly getting into the flow of getting things done and getting my method down (maybe) - but it's a work in progress. First assignments are due next week - so we'll see how I feel about it all after the 24th (eek!).

There were two big kid-lit birthdays this week: Robert McCloskey (Make Way for Ducklings, Blueberries for Sal) and H.A. Rey (most famous for Curious George). I've looked into the library holdings here for Rey and Bemelmans (Madeline author), and there's some interesting content available - but I don't have time! No time for leisure reading; my list of must-read-for-school is much too long. Maybe I'll get to it between semesters? I hope so.

There was a meet the teacher BBQ at Hendrik's school last night, and it was cute (small school, lots of small people). The kids had a blast playing and zipping around, and we talked to a few other parents and met the principal and bought baked goods. I meant to take a few pics (of school, classroom, playground) but forgot (woops). However, I did! snap these two gems:

Hendrik seems to be liking school - and this makes both mom and dad very happy (especially considering the fact that several kids are inconsolable parent-leeches at drop-off). Franklin Goes to School has been a popular bedtime read this past week, and there's a part where Franklin tells his dad that his tummy is "too busy flip-flopping to think about breakfast" (on his first day of school) and that he felt as if he had frogs jumping around in there. Hendrik, it seems, identifies: he tells me that he felt that way on his first day too (heart - melt!), but continues to say, "but it was all okay." What a brave little guy!

from the kindergarten info board outside hendrik's classroom

Grandma and Grandpa B are here for the weekend, and the kids are pumped. Steve and I are so happy to have them here too - to share our new place and get some ideas and get a few things done. Hurrah! Hurray! Now, BED!

family updatelog

There are books to read! Class assignments to research, read through and write! Cleaning, cooking, child-rearing! If only I didn't have to sleep... there is just so much to do, always. Since my thoughts on where to start and what to write about are all over the place, I'll family-update log this post - and start with...

the schoolkids

ME!
School. Coaching. Family life. How to balance it all? By not taking a full course load, by limiting my in-the-gym time to a few times a week (but remaining flexible), by not going to bed on time, by planning and making time for... for what? Everything. Somehow. I'm enjoying my classes and going with the ebb and flow of it all. Things have changed so much since I was in school 12 years ago (!!!) with that omnipresent thing called le internet. Class platforms and research tools are entirely online, and getting to know these tools is something wholly independent from class content and assignments - there is much to learn. I'm hoping I can get into the flow of writing soon, but finding time for it all and delegating time for it all (kid-free) is not the easiest of things to do. What else? I'm still loving the house, the gas stove, the yard and the neighbourhood, and I'm looking forward to meeting friends and making some connections. The neighbours that we have met are amazing: friendly, welcoming and kind (Liz, our neighbour to the east, brought us a housewarming gift of wine and a homemade beautiful blanket). Being (and feeling like) a part of a community is something I've been looking forward to for a long time, and it will be great once we really settle into the swing of things and start spreading roots.

STEVE
Steve isn't as busy as I am in the sense that I'm out there with external commitments - but really, he is just as busy as I am with the kids and around-the-house jobs (internal: he works in-house). When I have school commitments and/or practice, he's in charge of drop-off, pick-up, and Alana. He's also thinking of little jobs and projects he can do around the house, and upcoming trips to Gatineau (to ready our place for renters, deal with our car) and Calgary (Athletes CAN conference) mean his schedule is about to get busy. I think he's enjoying time away from volleyball, but there are aspects that you can't help but miss, and hopefully he can either join a knitting guild or a hockey league to get some of that team aspect that has been such a big part of his life.

(Also, he's pretty pumped about the fact that we have TV (as of this morning), and that he can watch all World Championship matches ON TV. Poland and Italy are playing right now in front of 30,000 + people. Crazy! Amazing.)

HENDRIK (3 years + 10 months)
Our school boy! I swear he's getting bigger every day. How's it going? I think it's going well. He seems happy at pick-up and eager at drop-off (better than unwilling, sad, etcetera etcetera), but it tires the little guy out, we think. He's been pretty well-behaved at home in the evenings, but we've had more challenging moments in the last week than in the previous two, and I think it's just because he's tired. Going from zero hours of school to a full five and a half hours of different is a lot for a three year-old! Also, he won't tell us what he did - a la teenager: "Hendrik! How was school? What'd you do today?" HIM: "eh, not much." This is the extent of his answer, and it (the complete lack of information) was/is unexpected for me. His teacher told Steve that they did a little project on worms the other day, and that Hendrik knew all about them; he told the teacher (Mrs. B.) about how worms poop out the leaves that they eat under the ground and their poop is called casts (learned from Outside Your Window - a fabulous book that I'm in LOVE with) - he gave us nothing on the subject! I suppose we'd better get used to it... right?

We're hoping to get him into swimming and skating lessons, but we'll take it one thing at a time. He's still super into dinosaurs, books, riding his bike, and doing things on his own; he loves chocolate, dessert, pasta, thinking of words that start with "B" and he asked me the other day if I would still look the same after I finish library school. There's more, I'm sure, but I'd better move on to....

ALANA (2)
This girl - this beauty! I love her to bits. She can be pretty whiny though, and I certainly don't love the whine factor. She does mostly everything that Hendrik does, and it'll be no surprise that she also loves dinosaurs, books, and riding her bike. Cheese is still a big hit on the food front, but she'll pound back sandwiches and wraps, ham, granola, grapes, strawberries, avocado... nearly anything you put in front of her at mealtime. We're not big into the snack thing, so perhaps that's one of the reasons our kids really put it back at the table. She wants to do things by herself and gets right into the dirt and smears it all over her face and we practically have to bathe her after any and all backyard sessions. She's still napping in the afternoon (save for right now - boo) and she loves loves loves babies and other kids her size and smaller (she's in awe of the biggers). And just as keen as Hendrik's sense of smell is Alana's tendency to sympathize with and encourage others when they are sad, injured or expressing dismay. Really! You stub your toe and scream OUCH! and she'll come over and put her face in yours and actually ask if you're okay. It's adorable, and exactly the opposite reaction you'll get from Hendrik (he'll run away or remain oblivious).

That's all for now folks - I need to go make dinner. And then study. Arriba!

a big week

It's been a big week around here - big things happening. I'll get to them in the order they happened, though the lunker-news comes last (I think).

ALANA TURNED TWO!
Our babe is two-years old. How'd that happen? She's BIG! We had a great day - up a few times in the night to get the party started, and then a good morning with balloons and breakfast and presents. Auntie Sarah sent an orca puppet, my mom and dad gifted binoculars (they were a huge hit), and mom and dad gave the girl a book (I Like Me) and a pair of sunglasses that lasted all of six hours before an arm was ripped out of its arm-hinge. We went for a lovely morning walk around the block and I had to take off around the noon hour for an orientation to the computing lab (eek!)... so Steve got the minis fed and watered and Miss Birthday all tucked in tight for her afternoon nap. We made a special birthday trip to Costco, and we were all excited to spend lots of money on food and food and more food. "I LOVE Costco." - Hendrik. "I LOVE it here." (Why? Not sure. He doesn't even eat that many samples.) We made it home in time (NOT) for an early dinner (we're trying for an earlier evening meal time with the hopes that the kids will get to bed earlier - goal = 7:30) of chicken, beans, a tomato salad and yam fries. AND cupcakes! Kari and Maeve and Reina came over for mini-cake goodness, and brought even more gifts! Spoiled. Alana got a lovely second-hand stuffed doggy (PERFECT gift) and Steve and I received housewarming gifts; thoughtful - very! We sang happy birthday, she sort of blew out candles, we took pictures, and then tried to get everyone in bed at a reasonable time without the energy volcano + resistance... but no dice there. For some reason I'm having difficulties uploading videos here, so I'll have to transcribe Alana's birthday interview:

What's your favourite colour? PINK
What's your favourite thing to eat? BEANS (no hesitation - but then, thinking...) and cupcakes. (When I asked her with the videocamera rolling she said BEANS ... and then cheese.)
Who's your best friend? Ellie.
What are you going to be when you grow up? Alana
What's your favourite animal? Ummmm I like lions. (Surprise!)

MOM STARTS SCHOOL
That's me. I had my first day of classes today (why didn't anyone take a picture of me with my backpack on? Next time :)) and it went really well. It's all a bit overwhelming, the new systems, structures, expectations, content, pace etc., but I think with just three courses (and two kids and coaching and real life) it's all do-able. The big challenge for me will be maintaining a balance - something that's a challenge without academics or work, but again, I think it's something I can at last strive for (right?).

LUNKER-NEWS: HENDRIK STARTS SCHOOL
Yoiks! This was a big day for everyone - even for Alana, who wanted desperately to join Hendrik at school. Steve and I have really been on the fence about sending him away (all day!) when we don't really have to, but after two days of junior kindergarten everyone is feeling good about things. We'd done a decent job (I think) prepping him for his first day of school, and he had zero qualms (no quivery lip!) at goodbye time - he even held the door wide open for all of the other students entering the classroom for the first time. He was up and dressed by himself both yesterday and today, and even though we're not totally ready stuff-wise (he has no indoor shoes, we had to run out and buy him a lunch bag thing), our little guy seems more than ready (for now) for full days of school. We haven't been able to get much out of him in terms of what he did, whether he met any friends etc., but he's in good spirits at drop-off and pick-up and we love his teacher... so yay! Fingers crossed that all keeps running smoothly.

We're still loving life in London - hopefully we can finish getting settled this weekend and I can get into the groove of school and studies and time and resource management, and all will be well!

(House tour coming soon... stay tuned!)

from forest city

Moving is exhausting. Kids are exhausting (especially overtired boys who won't quit). MOVING WITH KIDS IS EXHAUSTING. But we did it, and with the unpacking and settling in not quite being over yet, we are still doing it (did I mention anything about being exhausted?). We're loving the house (yard! space! natural light!) and loving the neighbourhood (Old North); TBD - loving school? Hendrik starts Thursday, so I'll keep you posted.

After a week without internet, we are finally connected. Here's a quick-post list of thoughts and things, and then I need to get to the list of things to do when we get internet.

1. I had orientation last Thursday, and it was information overload - but in a good way. My first day of classes is on Wednesday and I'm taking Perspectives on Library and Information Science, Information Organization, Curation and Access, and Information Sources and Services. Do I feel prepared? Sort of. Moving and the need-to-get list (such as beds, a dresser, groceries etc) has for some strange reason (survival! sanity!) been at the top of the list. With time running out, I'd better get ready... right?

2. The yard is amazing. The natural light in this house is amazing. I love our neighbourhood - quiet, side-walked, and within walking distance to the grocery store, Hendrik's school (St. George's), the university and our friends (the Duerdens). And people say hi! It is great.

3. Alana turns TWO tomorrow - !! Crazy. We planned a huge party and invited all our friends. Kidding, about the big party, but not about the friends - Kari and her girls are coming over tomorrow.

4. I can't think of anything else so I guess I'd better go and pay bills and catch up on at least a few emails. If this long house tour from a few days ago loads, you'll see it below; if not, you'll catch the all-moved-in house tour within a week or so!

Happy trails from London xo!!