today

Alana has a personal shopper: Ellie! Her hand-me-downs are the cutest!

Summer is good. Donuts are good - friends are good! Today we met some good friends down at Granville Island and had an amazing morning. The kids played and played, I caught up with friends and all of us ate donuts. Growing up, every now and then a box of Lee's donuts would show up on the table, and I remember frequenting the shop when we were little, if and when my parents could get all of us downtown and find a parking spot for the behemoth Suburban. (Did we only go there for donuts? Maybe.) I was halfway wishing that the kids would go into donut-eye comas and I could browse the cute shops and glutton myself with more donuts and friend time, but it was not to be (the parking wasn't forever-free either). The remainder of the half-dozen I bought are lying in freezer-wait - power for our Sunday trip to the bigger, more easterly Vancouver Island.

DONUTS

playing with vintage little people - LOVE the old toys... love love love

backyard shadows on late afternoons: morning activity and afternoons at home - our sched so far

Tomorrow we get to visit with Steve's cousin Rod and his family (Colleen, Kai and Nyla); they're coming here en route to the Sunshine Coast, and hopefully I'll have time to motor down to Dundarave to get some croissants and coffee. Oh! And sadly there are no pictures as proof, but we spent ALL day yesterday with Auntie Sarah (how did we not snap any pho-tos?!), and it was awesome. The kids love her - Hendrik got some good wrestle time in, and she came home with dinos and dino books - the best? The best! We had a few (as in two) afternoon G&Ts, and more than a few (as in muchos-many) great sister catch-ups and it was fab. Bed late, up early, full day and let's do it again tomorrow!!

YOW - YVR

Vancouver! Every time we're back, it seems - sort of - that we've never left. Except that it was a puh-retty long five-hour flight to get here, all alone with the kiddies. That being said, the flight home will require much more patience and much (much much much) more stored-up (hopefully) energy, seeing as how it'll take FOUR airports (!! exciting!) and THREE airplanes! to get from Nanaimo (through Vancouver and Toronto) back to Ottawa. Anyways, we're not there yet so why I'm even talking about it I don't know. Brain short-circuiting from not enough sleep? Maybs.

backyard pool

Our visit has been so far so good - how could it not be? The weather is great, friends and family are all around me, and the outdoor space and parks in this city are top notch. No humidity - and did I mention friends? family? = amazing! One day I'll have my feet planted in a home-city, and hopefully the feeling will be like this one. Until then, my home (two - sometimes the three that make the whole) travels with me, from one place to another.

loving john lawson - we'll be back for more fun!

tuckered out from jet lag and constant fun

cottage catch-up - photos!

family! lunching, time with auntie patty and uncle paul

fun in the water

crafts + rainy day activities

gone fishin'

tower crane +

Hendrik made this amaaaazing tower crane this afternoon while Alana was sleeping, and we just had to snap a photo to send to Steve. Life has been so busy and so full and tonight is the first time since the kids were teeny tiny that I'll be in bed before 9:30. I have emails to read and respond to, volleyball camp wrap-up and evaluations to do, an amazing book (or five) to get to, and pictures and blogs a'plenty to post, but I have to pass. Bed! Sleep! I'll leave you with what I've got for now, and get going. More soon, I hope...

the kids deserved this trophy (and cake) for their stellar behaviour wednesday through friday. i had to wake them up early and get them to the gym, where they stayed and played all day (thank GOODness there was a playground - and splash pad! on school grounds) until we fought traffic on the way home. they're tired now - just like mom.

it's the last day - CAKE!

team 2014 (with one missing - Emily!) it was such a good group. and the improvements were incredible. i love this job!

my girl and her wheels

in short

Short: on sleep, hair (cut). After a few weeks of talking, we finally found four minutes to give Alana her first haircut. It wasn't emotional and it wasn't the best cut she'll get in her life, but I'm guessing that it won't be the worst either. News: we're in the last week of camp, and Steve leaves for Winnipeg on Wednesday for a duo of weekend weddings (one takes place in the city on Friday night, the other in Holland on Saturday), which will leave me with a taste of single-working-parent-life for all of three days. The kids are coming with to the gym, and this means mucho preparation - for lunch, the traffic-filled drive home, a day full of activities (for the babysitter for the kids) the potential no-naps etc etc.  A fun-filled picture-rich cottage post is coming soon - as soon as I figure out how to collage photos on the ipad, as after five (six?) years of loyal, trusty use, my computer has finally called it quits. Now: shower, lunch prep, practice planning, and bed...

cottage + gym

Life is busy. I'm coaching all week - leaving the house at 7:15 and getting home at 5:30 - and am oh so thankful that the kids are with Grandma and Grandpa B at the cottage. That being said, I'm starting to really miss them, and am hopeful that I'll get a few good nights of rest in before life begins full on come the end of the week. My favourite things about the camp (so far) are:

1. girls making big improvements with small changes

2. these videos (part of presentations from our coaches in classroom sessions):
Like A Girl (http://youtu.be/XjJQBjWYDTs)
Voices (http://youtu.be/j0z4m3kj4oc)
Portraits (http://youtu.be/litXW91UauE)

3. bouncing ideas off of other coaches... so good!

My favourite things about this week without the kids around:
1. going out for dinner (sushi, Italian)
2. calm and quiet when I get home from the gym (instead of rush rush dinner dinner)

I was sort of imagining and hoping that I could add how awesome it's been to spend time just with Steve - at home, out for dinner etc., and actually it has been awesome - but life with bronchitis is not as awesome as life without bronchitis. Yes, bronchitis. I had to zip off to a clinic yesterday at lunch because a hacking, horrible cough kept me up past 1:00 the night before, and I came back to the gym with antibiotics already on the go. After a good night's sleep I'm feeling better, but my cough is yet to go away - soon! Soon.

Days are flying by, and before I know it (maybe?) we'll be Vancouver bound. And then we're back in Ottawa for the first part of August and then... we still don't know. Pics from our weekend at the cottage, and then, to bed!

family update-log

I'll start with...

ME!
Oh busy busy. I started coaching today, and day one of thirteen went very well. I've put quite a bit of time into the planning and thinking of all things volleyball (and non), and am wanting to do things a little differently this year. I want these girls (14-16 years old) competing, gaining confidence and aiming high and far with both on-the-court and off-the-court skills - skill acquisition is joined by oh so much in my list of goals and ideas for this regional team program. I left the house at 7:15 this morning and was home apres crazy traffic from just about as far west as one can go and still be in Ottawa at 5:30 (rush hour, boo!). And oh how I missed my kiddies! The day was busy enough that I didn't think of them much, but as soon as I walked in the door I just knew it was where my heart belongs - with my family. Steve had dinner in the oven, and our friend - who went from managing one child to three (!!) - was still sane, with the brood-o-three all happy and behaved (kudos). Alana hardly looked up from her Franklin book, Hendrik was upside down on the couch, and William (my friend Jess's boy) was playing with a bus - no problem! I'd better knock on wood, seeing as how she's coming over again tomorrow afternoon to fill in the space between the time that Steve leaves for practice and I get home from the other side of the city.

What more? Can't quite say. My life is overcome with coaching... though I did finish Meg Wolitzer's The Interestings on Friday, and it pretty much consumed my life last week - I could hardly put it down! Tres good. I got a cute kid's book out of the library the other day, Hide and Squeak, and it also comes recommended, especially (or not!) if you have little ones around.

STEVE
Has been somewhat swallowed up by World Cup Soccer, and I'd be lying if I said that the games don't pack a punch. Imagine if volleyball were so huge? Imagine. Anyways, it's not and that's okay. He's also training, watching kids (he took them to the museum this morning), making dinner and making plans for next week's five nights of kid-free living... right?

HENDRIK (3 1/2)
I'll fill in the blanks with the kid-free living: we're all heading to the cottage on Friday night, and then come Sunday, Steve and I return to Gatineau alone while Bob and Marg watch the grandkiddies for the week (!!). They'll make their way here on Friday, after five fun-filled cottage days, and I know Hendrik will love it. There's been talk of fishing and sand castles and time spent with Grams and Gramps, and Steve and I are both a little jealous - of the company and the locale.

Hendrik has been big time into Dino Dan, and often pretends to be the Dan man himself, seeing real dinos: "LOOK! a stegosaurus! Mom, do you want to be Dino Dan's mom and I'll be Dino Dan?" He loved the new Hide and Squeak book, and soccer and hockey and bike-riding would count as his favourite activities (I'd ask, but he's sound asleep). Beef and rice and peanut butter (almond) and jam sandwiches are top foods, and he'll never pass up chocolate (dark is fine), smarties, or frozen treats (who would?!). He gets glasses on Friday, and hopefully he'll wear them; he was as good as gold during the selection and fitting process, and seemed excited that his chosen frames have orange alligators on the sides. Expensive taste, a la Lacoste? The frames were surprisingly cheap (plastic), and with the warranty I'm hoping we can keep them (or others) for the six-month duration of wear. We'll meet with the ophthalmologist again in December, and see if the specs have had any effect.

ALANA (2 in September)
This girl melts my heart with her cuteness. And vocabulary. I tucked her into bed tonight, where she gabbed away with her two newly-attached stuffies (as in they are attached to her at night), dog and bunny (she's also grown somewhat attached to her blankie, even though we mostly manage to keep it cribside). She was doing what she'd done on the bed with me five minutes previous, which is to rummage around in the dark with her hands - kind of on her tummy - and then say, "apple, green apple, FOUND IT! nom nom nom nom nom ... BURP" and giggle. Really. I mean, I wonder if you'd understand what she's saying - maybe not? but maybe. It was too funny. She has fabulous inflection, and with her teeny voice it's really just too cute (did I say that already?). She's wearing size 4 clothing, so that trip we're taking to Vancouver later this month is going to be really fun, with her on my lap and all. Favourite foods are blueberries, strawberries, frozen treats, chocolate and ham. She's into dinosaurs and knows the names of several, and is becoming fiercely independent ("ALANA do it"). Potty training has begun, and she gets excited when we get excited about things, which is adorable and usually involves at least three of us jumping up and down - imagine that. She's following in her brother's upside-down footsteps, and can often be found... inverted.

And for now, that's all! There's a full day ahead....

long summer days

On occasion, Hendrik and I watch Stefano Faita's In the Kitchen while Alana naps, and it's thanks to the show that we have our guilt-free go-to dessert recipe of the summer: blueberry frozen yogurt. It's as simple as can be - if you have a food processor or supersonic blender (ours wouldn't cut it): blend frozen blueberries with vanilla greek yogurt and a dollop of maple syrup... AND EAT. We had some tonight after an apres-dinner bike ride and sports relay outside across the street, and it hit the spot - after the warmth plus activity plus busy-busy-busy outside time. (The runner-up dessert recipe might just be one that I've never tried: homemade vegan fudgsicles, made with coconut milk, avocado, maple syrup and cocoa... yum!)

some of today's tomes (of many yesterdays)

I took the kids back to preschool this morning, but it wasn't for class; after 45 years of operation, Westboro Nursery School is closing its doors... and getting rid of a lot of stuff. Other schools and daycares had the chance to scoop up stuff on Friday, and I was wondering whether I'd be fighting crowds to have a peek at what was left this morning - thankfully, I wasn't. There were books books and more books, puzzles, toys and art supplies. I managed to walk away with minimal stuff (I wish I'd bought the retro washing machine + ironing board combo!! Really.) - but I think it'll get used (would the kids play with a washing machine? Or would it just be me?): a laundry tub full of Playmobile (photo coming), 25ish books and four puzzles... and all I had to part with was $32. Apres sale, the kids played in the park and then we drove to Ikea, ate lunch, played and played until my patience was completely and totally exhausted.

Did I say anything about Hendrik's bike? I think not. We finally got our little guy a bike, and he loves it. I took him out after dinner and heard him say, "I'm a natural!" - hilarious. It was only day two, really, and he's got it down. Alana won't be far behind, as she doesn't want to be left out of anything; she won't let us get away with not getting her a bike for another two years, that's for sure. He's fairly tentative - or wait, not tentative, but slow; he doesn't speed up or speed off at all (yet - thankfully), but all Alana would say when we propped her up on his seat with her feet just touching the pedals was faster, faster! faster! I'm thinking we should be buying some leg armour for her.

I have more to say, but bed is calling. The kids are staying up with the summer sun (way too late), which means that time between their sleep and my sleep is on short supply... More coming soon!

cutest! ever!

A quick one here: Hendrik graduated from preschool this morning, and the ceremony was the cutest little thing - so cute, in fact, that I'm posting this on my birthday, when I should be on the couch with wine in hand. Love this kid!

post-flight post

Isn't air travel kind of amazing? Here I am, sitting and writing with 36,000 feet of space between me and the flat prairie space below, traveling from one side of the country to another in an enormous, heavy, metal tube full of people. How much does this craft weigh? And it's suspended and propelling itself through the air? You better believe I've googled and tried to understand the physics behind it all, and even if I do momentarily grasp the concepts while reading about said things, it still boggles my mind.

Erik, Karin, Claire, me, Mom, Dad and Sarah

More importantly, really, I'm en route back to my kids! And husband! And I'm so excited. Vancouver was really, really great, but I'm very ready to see my family - for home is with them, wherever they may be. I arrived at YVR on Friday morning, after what felt like an illegal 5am getaway (quick! get to the airport while everyone's sleeping!), and had time to grab a coffee before my dad rolled in to pick me up. It was great to see him, and then everyone else back at the family home. Savary Island bread filled us up, and we chatted about plans and everyone's lives and updates and futures. My dad retired after 34 (I think) years of helping people, and he excelled at his craft - we were all there to celebrate him and be together as a family... and it was great. We went out for sushi and went for walks, had sister time, pub time, time with little Erik and time all together; we ate fresh fish, fresh bread, good produce and had the best company to go along with it all - four girls, one grandchild, and two happy grandparents. We (the sisters) resolved to get together more often as a family, and despite some geographical challenges, we can and will do it. I had time to see a few friends, and that was also amazing, and as you loyal readers know I do very much look forward to the time when I can be close to friendships (new or old) and sustain them and enjoy them. It's a perk, to travel the world and the country, and I know my friends are always there for me - I just want to be there with them too. One day!

happy grandparents and an about-to-puke babe...

hiking in Vancouver's North Shore mountains

Karin, Me, and Claire on a seawall walk - what a beauty of a city!

fun, despite the rain; it' was so so so good to see everyone!

And now, back to Ottawa/Gatineau, where I will see my little beauties and turn 36 (on Thursday) in the company of my most favourite man. Here's to another year of health and happiness!

quickpost

baseball card #1

June, you're getting away from me already! We're just back from a crazy fabulous week (first of the summer) at the cottage, and from one trip to another I go. I fly to Vancouver tomorrow morning bright and early ALL BY MYSELF. Did you catch that? ALONE. What will I do? (After I sleep off my 5:30 wake-up...) I'll miss my chillins like crazy, but man oh man I can't wait to see my sisters and parents and celebrate my dad's retirement. More on that coming soon - here are some pics from our week at the Crowe; I need to get to bed!

watching dad mow the lawn, and all looks magical 

holding up a Go Daddy Go! sign | mowing the lawn on a hot day 

adorbs!

I caught her with her hat on - a rare sight

doin' jobs - getting the dock in

our stay was complete with rainy day indoor activities yesterday, and the fun that Hendrik had playing Pin the Tail on the Donkey (caps?) was immeasurable. IM-measurable! 

apres-dinner family canoe; along with the goodnight waffles (the BEST), this was the best part of my week.  we saw beavers (2), lily pads (exciting for the kids) and talked about what creatures might live in the forest. "maybe skunks?" said Alana, and "maybe dinosaurs," said Hendrik... love it!

or was this my favourite part? they held hands. and got along. heart = melting!