this and that

some of our latest library hauls include these... faves have been little owl lost, louise loves art, little elliot in the big city, if i built a house, katy and the big snow and building our house. (and chalk box story and the tiny king) ;) 

It was only a matter of time before Hendrik's glasses turned up in two pieces, right? Good thing the guy isn't desperate to wear them, because we have no backup plan/pair, and these almost 8-month old specs are un-wearable - with the frame broken and a lens all out and about in the world. They'd been missing for almost a day, and when we asked him if he remembered where they were he'd say, "They aren't in Alana's room", (read: they ARE in Alana's room) and we'd look and look and look with no luck. Steve finally came up with the idea to give a special treat (!!) to the first person who found them, and guess who zipped upstairs and pulled them out of the basket of stuffed doggies in Alana's room... Hendrik! I'm calling BonOptics tomorrow, to see if the warranty will get us a new pair; if not, that $250 is as good as gone.

In brief:

SLEEP: is WAY better. The last two nights Alana was only up once, and the night before last I didn't even have to get out of bed - ! I woke up multiple times to ignore the calls ("mommy. mommy. mooommy!"), so it wasn't one of those through the night sleeps (what does that feel like?), but I'm hopeful that we're heading in the right direction. Of course the kids have been sick sick sick, and now that they're getting better their sleep wounds are also healing - maybe? Yes? Say yes! I hope so. (That being said, she's still up - at 9:03, and was still up last night at 10:00. Naps in the afternoon (due to sickness and late nights) lead to more late nights, lead to naps in the afternoon - and so on.

SCHOOL: Is fine. This afternoon's class, I have to admit, was boring. Research methods. Lecture. Non-stop lecturing. All I wanted to do was pull a Costanza and curl up under the desk and go to sleep - or catch up on the multiple tabs open in the multiple browsers that are cluttering my screen. I'm taking an HTML class, and so much of it is flying right over my head, but with practice and trial and error, I think I can figure it out (right?). I'm also taking Managing and Working in Information Organizations (it's alright) and Children's Materials, 0-7 years - and that one I'm loving. I'll blog more about what we are doing / covering etc. another time - for now, I should get to some homework, and get this kid to bed.

Family update coming soon (and a 15-minute post) - for real!

alana right now - at least she's keeping herself occupied!

last night - at 9:30, before a massive "i don't want to go to bed!" meltdown. CUTE!

we had more than a few rough patches around here yesterday, and after i told hendrik i was feeling a little sad and frustrated with how he and alana were acting, he wrote this out and brought it to me - to help me feel better. :) i did!

i support you, you support me = the best!

It was pretty much the best thing ever, having the kids at last weekend's home game; they cheered - for the Mustangs, for Western and for mommy - and everyone heard them. And then when we got home, they got in their jammies when we asked them to and we all cuddled up under a blanket in Alana's room to "talk about the game" - as requested by Hendrik. It wasn't easy to get anyone off the floor, because we had to, just had to keep talking about who did what, why, what everyone's favourite part was (easy for me - the win), and so on and so on and so on. You'd think the late bedtime called for a late morning, but it did not. The last week (did I complain about this in my last post?) has been awful (really awful) on the sleep front; on Wednesday night I fell asleep at 6:00. AM. For the first time that night. Actually. Hendrik has been home sick with a nasty cough, so he took the first shift from 11:00 - 4:00, and then passed the buck to Alana. Last night was better, but I was still up five or six times... bah! And even though I want to hope that it'll get better, when I do that I feel even more frustrated when it isn't; and so I think that in an effort to maintain what little sleep-sanity/confidence I have (close to zero), I'll just expect that every night is going to be a bad one. Yes? You get me? Whatever, we'll see.

It's been a bit of a challenge getting school work done, as has the ever-present challenge of staying patient with les enfants - but the kids have been so well-behaved this week, and school... I feel like should have more work, more deadlines, etc etc, but I don't. I may be missing something, and will just keep my fingers crossed that I'm not, and keep studying when I can which will not be tonight. Sleep deprivation is at max! Friday night couch-blob coming up, followed after by some sleep, at least... I hope.

Hendrik in hoopswear - I'm playing in the Ontario Master's tourney in March... better hit the gym!

glasses twins!

happy belated birthday to....

happy birthday! with the cake creation...

Two big birthdays have recently come and gone - my most fabulous partner in crime (and sleep deprivation) turned ... should I say? Yes - 37 years young... I can't believe it! (And I can't believe that I'm not too far behind - 37 sounds very much like a grown-up-age.) Our niece Lennon had her first birthday yesterday, and the kids had a great time sending her happy birthday vids. For Steve's birthday there was cake (lots of it), engineered and designed by Hendrik (it tasted good but it wasn't the most attractive thing I've ever put on a table), there were cupcakes (made by our most amazing neighbour Liz), and there was... what else was there? The lack of sleep is putting holes in my brain, I swear! No okay, I remember: Liz - best neighbour ever - came over to babysit at 7:45, and Steve and I walked to the neighbourhood pub (The Bungalow) for food and brew. We had a great time, a frosty walk, and a late and long night, just like all of the others these days, driven by the darn kids and their interrupted sleeps. Good thing they're so cute and loveable during the day, and here's an example that just about melted my heart: a few days ago Alana told me that when she's big like me, she wants to "do coaching too" - in her sweet little voice, those words were hers! Of course I know that she's not entirely sure what that means, but to hear her say that - and of course to say that about coaching, was the nines! Adorable. And now please, sleep through the night for once and make me love you more.

Other updates, in brief: Hendrik did two full days of school this week and somehow, in gaining the extra hours at school managed to lose some of the terribleness and terrible-tireds that accompanied the full days earlier in the school year. We're thinking we'll try two full days a week and keep the other three at half-days, since we know these times together - which we're lucky enough to have - aren't ones we'll see again. I also started full days at school, and I round out week one of classes tomorrow. So far so good - but I now that life is about to get crrrrrrazy busy.... but that's okay. I'll do my best, and hope that it's enough.

On a final note, I took Anita Silvey's Children's Book-a-Day Almanac out of the library a few days ago, a serendipitous find that is grrrrreat - if there were such a calendar (maybe there is!), I would buy it. For each day of the year there's a list of birthdays, significant events, etc, and suggested readings that tie in. Just in case you didn't know, today is National Hat Day (read Caps for Sale), the anniversary of the Boston Molasses Disaster (read The Great Molasses Flood), and the day that James Naismith published the rules of basketball 133 years ago. It's also Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday (read Martin's Big Words), and that of Ernest J. Gaines (The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman). Last but not least, Elizabeth I was crowned Queen of England on this day in 1559 - read Good Queen Bess by Diane Stanley. There aren't enough hours in the day.... to read! (Or exercise. Or sleep!)

the almanac is online HERE | january, in the calendar i did buy... so good and so bad at the same time!

extraordinary ordinary

I was hoping that I could finish off this month-plus long break from school feeling rested, rejuvenated and ready for another round of classes, but on the contrary, my friend. These kids are keeping us (mostly me) up at night (I got out of bed SIX times for Alana last night), and days are both wonderful and awful. Hendrik has these moments where he's sweet and thoughtful and does what we ask of him (no not right away) and then there are moments where he's awful and stubborn and so so so so so (times a zillion billion) frustrating - and his parents try their best to remain calm and patient (on the outside at least) and ready to try (and ask) again. We're wondering how much it has to do with school - he tends to be better on non-school days, but then again who knows.... I can tell you this though: getting him to school on time every morning - which is 9:00 which means leaving our house at 8:50 - is stressful and nearly impossible, no matter what time we wake up. The more I talk to new friends about junior kindergarten, the less enthused I am about it. However... the señor says that he likes going to school and he says that he wants to stay all day (I'm not sure I believe him), so we'll just see how it all goes and take it one week at a time. Or one day at a time. Sometimes, there's no doubt that we're going hour by hour with sights set on bedtime (which just happened for Alana, because of last night's interrupted sleep and an early afternoon nap; it's 9:46), and that's fine too.

There are many things to write about, some catch up from our time in Bowmanville, and some catch-up from this past week, and I will get to them in no particular order. Hendrik had his first swimming lesson on Wednesday, and it was wonderful - for all. It was one of those everyday moments that is so ordinary and so extraordinary at the same time; Alana fell asleep in the car, so was sleeping on my chest in the lobby, in perfect view of the pool. Steve brought Hendrik in, and until the instructor arrived it was just the two of them on the pool deck - barefoot father with rolled up jeans and a tall four-year old in his bathing suit, waiting. And then Laurel the instructor arrived and then there were two in the pool (the two other kids in his 3:00 class were no shows - the weather was horrible!). Seeing Hendrik branch out on his own (no parents allowed!) and be himself and be confident and laugh and listen to someone else - to really be himself without us around to ask or remind or contribute - was a bit magical. Okay, not magical, but ... something. It was something. With the late afternoon light pouring in and a sleeping babe on my body, and with the other two that I love just there - one watching, one laughing and splashing and listening to his teacher - it was a perfect, everyday moment.

Onwards. We took the kids to the bowling alley for the first time whilst in Bowmanville, and it was great. Everyone old and young took advantage of the bumpers, and only Alana got her ball stuck halfway down the lane - she pulled the plunk move, missing the momentum and rolling part of the deal (you know what I'm talking about right?).

the best family shot we could get

I'm back at work in the gym (coaching), and I'm loving it. Am I forever destined to feel pulled between two things? For much of my junior life it was volleyball and basketball, and now it's between library and gym - though since Steve and I started playing 1 on 1 a few weeks ago, maybe I'll reignite that basketball flame and add another something something into the mix. I'm sure there's more to write about but I need to call it a night - at least until Alana says otherwise. Buenas noches!

home sweet dino home

We are home, and life is more or less back to normal - dino hunting activities have resumed:


More another day - I need to catch up on sleep!

2015 - so far so good!

What will this year bring? At this time last year we had no idea we'd be living in London or that I'd be going to school; so what, for this time next year? I have no idea! To add to the topic of The New Year, I'll make a few resolutions, but nothing writ in stone or drastically new and different - more intentions than resolutions, they'll be. We rang in 2015 in Brinkmanville with Bob and Marg and Erin and Fred, playing cards (Kanasta) until quarter to the big hour; then we sat in front of the telly flipping back and forth between the show at Niagara Falls and the Times Square mob, trying to stay with the least painful of the two selections. And then, seeing as how the kids weren't going to give us any extra shut-eye, we were all in bed and sleeping 20 minutes later.

Today we ate and ate and ate some more (which is incredible because it's just what we did yesterday and the day before that and the day before that too) - mostly appelflappen and ollibolen, a New Years day tradition in many Dutch households. The appelflappen (see here) might just be my most favourite thing to eat - they're half donut half fruit, with cinnamon and sugar - not too big, not too small (just right).... I love them! I may have posted these exact same words last year at this very time (and / or just after Thanksgiving) - I still love them. On the menu for tomorrow are Good Night Waffles (the best ever) and then birthday goodies at the Crocker's (Bob's Big Bday Bash - sure!), so it's one more day of serious eating... and then back to normal. Right?

I really should do something about all of the tabs open in too many browsers (like make a list of them?); here they are:

• Volleyball Canada job posting
• 9 Truths "Moms of Boys Only" Need to Know 
• American Libraries Magazine "Latest Library Links"
• American Library Association JobList
• New York Public Library: The Books We Loved in 2014
• Spritz: "Reading Reimagined"(Check this one out!)
• npr: "Before the Internet Librarians Would "Answer Everything" - and Still Do
• The Guardian: Top 10 Dinosaur Facts (I've been meaning to show this to Hendrik)
• Bloglines (I've been meaning to sign up)
• American Libraries Magazine: "Who Will Shape the Future?"
• "I wish I'd asked about my family's past while the older generation were here" - article
• "The books that cracked our brains open in 2014"
• Authors' favourite books: The ultimate literary guide to 2014
• USOC Report: The Formula for Developing Elite Athletes
• EWG Skin Deep Database
• Murad Skincare
• Water quality - City of London
• FIMS Financial Assistance
• Ludwig Bemelmans (short bio) - on Penguin
• American Library Association (ALA) - Great early elementary reads
• "Can Students 'Go Deep' with Digital Reading?"
• Best Picture Books of 2014
• The Little Gym: Class Schedule (something we're thinking of for Alana)

The Good Night Waffles are in progress (report coming tomorrow) - and all I can think of is the tune from Octonauts, a new favourite show of the kiddies that I just watched (know it? feel like getting a silly song stuck in your head? see HERE); waffle report! waffle report! Maybe I just need to go to bed - wait, I know I need to go to bed. Adios amigos, until next time!