Winter is here! And I've had this (blogging) on my to-do list for several days - just like working out; somehow these things get bumped to the next day and then to the next day by must-do errands like getting groceries and picking up children and doctors appointments etc. But they don't get bumped by sleeping or showering - two things that maybe I
should (?) put on to-do (MUST-DO) lists... will they happen then? Not sure. Okay, so what's new... We're in the Christmas spirit around here with Christmas tunes on on a regular basis and the tree and stockings are up (new stockings too - check out the pic below) and shopping is almost done. Christmas baking is on offer too with a total of way too much butter and sugar that I can't! stop! eating! The nanaimo bars are my personal favourite, but it's all good (I also made peanut butter balls, pistachio-cranberry-ginger sugar cookies, plain sugar cookies, and jam diagonals); I should give some away before I eat them all. Maybe I'll do a family update post? I'm making this up on the fly.
me
I finished school! It's been so long since I've blogged that I forget whether or not this happened the last time I wrote but really, these days I'm wondering how I ever went to school at all with the lack of extra time on my hands. Maybe Jordan was sleeping more? Probably not. Anyways, I'm done and even though it was/is a little anti-climatic (no final exams or projects or anything) it feels good. The next step is to look for ways to stay involved until Jordan is a bit older and I want to look for work; I have ideas and they are on the to-do list. (Maybe I should just throw out all of these lists. Maybe?) I read the latest No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency book and it was sooooo good, just like all of the other ones. I'm onto a Kate Atkinson one (Behind the Scenes at the Museum) and am so-so on it so far. Switching gears - I played in a basketball tournament this weekend in Kitchener with my Master's team (
see article about us here) and it was so fun! So hard, but so so fun. I'm not in the best of shape by any means but thanks to my diligence (twice a week) in working out (apparently this has gone out the window, at least for this week) it was much better than it could have been and it was still reeeeally hard running up and down a full-sized court with people that obviously do this on a regular basis. I wasn't horrible, but the lungs were burning and I tired very easily... we were all saying how amazing it is that we used to do that (run and practice hard) every day and think nothing of it. In other related sports-news (for me), I'm coaching the grade 8 girls basketball team at Hendrik and Alana's school and it's been fun - and interesting, since I've never coached hoops before. I'm remembering all sorts of lingo (is it out of date? I don't know) and drills and thinking of things to work on etc., so it's fun for me (and hopefully for them too). We practice 3x/week after school and starting in January have two games a week until the end of February, so it's a bit intense but only for a few months. What else? Bu. I don't know. Onwards....
Jordan
It could be worse but oh man, the sleeping could be SO much better! After the weekend in Kitchener (we had games Friday and Saturday nights and Jordan was with me or a teammate on the bench during the game) he's somewhat thrown off the haphazard schedule he sort of had, and the last few nights have been a serious struggle (with numerous wake-ups and a
lot of crying). When he wakes up in the morning, he is happy as can be - so he's obviously not as negatively affected by this lack of sleep as I am. He's rolling front to back and back to front a bit more, and babbles more and is sitting up on his own. He's eating mushy solids, and I'd say he favours pear and rice cereal. He has a pre-op appointment in early January for a surgery that will follow in February to get tubes in his ears, something that will hopefully alleviate the fluid and hearing issues going on at present. What else can we saaaay about this little one hmmm.... he's cuddly and happy and so so cute - I still love him even though I barely sleep because of his night habits. Ooooooh well.....
Hendrik
The latest craze with this big little is dragons - or serpents, the difference being (according to him) that dragons do land and sky and serpents do land and water; we have lots and lots of dragon/serpent drawings and even one of "Nessie" - check it out:
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| notice the fish in the bottom right corner - "aaaaagh!" |
He seems quite happy at school and as far as activities goes, just finished swimming and will round out the gymnastics session tomorrow afternoon. He's still super into Pokemon and is getting excited for Christmas and the trip to Bowmanville (sleeping in the same bed as Steve is a big highlight). He's loving the snow and ? not sure what else.
Alana
Alana asked me if I could give her peas in her lunch some time (peas!) - all because her best best friend at school has them (!); better than the fruit-to-go request! She's made some good friends at school and has asked us several times when we're going to start going to work all day so she can stay at school longer. We took the kids to the optometrist yesterday and Alana was quite disappointed that I was taking her out of school early (15 minutes) - there were almost tears. So yes, she loves school and has met some good friends. She's also excited about Christmas and Bowmanville too, and has been rehearsing for her upcoming Christmas concert so stay tuned for some cute pics/vids. Like her brother she spends lots of time at the craft table where her latest activities are concentrated on a certain colouring book - she'll colour almost everything the same colour (pink usually) and then move on to do the same thing on the next page. She still loves helping take care of Jordan and holds him and hugs him and rocks him (sometimes quite enthusiastically). She's also growing at a fair clip and has surpassed her older brother on the scales, but he still has a few inches on her. I love her!
Steve
And I love this one too. He's on a work hiatus as the next buildings in line to be outfitted with solar are still being approved or who-knows-what so he's been home for the past few weeks, staying busy with house stuff and Christmas prep. He's responsible for the Jordan's stocking and the personalized Christmas trees on H and A's stockings as well - the other two we made for each other years and years ago (when we were in Spain maybe?) before meeting up for Christmas (I think it was the year I played in Castelo da Maia and he was in Tenerife - I remember shopping for those buttons!). Not much else is new!
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| the art wall - lots of dragons/serpents and some flags - all by Hendrik |
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| deco the tree! |
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| on a snowy walk in weldon park on saturday |
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| love! |
