the last post of 2-0-1-7!

Jude and Jordan

lego play!

fun in the backyard (it's been so cold!)

the girls!

the oldest (can't you tell?) :)

One of the best things about working in a school (the best thing?) is having school holidays – I am loving spending so much time with the kids! The kids like it too, sometimes too much maybe; in the mornings, Jordan clings to me like a barnacle to a rock, and Alana has her barnacle-y moments too (in temperament and physical proximity). Hendrik and I have spent lots of time reading and playing games, and we’ve had fun on the few outings we’ve had since we arrived in Bowmanville. After several days of Christmas hibernation (more on that in a minute), we made it out of the house twice yesterday (the 28th) for a morning skate and an afternoon swim. Jordan stayed home with Grandma, so we had a bit more freedom to play and dive and waterslide (sorry Jords but this means it was more fun without you). We got out to the library this morning (Jordan hadn’t left the hosue in a few days) where we played with blocks, dabbled on the computers and picked out a few books. The clan left for a skate with the Paw Patrol and I’m left at home to read, write a bit and maybe lie down. Jordan has been up every morning by 6:15, so even though I am very glad and thankful he’s sleeping through the night, I could use a few more hours (even one) of sleep in the morning. Beggars can’t be choosers though, so I think I’d better just take what I can get.

Christmas! It was great. We opened presents at our place last Friday night, and this is what people received: Me a cast iron pot (from the kids), and coffee (from Dave); Steve toque and cap (from Sarah); Hendrik: books, a new beyblade, E.T (movie)(from mom and dad), K'nex (from Denver folk) and a puppet (from Sarah); Alana: Frozen (movie), books, a new beyblade (from mom and dad), clothes (from Denver family) and a puppet (from Sarah); Jordan: bath toys, books (from mom and dad), bath toys (from Denver family) and a puppet (from Sarah). We also gave the kids a National Geographic rocks and crystals discovery kit which they’re pretty excited about, though I think the bey blades are the number one gift of the year. I posted pics of presents the kids opened earlier in the week from my parents, and they also received some books from Sandra and Bruce our neighbours across the street, and some gifts from Liz. And guess what... in Bowmanville there were even more gifts! Some from Santa (he found us!) and some from family. We arrived on Saturday afternoon and settled in a bit before the Calgarians arrived.The next few days are a bit of a blur, but included a Christmas Eve candlelight service (Hendrik was SO well behaved, Alana whined and complained and Jordan ran around), and the traditional Brinkman dinner fare of beef and rice. The kids were up pretty early on Christmas day, and were delighted to see that Santa had filled stockings to the brim… it was a jackpot year for stockings (!) - Santa was on par. I can’t remember everything that was in them, but highlights were candy (tic tacs, gum, ring pops), books (the newest Bad Guys, Plants vs Zombies), a whoopee cushion, silly putty and SOCKS. Just kidding, socks weren’t a highlight for the kids, but they were for me. There were more presents in the afternoon – clothes and books and a toy or two for each of the children (Alana got a Lego set, Hendrik got a motorized Knex toy, and Jordan got a digger and a dump truck which he immediately tried to ride). We headed off to the Tukkers for an incredible Christmas dinner, and were home for an on the late side bedtime for the kids and an early one for the parents. Everyone is gearing up for New Years Eve tonight, and since my computer died and I forgot to bring my charger, I'm finishing things up on Marg's computer - which means there are some pics missing. More to come (soon) next year!

another pre-Christmas post... it's a miracle!

As soon as I posted last time I realized that I didn't post any of the dress-the-tree pics, so I'll be sure to include some of those this time. I can't believe it's only FOUR days until Christmas break! The kids are excited and I'm excited too...

with our neighbour Liz 

Jordan has been so good with the tree (to our surprise), and usually stays away unless it's to marvel at the lights. We're in a bit of a morning routine where he wakes up a little earlier than I'd like him to (6-6:15), and then the two of us come downstairs, turn on the lights and sit by the fire (which is really quite Christmas-y). He does his best to set things straight if/when I deviate from his plans and try to do something crazy like make lunches or coffee or have breakfast. He whines, grabs my hand and brings me back to the fire and shows me where to sit down (pat-pat on the mini kid chair he wants me to sit in). Unfortunately, despite the early wake-up it's still a struggle to get out the door on time for work. And with the snow - the snow! We had a few days of serious snowfall, so we had to budget morning time for snow removal. The kids have been loving it (Jordan included), but thankfully we've had a bit of a break - there's been no new snow in the last few days.

just a little snow to shovel... !!

first sleigh ride :)

first presents! from grandma and grandpa O... thank you thank you!

friends over! the girls made t-shirts

and the next day we decorated sugar cookies (again)

merry christmas!

I started this post DAYS ago and here I am to finish it. You won't get much more out of me because school is OUT and holidays are here and the last thing I want to do is sit here and look at the computer (even though there's much more to write about and even more pics to post... ). I'll do my best to get another blog posted before the new year. Merry Christmas everyone! xox

first December post (!)

Every night that I lie in bed with the kids (which is every night) I either fall asleep with them or I am tempted to go straight from their bed to my bed and fall asleep without tending to the grand mess of downstairs. And one of these nights I'll do it - ignore the jobs and go to bed early... but tonight, I'm finally getting to Thursday's list of things to do - blog! This is my overly ambitious list from Thursday:

And what did I actually get done on that day (other than the usual stuff)? Let's talk about priorities: I did laundry and I made nanaimo bars, and 2017 Christmas baking is complete (laundry, unfortunately, is never complete). The sugar cookies with the candy cane icing are by far the most popular this year - they even trump the jammy-ds, though for me, nothing beats a good nanaimo. (And YAY! Today I finished off the rest of the list - two days later ain't too bad...)

Anyways! There is much to write about, and I think I'll get to the last few days before I try and catch up on the last few weeks. Steve and I got a babysitter last night and went out... ALONE. I had a work party and we enjoyed a rare night out downtown at a bar. We had a few drinks, mingled, and enjoyed being out with other adults (!) - it inspired us to do it again some time, even without a specific special reason (i.e. an organized event/gathering). Friday - I have to write about this before I forget - on Friday, after a week of 5:00/5:15 and then 6:00/6:15 Jordan wake ups, I either forgot to set my alarm or turned it off and was woken up by Alana playing in her room... at 7:30! And since I'm supposed to be at work at 8:00 there was a minor major panic and frenzy to get ready and out of the house - after 8 1/2 hours of sleep for me and 12 for J-bubs - !!!!! The irony is that with the morning pedal-to-the-metal I was at work earlier than usual... go figure. And today Alana's mega-wiggly tooth finally fell out (lost tooth #2) and we battled the crowds to get the last of our Christmas shopping done (Alana and I went to the Y to go swimming but found both pools drained and closed so there was a change of plans). I took the kids to the dentist on Thursday and everyone got a clean bill of health, hurray (and I used my insurance - double hurray)! Aaaaand the mood around here is quite festive; we have the tree up and decorations all over the place, Christmas music can often be heard over the whining and crying and fighting, and the treats are stashed up on top of the fridge since Jordan will move the bar chairs to any kitchen location to help himself (he actually does this on a regular basis). Only a few more weeks of school and then it's Christmas vacation, woohoo! And I'll let the photos do the rest of the talking...

cupcakes on Hendrik's birthday :)

how I wish this happened more often... love and lego!

opening presents at his party.. fun fun!

bedtime stories

saturday market walk

we should adopt new house rules: EAT IN A BOX. cleanup is much easier.

not staged. i loved this...

we went skating and after watching his big sibs on the ice  - and by VERY loudly showing his enthusiasm (it was adorable) we let him have a try... it started well but didn't end that way. still, he made it out on the ice!

tears and a total lack of cooperation from Jordan, but Hendrik did well! He was doing laps by himself after 15 minutes. And despite a shaky (teary / terrified) first lap, Alana did well too - she even ventured out on her own. There sure was a lot of gear to cart around! 

decorating sugar cookies (Jordan discovers icing)

short and sweet

One of the perks of this job that I'm doing is that I'm reading more; somehow I've read three books this week - !! I just finished My name is Parvana (the first Deborah Ellis book I've read) and liked it; I also liked The Thing about Jellyfish and Fever 1793 - and I think I'm going to look for a historical fiction next. I find graphic novels easy to get into and quick to get through, and because they're so popular in the library I'm able to look at a good selection each week. Another perk of the job is buying books, and I've had luck at the Goodwill Bookstore around the corner from our place (at Adelaide and Huron). Amazon has also delivered up some popular goods, and I know the 10 Elephant and Piggie books I'll have shelf-ready tomorrow morning will disappear quickly. I also love how much the older kids are excited about library time; I'm reading the 7/8s Roald Dahl's Witches, and every time I wrap it up there are complaints that I can't keep reading (which, of course, I love). There are only five weeks left of school and then it's Christmas holidays! Yay. I do like my job but I like weekends better.

This weekend has been a long one, with the kids off of school on Friday for a PD Day. Hendrik spent the weekend in Bowmanville all by himself (!!) and it even though it was nice to have some more concentrated Alana and Jordan time, it was quiet and everyone missed him. Steve is on his way to pick him up, Jordan is sleeping, Alana is playing with Camila, and I'm thinking about starting Christmas baking (how noncommittal does that sound). On the list so far are the regulars: jam diagonals, sugar cookies and nanaimo bars, and I'm going to consult the cookie bible Dorie's Cookies for some other ideas. We won't get into the spirit until after Hendrik's birthday, which is all set for next weekend... He'll be seven! Crazy. There's not much else to report and not too many photos either. I need to up my blogging game!

Jordan's latest thing = climbing, especially on chairs (of all heights)

making an "H" shaped piggy bank

halloween and november beginnings

the kidlets with our neighbour Liz

Man oh man these days are flying by! The work day is over so quickly, and then it's go go go when I get home and then eventually it's bedtime and then morning comes and we do it all again... But it's all good! Work is going well and a once very disorganized place (the library) with a laundry list of needs has become a somewhat organized place with just a regular (I think?) list of needs. One of the biggest jobs on the horizon is dealing with the boxes and boxes of books I purchased a few weeks ago at the one and only book buying day, though this is a slowly but surely kind of a thing, where I'll process and shelve handful of books at a time. For books that I purchased that are a bit older, there's no need to wait for the cataloguer to create records; but for the newer books, I have to wait, and I purchased a mix of old and new. It was so fun! The companies that were there were TinLids, Saunders, Permabound, Whitehots, Another Story, Bound to Learn, and a few more, and my favourites were definitely Another Story and TinLids. They had a good mix of titles and it really was difficult choosing when and where to spend my $$ - which expired quickly. Anyways, I digress... I'm loving work, the kids are excited about reading and talking to me about books etc., and I'm on Instagram and trying to create a presence online for kids (and maybe teachers) to get involved in the process of finding new reads and research materials.

the annual make a face like your pumpkin photo

looooooot

It's already been a week since Halloween, and our people are pretty much over it. Alana was over it before she even went trick or treating (she was up the night before with some super weird thing - in the middle of the night, "my armpit hurts!!" + tears tears tears (??!!?), and then up early that day plus she had a full day of Halloween festivities at school), and Hendrik lasted for maybe 45 minutes before calling it quits. So there are only remnants of the candy (Hendrik's - some of which is in wrappers on my desk right now), and that's okay. And here's a question - does Christmas come earlier every year? I was at Canadian Tire at lunch today and the amount of decorations candy paraphernalia etc is a bit much. Instead of advent calendars, Smarties does an advent tower; and the Star Wars inflatable in the entranceway was ENORMOUS. I mean really and truly enormous - ridiculous. And Sunday afternoon at Chapters? I met a friend there for coffee and it was Christmas shopping parking lot mayhem.... the first weekend in November! We don't rev up for Christmas until after Hendrik's birthday which is at the end of the month, so maybe since it's not on my radar at all, I'm just out to lunch. When really maybe I should be starting my Christmas baking.. ha! Yeah right. When? Shopping for the bigs is done already though, but I did that in September because they've had one item on their wish list since forever, and books... I bought books at the book fair I hosted in early October.

What else to say about the kidlets... Jordan is in full on run mode, and is saying a few more words. Regulars are mama, dada, car, done, and lana/nana (for Alana and banana); he loves making pig sounds and can make somewhat recognizable horse and cow sounds ("mmmmm"). He still LOVES diggers and any construction equipment, and doing whatever his big bro and big sis do is pretty attractive. He also loves books and the water (and eating cheese). Hendrik's 7th birthday party is all booked for later this month, so hopefully some of his friends can make it. He is still a voracious reader, and I'm finding that one of the perks of my job is an ear to the ground as to what the kids are reading and interested in. I've brought home a few new series that he's really liking including And then it happened, Nnewts (graphic novel) and Plants vs Zombies books. Math is also a strong suit of Hendrik's, and he still asks us to ask him math questions at night - and sometimes he'll even ask Alana (who isn't too interested / has no idea what 100/2 is). Alana likes pushing Hendrik's buttons, and is good at it, but he's pretty tolerant with one of her new games which involves her chasing and then hugging Hendrik and calling him her stuffy. She LOVES helping with Jordan, and is great (albeit physical) with him. She calls him "Jordie boy" or just "boy", which is very very sweet. She loves the monkey bars, is picky with what she'll eat especially at dinner time, and is quick to tears when something doesn't go her way. And Steve is doing well - he is honing some of his culinary talents, and really outdid himself today by making a ham in the slow cooker, the best mashed yams I have ever tasted, and green beans (YUM). The kids weren't too enthused about the mash but ate the rest of the meal which was rounded out with toast and cinnamon apples, a dessert we ate frequently in Greece (cut up apples and lay them on a plate, then drizzle with honey and sprinkle cinnamon on top - delish). I think he's enjoying his time with Jordie boy, and the days go by quickly for him too. Time to wrap this up - I need to do laundry and go to bed before the clock strikes 10:30....

from a while ago - warmer climes!

blurry beyblade faces

sneaky fox finding his way to the cereal...

scarecrow ZOMBIE!

sofia the first, curled up and asleep after school

fall, finally here...

It's fall! This morning was a bit of the usual rush-rush to get out of the house, and we were finally on our way when the kids pleaded with me to turn around and grab some mittens / gloves; it was cold enough for toques too, but no one made me go back a second time for les chapeaux. Anyways, it was a chilly six degrees, and I have winter and gear on my mind (there's a to-get list). And this is after an absolutely beautiful weekend - we spent Sunday morning at a pumpkin patch (Ferguson's - we'll go back next year for sure!), and the kids came home and changed into summer clothes... it was that warm. However, it's time to put that away (I think), and get out the cold weather gear.

this is the best i could do!

I'm home from work today so that Steve could go to the funeral of the father of a friend of his, so the occasion isn't a pleasant one but it was nice to take the kids to school and spend the morning with J-bubs. With the chilly weather coming I thought we'd make one of the last runs for strawberries from Heeman's and they are GOOD. They are still so so good. Then it was to the grocery store for dinner stuff and now I am sort of deciding between a push to get things done around here (clean, make dinner for tomorrow night) and just chilling on the couch with my book - I think I'll try to do a bit of both, the jobs and the relaxing.

Tomorrow it's back to work but it's a special work day, one that should be one of the most welcome days of the year: I'm getting paid to shop for books - it's book buying day! I'll join librarians from both school boards (public and Catholic) at the Western Fair where we have one day to do all purchasing with central funds for the entire year. I've been told that this is more or less an all day process, and it will definitely be a day of learning for me. I've talked to teachers and staff about what they want and need, and the greatest demand from staff is quality french resources which are, apparently, hard to come by. I also have a suggestions box that kids have filled up with all sorts of stuff, from books about alpacas to Captain Underpants to manga and more. So we'll see what I can do - and how many boxes of books I'll walk away with.

Aaaaand what else is new let me see... The kids are all doing well - Hendrik is still super into math (he asks us to ask him math questions before he goes to sleep) and reading; he likes Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and I'm bringing home books from school that are popular with students (Nnewts, And then it happened). Alana is in a bit of a cry-cry phase where she'll go straight to full blown bawling if something isn't to her fancy, and she's definitely becoming more opinionated. She's social and loves seeing friends, and still LOVES wearing dresses. The two bigs have been getting along fairly well as of late, and it's so so nice to see them having fun together (and to not have to police). Despite a cold that just won't let go, Jordan is happy and so easy-going. He's SUPER into trucks, and loves walking down the street to see diggers and dump trucks doing roadwork. He also loves books, making pig noises (he can do some seriously loud piggy snorts), running around, and copying his big bro and big sis. Steve and I are doing well too - I can't wait to figure out when and what I'll do to fit some physical activity into this busy schedule that is working life, and Steve is loving hockey (once/week) and enjoying his time at home with the little. That's it for now - on to some jobs before I try to finish my book (I read The Kingmaker's Daughter last week and am now halfway through Auggie and Me... it's good!)... Happy autumn!

pumpkin heads

in the corn in the corn maze

October shortsy

grandparents and their gaggle

It's mid-October and time is flying. My week alone certainly flew by - I packed it full with work and errands and jobs around the house. I had some fun too - I hung out with my friend Caroline and her hubby, worked out a few times, and made an ornate-ish hot-air balloon out of a paper lantern and scalloped cut-out circles. But I think the kids had way more fun than I did, spending most of their Florida vacation in the pool at the house. There were other excursions too (to a manatee rescue place, the beach, some restaurants), but it sounds like if they'd had it their way they never would have left the pool/house. I picked them up in Toronto on Monday afternoon and I was SO happy to see them! We had a smooth and traffic-free ride home which was also nice. Everyone was able to make it back into their routines pretty easily (school, activities: swimming and floor hockey), and we're working on getting Jordan back to sleeping through the night. He has a pretty nasty cold/cough/snot-nose, so that's not helping much... those darn germs! And we're trying to get ready-ish for Halloween; the books are out, we need more decorations, and costumes seem to be lined up, at least for the bigs. Alana is going to be Anna from Frozen (we already have the costume) - even though she decided yesterday that she might be Pinkie Pie (ugh) instead (it's a My Little Pony) - and Hendrik is going to be a scarecrow, which is easy enough I think.

I'm hoping to work out today and I need to finish laundry so I'll keep this short. I finally found our camera, so hopefully I'll fire it up and get more pics up - good ones, not the shabbies my ancient 4S phone takes. For now, that is all!

poolside!

the cave was a popular place :)

our three

apparently J loved the sand

a hot beach day!

my hot air balloon craft - it needs a new basket...

at work - i survived my first book fair, and it wasn't too bad (and we raised $$ for the library :))