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 :))

so much to write about!

Alana and her bestie at Clovermead

Since I only blogged TWICE last month (I can't believe it) I have much to write about but unfortunately not many pictures to go with the words. There are a few good ones, but the phone photos don't measure up to the ones the camera takes... I just can't find the camera (darn)! And I don't want to spend the money on a new phone either. SO! Hm. I'll work on it (looking for the lost camera). Anyways, we spent last weekend at the Pinery and had an amazing time, though I still struggle with calling southern Ontario car-camping camping. But the kids loved it and we had incredible weather and some great times around the campfire (telling funny stories, armpit farting etc.). We will definitely go for the same campsite next summer, or look to go again in September when it's not quite so busy. School is going well for both kids - Alana is super social and loves it, and enjoyed a first field trip out to Clovermead last week. Hendrik is liking school too, and we loved seeing his classroom and meeting his teacher at Thursday night's school BBQ. His teacher was very positive about how he's doing in terms of schoolwork and all the other stuff too, so our wonders and worries (slight ones) about how things are going in his 2-3 split as the youngest (by far) grade 2-er were put to rest. And Jordan is as happy as a clam at home with Steve. He waves goodbye in the morning and welcomes me home in the afternoon with a big smile and wrap-around hug (melt!). Work is going well for me, even though the ideas and to-dos far outweigh the time available. I'll have to write about what I actually do every day at one point though this task definitely needs an entire, dedicated post in itself. This week I'm hosting my first book fair, so that should be interesting. And of even more interest is that I'm alone - ALL ALONE - for nine days. After work on Friday we drove to Toronto where we spent the night at the airport Hilton; it was SO MUCH FUN for the kids - exploring, playing squash and basketball, "working out" (really - their idea), and watching TV in bed. Steve and the kids flew out Saturday morning to join his family just outside of Tampa for 10 days of pool, beach, and family time. I stayed behind with the job thing and I'm hoping to exercise this week and tackle a long list of things that need doing around here. Aaaaand I'll try to put my feet up sometimes too. I'm just back from the Run for the Cure, which I did with a new friend and we had a great time. It was a first (for participation) but definitely not the last. I miss the kids (and Steve too) but I'll make the most of the time I have... carpe diem friends! :)

When I asked Alana what she wanted to be for Halloween she said she MAY want to be a ghost fairy, and drew this so I'd know just what she was talking about ...

self-portrait, gr 2 (LOVE)

I got the phone out to take a pic of the quote (which is great) and had to capture the gung-ho workout kids in the background

camping! with a 1-year old is challenging...

little takes big for a stroll

camping breaky

we were a team of two... yay us!