what's happening? December (and Nov.) news

Happy December! My first order of business on this long overdue post is to share some photos and news of Hendrik's 8th birthday, celebrated at the end of November. He was quite sick the week before his birthday party, but recovered just enough just in time for a few solid hours of fun at the Batter's Box (indoor baseball facility). There were some great activities organized, and a large room that was home to pizza eating, present-opening, ping pong, video games and more. Out on the turf area, we had our designated zone where someone ran a few games - dodgeball, baseball, tag etc.. Alana wasn't too interested in playing with the boys, and we knew Jordan would get run over if we gave him the green light to participate, so we ran around with them at the back and they had fun too (we played zombie tag). His actual birthday was the following Wednesday, and he woke up to presents and balloons and all of the special attention that birthdays bring... love! His meal request was flank steak and lemon potatoes, and since we'd done a double decker candy-topped cake on the weekend, we had cupcakes for dessert (and there was pizza for lunch - a good day of eating!). Some of the presents included books, Lego sets, clothing, Jurassic Park movies, an mp3 player, headphones - and the big one (from mom and dad) - a fish! Steve was all over this one and the two of them picked out the equipment together. SO, we have our first pet! Blue. Blue the betta fish. Also, I had him answer a few birthday questions, made up on the spot on his birthday dinner:

Who's your best friend? Edward.
What's your favourite colour? Grey
What's your favourite book? Secret Coders 6.
Favourite thing to eat? Pizza.
What's your favourite subject in school? Math.
What do you want to be when you grow up? A volleyball player I guess.
What's your favourite thing to do? Read.
What's your favourite thing to do in the summer? Go to Canada's Wonderland & go on the Yukon Striker.
What's your favourite sport? Volleyball. 

In other news I finished my first practicum and am on Christmas break - yay! The last week and a half of school was a struggle as I was as sick as I've ever been... not fun. I caught a cough/cold from Hendrik but after talking to my neighbours (both retired nurses), I asked for a chest x-ray and voila! pneumonia. So I'm on antibiotics and feeling a million times better (but still on the mend); I had such a hard time sleeping, and I'd have these awful coughing attacks that left me with zero appetite and totally exhausted. Anyways, I'm feeling better and have been enjoying a more mellow (but still full) week.

The house is decorated and we are feeling the Christmas spirit - I can't believe it's mid-December! (This makes me think about my sister - due with her first babe any day now!) The kids have a holiday concert next week, and we'll spend some time here and some time in Bowmanville during their break, but the bottom line is that I am so SO excited for this time off. I know I'll love having the kids around more, but my fingers are crossed (cement-crossed) that they'll mostly manage to get along. Sometimes, Saturday will roll around and all we're welcomed with is bickering and fighting and yelling and it is just SO awful. So anyways, hopefully we - and you too! - have a great Christmas break!

reading one of our Christmas faves - Raymonds Briggs's The Snowman

decorating the mantlepiece with Liz

sugar cookies!

quick post - it's getting COLD!

an organized pile of books at the head of H's bed 

How many times has it just so happened that you've been reading a book, and the author of that book walks into the room? This actually happened to Hendrik last week at school. He was reading an And Then It Happened book in the office.... and then it happened! Michael Wade, one of the authors, walked in. Apparently they had a brief conversation, and then Michael asked Hendrik if he wanted to help him play a joke on a teacher during the assembly - something to do with naming a teacher with hairy armpits (Hendrik's teacher) - and of course it was a go. He was smiling ear to ear while he told us the story, but we did have to pry it out of him (like all things school). He's been home sick with a nasty cough, and we have all fingers crossed that it doesn't spread to the other little chickens. It sounds like the boys have been enjoying some time at home, playing Spot It, reading books together, drawing and just hanging out.

Remembrance Day morse code 

And I made it through my first week (plus 2 days) of placement number one! I'm in a grade four class at a French Immersion school, and I'm enjoying it. I am planning and teaching the geometry unit, so I've had lots to do between the planning and prep and marking - and that's just one subject (bah!). It's all good. We're on countdown mode until Hendrik's birthday, and will celebrate with a par-tay this weekend at an indoor baseball place in town. I KNOW there's more I could write about but I feel like my brain is fried... early mornings, full days, up in the night - the days are flying (and cold - winter is here).

reading fancy nancy on the potty

the first snowman of the season...  

...complete with cheeks

halloween post - short and sweet!

It's November - eek! And we are in the full swing of candy consumption. Hendrik went out trick-or-treating with Edward (accompanied by Steve), and I took Alana and Jordan to a friend's house for a pizza party before Alana went out with her friends (and their parents). Jordan and I trick-or-treated our way to Liz's house where he helped hand out candy and I had a glass of wine (my treat). The kids came home with a bigger load than last year, and we've kind of let them have at it with the hopes that they'll maybe get sick of it and/or it will deplete more rapidly. Hendrik and Alana did the whole sorting and trading thing, and they've been great at sharing with mom and dad and Jordan (his haul was small).

Christmas has hit the stores, but we're waiting until after Hendrik's birthday - at the end of the month (he'll be 8 - !!). We're trying to plan a little party and a sleepover, but there is such little time left at the end of the day to do the thinking and planning... bah! I start practicum on Monday which means that classes are over as of Thursday at 2:20 (yay!), so I have a few assignments to get to this week before I can get myself ready for the real world. I've been placed in a grade 4 classroom at a French immersion school not too far from our house, so I'm happy that the commute won't be long. School does start a bit earlier (8:15) so that will be a bit of a change, and we'll all have to get into a bit of a different routine for the next month or so. This will make fitting in the coaching a bit more challenging, but it's worth it. We won our first home game this weekend against Brock, and despite a shaky start, the team looked pretty good. Steve was on the road with McMaster this weekend, and they also won - against Windsor. We're still on the house hunt, but haven't found what we're looking for... yet. We'll keep looking! Oh, and lastly... we watched Honey I Shrunk the Kids with the kids on Friday night and it was quite entertaining. Sometimes it's hard to find a (new) movie that everyone is interested in; here's another thing to look up!

annual pumpkin face(s)

 turning on the lights - !!!

Hall of Fame! and parenting musings

When I only blog once every few weeks, there is so much to write about, and I know I can’t avoid leaving things out - but Steve’s Hall of Fame ceremony was unforgettable and I want to get it down first. Last weekend (for the third weekend in a row for the boys), we made for Bowmanville on Friday afternoon and were all ready and rested up for the big night on Saturday. The ceremony was at the Garnett B. Rickard Rec Centre and included those big search lights outside (the kids loved that), a red carpet, and a huge display for each inductee. Everyone dressed up, and there were two tables full of people to celebrate and support Steve. After some milling about, the inductees were escorted into the room with bagpipes (!); then there were some short welcomes, a long-ish dinner, and then… the speeches! Steve was the first to follow the keynote speaker, and he did an AMAZING job! He talked about his influential coaches growing up (Hugh and Michelle) and his parents (and family) and how they supported him throughout his career - and he cracked more than a few jokes that had everyone giggling. Steve stayed on schedule but not everyone before him did, but despite the lateness and all of the grown-up things going on around them, the kids were SO so so well behaved. We brought some books and colouring stuff - which Alana and Jordan used, and Aunt sat at our table, which everyone loved! I took the kids home after Steve’s speech and came back to catch the very end of the evening - photos and some mingling, and then Steve and I took advantage of the babysitters and went to Boston Pizza for a drink. Steve brought home a cool (huge) sketch of himself and a framed recognition of his induction; his induction plaque will be up on the wall in the Garnett B. Rickard Rec Centre in the next few weeks. Some photos…

The only other thing I’ll write about this time is the parenting challenges I’m currently facing. It’s been a while since I’ve written about anything other than the details of recent days and weeks; I used to write about holidays and special events (this makes me think of some of my Russia posts), and usually social media (blogs included - maybe?) portrays the positive - not the negative or hard parts of life. So, here’s what’s tough about parenting for me right now: 

1. The lack of sleep. Even though the kids are a bit older (almost 8, 6 and 2 1/2), at least one of them will wake me up at least once every night - and if it were just one kid and just one wake-up, I'd consider it a great night. Last night I was out of bed SIX times, and the night before three or four. I wonder when I'll get to go to bed at night and wake up in the morning... ever?
2. Unless the kids are watching TV or playing a game on the iPad, there is always someone making a demand or needing help solving a problem - literally always. Sometimes the problem or demand is small, but usually it is medium or large or extra-large, and it is so constant and so challenging, especially with the lack of sleep, the demands of the house, and school. I know that this means we're involved as parents, that we are valuing interactions with them and helping them develop abilities to solve their own problems instead of just using technology as a babysitter... but it's exhausting, and so hard to stay patient and calm.

I know that the days are long and the years are short - time flies. But these days the days are extra long (and the nights extra short); maybe I should use a few more of those hours for myself, and to acknowledge how grateful I am to have my kids in my life even if it’s more than full time. Thanks for reading! 

The girls go west - beautiful BC!

It is always so nice to get away and then so nice to get home too. The past week has flown by with visits to my sister Sarah in Kamloops (YAY!) and my mom and dad in Comox (double yay!). Well, I can say double yay to the interior visit too because the baby bump makes two to visit… baby (NOT mine - my sister's)! It was so great to see my sis and her place and get out and see Kamloops and her work - and to see Alana get to know her too, that was pretty special. Highlights of the first leg of our trip for Alana were the playgrounds (one was behind Sarah’s house - with a tire swing, and another fave was the downtown park with an amazing rope play structure), the painting, and the horseback riding. On Saturday afternoon we headed up to Erin Valley Stables and Alana went on a trail ride on her own horse without a lead. I really wasn’t sure how it would go, but she was ahhhhmazing! There were seven horses, and Alana was near the front, just behind the lead horse, while Sarah and I were near the back. She was calm and collected throughout the ride, and seemed at ease with the uphills, downhills and the trotting. “I like it when I went fast” she said after. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think about some what-if moments, like… What if her horse just takes off? What’ll she do?! But she liked it so much that she put on a pout-pout face as soon as the ride was over - and asked if she could go again. And so we did! We went to Bear Creek Ranch on Friday where Alana rode a barrel-racing champion horse (really) - which made me wonder if and when it would show some of its speed. It didn’t (thankfully), but Alana did impress the owner of the ranch who said that if she lived there he’d give her barrel riding lessons… she was a natural! The dogs were barking in the bush on our way out and back, and my horse got pretty skittish; Drew (the owner) seemed to think there was something (like a bear) lurking. This made me imagine another what-if scenario that never came to fruition (thank gooooodness). Anyways, back to Kamloops; other highlights include an amazing Thanksgiving dinner, a great left-right-centre game, a trip to Adams River to see one of the biggest salmon runs in the province, many Uno games, LOL Doll mania, a trip to the pumpkin patch and corn maze, pumpkin carving, and lots and lots of scary pumpkin drawings. 

love this photo of us!

on a horse!

what a beautiful ride

painting with auntie sarah (door decorations)

turkey time :)

We made our way to Comox on Tuesday morning where we were greeted with beautiful blue skies… and my mom and dad! It was so so so great to see them, and of course their new place too. They are still in the throes of a kitchen renovation, but other than that their place is done and it is beautiful! The beach is just blocks away, and so is an incredible sushi restaurant that we visited on Tuesday night… it was SO GOOD! On Wednesday we walked around downtown Courtenay and visited my Aunt Zella’s place where Alana and Grandpa picked apples. The rest of the visit blends together, but we visited the park a few times, took Maggie on some walks, carved another pumpkin, ate some fabulous meals, shared books, went horseback riding, played Uno (there were some great victory dances) and I got a haircut. And then we were up as early as can be on Saturday to make the long trip back home. It was great to get home to see the boys, and we enjoyed the Sunday buffer before life and all its busy-ness got going again today. It was a great trip - I can’t wait for the next one!!

beautiful BC!

picking apples with Grandpa

Uno mania!

September - school and life updates

from Run the Runway - so fun!

Oh hi! It's almost OCTOBER already (whaaaat) and everyone is settling in to the new routine (hurray). Week one was a shock to the system, but everyone managed (it was extremely overwhelming for me); week two was better and I made a mental shift to chill out a bit with all of my readings, assignment, home/kids stuff and volleyball commitments (which are extremely minimal right now). And now that we're nearing the end of the month I think it's safe to say that everyone is fairly settled with the back to school thing. Both Alana and Hendrik like their teachers (and so do we), and Jordan is happy at home with Dad. I'm at school four days a week so get to spend Fridays with the little (which I love!). That Monday to Thursday thing involves going to NINE different classes; some are two hours and some are three hours, but all of them have lots of reading required and assignments galore. When do I get work and reading done? I still don't really know. I have an assignment due tomorrow (not finished), a quiz on Thursday (haven't studied for it - yet) and a coaching presentation to prepare for a small coaching conference Western Women's Volleyball is putting on this weekend. Oh, and Friday is a P.D. Day and Steve is out of town this weekend. Bah! It's all good though. Steve is heading to Brandon with the McMaster men's team this weekend, so I'm sure he'll enjoy some volleyball immersion - and on the prairies too! There is much more I could write about, but if I don't post this now it may never reach my readers. (Are there still people visiting? I know it's sparse postings these days!) I hope that life is treating everyone well...

classic first day of school photo

oh hi!

from this past weekend at the cottage... it was a beautiful long weekend for us up at the Crowe

two front teeth GONE!

runners in the sunners