late-ish cookie post

I'm baking cookies at 10:00 at night - weird. And I'm just home from my first hot yoga (Moksha) class in hmm... maybe five years? And it was so-so - not something I'd pay $15 for, which I think is the going rate from drop-in yoga - crazy. (I had a free class coupon that expires in two days, so I figured I'd better use it! It's been on my board since September.) I'm starting a must-get-in-shape week in preparation for this weekend's basketball tournament, in which our team will play four games in less than 24 hours - yowsa kapowsa! I ran yesterday, yoga today, run tomorrow, hoops with Steve on Wednesday, and rest Thursday; this is my big exercise plan - so peak physical shape (pah!) happens on Friday at 4:00pm.

Hendrik went to his first from-school friend's birthday party on Sunday and had a blast. The group got together at a huge play gym (Adventures on Wonderland), and the kids ran wild in a giant climb-on structure that was a mini version of the colossus that we visited a few times in Beijing. I stayed for a bit, left to go for a run in ridiculously chilly temps, went grocery shopping and arrived in time to peer in on the partygoers eating cake and watching the birthday boy open presents. Hendrik and Hudson were the last two standing, and after dinner and bath the kid was zonked in bed for a solid night's sleep.

Looking back on this blog from April 27, 2013 I'm reminded of the fact that Alana also slept through the night last night - who knows, maybe after a full day of gymnastics (her first on-her-own class) and several hours of outdoor sand-table play, she'll do it again tonight. We'd signed her up for a parent and tot class - which was slotted for kids up to 3 years old; but with a pretty poor coach to athlete ratio, they suggested a move to the older class and it was so much better. I wasn't so sure that she'd run off on her own without a worry trailing behind, but she did - she waved at me from the mat every now and then and followed along with the rest of the kids (she must have been one of the youngest, but was also definitely one of the tallest). We sure were spoiled by the gymnastics club in Gatineau - where there was a ton of natural light and the equipment and facilities were brand new; FCG doesn't measure up in terms of space or equipment (not many places would!), but Alana had a great time - I wish I'd taken some pics.

tea party behind the couch

Alright, I should get going - and deal with these cookies... Until next time!

mash-up

The semester's classes finished Friday, and since then (since taking my kids to the last Children's Materials Birth-7 years class - to watch short picture book films - including Doctor De Soto, Scaredy Squirrel, A Boy, a Dog, a Frog and more) I have been completely engrossed in The Goldfinch. I have 20-ish pages left to go, and I am so amazed at this work - how on earth did she write this? How long did it take? It is so well written, thought out - the characters are amazing... details amazing; if you haven't read it and you're in for a case of book elbow (at 760 pages, it weighs several pounds), join the wait list at your local library - or look for it at the uni! The wait list at LPL was 100+ a few months ago, but immediately available at school. Anyways, it's been on my to-read list for a while, and now that it's out of the way (almost), I can step out of New York City and back into my life of mom and student. School starts again today - or tomorrow; I should have started work on my next course this morning, but took Alana to gymnastics, went grocery shopping, and, after wearing running clothes for three days FINALLY went for a run. Hurrah - and tonight, I'll finish this book.

pre-breakfast, back-porch saturday

Hendrik received his first ever from-school birthday party invitation, and he was all over it - so focused on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles card and pleased as punch (though whether it was the envelope with his name on it that did it - or the fact that he was invited to a party, not sure!) - he held on to it for a good hour after we were home from school.

Weather has been better, so we've been outside digging in the backyard, washing windows at Liz's and biking and running up and down the sidewalk in front of the house. A few days ago Steve discovered that there were a good 25+ concrete slabs buried throughout one side of the backyard, and it sure has been a job digging them out. The house was up for sale last summer, and when we moved in it was done up nicely - wood chips covering areas that must've been mud and dirt for years; grass won't grow through concrete! So we've been digging and finding bricks (maybe 20) and concrete slabs and lots and lots of worms, which of course has been super fun for the kids.

Que mas? What can I say? My sisters (K & C) are coming to visit in June, I have the Ontario Master's Bball Championships in two weeks in Toronto (yay!), and apparently our Christmas in Vancouver visit will correspond with my best friend flying home from Australia. Will my parent's house always be "home"? Or is it Vancouver that does it? We're settled in here, but until we know we're staying (or not) for good, that feeling won't be there in that same solid and definite way. Anyways, since I'm likely to be spending the night on Alana's floor (again), I should go and get these last pages of The Goldfinch done and read. Until next time!

gardening, washing windows, art-from-school, rolling breadsticks (whilst making vegimal noises) and le backyard

spring!!!

Spring is here! I can almost guarantee that the people who were in shorts and tank tops yesterday were in winter coats a few weeks ago - myself included! Okay, I didn't go so far as to wear a tank top, but I did go on a nice long bike ride (the first of many I hope) with a friend and it was warm and sunny and I wore shorts. I've been on the hunt for my own bike, and, not wanting to totally break the bank, I've been scouring kijiji for just the right thing. Just the right thing? Unfortunately, I don't know  what just the right thing looks like - mostly because I've been spoiled riding Steve's XL hybrid bicycle. Just like the pizza and donuts in Japan, the pasta in Italy and the pastries in Greece, I've been spoiled, and no Canadian Tire special is going to compare to the wheels I've beens stealing. Anyways! I need a bike to get to school here soon, so I'm either going to buy an el cheapo just to get to and fro, or (this is what I really should do) go into a bike shop to see what size of frame might best be suited for my tallish frame... and go from there.

how awesome is this water table? at THE museum in waterloo

The semester is winding down, and it's highly unlikely that I'll ever take four courses again - especially because the upcoming electives won't be as easy as some of the required core courses I now have knocked off the list (thank goodness). This summer I'm doing a guided research project to present at the Conversation of Women in Sport in Laval in June, so I've got to get going on things here pretty quickly - and that's it! Just one course. That way I can coach, travel and coach (Toronto, Vancouver), and travel (Greece!!) - without missing nary a class. Pretty soon here we're going to do a serious number on our half-mud half-weeds backyard - dig up the weeds and sod and seed and then we can set up the new trampoline. Ee! Did I say that (/write that) out loud? I did. We bought the kids a small 8" trampoline and they are going to LOVE IT. I loved having a trampoline when we were little, and I can just hear my mom saying "Heather, you'd be out there for hours." - because I was. Our yard is a little little for a full size jumper, but with some rules and moving around we can make this smaller t-line (our code word for it - the kids still don't know about it) work for us, the yard, the neighbours and the kids.

Signing off - Alana will probably be waking up soon!

more waterloo museum fun

happy easter!

Instead of doing homework last night, I sat around with my favourite guy and ate chocolate, drank wine and hid Easter eggs and jelly bean bags around the house. After a sub-par sleep (the usual), I woke up on Alana's floor with news of nibbled carrot nubs downstairs - the EASTER bunny had been here! I trailed after the kids with eyes half closed, but the excitement was just too infectious to keep them that way; coffee + chocolate + happy kids brought me back to life. So here we are 12 hours later and the sugar is still coursing through their veins - they're playing tennis downstairs, whatever that means! And the snow that was all around us this morning is gone (thankfully), along with 1/3 of the Easter basket haul (might explain the late-night tennis). We had a great day of food, swimming (the YMCA was open - !), exercise (me), visits (with neighbours) and treats; the only thing missing was family. And warm weather. (All in good time, right?)

I'm going to try to use the camera a bit more (instead of the phone) for pics, so I'll actually have to keep track of it - and take it with me. It didn't get left behind on a recent trip to a sugar shack - where, on one of the first moderately balmy days (I think it got up to 5), the kids were LOVING being outside; the pancakes and jugs of syrup were a distant second to the swings and tree houses and wood chip piles found out back. Combined with Friday morning's trip to the local park that makes TWO park visits in the past week, and we are all getting excited about spring (and summer). 

Quick updates:

since i couldn't find a recent one, i picked an oldie. age = ??

Me

I stayed up way too late last night finishing Alexander McCall Smith's The Forever Girl - an impulse pick-up on a library run (for kid's books). It was good, as most of his books that I've read are (I couldn't get into the Professor von whatever series, but everything else I've read has been fabulous). School is winding down and only a few assignments loom before the summer semester starts; I'll be doing one self-directed study and will hopefully have it wrapped up by the end of June, leaving me with a few months of coaching, cottage and... Greece! Can't wait. Semi-finals and finals of the women's vb league happens tomorrow night, as does Easter dinner (not sure what we're eating) followed by raspberry cake (yum).

Steve

A new project is on the go - a table, for somewhere. He's signed himself up for a spring hockey league, is contemplating playing in Nationals in Calgary, and is staying busy with the kids. I'm sure there's more, but I'd have to ask him and he's currently building lego houses with Alana (8:44pm), who is showing no signs of slowing down. 

music

Hendrik

Hendrik wrote his first piece of music tonight, titled Where is the penguins (I think); see picture. He's reading up a storm (we gave the kids an Octonauts book and they LOVE it), and - yes, Octonauts; they play or watch or read or colour Octonauts things for most of the day. Today swimming was a huge hit, jelly beans and Cadbury mini eggs (he called them Robin's eggs) were also big, and hockey and lego rounded out the activities du jour. Favourite foods... hm: toast with butter for breakfast (or waffles), PB&J for lunch, pasta for dinner (tonight he ate a huge burg, all of it) or beef and rice. He's all day at school except for Wednesday, and seems to like it - and he's signed up for baseball (starting next month) and swimming lessons, and that's it!

Alana

This girl could really work on her sleeping habits - as you've heard. She had her first gymnastics class last Monday and loved it! She was definitely shy with the other kids and adults but was all over the trampolines and mats and climbing equipment; it was her first organized class - swimming (parent and tot) starts at the end of the month (at the Y) - but not the last. Octonauts is also a big part of her life, as is anything that Hendrik does. Mostly she's nice to him (he's much nicer with her these days), but she definitely presses his buttons - and knows she's doing so (scallywag). She loves grapes, cheese, yogurt and crackers; icing and chocolate round out her favourite food groups. 

I'm sure I'm forgetting important things - like the fact that I'm starting to really love the Octonauts - but this is a sizeable post for this time of the day and with kids running wild. Hoping everyone had a fabulous Easter weekend!

one of my favourite all time books, for so many reasons. 

the worst!

I am becoming the worst! blogger! I have a few reasons for becoming the worst! blogger! but they are the same reasons that I don't get other things (like exercise or reading) done either, and they are family and school. I sometimes (today) wonder how a stay-at-home parent can be anything other than a parent; time is so dominated by children and family duties, and time away is dominated by eating or showering (sometimes) or one of many things that one could do (grocery shopping, laundry, oh... homework). I really shouldn't be saying this, because last weekend I was a mom and a basketball player - ! I played in a tournament with a great group of women, all of whom I met for the first time an hour before game #1, and it was great. It'd been 13 years or so (I figure) since I'd last played in a real game with refs and everything, but it came back to me like riding a bike, hurray! We won two of our three games to finish third and even did something social that evening, despite a few horrific nights of "sleep" around here. Steve and the kids joined to cheer us on on Saturday, and cheer us on they did; one of the women on the other team said, "who's that kid and what's he saying?" I got to lay claim and clarify that he was saying "GO Auckland ballas!" - it was great. Auckland Ballers because this is the team (I think) that is heading to the World Master's Games in Auckland NZ in 2017 - wouldn't it be great if I could join? Sounds super fun. Anyways, one thing at a time and that next thing right now is posting this blog, hanging up the laundry and going to bed. This "other" time - doing homework and very briefly quickly blogging - is too late (it's 12:38). I have some things to say about starting April off right (with a sugar shack visit and warmer climes) but I'll save it for next time... whenever that is!

of books and babes

Kim Ji Hyuk

Isn't this picture just perfect? Books, a comfy chair, an open window and an afghan - this might be me one day, if spring ever finds her way to town. (And if I ever purchase an oversized (it'd have to be extra-oversized) blue chair.)

The kids are home and life is back to its beautiful, chaotic normal self - sleepless nights, rushed mornings, and piles of homework. It felt so good to wrap my arms around these two little beans - there they sit so still and calm with each other - entranced by The Octonauts. They are still obsessed: the majority of play time around here is Octonauts-themed, and Alana's latest thing is pretending to heal wounded sea creatures (me or Steve) just like Peso. She'll ask if something is hurt (yes) and then whip her arms around in an I'm-bandaging-your-arm motion (you know what I mean, right?) and then say, "There. Good as new!" - it's adorable, and I should do my best to get it on film. I'm fading - bed time needs to happen asap... more details more info more updates next time (do I always say this?) - only a few more weeks and the semester is over, so I should have more time then. Right? Not so sure...

five days of flying sola

This house is so lonely and quiet without children in it! It's been kind of amazing being here by myself, mostly for the sleep - I've had solid sleeps (knock on wood) every night with no wake-ups, no crying kids. Our children - really I should just be talking about Alana - so, Alana used to be a good sleeper (maybe even a great sleeper) but she sure isn't winning any awards these days - even though apparently, she's been sleeping soundly in B-ville all week. So the sleep has been wonderful and making decisions based entirely (!!) on what I want to do has also been fabulous. Ending soon! But I'm happy... I miss my people! I'll be waiting on the steps for them when they pull in tomorrow afternoon.

So what else has gone down this week? We've had all of the wiring in the house replaced already, and what awesome timing having the kids gone while walls are ripped open with tools (and wires) left here and there and busy workers coming and going. I've had a few social nights out - for a volleyball banquet tonight and for beers with classmates yesterday - and have made some serious progress on the tsunami of assignments due this week and next. Still, despite hopes that I could work work work and get it all done - there's more! There's always more. But that's okay, I'll just keep working away. With just 4 weeks left of classes (I think - eep!) it's crunch time... so I have to keep working away. But for now - I have a good night's sleep I need to go and get before my little bunnies come home!

octonauts family!!

I'm just back from my second run of the year, and it feels so so good to get outside and exercise! The snow is melting and spring is trying to edge her way into our lives - thank goodness! Unlike many others I know, I didn't find winter that awful - it was long but not that cold; there was (and still is) quite a bit of snow, but we were never in the grips of -20s weather... or at least not for very long. Okay enough about the weather - what I should be talking about is the big news of the day - of the year! Of our right-now lives: we own our house! Everything closed today, and we didn't even have to move. Electricians are already at work rewiring this almost 100-year old home, and we'll have a good deal of work to do in the back yard once the snow melts - weeds rule back there, and I'm sure it'll be one messy mud pit unless we do something about it. (P.S. Aren't the Octonauts masks Marg made ah-mazing? The kids are IN LOVE with this show, and I have to admit, I'm a big fan too. If we start now, we could all have Octonauts costumes for Halloween!!)

More big news: I'm home alone - all week. On one hand I'm excited - I'll get work done, I might actually get some sleep at night, and I can eat when I want and what I want, and do what I want whenever I want. On the other hand, man oh man am I ever going to miss my family, little ones and big one. They've taken off to Bowmanville for March break, while school and an onslaught of assignments is keeping me here. Hopefully I'll be able to put the pedal to the metal and get things DONE!

No other news really, other than... hm. We did a clinic in Hamilton yesterday with LP (and Tim Cooper) and Jump Volleyball and had an awesome time, and... let's see - I'm playing in a basketball tournament in a few weeks and Steve is going to a Raptors game in a few weeks and I only have 6 weeks left of school. I'm know there's more to write about but I'm going to eat dinner and get some work done. Until next time!

10 days ago it was snow-stegosauras weather... soon, spring!

boy + graph

This past week (and next week and the one after that) has been (and will be) packed with school work and commitments. A few weeks ago I made a comment to a friend at school that life couldn't be any more full - and she warned me not to tempt fate. Has it become more full? Maybe. But a full and busy (and rewarding) life is better than one that is slow and empty... right? That being said, I sure am going to enjoy sitting on the beach in Greece in August with nary a to-do list or school assignment in sight. That's right people - Steve booked our flights to Greece! We're going to a wedding there (Nik and Constantina), and I'm looking forward to thinking about it and getting excited about it once this riptide of schoolwork subsides.

An assignment that is requiring a good deal of my time these days is a group presentation on Data Visualization (for a research and statistics course), so imagine my surprise when yesterday, Hendrik started making graphs. Really. He came into the kitchen after dinner and asked Steve, "Daddy, are you happy?" Steve said yes. He left the room for a few minutes, and then came back. "Mommy, are you happy?" I said yes. He left the room again, and Steve and I peeked around the corner to see what he was up to. We asked, and he answered: "I'm making graphs." What a guy. Here are a few pictures of his graph, and a description of how you make a graph. (If only I could include this in my presentation!)

In other news, we are in the midst of purchasing the house and there have been so many things to take care of - I've been calling electricians and insurance companies in between classes and group meetings, and meeting with mortgage brokers in between dinner time and kiddo bath time. Steve has been making most of the dinners and has made a few "restaurant" meals (deluxe) - recipes coming soon. As always, I have more to write about but it's time to run - schoolwork calls!

a weekend in the city

the big city

February was the paltriest post month EVER! I'll start things off right in March by posting on its very first day, and hopefully the rest of the month will follow with better posting habits. So...

We're coming off the heels of an amazing weekend in Toronto, and it was just the little vacay that we needed. We'd been tossing around the idea of going on vacation somewhere, but with different spring breaks for the students (mine was last week - not much "spring" happening around here) and expensiveness all around, we'd kind of given up on the idea of a warm weather getaway (okay we hadn't - we were still dreaming). Then a small coaching thing came up this weekend in Toronto and our staycation plans were born; Steve trolled the net, found us a killer deal at an amazing hotel and booked - 'twas a go! The kids were super excited, and it turned out to be a great two days - great because we saw friends, Grandma and Grandpa B came in, I caught up with some volleyball friends and coaches I hadn't seen in a long time, we ate good food (no prep or cleanup required - and the kids ate for free all weekend), and we stayed in a  swank and upscale place (loved it). While I was in the gym (and then out for lunch) on Saturday, Steve and the kids met up with Grandma and Grandpa B and the whole crew of them visited the new (-ish) aquarium, lunched, and took a dip in the pool at the hotel. Due to afternoon naps, the kids didn't go to bed as early as we'd hoped they would, but nevertheless we were all in bed and almost sleeping by 9:30 (maybe 10:00). Somehow we managed to sleep in until 8:00 this morning (ah-mazing), and packed up and visited friends (the Jansons) before heading back home to reality. Laundry and school stuff ruled the latter half of the day here, and a busy week looms; with only 6-ish weeks left of school for me, the pickle of work (thanks autocorrect: pile) grows and grows and grows. On that note, I'll get back to it - laundry and schoolwork...

running in the halls (semi-quietly) brought me back to beijing - it was a go-to activity there!

sitting in style

short and sweet!

Big weekend here folks - the volleyball team I'm helping with up at Western won a bronze medal at the OUA (Ontario University Athletics) final four, and it looks like we are buying this house. Yoiks! Piles of homework are getting bigger and I have a long list of productive-things-to-do I could pick from, but instead I'm going to sit down on the couch with Steve and watch TV and think about what we'll eat this week for dinner (after perusing Great Food Fast (I should get cookbooks out of the library like my maman!) this list looks something like this: pork chops, lentil stew, pasta, shepherd's pie, beef and orange stir fry, and/or flank steak + who knows). Laundry first, Crabbie's second, couch third - oh so much more to write about coming... some day! 

short and sweet

As usual, there's mucho to write about and not so much time. The whole family has been tired tired - Hendrik even took a nap at school today, a first for him - so we've been trying to get to bed at a decent hour (something I can do if and only if I'm not in the middle of a good book; last week's late night's were Eleanor and Park's fault). We had a great Valentine's Day (what did we do?!) with heart-shaped pancakes and a huge humongous win on the road - ! We just barely made it into the playoffs, and knocked the first place seed out in the first round - they didn't know what hit them. Next we play Toronto in Guelph (Friday, 8:30) and then a bronze or gold medal game on Saturday - eek! Can't wait.  Here are a few pics - I need sleep!

tired kids sleep like this. really.

valentine's galore!

and SNOW galore

there was a valentine's day party at this guy's school, and he came home with a box of cards

books!

'Tis the season for Valentine's books! These are some of my favourites - though I'm sure there are more gems out there, waiting to be discovered. I have 25 minutes before class starts, so here's a quick post-post-post before I get back to school business. BULLETS:

• I got my hair done (highlights and a cut) yesterday, woot! Upon my return home Hendrik expressed confusion: why my barber shop visit didn't result in any drastic reductions? Why is your hair still long?! Good questions my friend. It would be easier having short hair, but.... then I'd have to go to the hairdresser more than once a year. Long hair it is!
• More importantly, our team made the playoffs! EEEEk! I'm super excited, and so so proud of the girls. They won both matches this weekend (x York and Nipissing) to secure a playoff game against McMaster this coming Saturday. I'll be there with all I've got to try and get them into the second round.... 
• I'm writing a paper about girls in sport and just got this book out of the library, and I want to read it from cover to cover and then read everything in it: 

• I know there's more... (I have a lemon cookie recipe I want to make, I want to make lemon bars, last week's lemon meringue pie has me thinking lemons lemons lemons) .... but I can't think. I need lunch! 

on her way out the door this morning, with robin doggy 

notes in the mail from my kiddies - love!

first of feb

It's February, and there are pile and piles and piles of snow on the ground. Piles. Mountains of shovelled snow flank the driveway, and winter wonderland continues to get whiter as the snow keeps on falling. To tell you the truth, it doesn't bother me (yet) - winter might be growing on me as time goes by, and I'm thinking it's because it's not as cold as last year's deep-freeze winter in Gatineau. Minus 10? No problem. Snow? I'll take some exercise (Steve and I shovelled four driveways on Monday). Sure, I prefer summer and warmer climes to these colder ones, but like a good Canadian girl, I'm coming around to sort of liking the cold and snow. (Maybe it has something to do with my new warm-warm-warm Sorels, or our neighbourhood (quiet and calm), or the fact that it's easy-ish getting the kids out to play (we have a backyard) - who knows!)

Steve's parents were here for the weekend, and the kids were beyond excited to see them (okay, so was I). We went out to dinner on Monday night - we walked and tugged the kids on sleds - and Hendrik showed some serious skill with the menu: I read him the kids meal options (he had a menu in hand), and he said, "Well, what about the pulled pork?" and pointed at the pulled pork in an entirely different section. Well sure you can have the pulled pork! If you can read it you can order it? That might depend if there's a dessert menu... right?

Speaking of dinner (this problem does not apply with dessert) - what do people make for dinner every night anyway? I'm going to ask for some meal suggestions on Facebook I think, and also plan to make a giant poster of meal options organized into categories: fish, chicken, vegetarian, side dishes, etc., and then classify them as a one-pot meal or ready in under 20 minutes or requiring specialty items etc. Right? Should I? YES! But really no I will not make a giant poster with classifications and subclassifications, since that is only something I could do if I had full-time childcare and nothing else to do with my time ever. I like the idea, but I also am aware that something like this would probably never happen. So - google maybe? Maybe. Add it to the list...

I have much more to write about (the summer is starting to shape up, I'm doing a really interesting assignment for my Children's Materials course) but really, I have to get to those next time. Dinner calls (tonight is minestrone (homemade - recipe from The Joy of Cooking), cornbread and salad) and I need to wake the sleeping babe (Alana: she's been staying up WAY too late (10:00) and then napping - a vicious (I mean it) cycle) - so those items are on the list for le next blog. I'll leave you with my February calendar page:

our across-the-street neighbours brought this over to us tonight apres dinner - it was AMAZING! love this neighbourhood!

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!