March updates!

Even though we have a few days to go until it is officially Spring, we’re half way through Spring break AND there were robins on our front lawn this morning - !! There are still snow piles here and there, but it got up to 16 degrees today and is supposed to be even warmer tomorrow, yay! Everyone was looking forward to a break from school and the regular routine, and so far it has been so good. We drove to Toronto on Sunday morning and checked in to our hotel (which was amazing - the Intercontinental) before heading over to the CN Tower. It was a first for the kids and the younger two had their fill after one lap, but the three oldest in the group were keen to stay longer… and so we did. It wasn’t the clearest of days, but it wasn’t busy and we didn’t have to wait in any lines and we did have some great views of the city (everyone enjoyed the elevator ride too). Back at the hotel we went for a swim and then out to one of our favourite pizzeria places, Pizzeria Libretto. Monday morning we braved the crowds at Ripley’s Aquarium and the kids loved it. We were there when it opened, and the busy levels for first hour or so were tolerable - but it got SO crowded it was almost impossible to walk in there let alone see anything. Anyways! It was a success and everyone liked the idea of returning on a school day to have more peace and space and quiet.

Steve’s mom and dad very kindly offered to take the kids for a few nights so we could get some reno stuff done, so we met them in Union Station and they took the kids back home on the train. We hit up Simon’s (my favourite store) and had dinner before heading home to a very quiet house. We were able to make several stops - and those stops were peaceful, free from nagging, and there was no lugging of snacks or asking when we can leave (!) - to look at flooring, fireplaces, fixtures and countertops. We also went out to dinner a few times, slept in (ish) and enjoyed the quiet. Steve is coaching at McMaster tonight so we’ll spend a few hours here and then drive to Bowmanville to pick up the kids before heading home tomorrow.

We are definitely narrowing the gap between idea and reality with our house renovation, though the budget is way higher than what we thought it would be (eek). We’ve ordered the kitchen (from Lowe’s), have our top two countertop choices and are getting there with the million other things we need to do and figure out before it’s go-time. And we have to decide whether we want to start in May and go through the first part of the summer or commit to a September start. We’re thinking we don’t want to miss a season with the pool, but are also feeling ready to get it going. Here are a handful of photos from the past month or so… yay for warmer weather and time together as a family!

We went skiing! It was so fun. First time in 20 years for me...

Alana sewed a shirt for Jordan - they were both so into it! 

Jordan with his bookmark shop - I love it! Have bought more than a few.

On a cold and sunny February afternoon...

Steve made Jordan a bed! And J helped put it together. It's amazing!

It feels like lots has happened since January's post... but at the same time, not much is going on! Well that's not true. We switched back to in-person learning and the kids' activities have started up again, so we are back to being relatively busy in the evenings which has been great. Alana is doing soccer once a week and ball hockey on the weekends with Hendrik, Hendrik is also doing a pitching clinic to get ready for his upcoming baseball season (yay) - and is sort of trying out for a soccer team (details are unclear, even for us - but he gets to go to soccer once or twice a week right now and is liking it, so it's a win), and Jordan opted to sit out of organized activities for now. I play basketball once a week and it is so great to get out and run (my body sort of remembers what to do!), and Steve plays hockey on Sunday mornings as long as he feels like getting up early. Phew! That sounds like a lot... but like I said, it has been great for everyone. School and work have been good too, though it looks like I might not be at the same school again next year. It's too early to say for sure, but I have no seniority at the school so I might be moving around (as new teachers often do).

We are inching closer to renovations, though still have lots of work to do and many decisions to make. I think the kitchen is close to being ordered (cabinets, appliances), so next up we'll have to sort out flooring and stuff for the two bathrooms. We are doing a big overhaul of our main floor (new, bigger kitchen, switching the direction of the stairs to the second floor, rebuilding the addition) and updating the second floor bathroom too. Jobs! It's going to be a big one.

We've been loving watching the Olympics! We've had them on morning and night, and were even inspired to have our old St James Olympics this morning. Organized by Alana, four of us competed in several events including luge, figure skating, speed skating, snowboarding and ski jumping (I think that was it). Winners were awarded bronze, silver and gold trophies that were cherished for several minutes. It was great! And now Alana is at Liz's, Hendrik is at a soccer game and Jordan is hosting a new friend for a play date - sounds like a pre-pandemic Sunday! We'll do up some treats for dinner - chicken wings, mozzarella sticks, fries - and then watch (or not watch) the Superbowl. And I actually got around to doing this so I feel pretty darn good about myself. Hope you enjoy the pics!

Holidays & January, so far!

Steve's birthday... time for dessert!

Happy Saturday! It's the coldest day of winter so far here in London, but the sky is blue and the sun is shining - and I'm inside! We went out for a short walk this morning and it sure was cold for this BC girl (wait, am I an Ontario girl now?). We are happy that it is finally a bit colder as it means we can skate on the outdoor rinks and go sledding. We didn't sign the kids up for skiing this year but will get them on the hill for a lesson or two. Unfortunately Jordan is in the middle (near the end? fingers crossed) of a stage where he doesn't want to do ANYTHING. Skating? Won't do it. Ball hockey? Nope. I asked if he wanted to do baseball this summer - hard no. What is the deal?! It's a bit difficult to go skating as a family when he just wants to sit on the sidelines (/continually ask to go home)... boo. We've been out with the big kids three or four times - to the Covent Garden outdoor rink and to some at-home rinks at friends' houses. We still dream about somehow converting our large pool into a skating rink, but have looked into it enough to know that it's not an easy thing to do. Oh well - we'll host in the summer and go elsewhere in the winter!

Hanging out in Liz's backyard tree

We had the most amazing time in Bowmanville over Christmas break. It is the best to get a break from meal planning and grocery shopping (and all of the other tasks and jobs), and the kids love being there. We did puzzles and played lots of games (Apples to Apples, Shuffleboard, and, of course, Misplunk - a game invented by the kids), and we got out for walks and played driveway hockey too. Christmas dinner was delicious and incredible (of course) but we were missing a few key players - who are back in the game now! We're definitely looking forward to our next holiday with the family, whether it's in B-ville or up at the cottage. 

Scored over 100! (106)

We were home for New Year's Eve and did our best to duplicate last year's fun with a combo of puzzles, a dance party, video games and the BEST cheese / snack board EVER. The guys (Hendrik and Steve) were in charge, and they knocked it out of the park. Jordan went to bed around 9:00 so we felt a little guilty that he missed out on the fun... he'll get to join soon enough, right? Steve did an amazing job with the appleflappen on New Year's day - this is definitely a tradition I'm happy to continue, even if we're in London with our smaller crew. I also went for a run on Jan 1 (yay!) and had a great chat with a few friends I saw along the way. 

The first few weeks of school were delayed here, so back to online learning we went. There are definitely pros and cons to the learn-at-home deal; pros = no mask, snacks/drinks/food when convenient, no making school lunches or washing lunch containers, no one has to get up as early, I can wear slippers, I see more of my family, no ridiculous behaviours from students... cons: no time to prep for school (only weekends and evenings), having to manage kid-demands whilst teaching isn't fun, students don't participate or come as often, and there's lots of sitting / standing in my office room. Oh, and no seeing teacher colleagues - it will be nice to see other teachers again. 

And we are hoping to get going on a house reno here some time this Spring, but have lots of decisions to make. We've decided on kitchen appliances, and went to look at kitchen sinks yesterday with two kids in tow - fun fun! We did hit up London's best candy store before stopping at Home Depot, and we were blown away by the selection - we could have stayed in there for hours looking at everything! The kids did not feel the same about Home Depot, but we did spend some time looking at the kitchen setups and different cabinets etc as we need to really think things through before we get to the ordering stage - sooner is better than later, and the clock is ticking! And on the home reno note, GUESS how cold the tippy room is right now (one of the rooms in our addition)? Part of the reason we're replacing the addition is that it's sinking or coming away from the house (hence tippy) and it has zero insulation. Right now, it is FIVE DEGREES in that room! It is so so so cold. I can't believe that used to be someone's bedroom. Cold. Anyways, hopefully I can get some photos added to and get this thing posted. Hope all of you are doing well! 

Knex has been super popular! Lots to make and create.

Christmas Eve!

"Resting" on a winter walk

November - December!

I can't believe I used to post 12 times a month! We were looking at Beiijing posts last night (which was super fun to do - I rarely look back at blog posts) and that's how many posts we scrolled through whilst searching for Hendrik's "Little Robin" song. We found it (here!) and it's the cutest. We were inspired to look for it after Jordan sang Five Green and Speckled Frogs (Raffi, I think) at the kitchen table - he was the cutest, but there was no video. So we watched some videos, reminisced about Beiijing and how little Alana and Hendrik were, and then I felt sort of guilty for the lack of video evidence of Jordan and his cuteness... so we took this video:

We had quite the sing-songy evening last night and almost drove Hendrik crazy. We went out to see the Magic of Lights show, a drive-through holiday light display that the kids LOVED. It was mild and there was no snow, but the lights were still magical and everyone loved riding through the park without their seatbelts on. On our way home we sang The 12 Days of Christmas oh maybe 3 times and that was definitely enough for Hendrik (me too). 

And it is officially winter break! After such a long time with school at home and then what feels like such a long time of regular school over the past few months, everyone is looking forward to some time away from the daily grind. Not that it's so bad, but the days are definitely very full and purpose- / outcome- driven, and it will be nice to ease off the gas a little bit. Having said that, there's a nice long list of things to do around here, but I'll let that list simmer and get to it when I feel like it.

Hendrik celebrated his 11th birthday last month, and we took him and a group of his friends to a new retro arcade place which they absolutely LOVED. It's actually a bar, but we went early enough on a Sunday afternoon and had the place to ourselves for an hour or so before a few other groups rolled in. We ordered some food, had cake, and the kids played and played and played! He was gifted some amazing presents from family and friends; favourites included a weighted blanket, hockey cards, passes to the Rec Room, nerf guns, and candy! 

Christmas is coming up soon here and there are presents under the tree. We are planning to be in Bowmanville for a few days over the holiday, and hopefully that can still happen - things are changing quickly with COVID numbers and Omicron and we want to make sure we do the right thing to keep everyone we love healthy. It's a beautiful day here, mild and sunny, so I'm going to get out for a walk before I get pulled back to the demands of motherhood and work and domestic life. Happy holidays everyone!

reading new Archie comics while we look at appliances

last current and next read

November is here!

Halloween has come and gone, and we have enormous piles of candy in our house. Enormous! Thinking about someone eating ALL of the chocolate and candy and gum is actually a little bit disgusting, though it might happen and I might help - we'll see what happens. The kids have dentist appointments soon so we can't let them go too bananas - or maybe we should just get it all over with! Bah. Anyways, everyone had a great night - it was mild! No snow and no flurries meant we had a sometimes fast-paced sometimes leisurely trip around the neighbourhood to collect the goods. Steve stayed home and handed out candy (a first) while I went with Jordan and Alana. Hendrik prowled around with a few friends and their parents, so it all worked out. The candy belt has begun!

Dream (a Youtuber), Hermione and a bat 

With kids and their activities moving and a few things for me (I'm playing basketball once a week and coaching the girl's volleyball team at the school) and Steve (he's coaching part-time at McMaster again and playing hockey once a week) things feel busy. We are trying to enjoy a few days of no hustle and bustle, but work and life in general keep us occupied on those days too. It has been super fun to get back in the gym and play some basketball, and I'm amazed at how in shape I once was (ha!)... 'tis my reality no longer! I'm hoping to exercise more than once or twice a week so that Tuesday nights feel easier (fingers crossed). Coaching at the school has been fun too, and the girls are really eager and excited to play and learn and get better. We won our first set today, and they were SO excited. There was a lot of jumping, shrieking and screaming. 

The big kids are still into ball hockey, and Hendrik was awarded the star of the week a few weeks ago for his outstanding play. He's been loving soccer at school and made next year's select baseball team (did I share that already?)... yay. Alana is into the ball hockey too, and loves soccer with her awesome coach (me - ha!) on Thursday nights. Jordan was signed up for ball hockey, but after a few rough mornings (there were tears) and some major reluctance, I threw in the towel. We might try soccer in January!

We ALSO had a short but very sweet visit with my cousin from Vancouver who I almost never get to see.  Since my parents moved to the island, making it to Vancouver has become less of a priority (unfortunately). Eric and his daughter Finny were here for a few days over the weekend but we didn't take any pictures! It was great to catch up and talk about sports and the kids and our families and Europe and traveling. I'm sure there's something I'm missing with this post but it's getting late and I'll get this up before it doesn't happen for another month (ha!). Happy November!

The annual make-a-face-like-your-pumpkin pics: