The Story of March Break

Hot chocolate in a hand-made cavern

This post is devoted entirely to our relatively jam-packed March Break. In what is now a second annual tradition, Bill and Barb (ie, Grandma and Grandpa) rented a chalet in the small New Brunswick town of Richibucto for a couple of days, and invited us along.  Besides being a beautiful spot, this chalet boasts close proximity to Kouchibouguac National Park, a winter haven for those who love cross-country skiing, sledding, and any number of other snow-based activities. 

Clark and the kids were quick to accept the invitation, though I knew I wouldn't have much fun this time around.  I'm still nauseous daily, and being on the cusp of my third trimester, was leery to  spend my days doing activities where I would most definitely take a number of tumbles. My plan, therefore, was to just hunker down in Dartmouth, having a quiet (albeit very lonely) week to myself.  

With literally 30 minutes before departure, however, I made a very spontaneous decision to pack my bags and join in -- not on the winter retreat, but rather for a week in Fredericton. My plan was to stay at my parent's house, and take advantage of Deborah's (ie, Clark's mom's) amazing pottery studio.  Really, I think it was the thought of spending a few days with my hands in clay that sold me in the end. I can't use my own little garage-based "studio" in the winter until Clark gets around to building a wall (therefore enabling a constant warmish temperature). It has literally been months since I've been able to make anything, and I yearned for it.

So, having weathered a big Maritimes-based snowstorm on Friday (which made driving impossible,  but blessed an otherwise barren Kouchibouguac with a huge dump of snow), we all headed out on Saturday.  Phase one of March Break: a few days of all four of us hanging out in Fredericton.

Linden discovers my mom's accordion. He was enthralled.

Juniper discovers a little synth that plays beats and rhythms. She was enthralled (the rest of us not so much).

Liz and Pat visit!

Linden finds a random huge marionette on the inglenook (naturally), and gives a show through the slots in the stairs.

 Phase two of March Break: the Kouchibouguac/Fredericton split.  Knowing we were getting another huge couple of snowstorms starting on Tuesday afternoon, Clark and the kids packed up as early as possible Tuesday morning, and headed on their way, dropping me off at the studio before they left.  I can safely say that both parties had a whale of a time.  It snowed steadily for a good three days, which did not deter anybody. The Kouchibouguac team skied, sledded, built extensive snow tunnels/caverns, and played games or jammed when it was too stormy for outdoor activities:

Juniper and Bill on the beautiful cross-country tracks

Linden was keen on going as fast as humanly possible

Day two - Juniper totally hit her stride.

The big sledding hill

The synth came with the kids, and Scott and Linden rock out

Tunnelling into the massive snow drifts outside the chalet 

Rosy-cheeked and happy as a clam

Like father, like son

Mid-leap...

... abd exultant landing

Making hot chocolate in the cavern with Aunt Theresa

Enjoying the spoils with Scott

Linden carefully considers his option in a game of chess

Sunny breakfast

Meanwhile, back in Fredericton, I was making daily pilgrimages from my parent's house to Deborah's studio.  I was actually worried I would be unable to get there on Wednesday, as it stormed all day long.  Luckily, it is a very short little drive (in fact, I often walk between houses when the river path is passable), so mom was able to drop me off and pick me up during lulls in the snow.  I spent hours and hours in there, throwing, trimming, glazing, and loading/unloading the kiln.  It was actually quite productive, and a marvellous bit of therapy/diversion.  I took no pictures in the midst of it all, but I did snap a couple of shots of the aftermath:

I had a bunch of stuff that I had thrown long ago, and was finally able to be glaze-fired

An entire shelf of newly thrown and trimmed pots, in both buff and red clay. I was particularly interested in big bowls, clearly.

Finally, after a few days of our own amazing adventures, Clark and the kids rejoined me in Fredericton.  It was so nice that we decided to stay an extra day before heading back to Nova Scotia.  Clark and I got to join some of our oldest friends for a drink and chat on Thursday night (Jane and Christie, who live in Fredericton, and Zsofi, who was also visiting for the break), and then we spent the better part of Friday hanging out at the Koller's beautiful Mactaquac home with Zsofi and the girls. It was lovely.

The boys dig out the solid chunks of ice at the end of the driveway

Eating a yummy lunch with Eva and Sylvie

Taking advantage of the Foosball Table

Group shot.  How cute are these kids?

Linden and Bob watch curling. Enthralling, no doubt.

And... that was that about that!  It was a super easy trip back (no crazy snow squalls like we had weathered on the way down), and we had a full buffer day before the kids headed back to school.  It was gorgeous and sunny, so we headed to Point Pleasant park, which is a favourite hike and play destination in Halifax:

Hanging out on a big piece of beach driftwood, after mining for "beautiful shells"

Playing gleefully among the old barracks.

Snack break

Hiding behind the big brick roof

When else do you get to stand on, and then leap off of roofs?

I include this because if you look carefully, you can see a big black tummy sticking out of my not-fully-closed coat.

Posed shot. Album cover?

And here we are, hanging out on Monday morning,  mentally rejuvenated from our adventures. I say "we",  as Linden is here with me, nursing what appears to be a sprained ankle (likely from all that jumping and running around the old forts). He has so far watched two episodes of Blue Planet, and hopped his way around the house. I believe I am in for a (very) long day hanging out with a kid who normally needs a huge amount of physical play to keep himself amused.  Ah, well. See you next time!

Mish-Mash Catch-up

That brief moment when it was a wintery February

Creeeaaaakkkkk!  That was the sound of my rusty blogging muscles warming up. It's been a good few weeks since I last posted... in part because I claim pregnancy rights to do whatever I feel like doing (or not doing).  More to the point, however, this February has been particularly uninspiring.  Had I indeed faithfully posted every week, you would have likely been treated to a running narrative about the various stages of minor but inconvenient illnesses that were currently sweeping through our household, paired with the bad attitudes that went along with them.  And undoubtedly, there would have been some well-placed jabs about February thrown into the mix for good measure.  So, in truth, I did a favour to everyone involved by just taking a step back and a breather for a little bit.

In case anyone is keeping track, Linden has now indeed managed to lose one of this pair of custom-crafted convertible mitts I made him.

So what I am offering today is a relatively random assemblage of photos from the few moments I actually brought my camera out this past month, with maybe a handful of stories if I remember them.  It is a good reminder that February isn't ALL bad. 

Linden carefully and fastidiously crafts Valentines for his class

Oh!  Valentine's Day.  OK, that warrants a bit of a story. So this year, both kids were very keen on hand-crafting cards for their respective classmates.  It was a project that spanned over a week, and involved scissors, markers, card stock, stickers, and even individually-rendered poems and messages for the most deserving of friends.  On the day of, the cards were carefully packed up, and off they went to school.

Meanwhile, I started getting ready to head to the IWK for my 20-week ultrasound. I was excited, and therefore (thankfully) ready nice and early, in order to both pick Clark up from work and get to the hospital with lots of time to spare.  When I went to call Clark to tell him I was coming, however, I could not, for the life of me, find my phone.   Finally, I decided to check the car, but... my keys were also gone.  Now, I have been known to misplace things now and again, but both my keys AND my phone was a bit unprecedented, and completely baffling, as I tend to put them in the same place 98% of the time.  It was then that I realized, to my horror, two things simultaneously:
1. My phone was, indeed, inside the car, with a completely dead battery, and
2. Juniper had been the last one to use my keys, when she went to get the mail the night before.

So there I was, with no phone and no way of getting into (or driving) the car, and a very important ultrasound on the other side of the harbour, ticking closer and closer.  I managed to get a hold of Clark (via Google Hangouts, thank-you, internet), who immediately called a cab to come back home, hopefully with enough time left to drive us both to the hospital. MEANWHILE, Clark had also gotten a call from Juniper's teacher, explaining that her Valentine's cards were nowhere to be found, and that Juniper was very upset.  What the hell?  I'd watched her pack them in her bag myself!

Fast-forward a bit, and though the cab was slow as molasses, Clark and I got to the hospital for EXACTLY my appointment time (not 20 minutes early, as we had been advised, but I'll take the small miracles when I get them).  I'd offer you an ultrasound picture, but since I am no longer high-risk, I was down on the first floor where they don't tell you anything, won't offer you pictures (unless you want to pay $40), and ban the use of cameras or cell-phones, lest you sneakily try and take a photo of the screen yourself.

After the appointment, we decided to head on over to the school, to check in on Juniper.  We didn't have her missing cards, but we DID have her indoor sneakers (which she had accidentally taken home the night before and then forgotten to bring back in), and I was, shall we say, a little bit anxious to see if my keys were in her coat pocket. When we got there, she was eating lunch while determinately cutting out a whole new set of cards for everybody, and in relatively good spirits (she'd had a bit of a cry when she couldn't find them earlier).  Here were the end results of that day:

1. The 2nd set of cards got made in time to hand them out, and the missing cards were returned the next day, as they had fallen out on the bus.
2. My keys WERE safely tucked away in Juniper's coat pocket, and therefore I didn't need to pay the gajillion dollars to get a new car one made.
3. Wait for it ... unless there was a craftily hidden organ throughout the ultrasound, we're having a GIRL!  Though they won't tell you anything at the ultrasound itself, they will now divulge the information to your practitioner, who can tell you. (Back wen I had Juniper and Linden, you just weren't allowed to know, period).

Whew.  There must have been some strange planetary alignment that day or something!

Juniper reads to Zoë, our adorable next-door neighbour

OK, I truly think that was the only real story I had to relate.  Otherwise, a few shots from some woods walks, and other day-to-day activities throughout the month:

On Heritage Day (or Family Day, as it's known in other parts of the country).

Clearly, we haven't been getting out enough - here are both kids at the end of that tiny little Heritage Day walk around the pond, looking as though they'd just completed a multi-day marathon.

Such nice light and tranquility, I had to capture it.  It doesn't happen all that often, but it's lovely when it does!

The nice thing about no snow in February is that you can take your remote control truck for a spin in the woods.

Inexplicably, Juniper has taken to bringing handbags on hikes, rather than backpacks.  

Two handsome fellas!

Calm evening, with everyone doing their own thing.

OK, that's all for now!  See you in a week or two!

February Survival

I *really* wanted to read something other than the second Warriors book to Linden at night, so Juniper happily took over the Warrior-related duties. Win-win-win.

I realize that "Surviving February" is relatively dramatic (and cliché) in both title and concept.  But on this dreary Monday morning, with the wind howling, and the rain hammering down, and Clark getting ready to leave for a week in Winnipeg, this is exactly how I feel.

I also realize that I didn't post last week.  This was not because of any dire or particularly good reason (as my mother feared, when she called to see why there was no post), but rather because... well, to be honest, there wasn't a whole lot to post about.  Or, at least, there weren't all that many photos to help tell a story.  I've been laying pretty low over the last - oh, 19 weeks or so - which means that even when I do feel up to joining in on adventures, I often do not also also have the hutzpah to lug the camera along.  All this is by way of saying that these posts may switch to every two weeks for awhile -  at least until my energy level goes up a bit. 

Anyway, I do have a bit of a hodge-podge to offer today, with some of the ways we've been weathering the shortest, dreariest month. 

1. Dates

We reinstated an old favourite that had fallen by the wayside: date days!  This particular time around, it was a mama/daughter, father/son divide, but next time we'll switch it up.  The kid gets to choose the activities, and gets a parent all to themselves.  We might as well cram as many in while it is still feasible!  Clark didn't take any photos of the boys' adventure, but I have a couple from our day.  It involved lunch at Subway, some knitting instruction, a game of open-handed cribbage (Juniper is only just learning, but will hold her own soon), some general library hangouts, and then a snack at Pete's Frootique.  It was all pretty great, except that we were forced to sit beside a guy at the library who snored loudly the whole time. Ah well.

Knitting concentration

Pete's snack!

 2. Outdoor activities

We are, obviously, a very outdoor-oriented family. February, however, makes it VERY tough to be enthusiastic about our outdoor options.  This is especially true around here, where the weather is constantly in dramatic flux.  One day, it is warm and rainy, the next it is freeze-your-face-off cold, and it is basically just always break-neck icy in between times. But when possible, we persevere. This past weekend, for instance, we gathered up all the gear and headed to the skating Oval at the Commons.  I did not skate (in fact, I didn't even hang around long, as the wind chill was something ridiculous, like -25 C), but Clark and the kids sure did!  

Gearing up

This makes it look like they had the Oval to themselves, but it was packed!

Happy little skater

Linden, rocking the hand assists that were available

 3. Indoor Activities
There are way more indoor-oriented activities in February than there are other times of the year.  Luckily, there are many thing to keep us occupied.  We've started accumulating some great family board games, and there are always toys and books and cards, and any other number of things to fall back on.  In addition, this weekend we put on a huge push to start clearing out the tiny little office downstairs, so as to move Linden down asap.  The plan is to turn his room into the nursery, and the office will become his.  We have already purchased a loft bed from IKEA (so as to make it fun AND to maximize space), so once the room is really and truly empty, bed construction will be the next big event.  Hopefully it all works out!  Anyway, I have no pictures of that labour-intensive project, but I snapped a couple of random shots from when I found the kids happily being quiet and industrious:

Mid-floor, PJ-ed Crazy 8s

Linden is becoming a Mechano aficionado!

Alright folks - that's it!  See you (most likely) in a couple weeks!

Birthday + Snow

Ushering in 38 with a wish and some cake

Today I offer a brief glimpse into the past week, which was dominated (in my little world), by two main events: my birthday, and the much anticipated arrival of some honest-to-goodness proper winter snow. 

Birthday

My actual birthday (the 15th - ie, a week ago today), was a little strange and bittersweet, but pretty satisfying when all was said and done.  To begin with, the day was spent with Clark and Juniper -- Clark because he had taken the day off of work, and Juniper because she was home sick.  While this might otherwise have limited our activities, this sickness of Juniper's was the tail end of some odd bug that had resulted in headache, sore throat and fever. Though she mostly felt fine by the time Monday rolled around, the fever had still been present the night before, so we kept her home from school.  

Consequently, the day played out as follows:

1) we went (as a family of four) to a local coffee shop bright and early, to drink some drinks and play some charades.  

2) we dropped Linden off at school (nice and late, to his delight), and the three remaining adventurers spent a bit of time at IKEA, picking out a cheap but functional bookshelf that I had been wanting for ages, in order to take care of all the books that had been piling and multiplying on various surfaces around the house.

3) I got to open some very sweet, well-chosen gifts from the kids (who had been allowed to peruse the dollar store to their heart's content):  a plant-starting kit for our 2018 garden; a frame (in which Juniper plans to draw a picture of our family, which will include mystery baby); and a blank book from Linden, in which we are meant to write to each other, journal-style.  Juniper and I have had such a thing for awhile now, but Linden was SUPER excited to get in on it as well.  He is just thrilled every time there is a new entry, and is getting very good at reading all the words himself.  He also writes his replies completely on his own, by sounding out the words as he sees fit - a fact that makes it sometimes very difficult to decipher the message (especially because he sounds out the words the way he has been taught in French Immersion, and he also often mixes up "b" and "d".  For instance, if he is trying to write "a book", it might look something like "et deuc").  But I am learning, and so is he... it will be incredibly interesting to flip back through the entries as the year progresses. 

4) We got thai take-out and superstore cupcakes, and sang happy birthday:

Thai and cupcakes

The day ended, unfortunately, with Clark hopping a plane to Ottawa for a week of meetings (the main reason the day was bittersweet, rather than just sweet).  Everyone knows how I feel about solo parenting  (especially this time of year), but to leave ON my birthday, with one kid who had just been sick, while I'm pregnant and feeling crappy?  Bitter, indeed.

ANYWAY, after making it through the subsequent week (which involved me catching a variation of Juniper's sickness), Clark returned, and plans were made for the real birthday celebrations: a day of decadence for me and Zsofi (while the men entertained the kids), followed by dinner and cake with the two combined families.  Of course, this didn't exactly go according to plan, either - Linden came home from school Friday with this same strange head/throat/fever illness.  So in the end, I still got a super fun afternoon with Zsofi (which included lunch, pedicures, and shopping!), Will took the girls out for some adventure (sushi and the Discovery Centre), and Clark and Linden got to have a little father-son time. And I still got the delicious supper and cake, albeit a day later than planned, and with just the four of us:

The kids were in charge of strawberry preparation, which meant they BOTH got to use sharp knives. This was more exciting than you'd think

The finished product: a homemade chocolate-vanilla ice cream cake with cookie crumb crust and fresh (frozen) strawberries.  SUPER delicious.

Winter

Just as Clark's plane left Halifax on my birthday eve, the snow began to fall in Nova Scotia.  This may not seem significant, except that we have so far had a very, very snow-free winter around these parts.  When we woke the next morning, it was to an honest-to-goodness winter wonderland. The kids were beside themselves with excitement. I was awoken at 6:45am to Linden bellowing: "LOOK OUT THE WINDOW!!!! LOOK!"  I therefore offer a few pictures of the ways we have all been enjoying said snow (which is, may I add, still around, a whole week later - a small miracle for Halifax):

No one even bothered coming inside after school on Tuesday: Juniper, Linden, and Liam (from across the street)

Magical solo winter walk through Shubie park...

... with snowflakes that stayed on my nose and eyelashes!

Family woods walk

Quiz: how many people pay attention when I suggest that the lake may not be safe to walk on?
Answer: zero

And that about sums it up!  I'll leave you with a little magical-looking scene I stumbled across the other night: the kids nestled in Juniper's bed while Clark reads Fellowship of the Ring.  See you next week!

Magical light, magical night

Winter Scenes

Full moon, warm fire, Orion's Belt

Having survived an aptly-named "weather-bomb", and being forced to unearth and don all our warmest under-and-outerwear, it is safe to say that we are fully in the throes of winter.  Today I offer some of the first winter scenes of the season:  first from a New Year's trip to the farm, and second from a winter hike through Hemlock Ravine.

The Farm

As I alluded to in my last post, Clark and the kids spent a few glorious days at the Richards' family farm: a favourite spot no matter what the season. It was cold, of course, but boasted a good healthy layer of snow, which is something we have not yet been treated to in Halifax.  I was sad to miss out this time around, but luckily Clark took his photographing duties seriously, and captured some lovely moments.

Crisp walk to the river

Bundled and sun-blinded on the ice

Deep in conversation, mid-woods walk

Wood shop time with grandpa: Newly constructed mallet! 

Deep in concentration: designing a wooden airplane

Snuggles and reading with grandma

Moonlit hockey

Warming up by the firepit

The best group shot of the bunch:  at least Bill and Barb are looking at the camera!

Hemlock Ravine
Back home, we spent a nice bit of time this weekend exploring one of our favourite local hiking spots: Bedford's Hemlock Ravine.  It was actually colder than I had anticipated (Clark and I were a bit underdressed in the end), but the kids were properly bundled, and it was a necessary antidote to the cabin fever we all developed from the many storm days we spent cooped up inside the house. 

*(side note: the storm manifested itself here as extremely high winds and driving rain, and resulted in the kids being off school both Thursday and Friday.  It was far too miserable to do anything outside.  We were some of the very lucky ones that only lost power briefly, and only in in the middle of the night)*

Frolicking on the frozen heart pond 

Thoughtful hiking dinosaur

Another, smaller pond, post-twirl

Winter woods walks can be completely gorgeous, and rewarding - there are little frozen pools everywhere you turn

A couple of random extras:

Finally, I offer two random additions. The first is self-explanatory:

Yearly family Christmas Tree shot!

The second however,  is something pretty neat, and deserves some explanation.  Last Friday, we watched a movie called Kubo and the Two Strings.  It was one of the most beautiful movies I've seen in some time.  Part of the magic, I would argue, came from the style in which it was filmed: stop motion animation.  After watching the movie, we youtubed a little "making-of" documentary, which we all thought was super cool.  Linden, however, was particularly inspired: he has been talking for a long time about making movies when he grows up (in particular, he plans to write and produce a series centred around his trademarked super hero, "Dino-man"), but it had never occurred to him that he could start practicing now.  So, he quickly got to work doing some set construction, and came up with a little story line.  Then, with Clark's help, he made his very first stop-motion vignette.  He has big plans for future endeavours (where he will, for instance, add some audio over top), but he was pretty pleased with his first try:

That's all for now.  See you next week!