Policeman Joe

Cale is spending a week in Fredericton while Alan is away and I'm busy with meetings in Halifax all week. Today I'm completely alone, and while it was nice for a bit, I really just miss having my boys around. I miss having people to take care of and I miss having people to take care of me. I have however, had time to get some things done around the house and watch a lot of uninterrupted Olympics. And now I have time for a new blog post. This post is a memory of Caleb's childhood that I wanted to capture. A child's interests change so quickly that when one lasts awhile, you know it is pretty special.

Policeman Joe has been part of our lives for over 6 months. It started as a bedtime story that I made up one night, and it has continued every single night since August! Each night after we read a book, we also tell a story where Policeman Joe finds clues, solves mysteries, chases robbers, stops speeders  and occasionally has to throw a bad guy in jail (but only until he learns his lesson). Alan and I alternate nights putting Caleb to bed, so Alan quickly became part of this little tradition. Policeman Joe even has a theme song (It's Policeman Joe, don't you know, don't you know...). Lately we've written a few of these stories down and made little books where Caleb colours the pictures and helps lay out the story. I find this hilarious because I never quite know what is going to happen, but I try to pull it all together in the end. I wonder if he'll still ask for Policeman Joe stories when he returns from Fredericton....I hope so.

Policeman Joe and the Case of the Sunken Pirate Ship

The other interest of Caleb's that has proven to be very consistent over the past several weeks is drawing pirate ships. Each day when I pick him up from daycare his teacher hands me a large stack of pirate ship drawings. They are very detailed with flags, port holes, always a crows nest and often a cannon that shoots bananas (after the peels have been taken off, of course). I have no idea what to do with this ever growing collection of pirate ships, but for now they all go into a sizeable stack with the best ones making their way onto the fridge! 

One day's work. 

Fridge-worthy pirate ship, plus pirate with an eye patch. 

Turning 4

Mom with the birthday party boy!

I have to start this post by telling you about how I devastated my son on my birthday two weeks ago. Caleb was extremely excited for my big day. He went to bed talking about it and on the morning of the 17th he woke up with a big 'Happy Birthday' song and hug for me. Then he looked into my eyes filled with hope and anticipation and asked 'What are we going to do today to celebrate your birthday?'...It was a Friday and I clearly had not properly prepared him for what happens when you turn 35. You go to work and have a pretty regular day. I had to break the news to him - he was off to school and I was off to the office. He couldn't contain his disappointment. He burst into tears. He was expecting a super-fun-adventure day, it was my BIRTHDAY after all. He pulled himself together and came downstairs to face yet another blow.

'Where are the decorations?' he asked.  I just shook my head. Very quietly he said, 'It's like it's not even your birthday.' And that was how I broke my son's heart. We did have brownies and a special dinner, but I could tell the day just didn't come close to living up to the expectations he had built up in his head.

 So yesterday, on January 29th, the day my son turned 4, I took the day off work, kept him out of school, put up decorations and had a day full of nothing but fun and games. We made cupcakes, brought them to share with his friends at daycare where his teacher lead everyone in dancing games, zumba routines and limbo contests. The two of us then played in the snow, invited another friend over for a play date, ate grilled cheese sandwiches, opened gifts, made a pillow fort, sang songs and capped it all off with a sleepover with mom. It was just the way a birthday should be. I was even able to capture a video interview of my 4 year old (which is quite endearing, if I do say so myself and I'm sure you'll agree if you check out the video below).

We kicked off the birthday celebrations with a family party and pirate cake in Fredericton

Complete with costumes (and scary faces) thanks to Cale's cousins Aly and Ava 

We were so happy to take in another year of the Shivering Songs Festival. Cale and cousin Monica loved dancing to Alan's band.

Dance party at school 

Turning 35

Tomorrow I turn 35 and instead of making one resolution to start off the new year, I've decided to make a list of things that I want to learn/accomplish/prioritize over the next 5 years. When I turn 40 (over the hill, as they say) I hope to be able to look back at this list and check off every single item. I'll likely add to the list over time, but for now here are a few things I hope for my 40 year old self.

• Have a healthy, happy and active family
• Learn to make, and stick to, a real family budget
• Have savings for retirement and also for fun (family travel)
• Make and host a full Thanksgiving dinner. Pumpkin pie and all.
• Join the board of an NGO
• Volunteer in my community
• Join a naturalist club and improve my bird watching/naturalist skills
• Find a hobby that I truly enjoy
• Own a well-stocked professional woman wardrobe
• Go camping often with my family
• Learn how to do basic home maintenance
• Own and live in a house that we plan on staying in for at least 5 years
• Learn to bake my own bread and birthday cakes
• Stop biting my fingernails (I stopped in October and have yet to return to this life-long habit - keep it up!)
• Feel happy with my body and fitness level
• Coach a sports team that my kids play on
• Keep having the time of my life with my best friends
• Start making plans to spend at least 6 months in Africa with my family
• Be living the life that truly makes me happy

And I'll end off with my favorite Caleb quote of the new year - While sliding down the super steep and incredibly fun hills at Fort Royal, Caleb did one especially fast hill by himself. At the bottom, with his face covered in snow, he looks up at us and says 'Now that's what I call a party!!' Amazing.

Our holiday in photos

We were so happy to make it home safely for the holidays. We arrived at my parent's house on the 20th and Caleb immediately commented on how much he liked their 'invisible' Christmas tree, handmade by Greg.

Christmas morning was full of magic. Cale couldn't believe his eyes when he woke up and saw that Santa had come. He received many amazingly thoughtful gifts, like this fiddle from his Grampie Jeffries. 

Another of Cale's favourite gifts was a book that his cousins, Aly and Ava, had recorded themselves reading.

Alan and I also received some wonderful things - like matching Red Sox jerseys!! Much to the dismay of some of Alan's relatives- he is now a officially Boston fan for life! Sorry, Mary.

We tried to give some thoughtful gifts as well. We had a great time making dish sets for some relatives that featured Caleb's artwork. Adorable and dishwasher friendly!

I made sets of felted sea creatures for my three of my nieces. I included some Bay of Fundy shells put everything together in boxes that Cale helped me paint. I'm not sure what to do with my spare time now that these little guys are all finished!!

It's a Jeffries family explosion!! All of Alan's siblings were home for the holidays this year, and seeing all the cousins together was incredible. This was a pre-Christmas dinner shot, and if you can believe it, there were another 6 family members who ate with us (including my parents). What a way to end a memorable Christmas day.

Tis the season

And I was expecting only a little picture of santa on his cheek!!

We have been in full-on Christmas mode for the past few weeks. The advent calendar has been a huge success and without fail, it's the first thing Cale asks for each morning. We've been making cookies, wrapping gifts, decorating cards and I must say that I don't know if I've ever felt quite so full of Christmas spirit! I guess that is the gift of having a 3 year old to celebrate with. 

Our neighbours were quite impressed to receive these delicious gifts!

 The only trick is that my 3 year old is almost too logical to be fooled by this whole Santa thing. I don't remember this from my childhood, but it seems that Santa is *everywhere* this year - at the Home Hardware for photos, at the parade, at the local craft fair and we even ran into him at the post office after the craft fair! We saw him this morning for Breakfast with Santa and he'll be coming to Caleb's daycare later this week. Phew, that is a lot of Santa sightings and Cale has started to ask tough questions like - does Santa go to every school in the world? Yes. Even in Jamaica, Mexico and Africa? Yes. Does he go to every craft fair in the whole world? Yes. Shouldn't he be in the North Pole helping the elves make toys? Yes. It's like I'm being interrogated by the police and I feel like I might just crack soon! Surely I can keep him believing until he is at least 5 years old!!

Last night's activity - gingerbread (aka graham cracker) houses!

Finished product. It actually turned out better than I had imagined, but I won't be entering this in any contests!!

Breakfast with Santa this morning. He is still only asking for a measuring tape!

All I want for Christmas is....

A measuring tape!!

I wasn't the only one surprised to hear these words come out of Caleb's mouth during his meeting with Santa this year. The exciting encounter came during Annapolis Royal's Tree Lighting Parade, and once again this little town had me completely in awe of its community spirit. We left our house at 7 pm on Friday night to meet the Town Crier (and everyone else in town) at the Court House. With a ring of the bell, we all sang carols and marched together down the main street, ending up at Town Hall (~200 m away!). Greetings from the mayor, a count down to the tree lighting, more carols ensued, and then, who appeared - but Jolly Old St. Nick!

Town crier and town-crier-in-training!

Since we were in Jamaica last year, meeting Santa was another 'first' for Cale. He absolutely could not believe that he was right here, in our little town! He went right up, shook his hand, said hello and when asked what he wanted for Christmas this year - and without missing a beat he proudly replied 'a measuring tape!' Needless to say, some 'ho! ho! hos!' burst out of Santa! Everyone then marched to the outdoor market where we were greeted with free hot chocolate and cookies.

Next up in Annapolis, a giant Craft Fair housed at 4 different locations around town with free bus to transport you between the locations! Can't wait for Saturday!

Cale's daycare class decorated this tree! 

Activity Advent Calendar

A friend of mine on facebook posted this idea last week and I've been working away on my own activity advent calendar ever since. I had pictured creating something simple - paper notes clipped to a string with clothespins. However, I decided to act on the crafty urges that usually hit me around Christmas time, and before I knew it I had embarked on my most ambitious hand-stitched craft ever!

I really wanted to make a calendar that was focused more on giving than receiving, so here are the 25 things I came up with.

1. Write a letter to Santa (Send to: Santa Claus, North Pole, H0H 0H0, Canada and he'll write back! No postage required!)
2. Put up Christmas decorations
3. Write and mail Christmas cards to your friends and family
4. Make your own Christmas board game 
5. Open new Christmas pajamas
6. Make a gingerbread house
7. Decorate our Christmas tree
8. Bake Christmas cookies for your friends and neighbours
9. Deliver cookies
10. Make a Christmas gift for your grandparents
11. Make room for new toys! Pack up toys you don't play with anymore and donate them.
12. Watch a Christmas movie
13. Deliver mini candy canes to Senior's home
14. Invite friends over for apple cider and Christmas board game - Annapolis Royal
15. Breakfast with Santa - Clementsport Legion
16. Christmas shopping for your cousins
17. Make your own snow globes
18. Look for Christmas books at the library
19. Wrap presents
20. Home for the holidays! Make a Christmas craft on the ferry
21. Family Christmas carol sing-a-long
22. Go skating
23. Invite friends over for a Christmas party - Fredericton
24. Christmas Eve! Hang up your stocking and make cookies for Santa
25. Merry Christmas!

Board games

Had a wonderful visit with Freddy friends a few weeks ago!

I love that moment as a parent when you suddenly realize your 'baby' is capable of doing something you had no idea they could do. Like the first time Cale did a summersault in front of me, or when he burst out singing the entire alphabet when I was just getting ready to tell him about the first 3 letters! I definitely give credit to his daycares for secretly building his skills, but I think it is probably true that your first child can do a lot more than parents realize.


Our most recent discovery - board games!! Alan and I both love board games, but for some reason, I didn't think Cale would be able to partake for another year or so, until my aunt Colleen gave Caleb a great activity book recently that featured a Halloween version of 'Chutes and Ladders' called 'Broomsticks and Slime'. Cale wanted to try it, and sure enough, board games had suddenly become part of our family fun.

 I wanted to find other age appropriate games, so I purchased Candy Land for $9.00, and - voila! we had 2 games in our repertoire! We were telling my parents about this on skype, when my dad gave the best suggestion yet - why don't you guys make your own board game? This was an absolutely perfect activity for a wet Saturday at home and after an hour - Caleb's Pirate Island was born. He made the initial path lines, I filled in the squares and together we came up with the rules. As this was a pirate game, we included things like:

Caleb's Pirate Island

 You ran into a storm - Miss a turn
You forgot your map - Go back to get it (Caleb's idea)
You saw a whale - Roll again
You made a pirate friend - Roll again
You found a treasure - Take the shortcut (Caleb's idea)

It is actually quite fun..and it has been interesting to see a bit of a competitive side come out in Cale! But he is learning that the most important part is to have fun and last night he told me: "Mom, I won the game and you didn't win, but that's ok, you did a good job anyway."

I love Cale's pirate - complete with a hook and peg leg!

Trick or what??!!

When I first mentioned Halloween to Cale earlier this month, I was met with a completely blank stare. He had no idea what I was talking about. After being in Jamaica last fall where Halloween isn't celebrated, he had absolutely no memories of Halloween. I started explaining it to him, and as you imagine, for a 3 year old this was sounding better by the second. When I got to the part about going to people's doors to collect free candy, he was blown away!
I asked him: "Do you know what you say when you knock on the door?"
Cale: "No, what??"
Me: "Trick or treat!"
Cale: "Trick or what??!"
Me: "hahaha!"

My costume was borrowed from a friend. Cale looked me over and said I looked 'a little bit beautiful!'

And then I asked him what he wanted to be. He could dress up as anything. He was quite excited about the pumpkin carving, and he loooves boats and pirates, so it seemed to make perfect sense when he immediately replied - "I want to be a pirate pumpkin!". And that was that. One trip to Frenchy's and $3.00 later - we had ourselves a pirate pumpkin costume! His teacher was quite impressed, not once in her 28 years of running a daycare had she ever seen a pirate pumpkin.

A very fierce Pirate Pumpkin

The big day grew closer and, before we knew it, late October was here and we were heading to Truro to visit Aunt Sarah and meet Caleb's new baby cousin Jack. Sarah went above and beyond in planning a fantastic Halloween party, so Cale got to wear his costume, carve pumpkins, play games, eat candy....and Jack was pretty wonderful, too!

Hooray for new cousins!! Jack makes 8! (Thanks for the photo, Sarah!)

Tonight is actually Halloween and I think Cale is finally asleep upstairs. He had quite a day - trick or treating downtown with his daycare and out again for round 2 with me tonight. We visited a few houses, collected some treats, met some neighbours and then headed home for what turned out to be the best part of his day - handing out the treats. He was so excited - dishing out handfuls of candy - he even offered to give out his own candy after we ran out. What a special night and what a special guy!

Best game at Sarah's party - Mummy your mommy!

Fall Fun

Photo ops around every corner!

There is no better place to be on a sunny October day than driving through the Valley on route to a country farm. This was not just any farm, but Noggin's Family Farm, and after reading the website I had high hopes. Noggin's promises a giant corn maze, play area, wagon rides and U-pick apples, pumpkins and flowers. Wow. The farm happens to be exactly half way between Annapolis Royal and Halifax, so I invited a few friends and their kids to meet us there. Noggin's did not disappoint! The play area alone was worth the trip - giant hay bale and tire structures, water games, tunnel slides made from old pipes, and several different mini-mazes. The giant corn maze was actually enormous - apparently it can take well over an hour to get through it all. We opted for the mini-corn maze which was perfect for the kids. It even had mailboxes along the way with stamps inside they could  collect and fill up a special card they'd been given. 

 The U-pick was also a huge success. I loved the 'all you can eat while picking' policy and somehow, despite the place being packed for weeks on end, there were tons of perfect apples to be picked that were just the right height for the kids! I already can't wait for next year...although I just might end up going back next weekend!

Duck races!

Truly cornmazing!

What's inside the mail box??

Time for a quick breather

Success!

Valley life

Trucking our way to the playground.

After the last post about my spell of bad luck, it's time to write about something positive - my love of the Annapolis Valley. It seems like we are constantly discovering new gems - local peaches and pears (grown only minutes away from our door), little roadside stands where you drop money into a jar and pick up a dozen eggs, a jar of honey or a bouquet of flowers, and wonderful trails and parks. Our current favourite park is Mickey Hill Provincial Park, a small but beautiful area with private picnic tables beside a perfect stream, a 1 km trail to a gorgeous lake with a sandy beach - the perfect hike for a 3 year old.

And we are just getting started, there is so much more to discover - corn mazes, u-picks, Keji national park, the King's Theatre, restaurants, shops, galleries...it will make for a fall full of amily adventures!

Mickey Hill - our private sandy beach. Can't wait to swim here in the summer.

Dogsitting our pal Kye 

Hooray for fall!

A Series of Unfortunate Events

I haven't written a post for a while, but I do have not one, but several good reasons why. They say bad things come in threes. Well, my 'third' just happened, so I think I am now in the clear.
First off, I lost my wallet. This happens to people from time to time, but it had never happened to me and it sucks! It was my own fault, I was rushing to do a long list of errands in Halifax and I left my wallet on the roof of my car after filling up with gas. After searching along roadside ditches to no avail, I gave up and started the long process of bringing my life back together in id form.

Then another unfortunate incident happened - driving to visit Teresa in the deep wilderness of NB last weekeend- I hit a deer. It could have been worse. The deer could have come flying in through my windshield or it could have been a moose. Thankfully, Caleb didn't see a thing because it was not a pleasant thing to witness and the damage to my car wasn't too bad (I managed to drive it back to NS). So, now I'm dealing with appraisals, insurance claims and trying to sort that aspect of my life out.

Then this weekend came the real kicker. Alan had just returned home from 2.5 weeks on tour and we both happened to be in Halifax for a night without Caleb. We came home after a nice evening out to 5 missed calls from our brand new tenant in our Bayside home. He hasn't even moved in yet, so we were a bit concerned that he was calling 5 times to report something to us...did we have a crazy-high maintenance tenant on our hands who was going to make unreasonable demands before he had even moved in? Well, it turns out that was not the case - I spoke to him first thing in the morning, and I could never had imagined in my entire life what I was about to hear. In our basement, another tenant had moved in - actually several tenants - a whole friggin nest of newly hatched snakes, complete with a 2-3ft mama snake - yes, you read that correctly - in our BASEMENT!!!  Holy smokes. That is definitely worth 5 missed calls.  So it appears that a pregnant snake found a way inside and thought our basement would be a nice warm place to lay her eggs and perhaps spend the winter. I personally would have died if I had been the one to discover this. DIED. Our tenant was actually ok with this, surprised, not overly excited about the situation, but he was calm and cool  (and not crazy!) and we now have someone coming to solve the problem (and I will not be going to inspect the situation, thank you very much).

So there it is. My big 3. I've been trying to figure out what the upside to all of this  is - surely there is something to reflect on, or some lesson to be learned. All I can think of is that we need to take time to enjoy the times of calm in our lives. It is only when things become difficult and challenging that we really appreciate how wonderful it is when the little things in life run smoothly. Before all of this I certainly wasn't thinking how great it was to have a car that worked, a wallet full of id and no wild animals running loose in the house I was about to rent! And in a month from now, when everything in my life is back in order and all of this is (almost) forgotten, I may forget to take a minute to just breathe and appreciate it. I certainly hope I remember to do so (and quickly forget the image of snakes hatching in my basement).

And now a quick note from Caleb, who is sitting patiently beside me waiting to write something. Here it goes - xxoooooooxoxoxooxoxxooooc

Mom, we can only go up from here!