Ice and basketball

I haven't posted in a few days.

The last few days have been rough, to say the least. Our realtor called with the news. At our NS house, we ran out of oil. No heat, and the temperature outside was the coldest it's been all winter. Frozen pipes, frozen pump, frozen everything.

We are also very low on funds. Thanks to family and friends, we're going to get this fixed and keep ourselves fed.

Red Fox went over to the NS house to investigate the damage. My step-father also went to help, and to monitor the electric heaters. The plumber went in yesterday, and is going back in today to try to get things up and running again. I really hope there isn't much damage, but my step-father reports that there is nothing leaking yet.

My dad is going today and will be spending the night. We're heading over tomorrow after work.

There have been a few bright spots throughout this mess though.

The day Red Fox went to NS, Little Fox and I stayed here and had a mommy-son day. We played lego, watched Gnomeo and Juliet and played his video game. We read most of the books we got from the library and coloured a picture to mail to Little Fox's friend in NS.

Also, yesterday was our niece's 13 birthday, and she had a basketball game not far from our house. So we went to watch. Her team lost, but they did a great job holding their own against a team that is bigger and more experienced than they are. They were even in the lead for a bit, and it wasn't until the last few minutes that the other team got any kind of real lead. Anyway, Little Fox had some fun playing basketball with J, and playing angry birds with S. It was a really nice outing for us, actually.. a nice way to get our minds off of frozen pipes and to actually cheer for something!

Tomorrow Red Fox has 2 job interviews. Fingers crossed for those.

After that, we're heading to the NS house to deal with that, and to do some painting to get that sucker sold.

Tour

I heard through the grapevine that Grampy Kim and a few others are reading my blog. (Yay!). I know most people haven't seen our "new" house, so I thought I'd do a video tour.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udb0OUiTLnE&feature=youtu.be

Everything is a bit of a mess, for a few reasons.
1. Most of the stuff in the house isn't ours, and we're only using it til we got our own stuff moved from NS. Most of it is old, crappy, or ugly and will be removed asap.
2. We have too much stuff and not enough places to put it all.Our shelves and such are still in NS.
3. I'm lazy.
4. Our washer is frozen, so the laundry is piling up.

The house has great potential. I can't wait to get it back to it's original beauty.

Books

I finally thought of something to do with Little Fox that is close to home and free. The Library! He loves to be read to, and is really coming along with sounding out words himself.

We went to the K-Town library  and got some library cards. Little Fox has his very own card, and we brought his little wallet to put it in. After that, we headed over to the kids' section, and Little Fox immediately sat at the computer.

They had all these great games for kids to play that help with reading. He sat there for about 80% of the time we were there. I browsed the kids books, and chose a few that were "level 1" books that I knew would have words that he could read. I also got a few "educational" books for him. He's been asking about planets/space, and about bones lately, so I got a space book and a book about the body... skeleton, muscles, blood circulation, etc. We also got "Gnomeo and Juliet" so we can have a movie night tomorrow.

While I looked for a few books for me Little Fox "read" a book of his own.

The library had a pretty good kids section, but not a great selection for me. But I have trouble choosing books by the cover and on a whim. I like going in with a list of books on my "to read" list and hoping a few will be there. I picked 2, and then found a third that was on a display at the front.

In other news... the laundry is piling up, and there are a whole lot of frozen pipes in our lives right now.

Quotes

Just a few things that Little Fox has said or done lately that I want to remember

"You're the best, Mom. I can always count on you!"

Today, we played cars, and we were moving his cars through his car wash. I was poking the cars through the door and Little Fox said "You're a great poker, mommy!"

"Mommy, why do I have big ears?"
"You mean, why do they stick off? Everyone's ears stick off"
"Yeah, but, when  I look in the mirror, they are kinda scary."

"You had better see that, Mommy!"

"You're doing pretty much good, Mommy"

While eating supper, Little Fox made a loud noise which made Molly bark and run to the door. Little Fox started laughing, and while shaking his head he said "Stupid Dog".

We went to a gym meet today, and I was discussing the beam routines with one of the coaches. On the way home, Red Fox asked Little Fox if he liked it, and Little Fox said "Yeah. There was a lot of bum shaking".

At supper tonight, Little Fox said "You're the rules, mom!"

When playing cars or the racing video games, when his cars get smashed he said "My car is JAMMED!"

Someone taught him the high five, down low, too slow thing. It cracks him up when you're too slow!

Laugh, or I'll cry

Yesterday after work, I poured myself a glass of wine and put in a load of laundry. I had just settled in front of the fire with my word find book, when I heard splashing. I jumped up, and there was a geyser coming out of the drain pipe behind the washer. I hit cancel on the washer, and it stopped, but by that time, the water was flooding the hallway. I yelled for Red Fox, and he came out and helped me clean it up.

While Red Fox was mopping, I supplemented my glass of wine with some tylenol...

And then... I heard splashing again. This time, accompanied by some pretty words from Red Fox. He had just finished mopping up the water, and was trying to turn the washer off... only, he turned it back ON, and the hallway was flooded again.

We both should have known that the pipes would have been frozen. After all, it's a million below zero out there... so now, I have a washer full of sopping wet soapy clothes. But at least the hallway floor is clean....

"Wordless" Wednesday

My "Wordless Wednesday" isn't going to be completely wordless. 

Me, at my desk, with no heat. Hat, sweater, hoodie, sweat pants, slippers, and a snuggie. Laugh all you want, but I love that thing.  

Little Fox helping me with the laundry. 

Me in my sewing room... measuring the hem of the last of the 13 pairs of pants I hemmed that day. 

Little Fox playing in the tub. 

 This is Little Fox's window fog masterpiece. I love it. :)

After work today, Little Fox and I coloured and did some math in his workbook. 

Long Night

That was one long night. Little Fox and I slept upstairs, bundled under many many blankets. Molly Dog must have been cold too, because while she usually sleeps on the bed with me, she rarely gets as close as she was last night! Red Fox "slept" downstairs and kept the fire going. He didn't sleep much... I heard him get up about every hour or so to put more wood in the fire. We are both sleepy today. *gulps coffee*

It's about 14 degrees upstairs, which is warmer than I thought it would be this morning. We closed off the dining room and sun room last night, and it's 11 degrees out there. Red Fox will call the oil guys and make sure we get oil delivered today!

One thing I've been meaning to post on here is that Little Fox has learned to snap his fingers this past month. He practiced a lot, and now he snaps a lot. He's really good at it, and will snap and clap a little beat now and then, especially when he "dances".

Chilly Day

I went for a short run today. Shorter than I planned  (about 3k?)... it's REALLY windy out there! Best invention ever for cold-weather runners? Fleece running pants. Actually, the only part of me that was cold was my face.

I've been playing Toy Story 3 on the xbox with Little Fox. We finally beat a mission that we've been working on. We really need to get Red Fox to figure out how to sign in so that we can save our games. It's getting boring starting form scratch each time!

This morning we went into Summerside and when we got back.... no oil. Again. But we weren't surprised, and one of the reasons we went into Summerside in the first place was to pay for more. It should be delivered today or tomorrow. In the meantime, the sun room is warm, thanks to the sunshiny day, the fire is roaring, and if we have to sleep "on the hearth" than that's ok... we've done it here before! The first time we ever slept here, actually... it was FREEZING. We'll have left over chili for supper and that will warm our tummies. Well, mine and Red Fox's... i think it's too "spicy" for Little Fox.

Loooong weekend

It's been a long weekend... and it's still not over. These "enforced" 4-day weekends are bittersweet. One more day to go.

Anyway. We've spent the weekend here at Foxfield. Little Fox filled his days with lego, dinky cars, movies, playing outside, and xbox racing games. And talking. He hasn't stopped talking. He just went to pee, and talked the whole time.

We made a fire yesterday. It was heaven. It's the first time I've been warm in this house all winter! Molly-Dog and I have a new favorite spot.

We spent a lot of time yesterday explaining to Little Fox that the stove was very hot and that it would burn him. I even went so far as to tell him that if he touched it, he could get a burn that would leave a scar for ever. Then, just before supper time, Red Fox and I were chatting... Red Fox and Little Fox were both standing by the doorway to the dining room. Little Fox took two VERY purposeful steps, and slapped his hand right on top of the wood stove. It was one of those moments when I'm all too aware of how slowly the brain works sometimes... and how slow reaction times can be. He looked over at me, wide-eyed, snatched his hand back and cried.

He's ok, by the way  He cried and cried, and held on to an ice pack for a good hour or 2. I sat him down, put on the Chipmunks to distract him, and he was ok. Just one little blister. I'm amazed and relieved.

Today's excitement consisted of hemming/altering 13 pairs of pants and laundry. Red Fox did an amazing job cleaning the kitchen, and Little Fox has done a good job of playing without asking for the xbox. I've finally caught up with the laundry. That might be a  lie. I finally caught up with WASHING the clothes. They are still not folded or put away.

Just a short one

Fridays seem to go by very slowly when I feel like I should be working. I'm torn between wishing I was working so I could be making money, and appreciating the free time. Makes the day a bit hard to enjoy. I haven't posted in a few days. Haven't been feeling very social...

Last night we had Red Fox's dad over for diner. Nothing special... just that we got a roast and it is too much for just the 3 of us.

Little Fox has been spending him time playing Toy Story 3, and building a "house" with his lego.

Also... when did he start looking so old?!

Count down is on

I registered for the 10k race in Halifax on April 20th. It's called Run Without Borders.

Proceeds from this race will benefit Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) / Doctors Without Borders Canada:

• Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) / Doctors Without Borders is an international humanitarian aid organization that provides emergency health and medical assistance to populations in danger in more than 70 countries. Today, they are the world's leading independent international medical relief organization. They provide rapid aid in a wide array of catastrophes, including armed conflicts, natural disasters such as floods and earthquakes, epidemics of disease, and famines.

My amazing cousin works for MSF in Africa, providing women's heath services. She's basically living my dream, and I'm so proud/jealous of her.

I'm now counting down to that date, and working on a training schedule. Fingers crossed.

Also, if you'd like to make a donation to MSF by way of sponsoring me for the run, please click here to make a secure online donation. (I am aware that the page says something about the donation period has ended for this event... I'm going to email them about that. Maybe it just hasn't started yet...?)

60% work... 100% fun

I've been cut back to 60% of my work hours. Unfortunately... hopefully it's a short-term situation.

I decided that today would be one of the days that I DON'T work. Red Fox had to go into Ch'town, so Little Fox and I hitched a ride to go to That Fun Place. It's an indoor playground type place, and it was really fun! They had plasma cars, a trampoline, slides, a swing, all on a big climbing structure. Admission 4 dollars, for unlimited play. Amazing deal!

Little Fox loved it. So did I, I'll admit. I was kind of "that crazy mother" when it came to the trampoline, and I wouldn't let Little Fox on it if another kid came on too. No good can come of more than one kid on a trampoline!

So while my day started out kinda crappy, it ended up being really fun!

 Trying out a forward roll on the beam. 

He was showing off his "ninja moves"

Dog tired

Ran down the River Road this afternoon, and took Molly-dog with me. This was our first real attempt at running together, and she did pretty good... only tripped me once, and that was because she saw another dog and she was cowering behind me. There's a reason we call her Molly-Cat... she's a real scaredy-cat.

She's konked out on the floor now.

The run was great. The weather was perfect!

Walking into Doors

This morning, I was thinking about all the ways life has changed since moving to PEI. Other than the obvious, I mean.

1. The smell of coffee in the morning. We never made coffee at home when we lived in NS. Only when my mom came to visit. But now, we made coffee every morning. I love the smell of coffee. However, making coffee BEFORE having coffee is sometimes hard. The other day, the pot was half "brewed" before I realized that I forgot to put the coffee in the filter.

2. Laying in bed in the morning. I get to be lazy in the mornings here. In NS, Red Fox always snored away until I not-so-subtly woke him up. But here in PEI, Red Fox always seems to wake up first, which means Little Fox chatters HIS ear off, allowing me to laze in bed for a bit.

3. Sleeping with Molly-dog. In NS, our bed has a hand-made quilt on it. Made by Red Fox's grandmother. I don't allow Molly to come up on the bed because I don't want her to damage the quilt. I've already had to re-sew some of it, AND had to do a panic-wash... Little Fox got a little enthusiastic when I let him use his milk cup to "cheers!" my red wine. Here in PEI, we're still using the comforters that were here when we got here, so I don't care what Molly does to them.

4. Hearing the ocean. There is a constant background roar of waves. It's not the kind of "shush.... shush.... shush...." sound we get in NS, like at Rissers.

5. Stuff. We have so much STUFF. Five couches... 3 dining tables. So many sets of dishes that some are in boxes packed away. And all this doesn't include the couches, tables and dishes and other stuff that's all still at the hosue in NS. This house is big, but not THAT big. Also, this doesn't include the stuff in the 4 cottages.

6. Walking into doors. Yep. I've developed a habit of walking in the door. Twice this week, I've opened the door to let Molly out... the door hit my foot and I smashed my face into the edge of the door. If I didn't have glasses, I would have had a black eye for sure.

7. A pseudo-social life. In NS, we're at least an hour away from family and friends. In PEI, we have lots of people we can visit, and people who visit us.

8. Playing outside. In NS, we had a large yard, but it was just rocks. Ugly. Here, we have a big beautiful yard. Little Fox plays outside a lot more now. Red Fox and I spend more time outside too.

This is just what I came up with this morning. I'm sure the list can go on and on.

Oh, and just to add a bit to the "negative" points... there's no dishwasher here.

White Noise

Just got back from a good run on Cape Road. A little windy and chilly, but you can't beat the scenery!

Another productive but boring day "at work". Spent the day mapping side scan data, which is like trying to pick out patterns in the static on an off-line TV channel. This is basically what I stared at all day...

 

Stimulating, right?

 

Not only that, but I just so happened to choose one of the coldest rooms in the house as my office. I'm like an old lady up there... wearing my slippers and wrapped in a blanket. Not only that, but my back has been hurting lately, and I had a pillow behind me to be comfortable. Yep... and at some point this afternoon, I hobbled downstairs for an afternoon cup of tea. *sigh*  I'm only 30, I swear.

 

One of the best things about working from home is my "co-workers". (Although, in reality, I DO really miss some of my co-workers!)

 

 

Sweet Molly-dog comes in and visits now and then, and Little Fox spent a little bit of time in there with me today, which added a bit of background "white noise" to perfectly match the visual white noise I was working on today!



First day on the job

Today was my first day of working at home. It was really great, actually. No one bothering me, it was nice and quiet and I got a lot done. I love my new office!

Red Fox and Little Fox played video games in the morning and then went into town after lunch. Little Fox got his hair cut, and looks super cute! It makes him look older, and makes his ears stick out. :) Little Fox has been playing video games a lot the last few days. He got Toy Story 3 and Lego Starwars for Christmas. For the most part, either Red Fox or I play with him or help him, and he's getting pretty good at it.

Red Fox went to get the paperwork straighted out for the cottage company, which is a big step forward!

The most exciting part of the day was that my oldest friend had her baby this morning! A little girl. I can't wait to meet her!

After I finished working, I started supper... and since my hands were so cold, I did the dishes only so I could soak them in hot water. :)

Supper time!

Fox Hunting

 Little Fox and I went outside to play in the snow. We went sliding down the little hill by Cottage 3, and threw Molly's ball for her. We were about to come inside when we spotted some fox prints in the snow. We followed them, but lost track under some big trees. Little Fox pretended he was stalking the fox across the field behind us.... so off we went... all the way across the field to the cliff by the shoreline. It was windy, but beautiful! I wish I had my camera with me... the sky was a dark blue-ish grey, and the ice out in the water was bright white.

When we got back home, we had some hot chocolate (or in Little Fox's case, some luke-warm chocolate milk). Little Fox noticed a bug on the floor, and it was bee! A huge one. Alive. I hit it with my boot, and then we investigated. We looked at his big eyes, his 6 legs, his head/thorax/abdomen, and looked for a stinger but didn't see one.

Now he's happily playing with his crane, bringing me "special deliveries".

It's official

OK. It's official. We're (all) now full-time Foxfield residents. We brought a truckload of stuff over last night, and we'll spend today unpacking and getting groceries.

Red Fox completely cleaned up the sunroom, and Little Fox is running around like a chicken with his head cut off. Serves daddy right for buying him sugar cereal! I've been setting up my office... moved in my computer and a little bookshelf. Almost finished!

We'll have to get the white painted in the sewing room part before we get that set up... I'm getting impatient!

Happy New Year!

Happy new year!

I finished the Resolution Run in about 35 minutes. Longer than I had hoped, but 2 of the roads we ran on weren't even plowed! I was the last one to start...

but I finished somewhere in the first half. All runners got one of those blue jackets. Super nice! but I broke the pocket zipper on mine already.

The first 2 kms were AWESOME. I felt great and found myself smiling. Once we hit the unplowed roads, it was like running on dry sand and my legs started getting tired. I walked a bit, and had to really push myself through the last km. I need to learn to stop when my body says to stop, not when my brain says to stop. My brain is lazy.

After the race, we headed over to Red Fox's sister's to bring in the New year with her and her family. I think AP's is Little Fox's most favorite place to be, they sure do love him, and there's lots of fun things to do. Little Fox stayed up til midnight, and he and Sh sprayed silly string and popped confetti balloons. We all had a great time, even Molly! She's wiped, and has slept pretty much all day.

We're now back in NS for a few days. The drive over was snowy and sleepy, but we made it safe and sound.