Ho Ho Ho!

Peekaboo has definately passed the "terrified of Santa" phase! When he came to the Play School Christmas Party at the bowling alley, she was practically vibrating she was sooooo excited!!

She has asked Santa for a VERY specific gift this year. She saw music boxes with twirling ballerinas in the Sears Wishbook. She would like one, that has a heart on it, a ballerina that twirls around inside and...wait for it....plays the song "Baby Mine" from Dumbo! Do you believe it!?! The girls definately knows what she wants!!

She has recently made an addition to the list, dominoes?!?! I don't know-she is crazy!

She has also asked Santa to bring Ezra something, she doesn't know what. When I asked her she said "Santa can pick it." Seems like sound logic to me.

Earlier this week we were taking the dog for a walk after dinner. It was snowing nice, big, fluffy flakes (strange for here) Peekaboo started twirling down the centre of the road (traffic-free!) with her arms over her head, singing "Have a holly, jolly Christmas!" at the top of her lungs! It was frickin' halarious!!! There was a woman out walking the opposite direction, who commented on her enthusiasm for the snow, what an understatement!

Ezra has also met Santa, and was relatively cool about it...

...maybe it is because he looks remarkably similar to Poppa...?!

Urgh!!

So, I sat at the Craft Fair for 3 hours Saturday afternoon. I was selling fleece stuff and also some really cute hats that I crocheted. I didn't sell many of the hats, unfortunately. Sunday, we are out and about town, doing some errands....I had THREE different people comment on the kids' hats and ask me if I sell them...!!!! Where were they on Saturday?@?!

Time, Time, Time....!

I haven't posted in a while (as you can see!!) I have been busy with, well, life!!

This weekend I was at the annual craft sale, selling my wares. I did pretty good, made a profit anyway! Peekaboo is more than willing to wear any of the leftovers!

We have been fine. Ezra livened up the house for a few days while cutting his first tooth. It made it's appearance on Wednesday-thank goodness! He is doing fine, weighing 19 1/2 pounds at 6 months old, no worries about him!! Peekaboo is great. She is really enjoying Playschool, and comes home just full of new information. I am still looking after Charlotte 4 days a week and that is working out really well. She and Peekaboo play well (well, as well as can be expected of two 3 year-olds!) and they travel to and from Playschool on the bus together.

Our crappy town has cancelled our Santa Claus Parade!! Hay River sure can suck some times! How disappointing. It was supposed to be today, but.... We decided that we are going to decorate for Christmas today. I know that it is still November, and we have always waited until the first weekend of Dec to decorate, but this year we need the extra holiday boost that having festive decorations up will give us!

I am really looking forward to Christmas this year. Peekaboo is asking Santa for a music box that sings "Baby Mine" (nothing like being specific!) and a set of dominoes?!?! She is one strange child!! Ezra would be happy with a box full of paper, but Peekaboo is asking Santa to bring him a new toy too!!

Boo!

So, for those of you keeping track....I stay at home with my (almost) 3 year-old daughter, and my 5 month old son, and I babysit a friend's 3 year-old daughter. I make fleece dresses and jumpers that I am going to try and sell at the annual Christmas craft sale in November. I have been teaching local Hay Riverites how to make tiny knit hats for babies in Africa, and I started this blog :P
Now, I have volunteered to coordinate the Hay River Play School's annual Halloween Carnival! It is the weekend before Halloween, and is a major fund-raiser for the Play School. I have a great committee to work with and delegate to. I am working on getting donations and prizes for the kids, figuring out what equipment we have from last year that we can reuse, finding out if I have a budget and what it might be, and (most importantly) what Peekaboo, Ezra and I are going to dress up as!!

Quiet once again...

Well, the parental units have departed for parts south. It was super-fantastic having them visit, a very nice autumn surprise!





















With only 11 days until my sister arrives for 1 1/2 weeks, it is difficult to not feel the tug of family. We sure miss having those we love closer-which leads me to the discussion that Tim and I have at least once every two weeks...If we move from here, where should we go?
Those of you who know us also know that we have moved from Hay River twice before. We always seem to wind up back here somehow! We moved to Ontario for 3 weeks, the summer of 2004, after living her for only 10 months. We moved back and stayed until Peekaboo was almost 6 months old, moving to Comox BC in the spring of 2006. We stayed there until August, at which point we moved to Inuvik-I taught Grade 4 there for the year. July 1st saw us heading back to Hay River.
With a second child now in the picture, one more reason to be closer to family. My Dad and Liz are the only family that have actually met Ezra-the Ontario crew hasn't had the pleasure yet. Our children have celebrated holidays and special occasions without their extended family. It makes me sad. Aunt Deni will be here for Peekaboo's birthday this year, and she is super-excited! It is the first birthday she will have had with anyone besides Tim and I.
Peekaboo also is very creative, artistic and energetic. I think she would absolutely blossom in a dance or movement class of some kind. Again, not available in Hay River. She loves to spend time outside, as do I. Unfortunately, the two seasons here are 'bug season' and -40 season!
Every time I see my family, it brings all of this up again. I am fairly certain that if we move again, we won't be moving back! We will see.
In the mean time, Peekaboo is thoroughly enjoying Playschool. She finally got to take the bus, and didn't even look back as she barrelled down the driveway! She is preparing for her 3rd birthday party, complete with Strawberry Shortcake birthday cake, and Aunt Deni!
Our weather has turned around, with sun and a warm feeling in the air-after a week of rain and tremendous winds.
I am the Coordinator of the Hay River Playschool Halloween Carnival, and am enjoying having the excitement of having something a little different to do!
All in all, it is shaping up to be a pretty nice autumn!

Play School

Today is the big day! Peekaboo and Charlotte will be heading off to Play School on the little white bus this morning. I don't know how Peekaboo feels about the whole thing, but I couldn't sleep last night!

My Baby Girl

Unbelievably, my 'baby' girl has started Playschool. Children who turn 3 before the 31st of December can go to Hay River Play School. Last year, I was babysitting a little girl who went to Playschool-every Tuesday and Thursday morning the little white bus would come and pick her up at our house, then drop her off just before lunch. Peekaboo would practically quiver with excitement just seeing it-Well, next Tuesday she gets to ride it!!

This Tuesday was the orientation. Ezra and I accompanied her to Play School, she met her classmates, they played and sang. Today, we took her at 9am (getting out of the house and to Playschool by 9am? Tough!! Thank goodness for the bus that starts next week!) I went in with her, took off my shoes and showed her that I wasn't leaving until she was ready. I ended up there for about 20 minutes. A couple of times she looked up in a panic and said, "Don't leave Mommy" Finally, I told her that Ezra and I were going to leave for a little while. She looked at me and said, "You will come back and get me, right Mommy?" Needless to say, within the safety of my van a tear or two escaped.

When I went back to pick her up (5 minutes early) she was all smiles and artwork!! She had a tour of, and a short ride on, the bus to prepare for next week. She, obviously, had a great time and didn't miss me at all!! I am glad, really I am.

How quickly the tiny, needy, helpless, bald little people become 'big kids'. I cherish the memories of her as a newborn, the first time she sat up by herself, her first steps and first words. And now, her first day at Play School-without Mommy or Daddy by her side. Our job, as parents, is to prepare our children to be out in the world. Teach them independence and confidence...but does it have to happen so soon? She is ready, I guess I better be too!

Sew cute!

My Mom bought Peekaboo a little fleece dress covered with frogs. Peekaboo loves it and wears it all the time. It started to get a little short, so I looked at it and decided that it wouldn't be all that difficult to make-so I made her another one, a little bigger.

Since then I have made her 4 different fleece dresses, each with a cute pattern on it. The fleece that you can get down south is soooo cute! I picked up a couple of pieces when we were in Comox in May. Last week I went into Fields and bought a 'Fleece Throw' with a flower and swirly pattern on it, and it made a cute dress too! I couldn't buy a metre of fleece at Joey's (the craft store in town) for $7.50! I actually made a little one too, 6-12 month size...I promised Ezra that I wouldn't tell anyone that I tried it on him-for sizing! I didn't take any pictures!

Anyway, this weekend I decided that Ezra was missing out-the dresses just don't suit him, so I tried to make a pair of overalls for him. It took a little trial and error, but....

Peekaboo, of course, got a new dress too!

Fall Fair and Trade Show

This weekend was the annual Trade Show and Hay River Fall Fair. Peekaboo and I decided that we would enter some things into the Fair for judging. I entered the gloves that I made for Tim, a hat that I crocheted for Ezra and a jar of my fabulous peach jam. Peekaboo made a fantastic mural for the Fair Theme "Through the Garden Gate". The drop off time was Friday after lunch. Peekaboo and I had discussed the fact that we might win a ribbon for our entries-very exciting! When we dropped off our entries, Peekaboo wanted to know where her ribbon was!

Well, she did get one-she won 1st prize for her mural! It is titled "A Family Walk Through the Garden" It has Ezra, Mommy, Daddy and Peekaboo footprints walking through a garden that Peekaboo painted-nice!

I also got 1st place ribbons for my gloves and hat. My jam didn't win-I am sure it is because there doesn't seem to be any peach jam up here, they didn't know how to judge it! I think it is delicious!

When we entered our things, there was a draw for a prize-one each for adults entries and kids. I got a phone call today, at the end of the fair, Peekaboo won! A scarecrow, 2 free movies, a free swim, a package of popcorn and a computer bug!

Jam, the continuing saga....

So, after 24 hours the jam was still liquid....Not so great for my first attempt. So I went to a few websites and they all said that it could be saved. I got another box of Certo, popped the tops and started again. I also learned why the fruit was floating, I needed to skim something...?!?
My second try was a hit! I got a box of smaller jars, I skimmed the little bubbles off the surface while it cooked, I added extra pectin-lo and behold I MADE PEACH JAM!!! And it is darned good too!!! I was thinking of entering it in the Fall Fair next weekend, but that would mean that I would have to give up a jar...NO WAY!!

Peach jam

One of the things that I often get sent up to me is peach jam. The two local grocery stores do not carry any (and no, apricot is NOT the same!) So my Mom and Sisters have sent me a few jars, my good friend Frances has brought me some back from her occasional trip 'out'. The problem is, the only jars available in 'the world' are tiny and last Peekaboo and I about a week and a half (yes, she shares my addiction). So yesterday, when I noticed peaches at our local NorthMart, I thought "Hmmmmm, I could make my own peach jam....couldn't I?"

Today I bought a dozen peaches, some pectin and a large bag of sugar (which happened to be on sale-yippee!) and set to work. Tim had some 1 L mason jars left over from some strange project or other-so I was set.

Well, licking the spoon-the jam tastes great. I did something wrong, however, as my fruit is all floating. Now, I don't particularly mind that the fruit is on top and all the delicious jelly goodness is on the bottom-something to look forward too! But, I admit to periodically shaking the jars-trying to 'mix it up'!!

Fantastic photos...in my opinion!

Aren't these great!

New Camera!

Yahoo! Tim traded a gun for a new Canon EOS Digital SLR camera!! I think that I will get a lot more use out of the camera...It is awesome! I actually get the picture I am trying to take, not the picture 3 seconds later, it has 2 lenses, takes super-sharp photos...I love it!

To sleep, or not to sleep...?

Well, there are no pictures of the banana bread....I guess that speaks for itself!! Thanks for the recipe Kara!

We have surpassed the 3 month mark with Ezra. He is almost 15 pounds already-he's a big boy! We continue to have sleep issues...but it could be worse. We start our evening routine at 6:30pm with baths-both kids. Up until recently Ezra had his in his little tubby in the sink, Peekaboo in the big tub. This past week Ezra started having a bath with is big sister! When I take him out, I put more water in for her while I dress and feed him. At 7pm I read him a story and then try to put him to bed....ugh! He falls asleep long enough for me to get Peekaboo out of the bathtub, dressed, teeth brushed and stories. I put her to bed and close the door just in time to hear Ezra's first '"ech, ech...." I go in, replace soother, hold his tiny hand for a minute... This continues every 5-10 minutes for the next hour or so. By 8:30 pm, most nights, he is (finally) asleep for a few hours. He wakes at midnight to eat, and again around 5, then is up for the day by 8:00am....

Just shows how 2 kids can be sooooo different. When Peekaboo was his age, she went to bed much later (9-10 pm) but I fed her, put her in her bassinet and left the room. I wouldn't hear from her again until 2-3 am for a feed, and then she would just as easily go back to sleep after that until 7-8 am.

Now, I know there are parents out there who would kill for the apparent ease with which he goes to sleep, but I can't help but wonder....Should I can the soother? I am going in to replace it, maybe he needs to 'learn' to do without? On the other hand, parenting does not stop at 8 pm. These poor, little, helpless souls depend on us for comfort and soothing, reassurance and calming. The advocates of 'cry-it-out' must not be able to put themselves in the place of a tiny infant waking alone and sad in the dark and silence, just wanting the reassuring presence of the person they care about most in the world. And so, I will continue to run into the bedroom 45 times a night, replacing a soother, holding a hand, knowing that I can ease the mind and comfort the soul of this precious little guy.

Banana bread

We decided to do something with the bananas that are quickly ripening on our counter. I had remembered my friend, Kara-the self proclaimed Queen of Baking Banana Bread, had recently posted her recipe on her blog. We are trying it out. Check back for results, as it is currently in the oven!
(Nothing like baking on a day when it is 28 degrees out! What was I thinking?!?)

Contact from the South

Anyone who lives about the 60th knows what it is like to try and shop here. You become a pro at the online purchase of just about anything. We are lucky to have my Mom and 2 sisters in Ontario who periodically send us fantastic packages in the mail. We received one such package today-yahoo!

After battling to get Peekaboo using the toilet, successfully, it is frustrating to not be able to get her any 'big girl panties' in town:(

Ezra has outgrown every teeny, tiny pair of socks we had-thank goodness it has been 24 degrees, and he hasn't needed socks! I cannot get something as simple as Peach Jam for my breaky at either of the local grocery stores, ugh!

Previous packages had included awesome shoelaces....with no shoes, for Peekaboo. She was very confused by this, why one would come without the other. This package-new shoes!!

Our package was loaded with items we needed-thank you Gramma B and Aunties-and items we may not have needed, but things that certainly brightened our day!! I mean, who doesn't need a pink, Disney Princesses, storybook, fleece pillow?

Thanks!

3 Month-old growing pains

So, Ezra. He is adorable, smiley, kind of goofy....and driving me crazy between the hours of 7-9 pm. We were doing great for a while. My good friend, and Public Health Nurse, Frances suggested swaddling at the 4 week mark when he would cry for an hour at 9pm. Once he got a bit bigger, and wigglier, we stopped that. Then came the suggestion that he was going to bed too late, so we started his routine at 6:30 to have him in bed by 7:30. For weeks it worked. I gave him a bath, read him a story, nursed him and put him in his crib almost asleep. There was a night that I actually didn't hear from him for 7 hours!
Now, he cries. He cries and he cries and he cries. I put him in his crib sleepy, within 20 minutes he cries. I give him his soother, he cries, I swaddle him, he cries. He is now not going to sleep for the night until 9 or 9:30- even though he is in bed by 7:30. He cries, on and off, for almost 2 hours.
I really hope this is just a phase or a milestone or a something...

Summertime fun!

It has been absolutely lovely here for the last few weeks. Sunny, warm and the bugs have been blessedly absent....knock on wood. Yesterday and today, rain, rain and more rain. We do need it, but we don't want it!!

Last weekend the local SPCA put on a fundraiser, Dawg Day. It took place at a local business, The Woodshed. Peekaboo and I baked some dog cookies for them to sell, she was a great help (and the dogs don't mind so much if she licks her fingers while making their cookies!!)

We took NeWT to the Kid's Animal Parade, and we won "Happiest Dog"! Anyone who has met NeWT knows that this title is well earned! Peekaboo posed for a picture with the certificate that she won, and it appeared in this weeks paper.

This past week Peekaboo took part in a Scavenger Hunt at the park. She was given a piece of paper with pictures of the things she was to find, great idea for those non-readers!! It was lots of fun, and at the end she got a prize!

Northern Crafty

So, having lived in the North on and off for the last 5 years, I have learned lots of new things. The most awesome is my leatherwork (if I do say so myself!) I have learned to make a variety of articles using different materials indigenous to the area. I first learned how to make adult slippers of moose hide with beaver pelt trim, then learned how to make mini slippers for mini people! The leatherwork is not bad-the beading....takes a looonnngg time! Each bead is stitched down individually-crazy eh?!






I have had a lot of fun playing with different beading patterns (ie. the curling stone and broom for my sister, scotch thistle for my Mom!) I have made tiny, baby slippers for my kids, and big, man slippers for my man! I have made "canvas topped", and have experimented with different furs too! These canvas topped slippers have silver fox trim-fancy eh!?

I also learned how to make mitts (I made this pair for myself) and gloves (those are for Tim, and I am NEVER making another pair-turing the fingers the right-side out was almost impossible!)

Lately, I have been using deer hide. My Mom got me some tanned hides from a man she knows who hunts. He got the hides tanned, but then didn't know what to do with them. I am happily turning them into slippers and mitts, and will readily accept any other unwanted animal skins out there!! I know a woman in town who has a husband who traps, I traded her one of the hides for some fur and sinew-bartering is great!

I don't do a lot of beading over the summer, but during the winter darkness it keeps me occupied...and my family in cozy footwear!

The parade

Happy Canada Day!

Today was the Hay River Canada Day Parade! Yahoo! We managed to get everyone organized and downtown in time for it's 10:30am start. Peekaboo has developed a sensitivity to loud sounds like horns and kids banging their hands on a table repeatedly (this happens at play group and she gets very unhappy-who can blame her!?) At the Santa Claus Parade she cried because of the fire engine siren. Knowing that sirens make up a good portion of any decent sized parade, we needed to come up with a solution that would have her able to enjoy the parade without being bothered by the sirens. So, she wore Tim's ear protectors that he uses when shooting! She looked hilarious, but they worked!! The only problem was trying to get her attention....she couldn't hear me!

The local blackfly and nosee'um population also enjoyed today's fesitvities-ugh! The bugs were out is full force, unfortunately.

Aside from the noise, and the tiny, buzzing company, it was a lovely parade. Afterwards, there was a carnival (of sorts) with free hot dogs, and some games for the kiddies. There is also a river raft race. Only 2 rafts were entered this year, and one sank! We didn't hang around long, the bugs were too bothersome and nap time was quickly approaching...

Happy July 1st all!!

Boys & Girls

Peekaboo loves to help give Ez a bath. She stands on a chair and uses one of the baby wash cloths to clean his belly and head. The other day she was cleaning him and stopped. She was still for a moment then said, "Mommy, what's that?" I said, "That is Ezra's penis."... She looked at him again, then said, "Mommy, I don't have a penis." "No, honey" I said, "you don't because you are a girl. Ezra is different, he is a boy." I was thinking that I would have to have this conversation with my daughter at some point-I was not thinking it would be when she was 2 1/2 years old! She proceeded to tell me that I am a girl too, and don't have a penis. I readily agreed with her.

Luckily, after telling me that she needed to wash it too, that was the end of it (for now!)!!

Ahhhh!!! Potty training! Good thing she's cute!

This post is for all the parents out there (and potential parents)! We have been working on the whole "potty training" thing since we got back from having Ezra (for those of you who don't know, we cannot have babies here in Hay River-our hospital is not equipped, so we had Ezra in Comox BC while staying with my Dad and Step-Mom Liz) Peekaboo has been doing really well. I had to resort to bribery, 1 smartie for a pee, 2 for a poop...but, whatever! She is now wearing panties all day long, except when she is down for her nap.
Yesterday we went swimming in the morning and then I had an errand to run at the hardware store. I asked Peekaboo if she needed to use the washroom before we left the pool (my first mistake-asking! I should have said "Peekaboo, let's use the washroom before we leave") She, of course, said "No, thank you" (she is very polite!) We walked the block to the hardware store, Peekaboo looked around in the toy aisle while I went to grab some wasp killer. Suddenly, in the relative quiet of the store, I hear "Mommy!! I PEED!!!" I run toward the shrill scream, only to find my beautiful daughter sitting on one of those nylon, fold-up lawn chairs....in a puddle! It had to be an inch deep. The diaper bag, with wipes, dry pants, pull-ups, all the necessities, is in the van-a block away (my second mistake)
My child has peed. Everywhere. Everyone knows that my child has peed, thanks to her broadcast announcement... I walk calmly up to the checkout counter and ask for a roll of paper towels, then I go and try to mop up the lake in Aisle 5!

Greetings!

I have decided that chasing after my 2 1/2 year old, caring for my 6 week old, walking the dog, scrapbooking and trying to prepare decent meals doesn't keep me busy enough, so I have started a 'blog'!
Our family is made up of me-Tigger, my fiance and long-time partner Tim, our daughter Peekaboo, our son Ez, our black lab cross NeWT and our fish Daddy Spot. We live in a small town on the southen shore of Great Slave Lake in the Northwest Territories, Hay River. We moved here 5 years ago to experience the wonder of the great north for a year...and here we remain. We have moved around a bit, spending time in Comox BC and Inuvik NT.
The newest addition to our family, EZ, has certainly livened things up! Peekaboo is a fantastic big sister, making sure his toes are covered with his 'cozy blanket' and that he has a soother. He is a fairly laid back kid, except for 9pm-10pm every night! We are hoping that this too shall pass.
It is currently the longest day of the year, and that means no darkness here in the north. The sun sets, but the sky does not darken as the sun is only down for a couple of hours. Last year, in Inuvik, we experienced the sun not setting for 30 days or so-very strange! We will enjoy the light, as in December we will be missing it very much!