Disappointment

We were expecting visitors today but true to northern travel, they are stuck in Iqaluit for the night. Jen and Phil, we hope you are enjoying your time exploring Nunavut's largest community and look forward to seeing you tomorrow. Hopefully.

Confirmed: Deuce not Deuce-ette.

I had my mid-way ultrasound yesterday and the verdict is.... BOY! I guess, at least in my case, the Intelligender test was right. I of course was given the old, 'Ultrasounds are not always 100% correct' speech from the tech but she checked 2 different times and she saw penis both times. Since as I've said before that Steeves don't don't know how to make girls, I'm 100% sure even with the disclaimer.

With this news comes many mixed feelings. Of course everyone is just hoping for a healthy baby no matter what kind it is. However, the grandmothers are sad cause they were both hoping for a girl this time. Deuce will be the fifth grandson between them so a little pink to break up the sea of blue was high on the wish list. Soon after O was born Nick announced that he hoped the next go round would be a girl because he was enjoying his boy so much he wanted to see what a girl would be like. And for me, I'm sad/happy. Before I started thinking about having kids I always said I wanted two boys, I thought that would suit me best. Once I had a boy, I too started wishing for a girl to experience the other side of things.

Now that I know it's a boy, I keep thinking of the things I'm going to miss out on not having a girl. I'm obsessed with that show 'Say Yes to the Dress' and I think about how I'm not going to have that moment with my daughter. I'm never going to plan a wedding with her. Can you tell I love weddings? I'm most likely not going to be the 'go to' person cause it seems young couples tend to gravitate to the wife's family. You know that saying... A son is yours till he takes a wife but a daughter is yours for life. Who will I pass of my love of sewing and crafts to, most boys aren't into cross stitch. Spa days, mother daughter weekends.... And oh god... I'm way outnumbered on the 'do we have to watch the baseball game again tonight?' fight.

When I stop mourning those losses I remember there was one big reason that I was hoping for a boy. I know boys can have close relationships with their sisters too but I think of the great bond I have with my sister and can't think of anything more special than giving Oliver a brother. And the thought of watching Nick rough housing with 2 boys like he does with O now brings tears to my eyes. On the practical side, I think the teenage years are going to be easier with boys, less hormones to deal with. And another old saying.... I'll only have 2 dicks to worry about rather than hundreds. (Don't know how old that saying is but it makes a point) I also figure I can make a conscious effort to be the cool mother in law so I can maybe be included in the wedding prep. 

So the verdict is.. IT'S A BOY, and we're all thrilled. 21 weeks till we meet you little Deuce. Now to come up with something better to call you than Deuce. Any suggestions?

Dog Free Space

When we first got Tank we bought a few dog training books to help us get through the puppy stage. One of my favorite bits of advice was when it said the best way to break a dog's bad habit is to move. New house means new routines so it a great time to implement change. I always remembered that so when we knew the move to Pang was coming, I gave fair warning that my nights of playing blanket wars and being woken by snoring that isn't my husbands will be ending soon. For those of you who don't know.... Tank, slept in our bed for the first 2 years of his life. I blogged about the hassles of having that forced on me in one of my very first posts..... "but he's so cute sleeping here".... "but look, he's soo cozy'' Yeah Nick, cute and cozy at 15 lbs. Not so much at 70!

It's been over a month that we've been dog free in bed and I can't explain how happy we both are about it. And the book was right, it was a very easy transition. In the past, any time we tried to change this behaviour he cried at the side of the bed till you let him up. We were weak and gave in every time. This time, we showed him his bed, got in ours and that was about it. He did wander around most of the first night, and 'asked' to come up a couple times but by the next he was sleeping soundly on his own bed. He's been content there ever since.

Knowing that nobody was going to drool on it or chew it, I treated myself to some new bedding. I love it and the kitties like it alot too. So ok... the bed isn't completely a pet free zone. But at least the girls accommodate you and not the other way around. They are much better bedmates than their brother was.

Christmas Shopping

It's the time of year again when I bust out the shopping lists and start deciding what we need on sealift. Otherwise known as Christmas in July. As much as I love lists, trying to decide how much spaghetti sauce and pizza mixes you're going to need in a year is not the easiest thing. I try and go by the numbers I used the year before but that's not a foolproof plan either because 2 years ago we went through all the taco kits and then some and this year, we have lots left over. Then there is the toilet paper we bought the first year that will long outlive our time in the north. And I don't get me started on corn.

Since some of you out there are probably starting to think about your order I wanted to make a recommendation. Check out Ishop4u.ca. We've used them since we got up here and can't say enough about their service. Just send them an email and they'll send you a shopping list for Costco and for Loblaws to shop from. Anything you want that's not on those lists, they will go get it for you. Toys R Us, Ikea, Walmart, The Brick.... I could go on but this list is long.

The other great things about shopping with them:
-Why pay for 12 of something when you only need 2? You don't need to buy in case lots.
-Picky about brand? You can choose brands you like, not just whatever brands are available on the list.
-They pack stuff really well so smells don't transfer and leakage doesn't happen.
-No hassle. They take care of booking the crating and the confirming boat, all you have to do is pay.
-Gerri and Bruce are amazing people do deal with.

Anyway, if you are less than happy with your current sealift situation, check them out. You won't be disappointed.

Just relaxing

While unpacking our things I put the parts for the baby swing in the new baby's room. Oliver has adopted the chair part as his own place to lounge and watch his favorite show. He's obviously way too big for it but technically the swing is good for babies up to 22lbs. Since my scrawny son is only 21lbs, I guess he's good.  

A great day to be outside

It's been a beautiful weekend here and we got the kids out to enjoy it. Oliver really liked the playgound at the elementary school and Tank loved getting to run free out by the reservoir. I think spring has sprung in the north.... yes people, I am knocking on wood as we speak.

Google Earth

Darcy from Northland Adventures did a post yesterday with photos from Google Earth. I thought it was really neat so I downloaded it myself and decided to check out my own neck of the woods. They say immitation is the sincerest form of flattery so I hope Darcy will take it that way when he sees that I've basically stole his post idea for myself.

This is the overall view of Pang. It's much more compact than Cape Dorset was. Even the runway goes right though town.

A closer view of our neighborhood.

And this is where I am in reference to you.

I've never checked it out before but Google Earth is pretty cool!

Sibling Rivalry

I was going through my picture file tonight and came across some old video of when Tank was little. I'd been looking for this one in particular for a while and am glad I finally found it. I've mentioned before that my cats aren't too happy with their 'little brother' but this shows visually how their relationship really is. Zazu beating up on Tank, and Tank's tail just a-waving. "All I wanna do is play? Why won't you play with me??"

Note: Zazu doesn't have claws so no animals were harmed in the filming of this video.

Enjoy!

Please indulge my complaining

I know I'm going to get a big 'I told you so' from my mother on this one but hey, sometimes (more than I'd care to admit actually) your mom is right! I'm starting to see the wisdom of raising you kids close to your family. There, I said it... MOM!


The reason this comes up is because I'm dying for a day (or two) off. It's been since early December since I've had more than two or three hours away from motherhood and that was to go to work so it wasn't really a break. And in the last months and a half or so we've had our issues with Oliver and his changing schedules, sleeping issues and him just being 1 and getting into everything. It's exhausting! I've called my mother many times to complain and ask for advice and I've got a few comments along the line of, 'Well if you were closer I could watch him for a while and give you a break'. How I wish I could take her up on that. A date night with my husband, a weekend where we could both sleep in, a day without whining...insert whistful sigh. I know, that's what I signed up for when we decided to have babies. I get that, I accept that but I'm still a person and sometimes you just need some time to yourself. And just to add to my complaining, living up here means that even if we found someone to watch Oliver here, where would we go?  

Unfortunately, even though we will be heading back down south in a few years,  I doubt we will ever live within babysitting distance of our parents. I do hope that I can do what my parents did with me growing up. I was shipped off to spend the summers in Ontario with my grandparents and I loved every second of it. Some of my best memories are of that time so I hope to give Oliver that same experience.

In the meantime, I have three months and a week till I head back south to wait for the baby to come. Then there will be family galore to give me the time I'm longing for. Too bad I'll have to wait till September for that date night since Nick won't be coming down till then but I can wait. Let the countdown begin.

Bath Night

I'm sure you've heard those stories of how back in the 'old days' Saturday night was bath night. Everyone in the family had their turn and they all used the same water. Even though we're not trying to ration water we decided to have our own version of Saturday night bath night and put Oliver and Tank in together. Oliver loved it! And even though it doesn't show Tank did too, he really likes to be bathed.

The post that was supposed to be...

Tonight was supposed to be the night when we all got to have a good laugh over our bad photos from the past. I have to say you've all disappointed me by not playing my little game. The only person who wanted to participate was Megan who sent me a good one but since it's the only one I'm not going to post it. It's not fair to have everyone laughing at her all by herself. Thanks for playing though Megan, I appreciate it.

So my contest goes down in flames. I guess they can't all be winners huh?

Tolerance

When we decided to get a dog I did lots of research to make sure bulldogs were good with children. All the books said they were a great kid friendly breed but I never thought that any dog could be this passive.

I have 10 more pictures like these and Tank never, ever wakes up. He's a good big brother.

Happy Easter

Ok, so I'm a little late with the Easter wishes... It's been a busy weekend around here. Nick was off so we've been moving things out of the house and trying to get it to the point where we can relax for a while. I think we've made it there and I couldn't be happier. I actually took some time out on Saturday to make some easter treats. My mother sent us some chocolate waffers and molds to make these great lolly pops as part of our easter package. I enjoyed doing something different and think the final products turned out pretty well.

And with the left overs... I made colorful bark.

On Sunday morning the bunny found us, wearing a parka and mitts but he made it. Oliver seems to be impressed with his loot although we didn't do an official egg hunt this year since I though he'd be little too young to get it yet. I can just imagine much of the chocolate would be Tank food my morning anyway. That'll be something I have to figure out for next year.

Hope you all had a great long weekend

Can you beat this?

A few weeks ago I was watching the Ellen show and one of her segments was a contest for who had the worse photos from their past. Some of them were pretty bad, really bad actually and it got me laughing hysterically and then got me thinking. Why not have my own contest like that? Everyone could use a good laugh. I will say up front that the only prize for this contest is bragging rights but if you don't mind sharing you unfortunate fashion and/or style choices to spread some laughter, this is a contest for you.

So if you'd like to participate, please send a JPEG photo of you sporting your most dated hairstyle or outfit to babies and bulldogs at gmail dot com. I'll post them a week from Sunday so please try and get them to me by Friday April 9th. And don't forget to include your name and the circumstances of the picture.

Just to get things started, here is my contribution. I think I have a worse one somewhere (if that's possible with that hair and those humungous glasses) which I will try to find and will add to the pile for next week.

I was 16 at the time and my best girlfriend and I went to Sears to get these done to give as Christmas gifts for our families. haha! I just noticed it was before I had braces too so I still have the gap between my two front teeth! hahahahaha!

Don't leave me hanging people... I look forward to your photos!