Old blubber for lunch

The weather has been amazing here that last couple of days. We hit temperatures of a whopping 14 degrees today and with only a light wind it's been almost like summer. To take advantage of warmth we went out to have a family picnic. I packed up sandwiches and snacks, picked up Nick at the office and off we went to the Hudson Bay Old Blubber Station.

The blubber station was built in the mid 1920's by the Hudson Bay Company. It was, as the name suggests where the European whalers and the Inuit processed whale blubber. By processed I mean they boiled it, then put it in to barrels to be shipped and sold in foreign markets. You'll also notice the building looks all nice and shiny white because it was fixed up last year as a first step in a restoration project that will take a few years to finish. The building now houses two replica's of old whaling boats and is a historic tourist attraction. The spot where it sits is a really nice area overlooking the harbour and there is actually grass there so it's perfect for a picnic.

Oliver had a great time running around the rocks and 'the barn'. He also tried out his new bubble stick. If you look closely there are bubbles in this picture.

Isaac enjoyed eating the grass after he lost his cookie. And I was a neglectful mother and didn't think to bring any wipes so he went around with a very dirty face after his meal.

I took advantage of the beautiful surroundings to have Nick take a few pictures of me with the kids. I have so few of me with them since I'm always taking the pictures.

When Nick had to go back to work, the boys and walked up to the playground then back home for nap time. It was a fabulous day.

A more skilled look

I have posted many pictures of my little town and it's surroundings since moving to Pangnirtung. Being that I'm a poor photographer at best, I know I haven't been doing this beautiful place any justice. If you're interested, I suggest you check out Qallunaat Corner for a skilled and impressive look at what I get to look at every day. There are many pros and cons to living here but the beauty of my surroundings are always high on the list of positives.  

Question #12

My favorite memory.
 
If you don't count the obvious things like the kids being born and my wedding day, one of my favorite memories is the night of Cindi's 16th birthday party. From the party getting shut down because we all showed up drunk to watching the sun rise over the water on Chuck's deck, it was a wonderfully, crazy night.

Looking back on it now that I'm a parent I cringe at the fact that we did that and that we got away with it. I would kill my kids if I found out they did the same. Even so, it was just one of those great nights that you have as a kid that you rememeber forever.

Help me win... or lose an argument

I'm in an argument right now about whether or not chicken is meat. It seems pretty clear to me that poultry is the classification of meat. Like pork is a kind of meat.. beef is a kind of meat.

The other side is Chicken is not meat, it's poultry.

Let me know what you think by voting on the subject... over there... on the top, right of the blog.

Deja Vu

Last night after Isaac's bath I left him to play in his crib while I went back to finish bathing Oliver. I went in to check on him a few minutes later and this is what I found.
.

Of course I ran for the camera since it was the first time he pulled himself to his feet so I was very excited. The funny thing about this little story is this:

This is Oliver's first time pulling himself up. I found him like this after leaving him in his crib to play after his bath... apparently bath time at our house gives my children the power to do new things.

Despite having the same story/photo for both kids, the big difference is that Oliver did this a week after he turned 7 months where Isaac will be 9 months tomorrow. He's consistent however. Pretty much every milestone he's met has been about one and a half to 2 months behind Oliver. I'm sure much of that can be contributed to the fact that he's so much bigger and heavier than Oliver ever was. I mean they're wearing the same size diapers right now! If this trend continues we'll have a reprieve from the chaos of having 2 running little boys till Isaac is about 14 moths. And we're VERY ok with that.

You can almost hear the snoring

A moment from a sleepy Sunday afternoon...

Another use for FB

Four weeks ago a random Facebook status update ended up being an impromptu on-line viewing party at 'Paula's place'. Since then I've looked forward to Monday nights as the one of the best parts of my week. It starts with a FB update invitation and about 100 comments later (150 is our record) we've talked all about how hot JP is, how we hate Ashley and laughed at whatever stupid situation ABC has dreamed up for this season of The Bachelorette. I've been enjoying it so much. It's just like the good old days when I used to spend my Thursday nights at Nicole's watching Survivor, only this time none of us are in the same room. I've missed watching my bad TV with people who can appreciate why I love watching it... which is because it's just so bad. Like a train wreck you know?

I don't get a lot of social contact around here because of being at home with the kids and having a husband that's on call most of the time. The mommy group I attend is on hold for the summer so my new Monday group is a wonderful distraction from my day to day life. I guess it's a like having a little piece of my former, single, non-mom life that a little piece of me will always miss.

Now, I know that maybe if I didn't spend so much time on FB I'd have a more active 'in person' social life. Even so, on Monday's I'd still be feeding my addiction to bad reality TV so it's great not to have to do it alone. Thanks ladies! See you next Monday.

Question #11

A recent picture of yourself-

I'm usually behind the camera so I don't have anything recent of just me. You'll have to settle with this family picture taken a couple of weeks ago.

Little Monkey

 In our last few visits to the playground O has mastered climbing to the top. There are a few different ways to get up there and he's able to do them all but this is the one I'm most proud of. I just can't get over how quickly he's growing up.

Our wedding

It was a casual affair in my parent's back yard, overlooking the Saint John River. We had a beautiful sunny day and it went off without a hitch. Well, almost. My sister, the maid of honor, forgot Nick's ring in the house and my brother had to run and get it as my Dad waited to give me away. It was just the type of little hiccup I had said earlier in the day that I was hoping would happen. Just a little comic relief. We shared the day with 40 of our closest friends and family and it was the wedding I always dreamed of.

Since Nick had a different vision for his ideal big day, we gave him what he wanted as well. The next night we had a huge party in a big field for everyone we'd ever met and even some we hadn't. We roasted a massive pig on a spit, we danced the night away to cheesy DJ dance music. There was a bonfire, a tent village for over-nighters and lots and lots of beer. Both nights where perfect and I wouldn't change a thing about our wedding weekend.

So Happy 4th Anniversary to my wonderful husband.

Wuboo forever. X0X0X0X0

Yet another countdown has begun

28 days and counting....

It's that time again when we start getting ready for our next vacation out of Nunavut. We are not planning a big trip anywhere this time, we're just going back to our families in New Brunswick and hanging out. I am really looking forward to spending time with my sister and having my boys get time with their cousin Erik. The grandma's of course want their time and let's be honest, I plan to take advantage of that and have some great kid free time. The boys and I are actually leaving 2 weeks before Nick does so we'll get more time to experience southern summer and all that it has to offer. I'm dreading doing the 4 planes rides alone with 2 kids but if I want the extra time it has to be done.

When my mom was here she suggested we make an 'advent calender' of sorts to count down the days till Oliver gets to go on the plane to see Oma. I finally got around to making it today and we started with the first X. I did head it with, 'lets visit Oma' but in the fine print it says, 'And Opa, And Courtney, And Erik, And Grandma, And Meaghan, And Grandpa....' So nobody can think they are not important. Wouldn't want to offend anyone, we love you all.

So let the list making begin!

Question #10

My Favorite Outfit-

The answer to that one means I have to admit a sad truth... my favorite outfit would be one of my many pairs of comfy pyjama pants and an oversize t-shirt. Since I hang out around the house more than anything else I just can't be bothered to put on my better clothes. They would only get puked on, covered in baby food and dog hair. Not to mention, putting on regular clothes (aka: Jeans) everyday makes me acutely aware of how out of shape I've become. It's much easier to be in denial about your weight while wearing baggy elastic waists and sports bras.

You'll understand that I don't have a picture with this post.

A View From Above

Mom took these pictures from the plane on her arrival into town last week. I've said it before but that view never gets old.

...poke...

A visit from Oma

I've been out of touch for a while but it was for a very good reason. My mommy was in town! It was a great visit and we showed her all the sights and excitements Pang has to offer. Of course she soaked up tones of grand baby time and gave me much appreciated help around the house. Who doesn't love a visit from mom?

The best part about having Oma here is the chance for her to get to know the kids in their own home. Oliver has always been a little strange around my mom and would resist her efforts to hug him or give him any real attention. She is convinced that's because in the past, every time we've been around her Nick and I have left him there and disappeared. She has a point since she has been the primary baby sitter when ever we've been in NB. We even left him with she and my dad for 10 days when he was only 10 months old so we could go to to Hawaii. This time around things went much better. They had a wonderful time together doing crafts and making forts and there was lots of hugs and kisses to go around.

I've never been someone who thought it was overly important to have the grandparents live close by. I didn't have that growing up and I never felt like I was missing out. It kind of made it extra special when we did get to see them. Now having kids of my own, I feel like I'm cheating them out of something by being so far away from family. My sister lives just down the road from our parents and my mom babysits her son and I have to admit, I'm jealous of the time they have together. I know she has a first hand view of all those funny/cute/amazing/adorable things that Erik does and I desperately wanted her to get to know all of Oliver's 'specialness' in the same way. This week she's been able to part of Oliver's nightly dance party, heard how well he speaks, seen how gentle and loving he is with Isaac and has got to know how special he really is. She also got lots of uninterrupted cuddle time with Isaac which was nice since she'd only been around him for about 12 days total since he was born.

I know that the fact that we live far away from the family was our choice and it isn't going to change any time soon. Even when we leave the north we don't plan to be in the Maritimes but hopefully we'll get to have visitors much more often then we do now. For now we'll have to look forward to our next vacation. We only have 5 more weeks before the kids and I leave so we don't have a long wait.