What a year 2011 was.
A year goes by really quick....once it's over.
2011 for us was a year of transition. Transition is the fancy word for change, and change and I are not best of friends. I like order, I like consistency, I like routine. I feel most content and at ease when I know exactly what is going, and what will be happening tomorrow. I actually sleep best when I know that everything is in it's place and that we can start the day fresh in the morning.....just as I planned it.
I'm not saying I can't fly by the seat of pants. That's not the case at all. I actually get a kick out it. I enjoy being busy. I think I'm much more productive when I've got alot on my plate. Don't misinterpret that as being unorganised. No no no. I think I have a pre "plan" for almost every situation. I run situations in my head and figure what would be the best way to proceed before they ever occur.....just in case.
This entry seemed a bit heavy, this should lighten
it up - N's favorite holiday hat = felt bag
2011 proved to be a challenge for my pre planning. There were challenges but as life tends to do, it all worked out in the end.
We rang in 2011 in Yellowknife enjoying a lobster supper with great friends and out little 16 month old boy sound asleep. We knew it was going to be a "big" year after all we knew we were moving somewhere North and that would involve selling the house that we had spent the last five years making into our home. We had spent endless hours painting coats of color on the walls, building walls, tearing walls down, tearing out carpet, laying flooring, changing counter tops, installing new doors, building scaffolding, building decks, staining decks, putting up wainscoting and decorating a room for a little boy. We loved our home and we weren't really looking forward to selling it.
We made it through the winter growing together as a family. It was my first winter as a stay at home Mom, my first winter in years that I was not crazy busy at work and I missed it. I missed the action, but I missed the people most, my coworkers, many of whom had become close friends over the years. I loved being home with N, but I felt guilty for missing work. I've since learnt that's part of motherhood. Guilt and the feeling that you should be doing more or better. I read a quote the other day which I love - "we are Moms, not superhero's".
Winter also brought many new adventures, we travelled to NS to visit our families, many of whom where meeting N for the first time. It was awesome to see how happy they all were for the three of us. We went sledding and walking in -30 degree weather on a regular basis. We visited the Snow King at his castle on Great Slave Lake, we drove the Ice Road to Dettah a few times, we watched Northern Lights, we went swimming every week, we made regular trips to the library and sometimes we just went to Walmart to get out of the house.
Christmas Eve - I dug out his pj's from his
1st Christmas and he spotted this and HAD to
try it on.
He is getting so big!
Spring brought news of where we'd call home next. With that it was time to sell the house. What seemed like forever was actually 8 weeks of keeping the house spotless for viewings. Not such an easy task with a toddler and 3 dogs in mud season. We placed our barge order which was actually kind fun and daunting at the same time. We ordered 70 bags of dog food for those crazy hounds. There was fun in there too, after all there were puddles to jump in.
Summer was kind of a mixed bag of nuts.
We had to say "see you later" to friends we weren't ready to say that too - we sold the house we didn't really want to leave and saw all of our things being packed into boxes, some to come with us and others to go to storage for the next two years. Then we were ready for the next adventure to begin. Although not before we hit the beach a few times, hiked a few trails, took part in a few bbq's, had a picnic and met Kate, The Duchess. We made memories.
Then we were off !
Christmas 2011
Christmas with a two year old really puts the spirit back in Christmas. The night before we walked around the house looking out all the windows to see if we could spot Santa making a pass by. We left out cookies and muffins for Santa and apples and carrots for the reindeer. N may only be 2 but Christmas morning he knew what was going on. We woke up an hour earlier than normal to N screaming "Dada, Mama, Dada, Mama", "up". He ran around the corner, saw the presents and said "ohhhhhh". It was perfect.
His favorite gift from Santa
We spent the evening with friends and had a huge pot luck supper complete with turkey, stuffing, gravy and pumpkin pie.
We hosted a brunch on Boxing day. It was really nice to have a house full of people really enjoying each others company. With quiche, pancakes, casserole, stuffed french toast and bread pudding, we all ate way more than we should have, watched the World Jr. hockey game and then played a round of Wizard. Fun times had by all.
Normally R and I are are strick about bedtime. It's between 7:30 and 8:00. End of story. I was torn one night because there was a community drum dance being held at the school....at 10:30pm. After wish washing for awhile I decided to wake him up, bundle him up and trek over to the school. He LOVED it. All the kids in town were there and it was great.
We stayed until 12:30 - I was too tired to stay any longer, came home and I tucked him back into bed and off to dreamland he went.
Drum Dancing at midnight = awesome
New Years was also another big get together. We hosted another great pot luck, played a bunch of board games and then went out to watch the fireworks. I woke N up again, bundled him up and off we went. Seriously - with the exception of Disney World these were the best fireworks I have ever seen. It was spectacular. Initially I was a little apprehensive because we were literally under the show but after I relaxed and decided to just enjoy myself it was truly marvellous.
Somewhere in there we had a UFC night and lots of munchies and great company.
So a busy holiday and great holiday week in Paulatuk.
We are planning on going snowmobiling this weekend if it's not too cold so we'll see how that goes. My feet normally freeze in about 15 minutes so I don't imagine we'll get too far. It seems to be getting a little lighter the past few days, still no sun but I think it'll be popping over the hills sometime soon......soonish.
Next week life gets back to normal. Playschool opens back up, the teachers that left town for Christmas are scheduled to fly back in today, sewing night starts back up and I have my seal skin, hide and beads all ready.
2012 - Bring it!
Look close - here is the frozen seal. My camera isn't
such a fan of -30, freezes up pretty quick.
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