Drinking Puddle Water

While playing in the driveway with the kids this afternoon, I turned around and saw this. Yep, I took a picture before I told him that drinking puddle water probably wasn't the best idea.

Reason No. 673 why I will not be winning the Parent of the Year award:

Enjoying the Spring

The weather was so gorgeous on Sunday that we decided to call up some friends to enjoy it with us! We headed down to our sledding hill and gazebo for some sliding and hotdog roasting. The temperature soared to +6C and there was barely any wind. We were down there for three hours and had a fantastic time! Hopefully the weather is nice next weekend and we can do it all again.

Hunter trying to pick up older chicks:

Cavan catching a ride with our friend Bonnie up the hill:

Cavan towing the sled up the hill on his own:

Snow man construction!

Snowball wars!

Cavan trying to pick up an older woman too:

Perfect snowman snow!!

Matt kicking butt in a wrestling match. He had better watch his back. This kid is just 13 and nearly as tall as Matt!! I think he will get even pretty soon.

Playground

The playground behind the school in Faro is the only one that has been accessible throughout the winter. Now that the weather is warming up, we have been spending a lot of time down there enjoying the equipment.

Cavan is now big enough that he can get up on the equipment without any help. Makes life easy for me!! This last week they were content to play on their own and I got to put my feet up and read a book while they ran around.

Hunter the Shark waiting to eat Cavan the fish once he lands in the water:

CHASE!

Hunter kindly offering me some snow to eat off of his mitten:

That was fun mom! Can we come again tomorrow?

The Most Ferocious of the Beasts

The black bear....

The wolf....

The fox...

The house cat...

Wait? The house cat? A ferocious beast?

Well she thinks she is.

Freak, atop the pile of tanned furs I was able to purchase this week:

Ouch!

Matt is away this week in Whitehorse and last night Hunter asked if he could sleep with me. All was fine until a huge thud follow by a loud wail at 2am. The poor kid had fallen out of our bed, which is very high! I picked him up, cuddled him until he stopped crying, and then he fell right back asleep.

When he woke up this morning (at 7:30am- wahooo!), he looked a little odd. When I looked closer I saw that his eye was swollen and glued shut with dried blood. I washed his eye with a warm cloth and I was able to pry it open enough to make sure his eye was still in his head. He kept it shut until miraculously a bowl of bee cherrios (honey-nut cheerios) made him feel well enough to open it. Since daddy the nurse is away, he asked if we could go down to the health centre so his Auntie Jeanne, one of Matt's co-workers, could have a look at it. I figured that was a good idea too since I wasn't really sure where the blood had come from.

Jeanne took a look and the cut is on the outside edge of his eye and the eye is fine. Over the course of the day it has stayed quite swollen and a redish purple colour. I am curious if it is going to be bruised tomorrow.

I have tough kids!

Here he is first thing this morning:

By this afternoon he was looking a bit better:

For Grandma

Grandma was whining on the phone this morning that I hadn't put enough photos of the boys up on the blog lately.

How to entertain boys on cold days:

Falling and grinning:

Always grinning:

Arranging his cucumber peels again:

CHEEEEEESSSE!!!

King of the hill:

I see mountain climbing in their future:

Me and my handsome boys:

Dancing School

A high school student from Faro who is attending an arts based high school in Whitehorse was home this last week for spring break and put on a dancing school for the kids with the help of her younger sister. Hunter and Cavan both attended the three practice classes and then the big performance on Saturday. I missed it since I was up in Dawson City, but Matt took a video and of course I am going to share it!


The Princess and The Pirates:
(crank up the volume)

Untitled from Kara Went on Vimeo.

Cavan spent most of the time trying to get his hat adjusted and Hunter looked a little sad that the princess wouldn't give him a hug! Pretty cute stuff.

Thank you so much Dana and Cayla! The boys both loved Dance School and cannot wait to go again in the future.

Zombie Love

Regular readers will know that I have pretty odd and vivid dreams. This one was pretty impressive:

In my dream I was pregnant, but really did not want a third child. Matt and I were concerned that we would not be able to take family quadding trips with three children. So in the end, we decide to give the baby up for adoption. A friend of mine in Marsh Lake agrees to adopt our unborn child.

A few days before the birth I change my mind. I realize that I can not give my baby up and convince my husband that yes, we can travel with all three kids on the quads with no problems. In the few days between my decision and the birth of the baby, we take up fighting zombies as a past-time. When I do deliver the child, it turns out to be half-human and half-zombie. We fall in love with our half-zombie baby and decide to let it live with hopes we can keep it from eating our brains.

Yep... a zombie baby. Impressive, eh?

Little Carnivore

After he had eaten his plate full of supper, he then stole food off of my plate, then just decided to go straight to the source and stole an entire chicken leg.

Dental Misery

I am really starting to dislike dentists.

A year and a half ago I saw the traveling dentist when he came to Faro. He fixed up an old filling and fixed a cavity. We left the next day for a vacation to the East Coast and I was miserable. The dentist hadn't filed down the new fillings, so the other side of my jaw couldn't come together. I found a dentist in Cape Breton to file them down.

When we returned home I was still in a lot of pain where the work was done so we headed into Whitehorse to see another dentist. All of the work that was done in Faro was done so poorly that it all had to be redone. A root canal was done on a molar, but it could not be fixed. The molar had to come out. I went back home to heal from that and ended up with a massive infection where that tooth had been. Six trips later (and out of pocket $6000 that was above and beyond what was covered by our dental coverage) the work was repaired and a bridge put in. However, the bridge has not been great. I still have problems chewing anything hard on that side.

A week or so ago the bridge really started hurting. It felt similar to when I had an infection a year ago. On Friday I went to the health centre, but they couldn't see any sign of infection and they suggested some tylenol and advil for the pain. By Sunday morning I was really miserable and called an emergency dental line in Whitehorse. Thankfully I found a dentist with Myrraya Dental Clinic willing to see me. Turns out a tooth that is part of that bridge was infected and needing a root canal. This dentist was amazing. She numbed me up so well I couldn't even close one eye! I was done in under two hours and was very impressed with her and her assistant.

I am really hoping this is the end of my problems, but I doubt it. This dentist told me the bridge that was put in last year by another dentist isn't a top quality one and it will probably need to be redone in a few years. She also said I have some really odd nerves that spread out from my molars. If the same tooth starts bothering me again, I will need to head to Vancouver or Edmonton to have the root canal redone. Ugggg.

One of the most frustrating parts is that I take really good care of my teeth. I brush, I floss and I go for regular check ups. Sadly, I guess I just have bad luck with my teeth no matter what I do.

So for now, I have my feet up and the tv on in the hotel in Whitehorse. No kids, no husband... I guess I had better enjoy my alone time even if I am in pain!

Great Northern Arts Festival

A couple of months ago a friend encouraged me to fill out an application to participate as an artist in the Great Northern Arts Festival this summer up in Inuvik, NT. I am pretty new to this whole art/craft business. Really, I have only been sewing my stuff for less than three years. The quality of my work has definitely improved in that time, but I am still such a novice. I didn't hold out much hope that I would be accepted to attend.

Yet, yesterday an acceptance letter arrived in the mail for me! I am so excited that I was chosen to attend. The festival brings up between 80 and 90 artists from across the three territories for this festival every summer. Everything is even paid for! I will be flown up from Whitehorse (they also pay to bring up all of my crafts) plus my accommodation and meals are provided for the entire 10 day event. I will have the opportunity to run workshops that participants will pay to attend as well as attend workshops hosted by other artists.

My crafts will be sold at this event as well. The Festival sets up their own gallery and I need to bring 10-25 items at least to be sold in the gallery. They take 30% of sold items, but that is really no different than most other stores in large centres.

My parents have offered to take the boys for a week since Matt cannot get the time off work to watch them. So Matt will take me to Whitehorse for my flight, and then drive to Liard Hot Springs to meet my folks and drop the boys off with them. A week later when our actually booked summer holidays start, Matt will drive down to Dawson Creek and I will fly down when the festival is over, just a few days later. I cannot believe it is all going to work out! In four years I have never had a break like this before.

It will be a bit of a shocker to the boys! We live so far away from family that they never have a break from us either. Neither of them have spent a night away from us and it is definitely time for them to start. I am sure there will be some tears, but Grandma and Grandpa can handle it. Plus, what kid wouldn't want to spend time roaring around 320 acres on quads, playing in the in-ground pool, going boating, and baking cookies? Sounds pretty good to me!

I am looking forward to learning from other artists at the festival. What a fantastic opportunity!

Wolf

I purchased a wolf hide this week and went right to work cutting it up! I have one pair of mittens done and ready for the sale in Dawson City in a week and a half. I cannot wait to make more things from the wolf; I am just waiting for more moose hide to arrive in the mail.

My purchase:

Freak though it was just for her:

Mitts!

They are lined with pile, have a leather cuff and moose palms.
Now hopefully someone buys them at the sale!

Skating

We spent quite a bit of time down at the arena in Faro this weekend. On Friday afternoon there was a skating party and then on Saturday there was a fundraising pancake breakfast. While we ate breakfast, there were kids doing laps on the ice. A group of youth is heading to Ottawa this spring break and had been going around town asking for donations. For every dollar that was donated, a lap had to be skated at the arena and these kids had to skate a whopping 1152 laps! I think that is the number... I might be off by just a couple. We all got out on the ice to help them out.

Hunter and Matt have been going to the rink on the weekends to practice their skating. I am not sure which of them is worse! Hunter usually just gives up and reverts to crawling around on the ice. This weekend he discovered the joy of being pushed around on a chair rather than pushing the chair himself.

We are so lucky in Faro to have that arena. It is a wonderful spot for families to spent quality time together!

Cavan and his buddy Zac helping log laps:

Hunter had suckered one of his favorite girls in town to push him around:

Cavan enjoying the push around the ice. Matt claims he needs the chair just as much as the little kids!

Maybe in a couple of years they can both skate without the chair:

Enjoying the delicious snacks:

Dawson City- Here I Come!

A friend up in Dawson City told me about a craft show going on up there and I kept it in the back of my mind for a while, but not thinking I would be able to make it. Then my fantastic husband made it work. He switched a weekend of call with another nurse and told me I can head up on my own without him or the kids!! I have not had a night to myself in four years and now I get two.

I will now be attending the Trappers Fur Show and am busy making new items to bring up with me. There will be a showing of furs caught my local trappers, a craft show and a fur fashion show. Some friends of mine will also be participating so I am glad I will know some other folks there.

Yesterday I purchased a tanned wolf and I am going to try making my first pair of wolf mittens today. I sure hope they turn out nice. Yesterday I tried a pair of caribou mittens, but the hide may have sat for too many years- the hairs were falling out and now my sewing room is a disaster. Good thing I have a dyson to clean it up!

All of my custom orders are completed, so now I just have to get ready for Dawson. It is going to be a fun couple of weeks making new things.

Parenting Fun

Being a parent of small children definitely has its perks. The first being that you get to board a plane before anyone else. The second that your kids will entertain you in ways you could not imagine.

Last night Hunter was eating veggies (the small mixed frozen ones) for supper. He found a bean in there. I am not sure what kind it was, but it was flat, green and kidney shaped. He asked me if it was a magic bean and of course I said it was. I told him that if he ate it he would become invisible for a short period of time. He fell for it hook, line and sinker. My friend Erica was eating supper with me and she went right along with it too. Once he swallowed it, he chased us around the house tickling us and we pretended we had no clue where he was or what was doing the tickling. So much fun!

Cavan loves throwing treats out to our cats and he also spends a lot of time pretending to be a cat. Today he brought his small box of raisins to me and said treat and then he would meow at me. I got the idea right away. I would take a raisin and whip it across the room same as we do with our cat treats. Cavan would meow and then prance over to the raisin, get down on the floor and lick it up! ahahahhahaha! What a kid! We did that for the entire box of raisins. I am sure he licked up some cat hair and dirt, but what the heck- it was fun.

My Particular Child

Hunter is very particular in how he likes things done.

At night he uses two pillows, a regular sized one and a small fleecy one. The small fleecy one has a monster truck embroidered on it. He requires that truck be facing up right. I have seen him adjust his pillow in the middle of the night if it is not just right and I am pretty sure he doesn't even wake up to do it.

The stuffed entourage that accompanies him to bed must be stacked just so on one side of his pillows.

When he is eating his cheerios and milk in the morning while sitting on the sofa, he must be covered up with his special orange frog blanket and then the small fleecy pillow must be in his lap (with the monster truck facing just so) and then his bowl sits atop that.

God forbid you put his socks on after his pants. He insists you are doing it all wrong. And even worse if you get his sock just a little twisted on his foot.

There are lots of other crazy examples. Does anyone else have a kid like this?

Check out his lunch plate from today:

I gave the cucumbers to him in whole slices. He has eaten them all in the exact same manner to avoid the peel and then arranged them in rows. What a crazy kid!

I guess it comes naturally though. I like structure, order and predictability. I cannot stand it if my socks are twisted and I have to keep my pillows arranged in a certain way when I sleep. I love to organize things too. It looks like Cavan is following in his dad's easy going footsteps.

Taming the Beast

March has roared in like a lion with the temperature plunging down to -37C and -47C with the windchill this morning.

Also roaring in this month is a little terror also known as Cavan. With two months to go until he actually turns two, I think he is trying to get a head start on the terrible two's. The temper tantrums are of epic proportions. He is melting down over every little thing. The melt downs include (but are not limited to) screaming, rolling on the floor, kicking, hitting, biting, jumping, and throwing anything in reach.

I am not sure if this is the best parenting technique, but so far the best way to deal with him is to run away. Yep, I just run away. If he is pitching a fit in the kitchen, I leave and go to the living room. If he follows me still full of rage, I go to the bathroom. Sometimes I even close the door and hide from him.

My second favorite technique is to play peek-a-boo with him. Peek-a-boo always brings out the smiles. However, playing peek-a-boo every 18 minutes during the day gets old quickly.

The third technique is Hunter's favorite. That is the one where I toss Captain Crankypants in his room for a cool off period. He cannot turn the door handle yet, so his room is the perfect little jail. I am pretty sure Hunter would be perfectly happy if we left his little brother locked in his room all day, every day instead of just two minutes at a time.

I have my fingers crossed that March will go out like a lamb and perhaps before Cavan turns two he will be over the terrible part. I think I will have better luck with the weather.