Hallowe'en, so much fun

Ah, Hallowe'en.  Alanna, the pretty flower and Emerson, the scary lion, all dressed up for this special day.    They were in their costumes all day and went to a kids Hallowe'en party.  I was shown a photo of their party which was held a someone's house.  All the babies (it looked like at least 10 of them, all under the age of one) were sitting on a couch.  They all looked so cute all dressed up, the little angels.  Then I saw the video of all those cute little things sitting on the couch.  With motion and sound the picture was so different - most of them squirming and crying and crying.  I laughed.  

Even the dogs were dressed for this occasion.  Timber the spider and Lily the lion.  Everyone went to the door when the trick or treaters came, lions, flowers, and spiders and of course the artist Brooke was dressed as who I didn't know but she did look good (unibrow, flower in her hair which was braided and tied up around her head and I think south american ... do you know who she was??).

Lily was so brave as people in masks and costumes scares her and then she barks.  Timber is famous for running away when given the chance.  With an open door filled with kids in costumes, the dogs were perfect and the kids loved the fact they were dressed up.

90 or so treaters later, I turned off the lights as all my candies were gone.  And I heard Whitehorse ran out of Hallowe'en candies.  What a town!

Can't wait to see what everyone will dress up as next year!

Thinking Hallowe'en

Last Hallowe'en, when I lived at my old house on the cul de sac, I had about 30 kids come to my door Trick or Treating.  There seemed to be fewer and fewer kids around every year.  This year I moved.  Taking a walk around my street, it seems every other house is getting decked out for the spooky eve.  I have a feeling I am going to have many many many many more than 30 kids at my door this year.  Better stock up on candy - the kind I like - just in case in wrong.

Here is the graveyard house.

And the pumpkin house.

And my next door neighbour who has a skeleton falling out of a broken coffin.

Wednesday Again

Yes, it's Wednesday once again.  When SR is out of town, I twinsit.  When SR is in town, he invites me over to play with my grand kids.  They ARE becoming cuter each day I must admit.  Although when I was trying to play with Alanna, Timber was right there.  I think the dogs are being neglected as both of them stuck to me like glue.  Finally Lily did "go lay down" but Timber would lay right in front of me.  Alanna didn't mind though.  She was full of smiles tonight and spent quite some time batting the toys that were hanging from the bar on her chair.  She also laughed out loud for the first time tonight although I am afraid I missed that.

She is now an excellent thumb sucker.  No pacifier for her tonight.  She preferred to do it herself, and even put herself to sleep.

Emerson, on the other hand ...  He was talking tonight and smiling too.  And he has taught us that if we pick him up and walk around the house with him, he will stop fussing.  Isn't it the adults who are suppose to be teaching the little ones - not the other way around???

October 11, 2014

Happy Birthday SR.  This is his first birthday as a Father.  And today, before they came for dinner, they went, as a family, to family swim day at the pool.  Another first, this time for the wee ones.  Apparently all went well and everyone enjoyed their swim.  And another first, Lily and Timber got to scout out my new completely fenced back yard.  And another first, my first big meal prepared in my new house.  A day full of firsts!!!!!

Sorry I didn't get a photo of Alanna in her pretty little dress but did get Emerson with his checkered shirt and dungarees.  They were so cute.  As the evening went on there was a necessary costume change for both of them.

Then came the cake.  Between Emerson and me, I had to make a gluten free, dairy free dessert.  Whew!    But the wee ones apparently liked the cake, or at least the candles.  They both couldn't take their eyes off the flames.

!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY SR !!

! Whitehorse !

OK, gotta stop posting pics of the two little ones, but they are so darned cute.  Here they are with their new bibs, a gift which arrived just in time as the drool is now a steady stream, plus at least one of them is learning how to blow bubbles - guess which one!  

Here is a view from my kitchen window.  It has taken me a long time to post this as for almost two weeks there has been inclement weather with the clouds sitting on the top of the mountain.

A close up of the wind turbines on the top of Haeckel Hill.  Yes that white stuff is snow and today, the top is all white.

Now for my reason for writing.  Found out today that I will have the birthday boy here for dinner on Saturday with a dinner request, so went out tonight to pick up the majority of the food.  First of all, Extra Foods is closed as the building was built with asbestos and they are now removing it.  The second food store (and 2nd Loblaws related store) is the Real Canadian Super Store, which is huge and busy but usually has a bit more food than the remaining food stores - Super A (one in Porter Creek and one in Riverdale) and Bigway (in Granger).  I think all three remaining stores have all the same owners.  So, I went to the largest store so I could get everything at one stop.  It is now Thursday night, and Thanksgiving weekend is Saturday, Sunday and Monday.  Usually families will have their turkey dinners on one of those three days.  The largest supermarket had 4 half thawed utility turkeys and about 10 frozen utility turkeys, the largest of which was about 12 pounds.  Most were much smaller.  That's all they had!  For Thanksgiving!  When asked in the meat department, the response was "I think we may be getting more in".  Gee, thanks.  I don't need a big turkey so picked up one of those (I believe sans a leg, oh well drumsticks are over-rated anyway).  Now I needed bread crumbs for stuffing.  "We haven't had any for a while" was the response in the bakery section.   Oh man, only in Whitehorse.  

Saturday

Went to Shoppers to pick up my parcel today only to find everyone in all the shops in the mall evacuating the stores.  Apparently the fire alarm went off - the 2nd time this week - and apparently set off by the contractors that are removing the asbestos from Extra Foods on the corner of the mall.  Oh well, it gave me time to talk to my old friend Sandy who works in Coffee Tea and Spice.  She is the one who told me this was a regular occurrence.  

I received an extra large parcel and as it is not my Birthday nor is it Christmas, I thought it probably contained gifts for the little ones so I went into Porter Creek to open my parcel.  Sure enough it contained many little gifts for the new borns and surprisingly enough, one gift for ME!  SR was working and Brooke was just about to take the little ones out for a walk so I helped change, dress (and make smile) the wee ones then off she went with two babies and two dogs and iTunes.  It was a lovely day so I hope they had a lovely walk.  I went home and opened my gift which was a house warming throw from my sister.  I used it right way.

Wednesday

Wednesday seems to be my twin sitting night.  Last Wednesday they had new seats to sit in.  Very luxurious.

Had them both smiling for about half an hour.  Caught a bit of a smile from Emerson but didn't quite catch Alanna's big smiles on the camera.

For short periods of time they focus on you now.  It is so much fun to watch their development.

First Snow (Storm)

Our first snow falls.  And fall it did.  It was almost white-out conditions driving downtown.  Snow plows were not yet on the road and the snow was coming down heavily, sometime being driven sideways by the wind.  Yuk.

It was a heavy water laden snow and stuck to everything.  It was bending the smaller trees down to the ground and dropping the branches of the larges trees down low.

Nearing my destination, I let a pedestrian cross the road to get them on their way.  I picked up the dogs and they were ecstatic when they left the house to find the ground filled with white stuff.

Now I am hoping this blog works as yesterday afternoon  a "third party" dug up the NorthwesTel communications line and cut off all phone, cell phone and internet connections to the north.  By midnight we had phone services and about 1/3 power on internet as NWTel connected to a now defunct line until repairs on their fibre optics line were done.

Friday, September 26

Now, almost two weeks later, I am still cleaning and unpacking but alas, am almost finished unpacking inside the house.  Still have the garage to organize.  And am having a fence built which is not quite finished so when I looked after Timber and Lily on Friday, they stayed inside the house.  They did have fun exploring and sniffing the new surroundings though and as you can see Lily had just awoken from a nap and was having a big stretch when this photo was taken.

Moving Day

If you wondered why I have been lax in keeping up this blog ... think no more.  Moving day was September 15th.  Prior to that date it was rain rain rain.  Moving day was magnificent sunny skies.  What luck.  I had forgotten what a big job moving was.  Luckily I had expert movers that did it with a smile and with very little instructions (although I had written where each box was to go, so they didn't need very much instruction). 

Boxes, boxes, boxes, boxes, boxes, boxes ...  well you get the picture.  For someone who had downsized on my last move, I couldn't believe how many boxes I had.  Filling them was enough for me.  I then had to empty them on the other end and was NOT looking forward to that job.  You know, we collect too much "stuff".  I kept thinking, do we really need all this stuff?????  The answer is no.  Unfortunately, I am a bit of a pack rat.

So, around supper time, the Twins came by (with Mom) with a beautiful colourful bouquet of flowers for the new house.  They also brought gluten-free pizza and some bubbly which was also much appreciated as I had very little food in the house and anyway, even if I did, was much too tired to cook anything that day.  I had a lovely visit with the grandkids and their mom, then it was early to bed so I could get up early the next morning and start unpacking.

The flowers were so colourful and bright.  They really did light up the room.

Thanks "twins"!

Delayed Update

Last week I twinsat while Brooke went to her appointment.  We tried tummy-time but they weren't happy with that so I put them in their chairs and read them a story.  They quickly fell asleep.

Here's Lily keeping an eye on her favourite, Alanna.

And interestingly enough, Timber kept vigil over Emerson.  They were the perfect little babies until they got hungry and mom was not yet home.  Then it took a lot to pacify them.

As you've probably noticed I take photos of sleeping babies.  During the awake times, I am kept busy with other things!

Slowly but surely my rooms' contents are being put into boxes.  I love walking through empty rooms as I then know I don't have anything further to do with them.  My garage is FULL of boxed "stuff".  Do I really need that much stuff?????  The answer is NO.  I am going to re-think all that I have once I am moved into my new place.  Too late now to do anything but look at all those boxes and sigh.

                          

One week to go till moving day.  I have been waiting a long time for that day to come.  And don't expect too much in the way of updates after the 15th.  The internet people can't come till the end of the week, my satellite man cannot come till the next week (it's hunting season in the Yukon!) but as of today my phone is now working perfectly.  I have made the LEAP from land-line to cell phone only, kept my land-line number (ported the number to my cell) and am getting a pretty good deal on monthly fees from Bell.  So That worked out OK.

Finally ...

Emily (pictured above with Brooke) and I have been trying to arrange a Baby Shower for some time now but with Preemies, gall stones, medevacks to Vancouver etc., it has been delayed then delayed some more.  Finally we found a time when everyone was home and well (well, well enough, I just had dental surgery the evening before) so the shower was finally planned and executed - well before the twins went to University! (lots of "well"s in that sentence, but that is a good word to have lots of) Emily did a fine job with the invites (lots and lots of their friends attended), gifts of smoothies/meatballs for Brooke (which she is sampling in the above photo)  and wine (and I'm sure I'm forgetting a lot more that she did).  I couldn't have done it without her.  And Brooke is a great looking mother of twins.  

The babies were passed around and around.  They were happy to be constantly held and were definitely on their best behaviour.

Everyone loves a party including Emerson, who was awake for most of it.

As Emerson is cow milk protein intolerant, so no milk or milk products of any kind for Brooke, and as I'm wheat free and have packed most of my cake pans anyway, I decided to make a diaper cake.  Although you couldn't eat it, it was displayed on the food table anyway.  

Aug 11, 2014

I twinsat this week, just to give BR a bit of sleep.  The babies had just been fed and with a full tummy, Alanna did what she does best, lays back and happily sleeps.

Emerson did what he does best.  Not sleep.   And to try to eliminate some noise, I plugged him up, although that didn't last long.  He tends to spit out his pacifier.

Here they are in their new chairs.  Now instead of lying on their backs and looking at the ceiling all the time they are able to look around if they wish.  They are just starting to focus on people and nearby objects.  Now I am starting to remember (and look up) stages of babies.

Saturday

Asked if the new family required any assistance today.  Apparently little "M" is having a growing spurt (of yeah, I forgot about those!) and feeding every two hours day and night so the parents are not getting sleep.  And the dogs are being neglected.  So my job today was to walk the dogs.  Even though it is the beginning of August, it feels like the middle of September with a brisk north wind blowing and the clouds threatening rain.  Good weather for a brisk walk.  

Timber is still un-trustworthy and I keep him on a leash.  That way I know where he is at all times.  Too bad I cut off his tail in the above photo.  Brooke calls it a fashion statement.  But I have to take the photo quickly as he is still for just a fraction of a minute before he is chasing more butterflies, squirrels or voles.  He is really like a little boy.

Of course Princess Lil is bordering on perfect.  No leash necessary for her as she listens to me.

We entered a dense portion of woods.  It was dead quiet except for the ravens' calls bouncing off the trees - caw, caw, caw ...  you could almost hear their wings flapping overhead.   Then the wind would rise up and blow the witches hair on the branches.  The dogs ears perked up, I'd like to say from the atmosphere but have to truthfully say it was because we were in the squirrel section of the woods and they were ready for the chase.  This area reminded me of Game of Thrones.  I have just finished season three, so I'm sure you'll be happy when I finally catch up so I don't keep referring back to this tv series.

An hour later we returned, just in time to say hello to a little girl and a little boy who just awoke.

The Raven

Went to Wal-Mart the other day and parked beside this big fella.  He was sitting on the shopping carts  and making quite the noise.  Ravens amaze me.  They are so big and black and their beaks are so strong and dangerous looking and yet they do not bother us.  I did see a raven with a baby bird in its beak last spring - a sad sight for sure.  They are nest robbers, but we rarely see that.  They remind me of a poem I studied in grade 7- Mr. Roy's class.  I don't remember the name but the raven plucked the bonnie blue eyes of some dead person.  And I just saw a dead raven - something I have never before seen - lying at the base of an electrical pole.  I was walking the dogs and of course they sniffed it out. I phoned Yukon Electric (or should I say Atco) when I got home and told them they should remove this bird from the base of their pole.  I don't know whether or not they did as I haven't walked that way again.  But I have often wondered where the birds go to die. I don't think the base of electrical poles is the answer though.  I am now watching Game of Thrones.  Lots of ravens in that, carrying messages or gathering in the trees caw caw cawing out danger.  Just a few raven thoughts.

Week's End

Well it was a whirlwind week for me.  A few of you will know what I mean and the rest will just have to believe me.  I discovered that looking after two babies is more than twice the amount of work of  looking after one.  I discovered that one hour of sleep is not enough and I re-discovered that one can only do what one can do and must prioritize and just let the rest go.  I also discovered that being able to depend on friends is priceless and I don't have to do everything myself.  Thank you friends.  I can't tell you how much your support means to me and I may be calling on you sooner than you think.  The week ended with a meal with my friends at the Wolf's Den out on the Alaska Highway.  The day was hot and sunny, a perfect day to break bread and sip wine on the deck.