Another perfect example of time slipping through the cracks - it will be two weeks tomorrow since I posted anything.
These past two weeks have probably been the most hectic we've had since we've been out here. When I last wrote, we were coming up on Canada Day and due to children's naps, we didn't get to experience any of the culture out here. However, we did get to have an amazing brunch at our girlfriends' house and met a whole other slew of fascinating people. Sometimes living here reminds me of summer camp as a kid. You're surrounded by a bunch of people all close in age who are pretty like-minded. People who are looking for an adventure, a chance to get away from the hustle and bustle of normal life - while making good money. I met a couple who are from Australia and their plan is to sail from here to Alaska by fall before the water starts to freeze; a girl who moved to Canada from Texas, met her boyfriend and only 6 months in to the relationship, moved here with him; (which is kind of Phil and I's story when I moved to Montreal with him) and many other fascinating people. I feel like it's all an opportunity to meet people that you may not have had the chance to meet otherwise. All this to say, it made for a great brunch and tuckered the kids out. When I got home Sophia ended up sleeping for 4 hours and I had no intention of waking her. (Long breaks like that are appreciated)
The day before, however, we took a family trip on the quads and went out toward Mount Pelley. We got just a little over 10km out and the road had been washed out, but we stopped and enjoyed the water and the Inukshuks people had made from the rocks and rubble and I even saw some local flowers. They were really pretty - purples, yellows, butter creams and red. The kids had so much fun on the quads, and at one point both wanted to ride with me, so I had Seb on the backseat and Sophia in front of me, being held onto the quad with one of my arms, while I drove with the other. The thing about quads, for those of you that don't know - the gas is controlled by your thumb, and your right thumb at that, and I'm left-handed. I kept wanting to switch hands to be able to steer better and couldn't. It was a lot of fun though and gave me a new confidence for packing up the kids with helmets and wind gear and hauling them on a quad to get somewhere if need be. It was really nice to spend the day as a family and get a ton of fresh air.
We've also managed to get out fishing almost every day this week - with no luck of catching anything, but it's still fun. We give the kids their little "Dora" and "Cars" rods and let them mess around while Phil attempts to catch us dinner. The cool thing about here too, is that you don't need a boat to fish. You just pick somewhere with water and throw your rod in. One night Phil noticed that a Char had been caught and gutted and left by the dock and he was like "Hey man! Somebody totally wasted a fish in my fishing spot." I took one look at it and knew that that was no human that did that. And sure enough a couple nights later a grizzly had been spotted in that area and was quickly scared away. Oh, if only we were big fuzzy bears that were willing to walk into the water and catch our fish with our bare hands - we'd probably get something too. :)
Before we moved out here, Phil had started hunting for bug jackets. I was told these would be the jackets we wore in July here because of the mosquitos. All I could think of was summer's up in the Rockies or out camping and thought "How bad could it really be? I doubt we'll need jackets like that." I am fully willing to admit that I was wrong. The mosquitos come in clouds here. It's weird though, because I never hear that annoying buzzing noise, but they are twice the size of any mosquito I've seen and they are never alone - it literally looks like clouds of bugs. Last week, I was getting so paranoid in my office because I kept seeing mosquitos in my peripheral, but it turns out it was their shadows through my window reflecting on the walls and such - totally ridiculous! I've only been stung once, but they took a good chunk out of Seb which leads me to my next topic...
Two days ago, I took advantage of an afternoon nap and Phil and Seb went out for a trip on the quad and then went to play at the park, and when they got home I was helping Seb get all his gear off and he just started screaming. He kept saying his hand was broken. I took off his mitten and his ring finger was so swollen. I could see he'd been bitten by a mosquito, but he just kept squeezing his hand and refused to unlock his fingers. I gave him some Advil and put some of our homeopathic after-bite on it and decided to just wait it out. He wouldn't play for the rest of the day and if he needed something, he would keep his hands clasped and bend over and pick things up with his mouth. He wouldn't eat unless I fed him and same with when he needed water. I asked him if he could tell me what was hurting him and he kept saying it was his pinky finger even though his ring finger was the one that was swollen and he'd panic if I even got close to it. I was pretty convinced it was broken, because what 3 year old gives up on playing to protect his hand that much and even when I put him down to sleep, I'd go in and check on him and his hands were still clasped and the one time they fell open he woke up screaming again. So at around 10pm, I checked his hand and his whole hand had swollen up. So I got some Q-Tips and a tensor bandage and had him make a fist on the Q-Tips (which was a major battle) and then wrapped his hand so at least he'd be able to get some sleep. In the morning we got up and he was still no better, so I called the nurse on call and brought him into work so they could get an x-ray. (Another major battle), until it was time for the x-ray the nurse was equally convinced that he had either broken his pinky or a small bone in the top of his hand, but when it came time to get the x-ray, the way he was yanking on his finger to keep his hands clasped, changed both of our minds. It turns out that bug bite had become infected and was radiating pain all through his hand. Phil and I felt so bad for him, and as soon as I got him home, I made a homeopathic concoction and by that night he was opening up his hand and most of the swelling had gone. During the whole issue though, I was really captivated at how well he could communicate his pain to me. Not even just verbally, but his physical cues spoke volumes. Viruses and infections can be tricky things to figure out, but when a kid has an injury, it's hard to miss the fact that something is wrong. I'm always hesitant to bring a kid into the ER because it gets abused so often I find, but you know if a toddler is refusing his toys, his food, his water, everything - and favouring a specific part of his body, that there really is something wrong.
As I've mentioned a couple times, we've been on the nanny hunt. It's been a headache and some drama, but I'm happy to announce we've hired someone and she'll be moving out here with us in October. She's seems like such a cool girl and I think she'll be a great fit with our family. Phil will be stuck with another bookworm, as she reads just as much as I do, if not more; but I interviewed her the other day and loved what she had to say, and loved her sense of adventure and really think she'll do great here. Apparently her aunt lived in Cambridge Bay for two years, thirty years ago. I'm really hoping having her here will help with the feeling I'm having of being spread way too thin. Phil's schedule is overwhelming and he's my hero for it. For the kind of work that he does and how available he needs to be, my hat goes off to him. Yesterday he had to go in on his day off to relieve two guys who had been working 16 hours straight (for safety reasons obviously) and he ended up being just as busy getting called out and then coming home and having to help with the drama that was Sophia last night. I remember him saying this morning as he was crawling into bed that he had to be at work in 45 minutes and I don't remember him being in bed with me most of the night. It's different when you have to get up with your kids and you can stay in your pj's and deal with the situation and on top of that, you love them. But when you're dealing with idiots who don't care about you and are being as difficult as possible and you've got to gear up and get out and be totally coherent and keep yourself safe, that takes skill and a patience I don't have.
Needless to say, working full-time, being on call when Phil is on call and coming home to him heading out to work to be full-time mommy and getting woken up throughout the night either because of his work or my kids is wearing really thin with me. I'm still finding it impossible to get to sleep before midnight here and thankfully, my Naturopath has intervened and will be aiding in the sleep department; but I really think having our nanny out here will be such a load off. Even just having another adult-female in the house to cook and eat with and chat with while Phil is working night shift will be really nice. And some of you may be thinking it's not a good idea to make friends with your nanny, but when you live in a place like Cambridge Bay, and you're moving someone into your 3 bedroom bungalow to watch your kids and live such a unique adventure with you, making friends with them is essential. It's like taking on another relationship because there's nowhere to hide or run off to. You can go for a walk, but at 5pm, everything closes down here and in the winter time, if there's a storm, you're not going anywhere. Friendships are key to survival here.
Oh yes, last thing. I never announced it when it happened, perhaps in fear of jinxing it, because I believe Phil or I have been cursed by the water gods and the house drama gods - but our place has officially sold and closed. It sold a few days before we left Ottawa, but I just didn't want to say anything until it had closed and the money was in the bank. We officially are mortgage free for at least 3 1/2 years. It's a pretty nice feeling (probably even more so for Phil).
Anyways, I think that's all for now. I know there's more - there always is, but I can't think of it right now. Soooooo.....
Until next time... :)
