Summer/Not Summer

Hey, it's practically June and I haven't posted in awhile. Sorry about that. The weather here flips from one day to the next. It has been just hovering about zero and it's been up to 25 degrees in the past week. Summer seems to be a myth.

What have we been up to?

First, the visit of my in-laws. We had a great time, acted like tourists, we ate Moose, we ate Jigg's Dinner, we ate cod, we ate lobster and we ate way too many meals of fish and chips and stayed the night on Bell Island.

It was cold. Note the winterish coat. So very, very cold. But very beautiful. I still can't believe we really live here. Seeing the ocean whenever I want is still pretty amazing for this prairie girl. 

This Sunday, it was a balmy 25degrees, so we went to the beach with some friends. Fire, water and lobster, a perfect combination for a perfect East Coast day.

A Lobster almost as big as 6 month old M. (side note: SIX MONTHS! Where did the time go??)

It is glorious to eat lobster outdoors. There is no finicking with tools and wee forks, just a couple of rocks to smash and they open like a charm. 

I grew up hearing the story of how my parents made a turkey on the beach when they lived in Australia - they buried it with hot rocks in the sand and came back hours and hours later. Nothing was as good as that turkey, it fell off the bone and they loved it. They still tell the story over 30 years later.

I think, in 30 years, we will still be telling stories of eating lobster on the beach in Newfoundland, and how it is amazing. 

Wordless Wednesday

Contradictions

A traditional favourite of Newfoundland: Purity Brand.

These crackers are delicious, but...

"Keep in a dry place" in this province? What are they, kidding me? My walls are growing mold.

Then again... it's not very dry back home these days, either.

Mother's Day (and an update of sorts)

I woke up on Sunday morning to whispering in the kitchen, then a wee girl appeared at my bedside smiling and handing me the lovely hand-drawn card above. "Happy Mother's Day!" she squealed.
We went off to church and then out to Swiss Chalet for lunch. G kept spontaneously wishing me a Happy Mother's Day all day. It was great.

Speaking of church, I have forgotten to mention on this blog that we officially have a church home. We've been attending Avalon Wesleyan  since the beginning of March, I've been going to a home group on Mondays and we've really been embraced by the church. It's a small church, so we were the first to attend with children - but that has all changed since we got there, as more families have joined the church (and one baby was born last week!).
We still attend an Anglican church on the occasional Saturday night as well.
We have been making friends and finally are feeling a bit more settled in St. John's. Paul finished up his courses for his PhD in April, so it's only comps and thesis work from here on out. He'll be teaching classes in the fall as well, but this summer is quite open to taking time off, which works out well, since we have family visiting all throughout the summer. We'll be able to get out and see some of this island we call home!

Not-So-Wordless Wednesday

It's Star Wars day! May the Fourth be with you:

Wordless Wednesday

BIG DAY

It's a big day in our house. A very big day. Is it the federal election? Is it the death of a famous terrorist?

No.

It's Both Girls in the Same Room Day! Hooray!

Okay, so technically, that day was Sunday night. We've done two nights of it so far. We decided on Saturday that we'd do a trial run. We did have to disassemble the crib to move it, so it's turning out to be a little less temporary then we thought at first - it may be hard to get up the energy to move it back if we need to.

So far, it's had mixed results. G was really excited when the crib came into her room, solemnly repeated our instructions of
-do not throw anything in the crib
-do not climb into the crib
-do not attempt to "help" M in any way
 She seemed pretty on board with the whole thing.
Then, nighttime came, and she had a bit of trouble falling asleep (M was not yet in her crib), she asked for glasses of water, her bear and had the following conversation with Paul: "Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!" (he goes to the room) "Daddy, say I love you" "Okay, I love you, G." "No! I want to say it!" "Okay, go ahead" "I love you Daddy". After that, she slept. Even through a bit of crying from M as she protested being put down.

Then, 4am happened. Repeated calls for Daddy - and when Mommy tried to go in, even more desperate calls for Daddy. She never mentioned M or the crib, but something was off.
But, she was soothed back to sleep eventually.
Last night went better with both girls sleeping great.

However, naps are a bit of an issue. G is very used to being able to play in her room any time she wants, so M napping in it makes her a bit upset. G also has stopped taking an actual nap in the afternoon in favor of a 2-hour quiet time in her room, and I can't leave M in the room for that.
So, M sleeps in the middle of our bed. Which works for now, but not for much longer.