Spring thaw

From ice crashing outing yesterday. I was holding G’s hand while he went along the shore and crushed, crushed that ice. I would have done the same had I been wearing proper footwear, it looked like lots of fun!

Spring is super short here. Snow evaporates almost immediately due to the dry climate and there is no slush or mud. Just dust. LOTS of dust.

Next year's goal: escape the shoulder season.

Ice caves

Spring will be back…we have 5 cm of snow these couple of days. G doesn’t mind as he gets to kick it and play with a shovel. My car is parked indoors and in my swift five-minute commute to work/daycare, I am barely concerned by the precipitation. V, on the other hand, has to clear his truck in the mornings and shovel the show at work.

Spring hike

We almost made it to the falls:)


Look at this mischievous guy. His dad decided that snow pants were not necessary for this hike since we were just going to look at the Falls. Yeah, right. G had other plans - he just bathed in the deep snow and the sunlight! Soaking up his mittens and sweat pants. It was clear that going further down the trail was not going to happen and we had to turn around. Oh, well...next time we will make it.

Feeling the Spring energy more and more everyday. Sunlight is so bright. It will be interesting to see how V reacts to no darkness since it'll be his first summer in the North. Second for me. Wow. Time flies.

Plans for the weekend

Maybe I can convince V to drive us to a nearby trail this weekend, just for a change of scenery. We have a trail that’s about 70 km long, called Ingraham with scenic campsites along it. I am not much of a camper, rather I enjoy outdoors in comfort☺ But I do love driving, so will see.
Daylight is getting much longer. Still light around 10-10:30 pm and I think I am back into my not-sleeping-so-well-without-darkness mode. Eeshk, I am not looking forward to that!

The pics are from a week ago – it’s becoming our Sunday outing tradition now that the winter is almost over. G loves walking the dogs, gets all giggly and excited that he can hold a leash with an animal attached to it! just forgets that he has to hold it tightly☺

Happy Friday to all!

March

To say that this winter was rough – is to say nothing at all…From being down with flu for almost two months, to two broken cars (that couldn’t be repaired in Northwest Territories and had to be transported to Alberta), we have nearly made it.

It’s March now. Today is just below 0. We’ve spent the weekend outdoors enjoying the warmth.

My mom was visiting. It was her third visit to Yellowknife, since we relocated. It was so comforting to have her with us for nearly two weeks. I love how she gets when she sees Aurora, or when we drive on the frozen lake. She fell for YK just like I did. I love that we share this feeling for this magical place.

Funny how after becoming a mother myself, I still miss time with my mom. And even though she nags me a lot (all Russian mothers do!), I love having her around.
G adores his “babyshek” and the way they played and bonded made me feel happy.

Winter blues are over. SO GLAD you are here, Spring!

Smoke in town

Far better today that it was yesterday. The wildfire smoke from the South region of the Territories blanketed our little capital. It wasn’t really hard to breath but it resulted in this weird migraine…that made it hard to get through the working day.

I’m thinking of doing a rain dance on the terrace of my building:)Hopefully it will rain…

Hooked

Wouldn't you be,too?

I'm glad I've started with the beginner SUP course. As soon as the wind picked up, and my board (with me on it!) was being dragged away from the bay, a slight panic occurred. I really had to paddle hard (you mostly use your core to push yourself rather than the paddle) to catch up with the classmates, who were more cautious:)

Rewarded with a gorgeous sunset, double rainbow, calm waters and mama duck with ducklings, it was the best evening!

The town I live in

From my bike ride the other day...Mix of boats and float planes, house boats and huge mansions. Indigenous art next to Subway and TD bank. Contrast and juxtaposition. Middle of nowhere. My kind of place:)

Midnight sun

I t's 12:30 am and look how bright out. 24 hour daylight has it’s effect – I’ve never felt this energetic in my life. NEVER.

I go to work every morning, drive to spca to walk the dogs right after, quick dinner/lunch prep, gym or go for a run – still light out. There’s this constant feeling that since it is not dark outside, you should be doing something.

Yesterday I moved to a new apartment. It is my third move in the past nine months...I couldn’t be happier with this constant change...heck, I’m getting addicted to it!

Birds are chirping. Nature is awake and so am I.

Saying goodbye

Iwas warned about this… first few weeks I arrived in the North and started meeting new people, I was told that one of the realities of living here is having to let go of your friends when they leave.

It’s a transient town. People always come and people always go… I get that. I just have a very hard time getting used to that.

Oh the North, you’re more challenging than I ever imagined you’d be!

Finding self

It's been almost two months since G left Yellowknife. Whole two months off of motherhood for me…

I’d be lying if I said I don’t enjoy this time. Time on my own. Every passing day I realize how much I needed it. Filling in days with experiences – no interruptions, no (serious) cooking, changing diapers, entertaining and taking care of a little human.

For some reason, I always felt that once I become a mom, I’d be “complete”. How can you not when everything around you screams that “marriage + children” = social norm. And yes, there was part of me that always felt so, that I needed to fulfill that void, expectation, whatever it’s called.

What about another part? Am I capable of experiencing joy and being happy outside of family life and motherhood? Am I contributing to the community I live in? Spending time on matters I care about? My thoughts and desires? My dreams? In other words, have lost myself without even realizing it?

I’m trying to figure it out. I take a dog from a nearby dog shelter for a walk while I think about that...wilderness is all around us… I feel centered. I feel mighty. I feel free…

Power cut

This morning – just like that – all the lights in the whole town went out for almost an hour! What’s the big deal you might think – power cut. But let me tell you, when it’s -35 outside and the apartment starts to cool off in about 20 minutes – it’s a big deal! I couldn’t cook – the stove was not working, I couldn’t go online to check anything – the modem was out. Scary!
Thankfully it went back on, and life moved on in its usual pace.

Nobody said it’ll be easy

Four months in the North. Two full months of solo parenting. One day can pass by like a minute, another – like an eternity. It was a hard weekend. We both were sick, clingy and miserable. Saturday the babysitter came in, so I could get out for some groceries and a much needed break. To say the least, G wasn’t thrilled about my merely an hour absence. By the end of day Sunday, G lost it and scratched my face in the heat of a tantrum. I probably deserved it...

Grateful it’s Monday! even though it’s -29 outside.

Start

I feel that before talking about our recent change, I should at least bring you up to speed on the past two years. To say the least, they weren’t the easiest.

After my maternity leave ended in May 2015, I went back to work. Little did I know that my happy working self would merely last five months – things at work had changed while I was away and it was time to move on…

At the same time, V was starting up his new venture – a custom wood furniture shop and needed help with branding/website. G was just little over 17 months, so we decided that I’ll stay home, indefinitely.

We took him out of daycare and with that, my stay-at-home-mom days begun.
At the beginning it wasn’t bad, pardon me my straightforwardness; I was busy helping out V, it was wintertime and days were filled with social engagements and events. I barely was noticing the change. In February, we went to visit my parents in Maine, stayed with them for about a month and before you know it, it was springtime. Coming April, we went to Mexico for a short getaway. Only after our arrival, the reality of staying home kicked in.

How exactly was it for me? Well, I was pretty much driven by the sheer thought of “husband will eventually come home”, and I’ll have some me-time, some time for activities other than cooking, laundry, walks to the playground. During the days, every opportunity I had to get out of the house with G – I took. Funny, but looking back on that time now, I was the most social self☺ I’ve met some very awesome mothers in the community and always had somebody to go with for a coffee, for a stroll in the park or just hang out. That’s what actually helped me through those tough times – support of women around me.

I was also deep into new job search. I was determined to find something that will bring change…not just a change to my “stay-at-home “status but to our life in general…not sure how to describe it, but for some reason I knew that relocating would be a new start. So I applied all over Canada. Without going too much into the detail about the job search (I’m sure you’ve all been through it), I was offered a position in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories.

So here I am, a working mom with a job that makes me smile and a toddler who smiles back at me at the end of every work day when I pick him up.

This is our story… let’s begin.

Out of the blue, I know. But better late than ever, right? And look, it's only been two years:) I can’t wait to share the latest news of our little family. Just need to wrap my head around where to start…

Oh, this place is our new home. Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada. We’re loving it here so far☺