My mechanics and other stuff

Watching from the window, he's getting so tall!

Child labor at work again.

Colby recieved his General Lee dinky back after we thought it was lost. He hasn't put it down since!

I blame this on Kara. She put a post on her blog a while back about how excited she was that someone brought her fresh peaches, which made me crave them. When Joey and I went for a walk yesterday these were at teh Northern. And at that price, I'm tempted to eat the pit too!

Finally, we're offically residents!

We've been having some exhaust issues with the truck lately. We knew it was getting bad when we left NS, and didn't anticipate how bad the roads were up here. This was Rob's attempt at fixing the tailpipe that was literally about to fall off.

This is the end result. The truck now has NO tailpipe, but Rob has a fun toy!

Only my kid

Joey was awake this morning at 5:30 and would not go back down for a nap at all today. He ended up sleeping in his crib for about 45 minutes after lunch and then when he woke up we snuggled on the couch for an hour. He woke again and was just so cranky that I put him on the floor in a moment of frusteration (and I had to pee). When I came back, this is how I found him. The last picture I took just as he woke up, 1/2 hour later.

First full day of school

Today was a great day for Colby. I took these pictures from my kitchen window, so you can see just how close to the house he gets picked up! He says he had fun today, and has made his first friend, a little girl who lives just behind us.

Heaven received a special angel

Today is a very sad day in the Cameron family. My sister in law Kelly lost her Uncle Scott on Friday, and today is the celebration of his life. I really wish I could have been there for it. Scott was an amazing man, and I'm privledged to say that I knew him. He was the best story teller I ever knew. He spoke at Alan's (Kelly's dad) funeral, and told the most beautiful story of his life. He also gave a beautiful speech to Kelly at her wedding. He was the most generous man I ever met, and always made time to stop and say hello. I know he will be very missed by all who knew him.

School

Yesterday was Colby's first day of school. It was only for a 1/2 day for orientation. He was very excited about going on the bus and unfortunately the bus didn't come. So I drove him over and the principal was in the parking lot. He received many complaints yesterday about the bus not picking up the kids. Colby didn't want me to come in with him, which was very brave. I guess he was a bit overwhelmed in the class yesterday and became upset. When I got there to pick him up at lunch time he was fine and smiling in his classroom. Of course, being a mom I took it much harder than he did, but he doesn't know that. We waited this morning for the bus, which did come, but drove right by our house. Again, I had to pack him up in the truck and drive him over. I left him in the playground with the other kids and took Joey into the office to straighten out the bus situation. I stayed in the office until he walked in with his class, but out of sight so he couldn't see me. I was assured the bus would bring him home for lunch today and there should be no further issues. I walked down to his class as he was hanging up his jacket to say goodbye, as I didn't want to just walk out when he knew I was still there somewhere. He seemed to be fine, and told me he would see me at lunch time. Here's hoping. I'm sure he will adjust fine and settle in. I was in email contact with one of the teachers in the school before we moved here. I found out today that she helped calm Colby down and walked him back to his classroom yesterday. I met her this morning and she promised she would call me if there were any other issues with Colby. This makes me feel so much better. She's a special education teacher so she's always bopping around the school. It also helps that Colby's classroom is right across the hall from her office! She told me before we moved here that a bunch of the teachers from away have formed an unoffical "mom's group" that get together frequently to let the kids play and to vent to each other. She told me that they are all getting together this Friday after school and invited me along to meet the other moms. She is also having a birthday party for her daughter who is 7 on Sunday and invited us over. I'm sure this will be as good for me as it will for Colby, as I'm sure Joey is getting tired of only having me to talk to!

You've got to be kidding me!

Just noticed this outside. This very large coil was delivered Friday for a new diesel tank that will be going in for the gas bar. It was tied to a pallet up by the old store with the rest of the supplies, and it would have been located second to the left. Notice where the truck is parked. Had it not fell over (and for all I know the kids pushed it in that direction) because if they didn't the momentum would have drove it right into the truck. They say everything happens in 3's. Thankfully Rob is home tonight! (And as a side note, the pallet with the ramp was already there, they didn't put it there to try to push the coil over it)

Colby cam

When the truck was broken into, I was heartbroken at the thought that Colby's camera was also stolen. The case was in the truck, but there was nothing in it. I found it yesterday and was very quick to upload the pictures. Colby seems to have my passion for taking pictures, and loves to use the timer so he can make "the perfect face". The only pictures not taken by him are the ones of him when he said "take my picture mommy".

To Anonymous

I originally logged on to put some new pictures on the blog. I must say, I am very upset with a certain someone who left a very derogatory comment on my blog and you know who you are. I have not blocked anonymous comments from my blog, as most people leave their name and there are only a handful of people who leave comments anyways. I noticed that there was another comment left under my entry of "Dirty little f**ckers". The comment was "Do you think Mr. Lahey will let Kellie out of the trailer park to educate herself". I deleted the comment, and contemplated putting it here as a direct quote. Everyone is entitled to their opinions, and people have different views and beliefs. Although I do not agree with Kellie's point of view and stated such, I did not make any sort of comment against her personally. Nicole also made a comment stating that she did not agree, and did so in good taste (thank you). To leave such a rude comment towards a member of my family is uncalled for and I won't have it. To those of you who don't know, Kellie is my cousin. And, to top it all off, the comment is insulting people who live in a trailer park. Kellie has never lived in a trailer park, I DID! So, not only are you insulting my cousin, you're insulting me! I would love to know who left it, but obviously someone who doesn't have enough courage to leave their name, or who didn't think the comment through, as I'm sure I'm more offended than Kellie. Leave your name or don't comment.

Day 2 of single parenthood

Rob has been gone since yesterday afternoon and won't back back until Sunday night. I always envied him when I was working of the "free time" he had during the evenings when the kids were in bed. Well, I gotta tell ya, it's not what it's cracked up to be. The house is very, very quiet. There's only so much TV or movies you can watch, and it's really hard to not fill the boredom by eating. The time difference up here really sucks, because it's only 10PM here and would be a good time to catch up with friends, since LD rates are substancially cheaper (it's .48/min before 6 up here). But, since we're 3 hours behind everyone else, i don't think people would appreciate a phone call at 1AM!

Just a little update

Truck is no longer in 4 wheel drive. After speaking with Kass for over an hour venting, she googled "stuck in 4 wheel drive" and there was a suggestion about putting the truck in reverse. I remember Rob telling me that you had to stop and put the truck in reverse to disengage the hubs. I quickly ran out to the truck, backup up a little bit, and it slid right into 2H! Finally something is going right today! I was also surfing around XS Cargo's website, and I can get a really nice deck for the truck with an MP3 player for 88.88 and 10.00 shipping. I'm going to show it to Rob but I think this is the best way to replace the stereo. That way we don't have to worry about an IPod, if we can make an MP3. The sunglasses are a loss, as it would be covered under our tenant's insurance and the deductible is 500.00. Since we have to buy the stereo (deductible for theft on the truck is 250.00, not worth it for 100.00 stereo) and we have to put a new exhaust on the truck, it's not in the cards right now to buy new sunglasses. Real shitty though because we had finally found sunglasses we liked. Oh well, I keep thinking it could have been a lot worse. They could have smashed out the windows, slashed the tires, etc. Can you tell I've calmed down?

Dirty rotten little fu*%ers

Sorry in advance for the negative post and I apologize to anyone this may offend.

Woke up this morning to find someone has broke into the truck and trashed it. Ipod (which was hidden under the seat) gone, faceplate for the stereo gone, BUT they left the stereo (not the brightest bunch of people here, seeing as the faceplate is no good without the stereo), Rob's prescription sunglasses gone ( but they were nice enough to leave the case and his clips to his glasses), my prescription sunglasses (guess they didn't have as much respect for me as I found my case on the ground about 20 feet away from the truck), and the ashtray. Why the f**k would anyone want an ashtray? Well, because it had about 75 cents in pennies and nickels, plus about 15 pieces of gum. I found the ashtray on the ground, not far from my sunglasses case. I'm taking this really hard to be honest, as I have never had my vehicle broken into before. I think the hardest part I have with all of this is everyone knows who we are, and everyone knows what we drive as we are the only ones in this community with a Pathfinder. So, whoever broke into the truck knew exactly who they were stealing from. I was really beginning to feel comfortable here, and now I don't. And, to top it all off, when I went out to clean it out (they ripped everything out of the glovebox so it was a mess), I went to move the truck to the front of the house so I could keep an eye on it, AND IT'S STUCK IN 4 WHEEL DRIVE. They were fuckin' around with the 4 wheel drive shifter and I don't know what they've done but I can' t get it out of 4 low. Rob came home for lunch today to get a call saying they need him to go to Fort Resolution, which is 5 hours away, and they need him to go NOW. "Pack a bag, and expect to be there a couple days". So I'm here for at least the next couple of days by myself with the boys and a truck that doesn't move. Rotten little fuckers. I hope they choked on the gum.

Busy week ahead

Next week is going to be a busy week in the Schwartz household. Colby begins school on Monday (I thought it was Friday but it has been changed to Monday), Adrien "the Mexican" comes Thursday and he's staying until Saturday morning, and Adam arrives Saturday evening for 12 days. Colby is getting really excited about school. We went out and bought him new sneakers and new clothes for school next week, and I let him pick it all out. I called the school this morning and asked if I needed to send him a snack for recess, as the kids are bussed home and back again for lunch. I was told that there was no need, as this is all provided for the kids. The only day that snacks are not provided is Fridays, which is "Bring a snack to share" day. The kids all bring snacks to share with their class. What a fabulous idea! That way the kids get to know each other really quickly, and get to taste a variety of foods. All the snacks provided by the school are healthy (veggies, cheese and crackers etc) and I'm sure looking at the dietary habits of my neighbours via watching them shop at the Northern, this may be the only healthy snack some of these kids get. I'm still amazed at the amount of money spent up here by the government on schooling. They pay their teachers top dollar, all school supplies and snacks are provided for the kids, and they are bussed to and from school plus home and back for lunch everyday. And the kids are dropped off at their houses, there is no such thing as walking to the bus stop. I doubt it's the same in Yellowknife, but I don't know. It is self governed out here, and if the money they spend on education is any indication of where their priorities are, keep me here!

In other news, Joey is now walking more and more each day. He now for the most part walks around the living room, and is beginning to enjoy cartoons and kids shows. He also has a Fisher Price shape box, where the lid has holes in the shapes of the blocks included, and loves to dump them out and put them in the proper holes. It's funny to watch him. He concentrates so hard on which one goes in which hole, and then you can see his facial expression change when he remembers that the lid comes off. He smiles, lifts the lid off, and puts the rest of the blocks in it. Leave it to a male to find the easiest way!

First cookout in NWT

This is the Northern's version of a locked door. Actually, the kids around here keep breaking into the warehouse. Rob put a new lock on the door the day before last and they busted that one off. This was Rob's answer to keep them out until they can fix the lock (again).

Connie, Dave and Joey Brave Mr. Joey decided he wanted to walk. Notice the kids behind them. We were all dressed in jeans and fleece sweatshirts, and the kids were still swimming. These kids are tough as nails!

This nearly stopped my heart. We were going approxiamtely 90 km/hr and were behind this truck. There are 4 kids in the back, and at times were leaning over the side.

Rob, Joey, Colby, Connie and David

Colby took a spill at the playground the day before yesterday.

Colby and Connie roasting marshmellows

Connie and David invited us along last night to a cookout they had. (David is the manager of the Northern that Rob works at, and Connie is his wife). This is a provincial park about 10 minutes up the highway from where we live. It was packed! They made a full Jiggs Dinner, with salt beef and cabbage, veggies and a roast. It was soo yummy! Then we lit a fire and roasted marshmellows and hotdogs. Life is really rough up here, LOL!

Another weekend in Rae

One of my new favorite shots of Rob and Colby.

Yes, Joey will in fact eat anything. This was him playing with the lens cover of my camera.

This is my first attempt at making bread. The buns ended up as "uni-bun" but still tasted good.

This is what Rob and I did tonight. Each pan is doubled layered.

Mommy, is Big Brother on tonight?

This is what I heard last night at the supper table. I looked at Colby, and then looked at Rob as if to say "What? Why is our 5 year old asking about Big Brother?" Colby then proceeded to tell me that Jessica, Danielle and Amber were his favorites, because when I asked why he giggled and said "because they're pretty". I then asked him who the rest of the people on the show were. To this he replied "well, there's Dick, Zack, Dustin, Jen and Jamika" and when I asked him who "America's Player" was, he said Eric. I couldn't help but laugh. I have been watching Big Brother, and have only had it on 2x in the evenings when Colby has been up. (We have satellite and most of the time I watch it when it comes on later when the kids are in bed). I didn't realize he had been playing attention to the show. In just 2 shows, he memorized all the characters and now has his favorites. And, as a side note, when it was on last night and Amber lost HOH to Daniele he was near tears. When the hell did this kid grow up???

My boy is growing up!

He starts school next friday, in GRADE 1!

Our family day

Rob had the weekend off this weekend and had a great time. We went "buffalo hunting" with cameras and found one. That picture I will upload tomorrow as the internet is extremly slow tonight. These pictures were taken at a radio tower we found just up the road from where we live.

Northern Store prices