Friday, November 28, 2008

The past few days

The trip to Saskatoon has been overshadowed by the break in, but it was a good trip. We left for Saskatoon Tuesday morning at 5:30AM, as it is a 5-6 hour drive to Saskatoon, depending on the volume of deer on the road and required pee breaks. The drive was long but the kids were fabulous. We stayed at Motel 6 in Saskatoon, where the room was a bit on the small side but the kids loved the pool. Joey has no fear of water, and quickly let go of Rob completely to play in the water that was up to his neck. We figured as soon as he went under (which he did quite a few times) he would be scared and want to get out. Not this kid! We were all in bed by 8 PM and up the next morning by 6. We did lots of shopping at WalMart, and of course there were Tim Horton's runs. Conveniently there was a Tim Horton's in the parking lot of the hotel! SCORE!

I posted pictures on Facebook of both the break in and the trip. If you want to see the break in pictures, click HERE, and if you want to see the pictures of the trip, click here

CSI: Saskatchewan

I was afraid I would be off line longer than this but I have the most amazing husband who realized that without internet I would go completely batty. I love him so much. You'll understand why in a few minutes.

This week started out great. We left for Saskatoon Tuesday morning for a couple medical appointments and an overnight trip. We had a great time, enjoying the hotel and the pool. Joey and Colby loved playing in the pool with Rob, and of course pictures will follow shortly.

On our way back, we received a phone call from Rob's grocery manager that our house had been broken into. She received a call from one of the women I work with at the preschool wondering if we were back because our door was wide open. She came right down to the house and called the cops. We figure it was kids looking for money. They smashed our TV and computer monitor, ransacked the house, stole Colby's PS2 and all his games (but left the power supply and all the controllers), Rob's rifle (this is the heartbreaker for him as this was his grandfather's gun), my Canon Rebel, Colby's portable DVD player, (plus a lot of other stuff) and then left the fridge and freezer wide open, spoiling all our food. The worst part about it is that when we got back into town yesterday the cops couldn't let us in the house because they were waiting for the "crime scene specialists" to come in, and they wouldn't be here until today. It was heartbreaking to look at our house with a big wooden board across the door to keep it closed. I kept looking for Gil Grissom, and when the member showed up, that is what I nicknamed him.

I honestly had a hard time with it at first, not knowing what was taken or destroyed in the house. My mind kept going over what we had in the house, and it was things like the kids baby photo albums that were in drawers, the ENTIRE box of christmas gifts I have in my closet, our home movies, etc. They also completely ripped apart Rob's closet that we call "man land" which has his tools, etc. The contents of that closet were all over the kitchen floor. We figure they were looking for money. We have offered a reward for the return of Rob's gun. We have insurance to cover everything else, but it's just a royal pain in the ass. Luckily the community has been very supportive, everything from offering to help clean the house and cook to taking care of the boys while we cleaned up. I realize now it's just material stuff, stuff can all be replaced.

And to explain the first sentence. Since the laptop was stolen and the monitor was smashed, it meant we would have to wait for internet at home until we replaced the monitor. Honestly, the thought made me sick. I'll admit it. I'll stand up and scream "MY NAME IS TINA AND I'M ADDICTED TO THE INTERNET". My most amazing, fabulous husband came home tonight with a 19' flatscreen TV to use as a monitor until we get ours replaced, which is how I'm now telling you the story. I love my husband.

Monday, November 24, 2008

I LOVE these women!

I read a blog called Margaret and Helen, these are 2 senior citizen women who blog almost everyday. They remind so much of my grandmother, and Nan, Rob's grandmother. When I read this post this morning I nearly peed my pants. But they say everything I feel about this, just in a way only a grandmother would. The topic was Breastfeeding in Public, and I couldn't resist copying it here. The first entry was posted by Helen, who is 82. She also just posted a letter to her family about the rules for Thanksgiving dinner, which is worth the trip over there to read.

If I had a dime for every exposed breast I have seen recently, I’d have about a buck-fifty. And I don’t hang out at those nude beaches that have become so popular. What I am talking about here is public breast feeding. One of the women in my quilting group has three daughters. I can’t remember a time in recent memory when one of them wasn’t pregnant. The last time we were at her house, her youngest daughter was there with her three boys. So in the middle of quilting I look over and she’s sitting there fully exposed feeding the baby. In my day, you left the room and came back about 20 minutes later -often times wearing your blouse inside out by mistake. But times have changed so I just looked away. But then her four year old came into the room and said, “ChiChi Momma. ChiChi“ And I wouldn’t have believed it had I not seen it with my own eyes, but the four year old reached up and grabbed his momma’s ”ChiChi” and had himself a little milk with his cookies. Well you could have knocked me over with a feather. It seems that all three of her daughters are members of that La Leche group. Well, I don’t know how far this group is willing to take it, but if a child is old enough to ask for it, their too old to see it. And if a 4 year old ever grabs for one of my breasts their going to get their hand slapped. Now a 44 year old is another story but don’t tell Harold I said that. Breastfeeding is fine by me. But putting it out there for everyone to see is like chewing with your mouth open. It’s just not polite. And that’s all I have to say about that.

From Margaret

First of all Helen, what did my bird ever do to you? Believe it or not dear, I have to agree with you 100% on this one. I know they say breastfeeding is a natural bodily function, but so is a bowel movement. You don’t see people dropping their drawers and doing that in the middle of your living room, now do you? For goodness sakes Helen. Let me pick the topic next time. That’s it. I’m done.

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Sheet titty!

This is the new word in my house. My wonderful, loving husband has certain obsessive compulsive characteristics. One is, what he calls "Sheet titties". Rob is one of those people who has to have the bottom sheet on the bed fitted perfectly on all the corners, or he can't sleep. It's beyond me how if the bottom corner is slightly untucked on MY side of the bed effects his sleeping, but somehow it does, according to him. This is a nightly thing with us, because in my mind as long as the sheet is on the bed and the corners are UNDER the mattress, they don't necessarily need to be stretched as far as they can go under the mattress so there are no wrinkles. The other night he yelled "SHEET TITTY" pointing at the slightly untucked corner of the sheet. I lost it. So now "sheet titty" is a new "Rob word". Right up there with "folderize", but that's another post.

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Canadian Blog Awards

Well this little blog has been nominated for a Canadian Blog Award. We've been nominated for Best Family Blog. Voting begins tomorrow (Sunday). Just thought I'd let ya know. You can vote for us or any of the other blogs at Canadian Blog Awards 2008.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

A change of pace

Although I love a good blog debate as much as the next person, it's time to have a change of direction here. The preschool I'm working at has provided me with a challenge that I'm asking your help with. We are doing christmas cards with the kids and I have been asked to find a verse / poem to go in the card. I've been surfing sites for the past few day and can't find anything I like. I want something from a preschoolers point of view to parents/ guardians. Does anyone either know of a site I can look at, or better yet, remember a card that was made for you from your little one that you just loved? I appreciate all your help.

To anonymous

Although I do appreciate that you have expressed your opinion, what I do not appreciate is that you are hiding behind "anonymous". I come from a family of hunters. I would eat wild meat over processed-bought-in-a-grocery store anyday. We also live in a rural area where meat is expensive and not always the best quality. My husband (well, both actually) is a hunter who hunts for the meat and not just the sport. All of the animal will be used, either by us or what we give to friends. Either leave your identity or don't comment. Any further anonymous comments will be deleted. - Tina

Monday, November 17, 2008

The Great White Hunter FINALLY gets his buck.

A Doe and Fawn that I had to take a picture of.
There is a story here. After 6 years, I FINALLY shot the second deer of my life. While I admit it wasn't as exciting as having a deer approach you while sitting in a stand but I was beside myself with excitement as we stalked across a clear cut trying to get in shooting range.
After Missing a doe a month ago, and another doe and buck this morning, we finally figured out that my rifle was not sighted in for 100yrds as I had thought. I used my partner's rifle and finally bagged my Buck. Not too big, a nice junior 8 pointer.
After we had him cleaned, I stood up and glanced behind me only to find my deer's twin, marching not even 30 yards away from us. My Partner grabbed the rifle and Bang! 2 deer cleaned and on the back of the truck in under an hour. A big thanks to the 3 guys from town that we met up with who helped us drag them the 3/4 of a mile to the truck.
I think that we have moved to the deer capitol of Canada. There is a group of Quebec hunters who found this place on google earth and decided to take a trip here. I guess they have to hunt out of province as the deer are Canadian and not Quebec'ers, so I guess there are no deer in Quebec.

Randoms from yesterday

Happy birthday Chenell ladies!

Two of my favorite little girls are turning 8 today. 8!! I can't believe it. I remember all to well when they were born and many hours spent at their house helping out their very tired mommy! And, of course, seeing as it is also their mommy's birthday, HAPPY BIRTHDAY KIRA, REBECCA AND NICOLE! Wish we were there.

Saturday, November 15, 2008

For Mom

That super cute little baby is me, and my mom is on the right. You can see the rest HERE

Playing around

I was asked to do some pictures here in town this week and a good friend of mine Sasha offered to let me use her backdrops for it. I love it! I SOO want one now! These were taken in my livingroom.

Friday, November 14, 2008

An update

More pictures can be found on Facebook if you click here.

I know I haven't been posting as much as I should this week, but we have had a really rough couple of weeks here. It all started a couple weeks ago when I got really sick. Horribly sick. It was one of the worst weeks I've had in a LONG time. Then, Rob and Colby got sick. Well, Colby has been sick on and off for the past month, but it has really escalated over the last couple of weeks. There was one day a few weeks ago we had planned a trip to Prince Albert but had to turn around because Colby was so miserable. We took him to the emergency where we were told it was "not an emergency" and to take him to the clinic later that afternoon. I was ready to get on a plane and head back to NS for health care. He seemed to get better for a few days and then this past week he has been miserable again. We made another appointment and was told that it probably isn't the stomach flu like we thought, and now we are waiting on results of culture tests. He seems to be better today and actually went to school this afternoon for the first time all week. Last night was the first night in over a week where we have all slept through the night.

In other news, we have LOTS of snow. The above picture just doesn't do it justice. It snowed here for 2 days and nights straight so now we have slippery roads and white trees. I love it!

Monday, November 10, 2008

OMG I want one!

I was surfing around this morning on a newspaper from home and I found this. It was developed in Nova Scotia! You really need to go see this. Click HERE (It may take a little while to load, but it's worth the wait!)

Sunday, November 09, 2008

Really, would you wear this???

Yes, I understand "reduce, reuse and recycle", and I also understand "art", but COME ON! This is just plain creepy. If you can't tell, this is jewlery made from parts of Barbie dolls. But the best part? THE PRICE! These pieces average 120.00 - 180.00 EACH! Not in my lifetime, thank you very much. :) (If you think I'm not serious, check out the website here )

New pics

Me and my guys.
Kara was sweet enough to send us a parka she had. It's a one piece and the hands are enclosed so you don't need mittens. I thought it would be a great idea for Joe, but as you can see he didn't like it one bit.
Yep, he's in there somewhere.
At this point I gave up, it just wouldn't fit over his head.
Colby received a package from David and Connie for his birthday. He was so excited to get his first cheque! Thanks guys, you guys are really too good to us.

Saturday, November 08, 2008

Look what I found!

I was searching for pictures from Rae and I found this video. It is dated June 28, 2007. The sound is a bit off but you get the idea. I can't believe the difference in his voice, and I'm so glad he grew into his face!

Canadian Blog Awards

Who knew? Not me, but I'm thrilled to see that a few of the blogs I read everyday are nominated. Thanks Darcy for shedding some light on this. You should really check out the Canadian Blog Awards 2008 and go vote!

Thursday, November 06, 2008

My first girls weekend away

A few weekends ago I went away for the day on a "girls photography day". A bunch of us, many who had never met before, clamored together in the freezing cold in North Battleford and had a day of "shooting". We went to a couple different locations, and this one was my favorite. These cars were in the middle of a rock quarry. And, as always, you can see more here

Wednesday, November 05, 2008

Tuesday, November 04, 2008

My little man is 7

3 days old. For the life of me I have no idea where the time has gone. Happy Birthday Colby!

Sunday, November 02, 2008

One year later

First of all, a big thank you to all of you for your kind words today. Today wasn't as hard as I thought it would be, but I'm sure a lot of that has to do with the fact that I don't live back home. I'm not back in Sackville, with memories being triggered by the enviornment around me. One of the highlights of my day is when my sister set up the webcam so I could "be there" when she played some of the home movies that she converted to DVD. Mom had an open house today, where friends and family dropped in throughout the day. It made the day a bit easier for her. It's hard to believe how much has changed in a year, and at the same time so much is still the same. This year has certainly taught me to enjoy the little things, to laugh more and to not sweat the small stuff. Well, two out of three ain't bad. :)

From today's Halifax Chronicle Herald

POWER

In loving memory of dad, Brian, who passed away November 2, 2007. A year ago today you were taken from us. Although the pain is slowly subsiding you have a special place forever in our hearts. We love and miss you Madeleine, Tina, BJ, Kassie and families.

It may be a bit quiet on the blogfront today.

Saturday, November 01, 2008

Birthday party

Today we had Colby's party. This is the cake we made, thanks to Marylou and my Mom sending the Pokemon figurines. The cake is actually 2 cakes layered together, as we got them from the Northern and re-decorated them. What I didn't know is that each cake was not a slab cake, but a double layered. So, the cake you see has 4 thin layers of cake and 3 layers of icing. But it was really really yummy! As always, it's much faster to upload pictures to Facebook, so you can see the rest of them here