Kid cam

One of the first things I did when we got to Halifax is give the kids the "pink camera". It is a small Canon Powershot that I bought used and use at preschool. It's very versatile and almost indestructable. (It lasted a whole year being used and dropped by preschoolers). I LOVED looking through the pictures, and here are some of my favorites.

Notice the "We love our Crosse". They were over an hour in the driveway with this. Each color in the cross had meaning. Blue for Nova Scotia, Green for Saskatchewan, Red and White for Canada. They amazed me with this, and I'm so glad there was a picture of it.

Sitting under the palm tree. Gramma and Puppa brought this back from Florida.

Only my kid

Me: Joe, if you don't stop bugging I am going to bite your nose off and spit it on the floor.

Joe: Mom, if you do that you'll see my brain!

The beginning of our trip

We had planned for a while that we would travel back to Nova Scotia for vacation this summer. The boys had not been there for 2 years, and although many family members had travelled up in this time, we had not seen Rob's parents, Rob's sisters family or my brother's family in that time. We had a nephew that I had never met, and it was time. School here in Ile a la Crosse ended on the 30th of June, and because of some great seat sales with Westjet we booked to fly out that day. June 30th was also the day of the high school graduation, and that is a BIG thing here in town. Many of the grads had asked me to do their photos that day, but one in particular had booked me for that day LONG before we ever considered vacationing in Halifax. (Think booking in January here). So I couldn't dissapoint her, so we made plans for her to have her pictures done at 11 and then I would leave right after that (our flights were not until 8). As the day drew nearer, I was contacted by another grad who wanted me to do their pictures also. I explained that I was leaving the day of grad and she wanted to get dressed up the night before and do the pictures then, as she really wanted ME to do them. How could I say no? Also, I had 2 other grads contact me for cap and gown pictures that week, so I spent the week taking pictures. I managed to get one session edited and back to them before I left, but the rest knew that they would have to wait until I got back. How could I say no to this?

Thursday the 30th arrived, and I raced around getting that photo session done. Rob and the boys had the truck all packed, and we were on the road by 12. We had to make a detour into Prince Albert for Northern related stuff, and then made it to the airport by about 6:30. The boys were so excited, and Joey had to put his luggage on the weigh in thingie.

All was going great until that dreaded "D" word was mentioned..... delayed. Yep, our flight was delayed and there was a chance we would not make our connection (we were flying to Calgary to get the red eye to Halifax). We watched anxiously as the time ticked away, and our flight was not there. Our flight which was suppose to leave at 8:45 did not leave until almost 9:15. We were suppose to make a connection in Calgary at 10:00. Luckily we were not the only ones that were catching that flight. We boarded the plane, and I noticed that "nervous Colby" was coming out. I honestly assumed that any air sickness would be from Joey, but it was Colby. He was REALLY nervous about flying, and was really upset when we took off. We ended up giving him a Gravol to settle his stomach, but that first part of the flight was quite rough on him. He did manage to keep his cool, and we landed in Calgary. We knew we had NO time to waste making this connection, but walking to the gate we saw a small convenience place and thought it would be a good idea to grab some Gingerale for Colby. While Rob did this I quickly took Joe to the bathroom (which again, right on the way). As soon as I came out of the bathroom (maybe 2 minutes) we hear "Schwartz Party of 4 please go to your gate IMMEDIATELY" so we RAN to the gate. We just made it! Of course everyone else at this point is waiting for us, so we sheeplishly made our way to our seats. I sat next to a woman who smiled at me and said "So, where were you that you made us all wait?"..... to be continued.

Colby is trying to be brave, but his belly got the best of him shortly after this picture was taken. Prince Naveen...... the next post will have his story also....

I'm back... for good this time

I have made a big decision tonight. I will no longer being updating my Faceb00k status anymore. I have sorely been neglecting this blog, and I realized it tonight when I logged on to the blog to see who has updated their blogs, and realized I haven't done my own. I have a HUGE 2 week family vacation to blog about, and I will be doing that as soon as I have the pictures edited. Anyone who knows me knows that I NEVER post pictures that I haven't edited. So I will be blogging about the vacation in pieces, with pictures to go with it. I'm glad to be back.

Halifax

We are having such a good time in Halifax that there has been no time to blog. Many pictures to follow, I promise. :)

Leavin' on a jet plane

In less than a week!! Preschool is now done for the kids, so I have a few days left next week to disassemble my classroom and pack up my personal items. There is still quite a bit of uncertaintly surrounding my current job, but unfortunately I can't post any details yet. Keep your fingers crossed!

Happy father's day

Father's day is bitter sweet for me. Rob is an amazing father and this is his 10th father's day as a Dad. It's also one of the days a year that reminds me that my Dad isn't here.

Maybe it's an East Coast thang....

I've been told I'm too nice (Shut up Adam, your opinion doesn't count). There are contractors in town right now doing some work for the store in the next community and in Rob's store. When they were here a few months ago, I would make extra supper and send it over to them. Tonight we made home made burgers and potato salad, and I took out a couple extra pork chops and some chicken thighs and threw them on the bbq along with the burgers. We plated it up and sent it over (there are 4 contractors here right now). When I have told people about this, I get mixed reactions. (We do this for everyone that comes in town). I've been accused of being a "suck up" (we always cook for Rob's district manager when he comes into town) and was told today that we are just "too nice". One of the women I work with admitted that she would never think to do what we do when someone comes from out of town. Here's the way I look at it: the contractors are here doing improvements on Rob's store. These are 4 guys here, working 10-12 hour days, eating frozen pizza and Hungry Man dinners. I would hope that if the roles were reversed and Rob was one of those guys, someone would make them a home cooked meal every once in a while. The town we live in is really small, and there is only 1 restaurant that the food is average at best, really really crappy at worst. The same goes for when someone comes from out of town. I figure if they are travelling all the way here (it's a 5 hour drive from the airport unless they come on the private plane and then it's only 5 minutes away) they should at least have a decent meal when they get here. Maybe it's just the Newfoundlander in me, or maybe it's the way I was raised. When I asked Rob about this, he said "it's an East Coast thing". What do YOU think?

joey reading

Your laugh for the day

My baby's pre-k grad

You can kiss the student when that student is yours.

So proud!

Joe and Brian. Notice the Metis sash around his waist?!

They're baaaaaaack!

I love them. I always will.

When did he grow up???

There are perks to being the pre-k teacher AND the class photographer.

My not so little boy

I totally get it

Before I met Rob I never camped. We were never a camping family, and the closest thing we ever did was set up a tent in the yard and sleep out there. When we first starting dating, he took me to the campground where his parents were seasonal and showed me where they spent most of their free time. I just didn't get it. Rob's parents, in my opinion, were quite well off. They had a big beautiful house, 2 vehicles, nice EVERYTHING, and yet they packed up each weekend to spend at their camper. They ate off dollar store dishes, lived in a space 1/2 the size of the trailer I lived in, and seemed genuinely happy about it.

Sitting at the campground this weekend, eating breakfast off paper plates, looking at my kids who were already dirty from playing, I got it. I completely understood why they left their lives in the city and camped. I'm not saying that I think we are the "rich" people I thought Rob's parents were ( I see everything very differently now), but for the first time in 16 years we are comfortable. I felt so relaxed when we were away, something I haven't truly felt in months. There is a lot going on right now, some things I can't post here but if you read the news about Saskatchewan teachers and remember that I am employed as one you will understand. I uploaded these pictures last night and it shows how much fun we had. We won't get out camping again until after we get back from Nova Scotia, but we left all the supplies in there. It won't be long after we get back that we hit the road again.

Walking on a suspension bridge we found at a nearby park. I played the girl card and chickened out.

That's Joey, climbing to the top of the hill.

My great rummage sale find. I LOVE this suitcase. Colby had to take a turn running down the hill also.

The boys spent the weekend playing badminton.

Heavy times

I am really trying to get out from underneath the black cloud that seems to be following me around. I've kept it off FB and here, but so many people have been asking why they haven't heard from me so I feel I owe you all an explanation. Yes cyber family, I love you all for your concern.

There are HUGE changes in my very near future (and no, we're not moving). My job is a term position, and the term will be up as of June 30. Every year my job is reposted, and every year I wait to see if a certified teacher will realize what a jewel of a job I have and apply. If a certified teacher applies for my job, I will automatically be bumped. I am in the last course of a 2 year program to obtain my ECE, but unfortunately although the school board has paid for this they cannot guarantee me a job. The Saskatchewan Teachers are also in a union fight right now, and we had our first "rally" day a few weeks ago. These scare me because again, although I'm not a teacher I have to fight with them because I am part of their union. So I have already been required to spend a rally day with them knowing full well I will not be paid for it. They are currently returning to the bargining table so I check my email everyday to see if there is another walk-out planned. We get 36 hours notice by email if this happens.

Add to this I have taken it upon myself to do all the pre-k grad pictures (of course, why wouldn't I?) I did all their pictures in front of a green screen, and there are 34 of them so I have been photoshopping every night trying to get these done. The grad is a big deal here so there's a lot of work.

And speaking of work, there are also big changes happening with the pre-k program. Currently, the program is offered in the headstart program here in town, but next year it will be operated right out of the elementary school. For anyone who lives in a small community, you know that most programs are provincially funded, so this is a HUGE impact for the Friendship Centre to lose this program. So there is a lot of uncertainty going on, because frankly no one really knows the details yet. All I know is this will be the last year I will be working in this building, with these women. That really sucks.

And to top it all off, yesterday at work that one of my students will not be returning because of an incident that happened in her house. Although I am not comfortable discussing the details, let's just say all the children were taken from their home in the middle of the night, their father is in jail and their mother is in the hospital in critical condition. Another little girl told me yesterday on the day home that "Daddy hit mommy and made her cry and now he's in jail". It is hard not to cry at work, and yesterday finding out these 2 things within an hour of each other left me coming home with a very sore lip, because biting it was what I did to not cry and scoop her up to hug her.

But, as usual my hubby is coming to my rescue. I had been asked to do a photography shoot in Prince Albert this weekend, so he decided to make it a camping weekend. Oh yes my friends, we're going camping! The camper is set, we bought a new mattress last night for our bed in there, and we're heading out of town for 3 glorious days. It is just what I need right now. No work, no stress, just 3 days camping with the most important people in my life, and Jamie and Clare of course. :)

Happy birthday Joey!!!

The blog challenge is on hold, because well frankly I have more important things to blog about and I'm honestly losing interest. So I'm going to pepper it in. Today my baby turns 5. Really, 5? Where did the time go? He is growing into quite the little man, so much like his brother. He is now independantly reading, to the point when reading buddies come to preschool he reads TO them. He also reads to us at at bedtime. All he wants to do is go to the "big school". He's funny, smart and idolizes his brother. We are very lucky. Excuse me while I go cry now.

Day 24: Something embarrassing in your bedroom

Made ya look, didn't it?

I have thought about this one for the last day or so, wondering how I would write this. There really isn't anything embarrassing in my room. My room is actually quite asthetically boring. The walls are white, the furniture is mismatched and there is always a pile of laundry just waiting to be put away. (Don't forget, this house is technically a furnished rental). The one thing you will see on my bed is an extra large stuffed Sneezy Dwarf. Rob bought this for me when I was pregnant with Colby. I'm the type of person who, when they sneeze, sneeze at least 10 times. It's an ongoing joke with us.

Did you expect me to write a post about Bob? If you know who that is, then you probably have a Bob of your own. :)

Day 23 - Favorite music video

I haven't watched music videos in years, not since high school. This is one of my all time favorite songs. Although I feel like Saskatchewan is my home now, I will admit I do miss the smell of the ocean. This amazingly beautiful lake I live on is very scenic, but it's just not the ocean. I'm sure there is salt water in my veins, and the pull of the ocean will always be with me. This song explains EXACTLY how I feel.

Day 22: A picture of you today

Well this one will have to wait, as I don't have a webcam on my computer (it's on the laptop). If I did, all you would see is my big smile because I received this in the mail 2 days ago: I'm in love. I have been saving the money I have made from photography sessions since the beginning of the year and finally had enough 2 weeks ago to upgrade. I just bought the body as all my other lenses and cards are interchangable. I'm a very happy girl right now.

Winners of the contest!!

Since only 4 people played my game, (well technically 5) you ALL get presents of love from me in the mail. Here are the answers:

You've Got Mail

27 Dresses

The Wedding Planner

The Truth abou Cats and Dogs (whe she's on the radio when he called in)

The Emperior's New Groove (will forever remind me of my brother)

The Princess Bride (my brother does this PERFECTLY)

The Wedding Planner (I use this ALL the time)

The Wedding Planner (still puts me in stitches when I see it)

How to Lose a guy in 10 days (the game they played)

You've Got Mail ( the last line of the movie)

Day 21 - favorite movie quote

I am going to steal this idea from Tawny. I have many favorite movie quotes so I am going to make this into a fun game. A present from me will be up for grabs for the person who guesses these all right. Leave your answers in the comments.

1. " That cavier is a garnish!"

2. "I feel like I just found out my favorite love song was written about a sandwich"

3. "I only eat the brown ones because I figure they have less artificial coloring because chocolate is already brown"

4. " What's wrong with you dawg?"

5. " Lemme guess. Waterfall? Yep. Sharp rocks at the bottom? Most likely. Bring it on."

6. "Mawwage is what beings us togwether today"

7. " You smell like sweet red plums and grill cheese sandwiches"

8. "There was a damn deer in the road! Did you see that?"

9. "Bullshit!"

10. "I wanted it to be you. I wanted it to be you so badly."

Day 20: A 10+ picture of you

Me, in all my hairsprayed and permed glory. This was my confirmation in 1993.

Day 19 - Something that made you smile today

In the mail today I received a scholastic order for Joey. It was an easter book, but not just any easter book it was Happy Easter Little Critter. Joey's favorite series right now is little critter and he has almost all of the books. When this package came in I wanted to read the little critter book to see if it was a book I wanted to take to preschool to read. Joey took it out of my hands and said "no mom, I want to read it first" and took it to the couch to read it. Did I mention that Joe is now reading independently? Not just memorizing and reciting books, but actually reading.

Day 18: Favorite board game

Crib was always a big part of the evenings in my house growing up. My dad and grandfather always said "if you can count to 31, you can play crib". I grew up playing this game, and we have a crib board and cards in both the house and the camper. We even have a coffee table back in Nova Scotia in the shape of a crib board, which I am hoping the next time we drive back there we will bring it back with us.

Make blogging fun by doing the 30 DAY CHALLENGE.

Day 17 - A childhood photo

I will admit, I never did get a chance to do yesterday's challenge, so to make it up to you I will share 3 photos, not just one. Luckily at some point in my life I was smart enough to scan old pictures my mom had and I have them all on my external hard drive.

Yeppers, that was me around age 3.

One of my all time favorite photos. I'll show you why later.

Me and my grandfather.

Day 16: Future tattoo

I have always said I wanted a tattoo. I want to design it myself, and I want 2. I want one that somehow incorporates the boys' names in it, but I don't know what. I don't want to do flowers or anything like that, so I'm still working on that one. The other tattoo I want is a zamboni. I want to have it on the inside of my forearm. Anyone who knows my personal life will understand that one.

Day 15: Current Grades

I am currently enrolled in an Early Childhood Certificate program. I am in the 2nd last course of a 2 year program. And my grades? I am thrilled to say I have a 95% average, or an A. I have never in my life had these kind of marks. Where were these brain cells when I was in high school?

Day 14: Favorite purchase ever made

I know I should answer this one by saying things like my husband's wedding band, the first outfit for Colby, our first house..... well, you get my drift. All of those were great purchases, but I have to admit I call this my 3rd baby. I LOVE LOVE LOVE my camera.

Day 13 - Favorite memory

There are so many, how does one choose? The one that I would say is my FAVORITE memory is the time that Rob rented a Lincoln Navigator for our anniversary. I love the Navigator, I always have. For our 5th anniversary Rob rented a Navigator for a night and took me away to a beautiful B&B just outside Hubbards, NS. It was amazing.

Day 12: Where your family is from

Well, that's a big one. My parents grew up in Harbour Main, NL where we spent every summer vacation. Rob's dad was born in Halifax, and his mom was born in Burgeo, NL. I was born in St. John's, NL and Rob was born in Halifax, NS. Both my boys were born in Halifax, NS but currently we call home Ile a la Crosse, Sk.

Day 11 (the real one): Recent picture of yourself

Taken yesterday at work. My uber serious no fun at all job. :)

Day 10: My favorite outfit

I know, you're shocked. It's girly. BUT, in my defense, it's blue. I own these pajamas. I ordered them from Avon and I LOVE them. When I have pajama days at home, this is what you can find me in. Super uber comfy.

Thanks Kelly, you're the only one who noticed. :)

Day 9: Favorite Flower

My favorite flower is my annual porcelain rose that I receive from my mother in law. She started giving me and my SIL porcelain roses on Mother's day the year we each became mothers. She hasn't missed a year, and I have the last 2 of mine in a beautiful wine bottle in my kitchen. The rest are in my hope chest in Nova Scotia.

Day 8: A picture of your room

Sorry, forgot to turn the lights on. :)

Day 7: Favorite TV Show

I don't have time to watch a lot of televison anymore, but thanks to our DVR we record a lot and watch them on the weekends or late at night. Sister Wives is my favorite show. I have not missed an episode. I watched the first one out of sheer curiosity, and was totally hooked. It really does give a different view of polygamy. I love how open and candid they are. I am in awe of their level of comfort in their relationships, and the fact that they can separate their individual relationships they have with their husband with the relationship they have as a family unit. I wish I had that level of security. I just don't know if I could ever get over the jealous aspect of it, knowing my husband loves another woman just as much as he loves me. I applaud them all for it, and look forward to Sunday nights when I get to spend an hour with them.

I challenge you to do with with me. You can find it at 30 DAY BLOG CHALLENGE

The blog challenge is temporarily interrupted

A beautiful angel in real life received her official angel wings early this afternoon. Indigo was a beautiful spirit who touched everyone she came in contact with. Although I have never personally met her, I have known her for all of my "Northern" life. We received a beautiful carving from her when we lived in Hay River, and she also included a beautiful Elk pin for me made out of elk anter. She was a nurse who travelled all throughout the North and will be sorely missed. The blog challenge will be back tomorrow.

Day 6: Favorite Song

This was our wedding song. Rob had heard the song first, and when we were deciding on what we wanted for our song, he suggested this one. It still gives me butterflies.

Day 5: Favorite food

I really had to think about this one. I was raised to eat "whatever is put on your plate" so being picky was never part of my vocabulary. And, as someone who has struggled with my weight my entire life, food has always been a comfort for me. So, for this challenge I decided to think of it this way: What food do I miss the most from the East Coast? The answer is a donair. We have made them here and they are ALMOST as good, but not quite. There's nothing better than a donair delivered from Jessy's Pizza in Sackville. I can just smell it now. This is one of the first things I endulge on when I travel back east.

Day 4: Favorite book

I can't pick just one book, because the entire series is just one big book to me. I have read them many, many times and right now am up to (again) book 6.

Day 3: Favorite musician

This blog challenge is going to be harder than I thought. I really had to think about who my favorite musician was, because I like a wide variety of music. I listen Dr. Hook to Ozzy Osbourne to Meatloaf to Sara Brightman, and everything in between. But right now my IPad is full of Pink Music. There isn't a song of hers I don't like, and really the performance she did (where this picture came from) solidified my love for her.

Day 2: Favorite movie

This was a hard one for me, as I have many favorite movies. This one reminds me of my Dad, which is why it's my favorite. There is one scene in this movie that makes me cry EVERY time (for a hint, see yesterday's post). I remember when I was still living in Nova Scotia this movie was on one of the movie channels. My dad called me (as he was watching it, he was a HUGE Jennifer Lopez fan) just as Richard Gere was coming up the escalator. It was a long standing joke between us because he knew everytime I saw it I would cry. Now I have to go watch it again.

Everybody's doing it

Everyone these days seem to be getting back on the blogging train by doing a 30 day challenge. So I'm going to jump on. You should too. The Thirty Day Challenge.

Day 1: One Favorite Actor.

This was a hard one for me. I have many favorite actors, but to just pick one would have to be Richard Gere. This is my favorite scene from one of my favorite movies of all time. I'm sure that will be a post for another day.

My amazing friends

With the passing of Rob's grandmother, we were scrambling to figure out, well honestly, how we were going to get him there. We had just bought 4 plane tickets for Nova Scotia for us for June, and for anyone who has travelled knows, buying a plane ticket to fly the next day is brutally expensive. Anyone who knows me in real life knows that I stress over money, even if there is more than enough to go around I will still worry about running out. I check our bank account more times than is really necessary, just to make sure I know exactly what is in there at all times. (This I believe comes from when we lived well beyond our means earlier in our lives, being naiive about credit and budgets). Yes, a little more information than I should probably share, but really, who hasn't maxed out a credit card (or two, or three...) at some point in their lives? Anyway..... since moving to the North and not having a mortgage, we have been super smart about our finances, and because of our living situation we have been able to clear off more debt in the 4 years we have been here than honestly I thought possible. We live quite frugally to do this and it is paying off. We now save to buy the things we want, and with some great finds have been able to buy some of the things we normally would never have been able to($300.00 for a skidoo, really who WOULDN'T pass that up??). Frugal is one thing, but we (ahem *I*) have also learned that you have to also enjoy life. With this being said, when Rob got his call that his grandmother had passed, we both knew that I would somehow find the available funds to buy that ticket. I vented to a close friend of mine about this, and joked with her "Don't suppose you have an extra $1100.00 laying around, do ya?". She called me an hour later at work, telling me that it wasn't much, but her and her husband were able to scrape together $600.00 if we wanted to borrow it. I bawled. Here is a family who are living day to day, but willing to give us all the savings and available cash they have right now (they are saving for an out of town medical trip, and yes they are Metis, having lived in this community their entire lives). I really have amazing friends in this community, and now more than ever I feel like we belong. We have never been made to feel like the "white people" in town, and when people ask me what it is like to live in an aboriginal community, I tell them it's like we've always lived here.

This summarizes our last week

SCHWARTZ, Mary Alice – 85, of Hubbards, passed away March 23, 2011 surrounded by her loving family. Mary was born in Burgeo, NL to the late Bertha and Benjamin Green. At 14, she left Burgeo for the big city of Montreal and later moved to Halifax, where she met her sweetheart, Bernie.

She was a member of the Loyal Hubbards Union Lodge and Queen’s Lodge of Past Grands, St. Luke’s ACW, and Hubbards Ladies Auxiliary. She spent many years preparing mouth-watering meals at the Hubbards Shore Club. A devout Blue Jays fan, she was an avid quilter and knitter and loved bingo and darts—and was a force to be reckoned with at cards.

Mary was predeceased by her husband of 57 years, Bernie, in 2001. She is survived by her daughters Rosemary (Jim) Grant of Dartmouth, Debra (Trena) Cornish of Brampton, Ontario; sons David (Pat) Schwartz and Gary (Pam) Schwartz of Trenton, Ontario and Donald (Jean) Schwartz of Timberlea; 10 grandchildren, and 8 great-grandchildren. She is survived by her brothers Henry (Carol), Morris (Barb), and Don, and sisters, Harriet (Harold) and Joyce. She was predeceased by her sister, Eva, brothers, Edward and Lester, and a sister in infancy, Dora.

Visitation will be from 2-4 and 7-9 on Friday, March 25th and the funeral service will be 11am Saturday, March 26th— both at the Ronald A. Walker Funeral Home in Hubbards—with Reverend Mike Conrad officiating, assisted by Reverend Judie Lafford. Interment will follow in the Pine Hill cemetery, Hubbards. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Mary’s memory to St. Luke’s Anglican Church, Hubbards, or the Canadian Lung Association.

Very special thanks to the compassionate nurses at the VG Palliative Care unit and the staff at Melville Lodge and Melville Gardens.

Rob's grandmother has been a big part of our lives. She always remembered to send cards, and was very active in everyone's lives. I first met here when Rob and I first started dating, shortly after I lost my grandmother. She has never referred to me as anything but her "granddaughter". Rob will be flying back there tonight to be with his family for the funeral. We miss you Nan.

Happy Birthday Scott

This adorable little man turned 1 today. In my heart I was there celebrating with him. Him and I will party it up when I get there in July!

Happy birthday Bone

My sister brought up a stuffed moose when she came to visit. It is a Webkinz, and Joey loves it. He is a master of the webkinz site, and he carries this moose that he has named Bone EVERYWHERE with him. He decided that today was Bone's birthday, and of course what is a birthday without a cake!

Super decorating skills!

He insisted the "W" for Webkinz had to be there, and he copied the colors from the Webkinz symbol on the Moose. Of course there was testing of the icing. Many, many times.

So proud. He had to feed Bone some of his birthday cake!