Not excited for work

Being a nurse, you have to work holidays.
Last year I worked New Years, so this year I work Christmas. So I work days Tuesday, then nights on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day. But then I have a week off. Still, it's not the funnest thing in the world.
But we make the best of it at work. Lots of food, and we keep it as fun as the patient load will allow.
I would like to remind everyone to travel safe. I would really rather not see any of you at my work. There are always accidents this time of year, so just be careful please.

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!

Too cold for the doggies too.

This is how the dogs feel about the cold. They've been curled up inside all day.
Bailey sleeping on my legs


Bree sleeping on Jeff's legs

A winter day

We have been having a nasty cold snap in Saskatoon the last week. And it's going to last another week still. So it my makes you not want to leave your house. So today, we are not leaving our house.
It's -32 out, with a wind chill of -41, so we didn't go to church. We didn't walk the dogs. And we've just been doing stuff around the house. Jeff cleaned up his workshop, I cleaned out a few kitchen cupboards. I made apple tea and chocolate cake, got caught up on some phone calls. It's been a nice day to stay inside and stay warm:)

A few days ago we bought a new to us car. We have a 2 door Honda Civic, and with the baby on the way, well that wasn't going to cut it anymore. So we bought a Volvo Station wagon. It's great, it came with winter tires, it has heated leather seats. But no car starter. We bought one but it will be a while before we can install it as we have no garage ourselves. But it's pretty exciting:)

I don't have a picture to post right now, but keep checking back, I'll post one soon:)

Christmas Tree is up

Since we got married, we have started a tradition of buying Christmas ornaments when we travel. So I took some pictures of the ornaments we bought on our trips this year.

We bought this one on our January trip to the Bahama's last year.

This we bought in Cannon Beach Oregon when we were there for Travis and Stacey's wedding.

This one I posted for my brother. We bought it when we lived in Kentucky. It's not new, but my brother thinks it hilarious that we put it on our tree every year:)

A cousins wedding

Last night Jeff's cousin got married. We've all been waiting a LONG time for this wedding to happen, and are so happy for Wheeler and Sarah. It was such a perfect wedding.

This is Jeff's cousin Pella, she's 26 weeks in this pic and I'm 21.
And here's Jeff and I.

All the Robertson cousins who were there.

A baby

Sorry about the lack of blogging. There are lots of excuses. I feel like I always have to post pictures, and I was have some computer difficulty in that department. I've done some retro blogs dating back to July to catch everyone up.

The latest news in our lives though is that we are having a baby:) We moved home to have babies, and started trying right away. It took almost a year. I know that that may not seem long to some of you, but it was long to us. And since we are in our 30's, one year was our deadline before we started testing. Well one month before we were to make our appointments, one day I felt a little funny. I took a test, since ANYTIME I have felt funny for the past 3 years everyone assumes I MUST be pregnant. So I thought I would just get it over with to prove to everyone that no I wasn't pregnant AGAIN. Well, I was:) 6 weeks in fact. I had totally missed it. We had a 6 week ultrasound to look at the little grain of rice in there, and everything was fine. Then the HORRIBLE puking 8 times a day morning sickness set in. I was still scared to tell people we were pregnant, but happy I was sick. That's supposed to be a good sign. (feeling much better now by the way)
Well yesterday was our 20 week ultrasound, and everything looks great:) There's a healthy little baby in there, developing right on course. It yawned while we were looking at it, then stuck its whole fist in its mouth. It flipped over and made it hard for the technician to get the pictures she wanted. It has a little beating heart. And little feet and hands. So cute. It's a little big for it's age. No surprise there. Mom had big babies, Grandma had big babies, and my nephew was 10 lbs.
So there you go, all that stress at trying to get preggers, and now we are well on our way:) We are due April 11.

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween from a Devil and a Duck.
Bree

Bailey

They were so embarrassed.

Indiana's 2nd Birthday!

Mom and I took a short trip out to see Gab and Alex and Indiana, right before his birthday this year. So we threw him a little party. He's growing so fast! He's talking a lot more now. He can't say Auntie yet, so he called me "Gigi". The last morning we were there we woke up to Inidana yelling from his crib "Nana!! Gigi!!" Then Gab sent him downstairs and he comes barreling in to wake us up.

He had just figured out that I was taking his picture, so he would pose and then run over to look at the picture on the camera.

Summer vacation

We've been working hard on the house this year. So not much time for vacations. We usually go to the lake etc. But not this year. We had a special occasion to attend. Our friends Travis and Stacey were getting married on a beach in Oregon. So we piled into a truck with our friends Mike and Candice and off we went. We drove through Banff, camped for a night, went on the Washington, spent the night. Shopped at an outlet mall, then made it to Cannon Beach. It was beautiful there. We had a condo overlooking the ocean, we could walk the beach everyday. So much fun, and so much wine!!




Then there was the wedding. It was so perfect, and beautiful, and just a really fun time.The Bartenders left early, so Candice and I stepped into the job for a little while.

On the way home we drove through Glacier National Park in Montana, and then back to Saskatoon. Enjoy the pictures:)

Grandma's birthday

This year my Grandma turned 89. We had a party for her, and ALL the family were there. All the cousins and their kids, and all the aunts and uncles. Grandma had no idea. She didn't want anyone to make a fuss:) So she was quite surprised, and just kept saying "They're all here aren't they?"Our whole family with Grandma

My cousin Danielle and her daughter Skylar


So it was a short trip out to Ontario, but a fun one and well worth it. Nice to go there for a happy occasion:)
Supper the next day at Grandma's nursing home.

Hockey Hall of Fame

So we took a family trip to Ontario this summer. The first day we were there, we took Indiana to the Hockey Hall of Fame. Really this was so that Auntie Karen could make sure her little nephew grows up to like hockey. And since he isn't 2 yet, I'm sure that although he won't remember it, at least we can show him cool pictures of it.This picture is for my brother. You see Uncle Tim used to play goalie, and our favorite team is the Canadiens.

Karens new bike

So I haven't ridden a bike since I was in grade 8. I had a beautiful 10 speed that was pastel purple, pink and green. I loved it. Until I got to grade 9 and it wasn't all that cool to have a bike in those colours anymore. So then I stopped riding bikes. Well I decided I needed to get over it, so I went out a bought a bike.
I did end up spending a bit so I would get a bike that I do enjoy riding. And then I got them to put a basket on it so I can ride to the grocery for milk. And a bell so I don't run into anyone on the bike trails. And a helmet so I don't get a head injury when I fall off my bike:) So now Jeff and I will go ride our bikes together:)

Fried Green Tomatos

When we lived in Kentucky, on of my favorite things to eat was Fried Green Tomatoes. We planted tomatoes in our garden this year, so I do look forward to frying some up for supper from time to time:)

Uncle Lou

This is a picture of my cousins Nikki and Danielle when they were pregnant, my Uncle Lou and my Grandpa.
My Uncle Lou is HILARIOUS! We have so much fun visiting with him, hearing baout his latest golfing adventure, his take on politics, about the local Tim Hortons. Once I became a nurse, I started hearing more and more about the ache in his elbow and how it affects his golf swing. When Tim, Dad and I went to Australia, we bought a video of us snorkeling and scuba diving at the Great Barrier Reef. Well Uncle Lou started telling us about when he was growing up in Malta and about him snorkeling there, and spearing octopus. I can not picture my uncle Lous in a bathing suit spearing octopus. I guess he was skinnier then.
Uncle Lou has had another heart attack, and well things don't look the best at the moment. So keep him and his family in your prayers.
UPDATE: Uncle Lou passed away this afternoon. So I will be making a trip out to Ontario this weekend.

Bree's new toy

Jeff bought Bree a new toy. When he came home he set down his bag and went to kiss me hello. In the meantime, Bree climbed inside the plastic bag and dug out this toy. She loves it. She carries it outside, she brings it to bed, and has to know where it is at all times. Bailey, doesn't like it.

Protesting

Jeff and I went to a March last weekend in support of Station 20 West. This was supposed to be a building in the poorest area of Saskatoon that would house an expanded medical clinic, a dental clinic run by students, a community garden and kitchen, and a co-op grocery store. The idea came from a research study showing that people from this area of Saskatoon are at increased health risk, because they have poor nutrition, poor dental health etc. The funding was already in place, and the previous government had already put $8 million into trust for it. So then a new Conservative (Sask Party) government was elected. And they decided that they didn't have enough money in their own budget, so they took this money back. That's right, money that wasn't even from their own budget. So about 2500 people showed up in support of Station 20 West. It was a pretty moving experience. It was a 5 km march. People on the street were joining in. Families were waving at us out their apartment windows, people were standing on their front stoop saying thank-you.
But our premier in all his wisdom did not change his mind. hmmm, why was it I didn't vote for him again?
Here is a newspaper article about it.
Story 1
Story 2

My friend Jamie

On Monday night I got phone call from my friend Julie. She was on her way to the hospital to see our friend Jamie. He was in ICU and not doing very well. He had just been taken in to hospital that day. When I talked to them later that night, I knew it wouldn't be long. Mel and Julie had been visiting with Jamie's dad. He said "what's that girls name from Canada?" Karen they said "Yeah, Canada Karen, he talked about her all the time." Tuesday morning when Julie called me she didn't even have to say anything. We just cried.
I worked with Jamie at UK hospital (University of Kentucky). Our group of friends from night shift were very close. We could turn to each other for anything. When my grandfather passed away, I called Jamie, he worked all of my shifts for me and offered to take care of my dog while I was gone. When he and his wife were getting divorced, I made spaghetti and brought it to work for him. I can still hear him saying "MMMM, Canada Karen is bringing me Spaghetti!". The night was not complete without at least one laughing session, Jamie bent over his hands on his knees, spitting mountain dew, his face all red and wiping tears from his eyes.
I spoke with my friends last night, they were at the visitation. Jamie was from a little town called Prestonsburg about 3 hours from Lexington. We had never met his parents before, but they knew all of us. They walked up to each person who was there and said "Oh you must be Candace. Jamie always talked about how he loved feeling your baby kick when you were pregnant" "Oh you must be Jessica. He called you his little sister." I had sent flowers, Red and White, they said they knew who they were from before they even read the card. It's nice to know that we meant enough to Jamie that he would talk about us so much to his family.
Today is the funeral, and I so wish I could be there with my friends. I will miss you Jamie!

blogger census

Just wondering how many people actually read our blog. Just leave a comment:)

Visiting my Nephew

Indiana feeding me an apple
Drying off after a bath
Posing before going for a walk
Cuddling at nap time
Playing with pots and pans
"Watching" TV with Auntie Karen and Mommy


Jeff is away for work, in Thailand, so I went to visit my sister and nephew. And it was a wonderful visit:) Indiana is 16 months now and growing way to fast:)

Weather

I added a new feature on my blog. On the right hand side there is a little drop down menu that will show you the current temperature in Saskatoon, Lexington, Brandon, Toronto and Nairobi. I put the temperature in Fahrenheit for the benefit of my American friends. They are always asking me what the temperature is here and I always have to use a calculator to figure it out for them. And then I figured out to put a second bar in Celsius for us Canadians. So you can see the temp where I live, where I used to live, where my sister lives, where my brother lives and in Kenya where my family used to live.

Our new dog Bree

So when we were in the Bahamas Jeff brought up the idea of getting a new dog to keep Bailey company. Since Jeff is usually the one telling me not to get a dog, I decided to take advantage of the situation and run with it. So after a few weeks of searching I found a dog. We had to interview and her owners liked us and we got the dog. She is 3 years old. She was a breeding dog and they have retired her from breeding and wanted to find her a forever pet home. It killed them to sell her but they know they can't keep every dog they breed. Her name is Bree. Bailey was a little upset at first. But they are becoming friends. She is still adjusting, but getting better. She barks, so I had to buy a water bottle. Well I have had to spray her 2 times. That's it. She is so upset that I was upset with her that she won't dare make a noise now. So CUTE! She is very cuddly and just wants to please you. So far so good:)Jeff with Bailey and Bree.
Bree on the couch with her stuffed pig. It's almost as big as her, but she carries it everywhere.
So cute.
Waiting for Jeff at work.

Winter in Saskatoon

So the week that it was like -54F without the windchill and -50 C with the windchill, I talked to my friend Dana from Kentucky. I was telling her how cold it was and about the snow. So I promised I would take some pictures of the snow etc. Well I didn't take any pictures that week, why? Because it was too too cold. So I waited until last week, and it wasn't really that cold anymore, and we have had a few days when the snow has melted a little bit. So these pictures don't really show the worst of our winter, but I thought I would post them anyway. And I think they are kind of pretty. So Dana, here you go.
The outdoor Meewasin skating rink in downtown Saskatoon.
A park bench along the Meewasin trail.
The Vimy Memorial. You may remember this from our wedding pictures.
The wier in the South Saskatchewan River
The picnic benches outside of Jeff's work.