Catching up...

We're finally "home" and settled and have an internet connection working!!! What a whirlwind! I'll try to write something not too long winded about the adventures of the last couple of weeks...

We found out on the 9th or so that our furniture would actually not be arriving between the 8th and the 12th as previously indicated, but actually on Monday the 15th: the last possible day on the guaranteed window. We were told several times that it was likely going to be much sooner than that as it's not a busy time of year for moving, but it turns out that someone in the office made a change and we weren't going to be getting our things delivered until the last possible day. So that meant much more time than we had thought staying with my parents. It was nice to have some company through the day and be able to hang out with my parents in the evenings though and I think we made the most of it. Despite the OSB floors (oriented strand board), Nicholas seemed to be able to get around alright. We all suffered the odd splinter, but we turned out ok. Christine absolutely loved spending time with my parents and their dog Penny and they've definitely developed a great relationship (eg: the first morning after we moved in, she asked if Mamie was here!).

On Thursday the 11th, Christine went to school for the first time! We had registered her to a preschool at the french school's daycare that was 2 mornings/week back in October. We really wanted the spot, but what it also did was prioritize both her and Nicholas on the lists for the daycare there. So instead of being 48th and 200th, they were going to be 16th and 17th on the lists. We brought her in to check things out and meet some kids and get familiar. She did ok, but not great. I was surprised. I thought she'd get right in there, but I suppose it would be quite a bit to take in the first little bit. They have a very very set and quite rigid routine that all the rest of the kids know really well and she's walking into a new environment with a new teacher and 11 other new 3 year olds and she's the youngest in the group... Anyway, she went 3 times and now they're closed for Christmas break. She didn't get to learn the songs for the Christmas party as she wasn't there for very long, but there will be video of the rest of her class on flickr when I get to that... It was pretty cute (the other kids more than Christine! She looked kind of sad, actually). So after those 3 days of going and just starting to adapt to it a bit, we found out that she got a spot in the daycare full time starting in January! Hurray!! She got in where we hoped! Nicholas is still on the list, so we'll be doing a double-drop off for a bit, but hopefully that won't last too long. We'll be interviewing someone in early January for him in a home daycare. There's not a lot of options for him in french... Hopefully she's good!

On Sunday the 14th, we went to a cut your own place to pick out and cut our Christmas tree. The place was just down the street from my parents house and my dad took his truck and trailer and loaded their tree and ours and brought them back to their house. It was a very nice experience. The kids seemed to really enjoy themselves as well. Nicholas kept taking off his mittens and Christine loved looking at all the trees and saying that we should pick it. Since then, I've bought Nicholas a pair of women's fleece mittens that go up to his armpits that he can't take off while wearing his snowsuit. Christine ended up really liking the tree we picked out, but still wanted to take one home that was just her size. Perhaps next year... And my parents ended up with a beautiful ~10 foot tree - their first real tree in probably 25 years at least! We then had a cookie and some warm apple cider and headed back to their house for my mom's home-made pizza. Quite a nice afternoon. We'll definitely be going back. And the tree was only $25 - any tree on the lot. We've paid $60 for a similar quality tree in Brockville in the past...

So our stuff finally arrived on the 15th, and the driver called at 9am saying they were here. We were supposed to get a call from the office to confirm that they would be here and what time so that we could ensure we were here, but that never happened. The road at my parents house is very very very steep and it was covered in ice that morning, so it was probably 10:30 before we made it out here. Anyway, they moved all our things in and Nicholas and I tried our best to mark off numbers as the boxes were coming in and telling them where to go. There was a bit of time at lunch when I went to get some food that they were on their own and wowsers! They put bathroom "necessities" (very well marked on the box) in storage and burried it behind a bunch of boxes... Most of our stuff arrived in good condition. There are some marks on our table though that I'll have to talk to our consultant about. I will also be talking to her about a few other things... hopefully she'll ship our washer and dryer to us for free for the things we're not happy with... Based on our experience, I would not be recommending Wills Transfer (part of the United parent company) to move your stuff. Just so you know.

And then the craziness started all over again. I couldn't bring the kids here to unpack with them around as it would have been way too much for them, they wouldn't have enjoyed any of it, and it really wasn't a very safe place for them to be. So on Tuesday morning, when Christine was at school, Nicholas and I tried to come and that was just a bad idea. Oh well... I tried to come a couple of times during their nap (my dad was at home with the promise that I'd be back by 3 so he shouldn't have to be by himself with them while either was awake) so that gave me about 1 -1.5 hours to unpack in the afternoon. We also came in the evenings after they were in bed so we'd be here from 8-midnight a few nights. Finally, things were pretty much done by Friday and all that was left was cleaning up and bringing our boxes of extra stuff that will wait for a bigger house to storage. Big thanks to my parents for lending us some valuable storage space in their not yet finished basement!!! Hopefully we can organize our little storage area in the basement here and take back some of the stuff... Saturday (20th), Trev took the kids to hang out at his parents house and for most of the day and I was able to get the rest of it done. The house was finally ready to move in. Without the kids, we could have moved in on Tuesday, probably, but I really didn't want to be in a transition phase and still unpacking with them around. I really wanted everything to be set up so that it felt like home from the start for them, and it did. We decided that we would stay one last night at my parents house on Saturday night so that we weren't bringing the kids here and trying to put them to bed right away as that wouldn't have worked...

So finally, Sunday morning (21st), we visited some friends and came to the house around lunch time. Christine's reaction was exactly what I had hoped for! She yelled in excitement when she saw her little table, her books, and all her toys again. She was thrilled. She was also very excited to see her room and to actually have a closet! She has adjusted very well to the house so far and just loves to be near her grandparents. I look forward to her meeting more kids her age though so that she can play with them as well. I think she's starting to need it... Nicholas is pretty oblivious to the whole thing. Give him a quiet and dark corner and he'll sleep pretty much anywhere (except when he has an ear infection or is teething...). He's very happy to be here as well, where it's easier to slide around and is becoming more and more adept at standing and walking around. He's starting to really cruise around furniture and has let go and stood on his own a few times - but only for a couple of seconds at a time. He has a ton of energy, still, and eats like a madman! I'm sure he eats 3 times the portions Christine eats...

We got a huge snow storm on Sunday night, so we had brought our tree in before going to bed - thankfully. It snowed probably 30 cm through the night and it kept blowing all day Monday. Trev ended up not going to work and we had a family day! Christine was quite challenging, but probably just cause there was so much excitement - new house, all the snow, trying to put the tree in and decorate it, etc. It took Trev about 3 hours to clear out the driveway, and that was while using a snowblower!! Crazy! Unfortunately, it was too much snow for the sleighride we had hoped to have for Christine's birthday, but that was ok. Another time...

And that brings us to today. We had Christine's birthday party here at the house this morning. Unfortunately, the kids we had invited weren't able to come, so it was a family only party. The grandparents were all here. In a way, probably a good thing - a little less intimidating and overwhelming for the kids and I don't know that we really had enough space for much larger a group! We still wore our dog ear party hats, decorated dog and dog bone cookies, had lunch (meatballs) and dog bone cake. Lots of pictures on flickr to come of that as well. I'll work on that next...

Later this afternoon, whole gang is coming back and bringing Jeff along too for Trevor's birthday! Thankfully, he didn't want anything fancy. He actually just wanted frozen pizzas (no problem!) and my mom's pudding chomeur (no problem!) and the Masons are bringing wine. Should be a nice casual dinner. If we get the stereo all hooked up, we'll likely be watching National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation tonight... Another tradition...

That's pretty much been the last little bit. Oh, and if you didn't get a Christmas card from us, don't worry, you weren't forgotten. No one's getting any!! I had started on my Christmas letter before leaving Brockville, but it's far from being finished and there just wasn't enough time. I'm really sorry! Perhaps I'll try to do the year in review and post it or send it for New Year instead!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!