- unpacked at least a million boxes (okay, a couple hundred anyway)
- gotten my kids settled in school
- bought a Costco membership
- finished one book
- taken one trip to Toronto
- organized my kitchen
- attended one breastfeeding class
- had one meeting with the teacher
- celebrated one birthday
- taken a weekend tour of my hubby's office
- learned my way around London to a reasonable degree
- celebrated Easter with friends
- written 16 blog entries
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
One Month
We moved into this house exactly one month ago. Since then I have:
Monday, April 12, 2010
Happy Birthday, Christopher!
Regardless of the risk of inflating his ego, I have to dedicate my second blog in a row to my wonderful husband, who turned 40 (finally!) yesterday. Chris loves to point out that I was born a whole decade before he was (November 1969 to April 1970). This makes me exactly 5 months and one week older than he is, but he milks that for all it's worth! For this reason, I shamelessly celebrate his birthday every year, but especially milestone years like this one.
We picked Chris up at the airport yesterday morning, and began the celebration by going out to brunch at a little greasy spoon that we found in our neighbourhood. Then we come home and found...
balloons...
and a gift...
Yes, I know it was a garbage can, but it's what he really wanted. Remember, we just moved into a new house. We actually decided to return it anyway. Might get a bike rack.
We spent the afternoon walking around downtown London. It was Car Free Sunday, so one of the main streets was closed. Great chance to see what's there without the hassle of traffic. We visited a couple of parks and the fountain by the river. We stopped in to the Market and got smoothies. Tons of great photo ops! ...but I left the camera in the car.
We came home and the birthday boy shot some hoops with Connor while I prepared a yummy dinner of tortellini with meat sauce. Then we played UNO and Pass the Pigs before bath time, followed by a bedtime snack of...
BIRTHDAY CAKE!
While watching Spider-Man 2.
Halfway through the movie, we tucked the kids into bed. AHHHH, peace and quiet! Then we turned on the fireplace and had a glass of the Mike Weir Carbernet Merlot that Lori gave Chris for his birthday.
Sound like a perfect birthday? I hope the birthday boy thought so!
Friday, April 9, 2010
My Daily Phone Call
My husband is a very goal-oriented person. He is someone who starts a task and cannot think of anything else until the job is finished. This is true at home and at work. He is focused, and does not break that focus easily. That is why I rarely hear from him in the middle of the day. He goes to work in the morning, and basically I assume that he forgets anyone else exists until he comes home. Over fourteen years of marriage, I have learned not to take this personally. He just manages his life and work better when he doesn't have to break his focus.
Which is why I have been a little bit surprised every day since we've moved to London. Almost every day since he started work here, I get a phone call from him early in the afternoon. Just to see how I'm doing. I love it. I love him for it, because I know it isn't easy for him to drop everything and pick up the phone to check on me. He knows that it surprises me. He may not know that each of these phone calls means more to me than a dozen roses. The fact that he recognizes how hard this move has been for me, and tries to help by showing me he doesn't forget about me all day, makes my days here so much easier. Every time he calls it makes me smile.
I don't expect the phone calls to last forever. But I don't expect to feel this lonely forever either. He knows what I need right now, and is making an effort to meet that need. What could be more romantic than that?
Happy birthday, Honey! I love you!
Which is why I have been a little bit surprised every day since we've moved to London. Almost every day since he started work here, I get a phone call from him early in the afternoon. Just to see how I'm doing. I love it. I love him for it, because I know it isn't easy for him to drop everything and pick up the phone to check on me. He knows that it surprises me. He may not know that each of these phone calls means more to me than a dozen roses. The fact that he recognizes how hard this move has been for me, and tries to help by showing me he doesn't forget about me all day, makes my days here so much easier. Every time he calls it makes me smile.
I don't expect the phone calls to last forever. But I don't expect to feel this lonely forever either. He knows what I need right now, and is making an effort to meet that need. What could be more romantic than that?
Happy birthday, Honey! I love you!
Thursday, April 8, 2010
New Umbrella
Rain, rain, go away...
Come again another day...
Little Johnny, little Johnny
Wants to play!
I bought an umbrella yesterday. Too late. I picked up the kids at school in the middle of a downpour, without an umbrella, or a hood on my raincoat. I tried to look dignified. I knew running between raindrops wouldn't help. So I just walked, at a regular pace, from my parking space on the street, up the driveway of the school, around to the back of the school, and in the door where I could wait for Janelle out of the rain. I walked the same slow walk back to the van with the kids, while they teased me about not putting up my non-existent hood. I even enjoyed it a little, not caring whether I got wet because there was nothing I could do about it. I got back into the van looking like a drowned rat, but I didn't run home and hide. I ran an errand. I bought an umbrella.
These pictures are two years old, but I thought I'd demonstate some of the pure joy that using an umbrella can bring.
There's nothing I can do about the rain, so I might as well enjoy it! As I've settled into the everyday routine of living in London, that is kind of my attitude toward life here. I will find some joy in the little things. This is where I live, and it's not going to change any time soon. I can't avoid the raindrops, so I might as well relish the walk through the rain.
It's still raining today. Not as hard, but I expect I'll have a chance to use my new umbrella when I pick up the kids again today. And tomorrow. By Saturday the sun is supposed to come out, but I'm ready for it any time now. This rain is stifling my creativity.
"Life isn't about waiting for the storms to pass; it's about learning to dance in the rain." Thanks, Heidi!
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Adventures at the DMV
For the first time since I began the challenge, I am writing this blog with both kids and a husband here at home with me. Don't expect it to be particularly profound. Don't even expect it to make much sense. I have all sorts of things going on around me. Noises. Questions. Demands. Not the quiet, creative home that I am usually writing in. Not total chaos, but not complete peace either. Today is a day like that.
The plan for today was for Chris and I to take the kids to school and then go get our Ontario Drivers Licenses. However, nothing ever goes as planned, does it? Five minutes before it was time to head out the door, Janelle announced that her belly hurt and she needed to go back to bed. If this had been Connor I would have questioned him on it, but Janelle loves school and only asks to stay home if she really isn't feeling well. So I sent her back to bed and left her home with Daddy while I took Connor to school. She almost instantly fell asleep, and stayed that way for a couple of hours. When she woke up, she felt "great", so we all got ready and I took her to school. Then Chris and I headed off for our adventure at the Drivers License office.
The first place we went was right around the corner from our home. The sign above the door said "Drivers Licenses", so we walked in and said "We just moved from out of province and need new drivers licenses". The reply, of course, was "We don't do that here". Of course not. Why would an office that said "Drivers Licenses" above the door actually issue drivers licenses? That would be too simple. So off we went a few km away to the "Drive Test" office. At reception we were told that we needed two forms of ID: our NB drivers licenses and one other, preferably a passport. I don't usually carry my passport, so I asked if a birth certificate would do. "Only if the name on it matches your drivers license." Hmmmmm.... if only I had been born Leanne Haines. An Ontario Health card would do. Hmmmmm.... what about an NB Medicare card? Nope. Well, is there anything that will work besides a passport? Hmmmmm.... nope, you're going to need your passport. Chris decided he might as well get his done, since the name on his birth certificate does match his drivers license, and then he said "If there is going to be a wait you might have time to run back and get your passport", and the receptionist piped up "Yes, there WILL be a wait". No kidding. I hurried home, grabbed my passport, arrived back 10 minutes later to find Chris seated in a room full of people. The line had barely moved since I had left. We were in for a wait. Why didn't I bring a book to read? At least I had my husband to talk to. My husband, who had his IPod to play with. Hmmmm..... Just over an hour later, and $150 poorer, we left with our official temporary Ontario licenses.
After we had lunch together I hurried off in the pouring rain to finish the other errands I had planned to get done today. I didn't have a minute to spare before it was time to pick the kids up at school.
I tell you this boring story to explain why I have not had time to write a real blog today. And why I'm not going to try now that homework time and supper prep time is upon us. We've entered the crazy hours of my day. Sorry! I'll try again tomorrow.
The plan for today was for Chris and I to take the kids to school and then go get our Ontario Drivers Licenses. However, nothing ever goes as planned, does it? Five minutes before it was time to head out the door, Janelle announced that her belly hurt and she needed to go back to bed. If this had been Connor I would have questioned him on it, but Janelle loves school and only asks to stay home if she really isn't feeling well. So I sent her back to bed and left her home with Daddy while I took Connor to school. She almost instantly fell asleep, and stayed that way for a couple of hours. When she woke up, she felt "great", so we all got ready and I took her to school. Then Chris and I headed off for our adventure at the Drivers License office.
The first place we went was right around the corner from our home. The sign above the door said "Drivers Licenses", so we walked in and said "We just moved from out of province and need new drivers licenses". The reply, of course, was "We don't do that here". Of course not. Why would an office that said "Drivers Licenses" above the door actually issue drivers licenses? That would be too simple. So off we went a few km away to the "Drive Test" office. At reception we were told that we needed two forms of ID: our NB drivers licenses and one other, preferably a passport. I don't usually carry my passport, so I asked if a birth certificate would do. "Only if the name on it matches your drivers license." Hmmmmm.... if only I had been born Leanne Haines. An Ontario Health card would do. Hmmmmm.... what about an NB Medicare card? Nope. Well, is there anything that will work besides a passport? Hmmmmm.... nope, you're going to need your passport. Chris decided he might as well get his done, since the name on his birth certificate does match his drivers license, and then he said "If there is going to be a wait you might have time to run back and get your passport", and the receptionist piped up "Yes, there WILL be a wait". No kidding. I hurried home, grabbed my passport, arrived back 10 minutes later to find Chris seated in a room full of people. The line had barely moved since I had left. We were in for a wait. Why didn't I bring a book to read? At least I had my husband to talk to. My husband, who had his IPod to play with. Hmmmm..... Just over an hour later, and $150 poorer, we left with our official temporary Ontario licenses.
After we had lunch together I hurried off in the pouring rain to finish the other errands I had planned to get done today. I didn't have a minute to spare before it was time to pick the kids up at school.
I tell you this boring story to explain why I have not had time to write a real blog today. And why I'm not going to try now that homework time and supper prep time is upon us. We've entered the crazy hours of my day. Sorry! I'll try again tomorrow.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
After Easter Pity-Party
They say the first holiday away from home is hard, and it is 100% true. I am emerging from this Easter four-day weekend feeling pretty empty. It's not that we did nothing to mark the holiday here in London. We got up and had our Easter egg hunt. The kids were thrilled with what the Easter Bunny left behind. We went to my friend's church for the morning service, and then back to her home for a lovely Easter turkey dinner. The weather was beautiful all weekend, far more like summer than the beginning of spring. We even got some necessary "around the house" stuff done. It's really not a lack of what we put into the Easter weekend in London. It's more about what we missed back home.
My family got together for an Easter celebration in New Brunswick. Now, we wouldn't always see my family on Easter weekend even if we lived in Fredericton. But it is more about what I couldn't do than about what I would have done that left me feeling sad this weekend. I missed seeing my nieces and nephew enjoying their Easter treats, and giving my mom and dad an Easter hug. Our church family celebrated Good Friday and Easter Sunday services together. I missed singing in the choir and seeing my friends on Easter Sunday morning. I missed hearing our Pastor's Easter morning message. As I said, we went to church, but it wasn't the same. I always try to make a big deal of what Easter really means -- Christ's resurrection that brings new life to all of us. Thankfully, Connor and Janelle understood, even without Sunday School, that this is what Easter is really all about. But it is so much easier when you have a church home, and you are involved in making Easter a special day, and sharing the message of God's perfect love. I still miss being involved in Easter productions that portray the passion week through drama and music. Being in the middle of it all makes it so much more tangible and filled with excitement. That wouldn't have happened this year even if we lived in NB, but it still added to my melancholy.
When we left home, I felt so bad about all the sad people I was leaving behind, and I didn't focus so much on myself. I was heading out to a new adventure. But on weekends like this, my focus is drawn to the fact that all those people who cried when we left still have each other. While we're out here, not completely alone, but feeling pretty alone sometimes. And feeling sad about how, while I am struggling to create a life and a home here, life back home has gone on pretty much just as it was before.
So on this gloomy, rainy morning, I am allowing myself this short, after-Easter pity-party. But I have sent my kids off to school, I have plenty of work to do to keep myself busy, I still have that great book to read, and I may indulge in a trip to the mall that I haven't gotten to yet. The pity-party is over, and it's back to real life. Back to focusing on the future and making London feel like home. So next year Easter won't be lonely. We'll have a church family to celebrate this most joyous day with, and hopefully that church will feel like home to us. The longing for New Brunswick will have dimmed enough that I will not constantly be thinking about what my family and friends are doing together, without us. I will be taking joy in all the good things about my life — here.
Quick Update: My meeting with Connor's teacher was fine, but it was the first negative feedback I've gotten from a teacher. Apparently, he is far too social for his own good, and it has been interfering with his ability to complete his school work. The other day, when the teacher took away his recess and lunch playtimes, he had a breakdown (outdoor time is pretty important to Connor). Somehow, we have to get him to learn how to focus during class time, and save his socializing for play times. At least, as his teacher says, he has had no trouble fitting in to the class!
My family got together for an Easter celebration in New Brunswick. Now, we wouldn't always see my family on Easter weekend even if we lived in Fredericton. But it is more about what I couldn't do than about what I would have done that left me feeling sad this weekend. I missed seeing my nieces and nephew enjoying their Easter treats, and giving my mom and dad an Easter hug. Our church family celebrated Good Friday and Easter Sunday services together. I missed singing in the choir and seeing my friends on Easter Sunday morning. I missed hearing our Pastor's Easter morning message. As I said, we went to church, but it wasn't the same. I always try to make a big deal of what Easter really means -- Christ's resurrection that brings new life to all of us. Thankfully, Connor and Janelle understood, even without Sunday School, that this is what Easter is really all about. But it is so much easier when you have a church home, and you are involved in making Easter a special day, and sharing the message of God's perfect love. I still miss being involved in Easter productions that portray the passion week through drama and music. Being in the middle of it all makes it so much more tangible and filled with excitement. That wouldn't have happened this year even if we lived in NB, but it still added to my melancholy.
When we left home, I felt so bad about all the sad people I was leaving behind, and I didn't focus so much on myself. I was heading out to a new adventure. But on weekends like this, my focus is drawn to the fact that all those people who cried when we left still have each other. While we're out here, not completely alone, but feeling pretty alone sometimes. And feeling sad about how, while I am struggling to create a life and a home here, life back home has gone on pretty much just as it was before.
So on this gloomy, rainy morning, I am allowing myself this short, after-Easter pity-party. But I have sent my kids off to school, I have plenty of work to do to keep myself busy, I still have that great book to read, and I may indulge in a trip to the mall that I haven't gotten to yet. The pity-party is over, and it's back to real life. Back to focusing on the future and making London feel like home. So next year Easter won't be lonely. We'll have a church family to celebrate this most joyous day with, and hopefully that church will feel like home to us. The longing for New Brunswick will have dimmed enough that I will not constantly be thinking about what my family and friends are doing together, without us. I will be taking joy in all the good things about my life — here.
Quick Update: My meeting with Connor's teacher was fine, but it was the first negative feedback I've gotten from a teacher. Apparently, he is far too social for his own good, and it has been interfering with his ability to complete his school work. The other day, when the teacher took away his recess and lunch playtimes, he had a breakdown (outdoor time is pretty important to Connor). Somehow, we have to get him to learn how to focus during class time, and save his socializing for play times. At least, as his teacher says, he has had no trouble fitting in to the class!
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Call from the Teacher
Connor's teacher called this morning. It was early, before school started, so I was out taking the kids to school and missed the call. She left a message, just asking me to get back to her by phone, or to stop in this afternoon when I pick up the kids. She said she just wanted to touch base, to keep good communication between us. As a teacher, I've made many similar phone calls myself in the past. So why do I feel a sense of dread?
I know Connor is a good kid. I know that he is certainly not one of the "problem kids" in any class. He is fun, and funny, and kind and friendly. He is a little chatty (ok, at times a lot chatty), and I'm sure he is easily distracted from his work. But all in all, I would love to have a kid like him in my class. And I'm not just saying that because I'm his mom! I can't imagine that she would have anything really serious to discuss. She just wants to make sure that we are both providing Connor with a smooth transition.
So I shouldn't be nervous about meeting with his teacher this afternoon. I shouldn't be, but I am. My "Mama Bear" instincts are kicking in. I know that it is important to keep open communication with the teacher, so that when a problem does arise in any form, we will all be prepared to deal with it together. I am used to coming at this situation from the other side. Being the parent shouldn't scare me!
But I still have a nervous pit in my stomach. And I don't think anything is going to make it go away before 3:30.
I know Connor is a good kid. I know that he is certainly not one of the "problem kids" in any class. He is fun, and funny, and kind and friendly. He is a little chatty (ok, at times a lot chatty), and I'm sure he is easily distracted from his work. But all in all, I would love to have a kid like him in my class. And I'm not just saying that because I'm his mom! I can't imagine that she would have anything really serious to discuss. She just wants to make sure that we are both providing Connor with a smooth transition.
So I shouldn't be nervous about meeting with his teacher this afternoon. I shouldn't be, but I am. My "Mama Bear" instincts are kicking in. I know that it is important to keep open communication with the teacher, so that when a problem does arise in any form, we will all be prepared to deal with it together. I am used to coming at this situation from the other side. Being the parent shouldn't scare me!
But I still have a nervous pit in my stomach. And I don't think anything is going to make it go away before 3:30.
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