Well, I'm writing this a bit later then I had planned. Now we're in our house, with some kind of normal routine, I don't think I'll be writing as often. A daily schedule of nappy changes, housework and play isn't all that exciting. However, it's been a busy fortnight getting here.
The plan was to move in over the course of 2 days, and be completely sorted at the end of those days.(Optimistic? Yes!) Our furniture was supposed to arrive early Tuesday morning mostly assembled, so we'd just have to put a few things together (Ikea of course!) and be ready for our consignment from Australia on Wednesday. Hubby left the hotel early Tuesday, and rode to the house. When I arrived at 10am, I was surprised to find that nothing had arrived. After a trip to Costco to stock up on non-perishables, I returned to find hubby surrounded by boxes that contained our dining setting, as well as many more boxes from Ikea. We also had a problem, as due to the sloping ceiling in the main bathroom, the bed head and frame didn't fit. We now have a matttress ensemble on the floor. Needless to say, that when our stuff arrived on the Wednesday, I was trying to unpack alone as the endless furniture assembly went on. A week later, I finally unpacked the last of the clothes. Whew!
On a sad note, Mum headed home on the day we moved in. Poor thing - she had to help us get sorted in the house, and never got to stay there! I soon realised just how much help she'd been when hubby went to work and it was just me and the kids. Three against one isn't good odds! Miss 3 had also really enjoyed having Grandma around as a captive audience. Oh well, thank goodness for Skype.
We were really lucky with our house in lots of ways - great location, good yard, beautifully renovated. The other bonus was that the owners who vacated are actually moving to Singapore. This meant that they left loads of stuff behind. Kids winter clothes, trampoline, a swing set and loads of toys and other clothes. The first day here, Miss 3 was so excited she didn't know what to do with herself: swing, trampoline, tree fort, toy kitchen.... In other news fron the world of Miss 3, she started summer school (at the school she's starting in September) for 1 day a week. She was so excited to start today (I think she gets a bit bored with just mum) and was very proud that she opened a banana and unwrapped her sandwich by herself.
News of the twins - I don't think they've had much of a mention in this blog! They are good (apart from a cold) and seem to be enjoying the new surrounds and a wider range of toys. The funny thing is meal time. For the first time, they have quite compact high chairs so can sit very close to one another. They began by pulling hair and holding hands. Then the figured out they could pull each other's bibs off. They are also supposed to eat while doing this! The other night, we were outside (lovely summer evening) when T1 pulled her bib off and started shaking it around. T2 watched with interest and finally succeeded in grabbing it off her. T1 promtly burst into tears. So T2 gave it straight back and T1 smiled. Very cute!
Only one day until the weekend. It should be nice, as we have nothing we have to do. We'll probably explore our local neighbourhood instead. I'll post again a few weeks, when hopefully I'll have something goood to write about!
Thursday 12 July 2012
Monday 2 July 2012
Canada Day!
Well, we'd heard that Ottawa was the place to be on Canada Day - as the nation's capital there were lots of events planned. We'd also been informed by a local that patriotism was up since their involement in war in the middle east, and also hosting an Olympics in 2010 (where they actually managed to win some medals). We were excited about the weekend ahead.
A good omen appeared on Saturday - we managed to buy some cheddar cheese that was yellow (instead of a bizarre orange) and actually tasted like proper cheese! The humble ham and cheese sandwich suddenly tasted much better. Another exciting event was managing to get a phone contract - I've been feeling a bit naked without a phone. Back at the hotel, we could see everyone setting up for the festivities, and it was looking good.
Canada Day dawned warm and sunny. We headed off to a city park that was staging some child friendly events. The thing that stood out as we walked, was that we were the only people not wearing red and white. Thousands of people on the streets, and all wearing their nation's colours. Very impresive. We'll be sure to blend in better next year! First on the agenda at the park - face painting. It was all Canadian themes. So Miss 3 didn't get the tiger face that she had hoped for, but was a vision in red, white and sparkles, including red hair with a white maple leaf. Even I joined in - there were many adults with full face paint and coloured hair.
There was a giant dance class, blow-up horses to bounce and race around, as well as lots of other displays and food and drink. The twins were pretty good, just hanging out in the pram and watching the world go by. Apart from Miss 3 deciding that the ice cream I'd bought her as a treat was too cold (too young for the cold? Just too precious I think!) a fun time was had by all.
A quiet afternoon at the hotel was in order, and after some Timmies to recharge (as well as pizza and beer) we headed out to the free night concert. Optimistically, we took Miss 3, we thought she'd enjoy gettting out and there were fireworks at the end.But after 20 minutes in a crowd, with only repetitive dance music, she wanted to go home. Luckily for me, hubby took her home so that I could stay and enjoy the show. (He'd seen a shorter concert at midday when I was taking kids home.) I'm glad he did, the opening act was Sinple Plan and they were great. The other acts were hit and miss for me, so we left before the end to get a good vantage point for the fireworks.
Ah, fireworks. What is it about fireworks that makes you feel like a kid again? There we were, grown adults, surrounded by other grown adults, gaping open-mouthed at the sky. Ooh, aah, I like that one! A great end to the night.
But it wasn't the end of the weekend. With a public holiday, we headed to the zoo, as it was another beautiful warm sunny day. The zoo was quite small, but great for kids - it had a petting zoo area where you could feed animals, as well as being able to view other animals getting fed throughout the day. It was also great to see animals you wouldn't see at home; although the coyote looked nothing like Wile-E :)
And so ends the weekend! We are currently getting sorted out in preparation for our move into our house - finally! I'll let you know how that goes next week...
A good omen appeared on Saturday - we managed to buy some cheddar cheese that was yellow (instead of a bizarre orange) and actually tasted like proper cheese! The humble ham and cheese sandwich suddenly tasted much better. Another exciting event was managing to get a phone contract - I've been feeling a bit naked without a phone. Back at the hotel, we could see everyone setting up for the festivities, and it was looking good.
Canada Day dawned warm and sunny. We headed off to a city park that was staging some child friendly events. The thing that stood out as we walked, was that we were the only people not wearing red and white. Thousands of people on the streets, and all wearing their nation's colours. Very impresive. We'll be sure to blend in better next year! First on the agenda at the park - face painting. It was all Canadian themes. So Miss 3 didn't get the tiger face that she had hoped for, but was a vision in red, white and sparkles, including red hair with a white maple leaf. Even I joined in - there were many adults with full face paint and coloured hair.
There was a giant dance class, blow-up horses to bounce and race around, as well as lots of other displays and food and drink. The twins were pretty good, just hanging out in the pram and watching the world go by. Apart from Miss 3 deciding that the ice cream I'd bought her as a treat was too cold (too young for the cold? Just too precious I think!) a fun time was had by all.
A quiet afternoon at the hotel was in order, and after some Timmies to recharge (as well as pizza and beer) we headed out to the free night concert. Optimistically, we took Miss 3, we thought she'd enjoy gettting out and there were fireworks at the end.But after 20 minutes in a crowd, with only repetitive dance music, she wanted to go home. Luckily for me, hubby took her home so that I could stay and enjoy the show. (He'd seen a shorter concert at midday when I was taking kids home.) I'm glad he did, the opening act was Sinple Plan and they were great. The other acts were hit and miss for me, so we left before the end to get a good vantage point for the fireworks.
Ah, fireworks. What is it about fireworks that makes you feel like a kid again? There we were, grown adults, surrounded by other grown adults, gaping open-mouthed at the sky. Ooh, aah, I like that one! A great end to the night.
But it wasn't the end of the weekend. With a public holiday, we headed to the zoo, as it was another beautiful warm sunny day. The zoo was quite small, but great for kids - it had a petting zoo area where you could feed animals, as well as being able to view other animals getting fed throughout the day. It was also great to see animals you wouldn't see at home; although the coyote looked nothing like Wile-E :)
And so ends the weekend! We are currently getting sorted out in preparation for our move into our house - finally! I'll let you know how that goes next week...
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