Adjusting to Our New Home.

It is an adjustment being here. Everything is foreign to us, it seems. The weather is colder and much dryer. The snow is like dust and keeps accumulating instead of melting. The days are shorter. The snow plows don't travel down our street. Transitioning from a large detached home to an apartment with thin walls. Bringing only some of our things. Getting to know what is around us and who our neighbours are. Leaving old friends behind and attempting to get into the homeschool circles in a new place to meet new friends. Moving from a small town to a City. The list just goes on and on. There is a huge transition that we need to get through.

Don't take me wrong. I'm not saying it's a negative experience. We've lived in Alberta before but farther South. There are some things that we expect when looking back at our first Alberta experience. One thing we loved about living here is the variety of food. One of the first things we ordered was a Panago Pizza. The kids enjoyed watching, up close, how they made the pizzas from scratch.

We are excited about the educational attractions that a city has to offer a homeschooling family. There are so many things to do and see here. I expect that in a city with over 8000 registered homeschoolers I will meet many unschoolers, which didn't happen much at home, in small town, Ontario.

All of these changes are taking a toll on us all. The kids both have their own rooms and with that plus all of the other changes I'm seeing much more sibling rivalry. Zoe now seems to need a nap during the day again, when she never needed that at home.

 Back in Ontario we had a nice sized yard that was fully fenced, yet Austyn rarely ever went out there by himself. It was like pulling teeth getting him to go outside. Since we've been here and Daddy has been at his new job, Austyn has been outside by himself just about every day. We have a tiny patch that is ours to use, but he is happy to be in that small spot playing. We didn't bring any shovels or our toboggan so he is using the dust pan as a snow shovel.
There are many other things to get use to. Customer service still seems low, especially at places that are reasonably priced. Daddy waited over 40 minutes in line at the grocery store, but groceries are much cheaper here than they were at home. There seems to still be a boom here, especially when comparing it to Ontario.