Saturday, December 18, 2010

Christmas in Boxes

We decorated for Christmas while still living out of boxes. I'm not sure you can tell from this picture but I have latex gloves on to protect the cracks and sores on my hands that I got from handling boxes and from the dry weather of the prairies.
 
We left many boxes behind last minute but brought our tree and decorations. It was a nice break from unpacking.

With how busy we were getting, a little family time was wonderful. The only thing purchased for Christmas is what Austyn got Zoe. We need to get our shopping done, and I'm pretty sure that Santa is only visiting our kids this year. They are priority.

Friday, December 17, 2010

We're back blogging!

I finally have something set up so that I can use the kids computer. As with everytime we move, we lose things. We are missing some pieces to one of the desks so I got creative. I'm proud of my creativity! I think this is going to work just fine until we find the missing pieces.

Here is a recap of what has been happening. My hubby got a job in Edmonton. He had to start in three weeks so we frantically packed and got prepared for the move. We decided to not make the same mistake as last time. For anyone who has ever moved to Alberta you know how easy it is to get all of your identification chaned to that province. It's EASY! Returning to Ontario is another story. It could take months of going from place to place and waiting in lines up to two hours each time and sometimes even getting turned away. We have decided to go to Alberta temporarily since his contract is a year and decide if we want to stay, when the year is up.

We got some early Christmas gifts since we aren't going to be home for Christmas. This is a Zoe's new hair from the Disney movie Tangled.

We had to pack everything away so I took some last minute pictures of Austyn's Lego Creations before they are moved.

I got some pictures of our growth chart etched into the trim. Both kids have grown so much since we lived in that house.

The kids did their best to help when they could. They enjoyed using tools and took apart shelves, chairs, and a table. We rented a small trailer and only took what we needed. This meant that we had to limit what we took and disassemble anything we could.

In past trips the kids required much entertainment to maintain our sanity. Surprisingly this trip went well and the kids kept themselves entertained. We were overloaded and had our two cats with us for the four day trip. The fact that Zoe and Daddy had a fever and were under the weather may have had something to do with the quiet behaviour.

For the most part the weather was nice and driving went smoothly. It was a contrast to what was happening back home.

I did a bit of reading on the way, but after all the craziness of such a fast move I really just felt like resting my brain. I didn't even get to finish this book yet.

I was surprised how easy it was to travel with the cats. We had no trouble at the border crossings and found it easy to find pet friendly hotels. The cats enjoyed their freedom at night when we stopped and let them out of their cages. This is a picture of Zoe and Cinnamon relaxing in the night stand.

I'm glad the move and the trip are over. We are now about 90% unpacked. We are trying to adjust to city life in an apartment. We are so use to our modern, suburban bungalow, with a yard. We now have no microwave (getting one soon), no dishwasher, and the stove doesn't even have a timer. I've done well without these amenities here, but could really use a timer since I'm notorious for forgetting things in the oven.

There is little privacy here and just a small patch of grass to play on that is designated to us. We had to tape the back door shut to prevent smoke from a chain smoking neighbour down the hall from smelling up our space. I really don't mind it here though. The apartment itself seems to suit us well. We have nice neighbours on either side of us. I think we'll do fine here for the year and I'm looking forward to taking advantage of all of the educational attractions city life has to offer.

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

I hope to be up and running again soon.

We have moved across Canada and are temporarily (for now) residing in Edmonton, Alberta. We have chosen to not open my computer, but to have me work on the kids computer. It's a whole new world from my nice old Macintosh with all of the old, bells and whistles graphics software. I expected that there'd be some adjustment on my part, but I've not had a chance to try yet. We are missing parts of the other desk so only my hubby's desk has been assembled and set up with his computer. The kids have been falling to sleep in our bed and so I can't use that computer while they go to bed. This leaves only the day time to work on the blog or anything else I want to and with two small children that seems like an impossibility. So, I take pictures and want to share but can't, yet. Hopefully I can find a temporary solution until the rest of the pieces of that desk reappear.

Monday, December 13, 2010

Book Sharing Monday - How the Grinch Stole Christmas!




GRINCH!!! Do I need to say more?! I think we all know and love this story!
How the Grinch Stole Christmas! by Dr. Seuss is a popular story. If you haven't read it yet you'll likely love it.

My favourite part is when he realized that what he had done didn't stop Christmas. 

But the sound wasn't sad!
Why, this sound sounded merry!
It couldn't be so!
But WAS merry! VERY!

He started down at Who-ville!
The Grinch popped his eyes!
Then he shook!
What he saw was a shocking surprise!

Every Who down in Who-ville, the tall and the small,
Was singing! Without any presents at all!

He HADN'T stopped Christmas from coming!
IT CAME!
Somehoe or other, it came just the same!