I am really hoping that I can arrange to get out of this place soon. I couldn’t have known what it was like moving from so far away and when we got here with all our stuff in tow, there was no place else for us to go and I thought we had already signed a lease, but there is a chance that through some oversight, there is no lease and if there isn’t, there is a chance that a former landlord may rent a house to us. We are still looking into it and there are other places but this place is familiar, I have lived in it. It has a fenced backyard and it is workable. It isn’t huge and I have to make some adjustments, but I can make it work and the rent is low enough that I can purchase things to make it work and it is bigger than our last two places. It may not be ideal, but there are no surprises and it is more ideal than any place we have had lately. And honestly, I am excited at the prospect of moving there. I liked it there and it feels like going home.
Archives
Keep your fingers crossed!
There is a chance that we will be able to get out of this lease and out of this scary neighbourhood. I haven’t said much on here, but this neighbourhood scares me. I won’t let Lilly go out to play and this apartment building is filled with scary people. But we may have a chance to not only get out of our lease but to get into a HOUSE which is close by but believe it or not in a MUCH better neighbourhood. Keep your fingers crossed for us that it all works out. I am really excited!
Looking up
Well today I got some good deals on used furniture. I spent about $180 and got some bunk beds for the girls, a hide-a-bed couch for the living room, a play pen, and a stroller. On Monday another really nice leather couch for the living room is being delivered and a 4 in 1 crib and a bunch of baby boy clothes has been promised to me. I am so relieved. We are set now. We needed so many things and I was stressing on how to get them all. Things were wrecked in our move and I suddenly found myself needing things for our home. I needed somewhere to sleep for the guest who is coming to help Wandering Aengus with the girls when I am in the hospital. I needed better beds for the girls, because their room is too small for all those beds and the toddler beds have been destroyed anyway. I needed somewhere for the baby to sleep and I needed some more clothes for the baby. In one short day, I got all of that taken care of. I love it when things come together like that.
So Happy
I found a lot of our homeschooling supplies. I am so glad. I even have ink cartridges too, so we will be starting back at homeschooling tomorrow. I think I will even print off some coloring pages for Rose so that she can sit at the table with us and feel involved.
Being Nice Makes a Difference
It pays to be nice to your neighbours. Twice in the last couple of days being nice to our neighbours made all the difference in the world to our day. Firstly, I made nice conversation with someone in the laundry room. It turns out she lives across the hall from me and showed me a washer and dryer that will do my laundry for 1/3 of the regular price!!! She went out of her way to go down and show me which ones to use!
Now I don’t know if I have mentioned but I live on the third floor. The THIRD FLOOR with a 2-year-old, a 3-year-old, a nine-year-old and a baby on the way. I try to keep them quiet, but I know they are used to a house and they run across the floor rather loudly sometimes. Yesterday when they were playing quiet loudly, I heard a THUMP THUMP THUMP from downstairs. I felt awful. Wandering Aengus and I discussed it. We worried whether we would be able to keep the kids quiet enough on this floor. We worried whether this apartment would work out for us and I won’t lie, I DON’T WANT TO MOVE AGAIN! So I decided that we would make nice with the neighbour. I sent Aengus down to talk to her, to explain our situation, to apologize, to tell them we would do our best to try to keep it down and to find out if there was a particular time of day when it bothered them the most so that I could try to especially hard to keep the kids quiet that time of day. Well, he went down and she was really nice!!! She said that yesterday a picture had fallen off the wall and she was hammering in a nail NOT knocking on the ceiling at us. She said that she could hear us, but she could also hear our neighbours on both sides too. She said she understood about kids and that it only bothered her early in the mornings. She appreciated us coming down. Being nice made a difference. So, I don’t have to stress about it, I will do my best, I WILL NOT move, and I will keep them quiet in the mornings. I feel so much better now.
On a side note, three-year-old Rose is learning to walk quietly. She looks so cute when she is concentrating on walking nicely, kind of like she is walking on bubble wrap. LOL
I also have to admit that I don’t get irritated at all when I hear other people’s music, televisions, children, conversations, etc in the building. I just feel better that I am not the only one whose sounds carry outside the apartment.
A Few Pics
Here are some pics from out trip. At our first big bus stop on the way, we got out and let the kids play in the playyard. They had a grand time and by the time we left, the static had all their hair standing on end. I got some pics of them all sleeping on the ferry as well, including Lilly sleeping with her head hanging between her knees.
Good things
One thing that I am happy about is that since we have been here, I have been concentrating on cooking more real food. I have made bread every day for the last couple of days. I am making oatmeal or eggs or some other good breakfast every day and I am making a chicken pot pie from scratch for supper. Before we moved, we were so rushed I felt like there were too many convenience junk foods in our house. But I have been doing so much better since we got here.
Here is my list of new curriculum choices:
- (Language) Progressive Phonics (advanced level) – http://www.progressivephonics.com/~suzettew/
- (Language) – Scott Foreman’s Grammar and Writing Handbook – http://www.sfreading.com/resources/ghb.html
- (Math) – BMO Smartsteps for Parents Canadian Money – http://community.bmo.com/smartstepsforparents/zone
- (Math) – Life of Fred – http://lifeoffredmath.com/lof2.php
- (Canadian Geography) – Canada, My Country – http://www.canadianhomeeducation.com/products/34805-canada-my-country.aspx
- (Canadian History) – Canada’s Natives Long Ago – http://www.canadianhomeeducation.com/products/34806-canadas-natives-long-ago.aspx
- (Canadian History) – Courage and Conquest – http://www.canadianhomeeducation.com/products/34804-courage-and-conquest-revised.aspx
- (Science) – Classic Science: Elementary Life Science – http://www.eequalsmcq.com/ClassicScienceLife.htm
- (Science) – Jason Curriculum – http://www.jason.org/public/whatis/curr.aspx
And I will add in some extras to break it up from the following:
- Unit Studies – Grade five and Six – Free – http://www.mce.k12tn.net/units/units.htm
- Extra Free worksheets – http://www.theheadoftheclass.com/Activities/ActivityFilter.aspx?filterBy=GradeLevel
So while I am a little stressed about having everything ready for the baby when he arrives, there are things I feel like I am doing okay with.
The Apartment
I will admit that this apartment wasn’t all I had hoped it would be when I got here. There were quite a few repairs that needed to be done. I walked into the kitchen and it HAD NO FAUCET!!! There no fuses, the bathroom HAD NO DOOR!!! and most of the doors had no knobs, to name a few of the problems. Well, we were here, our stuff was in the rooms and so we made a list of all the repairs and brought it to the super. Surprisingly, within 24 hours all of the repairs were done. Well, I think we are still waiting on the arrival of one doorknob and a light fixture is being repaired, but other than that, the place is all fixed. As quick as that. The place is MUCH bigger than our old place. The closets are bigger, the rooms are bigger, there is a storage room and a walk-in linen closet. There is so much potential in this place and I am free to fix it how I want to. You take your chances when you rent a place from 1400 miles away so that you can’t actually see it. So rather than focus on the negatives, I focused on the positives. They are quick to make repairs, the apartment is huge and I really like the location. I think that if you come back a fe months from now, you would be shocked to see just how fabulous this place is going to be. (If you get over the fact that you have to lug your groceries up THREE flights of stairs. LOL)
On a sidenote, poor little 3 year old Rose keeps asking when we are going home. She likes the largeness of the new place, but she just doesn’t feel like this is her home yet.
Digging ourselves out of the boxes
Well, we have been working hard to dig through stuff and pull the place together. The kids are adjusting well to the new place and I am liking the extra space. I still have so much to unpack but it is good to be getting things done as much as I have done so far. I will have pics soon, I promise.
I am surprised at how easily the girls have adjusted to all sharing a room together. They seem to enjoy it which is so nice.
Arrived
We are here, finally. I am so glad to be back in town. It was an adventurous move and I am glad it is over. Right now we are hip deep in boxes trying to get organized. I will update more later.
