So here we are, just two months after rolling out of Boston for good and I can’t believe we lived there for over a year. As always, the last couple of months before the move have flew by faster than we imagined possible. And after moving home and getting settled, I can’t believe how much I actually miss the East Coast. More than I ever thought I would. So here, in nor particular order, are the things I’ll miss and the things I won’t miss about living in Boston…

Things I’ll miss:

1. The old. The history of the area, the interesting things that happened there and the fascinating people who made them happen. The amazing architecture and the buildings that have seen centuries of use and places where generations have walked.

2. The new. I have never, not even once, claimed to be a big-city girl. But it turns out the city can grow on you and that it has a lot to offer. There is always something different to do and see. Festivals, museums, concerts and a different park to walk in or place to visit every day of the week.

3. The beach. It shouldn’t come as a surprise, I miss the ocean. I had completely underestimated the restorative effects of a fabulous view on the human psyche.  The sound of the waves on the shore at night, the smell of the sea air (which I thought I would NEVER get used to!), just staring out at the ocean. I can’t express how much I miss it!

4. Our backyard community. We lived in one of four townhouse style units that shared a backyard. At first I thought it would be awkward to go into the yard and know that our neighbours had a clear view of us or to go outside and find them already there. But the reality was that it was a wonderful social atmosphere. Our kids adored having playmates that were easily accessible. I loved that they had a huge yard to play in, which was extremely rare where we were living. And the fact that there was almost always someone to visit with was good for me, particularly in the early days when I was feeling kind of isolated. It was also a pleasure to share yardwork, gardening and other outdoor activities with our fantastic neighbours.

5. Cheap shopping. Food, clothes, books, need I say more?

6. The people. Amazing people. Really interesting and wonderful people and a few friends I hope to keep for a lifetime.

7. The Boston accent. It felt so strange and foreign when we first got there but now I will always think of it with fondness and hearing people with the same accent will make me miss our Boston people.

8. The diversity. Another benefit of the big city, especially one with sooo many universities (like 80 something universities in the greater Boston area) is the huge variety of people you have the opportunity to meet. It’s awesome to be exposed to so many different cultures in something as generic as a trip to the park or the grocery store.

9. Public transit. We loved riding the subway! In a few months I went from being totally intimidated by the T system to embracing it completely. We never drove into the city. We could easily walk to the subway and be in town in ten or fifteen minutes. It was convenient and inexpensive and we got a lot more exercise as well as feeling good about not driving so much.  The big city i much more conducive to a fantastic transit system.

Things I won’t miss:

1. Traffic. Not so much that there are lots of cars, although there ARE. But also that it takes so long to get places. When you meet new people it frequently happens that you easily live 60 minutes or more (sometimes MUCH more) from each other. This makes it really hard to invite someone over for casual drinks and to create opportunities to get to know new people.

2. Being far away from our family, friends and country of citizenship. It was just way too far from family. Even though we don’t currently live in the same city as most of our family members, we are much closer than we were. And it’s surprising how much closer you feel just by being in the same country.  As for our country of citizenship, we genuinely missed being able to participate in our country’s systems and processes. We missed the big and little things. It’s a strange thing to be living in a society where you hold no status (in terms of voting etc.). It’s a little disconcerting.

3. The lack of universal healthcare. I think my posts from our first summer in Boston adequately sum up the frustration of trying to get set up in a very different medical system. I am so glad to once again be able to go to the doctor without having to pay for the visit and to know that I can get prescriptions and medications easily and for a much lower price.  I feel much safer, medically speaking, in Canada. Even though H1N1 seems to be running rampant where I’m living.

Before our one year adventure Boston wouldn’t have made our top ten list of places to visit. In fact, it didn’t register at all! But now I can’t say enough about what an amazing place it is to visit and I constantly surprise myself with how much I miss being there.

Goodbye Boston. We’ll miss you!

America, Boston, home sweet home, moving | 3 Comments »

I have learned a few things since we began the renovation process several weeks ago and I am here to share my wisdom with you:

• There is more dust inside the walls and floors of your house than you ever imagined possible. You can’t possibly prepare for it. So don’t even try.
• There is no excuse for painting anything flesh-coloured (as in Caucasian flesh, other skin colours are much classier choices for paint).
• Sleeping on air mattresses gets old really quickly. But remembering to pump it up with a little extra air every few days goes a long way. If you are wondering why you are so damn uncomfortable…it could be because your mattress is only at 25% capacity.
• Renovations make me bitchy cranky.
• My husband and father-in-law have a bottomless fountain of energy from which to draw. It must be genetic. I don’t know how they do it but they have been working on the house 20 hours a day without stopping for 10 days now. My father-in-law is taking vacation time to come and help us, which is incredibly generous. However – WORST. VACATION. EVER. Sleeping on an air mattress and working til you drop every day is not my idea of a holiday. Just sayin’.

Random stuff I’ve been wanting to tell the internets:

• Elementary school in Boston was guarded like the freaking White House. Picking up a child from school was practically a secret service mission, what with no entrance to the school without filling out visitor forms. School here is like a free-for-all. They don’t care how the kids get to their classrooms, so long as they get there. They don’t care who picks them up or where they go after the bell rings! The teacher’s first parent letter indicated her goal for the children this year is independence. I fully endorse this goal but after the red tape, overprotective atmosphere over kindergarten I’m getting whiplash just dealing with it all!
• Everyone keeps saying Saskatoon has had no mosquitoes until September. Remarkably, when we arrived in town. The mosquitoes waited for me to show up and then moved in to feast. I am undone. Really, just covered in bites!
• I have never been so aware of the easygoing Canadian attitude before. After being away for a while it has never been so apparent. I like it!
• All moving companies are, without exception, completely corrupt and out to rob you of every last penny.
• Things have been rocky with our moving company, or can you tell?
• They charged us the equivalent of several mortgage payments extra for “packing services” because we ended up putting a lot more on the truck than we originally intended (because we bought our kitchen for the new house in the states and brought it back with us). But the kitchen was all in boxes. It required no extra packing. Loading yes. Packing no. Loading charges did not change. The cost of the weight changed, which is fair. The cost of the packing changed, which is not fair. We will contest this.
• We were told our belongings would be delivered no later than September 10. They are arriving tomorrow, September 14. Why yes, that is smoke coming out of my ears! Thanks for noticing!
• It is really refreshing to make such a big move and already know where everything in the city is and how to go about getting settled. Really refreshing! We know where the grocery stores and schools and parks are. We know which events to look forward to. We know which friends we can call and beg to help us with our home renos…. Ahem.
• My Massachusetts driver’s licence broke the computer system of the local licence provider. I went to switch back to a SK licence and they had it all printed out but realized they hadn’t entered it correctly so they could create a new photo id. So they tore it up and started over. And then they started over again. And then they called the help desk. Five times. And I waited for a full hour (which I know doesn’t seem like much to those of you in big cities, but for Saskatoon if you have to wait five minutes it’s a HUGE FREAKING DEAL). And then they told me to go do what I needed to do and they would call and let me know when I could come back. And then they called and said my Massachusetts licence broke their whole system and it will be a week before they can get the bug fixed so I should come back then. Awesome.
• A large percent of people here can’t pronounce Massachusetts. You would think that anyone who can pronounce “Saskatoon, Saskatchewan” without any problems would already have the linguistic dexterity necessary to pronounce MASS-AH-CHEW-SETS. Most common mispronounciations: Mass-a-two-shits and Mass-a-two-sits. It amuses me.

Ok, I think we’re done. Hopefully the blog is working and you can all read this. I’ve been experiencing technical difficulties recently so if you’ve been seeing nothing past August 22 and now suddenly see several new posts, it’s not you, it’s me.

America, Canada, catch up, Massachusetts, moving, renovations, Saskatchewan | 4 Comments »

Once again it’s been a long time since the last post. I know you’ll forgive me for not posting from the road.

We have finally reached our destination and today we took possession of our new (to us) house. The renos have already begun and so much is happening my head is spinning. Today was also Avery’s first full day of grade one and I am looking forward to picking her up and hearing all about it.  I wish I had the brainpower to write these mundane updates in a witty and fascinating way, but I just don’t.  Pictures coming soon, if the moving truck shows up with our stuff. Here’s hoping! Cheers!

Avery, moving, road trip, Saskatoon | 4 Comments »

It’s day #2 on the road and we are settled in for the night at a generic two star hotel in Elkhart, Indiana. So far we have been treated to more whining and fighting that we thought possible of two children, although it’s hard to blame when they haven’t gotten to bed at their bedtime for somewhere in the vicinity of two weeks. They are exhausted and as much as we like to say our kids are flexible and go with the flow, there’s no denying that the impending move and the upheaval of packing and saying goodbye to all their friends and the home they’ve known for the last year is likely taking it’s toll.

On the upside, tonight we ate dinner at a Cracker Barrel restaurant where our delightful server told us the reason they don’t serve beer at their establishment is that she would spend all her breaks drinking it. Awesome.

I realize now that it’s been nearly two weeks since I last updated which is not good. The only excuse I have was that we threw ourselves into enjoying our last few days in Boston. Seeing friends we have made and spending some time at our favourite places. We will definitely miss our East Coast home more than a little.  As usual, it is only after one year that we are just starting to get the feel of the place and figure out what we love and what we don’t (post coming soon on that) and, as always, knowing you are leaving permanently creates a load of sentimentality in my little head.

But here we are, on our way to home. Real home. Small(ish)-town home in the prairies where friends and family and new jobs and a new house are awaiting us. I know it will come as no surprise to anyone who knows me if I tell you that I am absolutely thrilled.

But for the next week we will be continuing our road trip through Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota and then up to Manitoba for a short visit with family there before we go home.

Home. Sounds good, doesn’t it?

I have so much more to say on the subject but that will have to come when the time is available.  Thanks for all the well wishes to those of you who follow me on Facebook!

home sweet home, moving, road trip | 4 Comments »

Dear Avery and Kieran,

I often wonder what you will remember about this time in your lives. There have been a lot of changes in the last couple of years and they aren’t over yet.  I know you will adjust and life will settle down again as it always does. Routine inevitably falls over us like a familiar blanket. But I wonder…

…I wonder if Avery will remember her first sweetheart. A neighbour and classmate who she bonded with early in the school year and before a few months were through, had pledged to marry. Will she remember his possessive and sometimes manipulative and hurtful behaviour in order to keep her attention focused solely on him? Or will she simply remember their unabashed affection for each other and the way they simply felt comfortable playing together. Their innocent acceptance of each other and their bold plans for the future, despite any attempts by her parents to convince her that she *might* change her mind in the future.

(Yes, she looks like she’s yelling at him here, but she really wasn’t. And just seconds before they were sitting there with their arms slung around each others shoulders and it was just so cute!)

…I wonder if Kieran will remember his constant fluctuating between fear of everything from the bathroom towel to the dark to sounds in the night and putting on the bold and brave act. Will he remember telling me that he’s a “superhero” and his super powers are “killing bugs…aaand…spiders….and skeetos…and bad things” and that his super powers are “geen (green)”?

…I wonder if Avery will remember her unwavering devotion to mothering her “babies”. Each new doll was welcomed into the fold and her delight delighted me.

…I wonder if Kieran will remember roasting “smushmellows” or constantly asking “Why you doin’ dat Mommy? WHY?” with always the same format: Why_____________? Why?

…I wonder if you will remember the first time you went to the circus and neither of you blinked for the whole performance because you were so enthralled.

…I wonder if you will remember playing outside from dawn to dusk, wearing nothing but a bathing suit and only stopping for snacks and bathroom breaks. Will you remember running around with popsicles melting all over your hands and even after twelve consecutive hours of constant action, you are still reluctant to come inside, until we settle down to read stories and you fall asleep before the book is finished.

…I wonder if you will remember the way you alternately loved and hated each other. Playing for hours without a problem and then fighting like cats and dogs the next. I guess that will continue for years to come but I hope the memories of the fun you had together will be stronger.

I know I will always remember the feel of hugs from sweaty, sticky children who smell like sunshine and the way new freckles popped up on Kieran’s nose every day until he was covered just like his daddy and how Avery grew what felt like six inches in a summer and suddenly felt like such a big kid to me. I will remember birthday cakes and shaking the sand off our feet after a day at the beach and the smell of a fresh coat of sunscreen and the sound of the ocean lapping at the shore while your happy shrieks and giggles sounded in the background.

Avery, Kieran, mommy stuff, moving, summer | 4 Comments »

After making two big moves in the last two years we decided it would be best if we could lighten our load a little before our next move, whenever that might be. And thus began a project which I have cursed more than once in the past six weeks.

It seemed like a manageable sized project. I decided to try and sell our old baby clothes. We had a dozen large bins of outgrown clothes that we’ve been toting around and that equals a lot of weight and bulk that has to go on a moving truck.  I figured I’d organize the clothes, give them a quick wash to freshen them up and post a listing on craigslist.

Welcome to Operation Timesuck.

Step 1: Locate and unpack boxes of outgrown clothes. Assume they are basically organized by size as you labelled the containers meticulously when packing them up.

Step 2: Realize your error as size categories are totally inconsistent. Question the difference between size 6 months, size 6-9 months and size 6-12 months and why two shirts in the same size are dramatically different in size. Curse the lack of a universal sizing system to force clothing manufacturers to assure consumers some tiny bit of uniformity from brand to brand. Spend hours days sorting and resorting until you have 10 clear size categories divided into 2 lots each of summer and winter clothing.

Step 3: Get a little weepy and nostalgic over tiny outfits and the memories associated with them…

 

…and ruthlessly throw everything into the bins but a very few select items to keep.

Step 4: Decide the clothes are more likely to sell on craigslist if you have pictures of them. Start photographing. 

Step 5: Realize the clothes really need to be ironed in order to appear decent in the pictures. Pull out the iron and dig in.

Step 6: Realize your iron is not working properly about ten minutes in.

Step 7: Eventually get around to replacing iron.

Step 8: Realize that spending money on a new iron is exactly as glamorous as it sounds. 

Step 9: Spend hours days weeks months ironing. Realize half way through that this project is a hell of a lot more work than you anticipated.

Step 10: Alternate between ignoring and bitching about the bins of clothes cluttering up your kitchen.

Step 11: FINALLY finish the process of organizing, sorting, washing, ironing and photographing. Proceed to post ad on craigslist. Wait anxiously for responses.

Step 12: Wait some more.

Step 13: Astonished by the deafening virtual silence, spend some time re-examining your strategy and prices. 

Step 14: Alternate between ignoring and bitching about the fact that there are 20 bags of clothes in your kitchen on which you have wasted hours and hours of time and energy and have not made a single penny. In fact, you have lost money because of the new iron.

Step 15: Have your husband move said bags back down to the garage where they came from. 

Step 16: Drown your sorrows in pre-Easter candy and enjoy your clean kitchen. Vow to rework this project again. At some point. In the future. Because you need a break. Again.

baby, mommy stuff, moving | 8 Comments »

If you were a Canadian (like me) living in the United States (like me) (or even, gasp! vice versa) you might have to deal with the small unpleasantness of having to sort out the issue of immunizations and school and the territory in between. You might have to show your child’s school evidence of said shots and this may have involved all sorts of trips to and from the doctor and phone calls to and from doctor’s offices, public health offices and hospitals all over civilization and harried conversations regarding records, faxes and PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD HURRY. And after these many phone calls without any resulting yelling or expulsion of your child from her (or his) school you might relax and choose to believe that all required faxes have been sent and received and that these things will sort themselves out.

You would be wrong.

Because after three full months of school your child’s school might finally get around to checking out the forms submitted when she enrolled in school and they might call you and leave a message on your phone in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS telling you it’s Very Important that they get your child’s Immunization Records because she May Not Attend School without Proper Documentation of her Vaccinations.

So you, being a responsible parents, would speak with the school nurses and discuss the reasons for the delinquent information (our records are in Canada and apparently faxing documents across the border is Very Hard). The nurses would probably be calmed by your Responsible Parent Voice and give you permission to bring in your personal documentation of your child’s frequent puncturage the following Monday. Which you would go ahead and do because you care about following rules.

When you bring the school nurse the information she requires she would reward your conscientiousness with a damning proclamation; your child is not fully vaccinated! UNCLEAN!!! The USA requires Hepatitis B vaccinations and Canada does not. Your child must not be allowed to pollute the school air with her dirty, unvaccinated little self one second longer (nevermind that she has already attended school for three months)!

And so you might be told to take your child home so as not to defile the purity of the school atmosphere. And your child might be brought from her classroom in tears, not wanting to leave school and you might feel ashamed, as though you had done something wrong, even though you know you haven’t.

If you were like me you might start playing phone tag (once again) with two different Canadian offices to try and get your child’s immunization records faxed to your new doctor’s office so that your doctor can sign a form for the school so they can untie the giant knot their panties are in. But both offices say they faxed those forms back in September like you asked them to. When you ask them to do it again you would probably discover that the number they originally faxed to was incorrect. So you would get them to do it again.

You would make phone calls to the doctor’s office to see if your leperous child can be immunized today so that she can return to school tomorrow. The child would weep because she fears shots like little else in this world. I mean *if* you had that kind of a kid.

And after your child is punctured you would probably ask them to confirm that they received the faxes from Canada. But they would dismiss you disdainfully, saying they had received no such fax. Because that’s the kind of day it is, and apparently fax machines in Canada are made from twigs and leaves and therefore take much longer to cross the border to America, the blessed land of technological ingenuity. 

So you would go home and although you should be making more calls to verbally kick some ass you might be feeling a tad discouraged and you might need to break down and cry for a while. Especially after your husband does some searching online and discovers that the first fax number, given to you in September was actually the right one and not the one given to you today. Then you might just want to lock yourself in the closet for a few years. I mean, that’s how I would feel if it were me.

But it’s so totally not me.

Avery, medical, moving, not that it happened to me, rants, school | 5 Comments »

Some of this…

Aaaaand a little of this…

And let’s not forget this…

And this too…

Avery, beach, kids, Kieran, moving | 8 Comments »

Oh hey! Are you still here? Funny story…I kind of forgot about the blog for a few days. It’s nice of you to wait for me though. I’ve been busy with moving all our stuff our one duffel bag per person and unpacking hundreds of boxes buying air mattresses, pillows, blankets, towels and other necessities we can’t do without until our stuff comes next year in the next week or two.

This may come as a surprise to y’all (as it did to me) but living without *stuff* is extremely inconvenient. Little stupid things like not having paper towels become one huge pain in the ass when you have nothing else to improvise with. Good thing I am so longsuffering. *cough* Ah hem.

Also, while the kids are loving the huge empty house to run around in like rabid greyhounds racing around a track, they have been unusually crabby since we arrived in our ocean paradise. I attribute this mainly to the fact that it’s yet another strange place (the 10th different place we’ve been in since May 31st if you count hotels) and once again, we aren’t settling in for real yet.  I blame the moving company and their constant procrastination and their shitty delivery schedule.  For everything. They can expect a letter:

Dear Allied Van Lines, We are out of orange juice, you bastards!

Dear Allied Van Lines, I am constipated and it’s all your fault, you animals!

Dear Allied Van Lines, My son ate macaroni off the floor. Where is your humanity????

To top off the annoyance factor this week, the hubby has to go to the west coast. Again. And then come back for the weekend. And then fly back to the west coast for all of next week. Which sounds a hell of a lot more glamorous than it is.  

What that really means is that IF our belongings are miraculously delivered next week, the movers will have the privilege and delight of my wrath and/or shrew-like demeanor.  It won’t be pretty. But it will be fun.

That said, the house is amazing. The landlord did a great job cleaning, patching, painting, and even refinishing the floors where they had become worn.  Also? Did I mention THE OCEAN IS OUTSIDE? It’s hard to stay grumpy when the ocean is in your back yard. Plus, I have a jacuzzi tub the size of a port-a-potty in my master bath! (I know, the analogy is kind of gross, but that’s the best I can do in my current state of mind. Hopefully better posts to follow soon! Thanks for sticking with me.  I am now going to fall asleep to the sound of waves breaking on the shore. PS- The bragging probably won’t stop any time soon. If it annoys you, I apologize don’t let the door hit you on the way out.)

moving, rants | 2 Comments »