Here I Am...

The Husband and I are teaching Sunday School for a month to fill in for the regular teacher who is on sabbatical. I may have mentioned that this is a small church - so small that the usual roster for our pre-K-grade 2 class has a total of four students. (That number will swell by 50% when the regular teacher returns along with his two children.)

So, it's not an overly onerous task. Today, being the long weekend, attendance was even lower than usual, and our class consisted of two children.

Ours.

And so I give you "The Calling of Samuel" with The Husband playing the part of Eli, The Boy playing the part of Samuel, and The Girl playing the part of THE VOICE OF GOD. (I'm the official supplier of towels/pillows and recorder of the performance):

Read more...

Notes to Self

1. Television is a short-term gain, long-term pain child-minder.

2. Find some summertime recipes. This whole "crank the air conditioner so you can use the oven" strategy is both wasteful and silly.

3. Implement a better filing system. It may be convenient to toss every piece of paper that comes in the house in one pile, but it is invariably frustrating to search for necessary medical forms in and amongst back issues of The New Yorker and pizza place ads.

4. For heaven's sake, STOP moving and changing schools at the end of summer. Unpacking and filling out stacks of registration paperwork make poor bedfellows, and the Saturday before school begins is an inconvenient time to discover school supply lists and time-sensitive lunch program payment plan requirements.

Read more...

It's Like Deja Vu All Over Again

Recent arrival from Canada? Check.

New house filled with unpacked boxes? Check.

IKEA runs to fill furniture-ish voids brought about by the new house? Check.

A whirlwind of school paperwork and visits? Check.

Bureaucratic snafus resulting in the use of only one car? Check and double check.

Yup, all's normal in PM-land. We got back from our trip to the motherland yesterday - thanks to all who continue to greet us with open arms and wide smiles, even though we still haven't given up this crazy idea of being residents of the US of A. (Hilarious - The Boy just figured out how to spell "USA" on the car ride home yesterday.)

Today brought the disagreeable news that my driver's license was cancelled in my absence. Having already jumped through the requisite hoops before I left, I was not pleased to discover that someone forgot to fax over the necessary proof of extension of residency, and that reinstatement will be delayed up to two business days after I have re-sent the necessary documents. (I was also mildly annoyed that The Husband, jumping through the same hoops, but after the deadline unlike his diligent wife who made sure to get there on time, received his new license in the mail today.)

So, The Husband was chauffeur to today's numerous events, which included a school open house for two children, an orientation at the new daycare for one child, an IKEA trip for some new seating, and a fond farewell visit to our former landlord.

We are so impressed with the school, if a little overwhelmed by the mountain of paperwork. It's much bigger in all respects than our previous school, and the kids' teachers seem very kind. The Boy is also very excited about his new daycare, and cried when we told him he was only able to start next week.

And we're also pretty pumped about the new neighbourhood. We met three (count'em - three!) sets of our neighbours tonight, which is already one more than we ever met at the old place in the entire year we were there. Next door are three kids ages 6-11, and on the other side is a 5th grader who is attending the same school as the kids.

So, although it feels eerily similar as last year at this time, it also feels as though we'll be back to normal sooner.

Read more...

Did I Miss the Memo?

While riding the bus on my morning commute (*GROAN* - I had to leave the house at 5:35 A-freaking-M to catch it), a young bearded man got on and pulled out Jonathan Safran Foer's Everything is Illuminated.

(That he was bearded is immaterial; it's just odd - full beards these days are usually the sole purchase of the unkempt, lacking in personal hygiene set - you don't usually see one on a well-groomed young man with a man purse satchel.)

Then, on the commute home, another young man (no beard, so different young man or same young man post-shave) pulled out...the same book! A book published six years ago, whose (admittedly not bad) movie version appeared three years ago.

Weird. But cool, too - it's a great book.

In other weird-but-also-cool news, the girl who sat beside me on the bus pulled out The Portrait of Dorian Grey today. (Is it "Grey" or "Gray" - I can never remember....) Now Oscar Wilde is always a good choice, but this one was...in French.

Totally made my day.

Read more...

Occupant No Longer at This Address

Well, as I suspected, the promise of our internet connection moving to the new house the same day as the rest of our possessions did not become reality. Apparently no one was home when the cable guy showed up. Funny, I seem to remember being here....

But all's well that ends well. We're connected now and we only needed one trip to Caribou to use their "free" wi-fi (as in, $7.50 in fancy drinks later, you can connect for the ten minutes you need to check your email).

The move went really well. Our movers were great - super-efficient and very careful. Enough of you out there have helped us heave boxes (or at least listened to us complain after we've done our own heaving) that I'm sure many of you will breathe sighs of relief when I declare that next time I'm totally hiring those guys again.

(Because it's our family - of course there will be another move. Heaven forbid these nomads settle at one address for longer than 18 months. Seriously, I hope you all write our address in your address books using pencil, although by now you've probably worn through the "JKL" page with all the erasing.)

And a big thanks to my in-laws, who surprised us by coming earlier than expected on moving day and gave us the best moving help ever - childcare! Nothing says "helping" for someone in the loose teeth set like staying out of the way.

No sooner had The Husband's parents arrived, that they left (or so it seemed). They took our kids with them (whoop!), so we're footloose and fancy free this week. Being as rockstar wild as we are, that means teaching ESL last night (for me - The Husband set up the TV) and cleaning out the old house tonight. We're just that crazy.

The school transfer continues apace. I have such a mixture of emotions. Changing schools sooner rather than later is really the best thing - this new school is top-notch, and it is the feeder school for the only middle/high schools in the Twin Cities that offer French subjects (our previous school ends after grade 5). So, theoretically, transferring them now gives our kids a much longer time to develop relationships with the kids with whom they will ultimately graduate. Staying in their current school would only delay the inevitable leave-taking of friends, and make it that much more difficult when it happened.

Plus, our munchkins are (thank you Jesus!) tremendously adaptable. We are amazed by their ability to make friends quickly, and want to take advantage of that ease while they are young as these things become more difficult the older one gets.

Of course, it's still not easy. The Girl's beloved first grade teacher was going to teach second grade part-time this year, so that is a loss. The Girl's BFF will need to be replaced, and it may take time for The Girl to integrate herself into already-established social groupings.

(The Boy wasn't a huge fan of school last year, so we aren't anticipating too much sadness on his part. Plus he gets to ride the bus every day, which will make him happy I'm sure; I'm already gearing up for the inevitable phone calls from the school regarding disorderly conduct.)

And I'm mourning the loss of what I thought was going to be a smooth transition back to a school I actually knew. It's just as tough to be a parent of a new student as it is to have those first-day-in-a-new-school jitters. There's all the logistics, plus negotiating all the new relationships with other teachers and parents. There's the inevitable requests for playdates with unknown children. Plus you have to keep it all together and put on a positive front for your kids who are struggling while quashing that little voice inside that whispers, "are you sure this is worth it?"

But.

This is what we wanted and we are grateful. Transition is always difficult, but this one holds the promise of rendering life a bit more stable on the other end. And, if all else fails, I know of some great movers.

Read more...

T Minus 12 Hours...

...until the movers arrive. The packing continues apace, although we've got a couple of miles to go before we sleep. The Husband just stepped out to Target to purchase some more packing tape....

In other exciting (but unnerving) news, both The Girl and The Boy are in the process of being enrolled in the public school. The Girl passed her language assessment today with flying colours; no real surprise there, although I was a tad concerned that she was at a disadvantage being tested at the end of summer with two months since her last day in an immersion experience. That said, I'm guessing not a whole lot of not-quite-second-graders are reading and writing both French and English and writing in cursive, so there wasn't a pressing reason to get overly anxious.

And, to our surprise, a half-day kindergarten spot has opened, which we promptly snapped up. We definitely would prefer full days, but that's yet another waiting list, so we'll get ourselves onto that one and register in the meantime for the off-site childcare for half-day kindergarten kids. Of course, given the way things are going, we'll have just started into that routine and then we'll find a spot open up in full-day kindergarten and wash, rinse, repeat.

So, lots of turmoil here, but things are definitely easier this time around (thanks Richard!). It's not a strange city, we both have jobs we know and like, and we have all our belongings, including both cars. Much for which to be thankful.

We'll be shutting down the internet sometime tonight and, although we have a hook-up appointment scheduled for tomorrow at the new place, I'm no holding my breath that I'll be back on the grid anytime soon.

And with that, off to once again reduce my belongings to a pile of boxes....

Read more...

Warning: Unsaved Game Will Be Lost - Continue?

Growing up as the eldest of three siblings, I had a first-row seat for the sometimes intense fighting that can take place between two younger brothers. Sometimes names like "stinky pants" were shouted defiantly. Sometimes the conflict escalated into physical violence followed by a tearful escape to mom.

And then there were the more creative ways of thumbing one's fraternal nose. One of the more antagonistic acts was to sneak up behind the unsuspecting brother who was deeply immersed in his video game and hit the reset button.

It was swift and shocking devastation, made all the more rewarding in that the perpetrator could get a running head start and be halfway up the stairs before the victim realized the drive-by resetting had even occurred.

And what a realization. All the lifepoints accumulated in that day's game - vanished. All the castle doors unlocked - cruelly slammed shut again. All progress towards the princess - undone.

Sigh. Feels a bit like someone hit the reset button on my life these days, and I've been brought right back to where I was one year ago.

As per our usual August, we are of course moving again. (The Husband is not nearly as enthusiastic about my procrastinate-until-the-last-second moving agenda, and so he is packing as I type.) I do enjoy the annual clean-up and sort a move provides, although I do sometimes wonder if a good spring cleaning might not be easier. New house = new neighbours to meet and new stomping grounds to have to learn.

In addition, to our surprise, the object of our move (i.e. get the kids into the public school) seems to be arriving sooner than we thought. We got a call yesterday that a spot has opened up for second grade in the public immersion school. So The Girl has a language/math skills assessment scheduled for Friday, the passing of which will grant her entrance.

Again, while this is what we want, the timing makes it a bit tough to swallow. We've all been prepping for the upcoming year at their current school, and there's lots we like about that plan. With less than three weeks before school starts, there's not a whole lot of time to negotiate a new school's before/after school care, transportation schedules, and school supplies plusthe minefield of a child's stormy emotions about leaving behind the familiar. While there's a possibility that The Boy will also get into the new school this year, we nevertheless need to prepare for the likelihood that we'll be a two-school family for awhile, so it's logistics x2!

So, new house, new school - feels a lot like I lost a lot of the ground I covered last year. To add to it all, I finally tried a Minneapolis hair stylist tonight. Until now, I've gotten away with sporadic visits to my fabulous Winnipeg stylist. The jury is still out on this one - personally, I think that a stylist should say more than 15 words in the course of two hours, but the colour looks good, so we'll see.

I know, I know - looks like I'm complaining about an embarrassment of riches: two houses, two schools, two stylists. I'm ashamed most days of how I manage to be disgruntled when surrounded by a life grander than the dreams of much of the world and one filled with more stability, security, and options than most people will access in their lives.

So, no complaining - just a tad weary that now I need to go and re-conquer several dragons and build up my life points yet again.

Read more...

A Question of Genres

There is this absolutely amazing used/rare bookstore just two blocks away from my work that I have been frequenting of late. It's exactly what a used bookstore should be - narrow corridors lined with tall shelves, teetering towers of books blocking the aisles and stuffed into corners, and rabbit-like warrens with taped-up signs announcing that this room holds "Cookbooks/Philosophy/WWII History."

Today I was looking for Terry Pratchett. A word about Mr. Pratchett. If you've been watching my nightstand lately, you'll have noticed that I have been reading devouring his books this summer. I came through him in a roundabout way - read Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman for book club, read Good Omens by Gaiman and Pratchett because I'd heard the odd kind word for it, and tried Night Watch by Pratchett cuz I was looking for some new summer reading.

Well, it's been an amazing summer. I'm totally in lurve with his entire Discworld series; it's perfect summer reading. A world of fantasy (but not too crazy), loads of humour, and equal parts snark and satire.

It's great stuff, but I've managed to exhaust my local library's meagre holdings, so I figured I'd try the bookstore rather than wait for inter-library loan.

While in the down-the-stairs-make-a-right-take-the-second-room-on-the-left-it's-the-third-shelf-towards-the-back room, I saw something that gave me pause. Behold what I saw smack dab in the middle of the Science Fiction/Fantasy section: Left Behind.

I'm not so sure about this one. "Non-fiction"? Erm, no (although I'm sure there are those who might disagree with me). "Fiction," then? Certainly, although it would seem a touch out of place with all the heavy-hitters. I knew someone who referred to the oeuvre of Messrs. LaHaye and Jenkins as "Evangelical Porn," but I think I missed that aisle. "Religion" seems to make the most sense, although then I suppose we'd have to start putting Janette Oke next to Thomas Merton.

So, "Science Fiction/Fantasy" it is, I guess.

In other news, I am becoming quite skilled at a new game I invented: procrastinate all activities related to the upcoming move as long as possible. I'm definitely ahead, as I have yet to pack a box. I did buy some packing tape, so I suppose I lost a couple of points there. But to raise the stakes, we hired movers who will arrive at our house on Saturday at 9 am sharp. 200 bonus points if I slam the final box shut at 8:59!

Read more...

Call Off the Search!

I'm here, I'm here - you can call the dogs back. Sorry - been a little absent lately. And suddenly summer's almost over!

We had a fabulous time last weekend with some Canadian friends and their sweet little one. One of the saddest things about being away is missing watching all the young'uns in my life grow up - I can connect with their parents relatively well through email and the occasional visit, but those babies just grow way too quickly to keep up with them!

And so I lurve me some kid-lovin' pics like this:
And now that our guests have left, I'm counting down the rest of summer by weeks - one week left of kids at daycare/one week to go until the move, one week after that of work, one week of holidays and then school starts. Yikes! I haven't packed a box or ordered a school uniform, so methinks it will get busier before it gets better.

Not much else to tell, I'm afraid. Tomorrow the kids are both invited to a birthday party so we're taking advantage of the time and going to see (finally!) The Dark Knight. The Husband's off on a three-day business trip next week, so we need to at least get started on some packing before he goes.

Sigh, this was so not an interesting post.

Read more...

In case you were wondering...

Just a few fun facts for your Friday:

* The poison control center number is 1-800-222-1222.

* A child's vitamin contains 4 grams of iron, an overdose of which is toxic to the liver and can lead to liver failure.

* A child of approximately, oh, say 50 pounds or so, would need to ingest 228 vitamins that contained 4 grams of iron in order to be in danger.

* The Boy's powers of estimation of numbers of vitamins eaten in one sitting are not entirely trustworthy, but one can fairly comfortably assume that his pronouncement of "16" describes a number that is nowhere near 228.

And so, we cheat Death yet another day.

(Right now I'm just trying to forget that the answer to, "The Girl, why do you have a band-aid on?" was "Oh, I was sawing....")

Read more...