Halloween

I was a bit worried about how Halloween would play out here in Seattle.  At home we have a group of neighbourhood friends to walk around with for trick or treating and Kyle is old enough to go off with his close friends.  Moving a month before the spookiest night of the year I figured we would be on our own for trick or treating.  But I shouldn't have worried because things worked out well.  We have become friends with our neighbours so the girls were able to all trick or treat together.  And just before heading out we had a knock on the door with the little boy who used to live here, he is Kyle's age and in the same grade at the same school.  The family who used to live in our house are related to the neighbours next door, it's been nice to meet them and ask questions about the house.  So it turns out Kyle did get to go T or T on his own with a few friends.

Leading up to Halloween night the kids had some fun activities...we went to a fun fair at a local school, an afternoon at the church including a magic show and the girls both had parties in their classrooms at school.

Then it was time for pumpkin carving, it was great to have Nana here for our Halloween fun.  Other than one year she was in Ireland, Nana has been at our house every year to pass out candy while we trick or treat with the kids.

Jeff is the master carver in our house, although Kyle and Jillian both did a great job helping this year and Leah is fantastic at clearing out the pumpkin guts.

The kids had fun with their costumes this year.  Jillian has been asking to be Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz for months now, I was happy she didn't change her mind as I think she makes a perfect Dorothy.  We even splurged on the matching Toto and basket because it just looked so cute with the outfit. 

Leah flip flopped back and forth between a few costume ideas.  Mainly Smurfette, Tinkerbell, and Isabel from Jake and the Neverland Pirates.  She landed on Smurfette, i had a lot of fun putting the costume together with what we had around the house and I think she makes the cutest little Smurf around.

Kyle went with a Minecraft character for his costume (not a big surprise since he is obsessed with the game).  The giant Steve head was very easy to make with a box (we have so many!) and the printer.

We had lots of yummy candy (I may or may not have eaten too much).  I missed two of our favourites though...smarties and aero chocolate bars.  It was a fun Halloween all around!

Tea for five

One of the biggest benefits of moving to Seattle for the girls is proximity to an American Girl store.  They each had one of the dolls before we moved, and now they get to visit the store every time we go to the mall...bliss for my girls!  When I saw Jillian had a week of half days at school ahead it seemed like the perfect time to have tea in the American Girl Cafe.

The girls started by planning outfits for themselves and their dolls.  Once everyone was coordinated (including matching hairdos) we headed to the store.

Then the five of us were seated for tea (that's right, chairs and place settings for Violet and Saige too!). We had choice of drink (tea for Jillian and I, hot chocolate for Leah).  And trays of delicious little sandwiches and treats appeared.

It was a fun little afternoon for the girls (and Mommy).

Jillian with her Saige doll and a life sized cutout Saige.  

random thoughts

The spiders out front are getting started on the porch Halloween decorating for me

(I'm also happy to have found my canon camera which had been packed away in a box, the iphone and ipad do a pretty good job but I still like my camera).

The kids are getting settled into activities...the girls are enjoying their gymnastics and I'm looking for some art classes for them.  I need to find a farm for Jillian's riding, still on my todo list (it's a long list).  Kyle is really enjoying the 2 clubs at school he has joined, and has a math competition coming up soon.  He's decided to wait until Spring to get back into tennis (fine by me, one less thing to get organized), but would like to try parkour so I'm looking into that for him, it looks pretty cool.

We've had some great fall weather, it's nice to enjoy the playground and Jillian loved having one of her new friends over yesterday after school.  But the new ones don't replace the old ones, Jillian still talks about and wants to skype with her friends from home.  Leah received a piece of mail from one of her buddies at home and is very excited to write back (great way for them to keep in touch AND encourage Leah to work on her printing skills).


Despite the nice fall weather (no rain, nice sunny afternoons) we do have some serious foggy mornings...can't even see to the end of the street.

I've been able to get involved at both of the schools which is helping me feel somewhat back to normal.  The elementary school does magazine drive very similar to what I ran back at home which made it easy to jump in to help out.  At Kyle's school they need people to help with photocopying and getting things together for teachers, super easy and a great way to chat with Kyle's teachers as they walk through the copy room.  I had a chat with his Spanish teacher yesterday and she chuckled as she told me he has slipped into French for some answers by accident at times.  A little braggy mom moment here, she told me he got 100 on a test they did shortly after he arrived and included stuff he had missed entirely in September (I think the French definitely helps!).

Jillian is also doing well at school.  Partially because of her awesome teacher...here is a recent spelling test, note she got full credit for Septembre at the bottom even though it's in french.  And 2 other things from Jillian's recent schoolwork that made me smile, first her writing about moving to the USA being her challenge and seeing the positive in learning new things, and second her answer to the question of "which country is North of United States" where she included three exclamation points.

And finally, Jeff just got back from a short business trip to Phoenix, Arizona.  What does one bring back as a souvenir from Arizona?  Apparently a scorpion lollipop.  Yep, a real scorpion encased in banana flavoured, sugary goodness.  Kyle thinks it's cool, Jillian wants to just lick the outside for the sugar part, and Leah won't go near the darn thing even though we've told her the scorpion is quite dead (by the way, I'm with Leah...it grosses me out!).

Sunny in Seattle

When I told people we were moving to Seattle I had lots of nice positive comments, and then the second comment was almost always "you know it rains all the time there, right?".  I would nod my head and say "yes, I know".  I really didn't think it would be a problem (I still don't), after all Spring and Fall are my favourite seasons and that's 10 months of the year in Seattle.

Then we arrived at the end of September and it was rainy, those first few days it didn't seem to stop. I had been expecting a constant drizzle and instead we had rainstorms.  It turns out September had a record breaking amount of rain.  The most rain in a September in the past 104 years in fact!  So I went out and got myself all ready.  I bought a cool polka dot umbrella, a nice new rain jacket and some sleek new rainboots (I figured if I'm going to be wearing them all the time, I want to have boots I like).

Only now it's the middle of October and there's no rain.  Seriously.  No.Rain.  There have been some cloudy days, a slight drizzle at times (more of a mist really, like being at Niagara Falls).  Overall though we have clear, sunny days with no rain at all.  It's been quite lovely!  The kids are enjoying the nice weather, we only need to grab a hoodie in the mornings on our way out the door.  We have enjoyed walking to school in the crisp, fall weather.  Gone to the playground after school.  And had beautiful sunny days for our downtown Seattle adventures.

I just looked at the weather forecast for the week ahead, probability of precipitation varies from 20% down to 0% throughout the week.  0% chance of rain on most days!!  While I'm certain I will get many chances to wear my new rainboots in the future, I'm happy to report it does NOT rain all the time in Seattle.

driving me around the bend

No, this isn't about my kids (although they do drive me crazy at times).

This is about actual driving.  We moved to Seattle 3 weeks ago and I'm able to drive with my valid Ontario license for a little while but wanted to get a Washington state license because it is helpful to have a valid piece of US identification and it needs to be done anyways.

I figured this would be relatively simple, after all I'm moving from Canada to the US, it's not like I'm moving from a foreign country with completely different driving rules and signs.  WRONG.  So far I've made 5 (five!) trips to the Department of Licensing (DOL) and I have done the required written and driving skills tests through a private company ($$) because it is a 4-6 week wait to get a test through the DOL.  Still no license.  It turns out I need to go through a special verification process because I do not have a SSN.  They need to verify (a) my identity, (b) I currently reside in the state of Washington and (c) I plan to stay in WA for a while.  Apparently I have not demonstrated these things despite showing/offering a valid Ontario driver's license, Canadian passport which includes my US entry visa, birth certificate, letter from Jeff's company verifying his employment and our home address, marriage certificate to prove I'm married to the guy with the job, utility bill to our home address with both of our names and mortgage information proving we own our home.  I am now on the list for the verification process which they tell me will take weeks.  On the plus side the guy at the DOL seemed fairly certain I'll pass the verification process (ya think?).   Turns out getting a mortgage and credit card was a breeze, but trying to drive here on a valid license is the tricky step.

Even though I have been driving for more than half of my life, I was still nervous during the driving test.  The guy did not take it easy on me.  I lost points because while driving backwards around a corner (who does that?) I was more than 18 inches away from the curb!  I did manage to parallel park successfully (whew, it's not my strong point).  I wasn't thrilled to learn I had to do the driving test, even less so when I noticed on the DOL webpage you don't need to take a driving test if you hold a valid license from out of state (fair enough), the province of British Columbia (hmm, still Canada but attached to WA so fine), Germany (what!?) and South Korea (seriously!?!).

Despite my frustration with the department of licensing, a lot of things have been checked off the list...cell phones, home phone/internet/tv, getting the kids registered for school, finding a new pediatrician, getting epipen prescription filled for Jillian, getting updated immunization shots for the kids and finding a new gymnastics place for the girls.  So I'm not complaining (okay, maybe I'm complaining a little).  But when I see how many hoops I have to jump through to get these everyday things in order to live here in the US, I can only imagine how difficult it must be for people who don't have the secure job, ability to buy a home to get settled and resources to pay for things like private driving testing to move things along faster.  So despite the complaining, I am thankful for all the things that are done and how well most things have gone so far.  I'm thankful the DOL is state and not federal so this process wasn't held up by the entire federal government shutting down.  I'm also very happy I used to watch The West Wing, because otherwise I'd have no knowledge of the US government at all!

Thankful

I may be living in the US now, but I'm still Canadian and can't help but feel thankful on this Thanksgiving weekend for:

* so many friends and family...we may be far away but I know my friends are always there for me (and one might be coming for a visit soon, I hope!)
* my sister...nothing compares to the person who has grown up with you and knows all the stories, and my sister has been SO supportive throughout this whole move to Seattle, being able to pick up the phone and talk to her about everything has helped me so much during this move
* technology...this weekend the kids have been able to skype, email and chat with friends, it has helped a lot as they have been feeling very sad with their friends being so far away

* on demand tv (yeah I know this falls under the technology category but it deserves it's own bullet point...I've been able to catch up on my season premieres and the kids are loving the Disney channel shows)
* my Mom is booked to come for a visit at the end of this month, my kids are very excited to see Nana and show her the new house
* I passed my driving tests (yes, I had to do a written and skills test to get a Washington state license)
* we've had a lot of great family time to explore Seattle and see some cool things

* neighbours, both old and new...my former neighbour and one of my best friends, is still helping by taking care of a few things with the house, and our new neighbours have been so nice and welcoming
* a beautiful home for our family and great schools and teachers for my kids
* my amazing husband and kids...they have adjusted so well to this new home, they have put up with the chaos as I've done almost everything else but organize the house and empty boxes, and they make me smile every day!

I have many things to be thankful for, so it's a good thing I get to celebrate 2 Thanksgivings.

Butterfly exhibit at the Pacific Science Center

Watching the penguins at the zoo

Change is hard

Things have been going really well here with our move but it's still hard some days to handle the many changes in our lives right now.  There have been tears (I won't name names but let's just say I was so frustrated with my new washing machine that Jeff expected to come home from work to see an appliance sized hole in the side of our house).  And as great as the kids are doing at school they are missing their friends from home.  Internet and home phone aren't set up yet which makes it even harder to keep in touch (thank goodness for my iPad mini and free wifi at Starbucks!).  

It wasn't fun living out of suitcases so it was exciting last week when the truck arrived with our stuff.  I know we teach the kids that stuff doesn't matter, it's important that we are healthy and together as a family...but I missed my bed!  That was the first night in weeks where I didn't wake up to Leah's feet in my face (it's a good thing she's so cute and cuddly).  

The house is still in chaos, every room looks like this.  But that's just a matter of time and patience to get things organized.  The new house is great, I love the layout, it works really well for our family.

Leah has had more changes at school.  She was in an overflow K class in another school with a substitute teacher, then a permanent teacher was hired and Leah was adjusting well.  Then a spot opened up in our home school (where Jillian goes to school).  It was a difficult choice whether or not to move Leah yet again but after meeting the teacher and visiting the classroom, Leah was excited to change.  This is where she can make friends who will move onto grade one with her (not so at the overflow class in the other school), and this classroom is much more like the one she had back at home.  The teacher is fantastic and was happy to have Leah join her class.  This morning Leah was in a great mood as I dropped her off, she was all smiles and within a few minutes she was ready for me to leave.

We found a new paediatrician for the kids, although Jillian wasn't thrilled to learn her and Kyle needed new immunizations (different rules in Canada and US).  But both kids did well at the appointment and we all liked the doctor and clinic so that's another thing checked off the list. 

On the weekend we decided to leave the boxes at home to enjoy a family day in Seattle.

First thing we did was go up the Space Needle...Jillian has been wanting to do this ever since our trip here in the summer.  It was a beautiful day, clear blue skies and views of all the mountains.  

Next was a one hour boat cruise around the harbour.  An entertaining MC with lots of info about the city and a great view of the city from the water, lots of fun.

Then onto the Seattle Aquarium.  The kids loved touching starfish and other sea creatures.  I like watching the jellyfish.  Leah was absolutely terrified of the giant octopus...I swear she thought that thing was about to climb out of the tank and attack her, she wouldn't even go near the stuffed ones in the gift shop.  Clearly being a marine biologist isn't in her future.

We ended the day with another ride to the top of the Space Needle to see the city by night.  

Lots of changes, some good (new city to explore, new house), some bad (changing schools yet again, extra shots for the kids, missing friends).  Through it all I've been impressed with the kids and their positive attitude.

One change I have loved is moving from my ancient flip-style cell phone to an iPhone 5...much nicer!

Next up is getting home Internet, tv and phone.  This will be great because the kids will be able to get back in touch with their friends back home.  And a special treat for the girls...Jillian is on half days this week due to parent conferences, and she did such a wonderful job being calm for her needle so we are having tea at American Girl.  Living near an American Girl store is one change the girls have been happy to see!

First day of school - again!

I have been so impressed with all three of my kids through this whole moving-to-Seattle process.  They have all been positive and excited.  I was worried about them feeling they have to be happy about the move so I've had several conversations with each of them about how it's okay to be mad/sad/frustrated.  And they have each has their moments and shared things with Jeff and me.  But overall the feelings from them have been positive.  

First day of school picture on the new porch

That was even more evident yesterday as they each went into a new classroom, in a new school, in a new city (see, doesn't that sound scary?  It was for me but not for my kids!).  

Leah was a bit quiet and shy as we walked into her new kindergarten classroom.  This is an overflow class created only last week which means it is small which is great, but she currently has a sub while they look for a new permanent teacher.  The current teacher seems really nice though and Leah had a great day.  When I asked about the best part she told me that she made a new friend and they share the same locker/cubby.  A change for Leah with this new school is moving from full-day/alternate day schedule to every morning 1/2 day.  This means we get to hang out for lunch together every day (yesterday we discovered the mall near us has a fun little kid play area!).

Jillian was excited to make new friends and meet her new teacher.  I knew Jillian would make friends easily and sure enough last night she couldn't even remember the names of all her new friends because there were so many.  The teacher is fantastic, she spent time with us in the morning as Jillian went into the classroom and was happy to chat with me at the end of the day about curriculum, Jillian's day, and Jillian's allergies (thankfully she is happy to have Jillian wear her epipen pack as it is not the norm here on the schools...the allergy policies are not nearly the same as in Ontario).  A big change for Jillian is moving to school in English from French Immersion back at home.  Jillian did great and her teacher encouraged Jillian to use a French word in her writing if she couldn't think of the correct English word/spelling (how great is that?).  Another change is eating in a cafeteria at lunchtime instead of the classroom.  For now I am sending Jillian's lunch, given the allergy policies in place I'm not comfortable with her buying food in the cafeteria yet, but I will be speaking with the staff soon to find out if this is something she will be able to do in the future (Jillian mentioned her new friends bought lunch and wants to as well but she understands why we can't do that right away).

Kyle had the biggest change.  Back home he was in French Immersion in a grades 1-8 school, he was in a class that would all move together between classes.  Here he is in an english middle school of 700 students.  The campus is quite large and has several buildings, Kyle has his own schedule so he will be finding his way from class to class on his own.  I was able to get his schedule organized before our move which helped a lot, Kyle and I were able to talk about his classes, visit the teacher websites to see what they are working on, talk about strategies for if he gets lost, etc.  Our visit to the school before he started was also helpful.  The office staff and counsellor were great, helping Kyle on his first day, setting him up with grade 8 leaders to show him around and finding Kyle in the cafeteria at lunchtime to help him find a classmate to sit with at lunch.  I picked Kyle up from school (he wasn't sure of which bus to take home so had gone to the office) and was anxious to hear about his day.  He did fantastic!  I am so proud of how well he handled this huge change, introduced himself to kids he noticed were in multiple classes with him and asked for help at the end of the day when he was confused about the bus.  I had a chance to chat with his Spanish teacher who said he seemed to jump right in without any problems.  Once we got home Kyle got started on homework without complaint.  I was very impressed he thought to tell his math teacher we don't have Internet/printer at home yet and wouldn't be able to access the homework sheet so she printed a copy for him to bring home.  For any of you who have known Kyle throughout the years at school I'm sure you understand why I'm so incredibly proud of how well Kyle did yesterday.  

Today all three of the kids were excited to go back to school.  The girls were looking forward to seeing their new friends and Kyle is excited to join an after school club today.  They are all jumping into this new life with both feet.  Seeing them settle into school so quickly is a big relief for me, getting their school stuff organized the biggest thing I've been focusing on with this move.  

As for me, I can't say I've been quite as positive as the kids,  it's hard to feel so far away from family and friends.  I'm feeling anxious about the things still to be done here, about when our stuff will arrive, I'm tired of living out of suitcases and not being able to make myself a cup of tea at home.  But I need to take a lesson from my kids, I see their confidence and know I should be able to also face these changes in my life with a smile on my face and know it will all work out!