Sadly, the seven month mark for Ethan went unnoticed by us till the next day. With sick kids and the move, time is passing at a weird rate. Sometimes it feels as though the move date is forever away, then other moments seem to slip by.

Ethan … what a baby! He is so darn stinking cute! I know I am biased but for real he is cute!

He eats solids, sometimes. Still preferring to breast feed, which is fine with me. I am in no hurry to end that relationship with him. We will be trying out the store bought varieties in the coming weeks, since steaming and pureeing our own will not be doable on the road.

He slept the entire night in his crib last night! That is the first time since J arrived home from his interview in Halifax. It was odd. Nice to spread out, roll around without fear of smooshing the kid, but lonely too. It is good for him to have a little independence though.

Ethan is scooting all over the place … backwards. He is pulling himself up onto his knees but cannot coordinate it all to move forward. He gets super annoyed with it too! It is cute.

He has a fiery personality. Ethan knows what he wants and will not be satisfied till he gets it. Becca was never one to exert her own will like this one. He is going to give me a run for my money. Becca is so much like J, laid back & quiet. I wanted a kid that was like me. I think I got one Ethan lives with emotion and passion.

Just a side note on the moving jazz … The university approved almost all the expenses, so we are going to proceed with the moving company (different one from last time!) and fly to Halifax at the beginning of December. To cut some of the cost out of our pocket, I am going to pack all our stuff (we saved all the boxes, yup we are smart). I have like 15 boxes packed already, so I am sure I can pull it off. As long as no one gets sick. NO ONE can get sick again. Tomorrow is our wedding anniversary, so look for a walk down memory lane. Becca is feeling much better too!

… about your home?

I am searching, online for a place to call home for about a year. We would like to save up some money and buy a house in the next year. I am not comfortable buying there until we have lived there, soaked up the city and know it. Besides I have never bought a house. What the heck do I know? Must be knowledgeable and get to know the market. That jazz.

So I have stared at my laptop till my eye has turned pink, trying to weigh out pros and cons of places.

We so are NOT living close to the university. The prices are CRAZY, and really I am so not wanting party neighbors like we had in California. However, we are still and will remain for a little while, a single car family. A quickie bus route is a must. I also want parks around to play, no crack heads, a library and no mice in the apartment.

See I am not asking too much right?

So tell me sweet internets what do you adore about your home? Is it the lovely kitchen? An extra closet? The colour of your carpet? And have you ever picked out a place to live on the internet? Did it work out? I have done this before from Canada to California and did not fair too badly.

All those who share their crazy thoughts will be entered to win a BOMB TOWN T-Shirt. Your chose of size and these designs (I so adore the I.B. Glowing! HAHA) The T’s are sold locally at CB Fox Department Store.

I have to add a couple more things … A big Thank You to Maddy at Whitterer on Autism (a must read, her writings are amazing!) for awarding me the Wonder Woman award! I am humbled and passing it on to JJ, Marz, Nic, Holly & Marina.

Lastly … How cute are Ethan’s squeaks!??! Gosh I love this kid!

Congrats to Nic and Allison as they are the winners of the Market Bags …

ok yeah I have all these grand plans … then all hell breaks loose. I will announce winners and post another part of the contest tomorrow. After a much needed sleep.

J received the offer letter from the university! YAY!

We are gathering quotes for moving companies. In hopes we can fly. We have to get approved for extra costs.

We found out that our little American (aka Ethan) cannot travel by air to get to Canada. The little guy forgot to apply for a passport.

Wait he can’t apply for a passport because he needs proof of Canadian Citizenship. That takes 6 - 10 months from the US.

I really really like the kid and want to bring him along.

After a few calls … the kid can apply for a US passport, fly home THEN you know make it all official that he is Canadian. (we applied for the passport this morning, paid an insane amount extra to have the US passport asap)

We almost had to fly to a border town, hop over then fly to Halifax. Ethan and I would do that alone, Canadian Airlines do not allow pets on the plane.

I was going to take Ethan and do a house hunting trip to Halifax. Now I am back to looking online and sending links to anyone and everyone we know that is, has been, or knows anything about Halifax for advise. One place I looked at was like total GHETTO, another I was told I would RUN to the car …  yuck. Being a university town rent is totally outlandish, especially since we want to save for a house. BTW … thank you Erin for all your help … you so totally rock!
oh yeah …

I think I have pink eye. (actually I think not now … I am just exhausted) Becca has been amazing through all of this. The kid is behaving like a saint. It is freaking me out.

sigh

Ok I am sure you do not want to read how crazy my life has been this past week. Babies who are in families that are organizing an international move are not allowed to get sick! Ethan did not get that memo!

The baptism was beautiful, wonderful, spiritual and blissful. Ethan’s eyes were all gooby and he was happy yet on the verge. Thankfully today we were goober free, although he is still stuffed up. It was wonderful to have friends present at the church and we had a fab picnic at a playground afterwards.

I know you are all eager to discover what it takes to get your name in for one of the two hand knit Market bags! Since hearing that we were trekking to Halifax before January, J & I have been debating how we will get there, our stuff there and not be total wrecks by the time all is said and done.

I need not remind you, oh faithful readers the utter disaster hiring a moving company was last time we moved (like yesterday *sigh*). However, this is a big move, over a great distance. We were pretty sure that we wanted to u-haul it, but that will take us like ten days on the road with an eight month old and a preschooler, driving separate (one in the van on in the car). At the very least, we would have our stuff with us, arriving just before Christmas, set up a tree in the hotel, celebrate then look for a place right after the holidays.

As of late, we have talked about the moving company again. Ethan has not been a great traveler lately and ten days on the road is a long time. Our intentions are to ask beg for more cash for moving from J’s new employer. If granted, we are thinking of flying to Halifax, and send our gear with a moving company. Choices. Choices.

So in order to qualify to enter for a chance to win a Market bag answer me this:

Which mode of moving would you choose?

Hire a moving company, lose all control, hope for the best and fly out, hotel stays for upwards to three weeks? Also, potentially paying upwards to a months worth of wages to assist in paying for said choice. (cat would be flying IN cabin with us)

Or…

Pack up your gear, the kids, the cat and with walkie talkies, patience, and a good sense of adventure & humour, haul your gear yourself. We have gone the u haul route a few times before. In fact that is how we trekked from Canada to California, and honestly I feel really comfortable moving this way. Just with the kids, it being winter …

Share your thoughts … You have until Wednesday Midnight. Later this week you will have a chance to win a Bomb Town T! w00t!

Pic of the Day ~ How Come We Have to Sleep on the Floor? ~

HI!!!! Ok that was a really harsh week not blogging, not reading blogs, not checking emails and having no internet. Nope Amish life is not for me.

Guess what! Our stuff … On the truck still in CALIFORNIA … Insane? Why yes I am completely and utterly bewildered. We are told that we may just be graced with the movers presence on Monday. How about that!

Thankfully, although we do not have any furniture to speak of we do now as of this afternoon have a phone and internet. Can we say Hallalueh! Seriously challenging every fibre of my being here.

It has been an unique challenge attempting to entertain a three year old without the comforts of home. Becca has been amazingly well adjusted and self entertaining through this whole ordeal. We did cruise out and get her a bunch of toys from Grandma and Grandpa M for her birthday a couple days ago to ease the frustration. It is amazing how far $40 can go! She is adoring her new toys.

Becca is also on a huge … “How Come?” kick. Everything is responded with “How Come?”, even our responces are returned with a “How Come?” After the 105th “How Come?” one begins to loss all sanity.

I have so much to say with so little time. Our wireless router … on the moving van … ugh. I hope to whip up some photos on Flickr soon and will be blogging like mad for the next little while attempting to catch you all up on our amazing lives, ’cause I know you are missing me!