Ben's TV debut

Look at my boy on TV!

home

I went into the school the other day to watch the kids present some of their work in class. Benjamin read out a piece of work he had done about himself (autobiography) and spoke of how he missed England and his friends - especially his best friend Ehren.  As well as his teachers Mrs Newman and his teaching assistant Ms Mackins.  
Whenever I have asked him or Jasmine if they miss home they don't really seem to.  But I had obviously underestimated how much they do.  They have both settled in so well and made new friends and love their teachers and school, so I hadn't realised that they missed home that much.  Well, to say I felt bad would be an understatement.  I asked them both that, if we could go home tomorrow, would they want to?  They both answered with a resounding 'YES', no hesitations.  The problem is, they don't understand that life doesn't work that way.  That if we were to pack up and leave tomorrow, we wouldn't just be able to go back to England and pick up where we left off.  That part of our lives is over.  I feel bad for them because I realise that and they don't.  Their lives have been changed for good and whatever good memories they have will remain just that - memories.

This all got me thinking too.....both Nick and I know that we want to return to England in the next 3-5 years (at least, that's the plan anyway), but where exactly in England do we belong?  Witney has good friends and memories, but unless Nick went back to his old job, or got one in Oxford, we couldn't go back there.  Leicester?  No way.  Nick would NEVER want to live there again.  Nottingham?  We always thought we'd move there eventually, but somehow I doubt that it will hold the same appeal after a few years living in Toronto. London?  We'd LOVE to, but it's crazy expensive, and just plain crazy.   So now I feel like I have nowhere that I belong.  That word again.  We have moved so much in the last 9 years that I just don't know where we belong.  One day I want to be able to stop moving and just belong. 

The Kooks

Last night I went out with my new friend Amy Valentine (don't you just love the poetry of that name?!) to see The Kooks live.  she had gotten VIP tickets for her birthday and took me along.  Now, I must admit, I wouldn't have called myself a fan and I don't know many of their songs, but I may just have to become one now because the show was AMAZING!  I'd forgotten how much I love 'guitar music', and especially live.  Long ago are the years when I went to Punk Rock gigs and was into everything from Heavy Metal to Gothic, Punk and Grunge to Rock.  And I'd forgotten just how charismatic and enigmatic front men are.  But do you know what I loved most of all?  A chance to rediscover a part of me, Tanya.  Not mum, wife, cook and cleaner.  Just regular Tanya. I'd forgotten a lot, but I'd forgotten her most of all.

The autumn leaves are falling

Or rather have fallen...the trees are starting to look pretty bare.  So I figured I better take a few pictures before I miss the beauty of it all.  This is the first time I can remember (I can't vouch for the years when I was too young to make a note) actually experiencing a proper autumn season.  All the vivid colours and crisp, sunny days.  Long walks in the park and jumping into the huge piles of leaves.  Autumn here in Toronto - especially near High Park - is so....so beautiful and strangely energising.  There's nothing like the fresh morning air to blow away the cobwebs and get you going for the day. And now that the leaves have fallen off the trees, we have a better view of the lake from our apartment.

Though it has been an unseasonably warm autumn here, there have been a few days where, despite the brilliant sunshine, it has been face-freezingly cold.... -6 with the windchill!  So I now have a brand new Down and feather filled winter coat in my possession and am sporting my very own touk :-)

So, a few pictures of the season before winter rolls in....

PS. Forgive the rather liberal use of my new phone app to add filters to the pictures - I am rather addicted!  

Education, Education, Education

I am still getting to grips with the school system here, but, as it forms part of my daily life and routine, I am getting the hang of it relatively quickly.

I have joined the parent council and am now officially class representative for Jasmine's class.  I'm also on the committee for healthy lifestyles and another for fundraising.  I somehow manage to volunteer myself for these things before my brain has had the chance to catch up to the reality of the commitment....*sigh*  But my thinking was that, by getting involved, I would meet more of the other parents, and learn more about how the Toronto School system operates.  So far, I actually enjoyed my first parent council meeting - well, any meeting that involves freshly baked, home made cookies is a good meeting in my book :-)  But on a serious note, I have since started recognising more of the faces on the school run, and you can't underestimate how much this helps you to feel a part of a community and not just on the outside looking in.

As for the kids, they both got their progress reports back yesterday, and I have to say that I am so proud of them both.  Ben got 'Excellent' for every subject - and has even been nominated to join the gifted program, which is for students who show signs of being advanced academically!  Jasmine got either 'Good' or 'Excellent' in every subject and was noted for her artistic capabilities.  Both were credited with being kind, caring students who get fully involved in the 'classroom community' and for being willing to  participate in all activities and projects.

On another note, last night, me and Nick went to a meeting at another school, where Ben will have the option, once he reaches grade 4 (next year), to join the Extended French program.  This is offered to all grade 4 students.  It means that he will start to receive half of his school instruction in French.  The aim being that students achieve a level of bilingualism by the time they go to high school.  We are so excited for him (and Jasmine the year after) as it was precisely for these kind of opportunities that we made the trans-Atlantic move.  Application deadline is Dec 15th....

Life over here so far.....

Well, some things are the same, and a lot of things are very different.  Far more different than I imagined they would be.  Having visited Canada many times before - and even spending some extended periods of time here - I underestimated how difficult it can be to move your whole life to another country.  Another western, English speaking country even.  So here is my list of the pros and cons of life here so far....

PROS

• Toronto is an amazing city, with lots of events and activities on all the time for every kind of person
• We live in an amazing apartment right next to Toronto's version of NY's Central Park
• As a tenant, you can rent 'all inclusive', meaning no extra bills on top.  Makes budgeting your money much easier - and means you can have your heating on whenever you please.  Handy during a long, cold winter...
• Our kids - and us - are getting a 'now-or-never' opportunity to experience life in another country/culture
• I've made some wonderful new friends
• 4 distinct seasons - instead of one long rainy one with a few weeks of sun here and there
• I get to stay at home with my baby

CONS

• The cost of living in the city is higher than what we were expecting
• we have no car, which means multiple trips to buy food and stuff, as I can only carry so much at one time
• the impending long, cold, dark winter
• the cost of certain staples like bread and milk (read 'extortionate')
• Our building is next in line for some major refurbishment, which means we may have to transfer to another one
• Missing family and all things English - funny, I have become rather patriotic in a way I never was before
• The price of Cable/mobile phones/internet - expensive, rubbish programs, they charge you for incoming calls too!!!  UNBELIEVABLE and caller ID is seen as a perk that you PAY for!
• Banking.  It is at least 20 years behind the UK.  You pay for use of your account - very few free accounts are available and they limit the number of transactions you can do each month (to like, 25!).  So we pay :-(  Oh, and only one bank here offers a visa debit card.  Not ours!  So no more online shopping for me until we get a credit card. Double :-(  You pay for every time you withdraw money from a cash machine that doesn't belong to your bank.  Twice.  You pay your bank and the bank whose ATM you use.
• And perhaps my biggest bugbear, tax is not included in the price you see on the item you want to buy.  You have to mentally calculate 13% on top of the item you want to see if it still comes in on budget.  Imagine having to add 20% VAT on to every item you purchase AT THE TILL!   At least it's 13% and not 20, but I would so much rather the tax was included in the price you see. Annoying much?!

So, that's our new life in a nutshell!  A steeper learning curve than I'd have thought.  But overall I am enjoying - and rising - to the challenge.

Meanwhile, here are some photos of a few of the Autumn activities we've taken part in.....

pumpkin carving.....

Jasmine and her new friend Ami

face painting

The littlest Allen is 1!

the cupcake was devoured almost in one big bite!

the party hat was not very much appreciated to say the least....

hat removed, we got on with the very important business of opening presents :-)

and playing with presents

Jasmine & Benjamin made their own birthday banner.....

complete with a picture, courtesy of Jasmine, of Sofia saying her favourite word.  Can you see she even included Sofia's broken tooth!?

the cake was not quite what it seemed - it's actually based on an Italian pastry known as "Sfogliatelle".  Layer  after layer of delicate puff pastry filled with fresh cream and strawberries.  The outside is then also covered in whipped cream.  Not one for the dieters, but oh so good!

Sofia tucks right in!

this is how much she enjoyed the cake...!

presents!

taken before her birthday, but I just love looking at her when she's sleeping

our little adventurer

Can you believe it!  One already.  I wish I had a pause button.  And a rewind.  Oh, and a fast forward one for when she has a tantrum or a fever.   I wish I could capture her smell, the soft fuzziness of her corkscrew curls and the feel of her sloppy kisses on my cheek.

She is such a mischievous little thing and is always making us laugh at her antics.....

rummaging in the cereal cupboard

posting stuff out of the letterbox

climbing on (and in) the dishwasher

unravelling all the toilet tissue (and throwing toys and clothes in the toilet!)

pulling all her clothes out of the cupboard

trying to climb out of her high chair when she's had enough food

climbing in the oven drawer

climbing in the fridge (she does a lot of climbing!)

helping herself to food from the fridge

As you can see, she keeps us on our toes!  There's never a dull moment when she's around :-)

Birthday pics to follow.......

Jasmine

My oh my, 7 years young.  

early morning wake up call on birth day!

mmmm, CAKE

So, here's the deal with Jasmine.  She is not your fluffy, pink, ballet dancing girl.  I tried and failed to get her to be cutesy and girly.  She likes to climb trees, is athletic and likes getting muddy.  She's more street dance than ballet and would rather kick a football than play with dolls.  She LOVES dressing up in costumes and painting and drawing.  She has a fantastic memory (never forgets a face or a name, remembers phone numbers and directions, learnt ASL alphabet in just 3 lessons and could count in Mandarin after just 1 lesson).  She's such a great big sister and is always watching out for Sofia and can change a nappy better than most adults. But above all, she is just so effortlessly cool.  If I were 7 years old I would want to be her friend.  Especially because, at 7, I was definitely not particularly cool.

city girl

just chillin'

budding artist

I just love this girl to bits, even when she is driving me crazy with her messy bedroom and little girl strops.  My feisty, headstrong, unique little girl - who still loves to suck her two middle fingers and curl up against mummy for a cuddle.  *sigh*.

Update part 2: Lake Ontario

We are lucky to have the largest park in Toronto right on our doorstep.  And even luckier that a beautiful walk through it leads us right to the shores of Lake Ontario.  We spent last weekend on different shores of this beautiful stretch of water (which Ben is convinced is actually the sea and not a lake!).  Saturday from our side, and then on Sunday from the beaches of the Toronto Islands.

view from the ferry

Sofia loved looking out at the water

mmmm, lunch!

look at me!