Monday, November 10, 2014

The 30 day mark and a change in plans

I believe this is a Sandpiper (feel free to correct me :))
 I have included a few more shots of our recent trip to Quadra Island as haven't taken any pictures for a few weeks.  Today marks 30 days since my Stepdaughter moved in with us full-time permanently.  Things have gone much smoother than we could have even hoped for.  We have accomplished a lot of things that needed to be sorted like getting her in school, rewriting her learners license for driving, signing her up for driver training, and looking for a job.  We all seem to be getting back into the family groove and there is peace and happiness in the household (fingers and toes crossed it continues :)).

The economy in British Columbia is not as healthy as Alberta and it is much harder for young people to get a job here as adults are competing for the same jobs.  We shall not stop looking however, as she cannot get a car or have decent spending money without one.  We are trying to be supportive as possible as we think that teens should work so they can learn to be financially independent.  That includes driving all over to look, plus agreeing to be taxi service when she gets the job.  Fortunately, being self-employed we have that ability.  It is much harder on teens here who don't have that support.

A few things have needed sorting, like today I found out our internet usage exceeded our allowable so our internet bill is $20 higher this month than expected.  It turns out for $5 more a month I can get twice the bandwidth and usage so I have upgraded it today. We were nearing our limit with two adults in the household (includes business use too) so this didn't surprise me.
Cormorants
We have finally sorted out our flights to Alberta at Christmas - we decided to cancel them altogether and rather than try and go in December we are flying out next week.  Hubby was already scheduled to do so for business and a client is paying for his expenses(hotel, car rental and meals) so we just changed my flight - this should save us quite a lot of money.  My 3 stepsons are all now adults so fully understand the earlier than intended visit and we will be able to see my Mother-in-law as well.    We will bring their gifts and try and have a Christmas celebration.  It would be nicer if my Stepdaughter could come but we will book it so she can come next year. She must stay behind to complete this term in school which fortunately it appears she has caught up with and will stay with my Mom for 3 nights.  This arrangement had to happen eventually, when you have adult kids you are not always together at Christmas time.  For Christmas day there certainly will be a bit of Facetime/telephone calls happening instead.
Young harbour seal
Needless to say, our move up in plans means I have to sort out four Christmas gifts and two Birthday gifts several weeks earlier than expected.  We are giving the boys money as young men starting out will appreciate that far more than anything else we can buy them.  I do have to do a bit of shopping for my Mother-in-law but she has dementia and lives in a very small 1 bedroom unit in a senior facility so have decided to go with some smaller items:  personalized picture calendar with shots of all of us with our names (names seem to be one of the major things she is forgetting lately), some candied popcorn twists that she loves (will teach my Stepdaughter to make this year as her present) and some other doodads including hubby's book to make her happy.

For those of you living in the USA wondering why I was skipping Thanksgiving and thinking about Christmas already - no slight intended but we have had ours already - Canadian Thanksgiving was on October 13th.  All of the rest of my Christmas preparations/decorating and shopping will be waiting until the end of November/early December.  Now that we will be at home all of December I can see us doing a lot more things locally like seeing Christmas lights and baking.  Not what we initially planned but I am looking forward to it.  Now I have to go get myself organized - yeah right!



Rebecca Spit and the mountains of mainland BC beyond

15 comments:

  1. So pleased to read that the settling in period is going well with your stepdaughter - I have been thinking of you and wondering how it was going. Safe journeys and I hope you have a great time xx

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    1. Thanks Morgan! We are all 3 quite pleased how things are working out.

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  2. Christmas is what you make it...doesn't matter where or when it is.
    Chris was often duty over Christmas, so we'd have it early or late...as long as we were together it was fine by us.
    Jane x

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    1. Exactly our thoughts, although this is something hubby struggles with as we are the ones who moved away, not the kids. Fortunately, we talk every week to every kid so stay in constant communication.

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  3. That is wonderful the transition has been smooth. We are the same way about owning a car - no job, no car. How can you when you have expenses like car insurance, gas, maintenance, etc.

    I kind would like our Thanksgiving to be in October. Some years the two holidays are so close, it is difficult to squeeze in all the festivities.

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    1. It is kind of nice having Thanksgiving in October, we get turkey then and again on Christmas and have a couple months in between family gatherings.

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  4. It takes a lot of time and energy to sort out things! Glad to hear you and yours are doing well with finding your new normal.

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    1. It does take an awful lot of both time and energy. Some days I have it, some days not so much. But things are going well, and that is what is important.

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  5. What a thoughtful gift to make a photo calendar with everyone's names. I have a friend back in NY who has the beginnings of Alzheimer's. We haven't seem him in years, but we keep in touch with his wife via email. I dug up some old photos of all of us together "back in the day," scanned them and emailed them on his birthday. He really enjoyed them. He still remembers us, thank goodness, but probably not for long.
    So glad things are going well with your new family unit. That's so wonderful. My daughter is 19 and still not driving. ARgh.

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    1. My Mother-in-law gave each of the kids some money for education, but as hubby fully funded that she let them use it for car money instead so my stepdaughter just needs the job to pay for service/upkeep and insurance. It will give her her independence too - something she is keen on :)

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  6. Replies
    1. Thanks Judy - I hope your operation went ok and that you are not in any pain. Speedy recovery!

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  7. I'm so glad that things are going well and my fingers, toes and laces are crossed for you!
    You really are adjusting well even,dare I say making it look easy. And I think that it is AWESOME that she is staying with your mother. What a close knit family!
    Anna and DJ both struggled with finding part time work when they were in high school. I think its the new norm.

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    1. So far she has applied for 20 jobs, over 2 weeks. Hopefully a bite soon, otherwise she will be forced to apply for fast food jobs - something she doesn't really want. She has cashier experience in a grocery store so hopefully someone will hire her based on that.

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  8. Whoa! Christmas is next week? I'm not ready!! Oh...just for you...whew! You've had some major changes occurring lately and you have really had to go with the flow! You all seem to be coping really well! Thank goodness! It could be a decoration-free Christmas around here - my two felines get into everything!! and I'm sure that will still be the case in December! Perhaps just a wreath on the door!

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