Funny

Conversation #1
Julian: Look what I got from school mommy! (holds up toy dinosaur)
Coleen: Julian, you know that belongs in school. We'll have to return it on Tuesday.
Julian: Ok


Next Day: Coleen enters Julian's room and finds 10 toy dinosaurs


Coleen:  Julian, where did these toy dinosaurs come from?
Julian:  From school!
Coleen:  Sigh (he's been putting one in each pocket and bringing them home for weeks)


Conversation #2
Melvin: How was your day?
Coleen: Pretty good, you know, usual tantrums...
Melvin: Cool, what should we have for dinner?
Coleen: I don't care, what are you in the mood for?
Melvin: OMG! This guy just took all his clothes off on the 2nd floor of that building! (hands over eyes)
...gotta love floor to ceiling windows!


Conversation #3
Julian:  I have to go pee pee mommy!
Coleen:  Okay, let's go.  Do you want to try peeing standing up?
Julian: No, I don't want to pee pee standing up.  I'm a girl.  Big girls pee pee sitting down.
Coleen: Sigh
Update: Julian started peeing standing up this past Sunday!  PHEW!

Shiatsu

I had an amazing discovery on the next block from our apartment - a clinical training center for the Canadian College of Shiatsu Therapy.  What does this mean exactly?  It means that they offer 90 minute massage treatments with student masseuses for $40!  There's also an option for a professional therapist at a higher price, but you can't really beat that deal.

Off I went for a much needed break from the kids and a relaxing treatment yesterday.  I also signed a petition to add Shiatsu Therapy to the national healthcare plan, as there's been a movement to add it, so fingers crossed.  Our national coverage starts on September 1st, so looking forward to the world of "no co-pays" pretty soon.

WTF!!

We just ordered Chinese food and it didn't come with rice!! ARRGGHH!  I know there is a rice shortage, but who does that?  


That's like going to an Italian restaurant and not getting bread at the table or going to a Thai restaurant that doesn't have Pad Thai or going to a biergarten and ordering wine or ordering a Filipino Vegetable Spring Roll that has pork in it...oh wait, that does happen. 

Which Address Do We Use?

The clouds have moved in a little bit and there is a 20% chance of rain tomorrow, so we're rescheduling our boat rental from Horseshoe Bay and trip to Bowen Island to next weekend.  Instead, we're going to do a road trip to Washington State to (very exciting) open a mailbox, so we have a U.S. address.

We're doing this for a number of reasons:

1) Packages - if we want to shop online, shipment to Canada is SOOOO expensive compared to the U.S.  This way, we can continue to shop on gilt.com, ruelala.com, and wherever else, guilt free :)

2) If you have over a certain amount of money in your U.S. bank account and have a Canadian address, the U.S. will send your interest earnings to Canada and double tax you.  Since we're taxed enough, we will be giving the Washington State address to our U.S. bank.

3) Washington has no state taxes, so this will further decrease our shipping charges when we shop online!

4) People won't have to pay for Canadian postage, if they are feeling really cheap, and want to send us a letter.

5) Some online U.S. systems/accounts don't recognize Canadian addresses (i.e. Verizon)

Some of you are probably wondering how far our mailbox will be from our home.  It's only a 45 minute drive, so no big deal...It's just like going to Garden State Mall in NJ on a Saturday afternoon....and we can visit Tar-jay (Target) while we're over the border :)  

Anyone going to be in Seattle this Saturday?

Restaurants in Vancouver

I can't believe we've been here for over a month and I have not rated any of the restaurants we've been to!  All I have to say is that it's a good thing we have kids that follow a bedtime; otherwise, we'd be broke eating out at all the wonderful places to dine here.

It still feels like we're on vacation and don't actually live here, so sometimes I get this frantic feeling of "I have to try this place, we have to go here, why haven't we seen this place yet, etc."  I need to take a step back and realize we have plenty of time and this is not NYC, so I "might" be able to keep up and try a majority of the really good restaurants here.

In the meantime, let me write about the noteworthy ones we've already checked out.  If any of you are planning a visit, take note of the places you may want to try, so we can take you there!

Coast Restaurant - The epitome of seafood heaven (for those that know me, know I could live off seafood if it were affordable, especially peel n eat shrimp!) - located in the financial area of downtown.  The ambiance was nice and felt new/trendy; however, you could feel that most were paying for their meals with their corporate cards. The New England Clam Chowder tasted SO fresh, it was more on the broth side rather than creamy and deserves 5 stars.  We shared the Signature Seafood Platter, which included B.C. cod, wild sea tiger prawns, sockeye salmon, Qualicum scallops, fried Brussels sprouts & potato gnocchi.  AWESOME and the Brussels sprouts were surprisingly amazing.  Of course I had the bread pudding for dessert, which couldn't touch Blue Ribbon Bakery's, but was good enough.

Sanafir - Part of the same restaurant group as Coast, Judy & I had an interesting meal here.  It was all "tapas" sized plates, but was a mish mosh of flavors - North Africa, Asia and Middle East.  Judy felt the menu was "confused", but we definitely enjoyed our dinner.  The decor was Moroccan themed and since it was a Monday night, we were the only ones there, but were not rushed at all.  In fact, our server was great (I think he was drunk/tipsy by the end of the night) and gave us our calamari and tea for free.  I would return.

Sandbar Granville Island - We actually went with the kids and had an amazing view of the water.  Melvin ordered several appetizers for he and Julian and I got 1/2 a Dungeness Crab (wanted a whole one but it was expensive).  What I REALLY wanted was this: Mussel Mania! Every Day 4-7 p.m. in the Lounge $10.00

Fresh mussels & frites with a pint of Granville Island Brew Tomato Provençal, Thai Curry or Vindaloo style

BUT, we were with the kids and not in the lounge, so I'll have to return for that.  Who wants to join me?

Milestones - one of the more popular chain restaurants...they did a good job.  We got their  "famous" hot artichoke & spinach dip, which was fine but nothing to rave about.  I got a seafood salad, which was really good, as well.  We would return for a casual dinner, possibly with the kids.

Provence Marinaside - We went here the first time we used our babysitter and had a date night as it is only a block from our apartment.  With that being the reason, we didn't expect much, but this was one of our better meals.  Very, very good, but for some reason, neither Melvin or I can remember what we had.  We just remember liking it a lot, so we'll have to go back.

Boathouse at Kitsilano Beach - We couldn't have asked for a better table - on the patio, over the beach and during the pink sunset glistening off the water.  The food, on the other hand, barely subpar.  I had another seafood salad and I think it is what made me feel sick after and the bread pudding was a disappointment.  I would go back for another view of the sunset, but would probably stick to wine and a few appetizers, not a full meal.

The above doesn't include the pizza place we frequent, or take out/delivery places we've tried, but I just wanted to document the above as they reflect my first impressions of eating in Vancouver.

Olympics Fact:  Vancouver opened over 40 restaurants in preparation for the Olympics, so we came at the right time!

British Columbia Day...

...was yesterday, August 2nd.  We spent the long weekend in Whistler, B.C.


Unlike New Jersey's claim to being the "Garden State", it is quite clear why the plates here say  "Beautiful British Columbia".  It was a blast and we hope to explore more of the province!

What's in a name?

This past Friday, we had a family BBQ at Julian's pre-school.  It is far more multicultural than we ever thought it could be.  There are kids from not only of Canadian descent, but of Japan, China, Turkey, India, England and I don't even know where else.  It is definitely a different dynamic than Julian's class from New York; I'm not really sure how to describe it nor do I have the energy to analyze it right now.  Anyway, in case you are expecting a child any time soon and need some name ideas, here are a bunch from Julian's school that I found rather different.

Cairo, Caelum, Kai, Kenzo, Piper, Pepper, Teah, Talullah, Heston

DMV

Today was a sad day...we had to "surrender" our New York State driver's licenses for our B.C. licenses.  I have no idea why this is a requirement, but after 90 days, we are required to have a B.C. license, so off we went to the ICBC.  This is what they call their DMV here - it stands for Insurance Corporation of British Columbia.  Apparently, it's a provincial thing.  We officially have our first Canadian I.D.  Scary!

On a similar traffic topic, we learned a very interesting tidbit.  You know those construction people holding the stop signs on the street, controlling traffic and pedestrians?  Well, we noticed they are all women in Vancouver for a very important reason.  Vancouver has saved this job for single moms...Apparently, they make a ton of money and have flexible hours and it's a job guaranteed to single moms only.  Crazy, right?

So, for any straight, single guys out there planning to visit us...you can start with the women holding the stop signs on the streets of Vancouver =P

Long Weekend

This coming weekend is a long weekend, with Monday being British Columbia Day.  We've been asking everyone what people typically do around here, before making our own weekend plans.  I would hate to be stuck in any kind of Hamptons-type traffic or even worse, Jersey Shore traffic on the NJ Turnpike, with two kids screaming in the back.  Mind you, we have a 2-door GTI and I'm usually sitting as far up as the seat would go with my face practically leaning on the windshield, so all these things need to be considered!  We figured, if anything, we could avoid any large crowds and unpack the last two boxes we have or hang up some picture frames or something...

Anyway, that's not how they do around here...Apparently, everyone spreads out and (gulp) goes camping.  Those that know me know the likelihood of me going camping would only come close if I could pitch a tent on the lawn of a Four Seasons Resort.  I say that now, but things may change after a few years of living here, so I won't say never though.  =)

With that said, we decided to book a hotel room in Whistler Saturday night.  Before I continue, I just wanted to say that it's so weird to me that Whistler is no big thing here, being that it's so close.  It's like saying, we're going to the park or we're going to the playground next weekend.  Makes me feel like we have much more exploring to do and there may be bigger/better things out there!  For now, we'll start with Whistler though.

Anyway, today came a very fun invitation...a couple moms (plus kids and hubbies) I met are going to one of their vacation homes in Whistler for the long weekend and invited us!  Well, that's a no-brainer - I cancelled our hotel room with the quickness.  We're SO excited!

I hope to have some pictures and stories (hopefully good ones) early next week.

Happy Birthday in Heaven, Mom

We sang Happy Birthday to you during lunch today and even in the middle of a tantrum shortly thereafter, Julian goes, "Nana is my friend".  I showed him pictures of the surprise birthday party we threw for you last year.  It's amazing how many changes only one year can bring...It is so great we got to celebrate with you and I am so happy Julian remembers you.

You are probably having your best birthday yet, possibly reuniting with old friends and making new friends in heaven.  I picture you playing Mahjong, just as you would over here, feasting on your favorite foods - palabok, bangus, halo-halo and even lanzones, which you could never get in America!  We have them here in Canada and when I pass them in the supermarket, I think of you.

Anyway, I know how you worry, but don't worry about us...we are doing great, living life the way you taught us how to.  We'll make sure Julian and Amélie know who you are and we'll raise them well.  Promise...

Random updates

Yesterday, we had an atypical Sunday as we chose to be the ultimate tourists and ride the hop on/hop off bus.  Note to Self:  Do not do this again with 2 kids, while hungover.  Let's just say, Julian had fun.  It was good to see other parts of the city like Gastown and the main part of Chinatown.  We've already covered the rest of it already on our own, so if anything, it was a good way to occupy Julian for 90 minutes. =)

I met this Filipino mom, who is a native Californian, awhile back.  She and her hubby had moved from NJ two years ago - he is from England, but his family resides here, so here they came.  She's been super helpful with the ins and outs of relocation, good doctors, tricks over the border, cheap supermarkets, etc.  A plus is her kids are the same ages as our kids, so instant connection.  Anyway, they live up in North Vancouver (15 minutes away, 2 blocks from Capilano Suspension Bridge) and we had dinner at their house last night.  It was nice to BBQ and they are fellow hospitality majors, so food was guaranteed to be good =)  It is interesting that only 15 minutes from downtown, they have bears climbing into their backyard!


Amélie had her first major milestone today (Monday) - rolled over from back to tummy (right side) and now she does it every time we lay her on her back.  Sigh.  I remember when Julian used to do this in the middle of the night, get stuck on his face and woke himself up...Boy, I can't wait for tonight.


Oh - and Julian knows how to blow his nose now!  The things in life that excite us as we grow older :P

We found one!

We were excited to attend HSBC's Hispanic Latin Diversity Committee BBQ today in Stanley Park.  The weather was glorious once again (we haven't seen rain since June 28th).  After our first hour there, Melvin turns to me with a long face and says, "There are no Latins from the Caribbean here".  Yes, it is true, most were from South America but heck, that's neither here nor there, these people knew how to grill meat!  It was a very multi-cultural event with a lot of Asians and even white people.  Good times for everyone...No matter what country they are from, Latins love music and even though they forgot to include the Dominican flag on their display, they were rockin'  merengue the whole time.  Towards the end of the picnic, Melvin discovered there was ONE Dominican there - hooray!  They do exist in Vancouver!  LOL

Afterwards, we took a drive while the kids slept (we live for nap time) and explored Stanley Park further and drove to Kitsilano Beach & Pool, which was a treat to finally see. Not a bigger treat than Aphrodite's Cafe though - http://www.organiccafe.ca/ - which serves up some kick ass organic blueberry pie (we discovered that B.C. is one of the top three blueberry producing regions in the world).  Come and visit us and we will take you there!

Just to make our day even longer, I got invited to a party that one of my old vendors was throwing and we called our babysitter to come watch the kids while we had a night out.  The lounge happened to be a half block away - how convenient!!!  Nothing like free wine and hors d'oeuvres to end a fun, but tiring, day!

Battle Wounds

Melvin came home alright last night - he conquered the Grouse Grind in 1:21 and was the 2nd in a group of about 10 to make it to the top.  Everyone was shocked - I think he was so determined not to be embarrassed that he walked extra fast (just kidding!).

I, on the other hand, am not in as good a shape as I'm STILL recovering from my traumatizing soccer game. I decided to take a pic of my battle wounds (notice the bruise on the right leg continues down) - won't be wearing shorts or skirts for awhile :(   I also decided that I will not be returning to that "co-ed recreational" soccer group, as the thought of it is quite embarrassing and painful.  :)

Grouse Grind

Melvin is conquering the Grouse Grind right now as I'm blogging about it, after putting the kids down and on my 3rd load of laundry for the day (how nice).  What is the Grouse Grind you ask?  Well, it's basically a hike up Grouse Mountain (yes, the same one you saw in the 2010 Winter Olympics) and locals call it "nature's stairmaster."  The mountain is located 15 minutes from downtown Vancouver and is a great place for winter and summer activities, featuring a gondola with spectacular views. A quick getaway from the city if too lazy to drive all the way to Whistler. Anyway, it's a heck of a hike and Melvin's co-coworkers do it every week after work during the summer months (whatever happened to going to Happy Hour?).  Let's just say they expressed concern about him joining them today.

Above is a picture Melvin text me at the halfway mark.  His message indicated that he's "literally about to collapse" - it took him 42 minutes and he has another 1.5km to go.  Hmm, I hope he makes it home okay.  I will let you know tomorrow!

New Home

It has been exactly 4 weeks from today that we made our move to Vancouver.  There was no better way to spend it than with some new friends (or at least acquaintances for now).  We got our first dinner invitation and spent a lovely evening getting to know some new people in the next building.

Even better, we got some homemade Indian food out of it...completely off the hook.

Verizon

...you've always been so good to me!  How could you have let me down like this?  We've been together for 12 years...even when we broke up and I left you for AT&T, we reunited with no regrets.  It seems we could not make this long distance relationship work.  How could you do this to me?  I hate you!

Stand by for a new cell phone number....

"Football"

We were going to head up to Whistler, B.C. today but no car until Tuesday (apparently it is still in Washington State, ugh), hence we decided to take it easy.  I've been meaning to check out a game of soccer, or "football" as they call it here, at the Roundhouse Community Centre.  I believe I've had previous posts about how each neighborhood (or "neighbourhood") here has a centre with a million programs for all ages.

There is an "intermediate" night on Thursdays and a "recreational" game on Sundays, so since it's been awhile, I decided to try out the recreational game.  Now, I would've considered myself intermediate way back when in my past life (the one before kids and even marriage - sorry Melvin), so I figured I'd be a star today.  Recreational, my ass...

Boy was I ever wrong.  Hmm, how did it go Coleen?

Well, let's see, I'm still alive....BARELY!  There were 16 of us and only one other girl.  The rest were guys all over 6 feet, I would say, wearing soccer ("football") jerseys and of all different descents.  Let's just say, I text Melvin before the game and told him I was scared for my life.  Those that play soccer, or know anything about it, know they don't mess around outside of the U.S.  Picture a world cup game with a 5'2", out of shape, had 2 babies Coleen running around in the middle of it.

I think I would've been better fit for this team.

So much for having an easy Sunday...I feel like someone punched me a million times all over my body.  Maybe I'll try again next week...

Parenthood

I came across a couple of good parenting articles today.

One, a friend sent to remind me how to be a happy mother (although pictures like the one on the left always bring a smile to my face already):  

10 Tips on Becoming a Happier Parent

The other is a very interesting article from Time Magazine, which Melvin seems to have forwarded to our new home.  I usually don't care for Time Magazine as they find their way into every room of our house because they come so frequently, but this one had an interesting cover story.  I found an abridged version online:

The Only Child Myth

Took them long enough...

It's been nearly a month and our car is almost at the border...we hope to have it by Friday or Monday!  We haven't really needed it, but it's been that last thing we need to take care of in regards to the move.  It will also be nice to venture out of the city and see a little more of British Columbia.

What took them so long?  It's only about 3,000 miles!  sheesh.

Star Sighting

Vancouver has the 3rd largest film industry in North America and is nicknamed "Hollywood North".  For example, the Twilight Series and Rocky IV were filmed here, as well TV Shows such as Smallville and X-Files.  As many know, I'm all about star sightings and had my first one last night.

Shaun Sipos (the new Melrose Place series) rode his bike past our restaurant last night as we were dining outside.  Now Melvin is probably rolling his eyes as he reads this but he is the one that recognized him. lol.  So when we got home, I looked him up and turns out he was born and raised in Victoria, B.C. so I'm wondering if he lives near us.  Anyway, as we go on more outings, I hope to have more fun star sightings to post about. 

No such luck...

Going to church with 2 kids is like a crapshoot...we were not very lucky today at all.  Somewhere between Julian trying to stick a coin up his nose, yelling at the top of his lungs and Amélie blowing up her diaper, we decided to leave early.  We'll try again next week, I guess...

We'll be unwinding with the game today...

11:30am PST - Spain vs. Netherlands World Cup Final

Don't you love Sundays?

Morning Jog

There's no better way than to see a new place than with a quick jog or bike ride.  Melvin took a bike ride along the seawall last night towards the beaches, so this morning, I was inspired to take a look-see myself. The unfortunate thing about having kids is that we cannot do these things together, without some very expensive gear (like bike trailers, jogger strollers, etc).  Too bad my post-baby self could only cover a really, really, really small portion of the city.  lol...oh well, there is always tomorrow.

Today, we'll be taking the kids to Coal Harbour for an outdoor picnic at the community centre's 10th anniversary celebration.  This is located on the NW part of downtown Vancouver, where the seaplanes take off and fly in.

Afterward, we'll take the seabus (not the aquabus, but a different one on the northern end) to N. Vancounver's Lonsdale Quay (pronounced "key") for some outdoor dancing - this is Vancouver's version of South Street Seaport.  Here, Melvin can get his salsa & bachata fix. haha

Shopping

Before we moved to Vancouver, I bought a $5 Little Tykes Shopping Cart off of my friend. Melvin thought I bought it for Amélie, but I really bought it for Julian. Just as I suspected, he loves it. He spends hours going up and down our hallway, telling me he is going shopping and putting toys, food and shoes into that thing. Today, Melvin goes, I don't get why he likes it so much. I personally think it's because he's a boy and he feels like he's "driving" or "controlling" something, almost like a car. It makes total sense.

That said, if you have a toddler, girl OR boy, get a toy shopping cart, it'll occupy them for hours.

On another shopping note, I went to a private shopping event tonight at this store I never heard of - Change. Very cool store where you get fitted and they bring you the products to try on. I got some great deals. That always feels good.

Our commute this morning...

The kids and I started a music class at False Creek Community Centre today. There is something about living by the water that is so amazing and calming. We took the Cyquabus and it was a nice 10-minute ride without Julian saying a word, as he gazed at his new surroundings.

The class, on the other hand...not so calming.

Coleen: Julian, let's sing with the teacher.

Julian: I don't want to sing, I want to go outside.

Coleen: We can go outside after the class, now clap your hands and sing!

Julian: I want to go outside and play soccer mommy! (Julian proceeds to put his shoes on while the other moms are glaring at me. Amélie crying in the background.)

Coleen: Sigh

We will not be enrolling in next month's Music Together class.

Our First Visitors

...well, second set of visitors, but first with our furniture.

It was so nice to have Rol & Maeann over for lunch today. We have a lot to thank them for as we'd probably be homeless or in temporary housing if it weren't for them. I love cooking and having people over...or maybe I just missed my pots & pans...or maybe I was sick of eating out the past 3 weeks.

Whatever the reason, we had a fun day with our visitors and I had fun entertaining. We are so sad that they'll be leaving us soon for the UK. Best of luck to them though!

Lunch Menu

Grilled Cheese

Tomato Soup

Dates wrapped with Bacon

Freshly Brewed Iced Green Tea with Apple

Cupcakes

Julian missing home (I think)...

Julian: I want bagels mommy.

Coleen: They don't have good bagels here honey. The good bagels are in NY.

Julian (crying): I want bagels in Canada mommy!!

Coleen: Okay, we're going to have to go to the store to find some.

Julian (crying & screaming): I want croissants!!!

Coleen: Sigh

Rewind...

I forgot to mention our household goods (without the car, which is STILL in NY!!!) arrived on Friday, July 2nd. Our apartment looked like a tornado hit it, but things are coming along and we are so glad to have our beds. Since we have been living with practically nothing for the past 3 weeks, we are still throwing/donating things we don't need. I'm hanging onto my fancy chafing dishes that Melvin's dying to get rid of though! Hopefully, we'll make some friends here and I'll be able to use them. LOL...

Now, I'm trying to break Julian's habit of eating on the kitchen floor. I can't win.

Our phone and internet is up and running as of this morning! YAY

Vancouver International Jazz Festival

This weekend, we checked out the closing festivities of the Vancouver International Jazz Festival at David Lam Park (pictured). This park is a couple blocks from our apartment, right against the seawall. It was a blast. They had lots of food, arts & crafts, face painting, hula hoop area, mural painting, a balloon man (and woman) and playground for the kids. Couples and groups of adults were able to enjoy picnics in front of the concert stage. There was something for everyone.

Melvin lost his phone at the festival and didn't realize until after we put the kids down to bed. It turns out this woman found it and called practically everyone on his phone list. She waited for Melvin at the park and all was good...after Melvin got his phone, he realized she called people in the U.S., Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. LOL

On Sunday, we took the bus to the West End (5-10 minute ride) and checked out English Bay, pictured below, again (this is where Judy & I took the kids). Lots of fun in the sand for Julian. We ended our day with a nice meal at a Greek Restaurant. You can find every type of ethnic food in the West End. It is great.

Canada Day

Today is Canada Day (equivalent of 4th of July in the States). We checked out the festivities at Granville Island this morning, but it was a little rainy (they have that spitting rain here), so our visit was short and sweet. On this day, I thought it'd be appropriate to list my initial observations, comments, etc. on Vancouver and its differences from New York.

- I don't get the weather. It is really comfortable as I can't stand the NY humidity, but I certainly get why layers are necessary. It could be cloudy and 55 degrees in the morning and then 70 degrees in the afternoon (always after 2:00pm - strange). I hope we will get used to it quickly!

- People are immune to rain. While Melvin & I struggle to put our stroller cover on the kids, everyone walks around (some in shorts, tank tops and sandals) like it's not raining.

- For a "green" city/province, they don't have garbage cans on every block like NY.

- Canadian money is magnetic (sticks to the magnet in my coin purse; can't tell you how annoying that is).

- They call the $1 coins "loonies" and the $2 coins "twonies". No comment.

- One is able to navigate the entire city and surroundings on a bike or with a stroller (without having to fold it up). All the buses accommodate strollers with a ramp and standing area. People actually get up and move to the back!! Today, we discovered "Cyquabuses", which are the transit boats in the city. Awesome. It is the most kid friendly city I have ever been in.

- People are extremely fit here, annoying but motivating.

- Everyone has a 604 or 778 area code. They are scared of my 917 area code. I have had to tell them that I am on a US and Canadian plan and it's okay to call me!

- There is a Starbucks or Blenz Coffee on every block in downtown - more coffee than Seattle!

- Sockeye Salmon is abundant and way cheaper here...we won't be short on our omega-3's while living here.

- I swear, about 80% of the kids here are of a mixed race. Pretty cool for Julian and Amélie!

What we would've done...

Judy & I were discussing how her visit to Vancouver would've been slightly different had we not had 3 children with us at all times. Don't get me wrong, we love them, but again, kids change your life! I wanted to do a follow up blog about "what we would've done".

* Ate at more restaurants, and nicer ones too! (Although our 3 visits to Urban Fare were good and reliable, not quite what we would've done if we didn't have the kids)

* Rented a boat at Coal Harbour (we looked longingly at the boats when we found out it was only $35/hr rental)

* Perhaps tried kayaking or paddle surfing from False Creek

* Shopped

* Mani/Pedis

* Checked out that Thai Massage Place (although our husbands suggested we go, we knew they didn't mean it when they both took naps that afternoon!)

* Gotten drunk? I don't know if we would've but there is definitely more chance for that when you don't have to wake up at 6am with the kids!

* Day Trip to Whistler for some ziplining, mountain biking or something

* Visit to Grouse Mountain, which is only 15 minutes from Downtown, but would've been a whole day process with kids

Judy - do you remember our "itinerary" during the week in London? VERY DIFFERENT!

First Week in Vancouver

I managed to escape to Starbucks and they close in an hour, so quick update...It has been a full week since our arrival so lots and lots to write about. Our things are not arriving until Friday (THREE full weeks after it left us!!) but we cleared customs this morning so things are falling into place! Phew! I'm too short on time to upload pics, so we'll be posting them on Monday on Picasa, after our internet gets installed...

Day 1 - June 23

Arrived into YVR with 7 check-in items, 3 carry-on bags a toddler and newborn. Toddler was overtired and threw a 20 minute tantrum with dad on plane (mom slept through it) and newborn was an angel and slept the whole time...A beautiful airport welcomed us, there was no line at our "special" immigrations area and we were blessed with a lovely customs officer. The other ones were super scary sounding when I heard them interviewing other "immigrants". Anyway, we got our visas stapled into our passports, collected our things (breast milk made it!) and we were on our way....We got to the apartment, blew up our Aerobeds, unpacked our Balikbayan boxes and walked around our 'hood. We crashed the Sheraton Wall Centre business center to email and print up some items regarding our car (which is still in NY) and checked out the Yaletown Montessori, which happened to have 2 mornings available for Julian, so he'll be starting next week! The weather was amazing, we walked everywhere. We ended our day staring out our window's stunning view and watched the sun set at 10:00pm.

Day 2 - June 24

I woke up as sore as can be! I'm not used to all the walking. We continued to explore today and rode the metro and bus for the first time. This is when we discovered the metro has an honor system and no one checks your ticket but you need a ticket for the bus...huh? Anyway, we sought out a babies r us because I lost / forgot a couple things for Amélie. The neighborhoods of Vancouver are pretty cool, each one having it's own personality and having its own "downtown". I can see why people enjoy living in all parts of Vancouver, even if it's further from the downtown core. Melvin did some work at the Starbucks and I sought out the local park. The walk to the park is amazing, right along the seawall passing a marina and right on the waterfront. We ended the day staring out our window again.

Day 3 - June 25

Today we attempted to use the printer at the Four Seasons. No such luck there. Off we went to an internet cafe, where we printed up more things to become "legal" and to get Julian enrolled into preschool. We applied for our SIN #s (similar to SS #s) - it was painless. The guy that helped us lived in the next building and was getting laid off on Monday, whoops. He didn't seem bothered by the idea. That night, Joe, Judy & Nikhil arrived - yay! We had a fun dinner at an Italian place at Roundhouse (across the street from us), so the kids could run around outside. Amélie slept through the whole thing. This was Joe & Melvin's date night, while Judy babysat Nik at the hotel and I with my kids at home...they each paid $16 to get into a club and partied it up until 3:30am. Seriously? Seriously. I think they took their date night a little too seriously.

Day 4 - June 26

We met the Philips at their hotel in Coal Harbour; took us forever to get there as we got off the wrong metro stop and then our bus never came, so we walked. I am still sore...We proceeded to have a noisy breakfast (with Nik & Julian being the noisy ones, of course) at Whitespot. This is a popular and yummy diner in Vancouver - finally, the American breakfast I was looking for. I had a frittata. Anyway, we proceeded to load up the GMC that Joe rented (literally took us a half hour) - this entailed installing 3 car seats, Judy climbing into the middle of Julian & Nik and Coleen climbing through the back trunk to sit next to Amélie and jamming two strollers (one being a double) into the back. It took awhile but we did it! Off we went to Capilano Suspension Bridge in North Vancouver, 15 minutes away (took longer to load the truck). It was amazing. Pictures to follow. Back to the hotel for nap. After naps, the boys (dads included) played soccer on a lawn in Coal Harbour and we walked to a local cafe that served Filipino Chicken Adobo. Seriously? Yes! I ate that right up. Tonight was Joe & Judy's date night. Melvin and I struggled to put Nik to bed, but they had a nice dinner. Happy Anniversary Joe & Judy!

Day 5 - June 27

This morning, we went to Granville Island with the Philips. We loaded up the car in record time. It was a little drizzly, but we stayed in the covered area of the market and also checked out the Children's Market, where Julian & Nik went crazy with the $1 rides and games. It was a good time (always all about the kids, right?). We returned for naptime, which is when Judy & I ran to Starbucks for an internet fix. When we returned, Joe left for Seattle, which is where he was working the past 2 weeks and off we went to the park. We had a casual dinner for the kids and it was me and Melvin's date night. We had a fabulous seafood feast at Coast - awesome. Seafood is AWESOME here, melts in your mouth, love it.

Day 6 - June 28

Melvin went into his office for the first time today so it was Judy & I with the kids. Oh boy. I had a 9:15am appointment with Julian's preschool, so we loaded them up and off we went. We decided to take a different route. Well, guess what? It started raining...and we got lost. Julian proceeded to kick his storm cover off, Amélie was crying and we were in a desperate search for cover. Judy took out her map and we finally made it, in the rain. I swear, the director of the school thought we were nuts. It was a calm oasis in there, while Nik decided to try to go potty, both he and Julian attacked the toys and Amélie was crying for milk....oh, and we were SOAKED, by the way. Anyway, we decided to head back home to regroup, looked at our watches and discovered it was only 10:30am!! What? We decided to go to this small train museum with the boys and ordered food for lunch. The boys proceeded to plaster the food all over the floor, walls and ceiling (not really, but kinda!) and then it was naptime. Judy and I were exhausted. When they woke, we decided to go to the beach (we are crazy). We waited at a bus stop and the bus never came, so we waited at another one and finally we were on our way. We had a wonderful time at English Bay. Finally, it was me and Judy's turn for a date night and we ate it up at Sanafir - yummy. We didn't party it up til the wee morning hours, but we had a great meal, great conversation and got a couple freebies. Miss ya already Judy!

Day 7 - June 29

Judy & Nik left for Seattle this morning (tear). I decided to go to a Mom & Tot playtime at the community centre across the street while Melvin worked at Starbucks. Met a crazy mom there, from LA, whose husband is filming a commercial here for 2 weeks. I kept trying to move away from her and she followed me. Julian had an accident (pee) and I had no extra pants - wonderful - so Melvin ran over to help. Exhausting. Great news though, our household goods are at the warehouse in Vancouver (car is still in NY though!).

Day 8 - June 30

Today, we had to "clear" our goods through customs today. Our moving company told us to avoid Mrs. Chow. Apparently, she asks a billion questions, requires extra paperwork and always declines people's goods. Okay, this should be interesting. It must've been her day off, because we got a young man that cleared us in 5 minutes - yay! Melvin left for work and I spent the day with the kids, got a library card, went to a singing event at the library and went to our building's tot lot. Now, I'm here writing a book as fast as I can about our first week. Sorry if I'm rambling!

So our things arrive on Friday (tomorrow is Canada Day, which is like 4th of July) and internet/cable/phone get installed on Monday! I'm just so excited to feel somewhat settled. We're tired of wearing the same outfits, eating out of tin pans and sleeping/eating/nursing on the floor. I will write again when I can!

Settling in...

Just a quick post from my phone. We arrived yesterday and love, love, love it so far. The weather has been great, we have walked miles exploring and end our days looking out the window at the stunning view. The sun does not set until 10:00pm so it is a treat.

I will write more soon but just wanted to update the blog!

Interesting Vancouver tidbit: the metro runs on an honor system so no one checks your ticket!

Where's the table, mommy?

The movers are taking it to Canada, sweetie.

This picture was taken this morning. My cousin took our patio table for her new house, so we had one day with no table. Julian noticed pretty quickly. He is a creature of habit though because he plopped himself down right where the table was. That was when I found myself feeding my son yogurt in a tin tray on the floor...LOL

It is now the night prior to our flight. We have seven check-in items (OnePass Gold Status saves us again!) and three carry-ons. It amazes me to think about how many of our parents came to this country with absolutely nothing and practically no money. I always think about that during our tough times the past few weeks, which isn't even tough if you think about how we had 3 men pack up our house and how my husband's company paid for the move. I'm definitely more excited than nervous or sad right now...I think it'll hit me later though.

We got an update today that we will probably clear our stuff through customs Friday or Monday and then our goods will be delivered within 24-48 hours. That means, one more week of living on the floor. Stay tuned as I won't have internet until after that!!

Our Life the Past 2 Weeks

The past couple weeks have been tough. Living off take out/fast food and 2 Aerobeds and a Playpen as furniture - not fun. These are some of the highlights from our life the past couple weeks, as we prepare to leave the country.

We had the following conversation maybe 10 times:

Coleen: Do we really need this? Should I pack it?

Melvin: Yes

Coleen: But we haven't used it since we got it. I forgot we even had it.

Melvin: I know, but we might need it

Coleen: I'm not packing it

Melvin: Okay

We had the following conversation maybe 20 times:

Melvin: What do you want to eat?

Coleen: I don't know, what do you want?

Melvin: I don't care

Coleen: Neither do I, just pick something

(mind you, delivery in the suburbs consists of chinese or pizza)

Questions from Julian:

Where's my stool?
Where's my bed?

Where's my train table?

Me on the phone with Dry Ice, Corp:

Coleen: Hi, do I need to reserve some dry ice to be picked up?

Man: No, we don't reserve, but what is it for?

Coleen: I have to check-in my breast milk on a flight out to Vancouver

Man: Well, how much do you need?

Coleen: Well, I don't know, I have about 50 ounces in bags. (awkward)

Man: Are you sure the airlines will take it? We sell a minimum of 10lbs

Coleen: Yes, I've confirmed about 3 times already

Man: Well, sometimes we have it in stock, sometimes we don't

Coleen: Well, I really need it or my supply will be ruined (sweat is running down my forehead)

Man: Well, come by tomorrow, you should be fine

Coleen: Okay, thank you (UGH, they better have it!!)

Here's another one:

Melvin: How am I going to work without my desk and our kitchen table?
Coleen: Let's pull in the patio furniture!

Melvin: Good idea!

All of us, including Julian, everyday after we pulled it in: DAMN ANTS!!

Good Timing

Ran into this article today: Canada's economy is suddenly the envy of the world

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Canadas-economy-is-suddenly-apf-807130582.html?x=0

Go Melvin and Go HSBC! LOL

On another note, Father's Day was fun...Julian and I took Melvin to the Subway Series and checked out the new Yankees Stadium. Garlic fries and cold taro bubble tea were "my" highlights - Mets lost 4-0 and Julian had a meltdown before bedtime because he was overtired from missing his nap. Fun day with friends and Papi though!

New Vocabulary

In addition to Itsy Bitsy Spider, Twinkle Little Star, Baa Baa Black Sheep, Julian has added a new song to his repertoire....Birthday Sex.

Birthday Sex by Jeremih

Hmm, next time we'll have to change the radio station quicker! Our trip to the store was quite comical with Julian singing this song at the top of his lungs.