No Volume Control

Man.. Over a week without internet is TOUGH!! LOL Bell took its sweet time to hook up our phone line, but we are hooked up now, and our high speed is working. WOOHOO!!
Both Kat and Ellie are enrolled in school and are finished their first week. They LOVE it. Today, they took the bus for the first time. And being in the country, two towns away from the school, it makes for a very long bus ride and a very long day.
The story behind the school. We enrolled the girls in Rivière Castor which is a French Public school in Embrun. The all French was something that I was quite worried about before enrolling them, but I had hoped that with their love of knowledge, their little knowledge of French, and them being so young, they would be able to adjust, and figure it out. Day one for Kat went well up until we picked her up just before Ellie’s kindergarten interview. We later found out that she didn’t speak a word the entire day. If you know Kat well, that is not like her at all. The interview for Ellie went well, and even though they do not speak English in class, they assured us that Ellie would get the help that she needs to catch up. Day 2 for Kat, (Ellie wouldn’t have started until week 2), we talked about the French, and that she could talk in English and her teachers would help her in French, and we helped her with stuff she already knew, but as soon as she stepped into the school yard she froze and broke down. She just couldn’t do it. The fear was just too overwhelming, and with all the other changes in her life, it was all too much for her, so we pulled her from that school. It was the best decision for her this year. In a few years, she may go back to the all French school, but for now, we found a different school.
The school they are attending is Russell Public School. Obviously it’s in Russell. ;) It’s a very nice school. The teachers and staff are very nice. Last Friday when we enrolled them, both the principal and vice-principal came out to meet us before we even reached the office. They would have given us the full tour but they were in interviews. But the secretary helped us through all the paper work, and then gave us a tour of the school. Both of the girls are in Early French Immersion. Kat has half the day in all English, and half the day in all French. Ellie goes to school full days every Monday and Wednesday, and half the Fridays (I can’t say alternate because of holidays and such, but it’s half). I’m not sure how they split their English and French, but she is learning both. Kat talks positively about school every day. She has already made some friends. And today she got to go to the Russell Fair with her school (just grades 1-6 so Ellie’s class didn’t go). They learned about Farming in the 1850’s and got to see a lot of animals, as well as a fire house.
I guess the next major thing to talk about is the house. We moved into the house and moved out of the hotel on Friday morning. The unpackers came Friday morning and unpacked the breakables. There were only two casualties. Both mine. First one of my glass unicorns – it got beheaded. And then my small lens got damaged. We are waiting to hear from the company for replacements. The thing about the unicorn is it was packed “broken” so the packer in St. John’s broke it, didn’t say anything, and then wrapped it like it was already broken. I think I would know if one of my things was beheaded. It made me very angry, but at least the unpackers didn’t question it, and wrote it down as broken. It’s not like it’s a huge expense or anything, but it’s still not very nice.
As of today, we have made some good progress, but it’s a slow process, especially with all the running around the city – health cards, drivers cards, plates, garbage, doctors, schools, groceries, etc. But we have blinds up on a few windows, drapes in the livingroom, closet organizers installed into two closets, several rooms are boxless (not that the things from the boxes are put away, but at least the boxes are gone), kitties are back home and well adjusted, dishwasher bought and installed, major progress is being made in the garage..
The PDI (pre-delivery inspection) went well. There were a few minor things inside the house that need to be fixed or finished. There was painting touch ups and minor electrical issues (one switch was backwards, and the stove fan didn’t work), but they were done before we moved in on Friday. There was a miscommunication in the girls’ bathroom with the tiling. Drywall guy thought the tiles would go out a bit, tile guy thought the drywall would be flush. Either way, its easier for the tiles to be fixed than the drywall. The tiles have been adjusted, but just need to be grouted. The girls’ bathroom is missing the kickplate for the cabinets as well. And there was a mis-order for our bathroom shower door, and that got replaced today. And the counter in the kitchen was cut wrong, but it’s not going to be replaced for about a month. It’s not a big deal – there is about a ¼ inch gap at one side, so it doesn’t effect the kitchen operations at all.
Outside, there are a few more major issues that they will slowly get to. The stucco for around the bathroom window needs to be done. It was just wood when we had the PDI, but he has been working on it since last week, and it has the first coat of stucco on it now, so it’s getting there. We need backfill in the front and back, and sod in both as well. Hopefully that will be done in a couple of weeks. Driveway needs to be paved, but that won’t happen until next summer – they want the driveway to settle for a while first. And at some point – maybe next spring, we will have our tree planted in the front yard.
There is a lot of work that we need to do as well. Steph wants to finish the basement to be the ultimate Den. And he wants to the garage to be the ultimate workspace. We want to extend our backyard so that means a lot of clearing and a ton of backfill back there to fix that. But at least the main floor and upstairs doesn’t have much to do other than hanging pictures on the main floor and decorating the bedrooms (which is a lot more fun than renovating).
We met our next door neighbours last night, a young family with one little boy who turns three in December. But very down to earth, and seem like a fun family. They just moved here last month from a 4 year stint in Alaska. She works with the airforce, so it’s the same idea as us, she moves for her job, and her family follows. But their little boy makes my three seem totally calm. He never stops! I can understand why they are already researching fences for their backyard. LOL
But I guess that’s it for this blog. It’s already quite long.
Oh and to our families & friends – our cell phone number has changed, so you will have to email Steph to get it. But you can still get through to us via the 0230 number if you need us.