We are here and starting to get used to things. The girls are (somewhat) back to a normal sleep schedule. They're still a couple hours off of normal, but at least they're not up in the middle of the night anymore! We were up at 8am today, and have been enjoying the sun!
The last few days have been great. Mike took us up to Las Palmas on Monday and we spent the afternoon at the beach. Josie wasn't a fan of the water and spent most of the time digging in the sand, but Sophie (sorry, Sofia) had a blast playing in the waves! The other pilot's family came with us and we had a very nice visit. The kids get along well, and so do the adults - it's nice having another Canadian family around! They have two boys, 2.5 and .5, so we're in very similar points of life.
On Tuesday we took the kids to a park just down from David & Ewa's house, where I met a couple of ladies from Swansea, Wales! They were very surprised to meet Canadians here, especially ones with ties to Wales. We had a good time visiting and hearing about how they adjusted when they moved here from Wales.
Yesterday, Mike had to get back to work so we had a 'home' day. Ewa, her sister Anna that is visiting from Ottawa, and their kids came over for a swim and a visit in the afternoon. Sofia had a great time playing princesses and ponies with Anna's daughter Elena who is 7. Last night was the first night that both girls were asleep before 10, and there was minimal fighting! Josie still had some troubles settling down, but 10 is better than 1am :)
Today, we've been relaxing at the villa again. Ewa et al are going to come over in a bit so the kids can play, and we are going to leave the girls with Anna so Ewa and I can go look at a house for rent near their place.
I will add pictures from the last few days later on, but Josie is playing a game on my phone right now so I can't access them. We've really had a chance to unwind after our harrowing trip, and the girls are loving our new surroundings! Hopefully we will find a house of our own soon so we can really start to get to know the area.
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
We survived. Barely.
You may notice the lack of a post for any point after London. There is a very good reason for that. I am trying my best to erase all of memories from that point.
So, I will give a quick summary, possibly omitting some of the most horrible details, just because I don't want to relive them.
When we arrived in London, we had a very long walk to get to British Airways' customer service desk, as Air Canada hadn't given me any boarding passes for the rest of our trip. When I arrived there, I discovered that Air Canada HADN'T booked us any flights after London. They had told me they had, and that I just needed to get my boarding passes when I arrived in London.
Thanks, Air Canada, for stranding me and my two young daughters in a foreign country! That was really kind of you!
Thankfully, the nice gentleman at the desk booked us on new flights to Madrid then Las Palmas at no extra cost to us. We didn't get on first class from Madrid to Las Palmas, which was very frustrating because we had actually paid for first class on that flight. But whatever, I was just happy to have a flight.
Then, a lady from British Airways convinced me that I wouldn't be able to take my double stroller through customs in Madrid and that I would have to check it in London and pick it up in Las Palmas. HA! I'm a moron and I listened to her and checked my stroller. Went through the airport, bought some hideous yoga pants (the only pants I could find) and rushed to our next gate to get on the flight.
When we got to Madrid, I had to carry my carry-on, the girls' backpack, my bag of pee-soaked clothes and the girls, because at this point they were so exhausted that they both refused to walk. No one from either airline would help me, and I had to go across the whole airport like that, on my own. I got to a point where I put Sophie down and said 'goodbye' because I refused to carry her any more. She followed me screaming at the top of her lungs.
On the bright side, I have never gone through customs quite so quickly. I'm pretty sure that the customs agent looked at my screaming children and the dead look in my eyes, and knew that no one but their real mother would take them anywhere. He very quickly stamped our passports, didn't ask me a single question, and just waved us through.
It took about an hour to get across the airport to our next gate and Sophie and Josie screamed the entire time.
When we got to our next gate, we found a Hello Kitty ride, which finally shut them up. Once they had been calm for a little while, and lady about my age with a girl Josie's age came over, and we visited for a bit to discover that she lives about 15 minutes away from us. So at least at the end of this horrid trip, I made a friend and we are going to get together once the girls and I are settled in.
We have spent the last two days trying to recover from this trip. It may be the last time I go on an airplane, so if anyone wants to see me again, you will have to come out here.
So, I will give a quick summary, possibly omitting some of the most horrible details, just because I don't want to relive them.
When we arrived in London, we had a very long walk to get to British Airways' customer service desk, as Air Canada hadn't given me any boarding passes for the rest of our trip. When I arrived there, I discovered that Air Canada HADN'T booked us any flights after London. They had told me they had, and that I just needed to get my boarding passes when I arrived in London.
Thanks, Air Canada, for stranding me and my two young daughters in a foreign country! That was really kind of you!
Thankfully, the nice gentleman at the desk booked us on new flights to Madrid then Las Palmas at no extra cost to us. We didn't get on first class from Madrid to Las Palmas, which was very frustrating because we had actually paid for first class on that flight. But whatever, I was just happy to have a flight.
Then, a lady from British Airways convinced me that I wouldn't be able to take my double stroller through customs in Madrid and that I would have to check it in London and pick it up in Las Palmas. HA! I'm a moron and I listened to her and checked my stroller. Went through the airport, bought some hideous yoga pants (the only pants I could find) and rushed to our next gate to get on the flight.
When we got to Madrid, I had to carry my carry-on, the girls' backpack, my bag of pee-soaked clothes and the girls, because at this point they were so exhausted that they both refused to walk. No one from either airline would help me, and I had to go across the whole airport like that, on my own. I got to a point where I put Sophie down and said 'goodbye' because I refused to carry her any more. She followed me screaming at the top of her lungs.
On the bright side, I have never gone through customs quite so quickly. I'm pretty sure that the customs agent looked at my screaming children and the dead look in my eyes, and knew that no one but their real mother would take them anywhere. He very quickly stamped our passports, didn't ask me a single question, and just waved us through.
It took about an hour to get across the airport to our next gate and Sophie and Josie screamed the entire time.
When we got to our next gate, we found a Hello Kitty ride, which finally shut them up. Once they had been calm for a little while, and lady about my age with a girl Josie's age came over, and we visited for a bit to discover that she lives about 15 minutes away from us. So at least at the end of this horrid trip, I made a friend and we are going to get together once the girls and I are settled in.
We have spent the last two days trying to recover from this trip. It may be the last time I go on an airplane, so if anyone wants to see me again, you will have to come out here.
Saturday, March 10, 2012
On to London
Today started out good. We met up with a friend in Toronto for lunch that we haven't seen in ages. It was a very nice visit - Erin, you seriously need to come out to visit. We would love to have you!
Then we got to the airport and hung out in the Maple Leaf lounge. Now that I've seen how the "other side" lives, I don't think I will ever be able to forget the free food and drinks, comfy leather chairs, and free magazines. Mike, this trip has just made all future travel much more expensive.
I had to buy a new shirt while there, as the one I had been wearing for the previous 30 hours was starting to smell less than fresh (even though Erin was amazing and brought me some deodorant. Thank you, thank you, thank you!). Sophie chose me a black shirt that says Canada in gaudy sparkly jewels. At least it doesn't stink :)
We had a bit of an issue boarding the plane. They gave us three business class seats, but infants are not allowed to sit in a pod on their own. They offered to put us back in economy so that we could each have our own chair, or they would have to take away one of our seats in business and put Josie on my lap. Not wanting to give up the perks of business class, I chose to give up one seat and have Josie on my lap. I figured that the free booze, many extra perks, and chairs that turn into beds would make up for Josie being on my lap. I would later come to regret that decision (but I'll get to that part in a bit).
The flight to London started out nice. Josie and Sophie both fell asleep before take-off again; I had a nice glass of wine, started watching a movie (Johnny English - unfortunately not very funny) and enjoyed the ridiculously cool pod chair.
About an hour in to the flight, Sophie woke up crying. She climbed into my pod with me, waking up Josie. I managed to get that taken care of more quickly than I expected, and got Sophie set up in her pod with a movie and snack. This sense of accomplishment did not last long.
Shortly after, Josie had a pee that was so powerful it didn't have time to absorb into her diaper. Those of you with children will understand the implications, but for everyone else: she peed all over my lap.
Four hours left, and I am covered in pee, with no other clothes to change into.
I'm starting to doubt we will survive this trip.
**********************************************
One hour later: I smell like an outhouse, but the girls are well. Sophie is watching A Bug Life, Josie is watching The Wiggles.
I'm trying to look at the bright side, though. I will have no choice but to go shopping when we get to London, as I do not plan on spending the next 15 hours smelling like urine. I might have to buy new shoes, as well, depending on the pants. I don't want to look silly after all. I might end up with a whole new outfit before we make it to Las Palmas.
**********************************************
We're now making our descent. There was a bit of turbulence for about 15 minutes, but the kids handled it well. The kids didn't sleep at all for the rest of the flight, which means I didn't sleep. We still have 14 hours of traveling left. I really hope they sleep on the flight to Madrid - if they're not worn out after the 6 hour layover in London, I may smother them. Or just myself.
Then we got to the airport and hung out in the Maple Leaf lounge. Now that I've seen how the "other side" lives, I don't think I will ever be able to forget the free food and drinks, comfy leather chairs, and free magazines. Mike, this trip has just made all future travel much more expensive.
I had to buy a new shirt while there, as the one I had been wearing for the previous 30 hours was starting to smell less than fresh (even though Erin was amazing and brought me some deodorant. Thank you, thank you, thank you!). Sophie chose me a black shirt that says Canada in gaudy sparkly jewels. At least it doesn't stink :)
We had a bit of an issue boarding the plane. They gave us three business class seats, but infants are not allowed to sit in a pod on their own. They offered to put us back in economy so that we could each have our own chair, or they would have to take away one of our seats in business and put Josie on my lap. Not wanting to give up the perks of business class, I chose to give up one seat and have Josie on my lap. I figured that the free booze, many extra perks, and chairs that turn into beds would make up for Josie being on my lap. I would later come to regret that decision (but I'll get to that part in a bit).
The flight to London started out nice. Josie and Sophie both fell asleep before take-off again; I had a nice glass of wine, started watching a movie (Johnny English - unfortunately not very funny) and enjoyed the ridiculously cool pod chair.
About an hour in to the flight, Sophie woke up crying. She climbed into my pod with me, waking up Josie. I managed to get that taken care of more quickly than I expected, and got Sophie set up in her pod with a movie and snack. This sense of accomplishment did not last long.
Shortly after, Josie had a pee that was so powerful it didn't have time to absorb into her diaper. Those of you with children will understand the implications, but for everyone else: she peed all over my lap.
Four hours left, and I am covered in pee, with no other clothes to change into.
I'm starting to doubt we will survive this trip.
**********************************************
One hour later: I smell like an outhouse, but the girls are well. Sophie is watching A Bug Life, Josie is watching The Wiggles.
I'm trying to look at the bright side, though. I will have no choice but to go shopping when we get to London, as I do not plan on spending the next 15 hours smelling like urine. I might have to buy new shoes, as well, depending on the pants. I don't want to look silly after all. I might end up with a whole new outfit before we make it to Las Palmas.
**********************************************
We're now making our descent. There was a bit of turbulence for about 15 minutes, but the kids handled it well. The kids didn't sleep at all for the rest of the flight, which means I didn't sleep. We still have 14 hours of traveling left. I really hope they sleep on the flight to Madrid - if they're not worn out after the 6 hour layover in London, I may smother them. Or just myself.
Friday, March 9, 2012
The adventure begins... And is paused.
So, I wrote this about 30 minutes into the flight to Toronto. Little did I know, my relaxed state would not last long. When we landed, the other passengers were incredibly helpful and let us get off the plane really quickly. I threw Josie in the front of the double stroller, her carseat and our carry-on on the back seat, and Sophie climbed on my back and we RAN from one end of the airport to the other. Sophie got down and ran a few times to give my back a break. She is such a little trooper. We got to our gate to find that the agents at the OTHER gate were supposed to have told us that we weren't getting off the flight. At that point, I was do out of breath, exhausted, and disappointed that I kind of started sobbing and hyperventilating. The agent was incredibly nice and hugged me and got things sorted out for us to get a hotel and new flights.
All in all, things worked out well. They bumped us up to business class for the whole trip, gave us a hotel and all of our meals for tomorrow. The girls are cuddled up in bed, I get a bed to myself for once, and we're going to rest up for tomorrow.
Here is my naive original post:
***********************************************
We're on our way! We have finally made it off the ground - close to an hour late, but at least we're going.
Things went fairly well getting to the plane. As I was gathering up our stuff at security, Josie somehow slipped out of the stroller and ran. My back was turned, so I didn't notice until a very nice man brought her back to me. So that was stressful. Then, while we were waiting to board, the girls had a wonderful time running around and chasing each other. While I'm sure they annoyed some people, they were relatively well behaved overall.
We had a very nice gentleman help us on the plane by carrying Josie's carseat. Unfortunately, the plane's seats are only two by two, so Josie and I sat in the row behind Sophie. Thankfully, Sophie ended up sitting next to a very kind businessman that helped her get her earphones in and set up a movie. Neither girl so much as flinched on the take-off, even though it was a bit bumpy, and they were both asleep before the plane levelled out. I have a feeling it is going to be a good flight.
*fingers crossed*
So now I'm going to sit back, watch 'The Descendants', and enjoy the company of two sleeping children.
(Amusing story: while we were waiting to board the airplane, there was this mid-twenties couple standing next to me. They were grumbling about one having the window and one having the aisle, and were talking about wanting to switch seats. I, being stupidly helpful, said "I think the seats are just in pairs on this flight; there isn't a middle seat." The girl gave me a "look" and said "I don't think so".
I shrugged and said "I might be wrong." Lo and behold, we get on the airplane where the seats are two by two, and they are sitting across the aisle from me. I love being right.)
All in all, things worked out well. They bumped us up to business class for the whole trip, gave us a hotel and all of our meals for tomorrow. The girls are cuddled up in bed, I get a bed to myself for once, and we're going to rest up for tomorrow.
Here is my naive original post:
***********************************************
We're on our way! We have finally made it off the ground - close to an hour late, but at least we're going.
Things went fairly well getting to the plane. As I was gathering up our stuff at security, Josie somehow slipped out of the stroller and ran. My back was turned, so I didn't notice until a very nice man brought her back to me. So that was stressful. Then, while we were waiting to board, the girls had a wonderful time running around and chasing each other. While I'm sure they annoyed some people, they were relatively well behaved overall.
We had a very nice gentleman help us on the plane by carrying Josie's carseat. Unfortunately, the plane's seats are only two by two, so Josie and I sat in the row behind Sophie. Thankfully, Sophie ended up sitting next to a very kind businessman that helped her get her earphones in and set up a movie. Neither girl so much as flinched on the take-off, even though it was a bit bumpy, and they were both asleep before the plane levelled out. I have a feeling it is going to be a good flight.
*fingers crossed*
So now I'm going to sit back, watch 'The Descendants', and enjoy the company of two sleeping children.
(Amusing story: while we were waiting to board the airplane, there was this mid-twenties couple standing next to me. They were grumbling about one having the window and one having the aisle, and were talking about wanting to switch seats. I, being stupidly helpful, said "I think the seats are just in pairs on this flight; there isn't a middle seat." The girl gave me a "look" and said "I don't think so".
I shrugged and said "I might be wrong." Lo and behold, we get on the airplane where the seats are two by two, and they are sitting across the aisle from me. I love being right.)
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Moving Right Along!
Things are happening very quickly with our upcoming move. The girls' passports came in the mail today and Mike has booked our tickets!
We are leaving Winnipeg early Thursday afternoon (March 8th) and arrive in Las Palmas late Friday afternoon. It is going to be quite the adventure, flying with two kids and a dog by myself. While I am feeling a bit nervous about it, I just keep reminding myself that everything will go smoothly - and if it doesn't, at least it is only one day of craziness :)
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