Montreal: One Pastry At A Time

Here we are back in Montreal for week two of our month here. The kids and I set out three hours after I started to get Austen dressed. Because that's how long it took to negotiate getting Austen dressed today. I could have sat on him (while he made vocal impressions of an injured bald eagle) to make him comply but frankly we're on vacation and I actually don't care when we leave the house. At all.

We hit the bakery, Le Fromentier, to pick up a few quiches and a palmier and then went on to the hipster coffee shop, Lapin Presse, to pick up an iced latte for me. Parc Sir Wilfrid Laurier was full of stroller meet-ups of all kinds and we soon found a quiet corner to make sand-cakes (Austen) and eat sticks (Caelen).

We have a very relaxed remainder of this week planned before I take the kids up to Ottawa for a side trip and Joel takes off on a business trip to Boston and Anaheim.

Toronto Tales

We decided to spend the weekend in Toronto to catch up with my cousin, aunt and the 2nd cousins who are the same age as our boys. Taking the train was EASY compared to a long drive with kids stuck in carseats (not to mention the traffic and parking). And we do love a good walk. So Saturday morning bright and early we set out for an 8:55 train from Montreal to Toronto.

The Montreal station is a bit crazy at the moment because only some platforms are stroller and wheelchair accessible but the staff were great and we managed to haul the kids down to the train platform while a porter carried all our gear. Once on board the conductor was great with the kids and very helpful. We bought lunch and snacks and Austen played happily and explored the train cars. This is the way to travel with toddlers and preschoolers!

Union Station in Toronto is right downtown and about 20 minute walk at our pace to our hotel. The station is under renovations right now and was also a bit confusing with stroller access. When it's finished the whole experience for parents will be pretty easy I hope.

Our double stroller held the kids and our weekend bag (yes, we got it down to one) and served us well on the wide smooth sidewalks of Toronto. Our hotel was one of the cool renovated old houses run by Urban North Inns. We had a whole floor to ourselves and a warm welcome from a host there and use of kitchen and livingroom/patio. Highly recommend them for very reasonably priced Toronto accommodations.

On Sunday we met up with my cousins and aunt and headed to Toronto Island for the day. I've never actually taken the Centre Island ferry. As a kid we were always headed to visit our friends who live in a magical cottage on Algonquin Island and would take the Ward Island ferry. I also had no idea about the petting zoo and cute old timey amusement park for the little ones. I highly recommend it for families with kids toddler and up. The boys loved meeting their 2nd cousins and were fast friends.

We were the first ones at the petting zoo/farm in the morning

The Centreville Amusement Park - very cute old timey family fun

Austen got very brave and decided to hit both the log ride and the rollercoaster on our way out. I'm still shocked over that one.

After the visit with my family we headed across the island to our family friend's home on Algonquin Island. Total childhood nostalgia for me at every turn. We dropped in for a visit and then were off to catch a ferry back to the city to put the kids to bed. It was a great day. 

Imagine growing up in a neighbourhood with no cars... this is a dreamy street on Algonquin Island

Monday we headed to the ROM (Royal Ontario Museum) with the littles and actually had to stop and play in a park because we got there before it opened. We're those people now. Austen loved the museum and I got to catch up with a dear friend who I have known for 25 years who met us there and was willing to join our rowdy group.

We headed back to Montreal that afternoon - quite a whirlwind trip. I definitely packed it too close together. Having a travel day followed by a big sightseeing day followed by another travel day was too much for the kids. They were tired and squirly on the train back to Montreal. Live and learn. Luckily they were fast asleep by the time we were arriving and with the help of the staff on the platform we got them tucked into "bed" in the stroller and rolled off into the sunset. 

Our First Day In Montreal

The flights from Victoria to Vancouver and Vancouver to Montreal went really well. The boys were quiet and happy the whole way. They both slept through a lot of the second flight and Austen watched Zootopia with Daddy. The headphones we bought him before we left have been a godsend. The other MVP was the double stroller which Air Canada did check at the gate. I even saw someone with a double Bob - the largest beast of a double - and they managed to get on without even folding it despite there being 8 other strollers gate checked. So hats off to AC. They did a good job.

The kids were up late with the time difference and then up again at 6:30 ready to start the day... which, if you do the math, was really a 3:30am start for all of us. We were at Sir Wilfred Laurier park by 8:30 this morning after grabbing myself a coffee at Lapin Pressé en route. It's now lunch time. Caelen is down for his second nap. He is the sensible child. Austen on the other hand is singing enthusiastically to the Playmobil after a two hour stand-off over the issue of needing to eat food. No suggestion is good enough for this three year old today. He wants to be left alone to genuflect before the pile of toys generously left here by the family who rented us their home. Send more coffee.

The Great Montreal Gastro Tour of 2016

I have to say the best time in life to visit a city like Montreal would have to be one where one is breastfeeding, long distance running or cycling because every foodie site I look at makes me want to EAT ALL THE FOOD. Luckily Joel and I are both on a 3,000 calorie diet and plan to take full advantage of that.

Joel has quite a list of places he frequents when he's there for all his business trips. I've compiled an ongoing Google map with recommendations from Joel and some friends. Anything to add? Leave us a comment!

Nine days in Victoria

July 2nd was our first travel day of our big Summer Canadian extravaganza. We took a taxi van to the airport and then flew into Victoria via Vancouver with about a two hour stopover. It was a full day for the kids but they were so chilled out. Austen just adored the planes and the airports requiring little else to amuse him. He did watch part of his movie and was pretty thrilled with the presents (a bouncy ball, stickers and wind-up toy) I had wrapped and tucked into my bag for a dull moment. Caelen literally just slept the whole way there. We were able to use the double stroller to get them up to the gate despite some confusing warnings from the airline website saying they don't gate-check double strollers. I think it's at the discretion of the person checking you in.

Despite the efforts I made to streamline our packing we were a hot mess of luggage at the airport because at the last minute Joel needed his bike...

Do not travel like this

Austen did carry his own carry-on bag #winning

Austen also used my phone to take pictures along the way

Our week and a half in Victoria has gone by faster than we could have anticipated. We gave each set of grandparents three days each to plan for us and have divided our time between them that way with a couple of rest days in there for good measure. The kids have enjoyed the beaches, Butchart Gardens, walks around Oak Bay and time with their grandparents. We haven't even taken them into Victoria's downtown at all this trip. 

The weather has been cold, damp and at times windy. I'm ready to turn up the heat with the weeks ahead in Montreal and Ontario.

Final Kitchen Reveal

Our kitchen is finally finished and it's time to reveal the before and after photos. First, here's a little glimpse of the day we took possession of the house...

Are you ready? Let's do this

Inching Closer To Adventure Time

Good news! Caelen is going to have a US passport and be officially acknowledged as an American citizen. Joel made a follow-up phone call after our additional proof of citizenship package was delivered. Once the passport arrives we can start dealing with his Canadian citizenship. Yet another instance where we wish we were dealing with the well oiled machine of the Singapore Ministry of Manpower and the Canadian High Commission in SG. Boggles the mind. Anyway, we are going to be fine to go on our trip and that's what's important right now. I've been really busy getting us ready to go. Yes we're still a ways from the departure date but I'm a planner. My list making frenzy has already been in full force for weeks. All our flights have been booked, we found a place to stay in Montreal and I've been interviewing for a part time nanny there so I can work a bit.

Ok now lets talk travel with kids again. No matter how minimal you try to be, travelling with two under 4 is going to require some extra checked baggage. After years of honing our packing skills down to just carry-on we're hauling more than ever before. Every freaking thing has a big bulky flight case from the stroller to the car seats. I'm trying to devise a plan where arrival and departure at the airports won't be such a gong-show. So far here's what my thoughts are.

• Check the two carseats (packed in proper flight cases)
• Gatecheck (right at the door of the plane) the double stroller
• Team up the suitcase packing (eg: one kid and one parent's clothes in each) so we can get down to two suitcases. 
• Austen carries his own carry-on (Stop laughing. Three year olds occasionally take direction right?)

One Tiny American problem

C was born in the US and he’s never been off American soil. He has an American birth certificate, a Social Security card, health insurance, and he’s sporting a Bernie Sanders button on his Ergo carrier like a local. Like many American babies, he’s the first generation born here to two Green Card holders.

C is also eligible to become a dual Canadian citizen, so as soon as we had his birth certificate and Social Security number, we applied for Canadian citizenship and a passport. There are no consular services here, so Joel had to take the application to the Canadian Embassy office in San Francisco to have it witnessed, checked for accuracy, and sent to Canada.

Lo and behold, the application was returned citing a lack of photo ID. Photo ID is something hospitals issue for babies born in an institution, but for a baby born at home or in a birth center, there is no ID card provided. This hadn’t been an issue when we completed the same process for Austen in Singapore.

We didn’t love the idea of C traveling on a US passport — it separates our family citizenship-wise — but it seemed like the only way to move forward with his Canadian passport was to obtain the American one first.

We applied in person so the clerk at the passport office could see and photograph C. A few weeks later, that application was returned with a letter stating there wasn’t sufficient evidence that he was born in the United States. They rejected both his birth certificate and Social Security card, saying additional documentation was required because he was a non-institutional birth. [headdesk]

They sent a list of supplementary documents needed to support his citizenship claim. Two items on that list were, in fact, illegal for me to obtain or mail to them.

Armed with a stack of visa bills, receipts, and letters from Joel’s employer and my midwife, we sent off a thick parcel to the Department of State.

At last, we had success. C was sorted.

A Mini Live-Away Adventure X4

We've been suffering from the travel bug since the one year mark in our new home. Yes, I know. At one year I was holding a newborn baby with a nearly three year old gnawing on my ankle but that didn't stop the yearning to try to take them somewhere. We took a trip to LA and Carmel when Caelen was three weeks old and it went pretty well so we began to envision our next travel opportunity. Joel usually spends a good chunk of time each year in Montreal as he works with a team of guys based there and given the weak Canadian dollar we realized we could swing spending an extended period of time away in Canada especially if we could rent out our home here. And so it was arranged. This Summer we're taking off for a mini live-away adventure in Montreal. Expats in our home country but in a city where neither of us has ever lived. We have 8 weeks to organize a renter for the house, a cat-sitter (if renter cat-sits that would be great) hire a French tutor and figure out our side trips to visit friends and family. Oh yes... and that kitchen reno really must end. I'll be blogging this crazy Summer. 

Fun fact: In 2002 a much younger Stacey & Joel traveled to Montreal on their first trip together. 

The Kitchen Progress

So remember that post way back in the fall when I posted a picture of a kitchen reno in progress? Well here's a little before and after of that project.

The kitchen side one, when we moved into the house

The Kitchen side one, all finished!

Stuff we did:

• New Brazilian cherry hardwood floor to match the rest of the house went in just before we moved into the house.
• Joel installed the new Kenmore Elite convection double ovens to replace the 1963 Chambers double ovens. 
• The hardwood drawer fronts and cupboard doors were sanded down, primed and painted with a paint sprayer (about 5-6 coats)
• The whole frame around the cupboards had to be rebuilt to hold the new butcher block
• The butcher block was custom made here in Marin and installed (it weighs a ton!)
• Oiled bronze pulls were ordered from Lee Valley - gotta support our favourite Canadian hardware!
• Benjamin Moore chalkboard paint in that deep warm grey was used on flat areas around the back of the kitchen island and up the side of the oven cupboard area.