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. 

Easter in the Sun

How We Travel With Littles

Disclaimer: I'm not a child travel expert. I've been at this for just three years and I only have two kids. We have survived more than 20 flights ranging from 19 hours to little 2 hour hops. And we've done a myriad of road trips varying in length from 4 to 10 hours. 

What's the best time to take a first trip with my baby?

That depends on a few factors. The first being the healing time you need port-birth. If you're up and walking and carrying your baby for long walks and feeling emotionally stable, you can probably tackle a little trip. For some mothers that's at two weeks and others that's at eight, ten...twelve. Don't compare yourself to anyone else and for god's sake don't let anyone bully you into buying plane tickets before your baby is born.

The other factor is the biggest wild card: your baby. Is your baby very sensitive? You won't know till they make their appearance. A very sensitive baby might hate every single detail of travel from the smells to the din of the airport. Also if you little one is suffering from colic or any intestinal upset common in the first 12 weeks you'll have yours hands full enough at home. A trip might not be very fun for anyone involved.

So my answer? Travel when you and your baby are feeling stable, healthy and happy. For me that was at six weeks. I was comfortable with baby-wearing, nursing in public and my baby could sleep through a train wreck or a concert and be well rested. I call that plain old luck.

Welcome Baby!

We celebrated the holidays with itty bitty feet, hands and cooing newborn baby smiles. C is here!

Little Brother's First Road Trip

We decided to venture out on our first road trip when Caelen was three weeks old. We spent a night in Fresno with friends and then continued to LA where we spent a couple of days celebrating New Years with more friends there. Then we drove up to Carmel and spent a couple of nights just the four of us before cruising back home.

The kids did amazingly well in the car. Both boys are excellent car sleepers at the moment and we chose our hotel in Carmel very well. We had everything we needed. Austen, now nearly 3 years old, was happy to cruise around Carmel on his scooter. No need to pack a stroller for him.

And now some pictures I took preparing for the beautiful new years day party our dear friends threw. As always, I don't post pictures of people but they are available to friends and family on Flickr. Just drop me a line for a link to the private album of these party pictures.

Stacey and Joel: six years, three international moves and a baby | @offbeathome

Two years after it published I stumbled on an this article about us on Offbeat Home & Life. I'm tickled that they used it. And it's no surprise to our blog followers that we moved yet again in the past two years.
Stacey and Joel: six years, three international moves and a baby | @offbeathome

Halloween in a new scene

Let me be completely honest. I've never been much of a fan of Halloween. As a kid I enjoyed dressing up and going door-to-door. My mother made some pretty elaborate home-made costumes and I liked the costumes parades. As I got older I didn't find another part of the tradition to get excited about. Everywhere we lived, once you were old enough to to roam without supervision it was a celebration of playing tricks and more importantly, destruction. It was the day homeowners didn't want to leave their home in the evening because they wanted to be able to call the fire department if someone set their garden on fire. Fireworks and firecrackers whizzed down every street. Some kid always blew their hand off trying to make a mega bomb out of the various fireworks materials and there was often some sordid tale in the newspaper the next day of a cat or dog being killed. Teenagers with baseball bats would be driving up and down our road bashing all the mailboxes off their posts. The day after halloween looked like a post apocalyptic world. Jack-o-lanterns's had been kicked to pulp, burned bushes smoldered to ashes and police tape fluttered over the former windows of whichever store had suffered the worst vandalism.

Now I have my own kids I'm trying to reclaim the fun parts of Halloween for them. This year we decided to venture out in Fairfax with our 2 1/2 year old son. I'd already driven through town a few times during the day and felt this vibe of anticipation and excitement in the air. As we cruised into town that night we observed that every human and pet of every age was in costume. We'd missed the parade this year due to a long nap but it appeared to us that the parade had spilled into every corner. My mother commented that it was more like Mardi Gras than Halloween. The park was lit up and decorated with hay bales and all the restaurants and bars were filled with patrons in full regalia. A main residential street was shut down to traffic allowing all the trick-or-treaters to walk safely from house to house and it wasn't just tiny kids, all ages seemed to participate. The town hall had collected candy in the week before Halloween to help the residents on this street keep up with the volume of trick-or-treaters. Teenagers were out with their friends and their families participating and engaging. It was entirely a different planet from what I was used to. And what a nice surprise. Fairfax, you just might have turned me into a fan of Halloween.