Nearly April!!!

So much has happened since my last post. We are still waiting on our medical requests which seem to be taking forever. I emailed the Canadian High Commission to ask if I needed to send in updated passports or to just wait and see if our documents were successful. They emailed the next day (mega quick!!) to say no updates were needed and that our file would shortly be reviewed by an immigration officer....at least they know we exist!!
In the meantime we decided that we could still move in July as planned. Canada will allow us in for 6 months provided we have a return flight and we could still ship the furniture over and pay the import duty. The school would allow the youngest to attend provided we got PR within the year. My pal Amanda did this so I know its doable. So all that we needed was somewhere to live......
So within 2 weeks we put offers on 2 houses mainly to test the market. Our realtor has been great, he's videoed the houses and already knew exactly what we were looking for. Obviously I wouldn't recommended buying without viewing but hey needs must! The third has ticked every box although we are well overlooked at the back. Managed to get $10,000 off the asking price, all appliances in and a closing date of July 6th. Home inspection was very good and the vendors agreed to his only condition which was to have the furnace serviced as the small fan was noisy. So with finances in place and a lawyer contacted it was all done and dusted within a week!!!!
We also got 3 quotes for removals and had a letting agent round for the UK house as we've decided not to sell for a couple of years until the market picks up.
So after getting very stressed out about the lack of a medical request we are ok now and will definitely move out on July 4th!!!!!

My new blog

I decided to create another blog.......http://www.mychildhoodfood.blogspot.com/
I've got favourite recipes, many from childhood, that I didn't want to forget. In fact I'd like them to be passed down through the family. So I thought a blog was the best place to put them. I'm no amazing cook by any means so they are simple easy recipes.

What's been happening so far!

Since the last post there have been a couple things worth noting. First of all I got my Master of Arts degree in Online and Distance Education....yaaaaaay!!!!! So two years of non stop studying and researching has finally come to an end...phew! We are still waiting for the medical requests but we're ok for time still so not worrying too much...it is really stressful though! Family want to book their flights to visit us in October but have told them to hang on for the meds requests.
Eldest daughter has sent off her application to Toronto University. They are now in receipt of her transcripts so we are waiting for those to be processed and hopefully she'll be offered a place!
We're spending the next few weeks doing up the house and then putting it on the market....also have the option of renting it out which we're thinking might be the better option. Waiting on our realtor to send us some properties in the north Barrie area.
Youngest had a bit of a blip over xmas....didn't want to talk about Canada but I think she just wanted a normal xmas and that's just what we had and it was great!!! Now she's all set for moving and is pretty excited!!!
Hubby decided that due to price increases he would book the flights....yikes!!! So we're flying out on July 4th!!!!!!!!!! We've asked family not to come to the airport as its not the place to say goodbye...too public! So provided the meds arrive soon we're on track
:-)

Documents!!!!!!

Well after a lot of sweat and an odd tear of frustration we finally got all the documents together and sent them on November 11 2009!!!!!! I honestly don't know if I've provided everything they wanted....sometimes I get a sudden panic thinking I missed something out!!
So now we are waiting for the medical request. I reckon we'll hear from them in Feb as CHC have been shut over xmas and there'll be a back log to get through. Someone who applied after us has their requests but either they haven't had as many jobs as me that need checking or their immigration officer works fast!!

Catch up time!!!

Wow I can't believe its been soooo long since I posted on here. Time to recap......

The trip to Ontario in October was fantastic. We had a really good flight....thank you Air Transat. This time I took a permission letter from hubby allowing me to take the girls out of the country but the immigration officer never asked for it. When asked why we were entering Canada I told her it was to look at Toronto Uni.. she then asked eldest kid what course she wanted to study and swiftly waved us through!! Had a good drive up Airport road and popped into Sophies for a cuppa and to collect keys to a rental (the owner had posted the keys to Sophie rather than to UK). Then it was off to Thornbury to our condo...arriving there about 9pm in the rain and dark. Pulling up I found the workmen had not only removed the path but also the front door step...aaaaaargh! Never have I had to climb into a house on all fours...not a pretty sight!!

We spent the rest of the week checking out Toronto Uni...in particular Innis College which was fab. Met up with our realtor and viewed some houses. Have decided to focus on areas around two schools that we like. Also met up with Alistair in Toronto and Amanda in Blue Mountain (she'd put the clocks forward not back...sigh!!). We were also nearly killed by a flying turkey which flew across the car bonnet...only in Canada!!!

Flying back to UK was much easier this time as it felt like we'd soon be returning 'home'.

It's all go!!!

I can't believe its almost October already. It has been chaotic here over the last few weeks. Firstly there was a whirlwind trip to Rome for hubby's 50th. It was sooo hot mixed with dramatic thunderstorms. Had a great apartment within easy reach of the Vatican. The bus system was so easy but we still walked for miles and had blisters to prove it. The kids were great...not one whinge even from the youngest one! We checked out the Colosseum, the Pantheon, the Basilica, the Sistine Chapel (boy that was the longest walk ever!!!), we ate ice cream beside fountains and ate pasta in small squares whilst being serenaded. We bought delicate cakes which were as good as they looked, had coffee that could have stripped walls and drank great wine that was cheap as chips. The flights were a doddle although the airport facilities smacked of Greece 1988!
Then it was eldest ones turn to leave home and head of to Northumbria University. He seems to have settled in really well and is loving it....really proud of him! He texted yesterday to say he'd done his first clothes wash...didn't mention if he'd dried them though lol!! So the house is a bit different without him but we're all coping well :)
On the document front....one of my employers has lost my employment record...I've a good mind to name and shame them!!! Luckily I have some evidence in the form of P45/60's and a few payslips. I'm also not too dependant on them, its my other employer who really counts. On Saturday they sent me everything I needed...copies of contracts, job descriptions and a covering letter stating that they could confirm that I had carried out the job criteria for NOC code 4131 which is a huge bonus!!!! The Police checks have also arrived back...obviously nice and clear lol!!
And finally yesterday I submitted my final ECA for the MAODE!! So that's hopefully the end of two years of studying....just need 40% for the ECA to pass overall and the results will be out in December. Open University have just sent me my next group of students which will be my last before moving to Canada :( I'll spend next week doing the last of the photocopying and waiting for the last employment reference and then hopefully we can send it all off a month earlier than requested.
Now I'm planning for quite a few trips over the next few weeks. Middle daughter has a geography trip to the Lake District on Wednesday, youngest is off on a trip with the school to London...she's seeing the London Eye, 10 Downing St, the Lion King musical and a whole lot more. Then the three of us are off to Canada for 10 days!! Once back the middle one is off to Scotland on a Geology trip! She has now decided to do her degree in Cinema Studies (film) instead of Geology. She'll still study at St George Campus in Toronto though.
So I reckon that's about everything for now......

Busy, busy, busy!

I have no idea where July went. Hubby has been at home for the last couple of weeks (his actual booked holiday!!) so we have been having a clear out. I cannot believe how much we hoard. I've ran out of the times he's take stuff to the skip but you can now fit the cars into the garage...yay!! I have gone through every bit of the paperwork that we have kept in files and boxes....most useless but some crucial for immigration. The spare room is now fab...just as well as hubby's sister arrives the day after tomorrow! And the playroom is clear enough for the kids to play on the pool table. All the guttering has been washed and I've painted the back door. We have someone coming to view the house in a couple of weeks who's desperate for a large bungalow he can blitz.....but I know there's every chance he may not like it or it may be too pricey!
On the documents front....we've found all our education certificates... hubby's were in his safe place but he couldn't remember where that was, turns out it was a cupboard at the back of the garage...where else!! We'veboth ordered sealed transcripts from our Universities (7-10 working days), I've contacted all my past employers so can now send off reference requests and we've just sent off to renew the 10 year old's passport as it runs out next March and I don't want to have to land before then!! I've got my mother trying to work out where I've lived since 18....couple of hazy years where I'm not too sure of exact addresses and dates but she's pretty good at that sort of thing. Hubby is sorting out the police checks as we speak or as I type. That leaves the forms to fill in...ta for the advice on that David (Sadshirt)... and a cover letter to explain how I've calculated the points. I'm soooo pleased I started looking for all the documents months ago...hubby scanned them and has now printed them all off and they are safe in a file awaiting their next move. I thought collecting up all the documents would be my worst nightmare but I've actually really enjoyed doing it...having 120 days has helped ease any pressure mind!
Eldest has been feeling a bit overwhelmed by the sudden increase in activity regarding the move. He's not too sure Canada is for him and was a bit worried that he'd move there after Uni and not have any friends. We've reassured him that no-one is going to make him do anything he doesn't want to do and if he decides to stay on in UK then we'll back his decision but for now we want him to just enjoy the adventure of being at University. All of us being scattered globally isn't what we'd envisaged at the start of this move but we'll make the best of it and its only temporary :)