Fourteen days until we leave. Did you know that in French quinze jours means a fortnight but it actually translates as 15 days, not 14 days so really it's more than a fortnight? We're leaving in a fortnight, not in quinze jours, just to get it right. Don't want to be thinking quinze jours and then suddenly realise the plane departed the day before!
So, what's happening two weeks before departure? Nothing much. A few parties here, work there. And packing in between! And with T minus 14 days to go, it's all systems go in the getting-rid-of-junk arena. Isn't moving the best time to throw out junk, stuff, things you haven't seen in a decade, let alone used? My advice, though, is to do it when the 4-year-old boy isn't around so as to avoid tears and cries of 'But I still use those soft felt fruit and vegetables that I didn't know I had and had forgotten were there at the bottom of the tub of other cooking things that I hardly play with anymore! Look, I'm playing with them now so you can't get rid of them, even if you're giving them to a friend who's 1 and perfect for them!'.
Speaking of toys and things for the pre-schooler, it's getting to crunch time with packing up these things and so I've been slowly and surreptitiously putting things into plastic boxes and back on the shelves so they're still there and accessible but ready to be stacked in storage when it's time to go. Our baggage allowance is one suitcase of 23kg and one hand luggage bag of 7kg each to travel with and I intend to keep it to that! So things that we're taking are coming out of their packaging and being put into plastic ziplock bags to reduce their overall weight. Don't look at me like that...I know it's bad, really bad, for the environment, but I have no choice. I will not ship stuff over when we're only going to be there for 6 months. I will have 7kg of pure hand luggage, no trimmings!
The other thing I've been doing is making a folder with plastic sleeves (yes, more plastic...so sue me!) in which we're putting pictures of all the things Austin does here in Australia and decorating the pages with photos of people he knows and drawings that remind him of them. I read about it somewhere as advice for relocating with a young family to help introduce your child to their new teachers and friends, and I thought it was a great idea for Austin, especially as he's been asking what will happen if he forgets his friends or if they don't remember him when he gets back. We're planning on making one in Montreal to bring back and show his daycare friends and teachers next year. We've also been looking at some of the places we're going to go while we're in Montreal so that it's a little bit familiar before we get there.
If you have any other ideas or advice about moving to another country with a young family, please comment below!
So, what's happening two weeks before departure? Nothing much. A few parties here, work there. And packing in between! And with T minus 14 days to go, it's all systems go in the getting-rid-of-junk arena. Isn't moving the best time to throw out junk, stuff, things you haven't seen in a decade, let alone used? My advice, though, is to do it when the 4-year-old boy isn't around so as to avoid tears and cries of 'But I still use those soft felt fruit and vegetables that I didn't know I had and had forgotten were there at the bottom of the tub of other cooking things that I hardly play with anymore! Look, I'm playing with them now so you can't get rid of them, even if you're giving them to a friend who's 1 and perfect for them!'.
Speaking of toys and things for the pre-schooler, it's getting to crunch time with packing up these things and so I've been slowly and surreptitiously putting things into plastic boxes and back on the shelves so they're still there and accessible but ready to be stacked in storage when it's time to go. Our baggage allowance is one suitcase of 23kg and one hand luggage bag of 7kg each to travel with and I intend to keep it to that! So things that we're taking are coming out of their packaging and being put into plastic ziplock bags to reduce their overall weight. Don't look at me like that...I know it's bad, really bad, for the environment, but I have no choice. I will not ship stuff over when we're only going to be there for 6 months. I will have 7kg of pure hand luggage, no trimmings!
The other thing I've been doing is making a folder with plastic sleeves (yes, more plastic...so sue me!) in which we're putting pictures of all the things Austin does here in Australia and decorating the pages with photos of people he knows and drawings that remind him of them. I read about it somewhere as advice for relocating with a young family to help introduce your child to their new teachers and friends, and I thought it was a great idea for Austin, especially as he's been asking what will happen if he forgets his friends or if they don't remember him when he gets back. We're planning on making one in Montreal to bring back and show his daycare friends and teachers next year. We've also been looking at some of the places we're going to go while we're in Montreal so that it's a little bit familiar before we get there.
If you have any other ideas or advice about moving to another country with a young family, please comment below!