The final hours

Okay, maybe it’s not the final hours but it’s the last full day we will be here.  Tomorrow after school we will be throwing everyone in to the van and truck and heading for a little town just our side on the Rockies so that we can tackle the Rockies with a full day of daylight.  We have learned that at the new site there are no cell towers and no cell service.  This is making life interesting for me on an anxiety level.  The company office will be located near where we live which is great, however, it means that when I am on site I will be “incommincato” with the schools etc.  For this reason we have decided to splurge a little and have someone come into our home and carry a cell when the kiddos are in school.  I have also told my parents that if something happens and one of the kiddos is enroute to the hospital, their 3.5 hrs away may be more accessible than I am.

The road ahead is hit and miss as far as our travels are concerned.  For this reason we have decided to forego the use of a trailer.  We will be putting whatever we can into the back of the van, the back of the truck and the back seat of the truck…… if it doesn’t fit, it doesn’t come.  I thought this would bother me more than it is really, but having gone through it merely 5 months ago it’s just one of those things.  Better to arrive safe than not at all.

I am nervous and excited.  The lack of furniture I think will be the hardest.  We won’t have a couch or chairs even.  We will likely be sitting on the floor and standing at the counter for the first few days until we get everything sorted.  We will be bringing the beds for the kids, or at least a mattress for both the older two and James’ toddler bed because it is so compact.

To be honest I am tired of living out of boxes.  I am sure by the next move things will be quicker.  I must admit I am a big fan of space bags (though the boxes are heavy LOL)

The site sounds frustrating, which isn’t the norm for me.  There are things that I have learned from the last site that I definitely want to do better, and other things about the way information is saved.  Then there is all the dangers and issues that we need to watch for.  It makes me a bit nervous, but moreso because I am not there right now I’m sure.  I tend to be a visual person, so being there is immensely helpful when compared to just trying to visualize it.  I think that’s why I write reports so well, because I write them so that I can understand them later (pictures and all).

So this will likely be my last post until I get the interwebs sorted at our new location.  Wish us safe travels and much luck.  Will see you on the other side of them there Rockies!

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Celebrations at home….

Well today hubby received his offer for a full time position.  They are working out the finer details, but we are excited nonetheless.  We even went out for dinner at the local restaurant.  We also took a break from packing for today, mostly because we have been running ourselves so ragged that we really haven’t been eating properly, and both hubby and I woke quite dizzy.  However, having received the offer, I called up the contact we were given at the property management company, and wired her our damage deposit and first month’s rent for the only house that we have found available in the area.  This always makes me uneasy….. The company itself is not set up to receive etransfers, so I had to send it to her directly…… and now we are waiting on her to receive it and forward the receipt.  I tried to drop her a line, however, her phone is off….. this is what kills me.  It’s not that the money is a big deal (though it is, it is not the end of the world to lose it) but having a house waiting for us makes our lives so much easier.  So for tonight I will sit here and chew on my stomach just a little bit longer I guess.  We did however, luck out, being that we are travelling through an area where we previously lived, we won’t have to pay for a hotel for that night there, and friends of ours are moving and have furniture and such to get rid of, which means we may actually be able to sit on something other than the floor when we arrive!  BONUS!

Brad has told the project manager to expect us in the area the first week of February, but to be honest, I would like to pull in earlier than that.  I would like to get everything organized and sorted on the PDQ (Pretty Damn Quick) so that I can breathe again, if only for a week or so.

We also have the kiddos to transition…. and though the youngest two are not an issue, having a child with autism means having to coordinate with the high school.  We have found that this transition in the Alberta area is not difficult, the schools are very helpful, however in BC we are dealing with a totally different kettle of fish.  I really don’t want to subject my son to a psych assessment when his coding was sufficient only 5 months ago.  And I really don’t want to make waves in a new town because my commute is going to be significantly longer than here.  The whole “multi trip” experience is something that I would like to avoid.

It also looks like we may have sorted out the daycare issue, which is really good.  Though we are down to two options.  Have a friend stay with us and help us out (which I don’t mind the idea of sometimes….. but worry that we will feel impeded on) or I put the littest in the daycare down the road and work tooth and nail to find extra curricular activities for the middlest.  The eldest I am not so worried about as he will just walk in the door, wash the dishes, and then plunk his butt down in front of the video games until I get home…… We will have to see how things go.

All in all it has been a productive day off.

PS:  I must have called when she was previously on the phone because I just contacted the property management company and she has indeed received the transfer.  We officially have a house AND my husband is on salary.  If I can give anyone out there advice it would be this…… don’t let fear dictate your life, embrace and overcome the obstacles in your path because anything worthwhile requires work.

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Ah the stress and relief of it all….

Seriously, I love what we do, in fact, I adore what we do.  I take great pride in how my hubby and I work together; however, I will admit that some of the most frustrating things about moving from place to place is finding and sourcing appropriate child care.  Let’s face it, we can’t exactly hire a nanny, especially considering we really have no furniture right now, let alone the ability to say “This is your bed”, and hubby and I are both a little off about having someone strange living in our home…. add to that the prospect of having to move another body across Canada.  Seriously though….. my frustration is finding and sourcing appropriate child care in a town we have never set foot in.  What resources are available for youth, clubs?, groups? What is there?  Thank goodness that in this location we will likely have a week with my being home with the kiddos… not sure what I would do without that ability…. it’s not easy to say the least, and something that I stress about.  Brad of course appreciates the stress cause it means the rubbermaid bins get packed faster, because let’s face it, the faster we get out there the faster I can source resources.  Yes the job has it’s amazing benefits…. advantages for all but at the same time it has its stresses….. can’t wait to be there so that I can get the ball rolling.

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A family vacation and prep time for the next jobsite.

I must first apologize for the delay in posts.  After our last day on the jobsite we took a week or two of much needed r and r, packed up the family and drove 3300 miles from Castor to Little Rock Arkansas.  During this time there has been much communication with the company that we work for, and much discussion about hubby getting a contract for permanent placement.  We have also been told that there will be a position for me on the next site, and we are very nervous and just wanting to know the date we need to be there.

I’m not going to spoil the surprise by just telling you where we are ending up next, that will be posted below in a video, but it is rural as well, though not as rural as where we are now. Where we are moving has a population of 4008, and where we are now only has just over 900 (though sometimes we wonder if they counted a few of the dogs in that!)

On January 5 we returned home from our family Christmas in Arkansas and I have been searching and sourcing a place for us to live at our next location.  This is no easy task though, I must admit.  Being the part of the construction project that actually erects the turbines means we are always “late to the show” if you will, in that there are other companies that arrive well before us.  Those that build the roads, dig the holes, pour the concrete etc.  This means that typically a good portion of the housing in the area is scooped before we are even sure we are going there.  It can be a challenge, but hey, I love a good challenge.  Of course there is also the fact that we have two small dogs….. albeit very small, but they are canines nonetheless and sometimes a deal breaker when sourcing housing.  As well, having three children means that we can’t live in “camp jobs”.  Our boys have to have access to school and amenities which sometimes results in a longer commute to the jobsite….. oh, and then there’s daycare.  Always a bucket list of stuff that needs to be sourced out.  Because of this the company that we work for tries to give us as much advanced warning of the move as possible.  If we can pull in to town a week before we have to be on site it means that we have time to settle and source things, work out enrollment into school, transition our autistic son etc.

And then of course there is the packing of the house…… yes, this is going to be a big investment.  In all honesty, we are planning a “rubbermaid splurge” because if we are going to be moving constantly we need to make sure we can do so efficiently….. and cardboard boxes just don’t stand the test of time (though they are nice and compact for storage).

We also need to set up the BOB (Bug Out Box) which will encase all of hubby’s work necessities so that if he gets pulled from one site and sent to another he has all he needs in one box ready to go.

So this is where we are at….. we lived in Castor as a family for 5 months (hubby though has been here 8) by the end of January, and it looks like we will be out by February 1, with the hopes of the kiddos finishing school there.

Wish us luck.

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