Meeting Toronto and The Goddards

No need to mention how excited and nervous I was when we landed in Toronto saturday night (and it wasn't because of the plane) ! I was just hoping for things not to be akward and to go smoothly. Right as I landed, Nicole texted me to ask if I was there. She said that her, Dylan and Kennedy (which are the two youngest ones) where on their way to come meet me. So I answered that I had in fact, just landed and that they could wait for me at arrivals. She sent me a short description of what they were wearing and told me they'd be near Tim Hortons at arrivals. So I grabbed my luggage and made my way up to go find them.

I had a warm welcome with hugs and kisses and after introducing ourselves, we made our way to the parking lot to hop in the van and head "home". Curtis and Brian were at a Maple Leafs game so I was going to meet them later. On our way to the house, which was about a 20 minutes drive, Nicole and I chated about nothing and everything and she mentionned that the kids all had a hockey game today (sunday). So she showed me around on our way there and told me that the van would be my vehicule (on weekdays) to bring the kids to and back from their practices and games (if her and Brian weren't able to make it) but she said that their hockey schedules were all on the home computer and that it was quite easy to figure out where we had to be and when.

We finally pulled into the drive way and I recognized the house from the videos she had sent me earlier that week. We made our way in and I felt like I had already been there. Dylan and Kennedy went  up to put their Pj's while Nicole and I went down to my room in the basement. She showed me where everything was and gave me the internet access password. My room was beautiful. I had saw it on a picture but it was even better. I had a nice desk and closet, a phone and a big flat screen Tv in front of my bed. Plus, I had my very own washroom. And the walls were brown :) LOVED it !

 

She showed me around the rest of the house. Dylan has a Guinea Pig and Curtis a lizard. I told Nicole I wasn't too familiar with them but she said I wouldn't have to deal with them which was why they were in the boys rooms. They took care of their own pets, fed them and cleaned them. But I didn't mind taking them just to try. She showed me where the three bathrooms were and repeated to make myself at home. After the kids went to bed, she served me a glass of wine and toasted to our new living experience. Nicole was very nice and easy going like I thought she would be. The boys got home around 11:30pm so we shaked hands and chatted a while with Brian. We went to bed around midnight and Nicole said to be in no rush to get up in the morning since their games were all in the afternoon and sunday was usually their lazy day. So I went to bed with a very good feeling about my stay here until Christmas.

Sunday morning I woke up around 8am. I got up, took a shower, made my bed and went up. Kennedy, Dylan and Brian were up but Nicole and Curtis were still in bed. I made myself a toast and sat with them to watch tv. The three kids had a game but Dylan's was earlier and he had to leave before because it was at a further arena. As for Kennedy and Curtis, they were both playing at the same arena which has two skating rinks. Kennedy was getting on for her game at 12 and Curtis on the other rink at 12:30. So around 11am, we hopped in the van so Nicole could show me around a bit before we went to the arenas. We went to the bank and around town a little and then headed to go to the games.

Curtis knows his way around the arenas and doesn't need any help so me and nicole went with Kennedy when we arrived. She is quite mature for her age and she got all dressed up on her own. Even I probably wouldn't know where to place what equipment !!! The only things she needs help with is her skates and her helmet. Her game was really fun and cute to watch. She is with the White Dragons in the timbits league (an all girls team) and her team members are ages 4 to 6. They seperate them in three categories and switch the line ups every two minutes. We have the cherries, the bananas and the stronger girls which are the apples. Kennedy is a banana and she did quite well ! I have to admit it becomes kind of long since they are quite young and there isn't much action but at least the periods are only 10 minutes each ! And it is really cute to see them going :)

Dylan and Curtis both play for the Oakville Rangers but in different teams. Nicole and Brian were updating theirselves on the games by texting so by 12:30 when Curtis got on the ice, we knew Dylan was done and he had tied his game and played very well. Curtis's game was definitely awesome to watch. Lots of action and excitment. They won 5-2 and Curtis played quite good also. At the arena, I met the Jackman's (friends of the family) who also have kids who play hockey. They introduced theirselves and told me we were going to get to know each other alote either in arenas or at their house for Dinners once in a while. They seemed really fun and nice. Nicole's parents also came down to watch the game and afterwards, they came over to the house for a bit.

After they left, Nicole and I went over to this Italian bakery not too far from their place which is called "The monastery bakery & Deli". I was in heaven and I thought "She should of never shown me this place"... at least not before a few days before my departure ! All sorts of fresh bread, desserts, cheese, meat, salads, ETC. ETC. ETC. !!! Oh my.... Anyhow... We grabbed a fresh loaf of bread and a couple of other things and went home and had lunch. Afterwards, the kids went to play outside and me and Nicole went around to see where all the things for school were (bags, lunch bags, food for lunches, etc.) and she showed me how the schedule for the hockey games and practices works. We chated a bit in the living room and watched tv for a while. We had lunch pretty late so we didn't plan much for diner. Anyways Nicole had to go to this birthday party with Kennedy at 6pm so Brian and I just sat down and played Wii a bit with Curtis and Dylan.

When the girls came back, we all had a piece of pie from the bakery and watched tv a little but we all went to bed early since the coming day was monday. At 9:30 I was in bed and ready to go !!! I had called my mom and then Jean-François earlier and had a good chat with both of them. They were happy to know everything was going good. As I layed in bed falling asleep, I thought "This was a good first day in Oakville".

This morning I got up when my alarm went off at 7am. I got ready and went up. Nicole was up but no one else yet, so I started the lunch boxes. They were all off to school this morning. They got up one after the other so I gave them their breakfast and chated with them. Dylan was the last to get up and Nicole had mentionned he had trouble getting up and always wanted a bit of tv time and breakfast upstairs. She had left around 7:45 and Brian was at home so he took care of bringing Dylan his raisin toast and I finished up the school bags. At 8am, everything goes off (Tv, games, etc.) so they can get ready. So I sent Curtis and Kennedy to get dressed, comb their hair and brush their teeth and Brian told me he was looking forward to spending time with them as it was his last day home before his week out west so he'd take care of getting them ready for the rest of it. When it came time to go, Kennedy didn't wanna leave. She was crying and saying she didn't want to go to school so me and Brian talked her into it and finally left, a little back on time. The boys had already went out the door to be sure they wouldn't miss their bus. We walked Kenny over to school and she called her mom on our way there so that helped too ! Brian said she was usually the easy one in the morning but he figured it was the cold she was catching with a mix of "I don't want my dad to leave tonight" and of "I don't know Lyne enough yet" that caused her breakdown !

But the rest of the day went amazing. I cleaned the kitchen and living room, did the dishes and emptied the dish washer. Brian likes to do stuff around the house when he is home so he raked the leafs and did a few things outside while I was passing the broom. We then went out to walmart and the grocerie store to get some things we needed and to show me around a little more. The day was fun. At 3pm we left walking to go get Kennedy at school and came back. Around 4:30 I put the chicken and potatoes in the oven an sliced up the veggies. I also prepared a plate of carrotts and cucumber for the kids to have as a snack when they got home. Nicole had mentionned it was an easy way to get them to have their veggie portion for supper cause they didn't always finish what you'd give them in their plates. The boys played hockey downstairs with Brian while I finished supper. Kennedy on her side was having fun dressing up and coming down to show me her dresses and costumes. She invited me to a concert that was going to be held later that night in the living room ! She is so cute. She already had her ballet costume and Tutu on !

We had supper and the kids really liked it. I cleaned up and made a plate for Nicole for when she'd get home and I headed downstairs to have a quick chat with my boyfriend on facebook :) When Nicole got home we went threw the homework routine but I only watched from the living room cause only Curtis had homework and Brian did it with him. The children went to bed around 8:30 and Nicole left to go bring Brian at the airport. I prepared the stuff for the morning and went down to take my shower. When Nicole came back, we had a good chat and headed to bed ! She is going to get up in the morning for Dylan's 6am practice and I will take care of the rest. They should be back at the house for 7:30 and she will be working from the house and going to Gymnastics with Kennedy and I tomorrow morning.

It was a great first day of work with the Goddards. I am really enjoying this. The house, the neighborhood and the family are all nice. And even though it's a money place and it's all nice houses and rich people, it's nothing compared to St-Jules and I wouldn't trade it for the world :)