From Ontario

Dear Diary,

This post has been in the making for a week now, I just haven't time to post it. Sorry, no photos, the camera isn't downloading for some reason.

Isla and I arrived in Ontario late last Wednesday evening. She was really good on the flight. We booked her a seat in order for me to have a free hand now and again. She sat in her carseat most of the time and she even slept a bit but not much. Colin is still in Denver and will be arriving here next week Friday before heading back to the UK for a month or two. Isla and I may join him, we're not sure yet.

We've been busy though. I'm trying to arrange OHIP (Ontario Health Insurance), Canadian citizenship and a Canadain passport for Isla and I've run into the bureaucracy wall. I hate doing this!

We're not sure how long we'll be in Ontario but I wanted to try to get her OHIP so she can visit the doctor and get up to date on her vaccinations. Her last visit was in May in Larne for her three month vaccinations so she is missing her four month vaccinations. Legally, you have to be a resident of Ontario and be resident for three months before qualifying (including myself), which I think is unfair for Canadians but I'm getting off topic. We will probaby be here shorter than that but you never know and I wanted to get the process started just in case. Before I can register her, I need to prove her resident legality here ie. either Canadian passport or Canadian citizenship, which meant I first have to apply for her citizenship. BUT here is the clencher, once you apply for that it takes THREE MONTHS before they OPEN the envelope with our application. Gotta love the government, eh?!? Once opened, it takes another SEVEN months to process the application. It's ridiculous but if I write them a letter and explain her situation, they may speed it up. Hopefully she'll have her citizenship card by her first birthday in February but right now that doesn't look likely.

Once they open the envelope with her application they will send out an acknowledgement letter to us and then we can apply for OHIP and her Canadian passport. In the case of OHIP, hopefully the three month waiting period from the date of our arrival in Ontario will be up when we go to apply and she'll qualify right away. In the meantime, both of us have to obtain "waiting period" medical insurance.

Before I send off her Canadian citizenship application I had to get her British passport, birth certificate and ID (medical card - what else does a 6-month have as ID?) certified and I had to get her photo taken (passport sized). We did that this morning and tomorrow the application will be mailed away to Nova Scotia where they do the processing. Please pray it is quickly processed.

The delay in getting her vaccinations is one of the reasons we may go back to the UK with Colin - just so she can visit the doctor and get her vaccinations updated. To tell you the truth, I am not looking forward to packing up the suitcases AGAIN and flying with her AGAIN but it's important and as a family, we've been separated enough, we need to be together. If we go, it will be her fourth airplane ride. That's alot of airmiles for a little baby!

Colin is legally obligated to leave the States next week. He can only stay for three months and he can only apply for the business visa from the UK, he can't do it from Canada. He will need to attend an interview and if it is issued it will be issued for up to 6 months. We will still need to apply for the H1 visa in April (that is the only time they accept applications) which means we may have to apply for another business visa to cover the gap. I, as a Canadian, can stay in the States for up to 6 months but Isla, visiting with a British passport, can only stay for 3 months under the Visa Waiver program agreement. That is the reason we need to get her a Canadian passport but it sounds like it will take a while. I guess we'll worry about that later but in the meantime, we'll try to get her a Canadian passport as soon as possible.

But I've been doing more than just making applications, I've also been picking through our boxes. Our shipment of stuff arrived at the house on Monday and I had to get some stuff out of it. It was nice to see our belongings again and put some of our photos on the wall! I was able to get the cats their mutilated scratching post out for them to use (they refuse to use the new one I bought) and Isla has her bed back - no more sleeping in the pack 'n play!

While we were in Denver, Mom and Dad have been looking after the cats and I was excited to see my girls again when we arrived last week. Typical of cats, they didn't miss me at all or at least that's how it appeared. They were very taken care of so maybe that's why.

Pearl in the meantime, has a boyfriend, Mom's cat Ziggy. It's so cute, he follows her everywhere she goes. He doesn't bother too much with Dixie (probably because she just ignores him) but he and Pearl are always together. For some reason they both like the same sleeping spots too. Anyways, where Pearl is, Ziggy isn't far behind.

That's it for now, you're all up-to-date. The last thing I should mention is that I feel like I'm back in N. Ireland!! Yeah, it's been cool, no higher than 25 degrees and wet, very wet . So many people have flooded basements but we've been lucky, we've been dry.

'Til next time (and hopefully some photos),

Heather, Colin & Isla