NDG House

This was our home for about a year and a half. It was a whirlwind finding this place. I tried in the months leading up to our move to Montreal to secure an apartment before we moved here but no one wanted to even talk to some family from the other side of the ocean when they had interested people right here in Montreal. We lived in a hotel for a couple weeks when we came. Then a furnished place for a month. We thought that the cumulative of those two time frames would be ample time to find a place to live that would fit us. It was not proving so.

Then, one rainy evening (seriously!), we took two very tired kiddos to one last apartment. We had come from a birthday party and were considering scrapping it. Honestly, I didn't want to look at more apartments, I just wanted to get back to our furnished place and figure out a plan B. 

Well, as it turned out, we didn't need a plan B. Thanks, in large part, to the renters who were moving out, the apartment was ours at just the right time! We had a great common ground with the previous renters as the wife was German. Since renting the place she has been a great resource on where to find things here that are the quality/similarity to products that we liked in Germany. It's been great.

The apartment was what is termed a lower duplex in Quebec. For all those in western Canada, that is a fourplex in those parts. It was located in the trendy NDG Monkland area of Montreal. While it was deemed by many to be the most suburban style living in Montreal boundaries, it was still a pretty busy area in contrast to previous places that we have lived. While we loved a lot about the area and the apartment, it just didn't seem to completely fit us. Of course, there were so many other things going on while we were living there that it was tough making sense of what fit and what didn't. We realize even more in retrospect than when we were in the situation, there were experiences we needed there to help us in other endeavours. 

I must admit, during my pregnancy, it was really easy for me to focus on the tough things of living in an old place (very uneven, loud floors, slivers from the floor, dark and old windows that leaked in cold winter air no matter how much caulking with added). That said, I developed a love for the craftsman style of the apartment and the places around us. It is so unique, real and warm. That was something we all loved.

And it was yet another reminder of the important things to a place that we live in. And though the loud floors were a serious pain in the rear when we were trying to exit a room with a sleeping baby, it certainly wasn't those things that made it a home. So, here are some things that we will remember about our time in our NDG home (with help from Jason and the kids to come up with the list and I just wrote as they listed so it is in no particular order) :

:::(side note: I tried to keep the pictures realistic and seeing that we were ramping up for a move I left the messy hallway and boxes IN the photos):::

- cooking together in our kitchen

- family movie nights in the play room on the floor with blankets, pillows and pizza

- biking in the back alley

- playing with Aoefa + Matt

- easter brunch

- Christmas!

- playing hide and seek

- gymnastics time in the playroom, somersaulting down the crib mattress to land on another mattress on the floor

-Pizza and Winnie the Pooh night 

-going to the Science centre for the first time 

-Trick or Treating together

-Valentine Day celebrations - movie etc.

-birthday celebrations

-building snow forts and slides

-watching the kids ride their bikes in the alley

-broken water tanks

-game nights

-movie nights

-Metro rides

-spice store

-the musicians that stayed with us for the symphonietta

-the kids getting bunkbeds

-BRINGING PHINNY HOME!!

-And many more!

I love the way that memories bring us together. I especially love all the good memories and laughter that we share. So precious and wonderful. Now to make some great memories in our new home. The kids have already started planning special days around here to get started! Looking forward to it.