Loulou's views

In September, before my son started kindergarten, I panicked about how he would do in the classroom. I was nervous for him, especially because he was extremely shy with other people, because he was stubborn, because he had never gone to daycare or pre-school, and because, well, he would be on his own for the very first time. Now it is almost December, and the changes I see in him take my breath away. He spends a good part of the day, when he is home from school, singing not only the Canadian national anthem, but the Greek anthem, as well. He speaks so well for his age - and understands three different languages! The amount of words he speaks in French increase daily, and I think, at the rate he's going, he'll be able to teach me a thing or two by next year! He has grown in many ways, not only in terms of his vocabulary, or in his ability to draw better (stick men! snowmen! squares!) write letters, numbers, and his name, but also in the way he acts around other people. That is ...

Can you believe it is almost December? That is very exciting! You know why? Because Christmas is almost here! And Christmas just happens to be my favourite holiday - especially since becoming a mom. It’s so much more magical now. I get giddy with excitement for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. A tradition I have always loved has been celebrating Christmas Eve with my entire family. Every year since I can remember, we hang out at my parents house in front of the fireplace, drinking and eating appetizers, as Greeks do any day of the week, watching Christmas movies on TV and getting into heated discussions about Greek politics. And we've even had a few unexpected visitors on Christmas Eve, too, from the nice folks from the local fire department ! At 11 p.m., we get dressed and head to church for midnight mass - there is something so beautiful about this, I think, and to me, it's the true meaning of Christmas. After midnight, we go back to my parents house where we eat a huge dinn...

Every year, in the late fall, we go to the same pumpkin patch near our house. It's become a tradition, one I enjoy very much, especially because we make new memories every year, and because my boys seem to love the experience, too. Every year, we take a picture in front of the same pile of pumpkins, and I love looking back throughout the years to see how much my children have grown. The first time we went, in 2006, my oldest son was 14 months old. The next year, in 2007, I was very pregnant with baby boy number 2. I love this picture of my son and I. I totally valued the time we spent alone together before the newest member of the family came along.... I knew once my new baby was born, spending time alone with my oldest son wouldn't be as frequent an occurance. In fall 2008, the newest member of our family joined in for the traditional picture... notice he isn't wearing shoes? Yeah, some things change with the second baby, don't they? I had a tendency of leaving the ho...

Facing one's fears is never an easy thing. If you're arachnophobic , suddenly being face-to-face with a giant, eight-legged creature is never a good thing. And if you're scared of flying, (aka pteromerhanophobia ) every time the plane takes off down the runway, your heart skips a beat and your panic doesn't subside until the plane has safely landed. Another common fear that many people suffer from - acrophobia - being afraid of heights - can make someone very anxious. Having astraphobia - being afraid of thunder and lightning - can be quite scary, too. Especially if you're home alone, worried the power will go out at any moment, leaving you completely in the dark... and thinking all sorts of horrible thoughts - well, let's just say, all these fears are very real, and can be debilitating at times. I suffer from all these fears, to some extent. But there is something I fear much more than all of those 'other' fears combined together. I suffer from mysoph...

Oh, the things our children say! I never get tired of hearing my little boy, my 4 year old, talking. The conversations we have, the things he says, the way his mind works - it's totally amazing. He teaches me things. He corrects me, even. He asks questions I don't have the answers to. His mind is constantly working, constantly trying to figure things out. He is his happiest when he is 'working', and doing 'real' projects around the house. He is always inquisitive. The things he says also makes me laugh. Lately, if he sees his brother going towards one of his toys, he'll say: "I was JUST going to play that!" and take it away from him. The other day, I decided to keep him home from school, and after I told him, he says: "I was JUST thinking about not going to school today! Yay!" Or, if he really likes something, he'll say: "I just LOVE that!" Every so often, I sit down with my oldest son, and ask him a list of questions to ...