Loulou's views

What won't you ever forget? I got this fabulous idea from Connie who got it from Mama Kat's blog . Mama Kat posts weekly writing assignments on her blog, and last week, the assignment was to list six true sentences that begin with the words "I'll never forget". Then, use all six of your sentences in a paragraph, poem, or a longer descriptive piece. These are the things I'll never forget... I'll never forget seeing those 2 pink lines for the first time. I'll never forget holding my baby in my arms for the first time. I'll never forget eating chicken fingers and fries after my baby was born. I'll never forget seeing those 2 pink lines for the second time. I'll never forget holding my second baby in my arms for the first time. I'll never forget eating Fettuccini Alfredo after my second baby was born. I'll never forget seeing those 2 pink lines for the first time. It was the happiest moment of my life, up to that point. I ran and told ...

Um, okay. So it's kind of weird that I'm actually upset by this, but my 3 and a half year old suddenly gave up his be-o's. (Bibila, or for those of you who don't speak Greek (teehee), Soother). We have been talking about this for a while. Like, "Christos, you should stop using your be-o's soon." "Yes, because I'm a big boy." "Exactly." Well, tonight, as I was getting my boys ready for bed, Christos says to me: "Mommy? I quit my be-o's. Dimitry can have them now." I was like... "Are you sure? You don't have to!" And I can see my husband just shaking his head at me, like, 'WHAT are you saying, woman?' So, after I read Christos a few books, I said to him that he could very well take a be-o if he wanted to. That we loved him no matter what, even if he kept taking his be-o's until he was 100 years old. Then I realized that he had fallen asleep. Just like that. On his own. With no be-o's. For t...

The lovely Connie over at Young and Relentless tagged me in the meme of 11 Questions. Here are my answers! 1. What is your current obsession? Hmm. I suppose it would be blogging, tweeting, writing. I'm also obsessed with losing weight right now - I need to get in shape ASAP! I'm also obsessed with my children! 2. Which item of clothing do you wear most often? That would be my black Martin fit Banana Republic pants. They're so practical and so comfortable. In fact, about 85% off all my pants are from BR. They fit me so well! At home, the item of clothing I wear most often are any one of my lulu's and a comfy shirt. Gotta be in comfy clothes when you spend most of your time on the floor playing! 3. What's for dinner? Just a second - let me phone my mom and ask! (Seriously, I'm lucky because 3 days a week, we often eat at my parents for dinner becuase that's where I go to pick up the kids after work. By then, it's dinnertime and we're all hungry, so...

Happy Monday everyone! Hope you all had a fabulous weekend! We had a great one - the weather was perfect, and the boys spent the majority of the weekend outside. Christos was a huge help, cutting the grass with our new lawn mower, and spreading new top soil and grass seeds on the lawn. The other big project this weekend was cleaning out our garage - no easy task - with 2 double strollers, 2 single strollers, a wagon, a toy car, a push car, 2 adult sized bicycles and um, about a million other things - it was a lot of work! But, Christos was a huge help. In fact, he worked so hard he even took a nap which is unusual for him. But clearly my hard worker bee neeeded a break! The baby and I were just in the way, so we left the house while the 'big boys' were working and did some shopping. What mommy does best! Saturday night, hubby and I took the boys for ice cream downtown - and as soon as we had our cones in hand, it started to rain. Really, really pour. So we watched for a bit, t...

Sometimes, it just sucks being at work because this is what I miss... My husband loves emailing me pictures of the boys when I'm stuck in my office! I appreciate it, though. It just makes me want the day to go by faster! So cute after his fresh haircut! And the token lollipop, of course! And here is my baby boy. Looking a little worried going through a car wash with dad. I wish I was there!

Here are my random thoughts today! A recent study by Toronto researchers has found that pregnant woman who experience severe morning sickness will have children with higher IQ's. I did not have any morning sickness with either pregnancy - the only time I felt sick was one night when my husband was making pepper steak, and I could not stand the smell of the grilled vegetables. Other than that, I was fine and ate everything in sight! Like, everything in sight . And you know what? Both my boys are really smart. I know, I know, I'm their mother, but seriously! My oldest knows his alphabet, colours, numbers, shapes and can write certain letters, and he knows his opposites really well. 'Opposite of black? White. Opposite of down? Up. Opposite of happy? Sad. Opposite of Mommy? Daddy. Opposite of Summer? Winter.' And so on. He knows how to take apart a computer, with his father's help, and can name the different parts. He knows the planets in our solor system, and can n...

Mother's Day is just around the corner, everyone! What do you want for Mother's Day? A relaxed day at home? A massage? Chocolate? Scary Mommy is giving away a seriously great Queen Bee gift basket on her blog. She just wants to know what you want for Mother's Day! Hmm... what do I want? Ideally, to instantly lose 10 pounds. That would be the best. Seriously. If that can't happen, then I'll take bacon and eggs and toast with butter, a fresh cup of coffee and a glass of OJ in the morning. And I would like to eat this breakfast actually sitting down! Then I would like a one-hour massage. And a pedicure. Oh, and to sleep more then 5 hours straight - that would be heaven! Interestingly enough, earlier this week a little catalogue came in the mail addressed to my husband. Of course, I opened it. It was the new Tiffany catalogue! I guess he got it because he has ordered online for me before. I have to say, he is just great with the gift giving. I suck, in comparison. I dro...

Last night, I was telling my son about Earth Day. "Christos, tomorrow is Earth Day." "Does that mean we have to go to church?" Seriously, my children make me laugh all day long!

HAPPY EARTH DAY! I have to say, I was never a big 'environmentalist', but since having children, my eyes have been opened to a whole new world. I am certainly still not as 'green' as I should be, but there are things I do to protect the environment and I do teach my children about the 3 R's - Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle! My oldest son even loves 'composting' when he's at my inlaws. I am looking forward to taking my oldest son to see the new Disney movie, Earth . It looks like a wonderful film and just watching the trailer makes me appreciate everything we are blessed with on this awesome planet. I know it will be an emotional movie, so go prepared - Kleenex in hand! The movie tells the story of 3 animal families and their journey through Earth. I am especially looking forward to seeing the elephants. I just hope we can convince my son, who is suddenly afraid of the 'darkness' of movie theatres, to see this with us. Bonus - if spend 75 dollars at S...

A lot of fun was had at the sugar bush last weekend. It was a gorgeous day - a bit chilly, but the sun was shining brightly! This is is a picture of my sister going down the slide with Christos. Notice her look of fear? That's because she was out of control on the slide. And I think she sort of forgot that she was actually holding Christos, because he did not do well going down this slide! Even though he is smiling in the picture - a few seconds later there were tears. And a very hurt ankle. See his foot, all the way up there? Yup, that explains it! And see how happy he is in this picture? That's because his very own excavator liscense came in the mail! Just for him! He was very proud of this, and wore it around his neck all day. ( Shh, don't say anything, but his dad made this and even put it in the mailbox for him!) And well, this picture is just too darn cute not to share! Dimitry all smiles after bath time. Easter was a lot of fun. I wrote an Easter post a little while ...

This weekend, we celebrated Easter. We had a great time with all our family. There was a lot of eating. And playing. And more playing. And more eating. A longer post with more pictures is coming, but for now - this picture pretty much says it all! The kids were exhausted when we left feast number 1 to go to my parents house for feast number 2 and they fell asleep in the car. I love this picture of them! They really were that tired.

My goal today is to write a post that doesn't involve (much) mention of my children. Before having kids, I was very opinionated about many things and on top of all the news stories of the day. I loved discussions about politics and I could always get my friends going in a heated debate about one topic or another. Once I became a mom, my world shifted - and nothing was as important anymore. The only news I cared about was news that was related to babies and children - from Thomas the Train recalls, the safest way to put a baby to sleep, and of course, BPA in baby bottles. I'm going to take 'baby steps' here, and write a bulleted post with some pieces of information about what I want to talk about today. I'm sure if I keep at it long enough, my regular 'pre-mom' brain will emerge and more interesting posts will be written! (Don't get me wrong, though - my favourite topic to write about is still my children and everything children related!) Here we go... -...

The Carnival of Play continues over at PhD in Parenting - have you written your post about play yet? Now let's take the play outside... My children are really enjoying the great outdoors. Finally, spring really has arrived! Let me just say, my boys are ecstatic with this nice weather! Especially my oldest son Christos. The snow has finally melted, and the built-in sandbox in the backyard has revealed itself again. We were able to open the shed doors in the backyard to see all the summer toys just waiting to be played with. His favourite is his real ride-on CAT excavater that he got for his birthday last year. He is a very determined (and cute!) little constuction worker. He talks to himself as he digs, and asks, under his breath, "...now what project should I do? I know! Put in these hot water pipes..." and he digs, digs, digs... sometimes his baby brother, Dimitry, will play with him. And sometimes he will do the 'wrong' thing. So Christos will say: : "Y...

After work yesterday, I met my boys and my mom at the park near her house. I got there to see my boys playing nicely together in the sand with some other children. They barely even glanced at me as I sat down beside them, in the sand. It was so nice to see them playing on such a nice spring afternoon. My 3 and a half year old even went off and started playing on his own with a 4 and a half year old girl - going up and down the slide with her and running around. I overheard him say to her: "I'm the leader," as he went down the slide first. Then she says, "Now it is my turn to be the leader." What does my son say? "No. I'm the leader again, because boys are always the leader." Of course I had to smile because that's just the funniest thing I heard that day! And then, I noticed my son bent over behind a tree. I had no idea what he was doing, and when I got closer to him, I realized that he was playing HIDE AND SEEK with his new little friend. It w...

So I have this little problem. I have a very difficult time saying 'no' to my children. And an even bigger problem I have is when my husband tries to discipline our children (by saying no) and I step in and say something like, 'it's okay, he can continue drawing on the table/throwing food across the room/yelling at the top of his lungs because I just hate when my children get upset! I know it is wrong to go against what the other parent is saying to the child - I know it is wrong, yet I continue to do this on a daily basis. Example: Husband: Son, come to the kitchen table to eat your breakfast, please. Me: No, it's okay, he can eat in the family room because he is playing so nicely. SIGH. This is very wrong, right? Or: Husband: Son, it is time for bed. I'll read you a book - which one do you want me to read to you? Me: Why don't you read him these 5 books? I know he loves these! SIGH. What is wrong with me? When we are at my inlaws, my baby loves throwing th...

To those who celebrate, I hope you had a fabulous Easter! My mind is still on vacation mode, so this post will be short and sweet. I am back to work after a 4 day long weekend - it was just wonderful to be able to be home with my children for 4 amazing days. There were moments when I was looking forward to coming back to work, and frustrated that most stores and museums were closed due to it being Easter and all, but still, we had a great time together as a family. And then on Monday, I was dreading coming back to work on Tuesday. It was hard leaving Dimitry this morning. The child is pure sunshine! We spent a lot of time was spent outside, enjoying the nicer weather, and we made it out to the sugar bush this weekend, too. We had a great time in the sunshine and enjoyed some really yummy maple syrup. We don't celebrate Easter until this weekend - Greek Orthodox Easter - and I'm looking forward to the festivities! Now I have go buy all my Easter stuff for the kids - the choco...

"Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body". (Elizabeth Stone) "The hand that rocks the cradle usually is attached to someone who isn't getting enough sleep." (John Fiebig) What do you love about being a mom? I read this post on Her Bad Mother , and it got me thinking. I always say I love being a mom, but can I list 5 things I really love about being a mom? So I thought long and hard, and here are my five reasons I love about being a mom! (And the list could go on and on and on...) I'm going to tag a few people here too, so I hope you play along! And when you post about your 5 things you love about being a mom, make sure to tag a few other mommies, as well! Once you do this, let me know, and then link back to this blog as well and leave a comment so you can be added as well. 5 reasons I love being a mom: 1. It never ceases to amaze me that I made two children. Two beaut...

I am happy to present to you... a brand new look for my blog! Yay! I love it... thanks to the very talented Nap Warden , for helping me decide on a new look. She is very talented, and so great to work with. I got the idea from Shannon , who also just re-designed her blog. I have been blogging since my first born was 18 months old! My first post was in February, 2007. My, how times flies! My first born will be turning 4 years old this summer! And baby number 2? He's almost 15 months old! So I think it was time for a new look - out with the old, in with the new! What do you think? Do you like the new Loulou? ;) (Now if only my waist was really that small!)

Sometimes, it all seems so very overwhelming . Taking care of two children under the age of 4 is no easy task! Taking care of two boys under the age of 4 is no easy task... Working full-time, and coming home at 5 p.m. to two hungry children under the age of 4 is no easy task, and finding time to clean a messy house with toys, books and sippy cups everywhere is no easy task! Finding time and the skills needed to be a good cook in the kitchen, for me, at least, is no easy task . But... at the end of the day, you have to remember how wonderful it all is,despite the mess, the tears, and the tantrums. And remember how lucky you are. I know I do. I really, really do. I feel blessed by my two children and I always smile when I think about them. They are my life and they bring me so much happiness. And the wet clothes that have been sitting in the washing machine for one too many days, well, so be it. I found this poem on McKMama's blog. It is worth sharing. Any mom can relate, I'm ...

So my poor baby Dimitry now has thrush! I noticed a couple of white spots on his mouth last week, but the Doctor said it was part of his cold. (He ended up having an ear infection, too.) Giving a 1 year old medicine is one of the hardest things to do, ever - wouldn't you agree? I'd put it right up there with trying to change the diaper of a 1 year old! I noticed the white in his mouth was getting worse so I took him back to the Doctors today. Turns out, he now has thrush. Which could be a result of his antibiotics, but regardless - it must be painful for him, because he is not drinking as much as he usually does. Or eating as much, but thankfully, he is still *eating* enough! His nights are pretty rough,though. I guess it hurts to suck on his bibila (soother) so that keeps waking him up. How sad! The one thing that normally comforts him back to sleep is keeping him up now. Anyway, the pharmacist told my husband to tell our baby 'not to swallow' the medicine we have to g...

Can you believe the weather today? It's April 6th, and it is snowing in Ottawa. Somehow, that does not really shock me. But I must say - I do not like this weather at all! Did you all have a fun weekend? What did you do? We went to my moms art show... My moms art is on the cover of these two books - the one on the left was written by her brother, who is an economist at the World Bank. It is mostly for educators, but it can still be purchased on Amazon! Cool... and the book on the right will be coming out this spring, I believe. I would eventually love to write a children's book, and use my moms art for the illustrations. And went back in time to celebrate a friend's surprise birthday party, 80's style! I think I should have teased my bangs, though, to get more of an 80's look, but it was still fun to wear those gummi bracelets again, and blue eye shadow! And of course... the music! Was, like sooo totally awesome! ;) We have been friends since birth, practically, an...

Play... it's what children do best, right? I'm writing this post as part of the PhD in Parenting Carnival of Play. My children are 3 and a half years old and 1 years old. And my gosh, do they ever love to play! I am a very hands on mom; I love to interact with my children, and get down and dirty with them. I love to teach them new things, read to them, make things out of play-doh, colour with them, run with them, laugh with them. I have vivid memories of my parents playing with me, reading to me, encouraging me when I played soccer and coming to all my dance recitals. A parent should be active in play with their child; at the same time, they should allow their child time to play alone to help foster their independence. I decided to show you all the different ways a child has fun in 'play' through pictures. Enjoy! Picking strawberries... Playing with puzzles... Creating with play-doh... Reading with a friend... Museum play... Train play... Running through the sand... Mak...

Here is a fun 'meme' I found over at Sara's blog ... do you want to play along, too? If so let me know! It's fun, but it's also a bit hard, having to think back all those years! It is also pretty scary to see how quickly time passes... 15 years ago today, I would have been: - 17 years old, and really enjoying high school; - Thinking about which University to attend; - Dating my high school sweetheart, who I eventually married! 10 years ago today, i would have been: - Graduated from University, and fast-tracking the Broadcast Journalism program at Loyalist College; - Living in Washington D.C., completing an internship with CBS Television, and loving every minute of it; - Accepting an internship with Entertainment Tonight in L.A., going for a week, and then returning home to my first 'real-job' at a local radio station doing the traffic. I still regret leaving the internship placement early. - And still in love with my soon-to-be-husband! 5 year ago today I w...

Spring in finally in the air... and after a long and cold winter, I’m sure we are all welcoming spring back into our lives with open arms. But along with all the wonderful things that come with spring (fresh, clean air, the ability to leave the house with only a light jacket, not having to hunt down those missing gloves your kids managed to lose for the hundredth time) comes the need to... well... spring clean! And this is no easy task, my friends. When starting to think about taking on the task of spring cleaning, you must be prepared! Plan ahead! And most importantly, get rid of all that clutter! You know you want to get rid of it. The first and most important step is coming to terms with the fact that all that ‘clutter’ should be tossed! What is all this clutter you have accumulated over the long winter months? Well... clutter is anything that doesn’t really have a place. So don’t delay any longer - get rid of the junk and give yourself some room to breath. Things to get rid off: ...