Loulou's views

My little trouble makers. Such heartbreakers. They keep me smiling all day long. And they keep me busy! My boys are go-go-go all day long - it's amazing I'm not in better shape, with all the running around I do after them! Summer has been great - despite all the rainy days we have had, we have managed to go swimming a lot more than last summer, since my inlaws opened their pool this year, and my sister got a new pool in her backyard. I don't think she realized when she got a pool we were going to be there almost everyday, but she's not complaining... yet! These are the things I love about summer: Visits to the park, playing in the sand, pushing the boys on the swings, hearing their laughter in the pool, hearing Christos sing O Canada every time he gets in the pool, watching him ride his bike, hearing my boys laugh, building Lego towers, playing trucks and making 'cement', doing yard work together, helping Christos write his alphabet, teaching him how to read, lo...

I knew I had to do it, but I was scared. Scared of the unknown. Scared of the unfamiliar. I had done it before, sure, but a long time ago. In fact, the last time I did it, it was right before my first baby was born. I did it again right before my second baby was born. There really wasn't a need, you see, for me to do it after that. And when you don't do something on a regular basis, you tend to forget how to do it right, you know? But... I did it tonight. I ventured downstairs, and started to panic, but I was determined to do it. How hard could it be, after all? I soon found out - it was very hard. Not easy at all! I had no idea where to start, how to position it, what the water was for, what lines to follow, and where to finish. I was swearing under my breath, mad at myself for never having listened or learned this basic life skill. What kind of a wife was I? What kind of a mother was I? I felt like a huge failure. I hated Martha Stewart. I almost burned myself. But in the en...

I was home early today, and decided I should cook dinner. For once. You know, so I can feel more 'domesticated'. Most days, I pick up the boys from either my parents house or my inlaws house after work, around 5 p.m. At which point, the boys are starving, and dinner has already been cooked. But today, since I was home, I thought I'd make chicken and potatoes in the oven. I asked for some help from my Twitter friends, and they reached out to me, offering me advice and suggestions. Then my husband came home, and, having read my tweets, said: "Please don't cook. I don't want the kitchen to become a disaster." Hey - I'm not going to argue with that. So, we took the boys to the grocery store, and bought the ingredients for spaghetti and meatsauce, as per Christos's request. Had I still wanted to cook dinner, however, let me tell you the obstacles in the way. (That took place before my husband came home to tell me that I did not, in fact, have to cook....

Yesterday, my baby had his 18 month doctor's appointment. This meant he would need his final 2 immunization needles. I hate shots days, because I hate seeing my baby go from happy and laughing to scared and crying. Of course, he is familiar with the waiting room. And as soon as we walked in, he motioned for me to leave. He started crying - first, the sad lip - oh, the sad lip - doesn't this just kill you with sadness? Then, the tears. He was out of control crying, and he hadn't even been seen by the doctor yet! We got into the examination room, and I undressed him. All the while, he was crying, and trying to get his onesie back on himself. He got weighed - 28.5 pounds. (Yay!) And then we waited a few more minutes for the doctor to arrive. I passed some time by walking in the small hallway with him, showing him a few prints that were done by my mom . Still, he continued to cry. Finally, the doctor came in. The same pediatrician who looked after my sister and I. (And someho...

For the second time in my life since becoming a mom, I spent a night away from my children. And I survived! I got in my car, along with one of my best friends, and drove 2 hours away to meet up with our other 2 best friends for a mini vacation away from our crazy, busy, hectic lives. We left the children at home, in the good and capable hands of our husbands and parents, got together, and had a terrific time. I didn't even call home that much! I had frequent updates from my mom through email, telling me that Dimitry was having a great time, was entertained downtown, ate like a champ, and fell asleep without a problem at 8:30 p.m. Christos also had a great time without me, playing with his cousins, baking muffins with my sister, and falling asleep with his father. As for my lovely friends and I - despite the fact that our mini vacation was in a rather small city, we had a fabulous time! All you need is a hotel room, some good wine, a great restaurant, and conversations that go on a...

Today, my little baby is 18 months old. My darling ray of sunshine, my beautiful, happy, smiley baby boy is 18 months old . This is extremely bittersweet to me, because I consider 18 months the end of being a 'baby'. After 18 months, I start to think of babies as toddlers, and really, I am just not ready for my 'baby' to be a toddler yet! Every day, he grows right in front of my eyes - the way he runs, the way he climbs, the amount of food he eats, the way he laughs and chases his brother around the neighbourhood, and the way he likes to play little tricks on me... the way he dances in the car to The Wheels On The Bus, the way he asks for 'cheeezzzz', the way he says 'wawa' for water, and the way he says 'no' - all these things make me painfully aware that he is growing up, and quickly. He loves swinging at the park, laughing hysterically as I push him higher and higher... playing in the sand, dancing to music, using his brother's tool box, a...

You know what helps keep a mother sane? No, not wine. Friends. Yes, friends. And this weekend, I'm going on a mini vacation, out of town, with my friends - friends I've known my entire life, friends who have been through everything with me, friends I remember teasing my hair with, dancing to Mini Pops with, friends I've cried with, friends I've laughed with. Friends who have now become moms, like me. In fact, my two best friends with children live 5 hours away from me. How sad is that? Very. These friends are my best friends . I have traveled with these awesome girls to Venezuela, Greece (multiple times), California, Florida, New York City, Toronto, Montreal... I have lived in D.C. with one of them, I have gone to University with almost all of them, and I've lived with one of them in college. We really have been through it all together. And boy, do we have stories to tell... Some of us live in Toronto now, while the rest of us remain in Ottawa. So, every year, we t...

Before I became a mom, I thought that I'd leave the hospital in my regular jeans. Then, I had my baby, and left in lulu lemons. I put my pre-pregnancy jeans in the very back of my closet. We became acquainted again many months later. When I got pregnant for the second time, the day I peed on the stick, my jeans stopped fitting me again. This did not bother me so much, as being pregnant was the only time I could eat whatever I wanted to without anyone saying anything about it. McFlurries became a staple in my diet. And, for the record - I did eat health, too. And I always took my Materna. Every single day. Before I became a mom, I was sure I would not breasfeed. Who cares what the experts had to say? I was adamant that I would not breastfeed. I didn't want to go through the pain that I kept hearing about from other moms. Then, I had my baby, and I tried breastfeeding within minutes of his birth. I loved it. Instantly, he knew what to do - as did I. It was perfection, and one o...

Would someone pass me a tissue, please? On September 3rd, I will be turning... This September 3rd, I'm going to be... Okay, I can say it. Here I go: On September 3rd of this year, I will be turning ( oh, tear... ) 33 years old. Oh God. My heart is beating madly, trying to figure out where all the years have gone... how am I so old, already? 33? That's old, people! I know it's old because I remember when my mom was 33 and I was like: "OMG, mom, that is old! 33! Wow!" And now? I'm there. 33 years old. But how can that be when I feel like I'm 20 still? I mean, I still can't cook. That well. I'm not a nikokira. (That means good housewife in Greek). But - I am a very happy and good mom to my children. For this, I am proud. And I have enjoyed every single year leading up to this 33rd. So I have a lot to happy about - a lot of great memories. But still - turning 33 is kind of like turning a page, you know? Next year, I'll be 34 and the year after that...

I may not be the perfect mom but I feel like I deserve some sort of supermom of the year award. Why? Because I actually took my boys to a birthday party all by myself this past weekend! And you know? The worry I had about having to leave 5 minutes into the party quickly left, as I saw that both of them were having fun - not clinging to my legs. Well, sometimes they were, but mostly they were playing and having fun. The birthday girl even had a clown show up. "I don't want to see the clown, mommy," Christos said to me. "Don't worry sweetie, we don't have to get too close to him - let's just sit on the couch and watch from over here," I told him. And you know what? He sat there, and watched the clown the entire time. While Dimitry was sitting nicely in my lap. No tears, no screams, no biting, no hitting! Just two very well behaved boys, who also sat side by side to eat their pizza and cake. They were so cute together! By the way, what is with children ...

A few days ago, I asked you to ask me anything you wanted - and I promised I'd be totally honest in my responses to you. I'm just really into interviews lately, for some reason, so I thought this would be a fun post! Here are the answers to your questions! Jen asked: When you were an intern at Entertainment Tonight did you ever catch a glimpse of anyone famous? Cheesy question, but I'm curious. I loved ET when I was in my 20's - and when I applied to be an intern, I never dreamed I'd be accepted! I had just returned from my internship in Washingon, D.C. so I had to beg my parents to let me go to L.A., since they were paying for everything. I went with a couple of friends who were only staying a short while. I loved being in L.A. - it was gorgeous. We actually stayed at a hostel, called Banana Bungalo, and it was horrible. We checked into the Hilton on Sunset Blvd. a few days later. I had fun at ET; was toured around, I sat in the chair Mary Hart sat in, I loved se...

I come from a family of worriers. Well, specifically, my mom worries. A lot. As do I. I've always been like this, but since I had children, it's on a whole other level. I know the only time I'll seriously be at peace is when I die. Which is pretty morbit, actually, but it's the truth. Not that it's something I look forward to. I'm just saying - I worry all the time . About everything. Health, first of all. I worry so much about this, I don't even want to talk about it. Because I'll just worry more. I do a lot of 'thought-stopping' in a day, let me tell you! Years ago, my mom, sister and I were house sitting for my uncle in Bethesda when the power all of a sudden went out. We had just gone to bed. We were on the same floor, in different rooms. "Um, what just happened?" I said. "Duh. The power went out", my rational sister replied. "Oh, my God. I think someone just cut the power. I think someone is in this house, in the la...