Loulou's views

Please, pay no attention to the dirty stroller. This stroller has been around the block a few times, and has been to various cities and countries, from Bahamas, to Florida, to Toronto and Washington, D.C. But - please pay close attention to my little baby boy, holding a really amazing pair of Manolo's. Yes. My little boy has excellent taste in shoes. Paired with his love for the colour blue, he saw these shoes, held them in his little hands, looked up at his mommy and said: "Buy?" Oh, sweetie! If only I had an extra $1000 in my wallet that day at Neiman Marcus... I would have loved to buy these shoes, because I love making you happy. And when you're happy, I'm happy, right? Sigh. One day, my little boy is going to be make a wonderful boyfriend, don't you think? He's the next... Mr. Big! P.S. Aren't these THE SHOES?

Mommy guilt. We all experience it. For some moms, like myself, it can be overwhelming at times. I feel guilty when I'm out having a good time without my children. I refuse to go on any tropical vacation without my children - I can't imagine being somewhere sunny, lounging around a pool, without my kids there. If I saw other children having fun, and my kids weren't there? I'd break down in tears. I have mommy guilt when I take my youngest son to the park without my oldest son. I feel like my other child is missing out on the fun, even though he may be having his own fun at a birthday party, or swimming, or whatever. A few days ago, I took the boys to see the ice sculptures at Winterlude, even though I knew that after a full and fun day for our 4 year old - swimming lessons, lunch at his grandparent's house, and playing with his cousins all afternoon - going to see the ice sculptures at 4 p.m. was not the best idea, because he'd probably fall asleep in the car. An

Updated to add: Congrats to lucky number 7 - Hailey - you're the winner of these awesome CD's! Just email me your address! You can buy these CD's at Pottery Barn Kids . Or at Chapters and Indigo . These CD's would make a great gift for a new baby, and even Kate Hudson is a fan! Tori Spelling has The Beatles one. Nicole Richie has a few for her daughter, too. They've been featured in Vogue, Parents, In Style and People Magazine. And the best part? Rockabye Baby CD's are Lullaby renditions of some of your favourite music - from Aerosmith to Queen, to U2 and Bob Marley. Even Coldplay, The Eagles, Radiohead, and No Doubt. You'll love hearing these sweet lullabies of songs - and they are a great way to get your little one drifting off to sleep peacefully, too! Rockabye Baby has given me two CD's of Lullaby Renditions of Aerosmith and Queen to give away to one of my lucky readers! To win these CD's, just leave me a comment telling me what your favourite

I just could not help myself. This picture? Was way too cute not to take. Even though yes, my 2 year old is having a complete melt-down in the car, and crying so much that he spit out his granola bar... What prompted these tears, you ask? Nothing more than the... car wash . Yup. The good 'ole car wash scared the crap out of my son, and he couldn't stop crying. Of course, being the good mother that I am, I saw this as a perfect opportunity to snap a picture of him because, well, he looks so darn cute with tears streaming down his face! My poor little darling...

Before I became a mom, I was clueless about how my life would change once my baby was born. I wasn't sure what I needed. I wasn't sure what I wouldn't need. I wasn't sure how to burp my baby, or how to hold my baby, or, let alone, how to hold my baby and vacuum with the other hand . I didn't know how little sleep I'd get, or how my stomach would look for weeks (months, years) after giving birth. I didn't think I'd ever pee myself as I changed my newborn baby's diaper. I didn't know I'd have no idea what the hell to wear those first few days after having my baby. Well, with time, you learn. You do your kegals. And eventually, you sort of become an expert in motherhood. Of course, everyday is still an adventure, everyday, a challenge. And, everyday, there will be the happy, proud 'heart is about to burst' moments, and there will also be the moments you feel like ripping your hair out, the times you want to cry out in frustration, su

I'm lucky to have my mom (and my grandmother and in-laws) take care of my children when I'm at work. While I get dressed up and go to work in a nice building downtown, my mom and in-laws (on different days) come over to take care of my boys. Although my mom is a full-time artist , she has put her career on the back-burner for my children. It is really awesome to see the relationship between my children and my mom - they are very close. My mom is a great grandmother, and most of all, she's hilarious . She always makes me laugh. One of the highlights of having her babysit my boys is getting really detailed emails from her everyday. Like how many times my boys have gone poo. And the exact amount of food they've consumed. (Dimitry ate 4 spoonfuls of soup! Christos had 3 bites of his hamburger!) And although she has a blast with my boys, I know she also really looks forward to me picking up my boys at the end of the day! For your reading pleasure, here is a look at some of

Although I was born in Canada and have lived in Ottawa most of my life, I lived in Greece when I was a toddler, for over one year. I don't remember much about living in Greece, but my family and I would spend our summer vacations in Greece, every two years, so it certainly feels like my second home. It's where my roots are. My parents were born in Greece, and my husband's parents, too. Greece is a breathtakingly beautiful country, rich in history and culture. You really have to experience it yourself–to see the marvel that it is. I remember the first time I went to Santorini, I was amazed. I never believed an island so stunning actually existed. I thought all the postcards I had seen were fabricated, not real. But it is real, and it feels heavenly to be there. Most hotels in Santorini are build off the side of a mountain. When you're in Santorini, you do a lot of walking up and down uneven steps, in the heat, but it's well worth it. There is nothing like w

3 years ago today, on a cold day in February, I started my blog. My baby was 18 months old, at the time. He is now 4 and a half years old, and his baby brother just turned 2 years old. 3 years ago today, I started blogging because there was always something I needed to say, something I just had to write down. Before I started blogging, I would send my friends a dozen emails a day, to discuss the latest news from around the world, to vent about Canadian politics, and to get conversations going about our legal system. I'd complain about the weather, talk about Britney's latest mishap, and analyze why Jessica and Nick broke up. I would also, of course, send out dozens of emails about each new milestone my baby would reach, always attaching pictures of him for them to 'ooh' and 'ahh' over. As a new mom, I wanted to talk about my child all the time . And of course, if you happened to be a friend of mine who also had a busy, full-time job, getting emails about the c