Sneak Peek

I have my Thailand post (it's more like a mini novel) all typed up. Just waiting on some pictures. Until then, I thought I would give the grandparents one last Christmas prezzie. I am in love with these collages. An excellent way to show off oodles of Rowan. His great grandparents bought him the most beautiful red wagon. We are talking a well made little piece of wood art here. The wheels can even be taken off and skis can be put on instead. I can't wait for James to put it together! Grandma has the little guy tonight, so I am off to wash some floors, watch the Canadian junior hockey team kick some ass, and take in some Brad Pitt (we rented Burn after Reading)

Off to Gammy's

And we are off to Gammy's today for a quick Christmas visit. I hear that someone made some chili too. God bless 'em. Can one gain five pounds in a day and a half? Well one can certainly try now can't she! And mom....Yes, you. I KNOW that you are out there lurking somewhere. The next post is probably going to be all about ME in Thailand. Not Rowan. Just prepping you. So you may want to just come back a little later on in the week. At that point, I will have lots of Christmas pictures with your little love bug. Because really Rowan is why you are here is it not? :)

Where my heart is

I have traveled the world. I have seen many beautiful places. Places that leave a lump in your throat they are just that amazing. But for me, there is one special place that all others do not hold a candle to. I didn't realize just how special it was until I left it. I didn't realize how spectacular it was until I went searching for the spectacular elsewhere. I will get back to you Halifax. I promise.

"The Sea, Once it casts its spell holds one in its net of wonder forever" - Jacques Cousteau

Sorry James!

I think our son is going to be an opera singer rather then a hockey player. I have never heard such a high pitch squeal in my entire life. And when he gets going, there's nothing stopping him. Like today, while getting ready to shovel in the bananas and oatmeal. The perfect time for an impromptu sing song and a maraca shake. And isn't he cute in orange? If Gammy is reading this, she may notice that Rowan is sporting one of the many outfits that she bought him for Christmas. I opened the bag by "mistake", and saw all these cute clothes and I just couldn't wait....I am weak Gammy, please forgive me! Five teeth...Yes Sirree Bob! One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Where does the time go?

Hello Lover.

Balenciaga Resort 2009 Collection.

Little Red Riding Pug

I'll let the videos speak for themselves.

These are a few of my favourite things

Little Odd Forest

Just got these puppies in the mail today. The owner also threw in some little goodies like stickers and teeny tiny little clothes pins that have birds on them that have now found a home in my journal.

Little Birds Handmade

Love this gal. I obsessively hoard all of her little animals. Seriously. I have I whole zoo of these furry friends in my room...er...I mean Rowan's room. I also recommend Stephanie's new book. A year of mornings. Here is my latest score...

Les Indiennes.

This bedding makes me drool. I want it. LIKE. RIGHT. NOW.

And these guys are being shipped to me this week. Here they are unfinished. Check out the pug!! They are from an etsy seller called Goose Grease.

Blow to the ego

So i am perusing Facebook the other day, and I come across this link to an application where you upload a picture of yourself and it tells you what celebrity you look like. I am pumped! I choose a photo, all the while talking to James. The conversation goes something like this:

Michelle: James check this out. I wonder what celebrity I look like.

James: Probably Isla Fisher (the hot red head from Wedding Crashers. Australian and friggin beautiful. I love my husband. Like a lot....

Michelle: Acting all aloof. Oh, that would be cool.

Michelle: What the F*CK! Slams computer shut.

James: What, what did it say?

Michelle: That my celebrity match is Tom Cruise!

Tis the season

Confession time. I love Christmas. No really. I LOVE Christmas. I just stopped waking people up 4:00 AM on Christmas morning a few years ago. I guess it's not as cute when you are in your thirties. I don't think my parents found it cute when I was ten either. My poor parents. They had so very few sleep in days....

The tree is up. It looks pretty good. We had to get an artificial tree this year. I really hate artificial trees. Probably because that is all we had growing up and the novelty of a freshly cut REAL tree hasn't worn off yet. The novelty has worn off for James a long time ago. He is an artificial tree pusher right now. He won the battle this year. Apparently pine needles are not good snacks for eight month old children. Fair enough....

Doesn't everyone have a naked woman beside their Christmas tree? Notice the lovely baby gate on the right side of the tree. That was all part of my grand design plan.

Because it is doing this outside, my little man needs to be dressed up like this. Tee hee.

Gammy's House

There are three grandmas hankering to see some Rowan pictures. Who are we kidding though, they can never get enough!

Just got back from a lovely visit at Gammy's. Where I ate entirely too much of this stuff. But it was so good I just couldn't stop shoveling it in! Many thanks to Chef Stephanie! She kept reminding me that it was healthy, so I kept on eating it. Chicken, red peppers, and spinach, oh my!

And where is Tara when I need her? I am forever behind the camera and can never manage to get a decent shot of me and the kiddo.....This is the best one from the trip. Boo hoo! It ended coming out all blurry and I have a fake smile and Rowan is getting tired of all the cheesy poses. And it really highlights the pretty stainless steel fridge more then it does us.

My little love bug in action. There is so much space for him to boogie all about at his grandparents house.

I guess he doesn't need a whole lot of room when all he wants to do is eat the chair.

Rowan has started eating carrots, squash, bananas and apples. The veggies are making his nose turn a lovely orange colour! And he is so fair skinned that he looks a little like Rudolph with a hint more tangerine...

Warmer shade of red

Winter is almost here and for me it means my hair gets a touch more burgundy and a little less copper. I am off to James' dad and stepmother's house for the weekend. They need their Rowan fix. Which means I get to sit back and take lots of pictures. Have a great weekend. Catch ya on da flip side.

The Lord of the Camera Strap

My little dude is on a mission. A mission to eat my lovely new camera strap. The velvet on the backside is particularly yummy.

Illustration 1: Rowan has spotted the camera strap. The precious is calling to him.

Illustration 2: In order to get the precious, Frodo, I mean Rowan, will need to climb Mount Doom, I mean, mommy's leg....

Illustration 3: Mommy just added this picture because she thought it was cute.

Illustration 4: So close....Just need to reach and the precious will be ALL MINE...

Illustration 5: The sweet smell of success!

Last week, I went to James' hockey game and took a few shots of my hot goalie in action. Gotta love a hockey player all dressed up in his duds...It's a Canadian thing...Or maybe just a Michelle thing. I digress...

Pictures of the tree and living room all done up for Christmas coming as soon as I have the time to clean up my house. It's a wreck at the moment...

Attack of the Octopus

Help! An octopus is stuck in my mouth, and I don't know what to do! Grandma is not coming to my rescue. Instead, she is rolling on the bathroom floor laughing and yelling at mommy to come and take a picture. The indignity!

Troublemaker

He just learned how to crawl about a month ago and he loves all things danger. Power cords are his absolute favourite. That and wicker hampers as illustrated below.

Unfortunately, with crawling comes falling. And I haven't quite got used to this yet. Case in point, Rowan took a spill for the first time a few days ago, and when he started to cry I started to bawl hysterically. James was stunned and Rowan was shocked into silence. After getting a lecture from James on how NOT to react when a child takes a tumble, Rowan fell down again five minutes later and I, like a broken record, when into hysterics mode. Folks, this was not one of my finer moments believe me. James looks at me and starts laughing. Which makes me cry harder. Now I swear, the husband, my child and my pug are all looking at me like I am nuts. Which I guess I am. Nuts. This certainly qualifies me, doesn't it?! If Lola could talk she probably would have told me to take my meds. And James, being the super smart man that he is, thought it I am sure but chose to remain silent. After the "incident", James followed Rowan around the entire night, making sure there were no spills, as mommy was in a fragile state. Seriously. Seriously. Seriously...

My Bean Burrito

Dear Bean Burrito,

I know things have been a little shaky between us since the"other" guy came along. But we won't talk about him again in this post. No, this post is entirely, completely dedicated to my Bean, my Lala, my Baba boo, my Lola.

I know we haven't done any impromptu photo sessions lately, like this one, where I try to get you to look into the camera, and I fail miserably at it every time.

As I am writing this note, you are pouting on the couch because James and I didn't take you for a ride in the car today. You are spoiled. But you are the coolest friggin dog on the planet. You snore. You grunt. You hump my leg. You spit in people's faces. You fart. You ROCK.

Hang in there queen bean. I know the "other" guy annoys you right now. He pulls your tail. He crawls after you. He steals your thunder. But I think in time you will come to be great friends. Until then, think of the good times. When you had all the glory...

xo,

Your mommy.

oh Santa Claus......

How great would this be on my bed?! I am a sucker for nice bedding. The quilt is a little spendy though, and I don't think I have been a good enough girl to get this puppy from Santa!

And this.....

One of these paintings will make it on my wall before the end of the year.

I almost killed a guy...

and his name is Stephan Howard. He is the owner of this sweet spot. I bought this beauty there a few weeks ago.

When I saw it, I asked him if he had any of the robin's egg blue Flik and Company paint left in the store, since I wanted to paint the desk. He gave me the look of death and gasped. Now - you should all know that I am not an expert antiquer, so I started to laugh asking him what was the matter. Apparently, this desk is from the 1890's and the paint is original. Apparently, this is a big deal. It also just made it's way back from a film set.....

I am thinking it is going to be my new scrapbook table for my office downstairs. I also bought these beautiful baskets to be used as storage.

So.......should i paint it?!

I'm turning Japanese ..I really think so.

I had a layover in Narita, Japan on my way to and from Thailand. I think I took more pictures at the airport then I did in Thailand. I definitely spent more money there. I am fascinated by Japanese culture, and it's definitely on my list of places to visit. I think I have seen the movie Lost in Translation at least twenty times. I dream of staying at this hotel. I visited the National Origami Museum and almost keeled over when I saw these beautiful exhibits.

I bought some animal origami to put together for Rowan's room. I'll post pictures when I am finished making them.

I also bought these....I call them Michelle and James the Japanese edition.

I'm calling this house my home.

My house is a transplant kid. A bungalow built in the 1930s that belongs on the beach along the Atlantic Ocean rather then in the heart of Toronto. Years ago this house was actually moved from the country to it's current location. I was seven months pregnant when I stepped into this house for the first time. The fire was burning in the living room. There was beautiful stained glass in old little windows all over the house. An old school claw foot tub sat in the small bathroom upstairs. Old rickety wood planks laid on the floor in the bedrooms. It wasn't the place I thought I would fall in love with. In fact, James is the one that dragged me to this house in the first place. I wanted a brand spanking new townhouse with ultra modern fixtures. James wanted a detached house with a backyard for Lola and Rowan. When we walked into this house with were both shocked by how much I fell in love with it.

There was a bidding war. In the end, we ended offering the maximum amount of money we could afford. When we were signing the papers, the previous owners said that the house had brought them luck and they wished us the best. We moved in two days before I went into labour. It's where Rowan will grow up.

I purchased some words from Timeless Treasures, as a housewarming present to myself. I haven't got all the words up yet. There is still the word "SPLASH" that needs to be hung on the bathroom wall downstairs. James and I are in a power struggle about the word "EATON" that is sitting on the fireplace. He says it distracts from his original watercolor painting that he bought in Australia (he has this picture tattooed on his chest and arm, that's how much this painting turns his crank). We'll see where it ends up.

There is nothing on TV at 4:00 AM.....

I know this because I have been waking up at around 4:00 AM every night since I returned from Thailand almost two weeks ago. And it's killing me. Not the TV part. The not sleeping part. I have always been a ten hour sleeper. Like clockwork, I would go down for the count at around nine o'clock at night. Always slept well. Then Row came along, and shook my sleep schedule to the core. Now my little one sleeps all night. And I am not. And this makes for a very cranky mama.

So , I think it's time to call my doctor and see what he recommends to get me back on track. Any suggestions from fellow insomniacs would be appreciated at this point....

Allow myself to introduce....myself....

OK....I am way behind the curve on this whole blogging thing. But since I have been a constant lurker on many a blog, I thought it was high time I get one of my own. If your here, you probably know me, so no need get into all my personal nitty griitty's.

The whole raison d'être for this little blog of mine, is to keep in touch with my eleven newest gal pals...The Thailand posse. Eleven gals that live all over the world. Eleven gals that could not be more different. Eleven gals that captured my heart and lightened my spirit. Eleven gals that came into my life exactly when I needed them to.

So here's the story, of a gal named Michelle, who just this year had her very first child, and who was in desperate need of an adventure...

First and foremost you should know, that I was not initially picked for this trip....Yes, that's right. I am not ashamed to tell you, that I got a very lovely rejection letter when I applied to the Find Yourself retreat. Not that I am bitter or anything :) But things have a way of working out it seems, and a few days after the rejection letter came and went, an e-mail from this lovely lady had me doing a happy dance. You see, I have met up with this gal before, and I felt like if I had the opportunity to spend a week with her, we could get into all sorts of great trouble together...And we did.

The lovely Amy. My roomie for the first leg of the retreat, and the gal whose rockin' clothing I stole for the whole trip.

Em and Jo journaling on the beach. What can I say? I have never met an Ozzie that I haven't fallen head over heals with. And these two lovelies didn't disappoint...

Kari. My roomie for the first and last days of the trip. She is funny. I think I am funny. In that respect we are same same (inside Thai posse joke).

I have a confession. I am more of a guy's girl. I don't cry that often. I don't much share my feelings...But I found myself babbling on and on to these girls. Telling them my secrets. They listened. They laughed. They understood. I love the quote below....So simple. So sweet. I read it and I think of all of you....

"Even if we never talk again after tonight, please remember that I am forever changed by who you are and what you meant to me" (quote from the movie Chasing Amy...)

Northern Love,

Mic