We decided to have a birthday playdate with some of Elijah's besties - brunch, babies and broo-ha-ha. We normally play together on weekends, so it was an easy fit. I wanted to share some of the crafty details with some great maman friends.

I made an awesome cake out of a tin can, some drywall compound, a little bit of paint and some sparkles. I didn't really want to give Eli a real cake to smash or eat, but I did want a photo op and a good laugh. I made a similar cake for our rehearsal dinner in 2007. A definite inspiration from Amy Sedaris.  I had guests write wishes to Eli and tie them to the candle on the cake. I'd like to do that for his future birthdays too. The wishes were very sweet and I hope that they all come true.

I made some CD favours (an awesome assortment of non-lame kids musak), a fancy balloon wreath for the door and tasty sugar cookies. I printed some monthly photos and strung them together in a garland-like way. I made Eli head toppers for all of the different food, updated my chalk boards and finished my baby book in time to share.

We served chocolate dipped bacon, yummy pear French toast bakes, pumpkin and coconut muffins, fruit & veggies and cheerios (of course!). Each dish was graced with a party hat wearing Eli head.

We tried the ancient Zhua Zhou birthday tradition of fortune telling - Eli chose calculator and then broccoli. That prediction leaves us with a nature-loving scientist (like his daddy).

And now, in honour of the past year, I am going to treat myself to a little charm from The Vintage Pearl.

I'm happy.  I've had an entire year of sweet baby love. I'm sad that he won't be a wee little baby much longer, but I am so excited for the adventures to come. Bonne Fête Elijah! xoxo

weight. over 20 lbs or something. You have your one-year shots next week.

height. Still short enough to stay in your first carseat

eyes. big, blue and sparkly. you rub them when you are sleepy.

hair. Red in some lights. It is pretty thin and you even have a bit of a curl at the back.

feeding. Your top teeth have cut. New foods you've tried since last time - salmon, noodles, green pepper, melon, chicken, mozza and cheddar, multigrain bread, "pizza", "muffins".  You seem to like it all but still like the boob best.

sleeping. Having a wee bit of trouble napping every day, but we'll fall into a routine soon enough once you figure out the packnplay business.

things you love. banging everything together, climbing stairs, climbing up on things, the toilet, taking a bath, talking, the washer & dryer, books, walking along furniture, laughing, being upside down, playing the cowbell.

things you don’t love. being sick, falling over

other [new] awesome things you do. climbing stairs (fast!), opening doors, walking along furniture, have full "conversations" with yourself (the occasional new sound too)

xo Elijah.

My raspberry coloured Goodbyn lunchbox came and I immediately covered it with the stickers. I am excited to start some creative lunch making.

An giftcard order from chapters also came today. I ordered Eli a couple of books (in English et en français), a journal of sorts and Playful Learning. PL is pretty much a toddler activity pin board all together in a beautiful book. There isn't really anything new in there (many are teaching ideas that I already do in my classroom), but it is neat to have some concrete ideas and photos. And the cover is so yummy.

I got a new battery in my macbook pro and I can graphic design for more hours.

At Michael's I picked up some gouache paints to try, some little mini chickies, an assortment of black marker pens, some birthday things and the most amazing pen ever. One end is a marker and the other end is a glue stick. Genius!

If that wasn't enough cool, minutes after I arrived home, Aly showed up at my door with a paint palette of cupcakes. Scrumdiddlyumptious. I love that girl.

Now I am listening to some incredible new music and bursting with creativity while my two boys snore.

I will return very, very soon with proper posts about life and love and friendship and food and art. xo.

weight. over 20 lbs or something

height. Still short enough to stay in your first carseat

eyes. big, blue and sparkly. you rub them when you are sleepy.

hair. Red in some lights.

feeding. Your top teeth are so close to be cutting through. Any day now. New foods you've tried - green beans, black beans, chickpeas corn, kiwi, bagel, bran flakes, ham. You seem to like it all but still like the boob best.

sleeping. shorter naps, but longer at night. I guess I can't complain? I think I preferred it the other way. But maybe you are helping me adjust to going back to work.

things you love. banging everything together, exploring the house (especially the plants and bathroom), playing with any sort of paper you can find, talking, peek-a-boo, books, pulling books off the shelf and reading them, laughing, being upside down, playing your bells.

things you don’t love. being sick.

other [new] awesome things you do. pulling yourself up on everything, crawling (and sometimes crawling faster if I chase you), pushing a cart by walking, walking along furniture, lean in for kisses (or nose rubs), dancing (i think?), climbing stairs*

xo Elijah.

*note: For stair climbing you aren't interested to go over and try to climb them yourself... yet.

I emailed the cards to folks and they printed them out. Their instructions were to write a note to Andrea - feeling free to get creative, draw pictures, or even mail it in an envelope and attach old pictures.

I love you sis. xo.

ps. I also made her homemade macarons - now that was an adventure!

- stop using so many exclamation marks!!!
- create some delightful art journals
- learn how to use tilt-shift effect in photoshop
- plan a family vacation (with friends?)
- have a daily dance party
- re-watch every bh90210 episode, marathon style.
- write thank you notes to former teachers
- send more surprises to unsuspecting friends.
- take an online art class
- re-read some of my favourite preteen library books
- host a murder mystery party
- explore Bruce County
- leave notes in library books
- collect some pretty outside blankets
- discover new favourite bands and musicians
- PAINT

What would you like to do?

I do wish, however, that I had the instagram app. I know the app is so 2010, but I still want to jump on that bandwagon so badly. I want to become an instaslut too. But there must.be.another.way.

http://www.behance.net/gallery/Grandmother-Tips/2392946

I found this cool guy named Daniel  on the Interwebs who created Photoshop Actions to create instagram-like filters for my photos (click here! click here!). You simply download his actions and save the file in your photoshop actions folder - and they'll appear in Photoshop as an action. Choose the filter you desire and record the action. He also added a square-crop action and feathered borders. I think I'm in love with the Walden filter. Sigh.

I think the action works for Photoshop Elements too - but it is a bit more involved. These gals have a good tutorial about how to run an action in PE.

This time last year I was apprehensive of being away from my passion for an entire year. I didn't want to stop teaching. Teaching inspired me, motivated me, challenged me, excited me and brought out the best of me. It also fostered my creativity and shoved me completely out of my comfort zone. I loved the thrill of a zillion projects on the go and making lists and schedules and newsletters and mini-lessons. I also liked collaborating with teachers and modelling lessons and daily staffroom banter. I knew that I was going to miss it.

The other part of me was giddy to begin my new role as baby maman. I knew that I was going to have a year unlike any that I have had before. And I was right. It started off with a teensy little newborn in my arms and is ending with a baby zooming around the living room and talking up a storm. I couldn't have imagined today back then. In those early wintery months, I spent days on end in pjs with Eli sleeping on my chest while I watch Saved By The Bell and the Golden Girls. He ate a lot (and we overcame some breastfeeding challenges together), napped infrequently (the bouncy chair was a saviour) and cried if he wasn't near me.

I found a passion for cloth diapering, grew a collection of wraps/slings/carriers, found a deeper love and appreciation for my hubby, renewed self-esteem about my body (I was proud of my mama doughiness), met best friends through La Leche League and fell in love with sharing a bed with my entire family. We went on picnics, made scenes, went swimming, had playdates, took photos, rode the streetcar, traveled north and south, read lots of books and sang lots of songs, and most importantly formed a trusting relationship with each other.

Like teaching, mothering inspires me, motivates me, challenges me, excites me and brings out the best of me. It has fostered my creativity and shoved me completely out of my comfort zone.

But I think it is time for the next chapter. I feel similar feelings as I did a year ago. I will miss being home with my baby tremendously, but I am giddy to resume my role as Mme Wright. I might not put in as many hours planning for my class as I once did, and I'll squeeze my extra-curriculars in during recesses instead of after school, but I will have a fresh new perspective in my profession. I think that is a good thing. xo.

“Everything that has a beginning has an ending. Make your peace with that and all will be well.” - Buddha (via a Being Erica episode)

Andrea, 29 & Lindsay, 30 (sisters)

Cathy, 55 & Lindsay, 30 (mother/daughter)

Andrea, 29 & Cathy, 55 (daughter/mother)

For those who don't think that I look like my sister or my mom. Think again!

(I have also played around with Rob and his dad - but that is another post.)