playdate

You Never Forget Your First Time

You may not believe me, but I've never been to a rock concert.  How is it possible that a woman in her thirties has managed to neglect a national rite of passage?  It's not through lack of trying.  I begged my parents for tickets to Corey Hart (hey, he was hot back then..).  I would have given my firstborn (before I met him, and now I'd only give him away if he was whining) to see the Blonde Ambition tour.  I sometimes have dreams of dancing onstage with Bruce Springsteen and being discovered as an actor (only I'd be smart enough not to name my daughter Coco).  I've been to the opera, the ballet, the theatre, the orchestra.  I've seen choirs, soloists, and street buskers.  I've seen professional, amateur, mainstream and avant-garde artists. 

Whom did I choose to see for my Very First Ever Rock Concert...?

Meals to Fall For

I find this time of year both beautiful and depressing, probably for the same reasons that most other people do. It’s hard to wave goodbye to the summer and fight the urge to just go inside and hibernate - especially in Toronto, where summer lasts a whopping 10-12 weeks and winter, a bone-numbing 40. So I try to look for the good in the autumn – the gorgeous colours; the coziness of a big, comfy sweater; curling up in front of a fire, and of course, the food. No, smartass – I do not mean the pilfered morsels of my daughter’s Hallowe’en loot. I mean the food.

Suddenly, there's been a shift

and Rosey no longer wants to cut paper or use the glue or sprinkle glitter on anything and everything. No modeling clay, no

Now, I get the rolled eyes. 'I do that at school.'

Now, she wants to cook. I don't mind the company in the kitchen, but I do miss my crazy glitter queen. But having kids is all about change (and don't I sound like an American coming up on the election now??) and so...

Fashionably drunk?

Have you ever attended a work event and ended up a little over-refreshed?

Yeah, me too.

But have you ever been a little over-refreshed at a really important work event, where you're scheduled to make a speech in front of cut-throat colleagues, important clients and the international press?

Yeah, me neither.

But then I'm not Toronto Design Council President Robin Kay who launched Toronto Fashion Week last week with a drunken speech that became a major scandal in the local media and left me pondering whether drinking on the job is ever in style.

Sweet, Sweet Weekend Goodness

Hey, so! Are you in Toronto? Looking for something to do this weekend? How about a little spa-relaxation goodness? FOR A CAUSE!

Here's the deal, from Sweetmama:

Raising money for a good cause is important, but who needs to run 10k, spin for 2 hours, or walk for 24 hours, when you could just spend the day at the spa?  Well, with Sweetmama's first Mother's Day Off Spa-A-Thon you can!  We're proud to announce that we have partnered with the SickKids Foundation to host this very special event.  It will take place on Saturday, October 25th from 1-5pm at Andrew Richards Designs. 

(Kid)Spark Your Imagination

I had some grand plans for my year of maternity leave.  The boys and I would roam about town dressed up in playclothes made out of a pair of old drapes, soaking up the culture that the city has to offer.  We would see plays!  We would go to art galleries!  And the Zoo!  And Ontario Place!  I'd bring my acoustic guitar and we'd make up teaching songs on a hilltop!!  And we would do it all on our own - an intrepid threesome.

We did end up doing some of these things, but we only started doing them recently, and never by ourselves.  Frankly, on the days when my elder wasn't in preschool, I counted it a very grand thing if we made it out of the house before 4pm.

Taking It Slow

On the day that your husband gets a vasectomy, many things must be prepared. Preparations must be made to have someone watch your children while you accompany your husband to his, er, procedure. Ice packs – many, many ice packs – must be prepared. You must be prepared to allow the remainder of your reproductive years to languish in a state of flux somewhere between unrequited baby-lust and unadulterated relief. And of course, there is always dinner.

Book to Movie - The Early Years

it will come as no shock to any of you to hear someone suggest that Hollywood is looking just about anywhere for ideas these days. I know! Heck, for teens, they have in the past few years, even come out with movies based on great teen novels! Written for teens! And for the younger kids? Well, often enough we are seeing rehashes of things already done - Disney, I'm looking at you here, with your Cinderella II and you Lion King III. But we've also been getting a handful of movies based on perfectly good picture books.

Basing a movie for kids on a picture books for kids seems like a good idea, right? I mean, great literature, brought to life? What's not to like?

Fantastic Fingerplay

Welcome Google perverts!  If you came following a link from some random pornographic search, please be advised that this is a PG column (today, anyways..).

I've been a little freaked out lately that I'm not doing enough to stimulate my baby's young brain.  Thing is, with the second child good intentions tend to fall by the wayside.  No longer do you have two parents looking after one child and doting on their every sigh and gurgle.  Generally you're running after the toddler and the baby only gets attention when he starts pulling bottles out of the wine rack (is this just my house?).  So I decided to re-investigate what I "should" be doing these days.

Road Test: Bonnie Stern's Friday Night Dinners

After being in the Southern United States for two weeks, I was going to use today’s post to tell you all about how we fared with the fare (Okra! Oysters! Golden Corral!), but when I got home, this was waiting for me, complements of Random House Canada.

Hushpuppies, grits and a two-week hiatus from meal planning quickly forgotten, I bit straight into this beautiful book and reclaimed my rightful place as Queen of the World Kgirl Kitchen.