Best in Shows

Maddie is starting to actually sit for a reasonably long time to watch TV. At this point she'll watch pretty much any kids' show that happens to be on, but when we she does ask for something I can't help feeling happy that it is usually "Lalo" (Charlie and Lola) or "Peepee" (Pee Wee's Playhouse). Here are the following reasons why I prefer these shows to others:

1. They have characters that sound and act like real kids. PWP has the Penny Cartoons, which are claymation representations of the kind of rambling and incoherent stories kids tell, and C & L features voice work by actual children, talking the way actual children talk (with extra points for the British accents, reminiscent of another Charlie).

2. They have interesting art. Lauren Child is the author and illustrator behind C & L, and I like how messy her drawings look, not unlike the work of frequent Roald Dahl illustrator, Quentin Blake. The PWP sets were designed by punk artist Gary Panter (who is said to have had a big influence on Matt Groening), and animation by Nick Park of Wallace & Gromit.

3. They teach lessons, without being preachy. Both shows will teach that being nice is good, and being mean is bad, but they usually tell stories that promote using your imagination instead of just shoving a moral down your throat.

4. They are actually funny. Say what you will about Paul Reubens the actor, but Pee Wee Herman the character is hilarious. And even after watching the "Lalo" DVD we got from the library on repeat for a week, it's still pretty darn cute.

A Belated Mother's Day Post

The preceding images are from Children and Their Mothers (1963) by Hanns Reich. Now some pictures of my mother and her children:

Thanks for teaching me how to be a mum. Love you Marmy.

Mini Pop

My whole family is in Utah right now to celebrate my sister and brother-in-law's graduation. Wish I was there eating a Café Rio pork burrito (enchilada style, plz) and watching my nephews dance.

But since I'm spending a greyish day in Toronto with my toddler, I thought I'd post some greyish pictures of my dad as a toddler. Here he is with his sister, a cousin (I think), and my grandpa in Alberta in the 1950s.

Love you dudes!

Two Princes

With the advent of William and Kate's nuptials I thought I'd indulge my inner anglophile with some pics of Harry and Wills as littles. I don't know if it's just the 80s styles, or if they actually look like normal kids in these photos. You know, just palace dwelling, pony-riding normal kids. But they also look like they stepped out of a storybook with their old-fashioned rompers and Christopher Robin-esque mary janes.

For those of you with a little prince of your own, we have a pair of red Osh Kosh overalls in store that could be the very ones that Harry is wearing below.









I had to include this picture of Diana on a visit to Japan. Moms, can we all start putting knee-socks on our little boys again? Thanks.


Images from Prince William (1984) by Trevor Hall and In Private - In Public: The Prince and Princess of Wales (1986) by Alastair Burnet.

Minnow Babes

Created by my good pals, Vanessa Warrack and Karen Donaldson, Toronto based Minnow Bathers is my favourite bathing suit line of all time. While their 2011 collection is inspired by teenage rebellion, that doesn't mean you have to be a teenager to wear it. In fact, I think that they are the perfect suits for young moms like myself who still want to look cute in the kiddy pool without showing too much post-baby bod. This summer I'll hopefully be wearing this floral cut-out bather that looks like a bikini, but has the functionality of a one-piece. And that's because it actually is a one-piece, with a cut-out in the front-- genius, right? Strangers always think I'm a teen mom, I might as well go with it.



When Karen and Vanessa get a break from sewing, I'm going to start pestering them again to make a bather for my own Minnow Baby.

Minnow Bathers can be found on etsy or at Penny Arcade.

P.S. a couple years ago the Minnow ladies asked me to pose for one of their lookbooks. I won't post the pics, but if you take the time to look through the previous seasons (and you really should!) you might spot me. Ahh!

Half of Three

Happy eighteen months baby girl, I love you times a million to the power of infinity!!

Mads World

It kills me how every time we visit Penny Arcade, Madeline runs to our little section and starts pulling things down. Sometimes she will carry around a little shirt or dress on its hanger and babble away to customers in a kind of incoherent yet adorable sales pitch. She is with me for so much of the picking, cleaning, and repair-work of the items that I like to think she's a little proud of it. Or maybe, as our friend Bridgette always says, "She just loves shopping and fashion!"



Mads posing by the wardrobe, holding an empty Coke bottle (I don't let her drink Coke, I swear)

♥ this babe.