Dang, Real Life is BUSY!

Not to belabour a point or anything, but it's crazy how the addition of one very small person into the household makes life so much...busier. And more full of love and joy, blah, blah, but it's rough on the ol' schedule.

Or what I used to THINK was a schedule. Isn't funny that once you become a parent, you wonder what the heck you did all day before you had a kid?

We still do cool stuff like go to the market and sample delicious snacks:

These cupcakes look deceivingly tasty don't they? OK so they're far from Shawna-style, but not bad, right? Oh no. Yuk. Or, as we say here in Québec, OUASH. Not so good. (And Shawna, if you're done making new friends by bashing into cars in the Timmy's parking lot, would you PLEASE consider flying to Montréal to supply Liliane's 1st birthday party with your delectable treats? You must have some Airmiles, right? Just consider it. Merci beaucoup.)

I discovered this little snack cup a few months ago and finally bought it now that my child is a CHEERIO-EATING-MACHINE.

See? That plastic is soft enough so that her pudgy little fingers can grab a handful without losing them all at once.

The champion in action. I love that thing.

While we were at the market we happened on a new installation of BIXI bikes. BIXI (bicycle+taxi) is a new program starting in the spring whereby you pay a membership fee to have access to these bikes all over the city that you can pick up and drop off when needed. It's modeled on similar programs that already exist in Europe.

Stéphane already signed us up for the $75 year membership then you pay a certain amount per hour after that. Although I think the first half hour is free. Why don't we just buy bikes? NO ROOM. Seriously. It's going to be a problem if our child keeps growing. Oops.

I also still take photos of Montréal foliage. Here are some shots of our 'hood:

Just for fun, this is what was happening this time last year:


I see this photo and I can almost FEEL the heartburn. It was really nasty in those last few weeks. Plus, man, am I ever glad I cut my hair off. I like the outside-my-tummy version of Liliane much better, no?

We had a great anniversary celebration last week. Liliane stayed over at her grandparents' and she was a star. I was a little worried because I forgot her bottle, but apparently she didn't mind. We went to see Vicky Christina Barcelona which we both thoroughly enjoyed, flaws and all. With those actors, there isn't much to complain about. Yum. We went for a late dinner AND stopped off for brunch before picking Liliane up the next morning. Total decadence!

I'm working 4-day weeks for the next month or two which is working out well. So far I always seem to have lots to do on those "days off" or I can't stand the idea of Liliane being at daycare while I'm at home so I chuck my plans (who needs a clean toilet anyway?) and hang out with her instead. This weekend we're shooting a short film (very simple, but still) so I'll be cooking on Friday so we can at least feed our hard-working-yet-unpaid crew well. That's the film business people, non-stop glamour.

I have some video clips that I will post as soon as my husband the technical wizard has time to fix them up for me so they don't take 6 days to load. Also one of them is sideways which makes me completely nauseous so I won't inflict that upon you.

Once this film shoot is over, we're on to Liliane's First Birthday! Yikes! We've invited the people, booked the location, we even bought a couple of gifts, but I can't decide exactly what to serve. Cake, coffee and wine. That's it. Easy, right? My problem is that I am physically incapable of limiting the menu to just that. How about a quick little fruit plate? Or some homemade bruscetta? Stop! Help! Somebody knock some sense into my over-achieving brain with a witty yet insightful comment!