Baby-making music

Maxwell making the crowd swoon.

On Friday, E and I attended our first concert together. As an anniversary present, I bought us tickets to see Maxwell with opening acts Common and Chrisette Michele at the Air Canada Centre. We had 3rd row seats: the best I've ever had! We were right next to the stage that if we reached out, we could touch the artists as they danced near us!

We missed Chrisette Michele, but loved every bit of Common's and Maxwell's sets. The crowd was full of well-dressed women screaming for Maxwell's affection with a spattering of couples here and there; fitting for the sexy crooning of Maxwell's incredible voice. It was an amazing concert that reminded me of why E always has Maxwell on his "staying in tonight" playlists.

Common so close we could see the beads of sweat of his shiny head.

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Snail mail lives!

Awhile back a good friend, Faiza, told me about a *project* she was participating in called Postcrossing. She had signed up to send postcards to random people around the world who had also signed up to send postcards. In return, the senders receive postcards too. Being a lover of real snail mail [not bills or credit card promos!], I thought this was something I should check out. I finally signed up and wrote my first 3 postcards tonight. They are going to Finland, Russia and Massachusetts, USA.

I also *borrowed* Faiza's idea to use Vistaprint to make a batch of my very own postcards. I used a photo I took in Brooklyn back in May of some *inspirational* graffiti I used to see on my walks to work:

Perfect light during an evening walk to meet my book group ladies.

I know I'm notorious for being gung-ho at the beginning of a project and losing steam somewhere along the line, so we'll see how long I stick with this one. My goal is to send out the 100 postcards I ordered. I'll post the ones I receive too!

Another spotting of You Go Girl's work on the West Side Highway. Pretty decent shot for being in a moving vehicle, eh?

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From the mouths of babes...

A conversation that occurred this afternoon between myself and a second grader:

"Mrs. R, may I go to the washroom?"

"Sure."

"I'm going to be a long time."

"Why?"

"Because I have to, you know, do, you know, the long one."

"Um, ok then. Thanks for letting me know."

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Month 9

This month has been chock full of changes for us. Indio is crawling at warp speed and definitely making us rethink much of the organization of our house since anything within two feet of the ground is fair game for him. He loves to pull himself up while holding onto the furniture or our hands and is ready to take his first steps. Cassius has fallen prey to Indio's curiosity, and has become his own personal jungle gym!

Indy finally babbles the wonderful sound of 'mama', though I still don't think he is calling either of us with his 'mamas' and 'dadas'! He loves blowing raspberries on our arms and bellies, while Emil and I try to sleep. It's cute, even in the haze of the early morning.

I've been working this month [doing a short-term stint at a Montessori school here] so we decided to look into childcare for Indio. We found a wonderful woman, Maria, who will be looking after Indy 3 days a week. He has only been with her one day so far, but he seems to love it! I, on the other hand, was a ball of tears on my drive into work that day.

Going to the babysitter for the first time.

Indy has become quite a foodie, expanding his repertoire to include Vietnamese pho, Korean kalbi, Indian butter chicken and curried cauliflower, and now homemade Italian food at Maria's place. He is eager to try everything and anything, and often protests when we are eating in front him and not sharing!

What's summer without watermelon?

I didn't know what everyone was talking about when they kept telling us, "Just wait until he's about 9 months old because that's when babies are so much fun," until now. Everyday is an adventure with Indio, who keeps us laughing and loving him more with each passing day.

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Binders & Butterflies

I woke up this morning with butterflies in my stomach, a bit anxious, a bit excited. It happens every year around this time. Tomorrow is the first day of school. Growing up, I used to love the back-to-school shopping, labeling all my supplies, putting together a new outfit for the first day. And then when school actually began, I reveled in getting my locker organized, writing out my schedule in my neatest handwriting, making sure my notebooks and binders were colour-coded [yes, I was that kid].

In more recent years, this time of year still held that air of importance for me, but from a different angle: I was the teacher. I got to order school supplies for the whole class! [I love the Staples catalog like some people worship the IKEA one!] I enjoy organizing my classroom, labeling each subject area, making seating plans and charts for the students.

This September, I wasn't planning on teaching, deciding instead to extend a self-designated maternity leave since while in NYC, I was back at work part time when Indio was 3 months old! [Don't get me started on the perils of US maternity benefits...or lack thereof.] I was hoping to enter the Canadian workforce again in Sept '10, when Indio would be old enough to join a toddler classroom in the Montessori school I would be working at. I didn't want to worry about the hassle of childcare this year, and after talking to E, we both decided it would be better, both financially and emotionally, for me to stay home with Indy for this next year.

Well, that all changed when a good Montessorian and friend of mine called me up one Thursday afternoon with the offer of a job at a school on the outskirts of Toronto. It was a temporary position, ironically covering the end of another teacher's maternity leave. I was very hesitant to make the call to arrange to meet my future boss, more because I didn't want to have to think about all the juggling and scheduling I would have to do if I decided to take this position.

In the end, I took it. Since the position is only guaranteed for the month of September, I figured it would be a good way to get my feet wet in the whole full-time-working-mom world. Tomorrow is the first day of classes. I hope my students like the outfit I picked out. Wish me luck!

My old elementary school had this reminder up all summer.

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