I am addicted to Cadbury Popping Mini Eggs and for the sake of my children, I really hope there is a 12-step program out there to help me work through it.

I think it's time to refocus on the South Beach diet too, well maybe after New Years - after all there is much indulging to do to finish this year off properly!

I took the kids to the Royal Ontario Museum today which is always a painful exercise but one I like to subject them to every so often. Fortunately they had interactive computers for the kids to use and a GIFT SHOP which saved Jakob's sanity but only by a thread. Many bitter words were muttered under his breath, and not so quietly muttered as we approached the diamond exhibit. But we survived and made our way to Paupers for a family meal of grease and questionable meat products and a pint of beer for me to wash the whole salty mess down with. Paul met up with us - poor bugger is having to work this week but is currently unconscious on the living room couch and has been for quite a few hours now.

So on to more exciting news...a love letter from Elte came in the mail today - their big end of year sale has started, discounts on everything until January 31st! I have made a promise to myself to get up early and head out by 10:00 to see what I can find. Just in case they too have the perfect nesting tables for an even better price than Crate & Barrel and perhaps a rug for the living room. Do I dare even say that out loud?

Tomorrow is a day of Elte opportunity and potential and then it's off to the Rushton with Pat & Beth for lunch and and finally we will finish the day/year ringing in the 2009 with Kim & Scott and many good friends.

I went to my happy place this afternoon with a few hundred thousand of my closest friends: Crate & Barrel (http://www.crateandbarrel.com). The sun shone brighter the day they made their way north and this was my first time visiting. All previous attempts THWARTED by the lack of parking at Yorkdale Mall. I would drive up enthusiastically, becoming increasingly bitter the more times I circled through the various parking lots and then in absolute frustration, drive home. Today I took the subway.

The problem with taking the subway though is that it amounts to dangling a carrot in front of a mule. Sure I could see all the beautiful things they had to offer, but could I take them home with me? So home I headed armed with discounted decorations and tea towels. But I will be back, oh yes, I will be back. For there are Nero Nesting Tables I am considering. "What?" says Paul. "What the #*$& are nesting tables?"

These, I say, are nesting tables. Feast your eyes.


And look at the description, how could you not want them?

Handcrafted in striking detail, natural black fossil stone and antiqued nickel form modern rounds in two nesting sizes. Each unique tabletop is a patchwork of subtly varied, rustic black stone. Hand-forged bases of hot-rolled steel with hammered corners and ball feet are nickel-plated and hand-antiqued for added individuality. Larger table base is open to accommodate its smaller counterpart.

* Natural black fossil stone with heat- and water-resistant polylite seal
* Hand-forged, hot-rolled steel bases with antiqued nickel plating and poly-vinyl top coat
* Large table measures 19"dia.x24"H, small is 15"dia.x22"H

Something to ponder as I drink a glass of wine and watch Futurama with the boys.

One last note regarding finding the fabulous circle stickers I decorated Jakob's room with: if you live in Canada check out DeSerres, a Toronto-based art store (http://www.deserres.ca) for a really good selection and they will ship (perhaps to the States as well, I didn't dig that deeply).

Here are a few shots of our Christmas between the hours of 7:30 and 7:35. Just kidding, the presents took 7 minutes to open and as you will see, it was a bit of a retro Christmas for Jakob complete with gumball machine and lava lamp.

As much as I love having family join us for brunch (no one could make it this year) I have to admit that having my boys to myself, listening to music (currently Radiohead but have also listened to Neil Young, Peter Gabriel, Paul McCartney, Barenaked Ladies), drinking coffee, hanging out in my pajamas until noon and beyond...has made this the most wonderful Christmas morning.

The pictures are a little out of order, Blogspot treats my uploading of pictures like a deck of cards that gets thrown up in the air and lands randomly around the house with some making their way to the cat box.

Merry Christmas everyone - may 2009 bring you good health, love and much happiness.
Love Meg, Paul, Satchel and Jakob






Bambi all decked out for the holidays.

Note to oneself: never drink more than ONE cosmo made by Bob. NEVER.

And definitely not three, which is what happened yesterday at a fabulous afternoon cocktail party thrown by Bob & Joe and left me in bed by 7:30 pm. Thankfully with the help of a lot of water, gravol, 2 tylenols, and 12 hours of sleep (I owe Paul BIG), I'm feeling not too shabby this morning but think that in future, I should swear of hard liquor except for the occasional French martini.

Oh but I had such a good time! Bob & Joe are two of my most favourite people in the world and make me laugh harder than most people really should in public situations. I still keep laughing thinking about yesterday, sounding a little bit like an aged Bette Davis.

This is what I am facing and will be facing until January 26.



Pure frustration.

Wow - it's really snowing hard outside. To think that only 10 minutes ago I shovelled the walk and now I can't see the walk.

On December 16th, Jakob the fabulous turned 7!



We had a small party with his best friend Zach, Kim & kids, Pat & Ridley and William, Brenda and Aidan. And unlike last year, not one present was ASS! A.S.S.! Everything was awesome and he was really happy - especially with the gigantic chocolate caramel cake. He has presents and a hot $10 bill in his wallet just waiting to be spent on pokemon cards. And I have already been told that we WILL be going to ToysRUs this weekend so he can buy his cards and then I can fork over another $60 to complete the pokemon play set we gave him because it is a REALLY GOOD DEAL. I love Jakob - he is the funniest, most dramatic and intense, and also the most caring person. Because this is blog post is to celebrate all things awesome about Jakob being 7, I won't mention the trying stuff, the stuff that has me rummaging through the liquor cabinet by 4pm most afternoons.

Because Jakob turned 7, over night he outgrew his winter boots and most of his clothing.

Finding a pair of size 3 boots in downtown Toronto this late in the year is not for the faint-hearted. And then to bring them home, find that they are EXACTLY THE SAME SIZE as the size 2 he outgrew is enough to push the sanest person over the edge. Then returning to the madness yesterday to hopefully exchange for a size 4...well, where's that poster about booze and pills again because it pretty much sums up my mental state.

I took yesterday off work because I was walking around in a state of perpetual anxiety and hoped that having one day off before the kids are out of school (today, last day until next year so help me god) might help make me feel like I'm on top of all things Christmas. Unfortunately our back door no longer works - worked fine on Wednesday at lunch for Satchel, by 3pm no longer worked. Can't open it from the inside or outside. That became my first project of the day (after making coffee and showering - a girl MUST have her priorities) - spending the first of 90 minutes trying to find all the paperwork for our Pella products (and cursing contractor for NOT calling us back) and then the rest of the time on the phone with Pella convincing them we are legitimate customers with $10,000 worth of their product in our house and are desperate to get our back door working again UNDER WARRANTY. Sadly we will have no working back door until January 26 which is not putting me in my happy place.

What's also not putting in my happy place is that my two cats do not understand the door doesn't work and will stand at the back door staring me down and crying to be let in so that I have to leave the house from the front, walk around to the back, pick them up one at a time (usually Arthur first), walk to the front of the house, throw Arthur in, go back and get Hamish and begin again. Yesterday it was while in a white terry robe, wet hair, and biker boots...scaring the poor man dropping off a 2 pound roll of flyers.

But I did manage to get all my presents wrapped (while watching ALL ABOUT EVE - love that movie - and drinking flavoured coffee), boots exchanged for the last pair of size 4 in all of Toronto, books bought for Jakob for his stocking (Bad Kitty Gets a Bath! I love Bad Kitty by Nick Bruel - a fabulous book based on the alphabet which still makes laugh so hard I weep tears of joy especially while holding a French martini and would recommend to all parents who have kids age 2-4 and over 40) and work on my final assignment for my final class.



And as of last night, my indesign class is over - I feel so free!

I am completely hungover (see following) but rather than sleep in preparation for tonight's party and tomorrow's hangover I finally dusted off my camera and took a few promised shots.


Here is the most fabulous gingerbread man (far superior to the feeble attempts at creating blood splattered zombie men by the boys in my life):



and the (best spent $33) circle stickers used to transform Jakob's room:



Now, time for a nap.

Changing brain equals HONOUR ROLL!

Satchel came home with the certificate today - there will be celebrating this weekend!

The count down begins.

It's that crazy time of year when I am being pushed to the edge of sanity by all things Christmas.

Not a day goes by that I don't think to myself: I can't believe Jakob just said that! I really should blog...or Satchel truly has lost his changing brain, he is out of his little hormonal mind, must blog...but then 2 weeks and four allergic reactions go by and...nothing. Sorry.

So in the past couple of weeks both boys received their reports cards and did very well (thank GOD!) and Satchel's teacher wasn't the blood sucking horror he made her out to be, in fact she seemed...well rationale - as rationale as one could be teaching a class of roughly 30 brain-changing 12 year olds.

Paul continues to do well on the SouthBeach diet, me too now that wine has been added back in on a regular basis - oh who am I kidding, like it ever left. But I am down to 130 pounds and really that's as low as this near 5'10" frame needs to go. Paul won't weigh himself until Friday so I have no idea how much he has lost but I think it's closing in on 15 pounds - and he's looking pretty darn good I might add.

I've had FOUR ALLERGIC REACTIONS in the past 2 weeks to what I think are sulfites (except for wine - again THANK GOD) and have an appointment with an allergist in January to find out what the hell is going on. I'm wondering if it has something to do with me approaching menopause, maybe my system is being thrown out of whack. But it's really pissing me off. REALLY PISSING ME OFF. Because I'm just too busy trying to deal with Christmas and Jakob's birthday to be hiding out in public washrooms waiting for the benedryl to calm the fiery sunburn-like rash that has taken over my face.

But onto things that are much more fun than crazy children and hives the size of Barrie.

We had a children's Christmas party at my office and I decorated the most fabulous gingerbread man. So fabulous that it put Paul's, Satchel's and Jakob's to shame. And being the mother that I am, I let them know that mine was vastly superior and to stop rolling their eyes because they will get stuck.

I also bought a package of circle stickers at the one of a kind craft show and decorated Jakob's entire wall with them - and they are amazing! And a bit addictive, I'm now pouring through the small catalogue I was given to see what else I can to do our house. Perhaps a wall-sized black chandelier is exactly what we need in the dining room.

I'm a bit behind in my picture taking so will photograph Jakob's wall to show what you too can do to a room in your house for all of $33 and also my gingerbread man - which I sadly ate because I could not come up with a name.