I never cease to be amazed at how utterly effortless some moms make parenting out to be. As this year quickly comes to a close, these are the master moms who deserve a Golden Sippy Cup for outstanding parenting. May we all be so darn good at the art of child-rearing in 2009.

My office closet is overstuffed with toys and clothing for everyone in my family.

As promised in my Parents and the City column, here is this year’s selection of holiday events for the entire family. If you think I missed something that merits a mention, please feel free to post. Enjoy!

I’ve had the pleasure of reviewing two exceptional MTYP shows this season for the Free Press, Snowflake, by Michigan-based silent actor Gale LaJoye (November), and most recently, the Tony-Award winning musical comedy, A Year With Frog and Toad (until January 3).

It’s about 10:30 p.m. and I’ve just gotten back from the UofM where I handed in my last paper of the semester (o.k. I made a stop at Canadian Tire to eye their holiday decorations and pick up a toy Spiderman car for my son).

I do this thing with my kids where I hug and tickle and kiss them until they’re both red in the cheeks and snorting they’ve laughed so hard.

We’re on week two of our major kitchen renovation and finding things around the house has been challenging to say the least.

On my way to one of two festive events yesterday, I stopped at the supermarket with my one year old daughter to pick up some ingredients for my famous bagged Caesar salad (my meager contribution to my mom's enormous Thanksgiving feast).

While in the produce aisle, I bumped into a family we know from our church and I stopped to say hi and wish them a Happy Thanksgiving. While greeting the family, I noticed my daughter's nose was running, so I took out a wipe to clean her delicate little face. 

It was at this point that I was startled by, I think, the rudest woman in Winnipeg, who ordered me to get out of the way because she was in a "REALLY BIG HURRY TODAY!"

Deep breath Demetra.

I can't remember a time when this household has been as hopping as it's been in the last several weeks. It seems like my "to do" list just keeps gaining steam. Here's a sampling of what needs to get done around here in the very near future:1. Phone Pan Am clinic to make a follow-up appointment for my son's "minor" injury. I think our countdown is at about 3 more weeks. My son has graduated from a full length yellow Greg Wiggle cast to a below the knee purple Jeff Wiggle cast. After this one's off, let's hope we've seen the last of wiggly coloured casts.2.  Meet with Maria Abiusi at the Food Studio on Roblin Blvd. tomorrow morning to find out what, if anything, my kitchen "helpers" can do to help with Thanksgiving dinner. Read all about it in my column this Saturday.3.  Drop my son off at preschool. Use my "free" time to catch up on all my university reading.4.  Grocery shopping. I can see the shelves in our refrigerator. Always a bad sign.5.  Go shopping with my daughter to buy winter boots, mitts and a hat. Chances of going without her? Nil. When she sees me swing my over-sized purse over my shoulder and hold my car keys at the same time, she screams "SHOPPING!" so loud I think even our neighbours down the street can hear her.6.  Clean office. I always write this one on my list for fun. It never actually gets done.7.  Phone my husband's aunt to find out how she makes her yummy oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.8.  Bake a batch of cookies and take to my son's preschool class on my day to be "snack mom." While at school, make sure to pretend I bake at least two times a week and not two times a year.9.  Bake another batch to take to my daughter's preschool class. Continue the charade.10.  Restock craft closet. Conveniently forget to buy more glitter.11.  Finish reading the stack of parenting magazines by my bedside. You know the kind that has all the pictures of that size 2 model dressed up like a stay-at-home mom, cooking wholesome meals in her immaculate kitchen. When I turn the page, her children eat her balanced meal with a smile, wearing vests.12.  Buy seat cushions for my kitchen chairs that are covered with chocolate, Play Doh and glitter. Something my kids did when they were not wearing vests.13.  Return a roster of phone calls, pay bills, organize play-dates, write a paper for school, sing songs, finger paint, find rented DVDs in toy box and return (the nice girl on the phone said she didn't mind if they were slightly scratched. Not sure what she considers a "small" scratch).14.  Fill out Scholastic book order and personally hand it to the teacher. 15.  Locate Pumpkin and Spiderman costumes that my children will approve of. 16.  Go to bed early. Again, I just like to write this one down hoping that one day the Law of Attraction will actually make it so.And this is, of course, just a sampling of the good things that lay ahead over here. Anyone care to share their schedule with the rest of the class?

Have you ever just wanted to be alone?That was me the other day when I was shooing kids and dog out of my office (my new sanctuary really) so I could spend some forbidden time reading my emails, sorting through some mail (you know the real exciting kind that you read and then have to right a wrong by writing a cheque) and collecting my thoughts.It's not that I don't love my kids, my husband and our dog, but sometimes, just sometimes, I would like them all to hang out on a completely different floor of the house than the one I'm on.Judge me if you will, but here's how I see it.  On days when I'm too miserable to see the humour in my daughter walking around with my son's Spiderman underwear on her head as a hat, I'm better off surfing ebay, alone, where I can't rain on a carefree toddler's parade. Here's where our babysitter comes in.  For a predetermined amount of time each week she comes by our house to give me an opportunity to do some very important things like brush my hair, drink a cup of coffee, get a little work done and even, on some days, treat myself to a morning or afternoon away from the rat race.There was a time when I felt guilty for wanting a few hours of daylight time to myself. Boy am I well beyond that point now. I once heard a teacher say that she loved teaching so much that she would only teach if she could present her best work every day.  You might call that a tall order, but these are words I really live by or, at the very least, aspire towards on a daily basis.  And let's just say that not all days amount to my best work but the important thing is, my intentions are there to make the most of every minute I spend with my kids.Having said this, when I worked as a teacher, to other people's children, in the school system, I had pockets of time to myself during each and every work day that allowed me to collect my thoughts, prepare lessons and even enjoy a conversation or two with co-workers.Last week I listened as hard-working stay-at-home moms at a playgroup I attended lamented about having to wait until 10 p.m. each night to unwind because they rarely have any quiet time during the day to take a breather.We moms who stay home with very young children know that breaks are few and far between. If you find yourself upset, over-tired or even a little depressed some days, please know that you are not alone.  It happens to all of us.If you can't afford the luxury of having a regular babysitter relieve you of your kids a couple times a week, don't be afraid to ask family, friends and neighbours for a break every now and then. Schedule time for yourself when you can, enjoy it without guilt and make known in your home that even you deserve some quiet time alone.And remember that not only you, but your entire family, will benefit from the bold move of occasionally putting yourself first...

What a week! I'll give you the highlights before retiring for the evening to prepare for yet another...Monday My little guy missed his first day of preschool to get a replacement cast on his leg. The new cast spans from his tiny little toes to just short of his hip. The colour he chose?  Bright yellow like his hero Greg Wiggle.Showed up late to my first university class of the semester. Faux pas was amplified when I:a) showed up with Starbucksb) found out that 30% of my grade hinges on punctuality and participation.TuesdaySpoke with an extraordinary mom. If you missed my interview with Joelle Boisvert, chairwoman of St. Boniface Hospital & Research Foundation's second annual Cyclothon of Hope, in Saturday's paper, click here.Had a panic attack about preschool starting up and ate a box of Halloween chocolates.Wednesday My son arrived in style at the preschool with his bright yellow cast. He then screamed bloody murder when I attempted to leave the room. My mound of text books and Tim Horton's coffee were abandoned in the parents' lounge as I participated in songs, stories and crafts inside the classroom.Signed up to be snack mom on Friday as to avoid more ear-piercing screams.ThursdayWent out for dinner with my husband. When the waiter asked if I wanted more wine or the dessert menu I laughed on both counts.Got home and opened mail. Received a beautiful card from Sister Mary Gorman, my grade 8 homeroom teacher. She loves my column. I fondly remembered a time when teachers were allowed to hug students.Friday  Proudly watched my son scoot around his preschool class on his bum. My eyes watered when his teacher suggested the rest of the class do the same. Some people are too special to not be teachers.Saturday Spent time with my other child, the one who sleeps on my face every night and wakes me up every morning at 6 a.m. with the widest smile and an unreasonably long list of song requests.SundaySlept in (thankfully), family time, household chores, more family time, shopping for home improvements, more family time...blog...sleep...

Reading in the dark is just a part of life for moms trying to get a university degree and raise a couple of preschoolers all in the same day.  Why should I be any different?I must admit however, that after last week's back-to-school debacle, things have started to finally fall into place. To give you a good indication, my son completely ignored me when I dropped him off at the preschool on Friday.  New friends and an understanding that I'm just a cell phone call away eased his tiny little nerves and gave me some much needed time to finally read through my course outline and crack the spine on a couple of my textbooks.So, I guess, some days are better than others.  On those days when I brew and drink my morning coffee, I'm usually in business.  On days when I can't find my car keys and barely make it to my daughter's Mommy and me class before snack, it's a safe bet that the rest of my day will be similarly thrown off track. Tonight, in order to keep an eye on my 19 month old daughter asleep on the bed we share together (my husband sleeps with the boy in the yellow cast), I'm typing in our bathroom.  And come morning, my husband and I will scramble to clean the kitchen, get the kids organized for a busy day and prepare for yet another hectic week.So what's changed?One night a week (which has now become mandatory in our house), my husband and I  leave our beautiful children with a trusted babysitter and go out for a night on the town.  Daring as it may be, we adults have decided that enjoying a meal, on seats that are not stained with paint or stuck-on Play-Doh, is the only way we will physically and mentally survive these next couple of years filled with sheer and utter chaos. And until we're found out by the itty bitty people, we will continue to secretly dine in peace, once a week, on a table that isn't cluttered with craft paper, glue or scissors.But on those other days, when we're not playing hooky from our new life as musical maitre d's, we'll happily sing along to "Bingo was his Nemo" and play pretend with colourful handmade Wiggles figures because we are well aware that one day, like all parents, we'll wake up and no longer be sleep deprived.  And on that joyous day, if we're lucky, the only thing we'll have to show for it is some stained pieces of furniture and a couple of happy, well rounded, kids who know the difference between right and wrong. Who knows?  They may even remember some of the many fun-filled dinners we shared together as a family...

We did in fact get the dog.  How could we not?  The look on both of my kids' faces when they met her said it all.So a beautiful six year old chocolate brown Lab, named Amiga, now follows us everywhere we go, making our already exciting life with kids even more exciting.And she couldn't be more wonderful with our roughhousing kids if she tried.  Only the most stoic of dogs could patiently sit through weeks of "gentle petting" lessons, and our littlest one taking every opportunity to use her furry belly as a pillow.And with our son pretty much confined to the couch lately, with his broken leg (if you missed my Saturday Parents and the City column about how the entire thing was my husband's fault, click here), our 18 month old daughter has been bonding with the furry creature who has become her personal companion and even attempts to inconspicuously hide behind her booster chair at meal times. You see Labs are incredibly smart and intuitive.  In the past short weeks since she has moved in with us, the newest member of our family quickly learned two important lessons. 1) I rarely sweep.  2)  The child in pink is a klutzy eater.So it didn't take long for Amiga to find her rightful place at the table, crouched behind the pig-tailed princess' chair.  And it also didn't take long for a new house rule to come into play: No Amiga in the kitchen when the kids are eating.  And it's a rule that I strictly enforce.  You know the kind of strict that involves a stiff face and a turned back every now and then.Oh how I've laughed to myself as I've watched my kids, with five and a half years of total wisdom between them, feeding the dog out of their hands when I turn my back to cut carrots.And while Amiga has all the yummy (or so I'm told) doggy meals and snacks that should keep her happy throughout the day, that really isn't the point.  There simply is nothing more heartwarming than watching a little girl with the widest brown eyes imaginable reaching out to her newest friend "Ga" and secretly sharing a coveted cheese string.  

The other week, my four year old son decided that he needed a goldfish. "Mommy, I need a goldfish," were his exact words.And since there's been some talk of bringing a very large dog into our lives as of late (a neighbour is looking for someone to adopt her dad's gorgeous chocolate brown Lab), I thought starting off small in the pet department might not be such a bad idea for our family.Well it turns out that one does not buy a 25 cent goldfish anymore and haphazardly throws it into a one dollar bowl (which was my original plan).In fact, nowadays, the store manager escorts you through what appears to be a fish city and embarks into an elaborate presentation of everything you will need to sustain your $5.50 exotic goldfish (well in our case $11 because we bought two).And thankfully, our trusty babysitter, who I've already mentioned is a certified lifeguard, also happened to once work in a pet store (I know; where on earth did I find this girl?), and happily got us started with (o.k. she single-handedly put together) our new $100.00 tank for our two new orange friends.So, about $158.00 later (food, water softener and whatever else I got suckered into buying), my son is now the proud new custodian of two fishy little fellows named Marlin & Nemo (of course), and, let's not forget, a dog owner in training... 

As far as dining is concerned, my kids know what they like and what they don't like.  Unfortunately what they like isn't always "nutritious."Now I have not read any of these famously competing books about blending asparagus into chocolate cake but I have read the summaries in the many parent magazines that hit my mailbox every month and I think I get the general idea and from what I gather, it is not an original one. My Aunt Maria has been serving our family chocolate cake with zucchini in it since before the world knew who Brad Pitt was, and my mother has been blending all sorts of vegetables into her many Greek dishes since the pre-microwave era.That's why I chuckle when I read arguments about who invented this revolutionary idea first. Anyways, I digress.  My kids are an enigma to say the least.  They eat broccoli, spinach and cauliflower.  They devour multigrain bread and prefer their fruit smoothies are made with soy milk.So what's the problem you say?  Aside from the fact that summer has led to the misconception that all meals should end in ice-cream, I used to be able to feed these little people any form of grilled meat or fish, provided it was accompanied by a generous mound of ketchup. I'm not sure exactly what happened, but one day my eldest felt it beneath him to eat grilled chicken or salmon, a sentiment his copycat sister quickly replicated.So tonight, I thought I would pull a fast one on them.  Like a good Greek mom, I grilled my chicken, as per usual, with olive oil, salt, pepper and oregano and I cut it into the tiniest little pieces, inserting the breast into a bowl of steamed vegetables and rice.Let's just say two snoring siblings have some protein in their bellies this evening....