New baby.

I miss having a new baby. Part of surfing midlife is leaving all that behind, I guess, but I still remember how much fun it was.

My nose was always buried in them, I was always breathing them in, always gazing at them, as if I could somehow freeze time and live in a perfect moment forever. I felt like I could never get enough of them.

What were your most precious moments with your new baby?

These drawings first appeared on World Moms Blog.

Tweet

I will BConnected.

Mostly I draw stories but sometimes I do speaking. I tell the stories that I've drawn and show some animation and stuff. Next weekend, I shall sally forth to do just that at the BConnected Conference in Ottawa.

BConnected is Canada's first social media and networking conference targeting mom and dad bloggers. I'll be talking about creating empathy in blogging to make a human connection. Naturally I'll incorporate some of my playful and poignant parenting stories to illustrate. I'm planning on making it a very fun (and also deeply meaningful) session.

For those of you in or near Ottawa, I'd love to see you at the National Arts Centre - there's some wonderful speakers at the event Saturday and Sunday April 12th - 13th, 2014. I'll be doing my thing on Sunday morning at 10:30.

Please share this and I will be your best friend.

Tweet

ZOMBIE Mom.

Patty Sullivan on Twitter asked me if I'd do a drawing of a Zombie Mom for a project she was working on. I'd already done a series on Zombie Appliances and I thought a parody of The Evolution of Man would be hilarious as The Evolution of Zombie Mom.

Just before Mother's Day I started thinking it would be really fun to animate the Zombie Mom evolving. The phased degeneration of the walk-cycle appealed to me as an animator. Then the 13 year old boy came down with a pretty horrifying case of stomach flu and kept me up all night all week with the barfs. This literally brought me back to my early daze as a mother and I found myself moaning, lurching and craving brains.

Needless to say I was too "undead" to get the animation together for Mother's Day. BUT I think this will work in my favor because while Mother's Day only comes once a year, ZOMBIE Mom's Day is, let's face it, every single one of those other 364 days.

So tadaaa, here's my video:



Zombies are fun to draw. Up til now I've only been an animator. Now....I'm a re-animator. Ha.

If you feel like the walking dead because of a child in your life, Zombie-moms.com is for you. Patty Sullivan and some friends put together this site where sleep-deprived parents can go for advice, support and stories. Jump into their tweetstream on the #ZombieMoms hashtag.

Irony: I was so out of it I didn't notice that the Patty I've been emailing about zombies is THE Patty from Kids' CBC. Yeah, she's an award winning tv broadcaster and bonafide celeb and my kids adored her. How did I not realize it was her?? I blame the zombie virus.

Happy ZOMBIE Mom's Day!! What's the most undead thing you've done as a parent?

Tweet

The Last Minute MEANINGFUL Gift Guide.

If you're like me, you resent having to buy a gift just because it's expected. You want to give something that shows you've thought about the person, something meaningful; or at the very least, something useful (that doesn't trash the Planet).

And what about the little kids - how do you teach them to give meaningful gifts without spending a ton of money out there? Perhaps you still have presents to buy but just can't face another day at the mall!

Here's a handy last-minute gift-guide with Coupons:

1.  One of the best things you can give someone is your time, so how about a coupon for spending an afternoon catching up or just sitting awkwardly together?

2.  A foot-rub  is a great gift (if you're on touchy-feely terms). Here, I made you a coupon.

3.  Pedi-paint! Who doesn't like a little colour on their toenails? 

4. Co-chore coupon. Doing chores alone is a bummer - but doing them together gives you quality time and gets it done faster. I made you some co-chore coupons if you want to print them out for your kids to give mom or dad. For girls....

...or boys.

5.  Nothing says "I love you" like "I will sit through a movie with you." Kids can give this coupon to parents or vice-versa. Thanks to co-choring, you'll have more time for watching movies. Or napping.

6.  Yup. I made a porn version for grownups. That was The Huz's suggestion haw haw. #NSFW

7.  This one prolly won't work but it's worth a shot: It's called "The I will be quiet for 5 minutes Coupon". It's worth an eye-roll between parents if nothing else.

8.  Some folks feel that nothing is more meaningful than bacon, but they're trying to cut down. A coupon for bacon is the next best thing to actual bacon. I am so smart.

9.  But then there's Chocolate. Nothing is more meaningful than chocolate.

10.  Oh wait....I forgot WINE. Nothing is more meaningful than wine.

11.  After using your Wine Coupon you'll want to sleep in. Wouldn't it be nice if your spouse took the kids in the morning so you could sleep as late as you want? If you truly love someone, you'll give them this coupon. It's deeply meaningful.

My favorite presents are drawings. Obviously.

I made you a PDF HERE so you can easily print these coupons out, use them as stocking stuffers, or just forward them in an email to someone you love (or like a lot). They are FREE to use as gifts and they make good gifts ALL YEAR ROUND.

I love you and you are welcome.

Tweet

The FirstBORN Graduates.

Ticking off the milestones, in this case, the 17 year old daughter's High School Graduation Ceremony. I was sitting in the auditorium, with all the other parents. The students started filing in. My camera was all charged up and ready. Then it wouldn't turn on. I realized I wasn't going to get any photos of the entire event.

I admit I sobbed like a big baby, which I would have done anyway. My mascara didn't stand a chance....

Good thing I know how to draw.

She got her diploma and an Award in Current Events. She also had the recognition of her peers for math, since she organized study groups and helped many other students to learn math. My heart is bursting and I'm so proud of my girl!

What milestones have your little ones passed?

Share this moment.

Tweet

Free BANNER.

I was designing that last banner for Kadi Prescott and I found this other banner I made about a year ago. I don't even remember what it was for. But since it's just laying around I might as well give it away to someone who likes it. Who knows? Maybe someone out there could really use it, right? And if no one wants it, no harm done.

I reckon it might be good for someone busy; someone who likes a lot of nice clean white...with a strong graphic black line and, uh, spot colour....er, kinda like I have here on this blog. Heh heh.

Obviously the design comes pretty much "as is" except for the title, which I'll redo. Oh, and it's It's 1000 X 250 pixels.

If you're interested, just leave your name and Twitter @ in the comments.If there's more than one I'll do a draw, ok? Closing the entries on Thursday May 12 at 9 PM Montreal time!

Share buttons are here.

Tweet