From the Old to the Young

We took Norah and Harvey to see Aunt Lena and Auntie Weenie and Uncle Paul in Brooklyn this weekend. We were supposed to spend half of the day with each of them but it didn't work out that way. We arrived at Lena's before nine and went to visit her 96 year old sister who lives a couple of streets away. Norah cowered behind me most of the time and Harvey grabbed giant Italian indoor fences and pointed to glass figurines of dancing women, saying, "S'Tha" over and over. We ate struboli from Christmas and listened to Lena and Mary talk to each other in very guttural Italian slang.

From there, we moved back to Aunt Lena where in a matter of thirty minutes, she made some of the best food I have ever eaten at her house: pan fried pork chops with red peppers soaked in vinegar, a salad, a vegetable stew, macaroni with chick peas, mushrooms, and other yumminess.

Norah sat on the counter next to Lena and watched her cut an onion without very letting the knife leave the vegetable, she watched her salt the food over and over again until it was just right, and then she ate and ate and ate. I watched Brian, Norah, and Lena in her small kitchen making big food. I watched and listened. What a day.

Harvey and Norah at the Beach

A complete calm fell over Harvey when he came close to the water. He did not need toys, he did not need singing, or dancing--he just wanted to look out over the ocean, stare at it. Every once in a long while, he would let out a low coo that melted into the sound of the waves. It was truly spectacular to see.

Home Again, Home Again... For Now

There was something bitter sweet about returning home from Florida to a For Sale sign in our front yard. Our tiny little home--we came here with our six month old and we are leaving here with two toddlers. I have come to love this white wooden house, all of its nooks and crannies, its scratchy and smooth places. Its ours. We became a family here. We are moving forward to bigger, maybe better homes and places, but this 19 Carolin Road, this home of ours, it has stolen my heart.

Florida Bound

We are headed out of the house by 4:30 tomorrow morning on a 6 am flight to Daytona. I have never been a real fan of Florida, but we are going to be with family in a couple of condos by the beach. Harvey has never been to the ocean, and I can't wait for the two of them to feel the sand pushing through their toes. We will be back on Saturday, and then we are in the final stretch (6 days) before our house officially goes on the market. I have to say, I am kind of sad to leave New Jersey right now--everything is in bloom and the sun is coming out.

My mom found out that she was going to get laid off today. She made it through 40 years in the workforce and countless lay-offs and, well, they finally got her. I can remember holding my breath on nights before big lay-offs and then hearing the laughing sound of my mom's voice through the telephone each time explaining that, nope, they didn't get her this time, but there would always be a next time. And at 62 her time finally came. It's ok, Mama, it's all for a reason. Maybe we will all meet up in the Pacific Northwest just a little sooner than we were planning on it. I love you.

On an unrealted, but happier note, I have been doing some Waldorf-related reading about the early childhood years and it is really coming in handy. One of the ways that Rahima Baldwin suggests in her book, You Are Your Child's First Teacher to get your children's engaged in their toys is to set them up in unique and interesting ways after they go to bed at night so their attention will be drawn to those toys in the morning. Well, Brian has been doing this with Norah's blocks and it has worked. On Sunday morning, she built an intricate city and was so proud of herself.

The Picture

Louden Wainwright wrote a song with this title and the lyrics spring right out of my mouth upon seeing the look on Harvey's face above.


There are pictures on the piano,
Pictures of the family,
Mostly my kids but there's an old
Picture of you and me.
You were five and I was six
In 1952;
That was forty years ago—
How could it be true?

We were sitting outside drawing
At a table meant for cards,
And it must have been in autumn,
Falling leaves in the front yard,
With a shoebox full of crayons,
Full of colors oh so bright,
In a picture in a plastic frame,
A snapshot black and white.

You were looking at my paper,
Watching what I drew;
It was natural: I was older,
Thirteen months more than you.
A brother and a sister,
A little boy and girl,
And whoever took that picture
Captured our own world.

A brother needs a sister
To watch what he can do,
To protect and to torture,
To boss around—it's true;
But a brother will defend her
For a sister's love is pure,
Because she thinks he's wonderful
When he is not so sure.

In the picture there's a fender
Of our old Chevrolet
Or Pontiac—our dad would know,
Surely he could say;
But dad is dead and we grow old;
It's true that time flies by;
And in forty years the world has changed
As well as you and I.

Sundress-y Kind of Weather

I finished it. What a great knit this was. I was really very wary of knitting with cotton because of the unkind words Brenda Dayne of Cast On has made of the fiber, but Blue Sky Alpaca Dyed Cotton is unbelievable to work with. I made the classic mistake of casting off too tightly around the neck, though, and, Brenda is right, cotton doesn't shrink. I love the dress, but it won't fit Norah for long. It barely fits her now--in fact, Brian commented that she looks a bit like Muscles Marinara in it. I am going to force her to wear it nonetheless. If you ever decide to make the pattern, go up a size.

Soulemama and Seedpod have inspired me to do a bit of birding in my back yard. I used the zoom lens on my camera to get up close looks at some of the truly beautiful birds that fly outside of my window every day. Unfortunately, I am not a quick shot, but I did get a couple of pretty photos:




And, well, in my eyes, there is nothing prettier than this:


and this:

Almost There

The three of us are almost four--Brian has been gone since Monday but is coming back late tomorrow night. The week has gone fairly well considering its auspicious start. The sun has been warming our faces and necks and our spirits as well. Harvey is continuing to practice his new dance which is exclusively pelvic thrusts.

Norah and I have done some drawing:



The above is a picture of a dog that I drew. She added legs to it (for the first time intentionally drawing something that resembled the thing she was claiming it to be).

Our house is almost ready to put on the market. We have finished repainting the inside--below is a picture of our new and improved living room walls and fireplace:



We have some small touch-ups on the inside and the outside of the house needs to be cleaned, but we are almost there. In more ways than one, we are almost there.

Another One of Those Days

1. Brian left for five days this morning.
2. He took his car to the shop
3. I took Norah to school.
4. My car overheated.
5. I had no car and a daughter who needed to be picked up in two hours.
6. I had two lovely friends who helped me get through the day.

In lighter news, Norah has announced the following regarding Harvey's illness, "Harvey has diarrhea in his butt. I don't like diarrhea." She also explained to me this evening that the heater is cold (we don't have the heat on anymore) and could I put a coat on it. Thank goodness she helped me laugh my way through this harrowing 10 hours.

Finally, I have signed the below petition to add our names taken off of the phone book distribution list. What a waste of paper.

I am in. I spent the month of February on my retail fast and I am going to spend the month of April doing as well. Mine is starting tomorrow and ending on May 5. There may be some exceptions this month (unlike February) as we are putting our house on the market and have to get a few things here and there to spruce up the place a bit more, but I am totally in. And I have added my own rule--no eating out either unless there was a previous engagement or we are forced to do so with family in Florida. I will keep you posted. Before the day is out today, I need to buy a birthday present, and then game on.

today was one of those days

that I just felt like crying all day. The recipe for the day was there--couldn't fall asleep last night, Harvey teething and waking up throughout the night, cold day with unpermiting weather, no scheduled plans to see anyone, and bad news on the job front yesterday. Brian is also coming home very late tonight so I knew it was going to be a long one.

I tried though, I really did try. This morning Norah and Mama went out for their very own breakfast while Dada stayed home with the H-Bomb. Norah has been really asserting her independence from me these days. And the more I need love from her, the further away she pulls. So, I have been trying to play it really cool (and I am NOT very good at this). When I engage her rather than seek love from her, our interactions go a lot better. So after our little breakfast this morning (Starbucks was the only place on earth open early enough for our breakfast time), we went to CVS and picked up some paint. By the time we go back home, H was down for his first nap and the painting began.




I spent the rest of the day battling exhaustion and the temptation to crumble into a lump of tears on the floor. When the kids woke from their very short naps, I managed to get outside and ran into our incredibly nice neighbor and his neat two year old. We strolled to the park on this very cold, windy day and chatted about everything under the sun--dieting, real estate, teaching, two year olds, etc... I got some much needed respit from my head while we talked.



Tomorrow will be better. Yes. It will.