Potatoes in the Mist

He's wearing a Red Sox onesie...

So I got together today with a friend from Brooklyn to do lunch with the babies. She and I are on the same wavelength in many ways and going through a lot of the same things. We also like the same FOOD, though she is giving up cupcakes for Lent. I had my usual golden cupcake with vanilla icing (it's a vegan cupcake and better than any other I've tried) and tried not to feel like Satan tempting Jesus. I also got a bunch of pictures. Some are dark, but I actually liked the effect.

So I got an e-mail from my mom this morning. She was telling me she had mailed a remote control for E. When she was here over Valentine's Day weekend, she had brought a toy remote for him, but it only worked inside the box - once we took it out, it stopped making sounds (it says "ha ha" when you press the keys, stuff like that). We changed the batteries, but no luck. There were a couple of things about the e-mail... 1) She accidentally wrote "Remove" in the subject line, so I thought I had written something in my blog that needed to go (once she advised me to take something out of the blog because it might be bad if someone saw it). 2) I already got a card from the post office saying I have a package to pick up. The only thing I'm expecting is the replacement remote, which I thought my mom had mailed earlier. So what's in the package? I'll let you know if it's anything exciting...

So E still has no teeth, even though I dreamed he had a complete row on the bottom. I also dreamed that I went barefoot and without my pocketbook to a sort of patisserie/hair salon, so that shows you how true my dreams are :) He does have a sharp edge poking out of his lower gum, though it is taking its own sweet time to emerge. I finished The Mighty Queens of Freeville, a memoir I thoroughly enjoyed, about a single mom who became an NPR commentator and the replacement for Ann Landers. But I loved Everyone is Beautiful by Katherine Center. It bumped her up to my favorite author list. And there's a cupcake on the cover. What's not to like? (I actually found an Amazon list written by a woman who favors books with cupcakes on their covers, and it seems like a fairly reliable criterion.) What else? I'm embarrassed to admit I spent $17 on a teething giraffe - one of those rare moments when I fall susceptible to advertising. E took one look at it, and, bored, turned back to the v...

Here's the hat I just finished, using Babelbabe's yarn.

Here's E after some peas and brown rice (pureed, of course!)

So D and I went out for Valentine's Day dinner. My mom was in town and she looked after E. We went to this Italian restaurant we always frequent on V-Day. Tonight, the food was unusually delicious. They always bring out a little mound of white beans with focaccia-like bread. Then we shared an escarole and beet salad with truffle oil (lighter on the oil than it used to be). For my entree, I had butternut squash tortelloni (and one of D's wild mushroom ravioli). The dessert was the best. It was warm apple spice cake, with walnuts for a bit of crunch, drizzled with a light caramel sauce and flanked by a scoop of vanilla ice cream. As we shared it, I said, "This is a peak experience" and "This is one of the best things that has ever happened to me." It really was. BabelBabe sent me some beautiful multicolored yarn, and it helped rekindle my enthusiasm for knitting. I've been working on a cream-colored scarf for ages. For some reason, I forgot that I prefer m...

What a tasty finger... E always beams when he sees the "soft baby rabbit" in the book, though I didn't capture it here. He also smiles and laughs at baby pictures (in a joyous, non-mocking way), whether they're his own or pictures of Liz's baby on Facebook. He has a new habit of yelling "Dada!" at men who look nothing like D (an Indian man in Massachusetts, a Mexican man at a sandwich shop). Fortunately, they were amused. I changed my mind about Disney World. I'm not sure I'm up for a vacation with a baby. D was understanding.

So D and I are going to Disney World this year. We usually take a vacation in March and we usually go to Miami. I wasn't thrilled about Miami this year. It just doesn't seem kid-friendly. Since E is in a phase of screeching in restaurants (he actually says, "EEEEEE!"), D saw the light. E may be too young to fully enjoy Disney World, but it's definitely kid-friendly. And the hotel we plan to stay in has a pool. He can wear his little bathing trunks from Talbots. In other news, my SIL had a celebrity spotting (and actual interaction)! Her e-mail is below (I took out some identifying details). "I met Matt Damon today. I was in the elevator with my ____ today at ____ and the elevator stops and he and his wife Lucy, and their 2-year-old Isabella get on - they were touring the school. We teachers were introduced to him by a fellow teacher and we shook his hand. He was very friendly and totally hot. It was a good day."

So D and I just got back from the two-year-old birthday party. We had a nice time. There was a pregnant woman there, but I didn't mention it until she told me she was pregnant. I also saw a bunch of people I haven't seen since my 10-year college reunion. Many of them now have kids. The party also included my Waterloo - yellow cake with frosting. I won't tell you how many pieces I had - let's just say it's time to brush my teeth. I can act like a normal adult around any other type of dessert. Chocolate is especially easy to resist.

This is a picture a friend took at a diner. It's E, plus my hair.

So E either let me sleep through the night (or woke me up only once). I can't remember being woken up, which is a good sign. So I feel pretty good. We watched Welcome Home, Roscoe Jenkins on HBO last night. (We recently got HBO just for the Big Love season.) I really liked Roscoe. Despite watching it HBO-style (i.e., missing the first 45 minutes), I knew what was going on and it was funny but not crude (well, it had a couple of moments, but they were still somehow wholesome). Martin Lawrence tends to be wholesome, I think. So does Queen Latifah, actually. E watched the movie with me. I realized the key to E's movie happiness is to remove the batteries and small plates from a couple of remote controls and give them to him. We also have a phone we don't use, so I gave him that as well. I also found out that my inner child is male. I like the idea of having an inner child all fierce and wild :) It also explains why I don't like shopping.

Just stopped by a blog I hadn't visited in a while...and saw pictures of the blogger's new baby! There is something magical about a newborn. Right now I am feeding E a mix of cereal and pears...he doesn't like it quite as much as fruit straight up, but he is taking it with grace. He's become especially into toys lately. We can set him up with an assortment of his favorites, and he's basically happy for an hour. No teeth yet, though he's gumming everything in sight. This Sunday we are headed to a two-year-old's birthday party...should be fun and chaotic. I'll try to take pictures...