Potatoes in the Mist

Well, I am happy to report that we were not too much affected by the storm. It was a bigger deal than Irene, though. I knew this when Z woke up to nurse and I peeked out the window. Other than the building opposite the street, which shares our generator, everything was pitch black. No taxis on the street, no streetlights, just a random ambulance barreling through. Patches of the city still have no electricity - there's a line of demarcation above which everything is normal ("Of course we're open!") and then you're plummeted into darkness, until you see our building. There are some strange people in our lobby; I guess they have nowhere else to go. Our local supermarket is closed, no electricity. I've been getting fresh fruit from a corner mart. If I want real groceries, I will have to take a taxi to another neighborhood. The subway is still not running, and not all of the traffic lights are working. Fortunately, we stocked up at Gristedes before the storm.

The new baby was born! This morning, at 8:42 am, my SIL ended up having a C-section. I haven't seen her or the baby yet. I remember begging for a C-section during my first labor and being denied; now I'm glad I was. I hope she is ok. D and I had a parent interview at a really nice school uptown. Down-to-earth, intellectual, nice people. On the subway afterward, Z inspired some competition between the women sitting on either side of me. Z took a shine to one of them and kept slapping her on the palm and smiling. The other woman, not to be outdone, gave Z her iPhone which had a special reflective covering, so Z could see her reflection. (Of course it was the phone itself that appealed to her.) Eventually I took the phone from Z (I think the woman would not have minded if she kept it).

So I'm reading The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton (not as good as The Secret Keeper , but what can you do) and The Social Animal by David Brooks, which is kind of awesome. I don't usually like nonfiction that much, but his premise is pretty interesting. He's revising popular views of the unconscious (as a dark quagmire of unhealthy urges that should be suppressed) and portraying it instead as the seat of our creative impulses and the source of most of our decisions. He's also saying that most of our instinctive emotional reactions are valid and accurate. Also that we should see ourselves as multiple selves and not one rigid individual. It sounds pretty trippy but he is also a famous New York Times writer so the whole thing is pretty grounded. Anyway. And...my SIL is in the hospital! In labor! Will keep you posted. Her due date is tomorrow so she might be one of those rare birds whose due date is accurate.

So today I brought E to a playgroup for one of the schools he is applying to - and found out the parents were touring the school during the playgroup. They did NOT tell us this in the email, so I had brought Z with me (if I had known, I would have got a babysitter for her). I was not the only victim; another parent brought his little guy, who was not as active as Z. Still, we spent some time sitting in the hallway during the tour. Z made herself at home:

I just finished The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton and now I have that sad feeling you get when a really good book ends. But happy too, because it was so good. So now I might go back and read some of her other books. I might also read Spring Fever by Mary Kay Andrews. We're having a nice long Indian summer - end of October and it's still in the 60s.

It was decided at Z's baby group this morning that she is walking! She has been "cruising" (walking while holding onto things) for a while, and over the past few weeks she has been taking a few steps, every day, without holding onto anything. One of the other moms said this counts :) We got someone to watch Z during every single interview and tour. AND I got two new dresses at Ann Taylor Loft today and some new shoes (the first "dress" shoes, e.g., not Birkenstocks and not sneakers, that I have bought since 2004). So I am ready to go!

I started reading The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton. She was one of those authors I wanted to like, but we never quite clicked; but now we have! Yay. I recommend it. I am feeling more sanguine about the admissions process. We now have an interview at almost every school we applied to.

Buying clothes for a baby girl never gets old. I also got her a ladybug costume for Halloween, but I think it will look better on, so I'll put up a picture then. In addition, I am giving ALL these clothes to my SIL once Z outgrows them. Her baby will be exactly a year younger, so it works out perfectly. I was thinking about that "What would you tell your younger self?" question (sparked by listening to some music I liked in college). I would say, "Worry less and enjoy yourself more." Now, to apply that to the present... E's second private school interview seemed to go well. I liked the school itself even better than the first. And it has more seats available. So we'll see.

So I'm reading Winter Journal by Paul Auster - he usually writes fiction, but this is a memoir. It's written in the second person, but it's about his life. I came across this passage: "You arranged for someone to come and tune the out-of-tune piano, which had not been played in years A blind man showed up the next day (you have rarely met a piano tuner who is not blind)..." Are piano tuners really usually blind? Anyone have experience with them? I had a happy childhood, but two regrets: I wish I took piano lessons, and ballet.

Today my mom was in the city and E had no school. So we took him and Z to a park near Chambers Street ("This is the best park I've ever seen!" said E). Later I had a happy experience at Old Navy: I got a purple wool coat that is super cute and some jeans that are pre-pregnancy size. We finished the day by going to Bombay Talkie and having some really delicious garlic naan.

A shameful confession...I am usually pretty good with electronic devices...but my Kindles break all the time. It's too bad they're so awesome, and have converted me from the printed word to e-readerdom, because they break so easily. My iPhone can stand all kinds of abuse - the sandbox, Z's sticky fingers, falling out of the stroller - but my Kindle drops once and it's gone. Any advice from Kindle owners?

Once my SIL, who studied psychology, was talking about cognitive reframing. I asked her, "Is that when you try to see things differently?" She said yes. I'm trying to do that. Tomorrow we have the first of our private school interviews. It's kind of a pressure situation, worse than the bar exam. (I remember at the bar exam I ran into a girl from my college who had just got engaged, and we admired her diamond ring during the break.) It's also the furthest away of the schools we applied to (which is probably why we got an interview so easily). So we have the worst one first, really (although the school itself seems quite nice). So I am trying to reframe as follows: (My natural reaction) What a pain in the ass. I don't want to do this stupid interview in a different borough. (My reframed reaction) The campus looks cute. It will be fun to see it. If they ask a question I'm not sure how to answer, I'll let D take it. Additionally, it occurs to me th...