Potatoes in the Mist

Just finished The Husband List by Janet Evanovich. Fun, light historical romance, set in New York in 1890. Recommended if you are looking for an engaging read. I actually stayed up late to finish it. Haven't done that in a while.

The piano lesson ended up going fine. Z hung back, probably because she hadn't met the piano teacher before. The teacher was nice but a little intense - wanted to move the family photos off the piano so E wouldn't be distracted, etc. She taught him how to play "Hot Cross Buns" and they talked about middle C. E told me afterward, "We didn't learn that much," but it seemed like a fair amount. I don't know if he will continue after the 3-pack ends or not; he said he'd decide then.

There was an auction to benefit E's school a few weeks ago, and D bid on a few items. Among other things, he won a three-pack of piano lessons for E. There's a piano at the in-laws' apartment, so the lessons can be there. Currently they're in Florida. I'm a little nervous about the lesson because Z wants to do whatever E is doing. I guess this is common with siblings; my nephew wanted to do whatever his older sister was doing, including painting his toenails. I actually went to their apartment for a few minutes today and Z played something quite melodic on the piano. Unfortunately, the teacher will only teach kids who are 4 1/2 and up. So I might have to take Z into another room or even to CVS or something. The first lesson is tomorrow. We'll see what happens.

I miss Cancun already. Wondering what other super-beautiful places I should visit...any recommendations?

So I'm in Cancun! It's very relaxing. More when I get back. (I hear there will be snow on Saturday, in Massachusetts anyway. Hopefully not in New York.)

Zoe said "baby" today, over and over. I think it qualifies as her first word...she has said Mama, Daddy and "up," but none of them as frequently.

I really want winter to be over.

I've been trapped inside most of the day. I took a brief walk while D watched the kids, and picked up some wine. (The liquor store was busy.) We still haven't heard from all of E's schools, but the drama of private school applications has been overshadowed by the drama of the storm. So far there isn't much accumulation, but it's quite messy and I think we're supposed to get more snow overnight.

So today was supposed to be the big day when we would find out where E got in. So far we have got responses from 3 schools out of 11: one yes, one no, one waitlist. We haven't found out from our top choice yet. But it's good to get a yes :)

So E has this book, Cupcake , and it has a recipe for cupcakes in the back. They are plain vanilla, with vanilla icing. So my hopes weren't high. But we went ahead and made them, and they were delicious! He especially liked the frosting.

D and I went to a fundraiser for E's school last night. It was held at his school. They transformed the social hall into a nightclub setting. There was roulette, craps, blackjack and a "signature drink" (champagne and strawberry juice with pomegranate seeds on the bottom). One mother only drank soda water but was chomping at the bit to gamble. I played craps for the first time, coached by the croupiers and one of the dads. It was kind of interesting though complicated. When we got home, you could tell that Z felt abandoned, even though we had a very nice babysitter. That did make me feel bad, though I had a nice time and it was fun to engage with the "adult" world.

We had to go through all this passport mishegoss today...went to the P.O. right before 12 and left at 1:37...waited and waited and waited and then the woman decided we needed two, not one, copies of our passports (in addition to the originals)...I had to run outside and make copies and come back. What a nightmare. Later I heard that song "Breakfast at Tiffany's" by Deep Blue Something and it really brought me right back to college...anyone remember that song?