Potatoes in the Mist

This morning I joined the elite ranks of people who put spinach in their smoothies. It was good!

Zoe cracks me up. I think potty training is largely a social endeavor for her. She copies Eric when he goes. Then she saw a boy she likes at the playroom and copied him. I don't dare put her in underwear all day yet. But if all the kids use the potty together at preschool, I think we are all set.

I really like Tori Amos' new song. I've been a fan of hers since I won free tickets to her concert in St. Louis in 1996. (I dipped my toes in the Mississippi River.) Her new song is called Trouble's Lament, off the upcoming album Unrepentant Geraldines.

I'm kind of sad that Eric's play is over. I was looking forward to it and really enjoyed watching it. Now it's done. But hopefully there are a lot more plays in his future. I realized I really like live theater. D and I are seeing Heathers (based on the movie) on Broadway this weekend. Another milestone: Zoe pooped on the potty for the first time! I know, this is a lot of potty talk. But exciting that progress is happening so fast. She also peed on it a number of times and has been wearing underwear for short spells.

Today was E's play at school. He was Jack in "Jack in the Beanstalk." It was an adorable production. In the photo of the cast, he's in the back row on the left. I think he really enjoys acting.

So our building is undergoing extensive renovations. A few months ago, they removed all the asbestos from the pipes. Then in May and June, they are going to remove the pipes and revamp the ventilation system. It means that workmen will be in our apartment from 6:30am to 7pm many days during that month. Apparently there is a lot of dust generated by the process. They do put plastic on your furniture to protect it, but some of it ends up on the floor when they leave. Everyone who has gone through the process (in other buildings in my complex) urged us to "go away" during the HVAC work. However, most of them had it done during the summer. We managed to find, through "Airbnb," an apartment 30 blocks north of us. That will bring us considerably closer to E's school and further from Z's classes. But since there are gaps between the work, I will just try to be in our apartment on the days Z has activities. I like the idea of cleaning up dust during the pauses rat

I like this yarn. Sometimes you just need to try something new.

So my long-term goals with Zoe are potty training her and weaning her. The first is going swimmingly. She peed twice on the potty today! So I think she will be mostly trained by the time she starts school (5 months from now). I'm going to get her some underwear soon. The second will be harder. I was talking to another mom who nursed somewhat late (her son was 2 when she stopped). She recommended being away from your child for a few hours each day (preschool will fit the bill) and NOT nursing to "reunite" - instead finding some other way to reunite when school is over. And replacing nursing sessions with milk or juice in a cup. We shall see. I'm going to start doing this (very gradually) when she starts preschool. In the meantime, we are enjoying the spring weather. It's nice to be outside again.

Listening to Coldplay's new song "Magic." The cynical part of me can't help wondering if Chris Martin (Coldplay's lead singer) and Gwyneth Paltrow timed their breakup to generate publicity for Coldplay's new album. But regardless, it's a great song. I also finished a great book recently...The Opposite of Maybe by Maddie Dawson.

Zoe peed on the potty for the second time today! It was around 10am, so that is probably a good time for her to go there. I'm so excited! Maybe it's easier with a girl, after all. Also, E has a starring role in the play Jack and the Beanstalk at his school - he will be Jack! He reads his lines really well.

So I was making spinach coconut chickpea curry (quite good; you can find the recipe here ). Zoe kept asking for "more chickpeas." Then I put all the chickpeas in the pan so I offered her some raw baby spinach. "More spinach!" She cracks me up. I have to remember all this for when I have to pack her a lunch someday. I bet the teachers will be surprised.

Well, Zoe peed on the potty for the first time yesterday. Hopefully this will put her on track for nursery school in the fall. They didn't say she needed to be toilet trained, but I'm sure they would prefer it if she is at least partway there. Her "motivator" on the potty is still The Pigeon Needs a Bath. I've been reading Agatha Christie.

So I have started potty training Zoe. We trained Eric later (starting when he was 3, and it didn't really "take" until he was three and a half) but I figure you can start with girls earlier. I was having trouble getting her to stay on the potty. With Eric, if you gave him a laptop he was happy to sit there for ages. Not so with Zoe. Finally I got her to sit there for about fifteen minutes today (maybe more) while I read "The Pigeon Needs a Bath" by Mo Willems over and over. (She loves that book, but it doesn't make her any more inclined to take a bath, unfortunately.) Anyway, I was pleased she sat there that long. She hasn't peed in the potty yet, but I think this is progress. (I am going to post about this periodically, to keep myself on track.)

I watched a little bit of Frozen with Zoe. She was rapt, but it also lulled her to sleep. So i just transferred her to bed. It really does seem good.

When Zoe woke me this morning, I was having a strange, Haruki Murakami-like dream. I was in an elevator with no buttons. A disembodied voice said, "We are heading to the thirteenth floor." The elevator may have done a couple of somersaults, I'm not sure.