Potatoes in the Mist

So I just got back from the "gala." D stayed a bit longer, to bid at the live auction. It's all to benefit E's school. I bid on some items in the silent auction (a tour of a chocolate factory, a big basket from Fairway, a tote with small-dog items for a neighbor, a box of special teas with an infuser). Hopefully we will win something. I decided the black sparkly dress was de trop (and a bit uncomfortable too), so I just wore a long black skirt, a long-sleeved top from the Gap, and black strappy sandals. Some women were wearing cocktail dresses and others were in corduroys and sneakers, so I guess I fell somewhere in between.

Just got carded at the liquor store. I love those moments. 

Tomorrow night we're going to a "gala" at my son's school. It's a fundraiser with food provided by Danny Meyer, all very ooh-la-la. But of course all I'm thinking is: do I have to dress up? I bought a black glitter dress from H&M (one of my new favorite stores, it costs barely more than Old Navy but is somehow classier). But still, despite the dress, which I like well enough, I don't really want to dress up. Which brought up a submerged memory: hiding in my room, then under the coffee table, because I didn't want to dress up to see The Nutcracker as a child. I wanted to see it, I just didn't want to put on a skirt. Which raises the question: how much do we change, from when we were children? Not much, I bet.

Mother-in-law and a family friend took Eric to a puppet show in the East Village. I love his expression in this photo.

I was reading the NPR review of Anne Tyler's latest novel, A Spool of Blue Thread , and came across this excerpt: The house is lovingly described, and like Tyler's novels, it's well-built, homey and unpretentious, "a house you might see pictured on a thousand-piece jigsaw puzzle, plain-faced and comfortable, with the Stars and Stripes, perhaps, flying out front and a lemonade stand at the curb."

The title of this post describes our efforts at toilet training. With Eric, we plopped him on the toilet for months, then suddenly, magically he was toilet trained. (This also happened to someone in Zoe's class.) With Zoe, we have not yet hit the elusive payoff. I put her on the potty every day. Sometimes she goes there when she needs to, sometimes she doesn't and wets her pants instead. I put her in underwear every day. Sometimes they stay dry, sometimes they don't. I remember a friend of my mother-in-law's telling me that her daughter was wearing pull-ups until age 4 or 5. Then a kindergarten friend saw the pull-ups in her closet and said, "Ew, what are those?" Hopefully we won't get to that point.

Just rode 3.25 miles while listening to Madonna, Sting and The Police. If you ask me, there is nothing like 80s music :)

Just saw a study on Facebook that says the longer babies breastfeed, the more they achieve in life. Zoe is going to do great things, then :) And yes, I will wean her someday. Though it seems like a daunting task.

We got tickets to see Hamilton - popular new Broadway play about the founding father, Alexander Hamilton, with a twist: it's all hip hop. I was skeptical at first, but it does look entertaining. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jaSD7NY3SCo

Last night I dreamed that a stripper became the first female president. She had long brown hair and there was a photo of George W. Bush grabbing her chest during a performance. She was smart, and only stripping to support her two daughters. She was a single mom living in a nice section of Harlem on 105th Street. Everyone was so interested in her being a stripper that they forgot she was the first female president. At some point I said, "Hey! She's the first female president!" and everyone said, "Yay!"

It's snowing cats and dogs outside (hehe), although it's a little late for that sort of thing. Isn't March supposed to be spring? Anyway, I had a little Toblerone to fortify me for pickup. My back is doing better after I saw the chiropractor yesterday, but I have to go back next week. It's still stiff and I have limited range of motion. (This reminds me of the time I saw a pair of 80-year-olds on the bus in deep conversation, with seeming relish, about all their ailments. I am already heading in that direction.) Just finished Journey to the River Sea, about an English schoolgirl moving to the Amazon, and now I've plunged into another book by the same author (Eva Ibbotson), this one set in an Austrian castle.

Ugh, I threw my back out. The last time I did that, I was bending down to take E out of his crib. So that would have been 2008 or 2009. So at least it doesn't happen very often. I am walking around like a hunchback. Can't stand up straight. So tomorrow I am going to the chiropractor. It's been so long since I have seen him, he has moved to a new office. Still on 5th Avenue, but further up. Closer to my house, actually. So that is good. Finishing up Double Fudge Brownie Murder by Joanne Fluke. I always enjoy her food-related mysteries.

So, anyone here who follows Judy in KY - she has a new blog, munchkinandbuddy.blogspot.com. Go over and say hi :) It's 34 today. Feels like spring. Well, sort of :)