i need this break to work on my life a little. we are moving (down the street), i got new headshots (they rock), and i’m starting a cupcake business (‘mama loves cupcakes’).

i vow to be here more, not just for you, my loyal reader or two. (ahem). but for me! blogging is good writing practice, and a great place to hash out ideas. and post pictures. which you know i love to do.

happy new school year, and happy new whatever is new for you!

and since i hate photo-less posts:

this is my new favorite drink.

pomegranate juice + seltzer + vodka.

the results are extraordinary.

it tastes like summer.

and is perfect for drinking on your fire escape at sunset once the kiddies are in bed.

but it needs a name. what would you call it?

i’m not complaining. (maybe just a little). the fundraising part can be fun (ha!) actually, and lord knows i love me a good class trip. but jay-sus, when you have a kid in the nyc public schools, all you ever hear about is money money money. honestly, it gets a little tedious.

but sometimes you luck into something so special that you really don’t mind writing a check or baking for the sale or asking your friends for favors. such is the case with the pre-school miss thing attends. the boy went there also, two years ago. people, this place is special. it rocks. you wouldn’t know it to look at is from the outside, which is a lesson in itself. it’s tucked away at the bottom of a huge ‘project’ building in the bronx. the elevated train rattles by 100 feet from the front door,  you’ve got to watch your step as you approach (lots of dog walkers with no access to plastic bags apparently)… you get the picture. but step inside and it’s another world.

i can say without reservation that the marble hill nursery school is the best thing that ever happened to my son. he was very shy, easily overwhelmed and not interested in being left at school – even at age 4. his teachers were incredibly patient and perceptive – they realized the old ‘he’ll cry for a few minutes and then be fine’ was not going to be the case with him. he needed a slow, easy, loving, low-key introduction to school. i remember telling my sister-in-law, who has a son the same age, about our slow approach to leaving him at school, and she expressed surprise: not that he needed it, but that the school allowed it. i felt like saying, it’s what he needs, of course they ‘allowed it’! apparently her son’s pre-school didn’t work that way, no matter what. but then again, look at our teachers: most hold masters degrees, many from bank street. they’ve been there 10 or 15 years. they could probably teach anywhere they wanted in nyc. they are extremely dedicated to the mission of this school. we’ve also got an on-staff child psychologist (we made good use of her!), and music teacher. the kids bake. they paint. they make play dough. they glue and string. they dress up and take care of the babies. they play house. they work puzzles and build with blocks and create worlds within the classrooms. the play is child-directed, with guidance from the teachers. for the kids that are there all day, there is a hot lunch and nap time. the world inside the grimy brick wall is rich indeed.

all this is to say: it takes money to make all this happen, as i’m sure you know. and, as i’m sure you’ve guessed, it takes fundraising to get that money. the school needs to raise roughly $60,000 annually. that number obviously rises each year. tuition does go up, but not really that much (maybe 2%) each year, because they don’t want to shut people out….oh yeah, that’s the other thing about this place: no one is turned away. no one. you can’t pay? we’ll give you a scholarship. This assistance has enabled hundreds of children over the years to participate in a wonderful preschool experience which has prepared them to be very successful in future school endeavors. 

the school gets some money from the board of ed, and there’s been a pretty generous contributor for several years running, but there’s still at least 30 large to raise each year. there’s an annual live auction in june which generates a good amount, but this year we need more.  so the board of directors (of which i’m part) has decided to hold an online auction this year, which i think should be really fun. and because it’s online, we can reach a pretty wide audience. 

so, we need stuff to auction. good stuff! fun stuff! handmade sells really well. tickets, gift cards, one of a kind items, you name it. 

You Can Help:

are you a yoga or pilates teacher? donate a one-on-one session! are you a photographer? donate a print! do you knit or crochet? get those fingers moving and make us something! did you write a book? sign a copy and send it our way! going to some exotic place? pick up a cool souvenier! you get the picture, right? donations are tax deductible and you’ll be our hero!

if you think you can help us out, please leave me a comment. i’m going to be really bold and ask some specific crafty and fabulous bloggers directly for a donation. i’ll get back to those of you who want to donate with info as to where to send your goods. the auction will take place in late february or early march, so we need donations soon!

thank you thank you thank you!

seriously, though, wow. i’m really liking it, re-connecting with folks i haven’t heard from in years. great fun. i highly recommend it. it’s like blogging lite (love those creative status updates). which is why i’ve been neglecting this here site. which i don’t mean to, and will endeavor to pay more attention to. 

as soon as i update my status.

1. Where is your cell phone?     desktop
2. Your significant other?     work
3. Your hair?    up
4. Your mother?    domestic
5. Your father?     mortal
6. Your favorite thing?     ease
7. Your dream last night?     gone
8. Your favorite drink?     coffee
9. Your dream/goal?    expression
10. The room you’re in?    foyer
11. Your fear?    fear
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years?    home
13. Where were you last night?    home
14. What you’re not?    skinny
15. Muffins?   cake
16. One of your wish list items?    time
17. Where you grew up?    jersey
18. The last thing you did?    good-nighted
19. What are you wearing?    comfort (!)
20. Your TV?    off
22. Your computer?    love
23. Your life?    repetitive
24. Your mood?    snarly
25. Missing someone?    myself
26. Your car?    aging
27. Something you’re not wearing?    tight
28. Favorite Store?    trader joes
29. Your summer?     missing
30. Your favorite color?    twilight
31. When is the last time you laughed?     afternoon
32. Last time you cried?      afternoon
33. Who will/would re-post this?     ?
34. Four people who email me:      sta, lekia, mwd, lynn
35. Three of my favorite foods:     chocolate, bread, cheese (see #14)
36. Four places I’d rather be now:    bed, paris, summer, ?

go.

evidence of nearly finished product:

thank god i found a cheat sheet for this online; there is no way i could have/would have been able to follow EZ’s pattern as written. there would have been very bad results (knitting- and mental health-wise). that said, the pattern is hilarious and charming. quite entertaining, really, but really hard to follow. for me anyway. it took me several months to make this (how do people knit this in a week?). lucky for me, the intended recipient is still very tiny and unaware that his welcome gift is waaaay late. once those pretty buttons go on, it’ll be a little less boring…and it’ll also be DONE!

then i can move onto the next gift that i need to finish: the tweedy, sexy, red poncho. which is gorgeous. and way, way, WAY late. (it’s coming, sta, i promise).

found out i’m an ingrid

pretty pleased with that

she’s feisty this one; like a kitten. a wild kitten. she’s the girl i always wanted, and then some. funny thing is, she was so mellow when she was a baby. really. she would hang out and sleep and eat and poop and then sleep some more. i could count on just my fingers the rough nights we had her first 6 months; which is to say, not many.

she is such a girl. and i don’t mean in the “everything must be pink” or “please refer to me as princess” kind of girl…no. (this is a child, after all, who names one of her favorite colors as black). i mean in the “just because i like it doesn’t mean i want it” or “just because i said it doesn’t mean i meant it” kind of way. she kind of takes that whole idea of it being a woman’s right to change her mind to a whole new level. she makes you work.

i wish i were more like her; i do not doubt that her attitude will serve her well in life. 

i love you, my sweet and spicy “miss do”. happy third birthday.

one day old:

one year old:

two years old:

(talking to herself on the subway like every other crazy person in this city)

and now, three:

yes, that is leopard print. ’nuff said.

enjoy the cake porn.

a certain 6 year old i know made out very well this week on the cupcake front. and i had fun, too. (i wish i could take credit for the middle ones, but alas, cannot). now i get a 3 week respite, and then it starts all over again for a certain about-to-be 3 year old i know. oh yum.

…and oh my. i’d better make sure i get to the gym between batches.

six years ago today my life completely changed. for ever. for good. at 3:06 on the morning of october 7, 2002, i gave birth to my first child. a perfect, beautiful little boy. six and a half pounds, nineteen or so inches. tiny. huge.

i had no idea what i was in for. neither the crushing love i’d feel for this being i’d never before met – nor the crushing exhaustion that accompanies it. (i have never been so tired in my life. i never even thought it possible to be so tired. so trite, but soooo true. you mamas know what i’m talking about).

and today, he’s 6. six. SIX. my first baby is six and i am floored by that. i am writing this  as i sit next to him in the kitchen. he’s putting together a 482 piece lego set that he got for his birthday. we’re hanging out. it’s so cool.

happy birthday, bug. i love you endlessly.

one day old:

one year old:

two years old:

three years old:

four years old:

five years old:

and now, six: