rose blanche

spring is creeping in on us. it's hanging out, showing it's face with a few warm days here and there. still not warm enough to really get excited about, but harlan needs his vitamin D so we're out in the sun whenever it shines.
i'm fascinated at watching pure human nature show through in my son's behavior. if you place cheerios on a chair for him to easily reach, he will place them on the floor and sit down and eat them from the floor. (not throw them, but gingerly 'place' them on the floor, very intently). he shrieks and squeals at pigeons as if they're the most unique and amazing creatures he's ever seen. he laughs and says hello to pictures of other babies and children, but if a real one is around, he freezes and is suddenly shy. he gets so excited to be near you sometimes, he'll lean in and bite your face (other moms have verified that this is normal, and my child is not a vampire, btw).

i continue to try to watch harlan for cues on my own behavior. and i let him keep me in check when i forget to 'live in the now, and not in the future'.



today, i'm missing paris. it's easy to miss...but, i'm excited beyond words about a week long trip to nyc in june. can't wait to play mom in the big city. need some new clothes, these boston clothes are drab.

bring the noise!

as if in response to my previous post (or maybe just in response to my horrible mood this week), harlan screamed last night at 1am for two and a half hours. we're talking, inconsolable, balls to the wall, full throat, kill your mother screaming. he was taking no prisoners, he was on a mission, he was fit to be tied.
thanks harlan, ya done good by me.

blue

blue moods have taken over this week, but at least i know where they're coming from. sad news in my family. if any of you know my little brother nigel and what a talented and beautiful person he is, you understand. with some people, the world just eats them up and spits them out. it almost seems they never had a chance in the first place...not in this life.
live for the day, love your life, no matter how miserable you think you are...it could all be taken away from you in a second. and the next thing you know, you're staring down four walls in a 5x5 cell for the next 29 years. the judicial system doesn't work in the favor of the poor, or even middle class, it could happen to any one of us.
take comfort in your morning coffee (or tea), take comfort in your warm clean bed, take comfort in the sunshine on your face or the rain, take comfort in your freedom and never take it for granted.

this song is for my little brother, while you aren't gone forever, i will miss you just the same.

songs of the week...

to prove what freakish mood swings i've been having this week (partly due to a terrible cold i caught from my sprog and the fact that spring is right around the corner...), here are the songs i can't stop listening to:

drop the phone by shy child

this song (band) makes me want to be lil' single gal again. i saw this band on some random fashion show that happen to be on bravo while i was flipping channels one night, and it was a drummer and a guy playing keytar (yeah, you heard me, 'keytar') and a bunch of models walking around chairs like a cake walk. it was fun to watch, and i immediately had the song stuck in my head for days. i just want to put on striped tights with a mini skirt and dance like i've had too many fizzy pink drinks.
(also the lyrics crack me up, they're so completely ridiculous)

raining in darling by bonnie prince billy

i promise i do listen to things other than will oldham projects...but hubby put this album ('i see a darkness') on the other day during breakfast and i had completely forgotten how much i loved this song...now i can't get it out of my head (when i don't have that shy child song in my head, of course).

ttfn.

pillow fight!!!

ahh...a wholesome event for the family...BRING IT!!

Saturday, March 22nd, 2PM
Copley Square

It is with pride that we announce Boston has been invited to participate in the first International Pillow Fight Day!

They have been happening in cities throughout the past years, but for the first time, we are going to attempt to hold them all on one day.

Beijing, Budapest, Copenhagen, Alabama, London, Melbourne, NYC, Paris, Pécs, Shanghai, Stockholm, Sydney, Székesfehérvár, Szombathely, Vancouver, Washington D.C

This is just a short list of the over 21 cities taking part in this event. Turnout in some of these cities is expected to peak over 700!

Place: Copley Square. Exact location
Time: 2:00PM, at the sound of the airhorn (Show up at least 5 minutes early)

For those who don’t know about these pillow fights, they are quite fun and simple!
Pretty straight forward instructions:

Show up at 1:55pm, remain inconspicuous to the best of your abilities.
At 2pm, you’ll hear an air horn, rush in and pillow fight away.

The rules for this pillow fight are pretty straight forward:

1. Bring a pillow, a soft one is preferred
2. Don’t hit anyone without a pillow
3. If you are wearing glasses, make sure you take them off.
4. Don’t hit people with cameras
5. Go all out!

Costumes are of course encouraged. This event is child-appropriate!

Invite your friends, family and co-workers. Spread the word! Let’s put Boston on the International Pillow Fight Map!

with a knick knack paddywack give a dog a bone...

many posts ago, i had made a list of songs that i wanted harlan to love, that weren't really children's songs. while this lists grows daily, i've also discovered some pretty good albums for him that actually are children's songs.
here are some of my faves (which, by the way, are great for adults to, if you're ever in the mood to run through rain puddles, make mud pies, or sit on your stoop and blow bubbles all day):

"little mo'mccoury" by the del mccoury band
you can't really go wrong with bluegrass, in my opinion. personal favorites from this one, are 'monkey and the engineer' and 'mama's blues'.

"little bird" by elizabeth mitchell
i was very skeptical of this lady until i heard the cd and saw what a calming affect it had on harlan. she has a sweet little voice that just soothes his little soul. i also like the fact that she did a version of a velvet underground song...i can only hope some fine day on the playground, harlan can be heard singing 'what goes on' at top volume while swinging his day away.
sidenote, she also has an indie band named 'ida'.

"lullabye renditions of the cure" by rockabye baby records
harlan LOVES this cd. we used to use it to put him to sleep, and the other day, when it was on at his playgroup, i noticed him yawning, and drowsing about. also good for adult insomnia.

"nighttime" by dan zanes
this was a recent purchase, after hubby and i looked him up and heard the song "smile smile smile" and realized that harlan perked right up when he heard it. it's a bit of a goofy folky cd, but i have a feeling when harlan gets a little older (to that sing along age), it will be one of his favorites. and it really is damn catchy.

that's all for now...i'm sure there are tons more, and if anyone has any suggestions i'm all ears. (NO wiggles, NO kidzbop, NO barney, and NO doodlebops)

top five; fantasy playgroup

top five parents in my fantasy playgroup
1. jon stewart and wife...the quick witted playgroup commentary would be outstanding, and i love it when jon stewart giggles uncontrollably.
2. david duchovny and tea leoni...they seem like they would show up at playgroup with all the fixin's for whisky sours.
3. conan o'brian and wife...i just want to know if conan walks around playgroup going "rawr, i'm the biggest adult on the planet, bow to me tiny babies!!"
4. heidi klum (but not husband)...not only hot, but also hilarious and german.
5. gwen stefani (but not husband)...her kids are probably super fashionable, and hella cool, just hanging out with them would make harlan cooler.

runners up:
jack black and wife (ernie and i are undecided as to whether he would be a really cool dad to hang with, or that dad in the playgroup that you just want to punch)
kate winslet and husband (they seem just lovely)
jennifer connely and paul bettany (cause they're so pretty)

is there no end??!!

apparently, they have also been making out with each other.
i'll just leave you with that.

oh scarlett johansson, could you GET any hotter??!!

from pitchfork news:
Scarlett Johansson Album
"Frankly, Scarlett, we do give a damn. Anywhere I Lay My Head, the previously reported debut album from screen thespian Scarlett Johansson, arrives May 20 on Atco/Rhino.

It's an album comprised almost entirely of Tom Waits covers, with one ScarJo original, "Song for Jo", as its centerpiece. And now we know just which Waits numbers get the Johansson touch: "I Don't Want to Grow Up", "Town With No Cheer", and "No One Knows I'm Gone" are among the tunes by the gravel-voiced one that make up the rather odd Anywhere tracklist, reported on Billboard.com yesterday evening.

We already knew Dave Sitek produced and members of Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Celebration, and Stars Like Fleas play on it, but here's the kicker: a pair of tracks ("Falling Down" and "Fannin' Street") feature guest vocals from none other than David Bowie! That's right: the other girl from Ghost World has recorded Tom Waits covers with David Bowie. Minds = blown.

As far as the covers themselves, "I Don't Want to Grow Up" will probably turn some heads. The Billboard.com report describes the track as having "drum machine beats straight out of a New Order song." Oh boy.

Waits gave the project his blessing, however. "I sent him some of the early, early recordings," Johansson told journalists at a press conference yesterday, "and he said, 'Go ahead.'

"I've heard he's very pleased."

While Johansson has no immediate plans to tour the Anywhere material, she is considering the possibility of "getting everybody together" for a festival appearance.

Anywhere I Lay My Head:

01 Fawn
02 Town With No Cheer
03 Falling Down
04 Anywhere I Lay My Head
05 Fannin' Street
06 Song for Jo
07 Green Grass
08 I Wish I Was in New Orleans
09 I Don't Want to Grow Up
10 No One Knows I'm Gone
11 Who Are You?

__________________________________

ok, ok...so it's not enough that she's smokin' hot, but she also is a tom waits fan, enough to make a cover album...AND she got david bowie (oh my jesus!) to do backing vocals on said album.
i just want to put her in my pocket and take her home.

speaking of boobs...

love it.

"i hate almost all rich people, but i think i'd be darling at it"

if anyone has any ideas on how to make a good amount of money pretty quickly, please let me know (and the rest of us).
also, if anyone has any ideas on how exactly to get dried teething biscuit out of the keys of your keyboard, please let me know.

carry on.

if you like sigur ros...

you'll love these guys (or ladies, as they were)...
oddly enough, their album cover, and the drone-ish 'into the ether' feel of their music, has inspired me to do more knitting.
there will be scarves a plenty, just in time for spring.

anger

some say anger can eat you from the inside out. it's true. i'm very angry today at someone i thought was a close friend. about things that are out of my control. people and their actions that i can't control, and i can't seem to get through to them how their overly sensitive, passive aggressive behavior is killing me. i've been seething all day. my chest hurts, my head hurts, my jaw hurts from being unconsciously clinched, my stomach is cramped into knots, my back is achy, i'm just an all around mess...i'm being eaten from the inside out.
it's time to take a drive, it's time to meditate. it's time for me to take stock of the beautiful things in my life, and the few, rare beautiful people around me.
change is on the way, i know it is.

_______________________________________________________________

on a completely unrelated topic; i'm really glad the patriots didn't win the super bowl. i could have cared less about that idiot game. but to live in massachusetts and have to listen to all of the cocky nonsense that spouts from people's mouths around this area about that stupid football team made me root root root for the giants, and actually watch the last five minutes (or 'the best five minutes') of the game (whereas previously, hubby and i had been watching the 'puppy bowl' on animal planet, soon to be a yearly family tradition).
and what the hell was with that fool belichick rushing out onto the field when they ran down the last two seconds of the clock without his permission???! as if the hand of god was going to come down and sweep the ball over for a touchdown in those last two seconds. what a cheating jack ass loser!

the business of being born

just wanted to let everyone know about this little film. i think this is a very important subject, one that rouses lots of controversy today, even among women. the idea in our capitalist american society that childbirth, one of the most natural and basic human rites should be turned into a business for making money, really turns my stomach. if you've had a baby, or are planning to have a baby, you'll be all too familiar with some of the scenes in this film...if you're neither, go see it anyway, your eyes are sure to be opened.

happy new year! (i think)

at 11:30pm last night i was sitting in a rocking chair, trying desperately to calm my screaming baby to go to sleep (after sitting with him screaming and writhing in my arms for almost an hour). i'm not sure what he's going through, (growing pains, teething pains, etc, etc, you never know), but sleep is at a bare minimum in this house and new years eve just didn't seem that important. i had big plans for new years day, i was going to get up early, take a crispy cold walk around the block, do 8 sun salutations, and a bit of meditation on a fresh start...but harlan had other plans. at 11:55pm, my last look at the clock, we both finally drifted off to sleep in bed...the welcome of the new year came and went with a whisper, i didn't even hear the fireworks in boston bay.

i am excited for the new year because of these things:
1. harlan may learn to walk (party party!)
2. we're getting a bigger bed (yay, a real family bed!)
3. visits to europe are in the works
4. god willing, my pre baby body will come back to me

i am nervous and anxious for the new year because of these things:
1. my little brother's trial will begin and end (insurmountable fear and dread, too much even to think about)
2. harlan may learn to walk
3. travel means flying, i hate flying
4. this year may come and go without some necessary changes being made (stagnation, my ultimate fear)

i resolve to be a more organized mum, i resolve to be more patient and forgiving and to finally get my act together and learn another language (for harlan's sake)...would love to continue with french, but i think spanish might be more helpful.

sending out big love to all of my family of friends, and family of family...i hope that your new year is better than the last, or at least different from before.

(oh, and the pic of the baby seal is here because, well, it's adorable...happy new year baby seal!)

just close your eyes and breathe...

yes, yes, merry christmas and happy new years, etc. etc.
this was the best christmas so far, hubby, baby, dog and myself all stayed home for quiet time, barely even stepping out of our pajamas for the entire day. there really should be more days like this, not just christmas.

on an unrelated topic, (or maybe not), i am in love with this idea, and i'm so excited that someone actually took the initiative to start something like this. if you can, please support it, i can personally account for the wonders of meditation in my own life (and i'm not even that good at it).
rarely do i find a cause that i can truly get behind, but this really is a good thing. i honestly believe that if i would have been taught meditation or "quiet time" techniques as a child, i would be a much less neurotic person these days. (granted, there would still be a bit of neurosis, but i would deal with it better, i think). i think that so many of my friends would be taking a lot less medication if they had been taught from childhood how to deal with all the crazy things going on in their heads, instead of just being told that we would "grow out of it".

so, kudos to your mister lynch! you can do something other than making crazy weird and fantastic movies!

this makes me SO happy!!

harlan's new favorite toy (this week)

it's fun to watch him try to crawl with a heavy stainless steel pot in his hand.
too bad we spent all that money on toys...

tots, sprogs, and the what have you...

mister irving questioned my usage of the term 'sprog' the other day, so i went here and found quite a few other slang terms for our wee ones. my personal favorite is "crotch fruit"...i plan to use it often, especially on play dates, and at tumble gym.

funny parent thing i said today

harlan, stop licking the dog!!

(oddly enough, ernie had already admonished harlan earlier this week for licking the dog...guess he'll learn eventually right?)