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?)

bleakness

hey, so that last post was a little bleak. just had to vent like an angry teenager for a minute.
on a lighter note, i think this is the best idea ever.

at first, i thought there seems to be a lot of taser usage by police these days, i wonder what that's about. but, now it seems each and every time i turn on the news, i see another video of an out of control cop using his "safe" taser to "control" someone who is "out of control".
this is getting ridiculous people, c'mon! i knew things were bad, but this just scares me.
being a person who suffers from fairly severe anxiety and panic attacks, and being closely related and friends with people who suffer from mental illness, and uncontrollable anxiety, as well as knowing quite of few children with autism, can i just say that all of these stories are horrifying and sickening to me. it just seems that every time someone starts acting the least bit erratic these days, the cops pull out the taser, no matter what their age, phyisical or mental health condition. then they yell at the person to 'calm down', or 'be still', before they taser them again and again. are these cops so stupid that they don't even know the biology of the human body?? the last thing i think my body would do if i were being shocked with mass amounts of electricity is 'be still', or 'calm down'.
i remember seeing a video once of cops being trained with pepper spray. each cop had to be sprayed in the eyes with pepper spray to let them know how it feels, and to try to convince them to use it sparingly. i think the same demonstration should definitely be in affect for ANY and ALL cops issued taser guns. they should be tasered, and then be told to 'be still' and then if they don't comply, they should be tasered again and again and again, until they can finally be still.

open letter to our housemate in our basement

dear basement chick,
why do you listen to such uninteresting, bad music? it amazes me on a daily basis that you never get sick of listening to that lionel richie album over and over again at top volume. yeah, i understand there may be some sort of 'hipster irony' to your listening to countless hours of lionel richie, michael macdonald, peter cetera, etc...but, every day??!
also, for there to be 'hipster irony' attached to the listening of these awful albums, you would also have to, at some point, listen to a few good albums, at least every now and then. but, you don't. i would even understand if you listened to these albums for sentimental reasons, or if maybe they were a 'guilty pleasure'...but, this is obviously the entire content of your music collection.
you are fashionably dressed usually, you lived in europe for a while, you work for an environmental non profit, you have a ridiculously french sounding name and probably speak fluent french as well...i don't get it, you look so good on paper. what is wrong with you, basement chick?

i don't need to understand you or your reasons, i just want to spend one day of my life without the melody to 'stuck on you' in my head. i feel like i'm walking around in a walmart at 2am, while i'm here in my own apartment!

in closing, you obviously need a serious reality TV style music collection makeover. if not for the sake of your neighbors, just think of your neighbors children...think of the children!!

with sincerest sincerity,
your upstairs housemates

i'm dreaming of a green christmas...

thanks to al gore, 'being green' is all the rage this year for the holidays. it is so chic to try to save the planet from global warming that i figured i should jump on this band wagon quick, before this fashion trend goes the way of the ugg boot.
so, here are my 'green goals for christmas' (also known as, the "we're quite broke this year from producing and caring for a small spawn, please accept these homemade or gently used gifts from us...we still love you" christmas goals).

1. do not purchase one roll of new wrapping paper (this one is a doozy, because i'm a giant capitalist sucker for pretty paper, it's even one of my favorite willie nelson christmas songs).
2. give at least 75% recycled gifts. (i.e. things from around the house that i'm tired of looking at...ooh, ooh, you could be one of the lucky ones!)
3. in lieu of sending tons of cards, call family and friends and sing them carols. (this one is also a doozy, because i LOVE sending mail...i can't even tell you how much i love to send mail...the usps loves me!)

i'm not sure how many of these i'll keep. but i thought i would post them here anyway, just to keep up with the trends.

harlan's favorite toy

teeny halloween

harlan as jake gyllenhaal as donnie darko as a hipster skeleton

mister irving and i really get into halloween. i don't know if there has been a year that we've known each other that we've not dressed up (or had a kick ass party). but, this year, with the coming of our wee sprog, we were a bit sidetracked and forgot to buy costumes. of course, being new parents, it's easy to get sidetracked with a baby when the rest of the world kind of 'let's go' of you. i'm just saying, in years past, ernie and i have been invited to at least two (usually multiple) halloween parties. this year, we were invited to one (thank you jesse's friend jon for inviting us to your party...we assume that you invited us because you forgot we have a baby, but thank you anyway, it made us feel good).
i know, i know...there's a good chance we wouldn't have made it to any parties (and didn't), but c'mon people, we have a baby, we aren't dead yet.

we vow that when harlan is older we will treat him to halloween costumes and parties that will blow his friends away. we will probably spend more on halloween than christmas...and if he wants to go to salem to go trick or treating with the rest of the frat boys and goth kids, so be it, we'll drive him ourselves.
so, we fell short this year..his costume was bought at target, and daddy and mommy didn't dress up...we'll be better parents next year.

just in time for halloween

still breaks my heart, this song...


also, if you're bored, check out jeffrey lewis "williamsburg will oldham horror"...simply fantastic.

day man, fighter of the night man (aaahhh,aaaaaaaah,aaahh)

it's the third season of 'it's always sunny in philadelphia'...if you aren't watching this show, get your shit together and and don't miss another episode.
this is from last week. i almost lost my mind laughing at this scene. in fact, i stayed up later to watch the second showing of the episode just to see this scene again, and i laughed just as hard the second time.
i was crying. literally crying.

harlan and the hippies

on saturday, mister irving and i were hanging out around the house as we usually do on saturdays, wondering what to do with our precious family time, since there is always a delicate balance when you have a baby and a dog. it's very hard to find interesting things to do that will make the whole family happy (and as we move into toddlerhood with harlan, i'm sure it will begin to get much harder). as we were padding around the kitchen, drinking tea and eating egg sandwich, our great friend ethan called to tip us off to a street festival that was happening in davis square called "honk! fest". as he described it, "a bunch of punk kids with marching bands, you know, lots of stinky hippies"...he had me at 'marching bands'.
i have to say, i'm not one drawn to the 'pseudo hippie element' that sometimes permeates somerville/cambridge..in fact, mostly those kids annoy the hell out of me (you can not be an anarchist AND a social activist, it just doesn't make sense!!)...but, when it comes to louisiana/carnivale/balkan style marching bands with lots of horns and drums, and circus types, belly dancers and people in costume on stilts, i'm all mush.
somerville really came through on this one. there were five staging areas, where the band would play, then they would all march to the next staging area on the hour, one big crazy sidewalk parade. so, at any one time, at least five marching bands were playing in a one square mile area. i can tell you it felt quite like we were in a fellini film, and that's what made it wonderful.
here are pics from the festival just to give you an idea of what it all looked like.
harlan was less than pleased with all the noise. i'm sure when he is a bit older, he'll love all the hippie freaks in their costumes with their noise makers...but, at seven months into this world, it was a bit much. he promptly fell dead asleep in his carrier.
mister irving and i loved it so much, that the next day, some of the same bands were performing in harvard square at the annual oktoberfest, so we dragged some of our friends out and did the whole thing again.

this is a promo video for the most entertaining band at the festival, the 'march forth marching band', (the one that brought us back the next day).

absolutely smitten

i am absolutely taken with Beirut's new album, 'the flying club cup'. i loved, loved the last one, but i think this new one may be a smidge better.
you can listen to the entire album here or you can visit here to watch a video for 'nantes', my new favorite song.

go support this kid, he's wonderful.

falls first donut

without a doubt, one of my favorite things about living in this area is the knowledge that when the seasons start to change from summer to fall, someone somewhere will be making cider donuts for me to dip into hot apple cider and fill my belly.
in massachusetts that place is russell orchards in ipswich. hands down, best cider donuts i've ever eaten. yesterday, hubby and i drove the hour to ipswich and then waited in line, in a barn, for an hour to enjoy these beautiful, heavenly circles of love.
yesterday, i ate five cider donuts...i was up for an entire night with horrific stomach cramps. today, i will eat more. they're just that good.

god save fluff

everyone knows that fluff was invented in somerville ma, right?
well, if you didn't, stick that bit of trivia in that spot in your brain where you usually store information like where you put your keys when you came home from work (you'll be late for work, but you'll always know where fluff came from).
this year is the 90th anniversary of the invention of fluff, and in somerville (union square to be exact) they're having a 'fluff festival'..officially called the 'what the fluff?' fest.
there will be a fluff baking contest, fluff games to play, and an appearance by the 'flufferettes'...boy howdy!!
here's the info...looks so kitschy i can barely stand it.

*oh, and just in case anyone is confused, when i say 'fluff', i'm talking about the white marshmellowy substance that you use in rice crispy treats, or ambrosia, that comes in a jar...i am not talking about softcore gay porn. just wanted to clear that up.

you can't tell a hero by his size

when harlan was first born, i sang this the theme song all the time. it just seemed appropriate. then i realized that mister irving had no idea what i had been singing, because he had never seen the skit on sesame street...i couldn't believe it, it was only my single most favorite thing on sesame st. i learned so much from the teeny little super guy...i would have never made it through second grade without him.
i remember getting so excited when the shot of the kitchen counter would come on and the whispery voice over would start.
"ladies and gentlemen; the teeny little super guy."
hats off to you paul fierlinger!

why starbucks is king of the coffeehouses

when you're in the midst of a bad morning, it's hard to think of anything, or anyone else. i'm sure in the my future parent life, i'll have countless more mornings like i did this morning. although, this is little consolation when the baby is screaming, (and, mind you, has been up all night, leaving me exhausted and sleep deprived), you're late for his doctor's visit, and you're cleaning dog puke off the carpet. that was just a taste of my morning mayhem...that was exactly the point when i was two seconds away from calling my husband and telling him that if he didn't come home at that very minute that i was going to put the baby and the dog in the pack and play and let them go at it in a mad max style cagefight.
but, i took a few deep breaths, (was quietly thankful i only had one child, and he wasn't quite mobile yet), loaded my child into the car (in the pouring rain) and headed off to the doctor. finally finding a parking spot, i loaded my child out of the car (in the pouring rain without umbrella) and trucked into the office, (soaking wet) where i was told that his appointment wasn't until 2:30pm, not at 11am, like i had thought.
holding back a little bitty tear in my throat, i did some more deep breathing, smiled at the receptionist and gave a chipper "i guess we'll be back". back out into the rain, i saw the starbucks just next door as a quick spot to get dry. so, i went in, knowing full well, that there is a big independent coffee house just across the street. but, let me tell you why i went into the starbucks and not the coffee house across the street. because, when you're having a bad morning, it's hard to think of anything or anyone else but yourself.
each and every time i've been into a starbucks (while i've had some damn disgusting coffee), i've never had to deal with attitude from the 'baristas'. not once. each and every time i go into previously mentioned coffee house across the street from the starbucks, i am met with such completely annoying, 'i'm cooler than you, get out of my face, what do you think i actually want to serve you?!,' attitude that if they served a hit of ecstasy with every cup i would still leave with a frown on my face, disgusted with the rest of the world.
i love supporting locally owned, independent businesses. really, i do. i've gone out of my way many times to order things from some of the local businesses that i could have just gone to megastore and bought off the shelf. i hate the fact that there is a starbucks on every corner of the planet. think globally, buy locally...hippie bumper sticker or not, it's a good way to be. BUT, the independent coffee house counter help attitude has got to GO. just a little back story, i worked at one of these places...in fact, where i worked, i actually could have had reason to have an attitude..it was a teahouse in harvard square...we only served tea and scones (no coffee, no cappuccino, no latte, just honest to god slowly brewed whole leaf tea), if anyone could have been snotty about what they were serving, it was me. but, the only time i ever gave anyone an attitude was when they hit me with one first. and even then, i found that it made them much more angry to be overly bubbly and nice to them.

to finish, i went into the starbucks to get out of the rain, i was met with a smile from the girl at the counter and a very friendly attitude. i ordered something very sweet and creamy and over the top (pumpkin spice latte decaf). i even ordered a 'small', and she still smiled (for those of you under rocks, the lingo for small in starbucksland is 'grahnd-ay'). she was so pleasant that i immediately felt better about things, i went and sat down in a big plush leather chair, and harlan was being adorable and quiet. i was warm, and dry and about the have a serious sugar buzz...things were looking up, i can do this.
and that is why starbucks is king of the coffeehouses.

my new favorite song

scout niblett and will oldham "kiss"

my newsie is cuter than your newsie

we're all grown up now

back in my day, i was quite the follower of a little band called fugazi. i must have seen them six or seven times...(it was better than following the dead, for christ sake...not hatin', just sayin').
i had heard of this, but had never seen it. thank you, youtube.
now, i can't get this song out of my head.



we love ya ian!!
you wock!

project mum

so, has anyone else in boston heard about this?
what oh what will the townies think??!

Project MUM: Meet Under McGrath!
Saturday, Aug. 18, 9pm-
The intersection of Washington Street & McGrath Highway
This year's event pays tribute to the glorious 1970s and features four hours of music spun by DJs Flack, Axel Foley and Pace, with lighting by Todd Sargent/VDA Productions that provide the perfect backdrop for your fabulous dance moves. Eye-popping video and light sculptures will include a psychedelic slideshow flashback featuring your own authentic 70s photos. Special guest video artist jackbackrack and celebrity dance stages organized by Alissa Cardone of Kinodance Company, an internationally known intermedia performance and dance troupe based in Somerville.

FUNDRAISER FOR THE ARTS:
MUM is free and open to the public (with a $10 suggested donation fee.)
All proceeds will support ARTSomerville, the Somerville Arts Council, Mudflat Pottery Studio, Inc., Brickbottom Artist Association, Somerville Community Access Television, Joy Street Studios, and Kinodance Company.

So grab those bell-bottoms from your attic, fluff up your ‘fros, and join Somerville's dance party revolution! *And while you’re at it, become a part of the event by sending in your photos of yourself, friends and family stylin’ in 1970s Somerville and beyond – that we’ll show during the party. Email digital images at least 4”x6” 300 dpi to: info@artsomerville.org www.ARTSomerville.org

do you feel lucky, punk

well, do ya?

http://view.break.com/311805 - Watch more free videos

baby and the beach

there is nothing that says 'summer in massachusetts' more than a wedding on cape cod. this past weekend we took harlan to this second wedding, our friends jason and sasha (who are now known as 'the jonesteins'). it was a grand, lavish wedding but sweet and beautiful all the same. (and an open bar until midnight, yahoo!)
the day after the wedding, we said out bittersweet goodbyes to our friends, and went to take harlan to the beach for the first time. he didn't really see what the hubbub was about...and i'm sure he was none too happy about the sand in his diaper.

this picture really sums up his thoughts about the whole experience. after taking a few digital memories, we promptly fell asleep in a big family lump on a blanket. it was perfect.

officially mom

about five months ago, i gave birth to an absolutely beautiful baby boy, as you may have seen from the many pictures on this blog. the labor was painful, and surreal. you would think after passing something the size of a 7 pound watermelon out of a certain orafice on your body, together with a sagging stomach, stretch marks, five months of diaper changes and breastfeeding, etc, that it would definitely make you feel like you are now officially a mom.
but, i think that just today, as I WIPED BABY VOMIT OUT OF MY BELLY BUTTON, that i officially felt like a mom.

ah, sharing.

failure pile in a sadness bowl

i love patton oswalt.

sing, sing a song, sing out loud

i was never one of those girls who had her whole life planned out in the beginning. i didn't have any good idea of what my wedding was going to be like (the first one, or the second one)...i didn't really ever think of whether i wanted a son or a daughter, or if i wanted kids at all...i played with baby dolls when i was a kid, but i don't think i ever fully understood why (i think i just did it, 'because everyone else did')...it certainly wasn't because i thought a lot about babies when i was younger, even though i had two younger brothers.
but, the one thing i did think about, quite a bit in fact, was what songs i would want to sing and play for my kid if i ever did have one. through the years i compiled a growing list in my head, and unfortunately, i never wrote them down.
now, i have this baby who absolutely loves it when i sing to him...and i can't remember the words to any of those songs i used to compile in my head. so, from the beginning, i sang to him the only songs i knew the words to. 'ain't no sunshine', 'want a little sugar in my bowl', 'my baby just cares for me', 'i'll fly away', and 'all my little words'.(and of course, his namesake song, 'harlan' by freakwater) now, harlan just doesn't care for normal children's songs...he prefers the more adult stuff.
so far his favorites are the bill withers and the nina simone songs. he adores nina simone.
(i don't know what that means)

so, here's a list of other songs i've come up with that i would like to sing to him that i think he will very much enjoy as he grows:

- 'octopus's garden' by the beatles
- 'fido, your leash is too long' by the magnetic fields (insert various magnetic fields songs here, examples; 'absolutely cuckoo', 'chicken with it's head cut off', 'wi' nae wee bairn ye'll me beget', etc, etc..take out the 'curses', of course)
- 'god bless the child' billie holiday
- 'five feet high and risin'' johnny cash
- 'mocking bird' tom waits
- 'old rattler' traditional
- 'mama tried' merle haggard
- 'in the aeroplane over the sea' neutral milk
-'59th st bridge song' simon & garfunkle (of course)
-'the young new mexican puppeteer' tom jones (ha, kidding...i don't want the kid t have nightmares, puppets are creepy)
and there are the usual suspects: cat stevens, joni mitchell, woody guthrie, the kinks...you know, the classics.
right now, though, i'm listening to yves montad and harlan has completely quieted down. maybe he's into the frenchies.

there are countless others, i can't think of right now. i think i'll just randomly write them down in this blog as i think of more, and if any of you out there have any suggestions, please feel free to help me out. add some songs, i'll see how harlan likes them.

thousand dollar wedding

many of you know the troubles of my family these past few years, and for those of you who don't, it's a story that you wouldn't believe, and it continues to get longer and more tragic every day that goes by. i'll tell the story here one day, but not today.
let's just say that we were well aware that our trip to tenn was going to be 'stressful' at best.
the plane ride with harlan was actually more relaxed than usual. he's a peach of a baby, all smiles and giggles, and he really helped distract me from my aviophobia. on the first flight, he filled his diaper with his morning constitutional. changing a baby's diaper in an airplane bathroom...hahahahahaha, i won't even try to describe it. but, the rest of the trip, along with layovers, plane changes, and the usual airport craziness was just fine with harlan, in fact, i think he may have come back with a whole new outlook on life. he didn't even mind when we got on the plane at 4pm in nashville and because of thunder storms, sat on the plane in charlotte for almost 2 hours and didn't get back to boston until 1am. he's a peach i tell ya, a peach.

we went to tenn to attend my brother's wedding and to let harlan meet his granpa and uncles for the first time. my brother nigel and his girlfriend ashley decided to get married in a small ceremony by a lake by my parents house. it was short and just about the sweetest thing i've seen in a while. on the day of the wedding...a lazy, humid sunday morning, a rude knock came at my parent's door. ernie and i both knew it was the police, no one else knocks quite like the police do. we went to the door, they were asking for ashlie. apparently, they had a warrant for her arrest for unpaid child support (she has four children, two by my brother and two by another, none of which she has custody). she was sure it was a mistake, since she had receipts to prove payment, but of course, it's a sunday, and none of that matters to cops. they took her in (in curlers, no less) and booked her and let her go on 500$ bail. arrested in curlers on your wedding day, how faulkner-esque. the day before that my brother's truck had been repo'd by the bank. we'll just say my family hasn't had the best of luck these days (if 'luck' is what you want to call it).
all in all, it was a good trip, even with the pending court dates, etc. harlan really seemed to enjoy spending time with his granny and papaw. my mom took him into the back yard and put his feet into tenn soil, to make sure his feet didn't hit 'yankee dirt' first. and even with all of the chaos of traveling with a 4 month old (which really wasn't so bad), it was nice to get away from boston for a bit.

just a tip for all of the parents out there (especially new ones); drive in movies are the best thing ever. your baby can scream and scream and no one is bothered, also breastfeeding is a cinch. and that new die hard movie is the funniest one yet...i mean, i had no idea that it was really possible to turn a tractor trailer truck back onto it's wheels by the sheer power of bruce willis' balls. phenomenal.

to live is to fly

tomorrow, we're off to my old home place, tennessee, to see the family and let them meet the wee one. we'll be flying. fear of flying aside, i seem to be more afraid these days that i'm going to forget something very important...like diaper cream, or the baby.

wish me luck.

god gave rock and roll to you

little too weird...

put your apple itunes or ipod on shuffle...fill out the questionaire of your life by the clicking on the title of each song that comes up...no cheating...

bizarre.

1. Opening Credits: this fire by franz ferdinand
2. Birth: apple bomb by deerhoof
3. First Day At School: oliver twisted by the vaselines (yes!)
4.Falling In Love: in memory of Elizabeth reed by the allman brothers (huh?)
5. Fight Song: celluloid heroes by the kinks (really slow motion hollywood fight scene)
6. Breaking Up: you will miss me when I burn by palace brothers (tragic)
7. Prom: max earnst dream by mission of burma (didn't go to prom)
8. Life: tell me by galaxie 500 (ahh..)
9. Mental Breakdown: the man I love by gershwin (instrumental...only if mister irving left)
10. Driving: saviour piece by snap ant
11. Flashback: generation by black rebel motorcycle club (ha!)
12. Wedding: teenage lust by mc5 (haha!!)
13. Birth of a Child: twenty four hours by joy division (little shorter than that)
14. Final Battle: lifetime piling up by talking heads (classic.)
15. Death Scene: sweet adeline by elliot smith (aw, that makes me teary to think about..poor elliot)
16. Funeral: when we reach the hill by the black heart procession (perfect.)
17. Ending Credits: clint eastwood by the gorillaz (seems appropriate and superficial)


Ok, that was strange...just for fun, i'm going to do this twice and see if it works as good the second time.

1. Opening Credits: the ballad of ira hayes by johnny cash
2. Birth: gangster of love by the talking heads
3. First Day At School: hook by pj harvey

4.Falling In Love: ainsi soit-il by the paris combo
5. Fight Song: hi everybody! by ciccone youth
6. Breaking Up: respect by otis redding
7. Prom: she's a lady by tom jones
8. Life: flight of icarus by iron maiden (hahahahaha!!)
9. Mental Breakdown: this is love by pj harvey
10. Driving: how come you do me? by the cramps
11. Flashback: bewilderbeast by badly drawn boy (so great...an instrumental)
12. Wedding: please mr.DJ by merle haggard
13. Birth of a Child: here comes the sun by the beatles (awwwww..)
14. Final Battle: escort by the sea and cake
15. Death Scene: think by james brown (must be one of those tarantino death scenes)
16. Funeral: no hey problemo by pink martini
17. Ending Credits: today i lost a tooth by olivia tremor control

that was weird too, but not as weird as the first one.
man, i just realized i really need some new music.

too weird…too too weird…

screw you, hippie!

this weekend we had a bbq with some of our new parent friends. there were 10 adults, 3 infants under 3 months, 1 child and 3 dogs. it went fairly well, but i will say that it is almost impossible to hold a conversation with someone when you're trying to juggle dog and baby, make sure everyone has enough drink, and there's food ready for the grill...quite chaotic. it was a bit of an experiment for us, since for the last 4-5 months, we've been less than the social butterflies we used to be. i think we did ok, although we were exhausted when the whole thing ended (at 8pm...oi, so early).
as mister irving and i sat around that evening, dreading the coming clean up, we revisited some of the open ended conversations we had.
we realized from talking out loud about some of the things that we do in our everyday life now that we're much crunchier parents than we ever thought we would be. we had a natural childbirth in a birth center that looked like an antique b&b; we prepared for that childbirth by studying hypnosis techniques and meditation; we use cloth diapers; we co-sleep; we're making our household 'green' in as many ways as we can (reduce, reuse, recycle); ernie takes yoga classes at the local buddhist temple; ernie has acupuncture therapy; i actively meditate when i breastfeed; our dog is a rescue pup; and on and on...
we've seriously been considering moving to the mountains and becoming a completely sustainable vegetarian household...
and yet, we scoff at the idea of being compared to crunchy hippie types. scoff!

martyrdom

when you become new parents, there is one question that you are asked each and every time you come into a conversation with an old friend who doesn't have kids...and that is, "do you feel like you're missing out?"
i have a lot of time to think about this question, as i am a 'stay at home mom' (i kind of hate that moniker, but for lack of something better, there it is)...for the past two and a half months, i've pretty much done one of these things, 1. sat in a chair, breastfed, lived vicariously through the new yorker 2. washed laundry every day 3. tried to keep dog hair off of everything the baby owns 4. watched lots and lots of awful television while breastfeeding. 5. made funny faces, noises, etc, etc, to make harlan giggle out loud.
i mean, i've 'really' had time to think about it. and honestly, i don't really miss much. but, while we're being honest, i'll say the one thing i miss the most is live music. i miss going to see bands play, whether they suck or are great, i just really miss going out to see music.
there is something absolutely cleansing about going to see live music. i know, it won't be long before i'll be back out there at shows, harping on this or that, smugly criticizing the band i'm watching for being dull or sounding too much like t-rex, or just standing against the wall with my arms crossed and a furrowed brow while someone completely impresses me...but right now, i do miss it.

it's probably going to suck for harlan when his mom comes to hang out with him to watch his favorite band. poor guy.

mom

"Contrary to popular belief, Mother's Day was not conceived and fine-tuned in the boardroom of Hallmark. The earliest tributes to mothers date back to the annual spring festival the Greeks dedicated to Rhea, the mother of many deities, and to the offerings ancient Romans made to their Great Mother of Gods, Cybele. Christians celebrated this festival on the fourth Sunday in Lent in honor of Mary, mother of Christ. In England this holiday was expanded to include all mothers and was called Mothering Sunday.
In the United States, Mother's Day started nearly 150 years ago, when Anna Jarvis, an Appalachian homemaker, organized a day to raise awareness of poor health conditions in her community, a cause she believed would be best advocated by mothers. She called it "Mother's Work Day."
Fifteen years later, Julia Ward Howe, a Boston poet, pacifist, suffragist, and author of the lyrics to the "Battle Hymn of the Republic," organized a day encouraging mothers to rally for peace, since she believed they bore the loss of human life more harshly than anyone else.
In 1905 when Anna Jarvis died, her daughter, also named Anna, began a campaign to memorialize the life work of her mother. Legend has it that young Anna remembered a Sunday school lesson that her mother gave in which she said, "I hope and pray that someone, sometime, will found a memorial mother's day. There are many days for men, but none for mothers."

if nothing else, give your mom a call...now knowing how childbirth feels, believe me, she deserves at least a phone call.

more charming than cary grant...

not sure who won, but the pie was great

saturday was the ky derby, and it also happen to be mister irving's birthday. the day before, he had mentioned that he wanted nothing more for his birthday than a cold mint julep and some derby pie (since he had never partook of either). even though the weather wasn't cooperating that day, we had a fine time sitting in the back yard grilling and watching the baby giggle every time the wind blew across his little face. and the pie was lovely.

derby pie
1 cup chocolate chips (ghiradella rec.)
1 cup pecans
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 stick butter, melted and cooled
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 cup KY bourbon (maker's mark or finer)

mix sugar and flour. add eggs, then butter. add pecans and chocolate chips, vanilla and whisky. pour into unbaked pie shell. bake for 35 mins. at 350 degrees. pie should be thick, and mushy.
(also, if your pie doesn't taste strongly like bourbon, you've pissed off the pie gods..and other gods, i'm sure)

blahbiddy

The baby is napping, diapers are in the wash, and I’m a little bored. Of course, I could be cleaning, or reading something inspiring, or doing something other than filling out this meaningless survey, but this is what I feel like doing right now, so don’t hate.


FIRST NAME? april
WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? no, but my aunt named me
WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? the day before yesterday
DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? depends on the writing utensil (i prefer a really drippy fountain pen)
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? honey turkey, but it’s all kind of bland
KIDS? a really cute one named harlan
IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? maybe, but we wouldn’t be very close
DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL ? yes, since I was 13
DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? hardly ever sincere
DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? yes
WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? no, terrified of falling
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? kashi, i think the actual name is ‘hippy food that keeps you regular’
DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? no
DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? no, i’d like to be bruce lee
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? prefer sherbert (really, i do, i’m not just being difficult)
WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? what they do with their hands when they’re talking
RED OR PINK? red
WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? Mentally: my fear of reality, Physically: my newly acquired stretch marks
WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? My family (and TN) before the accident
DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? What?
WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Gray and socks

THE LAST THING YOU ATE? Burger king (how embarrassing)
WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? ‘taken’ by bill callahan

IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? I had to look this one up, since I couldn’t remember what this color was called: antique brass
(crayon facts: http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0872797.html )
FAVORITE SMELL (s)? breastmilk on my baby’s breath, fresh cut grass, the open ocean, an empty street at 4am
WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? My sweet mother
DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? Found it on a blog, yeah, I like them, but I don’t speak to them
FAVORITE DRINK? Kir royale with real champagne in a café in paris…or a cold cheap beer on a hot and muggy day (it’s a tough choice)
FAVORITE SPORT TO WATCH? Bull riding (or American bull fighting, hilarious!)
HAIR COLOR? Brownish with lots of gray
EYE COLOR? My husband says steel blue

DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? yes
FAVORITE FOOD? It’s a toss up between fois grois (which I never eat for various reasons, but it’s the only food I would describe as orgasmic)…or french fries dipped in a chocolate milkshake

SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDING? neither
LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? Children of men

WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? gray
SUMMER OR WINTER? fall
HUGS OR KISSES? hugs
FAVORITE DESSERT? tiramisu

WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING? Going back and forth between “the womanly art of breastfeeding’ and ‘the heart of buddha’s teaching’ by thich nhat hanh
WHAT'S ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? An advert from Dell
WHAT DID YOU WATCH LAST ON TV LAST NIGHT? Simpsons, family guy, reno911
FAVORITE SOUNDS? Harlan giggling at his daddy, clara rockmore playing theremin, otis redding’s voice, when joni mitchell sings ‘I drew a map of Canada, oh cana----da---ahhhhh’
ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? Definitely depends on my mood, but usually stones
THE FURTHEST YOU'VE BEEN FROM HOME? nykoping, sweden
DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? thinking really bad jokes are hilarious
WHEN WERE YOU BORN? ‘it was the third of june, another sleepy dusky delta day---ay’

have you ever noticed that when people fill out these questionnaires they always give way more info than the question requires. man, we’re such ego-philes.

worth the stretch marks, i guess

soft

maybe i'm getting softer in my old age...maybe it's motherhood...maybe it's my undying love for cat stevens (ok, ok, yusef)...but, i have to admit, i'm really into that new ray lamontagne album. i liked the last one, 'trouble', but after further listenings it came out a little flat. the new album, "till the sun turns black" is much better. i guess i'll side with, instead of against, the critics on this one, and say that his voice is timeless, and really does make you want to lay out in tall grass with a giant jar full of sangria and stare at the clouds all day.
listen to 'you can bring me flowers' on myspace

if only...

cruel world

i am aware that there are much more severe levels of cruelty happening in our world these days, but i would like everyone to just take a minute to check out this website showing the killing of baby seals in canada.
it just seems to me that if humanity is capable of bashing the heads of innocent baby seals in for seafood profits, then it is no surprise to me that we are also capable of other, more tragic and horrific forms of cruelty to other humans.

boycott canadian seafood.

and the world it just keeps spinning...

pretty much the only connection i have with the outside world these days is this here internet, and cable television (and the few wonderful friends that have made the trek to medford to come see us...thanks for continuing to call even when i don't return phone calls)...
i can't make any observations about cable television on this blog that aren't already made on the shows 'best week ever', 'talk soup', or "other relentlessly indulgent re-cap show emphasizing the absolute lack of attention span of our entire country".

i will, however, make observations on my life with a baby and the internets, to let all of my single childless friends live through me (like i know they want to)...
1. sometimes babies poop yellow curry, sometimes palak paneer
2. mister irving is really good at keeping house
3. four weeks of sleeping only in two hour intervals can cause some really strange things to happen to your brain
4. that new alanis morrisette video of her covering 'my humps' is histerical, why didn't she do something like this earlier, maybe john tesh wouldn't have dumped her ass
5. babies puke on you a lot
6. baby farts do stink
7. i really enjoy that bravo show 'workout' (possibly because i now weigh 178 pounds, it's fun to watch pretty skinny people with emotional problems)
8. my neighborhood is creepily quiet during the day
9. you tube will be the ultimate end of civilization as we know it
10. my baby (and my husband) is cuter than yours

unbelievable

i know it doesn't take much skill or talent to make a baby, but damn, i think we did a pretty good job.

idiocy unbounded...

for almost five years mister irving and i have lived in the same apartment near boston. it is a two level apartment, and the basement is home to our roomate, andy...the basement is finished with it's own kitchen, bath, etc, so it's more like a seperate apartment, we just share bills and laundry.
andy's not so bad of a roomate, over the years, we've had to put up with small bits of his idiocy, but nothing truly damaging.
over the years, we've also had many friends want to live in his apartment, because the rent is cheap and the place is huge. but andy never budged.
so, last month, in the 9th month of my pregnancy, with my due date just around the corner, andy tells that he's moving out. he gives the usual months notice, and even though we're very annoyed at his timing, it's his choice, his life, he has the right to do whatever he chooses. he puts an ad on craigslist, and in one day has something like 30 responses...that night we met with a few, and picked one very nice girl from swiss background who works for a non profit. she agreed on our terms and we told andy to work out the details about the move in, since, to make matters even more complicated he had decided to move out mid month.
what day do you think andy picked to move out? that's right, today. it is st.patrick's day, last night there was a snowstorm, and our baby is 10 days old. perfect.
not only did andy decide to move today, but he also decided that it would be a good idea to tell the new roomate that she could move 'in' today as well, and he decided to not start moving out until late this afternoon when the new girl showed up with all her stuff (and she had driven from an hour away to get here). smooth. unknown to andy, his basement apartment also flooded this morning...yay! more chaos.
andy is moving, landlord is wetvaccing the basement, new roomate shows up with all her stuff loaded into her parents car, i'm running on very little sleep and still learning how to breastfeed a baby every two hours, and mister irving (bless him) is trying to keep the peace between all of us. (oh, and to make things even better, when the new roomate gets here and is pissed that she can't move in, andy somehow disappears).
i pretty much drew the shades, locked our doors and stopped answering the phone, and told mister irving to tell anyone if they came to knock on my door they would be beaten with a very hard and hatefilled shoe.

i suppose the chaos will die down soon enough, but i would like to say this:
to andy; you're really going to have to stop being a douchebag and growup, you may be moving out of the basement, but you're still going to be that "kid living downstairs" if you can't get your shit together better than this.
to our new roomate, guen; many apologies, i promise we're not as idiotic as that 'kid in the basement'.
to mister irving; thank you, and i love you (can't wait to curl up tonight with a pint of guiness and the secret of roan inish).
to harlan; stay cute, and keep smiling those gassy little smiles.

welcome to this world...

HARLAN EMORY DOEG, born March 7, 2007 weighing in at 7lbs 5.3oz, 19 inches.
this morning at 4:02am, this little boy came out of my stomach. the labor, was, um...let's just say, 'intense'...natural childbirth is no joke...i still can't believe i went through with it. sincerest thank yous to everyone at the cambridge birth center, my mom, and of course, my loving and dedicated husband, who was by my side for the entire labor and delivery...without whom i would have surely lost my mind.

39 weeks

i've heard women quite often talk of how much they love pregnancy, being pregnant, etc...and i can honestly say, i'm not one of these women. in fact, much of my time these days is spent trying to move baby down, get baby out...two prominent thoughts on my mind. as i write, i'm rolling and rocking around on my birth ball and drinking my raspberry leaf tea, in hopes that one of these things will start some sort of action.
just to complain a tiny bit...my feet look like tempurpedic pillows, my face has widened out to the point that i don't feel like myself any longer when i check the mirror, my hair is grey, my hair is long and unkempt (mostly my fault on that one), it takes a small construction crew to help me turn over in bed, i can no longer shave my legs, my face is a oil slick, and many times this week i've been known to lie on the couch in tears for no reason whatsoever.
oh, the fun.
i suppose he'll come out when he's good and ready...a sign of his temperment to come, maybe?

in non baby related news (there doesn't really seem to be much these days)...and in trying to find more songs for my ipod, i'm discovering old favorites i've not listened to in years. it always amazes me how comforting music is in a time of utter discomfort.
current listening favorites:
"since i fell for you"- nina simone
"waltz #2" - elliot smith
"the book of love" - magnetic fields (soon to become a lullabye favorite)
"the universal" - small faces (i want to be young again!!)
"you still believe in me" - the beach boys (for mister irving, of course...love the bike bell)

"life is hard enough without having someone kick you from the inside" - rita rudner

heloooooo....hello, feet? are you still there? just give me a sign if you can hear me...

boston, you're so silly!

how many massholes does it take to unscrew a lite brite??

the take on the situation from yesterday, from the mayor, police, etc, is that while this was a harmless marketing campaign, let it be well documented that the boston emergency units, et al, responded quickly and abley to safely remove the items that were placed all across boston. their point being, that boston should not be embarassed by yesterdays events.
i have to heartily, heartily disagree. not only did it take the city of boston SIX hours to figure out what the hell was going on with these things...but they had been hanging up around boston for TWO weeks before anyone noticed. and then, when someone did finally notice, the city of boston flew into a panic the likes we've never seen. had it been real and actual terrorism, we'd all be dead by now.
and now they've arrested the two guys that hung them, as i'm sure, a token gesture...almost like, when someone plays a prank on the old crabby guy at the end of the block, and he decides to have them arrested because he's so goddamned embarrassed by it, that he has no idea what else to do, and shakes his wrinkly fist in a furious, 'someone should pay!' kind of gesture.

boston, if you know what's good for you (and from the four years i've lived here, it's been proven to me many times, that they absolutely do not)...you'll leave this alone...let it go...shake your heads at the 'kids today' and continue your sulking about the patriots choking their chance at the superbowl this year.

meatwad get the honeys see...

i don't know if anyone else is keeping up with what's going on in our fine city today, but apparently there were 'suspicious packages' found under some overpasses and everyone got all up in arms...then they found the packages were a hoax, and a couple of them contained pics of one of the mooninites from aqua teen hunger force flipping the bird.
if you haven't heard of this, and you need a good, hearty laugh, please go to fox news channel and listen to the commentary from the news guy.
and i quote:
"we're getting reports that the alien type creatures pictured in the hoax packages are from a cartoon program called 'aqua teen hunger force'...i repeat, 'aqua teen hunger force'...stoner stuff, you know...the creatures pictured are called 'mooninites'...yes, that's right, these small alien creatures brought a great american city to a standstill this morning."
first of all, when the hell did boston become a 'great american city'??
(haha..i kidd, i kidd!)

update: so it turns out, that most of them were actually a marketing scheme by turner broadcasting network...hahahahhahahahahahaha....what a silly world we live in..

baby post, be forewarned

it's getting closer and closer to the time for out little man to be here, only five more weeks (give or take a couple), and although you would think that with a room already full of baby clothes, toys, etc, that it would seem very very real to us at this point, it seems to be getting more surreal by the minute.
no real problems with the pregnancy, except for a horrific amount of weight gain (about half in my belly and half in my ass). we've had a couple of baby showers and each of them were unique. i thank each and every person who gave us things, and i appreciate all the gifts...but, i really think there should be more to choose from when it comes to baby gift items out there. i mean, i think we were given around 50 blue and white onesies, and blue and white sleepers, and blue and white pants, and blue and white shirts...and shirts that said 'little boy' on them, and shirts with baseballs (or other sports items)...etc, etc, gender specific, gender specific. i've tried to buy baby clothing in the usual places and i realize the dilemma...you don't want the baby boy to look like a puff (in all pinks and soft yellows), and you don't want him to look like a box of blue pastels exploded on him...so what is a mom to do??
then i found this site, and i thnk it's just about the cutest thing (best idea) i've seen in a while...c'mon moms, dress your boy babies like real men!! let's end all of this baby blue madness!!!

also, may have posted about this before, but here's another baby gift giving idea, in case any of you have upcoming showers to attend:
baby rock records
especially love the led zepplin and the cure (and i'm sure the pixies album will be 'interesting' if not wonderful).

warm the cockles

the cold has finally hit the northeast. today, while waiting for the bus, it was a balmy 9 degrees out, and i'm sure the windchill was something closer to a 'well digger's ass'. thank goodness my body temp is a bit higher these days, thanks to the little bebe growing in my belly and punching my kidneys.
but, if you're not fortunate enough to have your own growing belly furnace, or all the fat stores being pregnant affords you, then i recommend this recipe, that is easy and warm, and fairly lowfat. mister irving thinks it's just about the best thing since porn.

to your warmth:
CROCKPOT CHICKEN CORN CHOWDER
1/2 cup carrots, chopped
1 cup skim milk
1/8 tsp. pepper
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 potato, cubed
1/2 lb. chicken breast, but into pieces
2 (15 oz) cans creamed corn
1/4 cup dried potato flakes

Combine all ingredients, except for potato flakes, into your crockpot/slowcooker and cook on low for 5-6 hours. When finished, add potato flakes and cook on high for 5-10 more minutes. Serve in big bowls with fresh bread. (irving insists that it would be even better in bread bowls, but it's yet to be tried)

Cheers.

miss aretha

for the lovely pagan holiday known as christmas, where loved ones and not so loved ones exchange gifts and such, mister irving decided to splurge this year (you know, kind of a little thank you for being not only his wife, but also his baby mamma), he decided to buy me an ipod nano. yeah, i know, everyone has one of these little things, and i'm jumping in late, but hey, that's the way i roll (i just got a cell phone a few months ago).
before realizing that if i was going to put the songs i wanted on the nano, i would have to go handpick 1000 songs from my collection, i picked two songs to try out.
both by aretha franklin. the first is "i never loved a man", the second is "say a little prayer". can i just say, i am constantly forgetting how much some people just kick ass at what they do. miss aretha really does kick ass. she takes a goofy, sentimental pop song like, 'say a little prayer', and makes it the song that you just wish someone would be playing on the radio every single morning when you wake up. the world would be a better place, i think.
and "i never loved a man"...how soul ripping is that song??!!

ok, time for me to go pick 998 more songs.