There is much to be thankful for. Here is a short list.

I am thankful for my tall husband who is kind and generous and talented.
I am thankful for my funny job that allows me to be creative and fun all day long.
I am thankful for modern medicine and the confident and competent arms into which my small son will literally be held upon entering this world.
I am thankful for my friends that make sure that I never feel lonely in this big city.
I am thankful for my brothers and sisters.
I am thankful for my trusty yellow bug.
I am thankful for my cozy home that sits high in the trees in South Brooklyn.
I am thankful for my small but gigantically spirited toddler who fills my days with curiousity, giggles, cuddles and love.

We decided to bring Mahalia to IKEA to purchase a big girl bed. She was so into the beds that she decided to kick off her shoes and lay down to sleep in the store. I believe we eventually had to bribe her with meatballs to get her out of the bed. We did bring home a new bed and the panda bear that she had to have and a new duvet with critters driving various vehicles.

Two Good Quotes From the Day

Shane: "I used to look into bars to see if I knew anyone. Now I look into the playground."

Mahalia: "Stop all this composting!! This is my compost." God knows where she learned about composting.

It's really not attractive for grownups to behave this way.

I'm sorry but is this not the most surefire way of giving a toddler a SERIOUS clown phobia?

Mahalia reminded me last night that Halloween is a pretty kick ass holiday. She seriously screamed with glee each time someone dropped a piece of candy into her bucket. I have moments when I think to myself that this must be the pinnacle of cuteness, that she can't possible get any cuter. Luckily, she usually interrupts such thoughts with a whiny request or a bossy demand and it brings me back down to earth.

It's Saturday night now. She just went to sleep after a long day of recuperating from two Halloween Parties, no nap, up partying till 11:00 with ZayZay and the most serious sugar intake of her two year life.

The pictures are starting to come in from various sources. I'll post more as they arrive. I used my old fashioned, film roll camera so I'll either get those photos developed this week or in a few years when I find those used film rolls floating around in my closet.

Mahalia's been taking photos of herself on the computer. This one will be on the cover of her first Indie Rock record entitled TWO GOING OF THIRTEEN.

First Day of School

I have to mention that this day happened weeks ago. Had I been on my creative game I would have taken a photo of myself going to my first day of school/work compared to Mahalia who was so excited that she reportedly walked the whole 15-minute (with adult legs) walk to the train.

NO cute backpack on me, no sir. No smiles either. Just a look of, oh-my-god-didn't-summer-just-start disbelief, or the seemingly summer long look of my pregnant face which seemed to say, I'm-so-tired-that-my-bones-hurt.

Now that the cool weather is back and I've settled back into my gruesome commute and, most importantly, passed into the second trimester, it ain't so bad.

Seeqpod is a new feature I'm trying out. I can't figure out how to make it look any slicker. For now, it'll do the trick. Push play while you read the next post.

Hometown Pride


I've often been embarrassed by my inexplicable ability to cry over the most seemingly ridiculous things. A few examples (some more pathetic than others) include watching the disabled runners during the NY marathon, hearing applause for dancers on SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE, watching a 5-year old finally able to skip for the first time, or crying on the train while listening to sadcore singer Mark Kozalek crooning on about his little sister and their childhood in Ohio. Perhaps the most disconcerting is my habit of crying my eyes out during parades--all those people together in one place, altogether happy about a place or a cause. I even cried during the Israeli day parade and, at the risk of sounding racist, I don't care about Israel. I do, however, love parades.

In the Spring, I started obsessing about taking MayMay to my hometown parade. In my mind (I hadn't been to the parade since childhood) it was the most extravagant and exciting parade in all the land. There were oodles of Shriners driving around in tiny cars with funny hats on their heads. There were shiny floats advertising the local businesses and marching bands playing beautiful music. And, perhaps the best of all, there was tons and tons of candy being thrown at the famished children drooling on the sidewalk.


My dream came true on a recent trip to Ohio. And, well, let's just say I was saved the usual embarrassment of crying my eyes out at this parade. It was a is this seriously for real and I can't believe I grew up here kind of moment . But little Mahalia, with her innocent eyes, loved every minute of it and she spoke about it for days after.

These photos should give you an idea.....my favorite is the ever beautiful Pork Princess, second photo from the top.

Tata

"Look, Mama!! I'm swimming like a muuuuuhr-maid!"

Behold the mighty trumpet player!

Look how close he is to Eddie Vedder. I'm swooning. It's like I'm in Jr. High all over again.

Shane is in L.A. recording a song with Pearl Jam as a part of a VH1 Who Tribute concert. It airs on Thursday.

He sent me some photos of himself (always dangerous) wearing the zebra print robe hanging in his swanky ass hotel. Rock and roll, Shane.



A closeup:

A Future Music Critic?


We went to the famed mountain house of the beloved Shaklees. Mahalia and I started our day with two string quartets and she asked to continue listening to the Damnation of Faust while I, diaperless, had to use the bathroom.

Happy Birthday, ZayZay.
We celebrate YOU today!!

Tomatillas and poblano peppers for some refreshing salsa verde. Green on green, the colors of my dreams.

We snacked on pancit and lumpiang shanghai while listening to some opera in the park.

MayMay watched attentively and kept saying, "i want more music."

She stayed up late, watched a little CSPAN with her soon-to-be-married boyfriend, Ben, and even requested that he carry her to bed.

She's deliciously hard to resist.

Thanks to pals Val and Oscar and new pal, Olivier, Mahalia enjoyed many breezy naps in the country.

Do you see the Goldbug?

Ziva Etta Salan, daughter of friends-extraordinaire, Michele Bloom and Evan Salan.

Beatiful
Tiny
Adorable

Our hearts swell with love for this little creature.

When I was a kid I dreamed of being a check out lady at the grocery story. It was before scanners, when each item's price got typed into the cash register. Really, I never stopped loving the idea of working a cash register and during high school I hooked myself up with a job at JCPenny. You've probably all heard from my mother at some point that I spent way more money than I made there. I finally gave that job up for an illustrious waiting position at the local PONDERGROSSA. Grossa indeed. The semi-deranged dishwasher there ate the little chunks of steak off of customers' plates as he received them.

I'm gagging right now thinking of it.

Anyhow, our cashier at Fairway let Mahalia push on some buttons while we checked out and she went ape shit. Check out the photos.

We've discovered that Mahalia enjoys fetching things for us and washing the dishes and throwing things into the garbage and turning on the floor lamp. If only she could open the fridge on her own to get beers. How long will this golden period last?

Spwing Has Spwung.........

Bamma came to look after Malo while Shane tromped around Europe with his musical cohorts.

We went to see the Cherry Blossoms at the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens. Mahalia showed Bamma the Koi in the Japanese Gardens. "LOOK BAMMA!"








She did some climbing on a small tree and was super pleased with herself.



She met her buddy, Zay Zay, at the zoo. When was the last time you remember being this happy to see someone?

I would like to be as cute as my daughter.

WOULD SOMEONE PLEASE EXPLAIN TO ME HOW TWO YEARS CAN GO SO FAST?

We celebrated Benjamin's birthday today. Mahalia ate all the frosting off her cupcake without using her hands. She kept telling people, anyone who would listen, "I LIKE IT!"

Here are some photos of Mahalia and Benjamin playing on Thursday, the first real day of Spring.

Vacation is going to sleep and waking up when you want.

Been back to work for one week. I sing songs about spring with three year olds. So far, New York resists our plea. This Week's Bright Spot: My oldest friend comes for a visit.

Here is a random assortment of photographs from our blissful trip to Tulum, Mexico. I didn't have this blog on my mind in Mexico and never remembered to take out the camera for photos.

It's remarkable how little one can actually manage to think about while sipping pina coladas on the beach, and the day's most difficult decision becomes, "Should I place my ass in the hammock or directly in the sand."

Cautious little Mahalia waited till day five to take off her shoes in the sand and never made it into the Caribbean. If all goes as planned, there will be more Mexican vacations during her childhood providing more opportunities for her to bathe in that delicious water. She spent her days chasing the resort cat and dogs around the cabanas and foraging through our bags for pieces of chocolate.