Who's your completely safe, platonic, never-in-a-millions-years but *sigh* I-can-still-dream-can't-I crush?




Mine's Jack Johnson ...

How could I NOT be distantly in awe of a guy who wrote: “Our dreams are made of real things, like a shoebox full of photographs.”

The morning commute still went without a hitch, but it makes me kinda sad that I won't get to do the read, tuck and kiss tonight.

Nevertheless, Jed's trying to show me up to impress the kids -- and in doing so eventually get them to go to bed without too much fuss -- by picking them up in the crane truck for the evening commute.

The day before it happened, I saw the look in his eye and I knew. ... The husband would be heartbroken.


***

With a few spare minutes before Ittybit's dance class we stopped at the Surly Drip in the center of town. I wasn't sure I could face the other mothers, sitting on the edge of their seats holding their breaths for the "Re-vi-lay," without something caffeinated.

Gathered in front of the coffee shop were legions of Little Leaguers.

He reached for me when I unhooked his tether. As I backed out of the car with him in my arms, he clung to me silently. His eyes were wide. His tight grip pressed down on my torso as he inched higher. He wanted to get a better view of the button-capped boys and girls chasing each other from stoop to sidewalk with Vitamin Waters and toasted bagels.

I was resigned to wait. I had guessed there would be a line. The season had commenced earlier that morning with a candy-hurling gang of players parading past our house to the baseball field down the street. We had trudged out to the edge of the yard to wave them by. There were too many teams to play at once.

Ittybit snip-snapped past me making full use of her flip-flops and flouncy dress as she made her way to the cooler containing colorful drinks. We had a full itinerary for that first summery day, and she didn't want to miss a second of it. But she did want a taste of pink water to go with her buttery bread.

I'd promised ...

Still silent and unwiggling as I swayed in line, The Champ adjusted his weight and position to keep his eyes always on the ball players.


***

Later in the weekend ... at the party of a thousand activities he honed in on one: A construction cone set-up with a few wiffle balls and bats.

With the help of an older boy my baby took hold of one of the bats and, with an imperfect stance, commensed playing his first improvised game of T-ball. Each time he swung - handle to ball - he sent the hollow orb flying. When the boy had tired of fetching the ball The Champ chased after it himself and carefully set it up again. ... and again ... and again.


***

When he got home he found a plain blue baseball hat in a pile of hand-me-downs I'd yet to handed over or down, and put it on. He refused to take it off.

His father, the soccer enthusiast, has accepted that his is a baseball fan with as much grace as he can muster. "It doesn't matter what he plays ... it doesn't matter if he plays ... as long as he's happy doing it."

annabel made dinner, originally uploaded by toyfoto.

My father called me one evening last week, a little while after the kids had gone to bed, to warn me of something he had done that *could, potentially, perhaps, most likely, but maybe not* cause a problem. It was something he thought that I should know about so I could be on lookout for trouble …

Got it?

Yeah, neither did I.

What could possibly be WORSE than teaching a then-three-year-old to open the refrigerator by herself? … Or swing down the staircase one step at a time holding on to the handrail? … Or to unlatch her own seatbelt? What could be worse than realizing she’d dialed Guam instead of Gram when the phone bill arrives?


PAPA: “Well, I let her use a sharp knife to cut carrots and strawberries. …

Then there was a pause …

ME: “Ok?”

PAPA: “… by herself. … But I told her she’s NOT to try it without mom or dad watching.”

ME: “Oh … I’m not worried,” I lied, thinking immediately of the scar I’d gotten while trying to cut apples when I was seven – two years older than Ittybit.

PAPA: “She was so pleased with herself.”

I was thinking of this little exchange Sunday evening as we were returning home from the second of two weekend parties for newly five-year-old friends.

ME: “I have a great idea!” I said with the borrowed enthusiasm of a game-show host. “Why don’t YOU make dinner tonight?”

HER: SILENCE.

I’m guessing now the lack of response was the disbelief that some unmentioned DREAM was FINALLY coming true, because when we got home she went straight to work …

Assembling leftovers from the refrigerator into one of the most artful (not to mention tasty) meals ever served in our home.

And then, while I was putting Silas to sleep, she decided to tackle dessert: “Sliced Strawberries on Oreos.”

Yet, because I wasn’t watching, the knife she used to slice the strawberries was of the butter variety.

Now I know I’m biased, but I don't think you can blame me for thinking she really is the best.

Kermit might find it’s not easy being green but everyone else on the planet knows EARTH DAYS are easy … that’s why we’re keeping them going into the weekend. So if you are in the mood to protect the place where you keep your stuff, check out one or four of the following events:

Celebrate Earth Day again on Saturday with South Central Troy’s Neighborhood Watch by rolling up your sleeves and donating the most valuable thing of all: your time. Volunteers will gather the group’s headquarters on Hill Street at 9 a.m. and get to work doing what needs to get done in the Little Italy, Washington Park, Historic Sage, Pottery and Think First districts. Bring any gear you got from gloves to rakes and join your neighbors in a little spring cleaning. Volunteers are still needed to spruce up all sections of the neighborhood including parks and alleyways. Donations of snacks and water are also greatly appreciated. Call Heather at 441-5700 for more information.

Albany Pine Bush Discovery Center will host “Terrific Turtles of The Pine Bush,” at 1 p.m. at the center located at 195 New Karner Road., Albany. Call 456-0655 for more information.

The New York State Museum in Albany will celebrate Earth Day on Saturday at the Empire State Plaza from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The day-long event features “Arm of the Sea Mask and Puppet Theater,” as well as lots of fun, hands-on activities, story telling and nature exhibits. Free.

Of course, if you get tired of events that celebrate the Planet Earth, you could schlep on over to the Dunn Memorial Bridge in Rensselaer and try your luck at scoping out the "Salt" of the Earth. Angelina Jolie and family are reportedly in town gumming up the highway as they film scenes for the action flick. And to think ... just a few years ago that screwball bridge was falling apart.


EARTH ELSEWHERE

The Village of Valatie will host its first “Big Earth, Little Village” celebration Saturday and Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at various locations throughout Main Street. Exhibits will include various wellness practitioners and products.

Hancock Shaker Village in Pittsfield, Mass. is showing off its newest residents: “Baby Animals on the Shaker Farm.” What better way to get kids thinking about the earth than bring them up-close and in-person to the lambs, piglets, calves and chicks filling the historic Round Stone Barn. Visitors can pet the new arrivals and explore the surrounding farmyard, historic buildings, and blossoming gardens. Through May 3. Open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. Admission is free for members; $16.50 for other adults, $8 for kids older than 12. For more information, visit www.hancockshakervillage.org

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ANOTHER WORTHY EVENT TO GET YOU OUT AND ABOUT THIS WEEKEND …

“WALK A MILE IN HER SHOES,” the men’s march to stop rape, sexual assault and gender violence, will step off on Saturday from the Lally Pavilion at Samaritan Hospital. Check-in and registration ($10) for participants is at 10 a.m. The march begins and 11 a.m. Women and children are also encouraged to participate. Call 271-3639 for more information.

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UPCOMING and filed in the “DON’T LAUGH IT’S NOT ONLY GOOD FOR THE PLANET BUT ALSO EDUCATIONAL IF YOU STICK AROUND TO WATCH” category …

The Tsatsawassa Protective Fire Company is hosting a "Cat Castration, Mobile Vet Clinic" on May 3 at its station, located at 9 Firehouse Lane in Brainard. Yes, you read that correctly. Male cats may be dropped off between 10 a.m. and noon in marked cage or traps (if they are feral). Animals may be picked up between 2 and 4 p.m. A variety of discounted services available: Package A. $40 Castration and rabies vaccination; Package B. $50 Castration, rabies and FVRCP inoculations; or Package C. $60 Castration, rabies, FVRCP and Feline Leukemia vaccinations. All cats will be given antibiotic injections. Feline Leukemia tests available for a $25 fee. Animals should not be fed for at least eight hours prior to having a procedure. Call 794-9494 for more information.

How did you celebrate Earth Day?

We didn't really celebrate Earth Day yesterday, but this morning we got up so early we had LOTS of time to waste conserve.

AND since we had SO MUCH LUCK with the flower and pumpkin germanation experiment using egg cartons and reclaimed potting soil, we decided to plant the rest of our seed packets -- watermelon, tomatoes, basil, coriander, oregano and parsley -- in a similar manner.

Which leads me to a new feature of Random Question Thursday -- Random BONUS QUESTION Thursday:

What's up with organic eggs sold in plastic containers, anyway?

Me thinks we should be working on lowering our consumption for Earth Day next year.

teen beat, originally uploaded by toyfoto.

“If you don’t stop fighting this instant, I’m going to pull the car over and put you both out!”

Well, a well-heeled Scarsdale mother gave those usually empty words teeth earlier this week when she pulled her vehicle over in a White Plains business district, three miles from home, and ordered her bickering children (10- and 12-year-old girls) to exit the car and then drove off.

It would seem almost comical to me — a person who throughout her own formative years heard that same threat enough to ignore it without even batting an eye — except that the mother was subsequently arrested and issued a restraining order requiring she have no contact with the kids, who were unharmed by the event.

And then parents, who were asked to comment for follow-up news stories, came out in droves to say what a different world it is today; and how, even though they empathize with the mom's frustrations, they themselves could never actually drive away.

It’s impossible to glean details from published reports as to where the girls were left — along a highway or in a strip mall — or whether the mother came back to get them. Some broadcast reports have the 12-year-old running after the car and being allowed back in, while the 10 year-old was found crying by strangers, who contacted police. Regardless, I just can’t understand how anyone would waste the court’s time with such a case.

This is where I launch into the bit about when I was 10 years old I was riding my bike, helmetless, five miles along narrow, winding roads to a friend’s house and back.

(I’ll spare you the tale of it being uphill both ways.)

I realize there are SO MANY PEOPLE who think things are different these days; and that people are different and can’t be trusted. And that cars are different, and too big. And that drivers have really bad peripheral vision and virtually no spot in the back window that isn’t blind, not to mention that they are always on their cell phones … or texting anyway; doing anything, but paying attention to the road.

Let's not forget about about the abandonment issues.

These poor, sad children ... with their ipods and cell phones, living in tony neighborhoods ... with a frazzled and ineffective mother.

To have their mother drive away is just cruel proof she doesn’t love them.

Yes. It’s probably best she was arrested and that a restraining order was issued and that she was barred from seeing them until the matter can be sorted out by one of the more underworked case managers in the system.

Unless, of course, the kids had had a cell phone …

and could have called their dad. …

Or a cab.

Or if they didn't, (gasp) maybe they could have stuck together ...

and looked out for one another.

I forgot. We don't do that anymore.

I had an assistant today. ... because the babysitter is feeling under the weather. (The boy is hanging with his Amah and Papa.)




And thanks to Francesca's yummy specials, my date for lunch is surprisingly** full of soup.


**Surprisingly, I say, because while she is a SUPER person, she's not really a SOUPER person.

when you can have breakfast with the backhoe?

These are the kinds of things we'll miss when we get to the new house. ... Of course, there may be actual eating going on at the new place without such distractions.

Did you know this Saturday marks National Independent Record Store Day?

What is that you ask?

Why, it's a day of appreciation for record stores across the country that have toiled away in relative obscurity, losing customers to the big bad national chains, in an effort to keep the locals in hip tunes and vintage vinyl, not to mention help support local music scenes. So if you like music -- and who doesn’t? -- get yourself and the kids out to support the little guy at the corner spin shop.

THE BEAT GOES ON ...
THE RIVER STREET BEAT SHOP, 197 River Street, Troy, will celebrate Record Store Day on Saturday with performances by Furman’s Basement at 3 p.m. and Rambling Jug Stompers 4:30 p.m. The concert will be a fundraiser for The Regional Food Bank. Attendees are encouraged to bring non-perishable food items. Cash donations are appreciated. For more information, call 470-3023.

TWICE AS NICE ...
LAST VESTIGE MUSIC STORE -- with two locations, 173 Quail Street, Albany (432-7736) and at 437 Broadway Saratoga Springs (226-0811) -- will have in-store specials and give-aways on Sturday, and at 2 p.m. will host appearances by the Rambling Jug Stompers in Albany and Sarah Pedinotti & the Railbirds at its Saratoga store.

DOING IT EVERY DAY ...
BLUE NOTE RECORD SHOP, 156 Central Ave., in Albany, isn't doing anything special on Saturday, but they are independent and they have been THE place to go for hard to find albums for decades.

TO FIND OUT MORE about record store happenings across the country, visit THE NATIONAL WEB SITE

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LITERALLY FUN
Also Saturday, at 2 p.m., the Sand Lake Center for the Arts & Poestenkill Youth Department are working in partnership to offer Shakespeare’s Clowns Performing LITERARY LUNACY. Sean Fagan (The Famous Seano of Circus Theatrics) and Eric Shova (actor and teacher) will recite poetry, sing songs and generally clown around as they represent the stock characters of a fool and a scholar. Tickets are $5 per person $15 per family. Poestenkill residents are free of charge. Call 674-2007 for more information.

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COMING UP …
THE PINE BUSH CELEBRATES EARTH DAY April 25th at Albany Pine Bush Preserve. Participants will gather at 9 a.m. at the Discovery Center at 195 New Karner Road in Albany to work on a variety of conservation projects. Registration is required. To sign up, please visit www.albanypinebush.org and click on "Calendar Events" or call 456-0655.

*DROPPING BIG OLD HINT*
MOTHER'S DAY PICNIC AND PLANT SALE
Sun. May 10 from noon to 2 p.m. at Olana.
This Mother’s Day bring a picnic blanket and your favorite lunch down to the Farm Complex at Olana; supplies provided for kids to paint a landscape painting gift for Mom. Visit the Wagon House Education Center to pick up art supplies and learn a little about horticulture/the art of designing garden borders for sun and shade from Bob Hyland, co-owner and principal of Loomis Creek Nursery, Hudson. A great selection of plants to jumpstart your spring gardens and containers will be offered for sale from this fantastic local nursery and gardening resource. Free. Call 828-1872 for information.

Glory of the Snow, aka Chionodoxa, originally uploaded by toyfoto.

What's been bugging you?


I've been almost completely consumed with trying to find out what these little flowers, the first to really show up in spring here in the northeast, are called.

In some places they can appear as a carpet of blue.

I finally took this picture and asked begged the interwebs to tell me.

Thanks, Niall. I'll sleep better tonight ... (After I take an antihistamine, of course).

and his five-year-old sister.

Seriously, though ... Who knew he'd actually eat FOOD if he were seated at a "kiddie table" with his big sister?

Annabel knew. *High five!*

Dinner's on the floor from now on. ... Well ... technically it will be about a foot up from the floor.

... once we get to the new building.

I just hope it's a little more finished.

Because I can't get the romanticised, plasticised, smiling version of pirates out of my mind when it comes to the news of real-life crime on the seas that's been reported of late, I've decided to add to the inappropriateness ... I dubbed this play structure: "Smugglers' Cave."

Well ... you could, but, believe me, after a while even that wears out its welcome.

There's tons of things to do out in the world. Much of it doesn't even cost a cent. Why, just yesterday the kids and I wasted a perfectly good half hour riding around the house in a wheelbarrow. (Ok ... I was driving, but everyone still has all their appendages and we had fun.)

From A to Z, here are some other ideas you can waste spend quality time doing: AQUARIUMS, BISTROS, CAFES, DIGGING in DIRT piles and EASTER EGG hunts. You can FLOAT sailboats in your bathtub, GARDEN, go HORSEBACK riding, INVESTIGATE a place you've never been before, or just JUMP up and down in one place. You can try flying a KITE, visiting the LIBRARY, MAKE something pretty for your MOMMY or just go out into NATURE. You can OPINE about OPPOSUMS, or PRANCE or PRETEND, you can site QUIETLY in the woods looking for QUAIL, you can RACE your brother to the mailbox, or you can SWING from the TREES. You can pretend you are UNDERWATER or VISITING a VOLCANO, or maybe just take a WALK to XANADU or to the nearest YURT. If you've done everything you can think to do, you might lastly try the ZOO.

Of course, if you live nearby ... you might check out these little tidbits this week:

EASTER EGG HUNTS

Evergreen Commons, 1070 Luther Road, in East Greenbush will host its annual indoor Easter Egg event from 2 to 4 p.m. on Saturday, April 11, Refreshments, live animal petting zoo, music and face painting for children up to age 10. The children must be accompanied by an adult. For additional information, please call 479-4662.

Also on Saturday, The Village of Kinderhook will host its annual Easter Egg hunt at the House of History, followed by a meet and greet with the Easter Bunny at the gazebo in the village square. Festivities kick off at noon. Children 10 and younger are invited to participate.

The Village of Nassau's Easter Egg hunt will take place at 1 p.m. at the gazebo on John Street.

North Chatham United Methodist Church, Route 203 in North Chatham, will host an Easter Egg hunt on Saturday at 9 a.m.

The North Greenbush Youth Department will hold its annual Easter Egg Hunt for children who are residents of the town and in Pre-K through 4th Grade at 10 a.m. on Saturday. The children will be separated into age groups the day of the hunt.


REMEMBER THE VIDEO GAME FROGGER?

You know, where you goal was to get the green amphibian across the road before it got squashed by a truck? Bet you didn’t know people study such phenomena. If you have the stomach for it – and we know most 8 year-olds LIVE for this – get yourselves on over to the New York State Museum on Wednesday, April 15, where museum staff will present “Predicting and Mitigating Hotspots of Herpetofauna Road Mortality." The program -a lecture - is free and will take place at noon.

ROAD TRIP?

Why not come and walk around a working sheep farm? Old Chatham Sheepherding Company, 155 Shaker Museum Road, doesn’t offer tours, but they’re working farm is always open to visitors. A staff of five employees, assisted by Reggie the border collie, works seven days a week milking 400 ewes twice a day. Depending on what time a day you arrive you might see farm hands caring for baby lambs, moving sheep to and from pasture. Arrive at 3 p.m. on any given day and you’ll see the milking process. You can also stop by the farm store and purchase some of their world-famous products. For more info, visit www.blacksheepcheese.com.

AND JUST ONE MORE LITTLE BIG THING …

It has come to my attention that Milo, an 8-year-old beagle, needs a new home. My friends at the Animal Protective Foundation in Scotia tell me the poor pooch’s world was turned upside down when he was given up after his people decided to divorce. Milo is friendly and loves being around people, but he’s lonely at the shelter and in need of a loving home. If you or someone you know is looking to share their love with Milo, please call Marguerite Pearson at 374-3944 extension 113.

What's your new favorite thing?

The Champ, as you can see, has found the window sill a delightful place to watch the "gucks" pull in and out of the plumbing contractor's facility next door. As soon as he hears the heavily, metalic squeal of breaks he makes a break for the window.

Ittybit's new favorite thing involves movies ... Nim's Island, Kung Fu Panda, and Barbie "classics"** have all made it into the top rotation. As has popcorn with "real" butter "not that fake stuff that dad eats."

My new favorite things are Target coffee and pestering Jed to make another window guard.


** Here's the story behind the Barbie "classics" bruhaha: I promised Annabel a DVD of her choice (because she was getting the dark side of a promise) and during a tearful phone call she came up with "Barbie and the Joker." As I was frantically searching the internet for such an unfathomable title, I skeptically asked her to describe the movie. ...

"You know ... it's the movie about two Barbies and a guy who's a joker. I saw it at Emma's house."

Thinking ... thinking.

"Do you mean "Princess and the Pauper?"

"Oh, MOM! That's it! You're right! For once in your life, you were right!"

I started to chuckle and the conversation became a two-way over on the sitter's end: "Oh Annabel that's not nice. Appologize to Mom!"

"But she's laughing ... "

Despite being on the phone, I could feel Lori's glare.

"I'm sorry, mom."

There's not much I can offer parents venturing off into the magical world of public celebrations geared for small children, except for a little advice.

You may not remember, but a few years back we attended our first Easter Egg Hunt.

You know of which I speak? ... The over-planned municipal nightmare wherein at least one child each year isn't able to find a candy-filled plastic orb or isn't able to snatch one up quickly enough before losing it forever to an over-coached neighbors' kid in an unneighborly show of Darwinism?

Lest I say, it was a disaster.

The event turned the cute and cuddly, warm and fuzzy Easter Bunny into a dyed-in-the-wool monster.

Thanks to archiving you can go back for the scene of the crime should you choose.

Now I suppose that since the way of the world seems to be survival of the fittest there's nothing wrong with rules that ensure a competitive hunt. But there seems to be a little something missing in a community feel-good event if tiny tots are left to cry it out when their parents haven't thought ahead enough to strategize tactical maneuvers to ensure tots will actually find one measly little plastic egg.

And we were lucky in that we had a neighbor who willingly shared some of their found treasures. But not all kids have been so fortunate to have such kind and generous neighbors. (Each year I hear new and daunting stories about the egg hunt from hell, as we have begun to think of it).

So my advice to all you trusting folks with sweet little munchkins, who, through no fault of your own (and quite by accident) may find yourself attending one of these bloodthirsty affairs, is simple: Before you pack the kids into the car and head out, fill a few eggs with treats and slip them into your pockets.

Just.

In.

Case.

rainy day, originally uploaded by toyfoto.

The weekend came and went with a huff of wind and steady rain.

Sunday afternoon Silas was feeling, what I now believe, was the final effects of a lingering cold ... he was warm to the touch, feverish and tired.

We spent the afternoon on the couch, as we've spend many days of late. He slept while I reheated my coffee more times than I care to admit and watched Sandra Bullock be impossibly cute from 1990 until whenever she made "Miss Congeniality." (DAMN YOU, HBO!)

Come Monday he was still warm and his sister overslept, which is a sign - at least in my experience of childhood - that rest is probably the best plan.

So we stayed home, watched TV, decorated Easter Eggs and generally took time to not do much at all.

I'm not sure such days are good for the mental health, though.

It seems I do less and less and the kids get older.

I don't comb my hair. I steer clear of the mirror and the bathroom scale. I don't want to see how "I've let myself go."

My knee hurts when it rains. When did that start?

I want a warm day so I can go out and be in the world again.

Yet, I know once the warm days lead to hot ones I'll be hiding back inside. Not wanting to move. Not wanting to think about all that has to get done; all that I should want to do.

I'm ready, and waiting, for spring. I need to thaw into forward momentum.

I challenge you to a duel!, originally uploaded by toyfoto.

Dear Silas,

You picked out your clothes today; or more to the point you nodded your head in approval as your dad held up various items from which you could choose. Your dad chuckled that the multi-colored pants you selected had the face of Winnie the Pooh stitched to the bum.

He finds that kind of thing funny.

I find nothing strange in such a choice, however, especially now that your displeasure in getting dressed at all is backed by a growth spurt that has given your wiggle more weight. Everyone can use a soft landing now that the Terrible Twos have begun their approach, what better way than with a bear who's stuffed with fluff?

Looking at you now, I find it hard to remember the six-pound baby we brought home nearly two years ago.

Back then you looked so frail, so vulnerable.

Right now you are a tough cookie with a penchant for repeating the last word of anything anyone says aloud.

"Do you want some snack?"

"Nack!"

"Where are your trucks?"

"Guck!"

"Where is your Dappa John?"

"John?"

Well ... most of the time:

"I think you need a diaper change .."

"NO!"

And your "terrible twos" are evident:

So far this month,

* My new video camera met its demise at the bottom of the dog's water bowl.

* Some haberdashery belonging to your sister’s Polly Pocket dolls mysteriously found its way into our septic system … or so we believe.

* Stray rocks have begun collecting in the end pipes of the gutters.

* Most of the food you are give gets thoroughly masticated and then returned to the plate (or deposited in random locations throughout the house).

* You’ve begun sounding a little like the seagulls in the movie “Finding Nemo” … Mine! Mine! Mine!

* And "NO!" … is beginning to mean NO!

Things are really quite different this time around, though. The terrible twos for the second child, in our case, will probably be magnified by the fact that our routine isn't what anyone would consider routine.

Breakfast for you typically means sitting on your father's lap and eating every other spoonful.

Dinner often gets left on the plate or fed to the dog.

Bedtime usually consists of you dragging your dad into our bedroom yelling "BOND! BOND!" Because you have gotten into the habit of hanging out with your dad as he watches Double-O-Seven renew his License to Kill while I read bedtime stories to your sister.

I keep thinking when you have normal a room, you'll have a normal routine. (If normal is even possible in our house as long as we reside there).

We'll get there, somehow.

I'm not worried. Much.


Love,

Mama

Right here, right now ... What do you wish for?

Close your eyes and just think it. You don't have to tell anyone.

... but that would be a lie.