Little Monkeys

I've never experienced a paint color making me as happy as this one does. It feels like how I imagine the sky in the Greek Isles, or when the sun makes reflections on it, like the bottom of a very clean and nice swimming pool. I want to lie on our bed and stare at it for ages. These little guys just wanted to jump around in it for ages.

It's called "old pick-up blue" by Benajmin Moore. Thank you Ben!

3 little monkeys

4 little monkeys

monkey entropy!

Breakfast in the New Kitchen!

Yumm!!

He digs the new house (and the yogurt)!

Isaac worked up his appetite for yogurt with grated apple and raisins after drawing this picture:

Crayola marker on typing paper

I love this drawing. It reminds me of outer space, with lots of energy and rings and stuff.

Being a Jew on Christmas is Very Fun!

A wonderful Jewish Christmas looked me right in the eye this year as it never has before: the quiet outside, the people so happy, the parking spots so plentiful! And delightfully, when you are Jewish, you get invited to lots of people's houses because they know you don't have anywhere else to go!

We spent the morning at the Barret - Wangs (secret Jews!), brunching on delicious breakfast-y foods, and the best lemon blueberry bundt cake ever (because it was Martha Stewart's recipe said my baker friend, though I think it was her talent, + taking it out too early, so that it looked funny, but tasted awesome that did the trick).

Cool Christmas Guy in Williamsburg

We spent the afternoon in Simon's lovely apartment, with his new black sleek sweetie pie of a cat, more fabulous food and friends, and Simon's mom, imported for the occasion all the way from England! He even gave us milky chocolate bars as a parting gift, and a book he wrote translated into Japanese.

After all the crazy hard work of getting a new old house organized and habitable (posts on that to come!), and this nutty apartment packed up, it was a heavenly break.

Toddler Painting

His first time ever.

One must focus.

This photo was more toward the beginning of our painting experience, but it really didn't get much messier than this. And we ended up with a lovely colorful bunch of splotches.

Bad weather can inspire all sorts of greatness.

Peeing on the Potty, Advice and Ideas

Today was a very big day, potty-wise.

The little guy said to me, jumping from one foot to the other, "Mama!, I'm about to pee!" So we hightailed it over to the potty and he did just exactly as he had forecast. Wahoooo!!!

Yea, that's the cool guy (greaser for halloween in this pic) who knows where to do his business!

See, we've been doing great on the pooping front for almost a year now, but pee pee had become elusive, frustrating, and very wet.

Here's what we did that I think made the biggest difference: underpants + pants! I've had the underpants for a while, and he's been wearing them at home, but usually with nothing on top, so that when he pees, the floor gets really wet, and he just gets sort of wet. I changed my tactics by fortifying them a little (post on how to do that coming soon!), and then at home I dressed him in the fortified undies with sweatpants over. So for the past week, when he went pee pee he definitely knew it, and it wasn't very much fun. Each time he got wet I told him, "Next time, if you tell me before you pee your pants will stay dry!"

So I'm thinking/hoping/wondering if the concept actually soaked through (ha!). I've definitely learned that all of this is usually two steps forward, one step back, so it sure feels good to make a leap!

For the Love of Organizing

I put my hatred of plastic on hold.

Ta-da!

I first saw (and wanted) these boxes at my friend's Peg's house a few years ago. Peg makes quilts, and she stores her colorful fabric pieces stacked inside like lush Grand Canyon striations. It was the kind of organized chaos that I really love.

3 years later, I bought my own! I ordered them from the Container Store (they are called "deep sweater boxes", in case you must have them too) and now the chaos merely peeks through the plastic's translucency, rather than whopping me over the head. Plus Isaac likes to climb on them.

I say, "Who needs a playgym when you have one at home!?"

I say everyone had benefited.

Doing His Civic Duty

A very focused sign holder.