How The Other Half Lives

So yesterday in a fit of oh-my-god-it's-so-depressingly-gray-out-and-winter-is-never-going-to-end-and-I'm-going-to-be-stuck-in-this-house-forever-and-god-this-house-is-so-fraking-dirty-but-I-don't-have-the-time-or-energy-or-skills-to-clean-it-so-that-it-actually-looks-clean I called a cleaning woman whose name I had gotten months ago, but never called because I thought that in between my knitting (ha!) and cooking (ha!), I'd be scouring the floors joyfully.

The cleaning woman had an opening today and she came here and from 9:00 until 2:00 when I was like, I kind of need to go out and I don't think I can afford to pay you $200, she cleaned my house.

No, she scrubbed my house. She moved furniture and lifted rugs and arranged funeral processions for the Dust Bunnies.

N. and I do the dishes like three times a day and put our food away and sweep the floors and buy products to spray on all our stuff, but it turns out we're actually filthy. Poor Bean! It is so nice to come home to a house that actually looks clean. The problem is that once you go there you can't go back. Forever and forever I'm going to have to have a cleaning person. In just five hours I became one of Those people. But I'm only going to have her come once a month because the reality is we're not any richer not living in Brooklyn. In fact we might actually be poorer since I'm no longer on the payroll and because The Bean needs things like this. Hopefully N. and I can maintain our throughly scrubbed house better and it won't be so bad or take so long next time. Anyway, the monthly cleaning woman might be the best use of N's money ever.

The Bean says actually this would be the best use of papa's money, but mama says $20.00 is a lot for a plastic giraffe even if it is French.

Feel Free to Skip This Post

This could have been a Friday books, but instead, I'm gonna write about all the things I'm thankful for. I think it's important to do that every once and while. Lord knows I love to complain but sometimes it's good to recognize how lucky you are.

1. I am thankful for Nick.
2. I am thankful I have a happy and healthy baby girl.
3. I am thankful that Nick has a job and it looks like he'll have a job next year.
4. I am thankful that Nick's job didn't take us too far from our families.
5. I am thankful that our families are healthy and strong.
6. I am thankful that I am close to my brother.
7. I am thankful that I was able to get a car as soon as I needed one.
8. I am thankful that we don't have to worry about food or heat.
9. I am thankful that although it may be really cold a lot of the time, New Hampshire is a safe and clean place for my family.
10. I am thankful that I was able to get pregnant so easily and without any complications.
11. I am thankful for the sunlight that comes into my house in the afternoons.
12. I am thankful for the blueness of the cold evenings.
13. I am thankful that I have a babysitter once a week.
14. I am thankful that I can go to the gym.
15. I am thankful that I have met some nice people up here.
16. I am thankful for the friends I have all over the place, but mostly in New York.

Okay, there are more, of course, but that should suffice for now. I'll be back with some snark and complaints next week fo' sho. Happy weekend, y'all.

If I Spent Less Time on Facebook I'd Probably Blog More

I'm sick of winter, yo. Like today after music class The Bean and I chilled and napped and then we played and then we got sick of being in the house and I thought about getting an onion because we need one for the marinara sauce I was going to make on Sunday. But getting an onion would require driving and all the hoopla that goes on with getting the kid in the car and I just didn't feel like making the babe go through all that for an onion. An avocado, perhaps, but an onion? It was cold out today, probably too cold for a walk to the local grocery store, but even if I decided to risk it, it would require putting many layers on The Bean and then stuffing her in the stroller. And I just wasn't up for that. But if it was warm out....no jacket or Bundle Me or hat or gloves. I could just stick Beanie in her buggy and away we'd go. Ahhhh. And there'd be sun, which would be wonderful for obvious reasons, but also then I could be out later. We live on a rather dangerous-to-cross curve and since it gets dark around 4ish, I don't want to take any chances crossing with just the stroller.

I was too lazy to even take The Bean out to the mailbox, which is just out on the driveway. I'd still need to bundle her up so we just ended up in the house for so much of the day. Ugh. It will be so nice to be outside just as another venue.

If you're considering babies in your future you might consider having babies in the winter. By the time they wake up and want to interact with the world (around 4 months) it's getting nice out.

I'm so not listening to that rabid little groundhog neither.

1/2 A YEAR!! AND COUNTIN'!!

YAY!!! The Bean is 6 months old today. Crazy to think that six months ago she was only two hours old and I'm not even sure she was with us. I know they took her to the nursery for weights and measures while N. and I recovered in the delivery room. Now, she's fussing in her crib down the hall because she doesn't want to nap. Naps are for babies, you know.

Did you know that The Bean is scooching? She's so frustrated that she can't crawl, but she can push herself impressively backwards. She's also working on sitting up and is getting pretty good at it. She also has a terrific downward dog!

And, she's eating stuff too. Carrots, peas, squash, and applesauce! This week we're going to try bananas and avocados.

To celebrate our Bean's 6-monthiness, N. and I are going to have cupcakes! Doesn't it seem like just yesterday that we were eating them because we had a 3 month old? Go Bean Go!
What, you want a picture? Here's N. in his PINK Obama shirt at our Obama Mama Inauguration party.



Pretty cute, huh?

What The Bean, N. and I Would Be Doing 2/25 if We Wasn't So Far, Far Away

Okay, we wouldn't actually be in the pool. We'd be at MOMA (yes, the Museum of Modern Art) watching our coolest, filmiest friend's documentary Sync or Swim. What, you didn't know the U.S. had its very own synchronized swim team? Get thee to the MOMA, friend!

Mark your calendars: FEBRUARY 25, 2009 @ 6:00 PM. MOMA.

And tell Auntie C if you see her that The Bean(and co.) wants a screening in Lebanon ASAP!!!

Lest Auntie C get in trouble, the above pic is a still from her movie, but we found it on the Internets.

Marvelous!

Check out Bill Cunningham's inaugural experience.

It's Been A Long Time Coming....

But we made it. Here's to a new day, America.

Friday Books!!

Yes, it's Friday and yes, there are books to be blogged. I would also like to say that with the windchill it's -23 degrees here in NH, but, out of the goodness of heart, I have not yet filed for divorce.

But back to the books.

About six weeks ago I read The Gathering by Anne Einright. My high school English teacher/ friend recommended it quite highly. I will say that it was quite readable---Einright is a good, somewhat lyrical writer. As the book itself--I guess I'd give it a B+. I really didn't like the narrator and although a likable narrator isn't at all a requirement for a good book, in this particular case, the narrator came off so selfish and just wanting to lick her wounds it sort of held me back a bit. I don't want to be a spoiler, but suffice it to say, one major plot point seemed a bit over done and almost, sad to say, cliche.

But, don't listen to me! It won the 2007 Man/Booker and everyone else I know really liked it.

The other book I read was the 2008 Man/Booker winner The White Tiger by I'm too lazy to go upstairs to get it so just google it if you're that interested. This book is basically about the class divide in contemporary India. What's interesting is that for the first 50-75 pages I really disliked the narrator because he's so obnoxious and self-involved and hard to relate to. But then after the first 75 pages or so I changed my mind. I realized he had a right to be obnoxious and self-involved and of course I couldn't relate to him because I'm white and in America and certainly "rich" by his standards. The book got more interesting the more I read and I've thought a lot about since finishing it yesterday.

Oh...yesterday! The Bean took 3! naps...each one over an hour. And then she slept from 6:40-2:00 AM! But today. Well, let's just say I'm not reading much today. I am going to make some hot chocolate cuz baby it's cold outside.

Happy Weekend.

Back in Town With Another Rambling Post!

We're back in snowy NH. And actually it's not too bad. Today is N.'s first day back at work in like a month! He got an extended break because his school was out of power from the massive ice storm that hit in December. He's not teaching, but the boy needs to get prepared for the start o' classes, which is next week. Today The Bean and I went to Mommy Doesn't Do Yoga Because Baby Needs Some Love and then to lunch with some of the moms. It feels good to be in a routine. I think once Beanie can sit on her own yoga will get more done. She gets cranky on her belly/back for too long because she want to sit or stand or bounce.

Even better than being home? We might be getting Miss Bean a babysitter! It's been hard to find one up here mostly because I suspect people don't like to share. Anyway, we're meeting her tomorrow and hopefully if all goes well N. and I could go out and do something one of these nights! Whooo hooo!

Less happy is that The Bean had her first fall yesterday. We were up at Winter Fest in Fairlee, VT. N. was wearing the baby in the Ergo when he took a spill on the frozen lake. She's fine and so he's but both were shaken up. Man, were there some tears. And some projectile spit up, which I don't think was related. But N. really needs to start digesting his food better.

Speaking of food, did you know Bean's mama is on a diet? Okay, not like a diet-diet, but I realized that eating with/without abandon (is that the expression? mom?) is not helping the tummy. It's still cool for me to eat alot (a nursing mom needs 1,000 extra calories compared to a pregnant mom who needs a mere 500), but I'm trying to just eat smarter. Like no more cookies or fries three times a week. Bummer for me, right? But still, bikini season is right around the corner....

How more random can we make this post? Oh! We bought chairs! 6 of them for our dining room! I can't wait for them to arrive.

And, last but not least, darling N. bought me a fabulous desk for Hannukah! No longer will I be blogging while slumped on the couch. I'm a lady writing at her desk. Thanks again, N. Best. Gift. Ever.

5!! Months! And 5 Days! And Couting!!

The Bean is a whopping 5 months and 5 days today. We would've posted sooner, but we've been Big Apple busy. Now we're in Southern Florida, where's it's a beautiful 78 degrees! Needless to say we are not excited to return to New Hampshire where it's 18 degrees. We are ready to go home though. We've been gone along time and a certain someone needs to get on a more consistent nap schedule.

Anyway, as usual The Bean is rocking her 5 monthness. To celebrate she got some multi-grain cereal, which she totally dug. She also got to ride on an airplane, which she also rocked. And she got to meet her great-grandmother, which was pretty cool.

To celebrate The Bean's 5 month and 5 dayness, N. and I are leaving her with the grandparents tonight and going to get me a Margarita. I'm sick (again) but how much worse will one cold, boozy beverage make me?

We fly back to NYC tomorrow and leave Friday morning for cold and snowy NH.

Oh, and happy 2009! The Bean thinks it's gonna be a good one.