Cold Spaghetti

… Will is in his “green” phase.

I am practically beside myself with joy that over the past few days, Will has sought out my paints from the closet and requested that we paint! Finally — I am justified for saving those baby food jars! Unfortunately, I can’t find the tubes of poster paint my mother-in-law gave to us (argh!) — BUT — I did manage to find the wonderful knob brushes that she supplied. They are *great*. The perfect art brush for little hands! Will prefers to paint in one area, pushing the paint around until the paper has had just about all it can take. I love this picture of him; he is giving me his best mischevious smile!

Here are some photos from last week’s Unicycle/Juggling club potluck.

Will plays with Phoebe (they play so well together!)
Kate practices juggling fire!

Alex impresses everyone with super neat juggling fire tricks!

I sent the letter below to ebay and posted links to the auctions and some comments to one of the local NOLA forums hosted by our city newspaper, The Times-Picayune. Within minutes, a host of forum readers had posted comments, sending similar messages to ebay, the sellers, and posting suggestions for action on the list. Apparently, the problem is quite widespread and the forum has been active in getting auctions pulled in the past. Other suggestions were along the lines of reporting the auctions as internet fraud (which they are) through the proper channels, since ebay won’t miss the opportunity to gain a buck if there isn’t very clear evidence of foul-play. So, feeling it my civic duty, I did.

It made for an interesting day. One of the representatives from the US Attorney’s Office called in the morning. He was incredibly nice, had checked out the ebay listings and encouraged me to call the local Federal branch of the Cyber Crimes unit. Apparently, they open the cases and then turn them over the US Attorney’s Office. So, I did. In the mean time, I contacted some of the people instrumental in getting the last ebay listing pulled. One of them is a local artist, Heather Elizabeth of Heather Elizabeth Designs. She immediately forwarded messages to contacts she has at the Sewage and Water Board and City Attorneys; we emailed a few times during the day and I can now say I have a new artist friend in NOLA (check out her website and give her lots of great business!) On a roll and writing well, I sent a message to Anderson Cooper, too. (I guess I had hit my limit with the incredible lack of respect so many are showing New Orleans and went a little nuts.)

But the best part of the day was the dinner-time call I received from the Sewage and Water Board, to personally thank me for my efforts. The representative said that post-Katrina, the theft of historical city artifacts has been beyond extreme. Particularly in the flooded areas, where visiting and local workcrews have been stripping private and public properties without care or reflection on what they are taking. We shared the feeling that these are important fights, even if they seem trivial in our post-Katrina world, where anything that is not life and death rings as insignificant. The architectural and historical artifacts within the very streets of New Orleans are things to be perserved and protected; once they are gone, they are gone.

Yesterday ended with me feeling uplifted. I broke out a little from the frustration and sadness I’ve been feeling and I connected with other people who truly care and are willing to take the time to stand up for little things that matter.

Dear ebay Marketplace,

I urge you to pull these items (7752928490 and 6263342841)and penalize these sellers by restricting them from our forum. I am a resident of New Orleans. Water meter covers are property of the City of New Orleans; they are never personal property for sale. I am a homeowner and our water meter cover was stolen from our front yard, right out of our garden, just a few days ago. It is highly possible that one of the listings above is selling this very cover.

Tourists have taken city property off of our city streets for years to sell illegally. These crimes have increased substantially since Hurricane Katrina as many locals and visitors no longer respect personal property as we struggle to rebuild. With all of the incredible expenses that face New Orleans, it is ridiculous to have the added pressure of forcing the city to replace water meter covers that were stolen; stolen because they offer a profitable sale on ebay.

It is clear in ebay’s policies that stolen property is not welcome in this marketplace. As water meter covers are property belonging to the City of New Orleans — NOT an individual — these items quite clearly constitute a stolen good. What these sellers should do, have they any conscious or good will, is return these items to the City or to the many holes that now stand uncovered.

My husband and I have used ebay for years. We believe in the importance of a community marketplace and take these violations seriously. I look forward to ebay’s response to this message and your quick action.

Sincerely,
us

While in Mobile this past weekend, I took inventory on our baby situation. It was more dire than I thought!

ONE zippered romper, a few pairs of white socks, and about 6 t-shirts (not onesies, the side snap shirts the baby wears before the umbilical cord falls off) were the extent of what I had that isn’t blue. My Mom, ever the excited and doting Granna, took the call and quickly hit the Carter’s outlet so we now have 3 regular onesies, 3 dress onesies/outfits, and 2 romper/legged sleepers. That is the extent of our collection for Baby Kate. I realized I need to get organized.

Hitting ebay, I found a crib bumper and quilt that I LOVE. Will and Kate are sharing a room and I’m trying to coordinate their bedding somewhat. How domestic of me.

The pattern is Pottery Barn Kids “Happy Daisy”. Go ebay; I found a new bumper and quilt at a great price. Gracious and doting Granna gifted us the goods; thanks, Granna!

In my under-the-weather third trimester stupor, I have neglected to post an official hot damn and hallelujah! for my brother, Will’s beloved “Uncle Skip,” and his beautiful wife, Emily, who have just joined the equity-building world of homeownership!!

They are now welcoming visitors to their platial abode on the northeast side of Jacksonville, FL. (Particularly those visitors baring home improvement warehouse giftcards.)

Congratulations, Skip and Emily! We are vaclempt with happiness and pride!

– Two letters arriving from Creative Benefits stating our official rejection of our Flexible Spending Account reimbursement for Will’s daycare from our childcare account.
– A letter from Creative Benefits, arriving the same day as the letters above, giving a check number for the distribution of our requested funds.

Despite the conflicting letters, Friday’s payday saw the addition of our Flexible Spending Account funds from Creative Benefits. Hooray! Huge fruit-basket thanks to the guardian angel who helped end that nightmare!

Folks have been reminding us to document the nuances and special moments of pregnancy. So here goes:
– I can no longer pull my pajama bottoms up over my belly. It’s too big.
– After several nights of asking, Paul finally cut my very long toe-nails for me last night because there is no way I can comfortably reach my feet for such a precision job.
– All of the muscles in my lower back/hips (read: butt) ache at the end of the day from the strain of the weight on my front. There have been a few days over the past week when I’ve begged and pleaded with Paul to rub my butt so that I could walk without limping. Believe me, it is in no way a suggestive comment. It’s a necessity for movement!
– I cannot reach cups or plates that aren’t in the very front of our upper cabinets. My belly holds me too far away from the counter to get close enough to reach inside.
– A few times a day I stop people to watch the baby put on a show. She jumps around and my belly will literally shift back and forth at an impressive rate (think of the lunchroom scene in ‘Alien’, minus the gross stuff).
– Still, I feel really good! (Except for the head cold/sinus/whatever I have).

“Momm-eee!”

Calls Will from his bed, announcing to me that he is up from naptime. I walk into his room, lean against the side rail, and ask him if he’s ready to get up now. It’s our normal routine.

He looks up at me squarely with sleepy eyes and droopy face. After a moment’s pause, he turns his head, spits his binky out with a quick “pop”, and faces me to say:

“Mommy, I want a treat.”

(My theory: Daddy has been giving Will some treat-seeking coaching!)