Cold Spaghetti

We’re selling it. The great jogging/all terrain stroller that served us so well. We’ve found that, since Kate, it mocks us. Reminding us of days when we could walk, run, stroll, and meander to the Park, St. Charles Avenue, or the store with ease. Now our distances are short and slow: we’re either carrying one, or allowing one to walk, both situations which cut walking trips down in size and frequency.

The upcoming trip to DC (more on that later) brought the realization that we NEED a double stroller. Without it, the scenario of me, alone, flying with both children, is a very scary one. I learned quickly that double strollers: 1. are expensive; 2. require the consideration of many more factors than I initially would have thought; 3. are big.

At first, I thought we were going to be a sit-and-stand type of family. Then we saw them in person. I realized that upon seconds of sitting back to back, my kids would be pushing against the seat backs each trying to grind the other into fine powder…. if Will would even agree to sit behind his sister (unlikely). The tandem models were an immediate rule-out for size (they don’t fit in our station wagon) and weight. So, I was looking at side-by-side models.

After consideration of a hundred things (their different weights, different ages, size, weight, and durability of the stroller, etc.) I decided on the Maclarens. We love our Maclaren Triumph (single stroller) and I thought this was best. A similar double? $250 or more. I watched ebay for a few days… they get that high and rarely does one come up used. Ouch. I couldn’t pay that much for a stroller that, in reality, I’d never be able to use at home. In New Orleans, you MUST have an all-terrain stroller to use it outdoors or you’ll never be able to go anywhere.

So I started checking out the all terrain double strollers. Yowza. $450 and up. After coming to these conclusions: good strollers are expensive, it’s a good thing to splurge my consulting income on, good strollers have good resale, and we miss long walks together — we decided to find one. In the end, it was the City Series Baby Jogger — normally $550, but purchased for $425 on sale through ebay, marked down due to it’s color (lilac). We were going to get the Mountain Buggy Urban Double ($669, we could get it down to $575 with coupons and sales) but liked the additional length of the City Series, the easy fold, and the smaller size when folded. Actually, we were just really excited to find something comparable for $100 cheaper. I still can’t believe we spent this much on a stroller. So, in the mean time, we’re selling our other strollers… need to replace the consulting income that was suppose to go to Jazz Fest.

We are so excited about it and can’t wait to try it out… isn’t that odd?

We’ve had a problem with ferns for awhile. The problem is that we forget to water, or don’t water enough, or leave town and forget to leave out supplies for watering, or have sun that’s too strong, or plants that aren’t right, or something…. cause in the end, the issue is that they wither right up. And there they sit, balls of dried fern, dry as desert sand. For awhile, I was calling them “phoenix ferns” — just waiting for them to burst into flame and bring forth the beautiful bird held within.
This weekend we decided to regain some standing with the neighbors and let the phoenix dreams die. We replaced the plants… but we did so with a plan. Paul installed an automatic watering system that runs through tubing down into each basket, directly to the center of each plant. It was so easy, so quick, and so attractive an option that I am shocked we didn’t do it sooner.
And we didn’t stop there! Out came buckets, sponges, and soap. The front of the house got washed… at least, from about my arms’ reach down…. not even half way up the 14′ porch, but still not bad. Paul is pricing out pressure washers… it’s time we gave in. It’s just a must in this type of environment. Paul says he’s going to follow up on my start and use the ladder to scrub the high parts of the porch. That would be great… lotsa buggy carcasses stuck to stuff up there. The other thing on our plate: a New Orleans paint job (maybe next fall?) and sealing/painting the porch.
While I was washing, I found several (maybe a dozen or more?) reddish sticky nests behind the shutters attached to the siding, along the crevices where the window frame meets the siding. At first I thought wasps… but no. Then I thought termites? But when we started prying at them with a screwdriver, we saw that they were sort of hard (like a beetle shell?) and had a grub-like inside. Some seemed “empty.” Paul was the primary remover and only got to a few before the kids became too much of a hassle. We have NO idea what these things are!! Any ideas??

Will: “How ’bout grilled cheese for dinner?”

“What should we have with the grilled cheese?”

“I dunno. Maybe just grilled cheese.”

“Grilled cheese with salad?”

“No.”

“With soup?”

“No.”

“With lima beans?”

“No.” (pleasantly) “Just grilled cheese.”

“With rutabaga?”

“No, just grilled cheese only.” (This could go on for awhile.)

“What about french fries?”

“Oh. French fries?” (Said as if it’s the most novel idea in the world.) Yeah, I’d like summa those with grilled cheese.” (pause.) “I KNOW! How ’bout we have CHOCOLATE FRENCH FRIES with grilled cheese??”

“Will, if you could invent those, you’d rule the world.”

Kate’s daily reports have been interesting reading over the past week. They say things like:
— Kate was VERY BUSY this morning. She and Stella played peek-a-boo under the cribs and woke up the other babies.
— Kate walked all over the school this morning. She is very frustrated that she cannot open the baby gate, YET.
— Kate was in a good mood today. She re-arranged all the diapers from the changing table bins.
— Kate walked all morning. She pushed toys bigger than her around the porch for an hour.
— Dora who? It’s KATE the EXPLORER!
When I’ve gone to nurse her (daily at lunchtime) or pick her up, I’ve observed her various activities including:
— Waiting for someone to open the baby gate, then tearing out to the hall to walk to Emmy’s office (she always goes to Emmy’s office, we don’t know why).
— Using her shoe to (gently?) tap a sleeping baby on the head.
— Trying to feed her friend, Stella, sweet potato puffs.
— Fussing at Ms. Gladys for moving all the changing bins (which hold the babies’ diapers) to the top of the changing table so that Kate can’t reach them.
— Sleeping. (This one surprises me, too.)
Kate has been walking for awhile. Really, she took her first steps the day she turned 9 months. It’s almost 2 months later, with each day showing a slow but steady increase in her walking. Now she pretty much walks everywhere, unless she’s racing you (say, to get into the cat puke on the floor before you can clean it up), in which case, she hits the floor on all fours and crawls at 60 MPH.
She is enthusiastic and eager about any food that isn’t her baby food. She makes it clear that she WANTS WHAT YOU’RE HAVING. I end up mashing up whatever we’re having for dinner to share with her.
We have come to understand our place in Kate’s world: we are her chauffeurs. She gestures to be picked up and then gives an oration in voice and with “her finger” regarding everything around her. Our job is to pick her up when told and follow her pointing finger to whatever it is she wants to see, which is everything.
Kate is into everything. And everything includes Will’s stuff. So far, he’s doing pretty well with it. He tells Kate when he needs space and has yet to pulverize her for chewing on his favorite things. Finding her carting his stuff around doesn’t thrill him, but he is handling it.
Of course, it doesn’t hurt that she flashes him one of these goofy grins whenever he tries to get tough with her. (We think she knows that her brother is pretty darn fond of her, too.)

Hans Rosling of Gapminder has a wonderful presentation (right on the gapminder site) showcasing how animation technology may be used to, well, make data more interesting. The data presented follows global trends in health, fertility, mortality, and wealth — but the way it’s animated helps to show the dynamics of these changes over time. It is a good reminder of how data actually reflects life and all of its contexts. What impressed me was the ease of disaggregating data to show variations within groups — very, very cool.

I would seriously LOVE to use this stuff once I have my dissertation data…!

Hat tip to Baggage Carousel 4!

While I was with the kids in Mobile, Paul got the pleasure of driving this beauty to a local British car show. Our friend Robert restored this beautiful car (all the work himself!) and is a huge Austin Healey enthusiast. (It’s a 1956 M100, about 650 were made.)
With the windshield in race position, you need the goggles or shades… Paul couldn’t find his sunglasses so went with the goggles. I think he looks more like Dr. Evil than Austin Powers. Don’t ask him about his sunburn, ouch!

Between the flat needing fixed and our rear brakes telling us that they were finally wore too thin, we had to have the car serviced. As a one car family, it is actually easier to go to Mobile where we have two helpful resources: access to an extra vehicle with car seats and mechanics that are somewhat trustworthy with the ability to take a car in for service before 2008. So another day or two of work went out the window and Thursday afternoon, I picked up the kids early and headed out of town.
I arrived early enough to drop off the car before closing and to get ready to attend the final hour or so of the Mobile Festival of Flowers. The event takes place basically in my parents’ backyard. It’s sponsored by Regions Bank, who holds a private showing of the event on the night before it’s opening. Dad had tickets. We went. I got to play photographer a little bit… I keep thinking that I’ll use some flower photography to do a painting in the future.
The next morning, Mom and I put the kids in the heated spa tub for the first time this year. Will was a bit timid of the water after jumping in at my Mom, who wasn’t able to catch him right away because Kate was in her hands. A quick lesson for Will.
Kate LOVED it. She was difficult to hold at times because she squirmed so much, wanting to just swim by herself. This child does not grasp the concept of fear.
Will was very supportive of his sister’s swimming and did well to keep her supplied with every random pool toy he could find. He even let her wear his old swim hat to protect from the sun.
Will also let Kate splash him (seriously splash him!) over and over again without feeling like he it was a challenge. *Whew* The great sibling water fights that are in our future may be put off for another year…!
Another weekend perk was going with my Dad and Will to hit golf balls. Little Man has a 9-iron and putter from my Dad that he brings to the course. They hit balls together. It is hysterical.
For starters, Will compliments my Dad’s every shot. “Good job, PapPap!” “Nice shot, PapPap!” “That one went straight up to the MOON, PapPap!”
Then, Will gives encouragement before each swing. “Tear it up, PapPap!” “Knock it inna next week, PapPap.” “Rip it up, PapPap!”
Not being a golfer, I got to remain photographer for the duration.
At some point, a man stopped by and gave Will a special tee… it wasn’t until later that we noticed it was a tee from the Masters. Whoa, Will.
Will goes through a ball every 30 seconds. It doesn’t take long for him to exhaust a bucket.
At one point, he went in search of balls out in the rough. Two of the course’s caddies actually pulled up their carts and sat back to watch Will stroll through the grounds knocking random balls every which way. Will didn’t notice at all! He was In The Zone. That’s my golfin’ guy!

Last week, I had the fun of playing photographer for Abeona’s Spring Fling!
The kids took the short walk to the levee, going to the end of Oak Street, crossing River Road, over the train tracks and past the stables. Once on the levee, they had snack, hunted colorful eggs (left by the “Rainbow Chicken”), awed at the horses trotting past, and waved to the conductor of the train who waved and blew his horn as he passed.
Will eagerly hunted the hardboiled eggs… quickly discovered that they were food… and smashed them on his head to crack it enough to eat. After the excitement of snack, egg hunting, and more egg snack, the kids chased a dragon (a kite) helping him fly with shouts of encouragement.
I’m only posting the pictures that feature Will, but I had a great time photographing all the kids and the scene. Kate smashed a gooey finger on the lens (again!!!) so there was pretty significant lens flare with the pictures. I ended up cropping many of the shots to deal with it. I cleaned the lens later and called around for a filter… but no one had the 50mm one I need. (I’ll order it soon!)
Happy Spring!

To my NOLA friends and readers… anyone going to be out of town/have an extra apartment and looking for house sitters/new friends during the first week of May (4-6th?) My girlfriends from college are coming (with partners!) and we’re trying to find extra space. We’ll hire a service to clean your Whole House as a thank-you!! These are top-notch, animal-loving, professional folk who would be dream occupants. We’re trying to keep everyone close and costs as low as possible… it would be a dream to not have to use a hotel.

Anyone know of anything…??

I am always impressed by my friend, Robin — whose “nursing while training” moment made the pic’o the week for Inside Triathlon.