Tonight was the first fundraiser for Abeona House, the child development center that Paul and I are involved in starting. The event was held at SIP, a local wine bar on Magazine and had food tasting from Cochon, a popular FQ restaurant.
Along with the wine tasting for adults, kids had juice tasting. Will took this task quite seriously and went to town on the juice boxes. We’re not sure how many he had, but in the future, we will look to cut him off after two. If not for our sanity, for the limited absorbancy of his diaper.
His friend, Aya, was also there. Will and Aya spend Thursday and Friday mornings together and are THE hot item. They hold hands, hug, and give kisses. We got to see a lot of this action tonight. I fear that we are raising quite a lady’s man. They had a great time drawing chalk patterns on the sidewalk (and on each other), stopping every once in awhile to “aww” us all with spontaneous acts of cuteness.
Along with the wine and food, there was a silent auction offering a range of truly great stuff… jewelry and art from local artisans, massages, Zoo memberships, photography sessions, AND… three hours of Paul to fix your computer. Paul’s services went for $80.
We invited our awesome babysitter, Michelle, to the event. (We’re hoping she’ll apply for a job teaching with the Center; she’s great.) Paul got the shock of being called “Sir” by her super nice boyfriend. Reflecting on it tonight, we realized that once we were the ones being extra polite and having folks tell us not to call them “sir” or “ma’am”… and now WE are the “sir” and “ma’am.” When did that happen??? Actually, no one called me “ma’am” tonight, so maybe it’s just Paul. I guess I’ve got a few more years?
Sip was also the place to be seen tonight. We saw one of our Octavia Street neighbors, the realtor who sold us our house (Helen Katz, who we adore and recommend to anyone moving to NOLA), and Carl, my committee chair. I ran into another committee member at Whole Foods yesterday — signs that the universe is pulling me back to work!?! Mostly, we enjoyed the company of the other Abeona families… progressive, child-positive, relaxed, artsy, intelligent, informed, and interesting… it felt wonderful to be in a place where we FIT.
The night was poised to end perfectly. I walked into a favorite coffee house for an iced coffee to take home and met Paul and Will at the car…. where Paul informed me that Will’s Very Wet Diaper had been joined by a Very Big Poop. And together, they had formed a Very Wet and Dripping Mess. And did I mention that Paul discovered this while carrying Will on his shoulders? Thankfully, husbands and children wash well. The car seat will have to get washed tomorrow. An interesting end to a long day!
eli | 10-Jul-06 at 8:31 am | Permalink
So how do I go about finding an Abeona House in Los Angeles?
Holly | 10-Jul-06 at 11:30 am | Permalink
I did a quick search on Reggio-Emilia schools in LA and came across the Stephen S. Wise Early Childhood Education Center and Bridges Community Charter School, which both are “Reggio-Emilia inspired”. The method is gaining more and more popularity in the States — there has got to be a ton in the LA area!!