Cold Spaghetti

After a great french-toast-and-eggs breakfast, Paul, Will and I headed out to City Park to the Mid City Art Market.
It could not have been a more perfectly beautiful day… clear skies, wonderful temps, light breeze, flowers everywhere. City Park, which was flooded in the post-Katrina 17th Street Levee breech, is beautiful. Volunteer clean-up crews and local non-profits have been instrumental in putting several of the park’s amentities back up and running, including the New Orleans Museum of Art, the Botanical Gardens, and Storyland. The market was held in the Botanical Gardens, which were just re-opened on March 4th. The gardens lost virtually all of their collections; it is amazing how wonderful it looks considering the devistation. We browsed the Market, met Heather Elizabeth of Heather Elizabeth Designs (and her sister, Holly!) — where Paul bought a bracelet and earrings to “surprise” me with as a Birthday gift… not my birthday, but Kate’s! We also splurged on a fleur de lis stained glass piece to hang in a kitchen window, something we’ve been talking about getting for a long while. After strolling the artists booths, we ran into our friend Leigh Ann, who joined us for a walk through the plant sale and for a Juan’s Flying Burrito lunch. The end of our morning was spent in Storyland, which is a park full of child-sized scenes from classic children’s tales. Among other adventures, Will climbed aboard Captain Hook’s boat, visited Ole King Cole’s castle, sat in Cinderella’s Pumpkin Carriage, and went into the dark recesses of the belly of Monstro, the blue whale. He had a *blast*. I took a ton of pictures… so many that it seemed appropriate to put up a photostream in the old Flickr account. Feel free to browse!

Friends Andrea and Leigh Ann are hosting a baby shower for Kate and I! So I’ve gotten official and made a small registry with Babies-R-Us (#95872878) and have a list of things linked below for those who are looking for gift ideas. I am so excited, touched, and grateful!

Some information:
– My “official” due date is May 7th (although we say it’s May 5th — Paul’s birthday)
– It’s a girl! We’re naming her Katherine and will call her “Kate”
– Will and Kate are sharing a room
– My Mom has gifted us a crib (Will’s crib grew with him into a bed)
– Mom also gifted us a crib bumper and quilt in the Pottery Barn “Happy Daisy” pattern, which has light blues, greens, pinks, and yellows and is garden themed

~ OUR WISH LIST ~

NURSERY
– 2 crib sheets in white or light pink
– Crib dust ruffle in green gingham to match the “Happy Daisy” pattern
– Attractive storage bins for the shelving Paul is building(!)
– Hanging diapering supplies storage
– Protect-a-bed waterproof mattress cover

GEAR
– Car seat protector/undermat
– Tandem stroller
– Stepping stool
– Body support for stroller and car seat
– Kids table and chair set

HEALTH/FEEDING/BATHING
– Ear thermometer
– Medela breast pads
– Lansinoh breast/nursing lotion
– Milk storage bags
– Baby washcloths are always welcome… we use those like crazy

DIAPERING
– A set of thick cloth diapers (Chinese pre-fold/”service quality”)
– Disposable Diapers
– Wipes
– Butt paste

CLOTHES
Because almost all of Will’s clothes were bought after he was born, we pretty much only have baby clothes in blue! Anything “girl colored” is welcome! We’d like to stock her drawers with:
– 3 Layettes (“sacks”) in 0-3 month size
– 3 Rompers in 0-3 month size
– Onesies in 0-3 and 3-6 month sizes
– Summer rompers in 3-6 month sizes
– Summer outfits in 3-6 month sizes
– One pair of Robeez in 6 months size
– Socks in 0-6 months size
– 3 light blankets

Alex went out in search of a newspaper last night and came back to announce the presence of fire trucks, news crews, and police along our stretch of Magazine Street (about 1 1/2 blocks from our house.) We walked out to the street in front of the house and sure enough — something was afoot! It was chilly and I was in my pjs, so Paul and Alex went out with camera in hand.

The apartments above two of our local stores (Jean Therapy and Earthsavers) caught fire and were spreading quickly: into a three-alarm blaze! Paul took some pictures, although things had calmed down by the time he got there with firefighters inside the building putting out the smoldering embers and things. (Other neighbors on the scene filled us in… a ton of fire trucks, people everywhere, etc.) It is a relief to see that city fire emergency services are so responsive and effective!

… 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!