Urban Haiku #1

Sharp green spikes jutting
defiantly through the dirt
mean spring is coming.

At the gallery

A day in Chelsea

I've been a bad blogger, I know.

I think about writing almost every day and yet…

well, here I am today.

 

Yesterday Ahuva's nanny took the day off for a Muslim holiday. I took the day off too, using one of my uber-corp "floating holidays" before it expired at the end of the calendar year. It was a good way to celebrate Ahuva's birthday a few days early. I asked her what she most wanted to do and she told me she'd really love to visit art galleries in Chelsea. So off we went. Happily, two of the international wives were able to join us. It is very convenient at times like these to have friends who do not work.

It was the right ratio too: 3 adults to one 1-year old. And believe me, all three women were physically involved in changing a diaper and grungy outfit, not to mention active spotting at the playground while we waited for the galleries to open.

 

We opted for the galleries at 526 W 26th St. A good choice on a cold day. We could remove our snow suit and visit a few places. They even had reasonable bathrooms.

 

I'm proud to report that Ahuva has excellent taste in art. She protested in the least appealing galleries, and made her delight clear in the best. One of the best featured very moving sculptures in glass. Unfortunately that meant that Ahuva had to enjoy the work restrained in the arms of her mother. She balked a bit at not being able to crawl around freely, absorbing the industrial dirt as she had in other galleries. But she ooooo'ed and opened her eyes wide when the curator turned on a light that caused light to literally shoot out of the glass sculptures in all directions. We had to race through the gorgeous Chappell Gallery FAST.

Her next favorite gallery had gloriously clean wooden floors, a striking contrast to the grungy grey floors in the other spaces. Ahuva scooted to the middle of the floor, planting herself in front of a large-scale gorgeous computer-inspired, technically interesting, bright and fluid canvas - and promptly began clapping.

Hooray for Ahuva! Hooray for this painting! You can see it (and the beautiful floor too!) here: http://www.clairecorey.com/exhibitions_install_views.html. It's even better in real life.

 

Mommy Brain

I must warn you another downfall of parenthood. Mommy brain. This morning I came to the NYC office, having forgotten my beloved filofax (can barely think wtihout it), my mouse, and headphones. Arfhghghgh. THis sort of thing did not happen to me much before baby. When I set up the pack n' play for Hadassah, I put the sheet on the BACK of the mattress (the hard part that needs to face down, not the soft part that approximates a mattress). How embarassing. And Ahvua's favorite hat has been AWOL since Seattle. Bro points out with glee that these lapses reduce me to the level of everyone else but I don't like it. I like to be ORGANIZED.

 

Candy and Mandy

Ahuva is actually a total angel, so it was fun to dress her as a devil for Halloween. There was a nice little party in the lobby of our building. We visited some of our neighbors, including one famous one who has family in Jerusalem, grown up kids, and a very nice wife.

Give one get one

Tired & overwhelmed today. But this week I did call and order an XO laptop for Ahuva & one for a kid in the developing world. I can't wait to get it, I think it's the cutest thing ever!!See www.laptopgiving.org

Weaning

I have this idea that I'd like to wean Ahuva at 1 year. It seems to me a reasonable amount of time. I knew I wanted to breast feed her for at least 6 mo. but I also think that when she's old enough to ask for it by name, it's too long. So now she's 10 mo. old and it's time-to-start-getting-ready-to think about it.
Why?
Energy. After starting life as an exceptional sleeper, Ahuva is now in the habbit of waking up 3-4 times a night for a feed. Guess who else gets up?
It's also physically demanding, producing all that extra good stuff for her.
Mood. On weekends, I nurse more. I find that I tend to get weepy. All that lacrimone I think.
Freedom. At some point, it would be nice to be able to take a business trip without her or have an entire night away with my husband. Is that crazy?
Why not?
Bonding. It feels good to be able to offer this gift to my daughter. When I'm not dying to do something else, it's time I cherish. I like that it's something she only gets from me.
Health. It's good for her!
Why it can work
Ahuva is now eating tons of "real" food and this week she finally took a bottle of cow's milk from my mother and from the babysitter.

How to do it? This part is tricky. I went to La Leche League for advice. All they say is, "Are you SURE you're ready to stop (even if your kid is in college)? Are you AWARE of all the amazing benefits of breast feeding?" Duh. But enough! Another site I found suggested following a "don't offer, don't refuse" policy. I tried yesterday. I didn't offer the breast as I usually do when I picked her up. She didn't ask for it either. I spent the evening feeling a bit confused and light-headed (milk brain) but I didn't explode.

Advice?