Complete

So whaddya think? The "before" pictures are in this post. Other than a few minor touches like the "8" being hung back on the house upsidedown, and one rear porch light hanging sideways, it is all finished.

Now on to other problems; my digital camera shit the bed. Any suggestions on a new model that I should look at? Something inexpensive because I really just use it for snapshots. I don't like things with a ton of features that I have to learn but will never use, but it needs to take good pictures. Also, for some reason I can't view this blog. I get an IE error message telling me "operation aborted" (!) and it closes the page. Blogger bug? IE bug? God knows. I'm a technotard and just can't deal...

A Rainy Day

So, I decided to upload a bunch of random pictures of Hazel Porkpie. Not much going on today with the horrible downpours and tornado warnings. We are pretty much stuck inside, and Jamie is working from home today which means he has a big DO NOT DISTURB sign hanging off of him. A couple ladies from the momtourage are coming up for a beer and birthday cupcake visit later on. The Thursday night concert at Castle Hill is cancelled because of the weather, and we just don't have a back up plan tonight. This weekend should prove to be fun and interesting, but I'll write about that later. I'll be taking a little blogging break until mid-week. Anyhoo, here's the good stuff:

This is the first year we have had any hydrangeas, and they look so beautiful! Hector is trying like hell to kill the plant in the back of the house by rushing out to pee on it every chance he gets, but the plant so far has stood up to that sort of treatment quite well.

Hazel, watching CNN.

So we took Hazel to the zoo for the first time last weekend and it was sort of a disaster, but you wouldn't know it from these cool pictures. It was about as hot as the surface of the sun, and the Stone Zoo is a dump. It was so depressing and smelled terribly. The animals were pacing with anxiety and it was filthy. I do not recommend going. All three of us were in tears when we left. We did get a cool picture with Hazel noticing the new black bears in what is a fairly nice new habitat. The rest of the zoo has not had any work done in forty years or so and all the other habitats are behind rusty chain-link fencing with concrete floors or drowning in weeds.

For those that don't know, we are getting our house painted this summer. We have never liked the color (non-historical neon yellow) and when the paint in the back started to peel off in sheets, we knew it was a good time. So, this is the "before" picture. This is the front of my house (which sits sideways) as taken from my driveway. The street is to the left, perpendicular to the front of the house. Yes, I am aware that we need to prune. You can barely see the stone path to the front door. This winter was just a little crazy for us.

This is now what our house looks like. I woke up on Tuesday to a ladder being thunked against my bedroom window at 8am. Within 15 minutes, the whole house was crawling with about twenty guys sanding, scraping, and power washing. They left as quickly as they came, and I think they are going to be back to paint next week. I'll let the color I picked be a surprise.

This is the side of the barn that faces the house. It's a mess.

This is Hazel playing with her friend Anson! We went to Crunchy Granola Baby to chill last week with some of the momtourage. Anson is Emily's son. She emailed this picture to me and it was called "Jailbait and Cougar". Guess who the cougar is? That's right.

She will sleep anywhere.

More eating pictures. So far Hazel is not interested in banana or sweet potato. All she wants is avocado. She can't get in in her fast enough. She tries to scoot herself across the floor to get to me if I'm holding a dish of avo. I could hide flaming razor blades in her avo and she would gobble it down and lick her fingers. She cracks me up leaning in to get to the spoon faster and grabbing my hand to pull it closer.

Playdate

On Friday, I met my Internet mom-friend for a walk and beach day. I met her when she joined the online message board for February 2008 moms back when we were both pregnant. She lives a few towns south of me, so we met in the middle. She came to the mothers group at the hospital after her daughter Maia was born, too but this was the first time that the girls got to spend any quality time together to get aquainted, and they hit it off! Maia is two weeks younger than Hazel, but I don't think that the age difference bothers them.

And, yes I am aware that Hazel is wearing the same outfit two days in a row. She also slept in it. Jamie was out of town, and I did what I needed to do to get by. If she doesnt spit up all over herself, then guess what? The outfit has a second life!

Eleven Weeks and Nursery Design...a Long One

Balking at generic, pastel-hued romper rooms, style-savvy Boston parents are putting creativity (and money) into their children's living spaces like never before.

Except I didn't spend any money.

Here are some pictures of Hazel's room. I realized that I had never taken any, and considering how much work and thought I put into it, I think I would like something to remember it by before Hazel gets old enough to trash it. I really did NOT want the typical pastel-pink, fluffy girls nursery. I have never been a fan of the color pink (or anything pastel) and frankly, there is no reason for it. I wanted Hazel's room to grow with her, and to be a neural background. Her room is going to serve many purposes over the years and it is a large 13'X14' space that will have several "areas" for various purposes (a reading area, an art area, etc). Most importantly, everything will have a place. I think that it's important for a kids room to be just a more playful extension of the style used in the rest of the house. It should be able to blend seamlessly with mom and dads style, and when was the last time you saw me wear anything fuchsia or a Little Mermaid sweatshirt? I am so happy with the way it turned out. It is so bright and sunny, colorful and fun. Its relaxing when I want it to be and stimulating when it's playtime. It's easy to keep neat and clean, modern, and cool. I loved the article in Boston Magazine because it talks about design for various developmental stages and it is exactly what I was trying to do. Other than the Ikea changing table and crib, and the mobile in her crib, everything is from a grown-up store. And there is no Winnie the Pooh!!! (Click on any picture to see a larger copy.)

The mobile from Ikea (under $3!) over Hazel's changing table. She is obsessed with it!

All of Hazel's nursery furniture came from Ikea and it was $300 all together. The crib converts to a toddler bed and the changing table converts to a dresser.

Hazel's changing table. In addition to Seventh Generation dioxin-free 'sposies, we are also using gDiapers; cloth hybrids with a flushable lining. Genius, and so cute! I will post sometime about the products that we use for Hazel as we try to keep her toxin-free.

Hazel loving on her crib mobile. It consists of changeable cards with graphic, high-contrast images. She talks to them.

I guess if there is a theme, it would be birds. This rug came from West Elm. I love birds as design elements, but I hate them in real life. They have mites and will peck your eyes out. I'm afraid of them getting caught in my hair and flapping. *shiver*

Hazels floor quilt from Grandma Sandy, made from vintage fabric. Adorable.

More green birds. These decals are from blik and are so inexpensive and easy to put up on the wall. When you are finished with them, they peel right off without affecting the paint. They come in a million designs and you can even get custom work.

This is Hazel's Dining Room. The pillow on the glider was embroidered by my Grandmother Anna, for whom Hazel is named. The lamp is an antique that was in the house I grew up in and gives a lovely dim light for night-time feedings. Currently reading: Where the Sidewalk Ends. Currently Listening: NPR: This American Life.

More mobile excitement!

This is a little hand-knit dog-bear-cat-monkey from Sweeters. It's custom made with your kiddos name knit on it and in the colors of your choice. I couldn't resist at only $32 plus a 20% off coupon. It's so hard to find personalized things with her name. This came out adorably, and would make a super cute gift.

THIS! This is the first quilt that my mother made. She was horribly pregnant with me in a heat wave and occupied herself by sitting on the floor and quilting directly onto the big round coffee table. She called it Brer's World after her pet rabbit Brer who is snacking on carrots in the bottom left corner. *Note my parents skinny-dipping on the bottom right corner. Also note my mothers tattooed arse. This hung in my nursery (on psychedelic lime green walls) and I spend hours of my childhood staring into this little Utopian fantasy world. I still get lost in it.

Hazel's crib that she has slept in four times.

I got these cubes from The Company Store and the canvas bins from somewhere I forget. They are on locking casters for easy moving and provide a ton of storage for toys and books. I have always loved the Dwell Baby line of stuff, but I'll be damned if I'm going to pay over $300 for crib bedding. Now that they have a line at Target, Hazel can indulge her champagne tastes on a Natural Light budget with these cute curtains. The photographs on the wall are from our summer hike in Isle au Haut, Maine.

So that's Hazels environment! I'm doing double duty with this post and adding a couple of pictures for her Week Eleven. Next Tuesday she is going to be hitting a HUGE milestone. I'll try to take lots of pictures. This past week has been busy and routine, as usual. We went for a nice walk with Hazel's new BFF Magnolia who we met in our Neurotic Mother's Group. Magnolia and Hazel are two weeks apart and live just up the street so they will be going to school together! Magnolia's mom Laurie is not at all neurotic, and she is even capable of having intelligent conversations about non-baby related things. Glory be!

This past weekend Hazel went to her cousin Owen's first birthday party in Roslindale. It seems like yesterday when we all were getting together to drink and smoke and swear, but all of a sudden there are like fifteen kiddos underfoot. There was minimal drinking, no smoking and silent spelling of swear words. Hazel was quite overwhelmed and slept for most of the party. Owen was spectacular, as usual. That night we had our second soiree of the evening; Aunt Jessica and Uncle Jeremy's joint 30th birthday party at the Kowloon. Jamie and I were exhausted, and Hazel had had it by the time we got there. It was so incredibly loud and crowded at the Kowloon that we just gave the quickest of Birthday Wishes, skipped the mai tai and rushed back out of there. Poor Hazel was a total wreck the next day; she was very fussy and slept almost the entire day right on my chest. She didn't want anything to do with anything else.

Today we are going to lay low and get back on schedule. Hazel needs time to re-attach and rest. She really needs a lot of quiet time to herself each day. When there are so many people passing her around like an hors d'oeuvre platter and talking in her face she shuts down, then melts down. I really need to get better at protecting her from so much stimulus.

I also need to get better about telling people to wash their hands. I thought it was common sense, but apparently not. I don't want to be that crazy lady squirting Purell at everyone who comes within ten feet, but like hell I'm going to end up back in the hospital so someone doesn't get their feelings hurt. It's like this; if you are sick, don't touch my kid. If you have not washed your hands since you last [insert food, child or bathroom activity here] then don't touch my kids hands or face. I have been assuming a basic level of courtesy and cleanliness, but I have been assuming incorrectly, so it looks like I'm going to have to start laying down the law. Also, your kid is adorable and I love him/her, but he/she is most likely carrying something that my kids immune system does not have antibodies for so keep them away. I know it's cute to see a kid handle a baby like a doll, but it's not really worth another spinal tap. Thanks for your cooperation.

Here are some pictures of Hazel being Grumpolina and some of her enjoying the Celtics games.

"This Girl Needs a Bow!"

Hazel had her Two Month pediatricians appointment on Friday, and the nurse decided that Hazel needed a bow. She had her back to Jamie and I while she was measuring Hazel and babbling to her about how she needed a bow in her hair. Jamie and I sort of looked at each other and rolled our eyes but when the nurse turned around to hand her back to us, this is what we got:

By the way, Hazels new stats for those keeping track: 10 pounds 8 ounces (50th percentile), 24 inches long (75th percentile) and 15.5 inches head circumference (50th percentile).

Not on Our Watch

A lot of people want to know why Jamie and I are shielding Hazel from the Pretty, Pretty Princess, Happy Little Homemaker and the Pink Girlie-Power culture that is so prevalent in our society. Many people think that these things are perfectly benign, but Jamie and I believe that this is a culture that has been created to turn Hazel into a marketing demographic, a consumer, and that these things, these products aim to hyper sexualize young girls and to stifle their creativity, strength and originality. Many of these marketing campaigns are aimed at 3-5 year olds, who are experimenting with rigid gender roles and are thinking concretely as a normal stage of their development. I have much higher hopes for Hazel as she grows.

Two recent articles on the Huffington Post and on New York Times have addressed some of the issues, and both are an entertaining read. Also, NPR's On Point yesterday aired a fascinating discussion called Younger (and Younger) Beauty Consumers. I highly recommend giving it a listen.