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Nate and I waited and waited for the renovation work on the Hazel Avenue playground, just a couple blocks from our house, to be complete. Since then, we go there several times a week to swing, slide, or watch the big kids play. Even though it’s only shady in the morning or late afternoon, this is still a really nice playground. Or, it was.

Only about a month and a half since it’s been open, and already there is litter all over, soda cans left on the equipment, glass on the ground, and a curse word spray painted on the climbing wall. That just stinks.

It was probably kids who did the damage. Probably the same kids who leave litter strewn down Mitchell St. and in our neighbor’s yard. And probably the same kids who spray painted curse words on the corner of our street so that our other neighbor had to scrub it clean or receive a fine. (Maybe even the same kids who stole our car…?)

It really bums me out. We live in a nice neighborhood with nice people. Why are kids doing this stuff? My husband thinks it comes from the parents. Although I agree that learning to be a good person and productive member of a society does start at home, it seems harsh to blame the parents.

Somehow, though, I wish we could instill more of a community spirit in these kids so that they would care about the neighborhood enough not to vandalize it.

catbird :: Aug.23.2004 :: socio-pop :: Comments Off

We use Johnson’s Bedtime Bath for Nate’s bath every night. I can’t say it calms him (he’s not really fussy anyway), but the frangrance does seem to soothe me at the end of a long day. Maybe that’s the real point to this product: calm mommy so the squirmy baby doesn’t seem like such a big deal after all.

catbird :: Aug.23.2004 :: mommyhood :: Comments Off

Today Nate and I went to Manhattan to visit friends. Although it wasn’t Nate’s first visit to the city, it was his first time on public transportation. We took the NJ Transit train to Hoboken then the PATH to Christopher St. Nate did great on the train. He was restless and got bored by the end, but he sat on my lap and looked out the window or at the people the whole time.

The PATH was a different story, though. I never realized how loud, fast, and scary the PATH train could seem until I saw it through his eyes. He wasn’t happy and cried a bit both ways, the poor baby. I had him in the Bjorn (facing out). When I wrapped my arms around him and talked in his ear he did better so I think next time I’ll just carry him in my arms.

He had a blast playing at our friends’ house. Another baby’s (or babies’ I guess since they have twin 6-week-old boys - and very cute ones at that!) toys are always more interesting than the same boring ones he has at home. He was exhausted when we got home and I’m hoping he sleeps well tonight.

catbird :: Aug.19.2004 :: mommyhood :: Comments Off

Since Nate was born, my priorities have changed. I’m not talking about the big things like environment or religion (although maybe those have changed, too), I’m talking about the little daily things.

When Nate takes a nap, I never know whether it will be a half hour, and hour, or two hours so I learned to decide what’s really important to accomplish in that time and do that first. When Nate was really little, the bathroom was always a top priority. Ever try to effectively nurse a newborn with a full bladder? It’s been a good experience in efficiency - and in not getting distracted.

catbird :: Aug.18.2004 :: mommyhood :: Comments Off

I don’t know what is going on over here in the lower Gregory section of West Orange. Maybe it’s something in the water but there are more new babies than you can shake a rattle at. Every time I turn around, I meet another new mom. We’ve started getting together every few weeks. It was just the three of us on the block at first, but now there are three other moms joining us and more that we haven’t connected with yet. We swap stories and compare notes. If you stumble across this post and live in the area, email me.

catbird :: Aug.18.2004 :: mommyhood :: 1 Comment »

Senator Sharpe James, who is also Mayor of Newark, introduced the “Responsible Pit Bull Ownership Act” (S1718) late last week. This ridiculous piece of legislation would apply to breeds including “American Pit Bull Terriers, American Staffordshire Terriers, Staffordshire Bull Terriers, Staffordshire Terriers and any dog determined to be a pit bull type.”

It would, among other things:
• require anyone who owns a dog to prove that it ISN’T a pit bull (municipality will visually inspect the dog to determine whether it is a pit bull)
• require all pit bulls (as defined above) to be muzzled when off owner’s property and leashed (3-feet long or less)
• require confinement in a permanent enclosure (including a secure pen AND a 6-ft. fence)

Breed-specific legislation doesn’t work. It punishes responsible owners and is difficult (impossible?) to enforce where it is needed. NJ already has a law that prohibits determining a dog dangerous based on breed alone. S1718 would violate that law. Judge the deed not the breed.

Read more at AKC.org, then contact these members of the Senate committee to tell them you oppose S1718 and ask them to do the same:

Sen. Raymond Lesniak (D) [Chair] (609/292-5339, SenLesniak@njleg.org)
Sen. Joseph Doria (D) [Vice Chair] (609/292-5388, no e-mail)
Sen. Martha Bark (R) (609/292-7065, senbark@njleg.org)
Sen. Joseph M. Kyrillos (R) (609/292-7065, no e-mail)
Sen. Joseph Vitale (D) (609/292-5339, senvitale@njleg.org)

catbird :: Aug.17.2004 :: woof :: Comments Off

I remember in an art class sometime learning about the proportions of the human face (Sculpture with Professor Lehman at TCNJ/TSC, maybe?). How the center of the pupil lines up with the outer edge of the lips; how there’s an eye width between the eyes; how each feature is halfway down the space of the preceding feature and the bottom of the chin - eyes between top of the head and chin, nose between eyes and chin, lips between nose and chin; how the face is about the size of the person’s hand.

Today I was people-watching, noticing how people’s features look so different - size of the head, eye spacing, and so on. I’m sure in reality the measurements are miniscule. For example, someone’s eyes may seem closer together, but there is still an eye width between them.

As humans, we are able to discern such fine details and such tiny measurements of faces, I suppose to tell people apart or something. Whatever the reason, it’s seems amazing to me.

catbird :: Aug.02.2004 :: socio-pop :: Comments Off