105 Hours of Togetherness

Long weekends ain't what they used to be.

They used to be...quiet.

Until this morning, my last moment of alone time was my drive from work to pick the girls up from day care at 2:30 last Wednesday. The Hoos was crazy busy at work and spent most of Wednesday evening, Thursday morning and Friday afternoon in the office. And not our home office, his actual office. Which is cool - he does bring home the bacon - but it meant that I had a lot of time to kill with my two little bunnies.

Wednesday they got to watch me peel and prepare potatoes for Thanksgiving. Around 6 I was saved by my father-in-law who arrived with dinner and enjoyed watching AK spin like a top while chattering endlessly (did I mention she likes to prattle on and on?).

Thursday the girls helped me make a blueberry torte (replacing the berries with chocolate chips because, well, they wanted to ) and watched a lot of television while I cleaned and seasoned the turkey. They also spent a lot of time watching me put away the toys that they continuously took out.

Friday afternoon was looking loooooong and the girls had already watched a week's worth of television on Thursday, so we attempted to go to a playground. But it was FREEZING, so we bailed and went to the Stepping Stones Children's museum instead. The museum is fun, and the girls had a good time, but I am not sure that it is worth $12 per person.

Saturday we actually had family time! We bundled up and set out for the Stamford Museum and Nature Center, ate lunch out, and checked out the new Fairway Market in Stamford (the Hoos was dazzled by the baked goods).

Sunday was the perfect lazy day. Everyone slept late and hung out in their PJs for a while. And boy, did I need it!

Really? TWO Chatterboxes?

When I was pregnant with AK, I recall a lot of people confirming through anecdotes the conventional wisdom that not only are siblings nothing alike, they are most likely polar opposites.

With me and my brother this seems to be the case, although I am sure we have a few things in common beyond our lineage. For example, we both have two daughters. And, umm...college degrees...and, well, you get the point.

I was completely prepared for AK and LP to be two completely different children. When AK was born with dark curls and scrawny limbs, it solidified the situation in my mind. And, beyond looks, they are indeed quite different. AK is fearless. LP is cautious. AK eats just about anything you put in front of her (or more likely in front of me). LP is the carb queen, enjoying pasta with reckless abandon and not much else.

One area where they are absolutely and completely IDENTICAL is in the talking department. Seriously, when they are both around you can not have a minute of peace. If one isn't talking, the other is - or more likely if one is talking, they both are.

Last night was a perfect example of the similarities and the differences.

LP came running into the kitchen to tell me that Vidia, from the Tinkerbell movie, was not being very nice and she didn't want to watch. I told her that Vidia was not a very nice person and that we like nice people. "Right. We like nice people. Like Geoff and Carina [our neighbors]. They don't litter. Now will you come watch this scary part with me?"

AK came running in shortly thereafter, "Mommy, I want some Poppy Joe. In a bowl. While I watch Tinkerbell on tele-vision." She returned to the living room with her bowl of sloppy Joe meat to protect her sister from uncomfortable scenes of Vidia not being nice to Tinkerbell.

To be honest, I wouldn't have it any other way.

Oh, except the other day when we ran into a co-worker of the Hoos' and his family. They had their adorable 8-month old son and he LOVED AK. He would smile and gurgle any time he looked at her. At some point she turned to me and said, "Mommy, the baby is black." When I ignored her she just kept repeating it louder.

Tushcapades: The Final Chapter

Remember when I used to be witty and write about my kids?

Sorry, I am distracted with toilet paper.

The photo to the right is the actual toilet paper dispenser in my upstairs bathroom. Yes, it has a radio built in. And, if you look at it closely, it says that it also used to have a phone. All I can say is that the phone wasn't there when we bought the house. And we probably should have replaced the dispenser after moving in, but, well, we wouldn't want to have to paint the whole wall since it is a big honking dispenser.

Anyhoo - note that we are using the tube-less Scott's TP. On top is the roll I removed so that I could be scientific in my review.

What can I say? The new paper does its job. The dispenser spins unhindered, which was the initial concern. Would I pay extra for this TP? No. Would I buy it if it wasn't provided free to review? Maybe - as long as the price was competitive with what I normally pay.

A's Mom, HorseloverM, DM, MLH, and nallman - your TP is on its way! Let us know what you think. Or at least show us a picture of your TP holder...

Tushcapades: Episode 1

Our 12 pack of Scott's Tube Free Toilet Tissue arrived today!

I have to be honest, before they contacted me to review it, I had not thought about the impact toilet paper rolls have on our nation's landfills. I have thought about the impact of lots of other things on landfills - having worked in the environmental field for quite some time - but toilet paper rolls? I figured they biodegrade at some sensible rate.

That being said, less waste still sounds like a good thing. Especially since Scott's estimates that 17 billion TP rolls are thrown out every year, the equivalent weight of one million elephants.

So far I am surprised to note that no roll appears to equate to no hole to stick your toilet paper tube holder in. LP and I figured out how to push it through and wiggle it to make it fit. We have yet to test how this works when you attempt to pull the paper off and use it.

Stay tuned.

A True Story

Me, on my daily phone call to my mom: "Mom, you know how you always complain I don't blog anymore? Well, soon I will have something to write about. I am getting toilet paper to review."
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At this point, you would think that most moms would laugh, but you don't know Shel.
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My mom: "Not the kind that doesn't have a roll?!"

Me, dumbfounded: "YES! How did you even know?"

My mom: "I read about it in the newspaper. They are only testing it in certain markets and selling it in certain places, like WalMart and Sam's Club. Dad and I were just talking about it - do you have to store it somewhere special so it doesn't smoosh? You will have to give me a roll when you get it."
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This story has in no way been embellished. It is an excerpt of our exact conversation as I remember it. From a marketing perspective, my mom is the dream customer of Scott toilet tissue.

Speaking of which - anyone else want to test out this TP with me? You too can receive a 12 pack. Just leave a comment telling me who you would most likely talk to about toilet paper. Two readers will be randomly selected to get paper shipped to them.

I Know, I Know

I have been so crazy busy at work - traveling weekly to beautiful Providence, RI, running numbers, strategic planning - that I have neglected you, my poor readers. Rest assured, I am still here. Life goes on. The girls are still very, very silly and incredibly adorable - most of the time.

AK is loving the big girl bed and talking up a storm. I can even understand most of it. Her new favorite word is 'actually.' As in, "Mommy, you read this. No wait! Actually, I will read it."

LP is growing so quickly. She is wicked smart and she is learning how to write and read! Over the weekend she had to create a poster for school that was all about her. She was able to be as creative as she wanted - using any medium at her disposal. She decided to mostly write in things. For example, there was a question, "Where do you live." She had me spell out Connecticut so she could write it in. Under the part that said "When I grow up I want to be..." her answer was "butterfly girl".

I started downloading some pictures off the camera and this is one of my new favorites - from Halloween.

Life is its Own Reward

After school yesterday I took the girls to Stew's. We had a grand old time and in addition to getting each girl a sample of gelato, we bought some items for dinner. When we got home, LP decided she wanted to be my helper as we brought stuff into the house.

"Mommy? Look what a good helper I am," she said with my pocketbook dangling from her arm. She then proceeded to climb into the back of the car to help me get the grocery bags and several cases of soda out.

"[AK]! can you be a good helper for Mommy and take her pocketbook so I can help with the groceries?"

AK ignored her and I took my purse back and carried it and two cases of soda into the house.

When I returned, LP had punched out the carrying handles on the remaining cases of soda to help me carry them. I grabbed them and she started to make her way out of the car.

"Mommy? Can I have money? For being a good helper?"

"Umm...no. You should just be a good helper because it is the right thing to do, not because you want money. Who told you about money for helping?"

This time LP ignored me and hopped out of the car and grabbed the case of soda I had put down so I could close the tailgate. She actually carried it about three feet - not bad for a four year old.

When we got in the house she asked for other ideas on how she could help. She proceeded to help with dinner, garbage collection and clean up. She then recounted for the Hoos all of the ways that she had helped - and asked him for money. She got a treat from her trick-or-treat bag instead; we were kind of hoping we had a few more years until we had to start paying allowance!

Deep Thoughts

LP: Mommy, G-d made everything.
Me: Right. Where did you hear that?
LP: No where. I was just thinking it.
Me: Oh, okay.
LP: Except maybe houses. Workers had to help with that.

This is Big

My little, bitty AK, my baby, is now {sob} in a big girl bed and {sob} pretty much toilet trained.

Not that I am complaining, or trying to jinx myself. Really, I just can't believe it.

After a week of sleeping on a mattress on the floor and staying in her bed all night, we realized that AK would never go back in the crib again. So, on Saturday, with the girls at my parents' house, the Hoos and I disassembled the crib and put it in the basement.

And, after several weeks of wearing undies and bringing home plastic bags with soggy clothes, AK started coming home in the same clothes she wore to school. At home she would randomly pop up from whatever activity she was engaged in announcing, "I have to pee! Mommy, turn on the light! Don't help me!"

Not only are these two HUGE steps in AK's like, they are potentially pretty significant for me, too. Could it be that there are no more diapers or cribs in my future?

Wow.