Dazee and me at the NY Botanical Garden

Some animals we saw at the Bronx zoo

Mommy kangaroo

Me, happily carrying over 50lbs!

Giggles all around from leg wiggles

Josh wiggled his skinny legs to get these great expressions out of us.

The 4 cousins!

Clouds!

These were the storm clouds just before it started pouring.

Perfect storm

Look at these fabulous pictures I took of my niece and nephew just minutes before a nasty rainstorm. It was raining horrendously hard and the house became pitch black in the middle of the day! Oh and credit goes to me for hairstyling too!

Achoo!

I have a summer cold. Summer colds are the worst!

How to be happy longer

What's the secret to long lasting happiness? I asked my lunch companions. Short term happiness seems pretty easy...I remembered being very excited when we first bought our house or sometimes when I get something I really like, like the monogrammed towels. The excitement has worn off in both situations. Am I supposed to buy another house or get new towels to inject some joy into my life?
I thought about what I read once, that happiness is a pretty stable factor. They took two groups of people, measured their levels of happiness before and after a really happy event like winning the lottery or a really tragic event, like becoming a quadriplegic. Surprisingly, after some time has passed, the levels of happiness was the same after the initial high or low of the unhappy or happy event.
So except for short bursts of excitement and sadness, I'm pretty much doomed to my current levels of happiness regardless of what I do?

Irresponsible hydration

Does anyone actually believe that Vitamin Water is good for you? I'm drinking a nice looking light pink concoction called "formula 50" with the subtitle "grape (50% daily dose)". The sub-title is very confusing to me because in the ingredient list, I can't find the word "grape". I do see "cane sugar", "crystalline fructose", "natural flavor" among the top ingredients, leading me to proclaim, the product is a piece of sh@!!

I'm behind the times

As it turns out, everybody and their mother-in-law is using a Sonicare or like product. WTF have I been?!
Now I'd like to know what the best/most effective model is and why...in my husband's typical style of spending, I'm pretty sure I got the cheapest model possible. Wonder if it's refurbished?!

Not to be outdone

Here's Dazee, 22 hours old in her best hospital garb.

Blast from the past!

Well not so so past...Sadie, about 16 hours old.

Today rocked!

Today was a great summer day that I'd like to try to repeat. Generally, I've always tried to take it easy..."scheduling" only one activity a day or we would mostly stay home and relax in the yard.

Today was so action packed. Instead of being stressed out, I think we all had so much fun. In the morning, we took our kids to the zoo with another couple and their child. In the late afternoon, we took them to the beach.

Being out all day in the sun lifted my spirits and as a bonus, it tired my kids out. By ten to eight, both babies were sound asleep, rewarding me with some much needed personal time!

WTF? Tell me what you like

We've been using a really cheap (and in my opinion crappy) Kraft (ew!) Parmesan. I tried telling Josh that we can do better, but my spendthrifty pleas sound are so whiny and frequent that they often go unheeded. Recently my husband found out that his parents have been consuming $13/lb Parmesan cheese, so he got very upset. It's not what you think though. Because his parents are generally thrifty people (the apple does not fall far from the tree), if they are willing to splurge on a product, then it must be good. He felt cheated. He learned to get cheap cheese from them, if they've moved on, why didn't they clue him in? Thinking about how many times they've stayed at our house and ate the crappy cheese without sharing their opinions on how things should be done makes my husband fume.
There're plenty more stories like this, the basic gist is that someone's figured out something good or likes a certain product AND they know what you're using/eating is crappy but they keep mum. I used to think my husband sounded like a pretty whiny nerd to get mad over this, but then it happened to me.

I've been complaining for ages about my crappy teeth. Anyone who's listened to me while using/owning an electric toothbrush makes me angry. Why didn't you say anything?! Now that I have one, I feel obligated to tell others who would benefit from knowing this information.

I'm totally incensed that people don't do enough sharing. Everyone knows word of mouth is powerful testimonial so why are people so loath to doing it? Is politeness the main reason to stay quiet? Because privately thinking someone's an idiot when you can help change the situation sounds pretty rude to me. I'm not asking you to spew non-sequiturs left and right, inundating all conversations with recommendations but if the subject does come up, you happen to know something about it, connect the dots, do some good for the world, goddammit and tell me what you know. You can try to balance "to each his own" with "share your knowledge", but when you are hanging out with me, you can always err on the side of letting it all hang out - please!
Josh and I are like missionaries for all the things we like. Here's a list of some stuff we think are great, please add your words of wisdom here. Quickly, for Christ's sake, you've made me wait for too long!
1. Eurofoam mattress
2. Pulltap corkscrews
3. Down pillows
4. Ralph Lauren towels from Horchow
5. Lands end rashguards for kids
6. Menstrual cups (this one's just from lil 'ol me)
7. GPS unit
8. Mach 3 razor blades
9. Cheap knives that are frequently sharpened
10. Cuisinart multiclad as an economical substitute to All Clad
11. San Marzano tomatoes

My teeth

A recent trip to the dentist revealed two more cavities. At the rate I'm going, I need to put on a down payment now for my set of false teeth.
I nagged my husband to get me an electric toothbrush. Last night I used the sonicare. My teeth felt so clean but it does take some getting used to. It hurts and tickles; the two minute timer seems like forever torture.

Dazee

I sometimes get accused of publishing more pictures of Sadie, so here are some cute ones of Dazee. She kind of looks like a really cute boy.

I'm a menstrual activist

This is not the long-awaited menstrual cup sequel I promised a while back but it is a little nugget to get you excited (or disgusted) by what's to come.
I just can't stop singing the praises of using one. Formerly I had major leakage problems.

STOP HERE IF YOU CAN'T TAKE THE HEAT...





I've leaked on everything imaginable, mattresses, chairs at work, cars, etc. etc. For the first time in my life, I feel secure in knowing that my underwear and surrounding furniture is safe.

Kids can be so mean...what should I do?

Sadie frequently pushes her sister out of the way or knocks her down if she thinks Dazee is getting too much attention. Dazee doesn't really know what's going on. If she takes a fall on her butt, she just gets back up again. But if she takes a fall on her head, she cries and an adult comes to her rescue and Sadie gets a reprimand or "time-out".
This weekend, the tables were turned on Goliath but not by David, but even bigger Goliaths. We had a big family reunion in the country - 12 adults and 6 children. Sadie was one of the youngest and got picked on by the older kids. "Get out of here, we're going to kick you in the ass!" they scream at her. They take away her toy and make her chase them to get it back, but it's impossible, they have a 3 year lead. "POOOPY HEAD!!!" they taunt. But she continues to follow them around like a lovesick puppy. I don't know if she's fully processing that they're mean to her. "SHUT UP!!!" they command her. Then they play "jail" and lock her in the closet. We had to rescue poor Sadie from her tormenters twice.
What's a parent to do? It seems hardwired for kids to pick on the smaller or younger. When do I intervene and when do I turn a blind eye? Is there a difference between bullying borne from envy versus one borne from carrying out hard-wired instructions to pick on those smaller/weaker than you?
I noticed that parents of the older kids tend to ignore more than me. I don't know if that's a result of personality differences, experience or energy level. Maybe it's a gender thing too? The boys seemed so much more active and physical than the girls. My heart just goes out to poor little Sadie when she gets picked on. It's like I'm watching Animal Planet and I know the gazelle's going to get eaten by the lion. Should the camera people intervene?!

3 year old baby

Sadie insisted on wearing one of Dazee's "onesie" or jumpsuit today. We're supposed to dress her in a bathing suit for camp, but she refused. I tried all kinds of bribes and chicanery but nothing convinced her of taking off her baby sister's outfit. She looks silly and the camp people might get mad that we didn't follow instructions and send her in wearing a bathing suit. I guess we should tell them we don't care if she "swims" in her "regular" "clothes". Sigh....