Road Trip

So when we got our floors refinished, we had to empty two rooms and three closets into the rest of our apartment. The house had small discrete pathways carved out. The girls are a challenge to keep out of trouble in a nursery of open space. In a dense forest of towers of teetering stuff and volatile organic compounds from the stain and finish, it was time to leave. So any city that had a hotel with pool at a good price became a destination. We visited Stamford CT, Philadelphia PA, and Atlantic City NJ. Growing up, the central purpose of going on vacation seemed to be the hotel pool. And every night we hit the pool. And as usual, I am about 2 years early for what the girls would enjoy. The pools were heated but not warm enough. What the girls did love were the safes and the remotes. Here is a video of the girls cracking the safe in Atlantic City. Here are a few other photos from the trip. Edna and I make it into photos so rarely, we might as well use the ones we have.

More Monkey See, Monkey Do

With the floors refinished, there has been plenty of dust to clean up. The girls have been happy to do their part with a swiffer Edna made just their size.

At music class there is a song that goes, "when I'm silly, I spin around" and so they spin.

Love-hate relationship

Macy loves putting things on her head.

Macy hates when things she puts on her head get stuck.

Camy feels the same way about hangers.

Japana-macy

Macy's hair is at an interesting crossroads. Long enough that it pulls away from her head, but short enough that it sticks straight out when it does. It looks like she stiffled a sneeze and it escaped out the back of her head.

Apparently japanimation characters suffer from a similar condition.

Misfits

I have been sorting the various sizes of clothing for the girls to help our stuffed living room exhume all the effects that have been crammed in for the floor refinishing.

For all the different sizes the girls have gone through, chances are the clothes don't fit some where. To try and cut/sew clothing for children of all shapes and sizes across different ages is a challenging task for the clothing industry. For us to keep up on laundry, and not be tempted to grab a pair of clean size-up PJs is a challenging task too. So when I see this picture it fits a memory of seeing them run around with the feet bunched up under their heels that rarely seemed to rest. I think the ankles on pajamas wear out before the feet do...

Amazing perspective

I read a NY times article that I would recommend to most. In it the author refers to children by saying, "I have never even idly thought for a single passing second that it might make my life nicer to have a small, rude, incontinent person follow me around screaming and making me buy them stuff for the rest of my life". But later in the article he wonders, "there are also moments when some part of me wonders whether I am not only missing the biological boat but something I cannot even begin to imagine — an entire dimension of human experience undetectable to my senses..." And so in my adventures with two small incontinent people, I have seen a few things that I have found in the "dimension of parenting" (a dimension not too far from the twilight zone). Like this picture Snow is many things: it's cold, white, can be made into balls or shoveled, but that is not what you see in Macy's face. Snow is magical and fun and new. Parents get to see that daily with snow, bubbles, cardboard boxes, electrical sockets or leaves. And to have the chance to have two unique rediscoveries with each experience is a great bonus. Camy enjoyed touching the snow while Macy enjoyed walking through the snow.

The chocolate gene

Our family loves chocolate. My uncle Pat had a sign in his kitchen that read, "Chocolate - It's not just for breakfast." Macy has taken this to a new level: "Chocolate - even if you dig it out of the trash, it's still finger-licking good.". Admit it, you know it's true...

Toothbrush negotiations

Brushing teeth was not on my radar of parental expected duties. Bathing, diapers, feeding, walks, animal noises were all pretty well expected. But kids have teeth, and they need to be brushed it turns out.

Macy and Camy have no interest in having ME stick a toothbrush in their mouths. So toothbrushing is always a short-lived negotiation: the more berry-flavored orajel training toothpaste I put on the brush, the longer I have to run the brush around the girls' teeth before they suck off all the gel and permanently clamp down on the brush with their molars; thus ending the negotiation.

And so we negotiate nightly. And after they clamp down like little moray eels on their prey, I leave them to chew on the toothbrushes for a while. From the video below you can see they are starting to get the idea. Grandpa Harold, DDS would be proud...

Another week coming

Another parent's birthday is coming up - my dad's. So we will fire up the blog and work through the backlog of pictures, videos, and observations this week. Happy birthday Dad.

John's advice

On last week's road trip (hope to have more on this later) John and I decided to visit some of our nations treasures. While crossing the street we found ourselves walking behind a female security guard. I was freezing, and mentioned to John that I should have worn pants like the ones the security guard was wearing. John's response: "If you are going to wear pants that make your butt look big, it's probably a good idea to wear the gun so no one says anything." Words to live by.