There is no super girl at Toys 'R Us, but there is one at my house.

Well, here I go. What is my problem? TOYS.

Seriously.

When you look in TOYS 'r' US there is the toddler area. Where the toys seem more often gender neutral, everything is done in primary colors. Boys can cook, girls can run ships or vice versa, it does not matter. This seems to quickly change at the 3 or 4 year old age group.

This weekend I had to buy gifts for twin 5 year olds,a boy and a girl. So I go to that age area. You walk down the main isle on one side are "boy" gifts and the other "girl". Convenient.

How do you know one is girl? The whole half of the store is done in pastel pink.

So I am still hopeful, thinking that the bratz or Barbie herself has probably jumped into the new century and will have some cool, edgy ideas. Wow was I wrong.

The Bratz are just sexy dolls that do absolutely nothing. None of the dolls do anything. Compare that to Superman,Batman, the Transformers, Spiderman, even the Cars characters race.

I have to say Barbie can be a "baby doctor" Why they can't call her a pediatrician is beyond me, but in any case SOOOOOOOOOOOOO boring. Who wants to pretend something so real. Isn't the imagination for beyond the borders of life? I mean it is okay,nothing wrong with it, but dull, dull, dull! Where is supergirl? Or even a betwitch type of doll.

The boys seem to have complex characters that save the world and have a host of villains with complex skill sets themselves. The names of the Transformers are impossible for me to even pronounce. These characters live parallel lives and have high tech gadgets.

Don't get me wrong I love holiday Barbie in all her splendor, I think she makes a great decoration, but where is Barbies complexity? Where is super hero Barie? Where is her parallel life? Since shows like Alias. buffy the vampire slayer and bionic woman you would think that toy makers could reflect this type of excitement into girls toys.

Is it what mom's want? This is what sells. My smart and sophisticated mom friends want to buy these boring, do nothing toys for their daughters?

I am not thinking that my boys will grow up to drive trains, do construction, build things or be super heroes but the toys promote a certain complexity of thinking of seeing life as dynamic, problem solving and adventure making.

This weekend, when I was at a kids birthday party there was a 6 year old girl. I said who is your favorite? Bratz, barbie, Hannah Montana? She said they're all stupid I like to make music. I was relieved.

Potty training is not for the faint of heart

Potty training has begun in earnest. Cara has full command of the bathroom routine and can produce pee at a moments notice, as she drinks juice by the gallon. So every time I say "who wants to go potty and get a chocolate?" Cara sits pees and collects her chocolate and is on her way. She is going to get cavities.

Mark on the other hand has given up peeing all together. He would make a camel proud. He knows he can earn one chocolate for trying(its two for success plus a sticker) so if he really wants a chocolate he will make some half-hearted effort. This happens maybe once a day.

Mikie on the other hand is mostly cooperative, sitting on the potty with his book, he loves to read. Though in almost three days he has yet to make the potty. Often going right after I pull up his spiderman underwear. I don't think he has made the connection and thinks this is just an interesting way to peruse the latest books on our shelves.

Yesterday, at 3:15 while waiting for their funnel cake at the apple festival all three wet their pants. They thought this was great and were laughing at this fantastic coincidence.

At $40.00 for a box of diapers (the big one from Costco) I will stick with my plan for the entire week. If nothing else it is more like having cloth diapers!

Cakes are fun to decorate

I couldn't get Chris off to school on this paricular morning. So I told him we could bake a cake after school. But afterschool, is never just afterschool. There is a playground behind the school and all of the kids go. So we went for an hour, then I stopped by my office and they watched TV. We make it home at 5PM, now there is dinner and homework and homework is no joke as well as now cake decorating (I had run home at lunch to bake the cake so it would be ready to decorate.) we have only 2 and 1/2 hours to get this all done. I think, okay Steve will be home for dinner so, we can manage. Steve came home but really feeling sick (he's better now, if anyone cares). So I heat up dinner, clean it up, do the boys homework (one hour!) change the babies and the boys, pull out a cake, a can of frosting and sprinkles and let them have at it! Fantastic, it looked great and tasted even better! I still managed to get them all asleep by 8PM, of course after I cleaned the kitched and the living room, all I could do was stare at a riveting episode of Dancing with the Stars and fall into bed myself.

However I am unfazed and so psyched, my au pair is off next week, and I get a WHOLE WEEK at home with the my babies!!!!!!

Just some sweet pictures from the weekend. I love the 4 spidermen, Mark kept his PJ's on all day, he loved them so much. One just has to wonder what Cara is up to while all of these do-gooder spidermen are engaged in a photo op...

Time

I step out onto the path to start my run,
The crisp wind lifts the leaves and whips them into a funnel,
carrying the unique scent of freshness that the fall air holds.
Something about this scene or the air,
and for an instant I am transported to another time.

I am my 15 year old self standing on a street in Syosset
wearing my corduroy jean jacket, my hair blowing back from my face.

I inhale deeply and begin to run.
Briefly glancing over my shoulder I see that shimmery girl,
she smiles
and I am deeply relieved to see
that she is proud of who we have become.

Cara does the Museum of Natural History

Is Cara in time out at the Museum of Natural History? Did Princess Cara Sophia get sent to the corner? No, no breathe easy, precious did not get put in the doghouse. This is her posing for a picture. She just found the museum to be an unbearable bore.
She was unimpressed with the 30 foot 3D renderings of African elephants preferring to have us watch her do pirouettes about the room. While stars exploded and meteorites fell on movie screens behind her, she wanted us to watch as she jumped from bench to bench. When the Imax theater re-enacted death matches between dinosaurs on a screen 7 stories high, Cara darted between Steve and I begging for candy and attention.
Ah Cara, always the star of the show, you will not be out shined by some long dead, fakes hanging around some dark old Museum.

Back to school

No, I don't dress them the same everyday. Just for this first day back, oh and the second day, but not today, their third day in. This third day feels more like the first one, because today they stay all day. They are going to eat lunch there! Matthew told me that maybe next year he would eat lunch and dinner at school. I told him no way!

Matthew was very unhappy about leaving me today. He likes school, but being the bright boy that he is, he understood that it would be his first long day away from home. We were saved by his teacher Ms.Shelley, she walked by us with the class and offered to be his partner, I could see the relief in Matthew's eyes when he spotted her and she took his hand. She took a moment to tell me how good Matthew was yesterday in school. I am proud to report that I kept a look of utter surprise off my face! No, Matthew is a good boy.

So this morning they left with a quarter in their pockets for milk, lunches packed in superhero lunch bags and a snack. I showed them what they were to eat for snack and what they are to eat for lunch. There backpacks stuffed with school supplies.

Matthew told me he put his backpack in his cubby yesterday, but left the lunch bag on his chair, so he could remember which seat is his. Smart.

I have not gotten any work done, and did not sleep last night, I am on anxiety overdrive. I am so excited for them, because I know how much they will love school, but I am keeping my eye on the clock waiting impatiently for 2:30 so I can go pick them up.

The boys are in separate classes but will eat lunch together and have recess together. Yesterday was a half day so they only had snack no lunch, Matthew was upset that he didn't get to eat snack with Christopher.

The babies have told me they want to go to school, especially Mark, he hates for the family to be seperated.

Guess what? I can go get the boys now! No more pretending to work! Thanks for helping me pass the time!