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2/1/1999 Groundhog's Day EveOur day-to-day life slowly changes as the children get older. Already it is hard for me to remember how I spent my days last year when Daniel was in half-day pre-K and the twins were two years old. And that was only a year ago. With only a few reminders of the past in the form of snapshots, copies of letters I sent, and the occasional journal entry, the years 1996 and 1997 are as lost to me as Schliemann's Troy. So although I do not usually write about my every daily activity, I thought perhaps occasionally, perhaps once a month or once a season, I would record our day in more detail as a reminder to myself in the years to come and as an insight for my sons when they are grown. 7:35 a.m. Tab and I drag ourselves out of bed. I was up late last night working on sample pages for the Press, and it's hard to get going. Fortunately, I remembered last night to pack lunches for Tab and Daniel and to take out a bagel to thaw for Tab to take to work for his breakfast, so I don't have to do that this morning. I defrost a frozen waffle in the microwave, then pop it in the toaster to make it crispy. No Log Cabin syrup for us: it's pure maple syrup all the way. Well, what do you expect from an ex-Mainer? 7:55 a.m. I'm dressed and have finished my breakfast. I turn on the computer to check for e-mail while Tab gets the twins out of their cribs and then heads for the shower. Daniel is already downstairs lying on the couch and watching Sesame Street. I help the twins to dress; they can manage their shirts and pants but need assistance with underpants, socks, and shoes. Daniel, after much prodding, finally gets dressed too. Stephen and Daniel both want waffles for breakfast. Fortunately I made a double batch on Saturday so there are plenty in the freezer. Matthew asks for Chex and cornflakes. He likes different cereals combined in a bowl without milk. I butter Tab's thawed bagel and put it with his wallet so he won't forget it. Then I'm off to the bathroom to brush my teeth, take my vitamins, and brush and twist up my hair. The twins watch the end of Arthur and the beginning of Barney while Daniel rummages in his room for something to bring for show and tell. 8:55 a.m. Off for Daniel's school. We're going to be a few minutes late...what else is new? Fortunately, kindergarten never starts exactly at 9:00 a.m., and Patty (Patrick's mother) is late, too. Then we head up Route 1 to drop Tab off at his office, stopping at the Press to drop off the sample pages first. On our way home from Tab's office the twins and I swing by the library to return a few books and renew a few more. While there I check the schedule for the toddler story hour.. I want to get the twins involved in storytime or a playgroup so they can start interacting with other kids. Then a quick stop at the drive through window at the bank and we head for home. 10:45 a.m. The twins watch Noddy on PBS while I wash dishes, straighten up the kitchen, and quickly skim through the online Waterville Sentinel. Back when Monica was running for state representative, I fell into the daily habit of checking the few Maine newspapers that are online for election news. I still check the Sentinel usually once a day to keep up with the news from central Maine. 11:20 a.m. We put on our winter jackets and go out for our daily walk around the neighborhood. It is a few degrees above freezing, but feels colder. New Jersey at 35 deg. always feels worse to me than Maine did at 15 deg. because it is so much damper here. The cold just seeps into my bones. The highlights of our walk are the animals we stop and pet along the way: Wags, the friendly mixed breed; Cocoa, the chocolate brown cocker spaniel; Cosmo, the black lab; Gilbert, Miss Jean's tabby; and Max, the pet rabbit down the street. The cold means that some of our animal friends are indoors today, but we stop to pet Wags and Gilbert. 11:55 a.m. Home we go for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches--so there, Stephanie!--milk, and fig newtons. Then I read a few books to the twins (Oscar's Grouchy Sounds and Baby Beluga--send them to the bathroom for one last trip, and take them upstairs for their nap by 1 p.m. I hope they sleep. I eat my lunch, finish a chapter of the library book I'm reading now, Roxanna Slade, and call Tab to fill him in on our day and remind him to bring home the Jaz cartridges so I can do the monthly back up of my hard disk. 2:05 p.m. The woman at the Press for whom I do freelance work has sent e-mail thanking me for the sample pages this morning and letting me know she has another vacancy on her staff. She asked again whether I'd be interested in a full time position. This is the fourth time she has tried to hire me to work there. For a little while I toy with the idea. It would be nice to know each month how much I am going to earn, instead of worrying about whether I'll have enough to cover Daniel's tuition, my student loan payment, and my credit card bill. And the Press would be a great place to work. People seem relaxed there; they dress casually and are left alone to do their work. Just my kind of place. But I'm sure they couldn't pay me enough to make up for the cost of child care for the twins. On a whim, I call Pat at Daniel's school to find out how much my monthly bill would be if I enrolled the twins in the full-day preschool program. With Daniel's tuition, it came to a little less than $1150. Since our other expenses would also increase if I took this job (gas, payments on a second car, more takeout food since I would be cooking less, etc.), it would not be worth it. I e-mail her back telling her it is not feasible for me to take the job until the twins are in kindergarten, but to keep me in mind in the future. 3:00 p.m. After listening to riotous laughter and non-stop conversation from the twins' room for nearly two hours, I give up on the idea of them sleeping. If they fell asleep now I would have to get them up in 45 minutes. So I allow them up and we hang out until it is time to go get Daniel at kindergarten at 4. 4:27 p.m. We take another walk around the neighborhood when we return from picking up Daniel. Mr. Byron spots us as we walk through the alley and gives each of the boys a quarter. Miss Jean comes out on her porch to greet the boys, so we stop and visit with her. Then we go home to eat spaghetti and meatballs. We're big pasta eaters around here. We've actually had to start buying the 4.5 lb. containers of grated parmesan cheese from Sam's Club because the boys were using it up so quickly. I shudder to think of our food bills when they reach their teens. 5:25 p.m. We leave to pick up Tab at work. This trip to and from Princeton is my least favorite part of the day. Stephen and Matthew sit in car seats in the middle section of the minivan, and Daniel is in a booster seat in the back. The boys alternate between fooling around and bickering; Stephen and Daniel are the primary offenders. "Mama, make him stop singing!" "Mama, he stuck his tongue out at me! Bad Stephen!" "Mama, Daniel call me `Bad.' I hate you, Daniel!" Meanwhile, Matthew sits quietly, holding Baby, his stuffed rabbit, and looking out the window. It looks like Matthew will be the 4-B winner today (Best Behaved Bennett Boy). 6:15 p.m. We stop at Sam's Club to pick up a few things. We end up shopping at Sam's about 3 or 4 times a month. We try to go there on weeknights since the place is a zoo on weekends. We need Tyson chicken nuggets, fig newtons, powdered milk, potato rolls, and cat litter. Stephen and Matthew ride in my cart. Daniel stands on the front of Tab's cart with his arms hooked backward over the edge holding himself on, facing forward like a little blond figurehead on the prow of a ship. As soon as we walk in, the twins start clamoring for "snacks," the food samples Sam's employees give away. The pickings are slim because it is Monday evening. On a weekend afternoon, you could eat have your whole lunch here for free with all the samples they give away. The boys like us to do "cart races" down the aisles. Daniel has to get in Tab's cart for this. We choose an empty aisle and race down the length of it, much to the boys' delight. Tab usually lets me win. 7:05 p.m. The good thing about going to Sam's on a weeknight is that you can get through the checkout expeditiously. We're home now. The boys had a bath last night, so we don't bother with one tonight. Tab eats his dinner while I get the twins ready for bed. I read a few book to them, sing them their lullaby ("Dream a Little Dream") and take them upstairs to bed by 7:45 p.m. Tab gets Daniel ready for bed and puts him to bed. He reads Daniel a few books and tells him another story in his ongoing series of "Daniel and Flipper" stories. When Tab comes downstairs, we watch Everybody Loves Raymond while I do more Press work on the computer. 11:05 p.m. I call it a day. Off to shower and bed.
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