10 days Soda-sober...with one small misstep...

That's right...yet another attempt at carbonation de-tox. Yet again, I decided that I am consuming way too much of the poisonous (high fructose corn syrup---google it) substance, and realize that limitations are not possible in my world. It's all or nothing (remember the disasterous and ineffective coffee de-tox of '05?) so it, apparently, must be nothing.

My strength has been surprisingly unwavering. Well, yesterday when I unwittingly ordered a cherry limeade at Sonic was the exception. Did you know those are fizzy? I pictured limes and cherries instead of lemons like in lemonade; NOPE! It's a suprisingly strong addiction for me, I find it difficult to focus on anything else when in the presence of the substance, it's draw is so strong and intoxicating. I think of how happy it will make me feel and the instant high of caffeine seeping into my bloodstream. Ahhh...I'm making my own mouth water!

But, I have to do this....for my childrens' sakes. One day, I will sit them down for the talk about addiction. "Don't even experiment with this stuff", I'll say, "It may taste good, but risking a lifetime enslavement is just not worth a few moments enjoyment. You just don't know what your own weakness will be: something like Mountain Dew can immediately bewitch your sense, or even the seemingly harmless Sprite could become your downfall!"

Until that talk, I'll try to walk the walk, and order more intelligently during Happy Hour at Sonic.

My name is Melaine....and I'm a Dr. Peppaholic.

Klean Kanteens with their annoying "kutesy" trademark

Update on the water bottle controversy. We decided to throw our financial caution to the wind and invest in a couple of Klean Kanteens for the girls. We got them the 12 oz. bottles with sippy adapters, so they use the regular old Avent soft-spouts. They look nice and the girls could immediately sense their value as I introduced them to their new “big girl cups”.
I noticed right away that the cups are very cool to the touch even without ice. So, I was pleased to discover that those old promotional can cozys fit them perfectly and also distinguish between which belongs to Red and which to Curly, although there will no doubt be confusion on that topic in the future. They might be a little large and heavy for a younger child to grasp, but at 19 months my girls don’t seem to struggle, and the design is functional in shape, allowing for little hands to grasp right under the mouth. They have been very easy to keep clean so far, although I’ve been washing by hand rather than the dishwasher. I really like that we can switch out the caps and they can use them forever....so I think we've found a winner here. We ordered a second set and I intend to get rid of all the old plastic sippies. Oh what a relief that will be!

Blogging in the dark

Yes, I am blogging at 1:51 AM, and don’t be silly, of course I didn’t stay up this late. I’d been asleep for hours when I was awakened by the sound of silence. Yes, I was actually in a deep sleep (even dreaming) and I knew before I sat up in bed exactly what was wrong. The power had gone out, taking my fans and sound machine with it. This was completely devastating for someone like me who is self-admittedly a white-noise addict. You see, quiet is far different from silence. Quiet is the peaceful, calm and repetitive drone of air flowing, whereas silence is so loud that a pin dropping could deafen you.
Originally, I started sleeping with these “tools” in order to mask the other sounds around me and combat my identity as a severely light sleeper. I bought my first sound machine when I was in my early teens. The white noise would cover the sound of the dog clicking around on the hardwood floor with his little nails, or my dad waking up early-early to go in to work, or my brother sleep-walking around the house, mumbling and tripping on stuff. Then the addiction set in and now I cannot even sleep in what most would consider a completely silent environment. In fact, like most addicts, I am not even satisfied with what I am currently using. I am always pondering the idea of more fans, bigger fans, or a better sound machine. I am convinced I could sleep better and have a higher quality of life if I could just lull myself into slumber with even more quiet and less silence.
So now, I am trying to log online to e-mail the power company after 18 minutes of this infernal silence. Then I realize even the internet doesn’t work in total absence of power. Rats!