Favorite Things Friday: Arm & Hammer Dental Care Toothpaste

Photo from www.myoralcare.com

Here's the thing: I'm a little obsessed with my teeth. Obviously I brush several times a day but I also floss at least once each day. I go to the dentist for a cleaning every 4 months. That's three times a year. One of which I pay for out of my pocket because, as I'm sure you know, insurance only covers 2 cleanings per year. When I was 20, I had to have a little surgery on my gums. My dentist said there were many possible reasons for this happening, one of which was "overzealous brushing" believe you me, my siblings and parents still make fun of me for that to this day. (I remind them each and every time that there were several other possible reasons for the problem, overzealous brushing was merely one of the possibilities!)

All this is background for the fact that, as you might imagine, I'm a tad bit picky about my dental products. Specifically, tooth paste. And so for today's edition of Favorite Things Friday, I bring you my preferred brand of toothpaste: Arm & Hammer Dental Care.

Now, you might see the word "baking soda" on the package and think "gritty." I assure you, you would be wrong. The great thing about this product is that their wide range of varieties ensures there is an Arm & Hammer for everyone--smooth green gel, basic white paste, etc. My newest favorite, though sometimes hard to find in stores, is Arm & Hammer Age Defying. No matter which variety I choose, Arm & Hammer always leaves my teeth feeling incredibly clean and my breath fresh.


Please note: Abel does not share this preference with me. He, in fact, hates this toothpaste. And, since Lucas can't have fluoride toothpaste yet, there are three--THREE!--different toothpastes in our very small medicine cabinet. One of those, however, is always Arm & Hammer!

At least the flowers will last longer

Thanks to Lucas's prompting at dinner two night's ago, Abel came home with two bunches of tulips last night. It was really, really sweet: one was for Lucas and one was for me. Lucas was thrilled and we are all enjoying them.

Immediately after handing over the tulips, however, I sent Abel down to the basement to check out the furnace. It wasn't working! The house seemed a little chilly when Lucas and I got home, but it had been an unusually cold few days and we keep our thermostat pretty low anyway. I figured I'd just notch it up a bit. Well, the temp. was set to be 68 but the actual temp. was reading at 60! No wonder my toes were cold!

Abel was convinced that the original-to-the-house round Honeywell thermostat had simply crapped out. Luckily, we'd had a programmable thermostat laying around for more than a year (part of our small steps to go green effort) that he'd never installed. He spent a few hours on that and then....ta da! nothing.

We pulled out the space heater and moved Lucas over to our bed. It was actually quite cozy in our room for the night. A freezing bathroom first thing in the morning, however, is not so fun.

Some one's coming over in a few hours. Hopefully it will be a cheap, quick and easy fix. I am praying we don't need a new furnace. (This is a strong possibility, though, as our home inspector told us more than 3 years ago that it was on the end of its life cycle.)

Well, at least the chilly temperatures will help the tulips last longer!

Lucas Says...

Here are a few pretty adorable things Lucas has said/done recently....

When I pulled out the nail clippers, Lucas said, "No Mama! I want claws like a bear so I can climb trees." I finally convinced him distracted him with TV long enough to clip his fingernails but he would not let me get close to his toes, which are definitely approaching claw-length! A fight for another day....

Last night at dinner, Lucas put his index finger up in the air and announced, "Dada, I have some great news!" What, Lucas? "Mama needs flowers!" Indeed, after a Valentine's Day sans flowers I did coach Lucas to tell his Dada that they should get me flowers. I guess the reminder took a few weeks to get delivered! (To be fair, I did tell Abel to get me flowers before or after Valentine's Day, not pay the outrageous prices on Valentine's Day.)

Getting Lucky

I've written before (and here) about my fantastic luck. And, I have to admit that I do seem to win more than the average Joe. But, I also think that part of it is that each time I win something, it increases the opinion (mine and others) that I am lucky. But, every time I don't win, those opinions are not diminished. I think there's some sort of law about that in science. I'm not really one for science, though, so have no idea what the name of that law might be. Anyone?

Speaking of laws of science, the one that I will always fondly remember, though apparently not fondly enough to recall the actual name, is the one that says if you look at a measurement from any angle other than straight on, the measurement will be incorrect. The reason I remember that one? Well, my physics teacher used the example that when the person in the passenger's seat looks over at the speedometer from the side they will see a reading that is a few MPH higher than the actual speed of the car. I pulled that little factoid out many, many times when driving with my dad. He always thought I was going too fast. Probably still does.

So anyway, what I'm trying to say is that maybe I'm not really more lucky than the average Joe but that the perception is that I am. My family certainly perceives this. Case in point, when I was a child, my aunt--who lived in another town--would regularly put my name on raffle tickets. (Hmmm...she never did share any prizes won with my name and my luck! Humph!)

All this is to say that I have gotten lucky thanks to the Internets recently. So here are some belated thanks to...Jessica at A Parent in Silver Spring Reviews for some lovely, lovely Skinn lip gloss; Leticia at Tech Savvy Mama for System Mechanic to help my PC run faster; and, Stacy at The Fabulous Miss S for the Milk Bank breast milk feeding and storage system.*

So, am I right that winning those three contests increased your perception of my luckiness? If you knew that there were several more I entered but did not win would that diminish your opinion?


*OMG seriously. The babies are on the mind.* Not only did I enter this contest for a breast milk feeding and storage system, I also purchased a little pink tutu on clearance at Target. Like this one but pink and only $2. I totally justified the tutu with the fact that, well it was only $2, and also, I know several people currently pregnant who could have girls who I could give this tutu to. (Why didn't I buy 2 then I could have written these two tutus to. Ha ha!) But, I probably won't give it away. It is just so freaking adorable and I am going to hug it and squeeze it and wish on it. Because I do so want a girl. I am unabashedly admitting it.

*ON the mind, not IN the belly, people. Not yet anyway.

DC's Ultimate Celebrity Sighting: President Obama

In places like New York or LA, celebrity sightings are common. Or, at least that's that those folks would lead you to believe. In just a short time living in New York, my brother saw Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke (though not together, of course, this was when the divorce was going through). My friends who have lived in LA casually throw out the name of this or that celeb they saw at this or that club.

Those are "real" celebrities--TV and movie stars. The kind of people most of us would recognize on the street.

In Washington, DC, we have our own celebrities. And, trust me, most people wouldn't recognize them if their lives depended on it. That's because they are generally dark-suited, gray-haired, completely unglamorous white men.

That's right: In Washington, DC, the celebrities are the politicians.

Sure, Capitol Hill staffers occasionally get to see a "real" celebrity when the stars come to town to lobby or testify for their pet causes. I know a few people who have seen Bono or Susan Sarandon walking the halls or Congress. And of course, during the inauguration, celebrities were swarming around town. But, that's not the norm for Washington, DC.

Here are a few examples of celebrity sightings DC-style.

•My husband and I ran into Michael Steele in Macy's a few weekends ago. Who, you ask? Steele is the former Lieutenant Governor of Maryland and was recently elected to serve as chair of the Republican National Committee. We recognized him and offered our congratulations on his new gig.

•A friend of mine lives in the same building as John Paul Stevens. Drawing a blank? That's Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens. Every time I visit her, I imagine what I will say if he happens to step into the elevator with me.
But the ultimate celebrity sighting in Washington, DC is, of course, the President or First Lady.

I never saw President Clinton in person on the street (though I did get to formally meet him twice!) but I have friends who saw him on a jog or out at dinner. George W. and Laura didn't venture out too often but their twin daughters were common sights around town (especially late at night in Georgetown bars!).

Just over one month into the Obama presidency, on Friday night, my husband and I hit the DC celebrity jackpot: we saw President Barack Obama!

Earlier in the month, we attended our parish school's Casino Night fundraiser and auction. My husband bid on and won two tickets to the Washington Wizards v. Chicago Bulls basketball game. We were psyched that he snagged them for a great deal, less than the face value of one ticket. Neither of us are big basketball fans, but it was a great excuse for a date night.

Friday night, as we approached the arena, we noticed lines out the doors. When we entered, we realized the Secret Service was there checking all bags and sending everyone through magnetometers. We excitedly realized that could only mean one thing: President Obama might be attending the game! It made sense, didn't it? We all know he loves to play basketball and the Bulls are his hometown team.

After we got to our seats, I started scanning the boxes for any sign that the President might be in one of them. When the players were announced, I expected some sort of acknowledgment that the President was there too. With no mention and no buzz of excitement I figured he had a last-minute change of plans. After all, he's got a few things on his plate these days. Then, just a few minutes into the game, the crowd erupted. It wasn't for a fancy dunk; the President of the United States had entered the arena!

He took a seat court side near an exit and sat back to enjoy the game like any other fan. My husband and I--not really hard core basketball fans to begin with--kept our eyes on him more than the game. I just kept thinking that I hoped he was truly relaxing and enjoying the game, he certainly deserved at least four quarters of a break from the realities and pressures of his job.

In just the past few weeks the Obama family has been out and about around town a great deal. If this keeps up over the next four eight years many DC area residents will enjoy the thrill my husband and I had on Friday.

And now that I've seen President Obama, I'm desperately hoping to see Michelle!


Original post to DC Metro Moms. When Aimee isn't celebrity-sighting DC-style, she's trying to balance life and writing about it on her personal blog at www.smilingmama.blogspot.com

Comments

Becky said...
Funny. My 6-year-old was saying today that he wants to take a vacation to Washington, D.C., so we can see President Obama.
Reply March 01, 2009 at 06:03 PM Leticia- Tech Savvy Mama said...
That's so exciting! I'm hoping for a President Obama/Michelle/Sasha/Melia sighting during his presidency too!

amy m said...
Awesome!! I'm crossing my fingers, too, for a few sightings in the next few years!!

KC said...
How fun! For the first time, I feel like we do have a true celebrity inside the Beltway.

Ladybug Crossing said...
I think it's fascinating that he gets to take a break. Our nation is in crisis. If GW had taken a break and gone to a game the press would have been all over him and called him a slacker.

The other thing that gripes me - my tax dollar is paying for his security at that game. He should stay home, tuck his kids into bed, and while he finishes his work for the night, then he can watch the game on TV. You know, like the rest of us have to live...

Ames T. Philips said in reply to Ladybug Crossing...
Ease up Ladybug Crossing. After all bush took 499 days of vacation...MY tax dollars hard at work, heh! Besides, I would rather Obama take several several hours for down time in DC then fly hundreds or thousands of miles away like bush. Do you think bush lived a life like you or me...absolutely not. Why? Because he was the President of the United States! At least Obama was willing to go out in public...without having to establish "free speach zones"...thank you very much bush. Mission Accomplished? I think so.

pat said in reply to Ladybug Crossing...
As of march 2008 Bush had spent 879 days at his Crawford Ranch. Wonder how much money the security cost for those days? Be careful what you complain about.

Claire Jess said in reply to Ladybug Crossing...
Two recent fascinating pieces in the Washington
Post about what he does on a daily basis:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/26/AR2009022604280.html

and also how he's connecting both in and outside of DC in ways his predecessors didn't come close to in their first 30 days in office:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/28/AR2009022801808.html

Gunfighter said...
Remind me to tell the story of how I was almost killed by Tip O'Neil's limo about 22 years ago.

Aimee Olivo said in reply to Gunfighter...
I'm sure it's quite a story!! Thanks for your comment!
:) Aimee

Sue @ Laundry for Six said...
Oooh! So exciting! My 3rd grader wants to transfer to Sidwell Friends so she can have a celebrity friend. Ha.

Claire Jess said...
How great for you!

The other night I said I was going over to my friend Michelle's house and my son asked if Barack Obama (her assumed husband) was going to be there. He's watched that inaugural ball couple dance video clip a few too many times, methinks.

My celebrity sightings have included only George Stephanapoulos (on K St. after a lactation consultant appt. at the Breastfeeding Center). Apparently my son and I narrowly missed Condi Rice at my gym last week.


Original post by Smiling Mama. Thanks for reading!

Snow Day!

I didn't put my PJs inside out last night but I did prepare lunches and make sure we were otherwise ready for a normal Monday morning. Thus, I feel partly responsible for today's SNOW DAY!! Woo hoo!

Who doesn't love a snow day?

My mom started working at an elementary school when I was in 4th grade and after that I'd be woken up by the phone ringing at a 5am for a school delay or cancellation. Oh how I loved the sound of the phone ringing at 5am! (Only in winter, though, right? Otherwise a call like that incites dread.) I'd roll over and turn off my alarm and go back to sleep. More often than not (at least according to my rosy memory) I'd eventually wake back up to the smell of cinnamon rolls baking in the oven. This was an especially big treat as we were a cold-cereal-for-breakfast family.

This morning, Lucas came bounding into our room to let us know it was snowing. Before I knew it, he was standing our our bed looking out the window naming everything that was covered in snow. My ears perked up when he said "the roads are covered in snow." And I turned on the radio to learn that our school district was closed (meaning his daycare would be closed as well) and my university was closed, too! (Definite perk of working for a university!)

We played in the snow all morning, got the sidewalk shoveled and the cars cleaned off. My neighbor and I even went across the street to clean our elderly neighbor's steps and walk. Now Lucas is down for a hopefully-marathon nap.

Oh I love snow days!

DC's Ultimate Celebrity Sighting: President Obama

I just can't stop thinking and talking about our Obama sighting on Friday night. So exciting! I'm over at DC Metro Moms today with another blog post about it. Go check it out here!