"Price Charmin"

Well, Paul is known for being cheap at times. After all, his favorite store is Wal-Mart. This past Saturday, Michele's sister Sharon (who is staying with us while her husband is in Iraq) convinced us to get a Sam's Club membership. So Sharon and Paul went off to get a membership and try to find some deals.

But although Paul is cheap, there are a few things he won't skimp on and at the top of that list is bathroom tissue. "You just don't mess with that," he says. So he always buys Charmin Ultra. "Try it, you'll see the difference." Anyway, at Sam's Club they had this big package of them for $17. But how does it compare to the normal one Paul normally gets at Wal-Mart for $8 or $9? Luckily, Charmin gives you a chart so you can compare the various roll sizes you can get Charmin Ultra in:



If only it were as easy to go back and forth between Celsius and Fahrenheit! Anyway, it looks like it is a decent buy at Sam's Club for Paul. Both sizes available (at Wal-Mart and Sam's Club) have the "Big Rolls", so the comparison is fairly straight forward. But ever the skeptic, Paul looked at it from various angles to ensure he was getting more than twice as much for about twice the price.

One thing Paul speculates is that Charmin is in a secret pact with the house building industry. A "Mega Roll"? That would never fit in our 1960s bathroom tissue dispenser (it's ceramic...mounted on the wall...matching the tile). To use the "Mega Roll" size we would have to buy a new home. And that ain't no fairy tale!

Note: The walls in the photos just have primer on them...Paul has been busy painting the hallway...for the last year.

At first glance, it doesn't look like the one on the right
gives you 3x as much...

But from this angle, it's easy to see.

Disclaimer: Sam's Club is owned by Wal-Mart. Paul does not own Wal-Mart stock.

Where in the world is Sammy?

Well, it was bound to happen. Paul had not posted a pic of little Sammy in a while and suddenly the rumors started to fly. "Paul actually went through and sold Sammy on eBay!" and "Gypsies arrived in Rochester and left with Sammy!" and "Paul and Sammy sure look alike...and we've never seen them in the same room!"

So anyway, to put the rumors to rest, here is a picture taken of Sammy today (really...nod nod, wink wink).

Sammy, Sammy
he's our man...

Ana and Noah's first snow!

Today we had a few inches of snow to prove that, although we are approaching the middle of March, winter is by no means over. Of significance, this was Ana's and Noah's first snow. So it was bundling up the kids and bringing them out. Little Sammy was too little to go out, plus he had a really bad tummy ache all day...but he cheered on his cousins from the window.

Ana's face shows winter might be an acquired taste.

Sharon throws snowballs to Einstein...
...notice my neighbor Dan's peeling paint on his garage....
...Paul bets if he painted it, Dan would never know.

Noah catching a snowball with his body.

Noah, Sharon, Ana...
...March "Snowstorm" of 2006

Beat that Mike Brady!

Mike Brady and his brood...
...before he introduced the "Brady boy hair perm".

Paul was musing last night as he battled a virus he contracted (not software...fever, chills, that kind of stuff) about how in the period of one month his household had grown from 2 adults and 2 cats to 3 adults, 2 cats, 1 dog, and 3 children under the age of two. Now numerically, Mike Brady from the "Brady Bunch" did more, adding 1 adult, 3 girls, and a cat to his household when he married the lovely lady...but...percentage wise, Paul has him beat. Mr Brady went from 5 (including Alice) to 9 people which is an 80% increase (if Paul's math in the midst of an intemperate fever is correct) while Paul increased the number of people from 2 to 6 making a 200% increase.

Beat that Mike Brady.

This leaves us to wonder if Paul will give all the males in his house a perm like Mike Brady did in later seasons on the show.

We have no Alice, but Michele's sister (see here for info) is a whiz when it comes to raising small children. She is an accomplished special education teacher and she's very tuned into the needs of the children. Already she's helped us dramatically such as bringing a vibrating "Oceans Wonders Aquarium Bouncer Baby" her children used which has really been a home run with our little Sammy.

Note: We did receive an "Oceans Wonders Aquarium Swing" a gift which (for which we are very grateful) we do use with Sammy as well.

From Raleigh to Rochester

How our trip went...
...except we took 65 from Indy to the Windy City!

Michele's sister Sharon's husband Antoine is a US Marine. He's returning to Iraq for yet another tour. So while he's there for the next 9 or so months, Sharon and her two children (Noah and Ana) will be staying with us. So Paul flew out to Raleigh, N.C. this past Friday where Sharon drove to pick him up and they all drove together to Rochester, MN. As usual, Paul was awfully concerned...driving a vehicle pulling a massive U-Haul trailer while it's still winter across most of the country. He was expecting it to be something like the book "As I Lay Dying" but it turned out to be an easy trip. The weather was dry and clear for almost 90% of the trip. With the trailer they averaged a little over 15 mpg.

Sharon pulls up with the trailer to pick up Paul
at the Raleigh Airport on Friday.

They spent Friday night at Parkersburg, W.V. in the Econo Lodge. The guy there was extremely friendly to Paul and told him he was giving them a room with jacuzzi...for no charge. Paul was kind of puzzled by it all, but was polite and said thank you. It made no sense, why would it be such a big deal about a jacuzzi. Then, when Paul took Sharon's dog Einstein out for a walk, he figured it out. He saw next door "Playmates Exotic Showbar." Apparently there must be quite the demand for the "Jacuzzi Room" a the Parkersburg Econo Lodge. Needless to say, they didn't use the extremely large jacuzzi, although Noah and Ana liked playing with it's fawcet.

The Parkersburg Econo Lodge...
...in West Virginia...
...did Senator Byrd ever sleep here?

Noah and Ana playing with the jacuzzi...
...notice the size of the fawcet!

Playmates Exotic Showbar...
...next door to the Parkersburg Econo Lodge.

The trip was long, but it went well. The kids, the dog, even Paul behaved well. Sharon did most of the driving due to Paul's worrying about towing a trailer...and she did an excellent job. They encountered a little bit of snow in Western Wisconsin and Minnesota, but it was easy going in Sharon's Buick. The cat's didn't seem to be so thrilled about the dog in the house, but they are adjusting.

Einstein the dog travelling in the back of Sharon's Buick Rendevous

Sharon changing one of many diapers along the way...

Finally arriving in Rochester...
...notice all the snow!

The Boo Boo Kitty and Veto the Cat....
...apprehensive about the dog Einstein in the house.

Sharon and Michele and their children.

Aunt Sharon holding little Sammy for the first time!