Greed will out

Not only did we repaint the foyer, living room, and dining room and host Thanksgiving in the same week, we also started the massive undertaking of potty-training The Bean (because I'm apparently completely certifiable).

A friend stopped by and brought her a fairy Barbie which, helpfully, came with a book in which said Barbie was playing with mermaid Barbies. Bean sees this and says, "I want a Barbie. I want the blue and green Mermaid Barbie." I said, "Start using the potty and you can have it." She says, "I'll be right back." I followed her back and there she was, sitting on the potty.

One week later, Mermaid Barbie (who is far sluttier than her predecessor) and Fairy Barbie are best friends. It's amazing the amounts of flesh these Barbies expose but, the clothes don't come off on these versions, so I'm not complaining overly much. I briefly contemplated buying one of the books on knitting for Barbies but I came to my sense when I realized that a 2 1/2-year-old was unlikely to have much success dressing a Barbie. Maybe in a couple of years...