Sophie discovered Chloe’s mermaid costume the other day. And boy, was she excited. Being able to transform into a mermaid ranks almost as high as dressing up as a princess.
Our little one really liked that some of her belly showed. She thought that was quite cool. I thought it was borderline indecent. But that’s just because I’m getting old. What was potentially truly indecent was the halter top – because until we tied it just right, Sophie had a little too much booby action going on. Not that she particularly minded that, either.
Her teacher at pre-K told me today that she’s very quiet and shy in class. It’s only been a couple of days, so I’m not very concerned. Let’s face it, she’s been like that in group settings since she was an infant. She likes to observe. Except when she’s at home or with her family or friends – when she’s a clown. But in school or in an enrichment class, Sophie’s a different child. I’m interested to see what will happen with her as the year progresses, especially since she’s now in class full-time. I mean, this is a kid who dances, sings and runs around the house naked in pure joy. I hope that some of that carefree, happy-go-lucky attitude (without the naked) carries over into school.
Chloe came home with her brand-new math book today and tells me over the phone that she needs to put a book sock on it by tomorrow. We don’t keep book socks in the house. And what the hell kind of term is “book sock” anyway? What’s wrong with calling it what it is – a friggin’ book cover, for God’s sake.
I explained to Chloe that because both of her parents work, and because I got stuck at work late, we wouldn’t be able to make a shopping detour for a book sock by tomorrow’s deadline. Besides, we have a whole page of supplies to buy this weekend – why would I make a special trip for a sock?
I told her that back in the dinosaur days – when I was a kid – there was no such thing as a book sock. It was simply called a book cover. You could buy book covers in stores – they were usually coated in some saran wrap-type material that slowly started to peel off over time. But if parents didn’t want to spend the money, I explained, kids would cover their books using paper supermarket bags. Chloe was intrigued.
I promised my darling daughter that I would enrobe her book in the old-fashioned paper bag way tonight so that her newly covered book would be waiting for her in the morning. I also pointed out that unlike book socks, she’d be able to decorate the paper bag, too. That made her happy.
Chloe, the jaded 3rd grader who didn’t want me to take her photo because it wasn’t cool.
Both girls had good first days. Sophie saw lots of familiar faces from last year. Chloe is in a class with lots of kids she’s never seen before. And to top it all off, she’s in a new school!
Chloe’s impressed with her homeroom teacher, who is “really young.” Sophie still doesn’t know the names of her teachers. Chloe played soccer at recess today. Sophie has naptime. Chloe is going to have lots of homework everyday. Sophie will have coloring. Chloe can’t wait to walk to the bus stop by herself. Sophie would like nothing more than for us to take her to school every single day.
For us, the beginning of the year isn’t January 1st. The beginning of the year is the first day of school because that’s when we realize how quickly the girls are growing up.
We capped off the Labor Day weekend and the unofficial end of summer with a walk on a local hiking trail. We had a great time. The girls had a field day with all of the fallen trees – they make for great balance beams and planks from which to jump.
Chloe was our trail leader. She followed the yellow-painted trunks and kept us from getting lost. She’s already planning our next outing on the blue trail – or as she prefers to call it, the indigo trail.
We met lots of different dogs on the way. Two of them were particularly friendly, chasing Sophie around in an effort to lick her. The mutts had chosen their perfect prey. Sophie wouldn’t stop running away from them, and they just loved running after her. She refused to listen to our advice to stand still and wait for the dogs to tire of her, probably because she was having too much fun.
By far the highlight of the hike was a large tree stump that provided the perfect springboard for jumping. The girls took turns on this one – with Chloe pretending to be a bird and Sophie wanting nothing more than to imitate her sister.
Sophie starts pre-K tomorrow and Chloe starts on Wednesday. We still don’t know who Chloe’s 3rd grade teacher is going to be, which is more frustrating for me than it is for her. New school, new teacher – you’d think the district would get its act together and make sure the notification arrives before the Labor Day holiday so that kids can spend part of the weekend getting a sense of who might be in their class. But no, that’d be too logical.
Next year, I’m going to plan to take a few days off the week school starts. I think it would be less stressful and more enjoyable if I didn’t feel the job pressures of the first post-summer work week in addition to everything that needs to be done for classes.
We decided to ring in the unofficial start of fall this weekend with an outing to the local miniature golf course. Chloe’s idea. Problem is that Chloe and miniature golf don’t get along very well.
I tried to teach her the Tiger Woods putting stance, but she wouldn’t listen. The photo pretty much captures her posture and her swing throughout the afternoon. Needless to say, she was not particularly successful getting the ball into the hole. And this frustrated her to no end.
Forgetting, perhaps, that she was the one who requested this outing, at one point she asked if we could go home because she was tired of missing. We were only at the 9th hole. We reiterated her need to imitate the Tiger swing and stance, and she then had a few glimmers of success, which she reluctantly admitted was due to the Tiger swing and stance.
The rest of the game was relatively uneventful. But if our Chloe thinks she’s going to talk us into taking her to play miniature golf in the near future, she has another thing coming. Not until she goes to Tiger Woods miniature golf training camp.
I’m looking forward to what our girls will be like when they’re older. As I’ve written before, Chloe is the more intense child, more independent. Sophie is more happy-go-lucky and loves to be surrounded by people.
In addition to the differences in their personalities, they are also much different when it comes to hygiene. True story follows.
Yesterday, the girls went to the playground with my mom. When they got home, they realized their feet were filthy. Sophie immediately asked my mom to wash her feet with soap and water. That’s because even though Sophie likes to play in the sand and dirt, Sophie does not like to stay dirty once she’s done playing.
Chloe is another species altogether. When Chloe realized her feet were dirty, she proceeded to spit on her hands and start wiping. And you can bet that her hands were just as filthy as her feet. I mean, really. I sometimes think that she’s spent way too much time watching the gorillas at the Bronx Zoo.
I love my iPod. I love my MacBook. But in the end, I decided to stick with Verizon and get a new BlackBerry. Truth of the matter is, I feel like I’m already too connected. And too addicted to being connected. And the last thing I need is yet another toy to distract me from all the other things I need to focus on.
And besides, AT&T cellphone service sucks. I’ve been victimized by it countless times when my husband calls me using his AT&T phone and vice versa. So – until Apple decides to terminate its exclusive deal with AT&T, I’m sticking with the BlackBerry.
The best thing about it is that I’ll now have just one device for work and phone. Which pleases me to no end. And Chloe and Sophie will like it too, because there are games. OK – maybe not as cool as iPhone games, but let’s face it, the girls’ threshold for coolness is not very high.
This is Sophie at her best. A big, joyful grin. Because she’s such a happy kid. Most of the time anyway. But because she’s been spending so much time with her sister over the last few weeks, she’s also started to take on some of Chloe’s less charming traits. Like getting angry when she feels we’re not taking her seriously. Or getting all serious and stern when she thinks we’re misbehaving.
And Sophie has learned to give as good as she gets. She’s always been fairly talented when it comes to bugging her older sister. But she’s become a master over the last few months. She mimics Chloe, much to Chloe’s consternation. She baits Chloe will all manner of words and actions (like sticking out her tongue). And Chloe makes all of this really easy for Sophie, because Chloe is incapable of ignoring her little sister’s antics. Try as she may, and she doesn’t try hard enough, she allows Sophie to get under her skin for the most inconsequential of acts.
Am I being a horrible mommy for sheepishly admitting that I find all of that pretty funny? Truth is, when I was a kid, my brother James was like Sophie. He was my arch-nemesis. He knew what buttons to push with me, and I’ve always said that Chloe is her mother’s daughter. I love him dearly now, but I wanted nothing to do with him until I left for college. The good thing is that Sophie and Chloe generally get along much better than I got along with my brother when we were kids. At least for now.
Chloe has found all sorts of silly things to do with her friends when they come over to play. The other day, it was this. Today, she and her friend invented a game that involves throwing a deflated pink puffy ball at a larger beach ball and hoping the two meet mid-air.
Chloe demonstrated the game to me this evening, with the able assistance of little Sophie, who was happy to prance around in her underwear. Ah, the joys of youth.
What’s most amazing to me, however, is that today was an absolutely gorgeous day. Not a cloud in the sky, a little on the cool side. Could they have played this game outside? Of course. Was it suited to being played outside? You bet. And yet, did they go outside? No. Ugh.
Sophie discovered Chloe’s mermaid costume the other day. And boy, was she excited. Being able to transform into a mermaid ranks almost as high as dressing up as a princess. 
