Like a deer in the headlights, Sophie was, when we said our goodbyes this morning. Although excited about school in theory, she didn’t seem to understand what she was doing among all the children and teachers.
All posts by Pink Me Not Mom
Hope for Tomorrow
It’s been there for a few months now. This feeling, despite the endless bad news, that come Tuesday things will start to turn around. The economy sucks, we’re still fighting in Iraq, Afghanistan is a mess, bin Laden is still alive, Pakistan and India are one terrorist attack away from trying to annihilate one another, Israel and Hamas are at war, North Korea may have weaponized plutonium…and yet, and yet…
Peace and Quiet
My husband left with the girls earlier this afternoon to drop Chloe off at mom’s for an overnight stay. For a glorious hour, I was alone in the house. It was quiet. I lay in bed and watched a movie, without interruption of any kind.
When he returned with Sophie, she was sleeping. And she slept and slept, until about 6 pm. She woke up cranky, but it didn’t last very long. And after days of the girls going at each other, it’s been nice to enjoy several hours of peace.
This is a photo of Sophie playing with her special Fisher-Price computer keyboard. She’s “learning” to draw letters and is always very proud whenever the image she traces appears on the screen. She’s very excited to start school on Tuesday, as are we. She chose a backpack at Target yesterday, and try as we might, we were unable to convince her to stay away from the pink Disney princess model. I’m learning to choose my battles, but Sophie is quickly turning this “Pink Me Not” blog into “Pink Me Most of the Time.” C’est la vie.
The Misadventures of Chloe
Before I begin, this a photo of Chloe with our beloved babysitter, who’s been with us for eight years. Sophie decided to be camera-shy when I took the picture, but that’s ok. We’ll get her another time.
Anyway, today we celebrated Chloe’s birthday (about two weeks in advance). We took her, along with her best friend, to the Big Apple Circus. And they had a terrific time. But Chloe’s misadventures started a little bit before we left, and continued well into the evening. Here’s a summary of her day:
(1) Help Mom put paint samples on the wall of the rebuilt sunroom. While in the kitchen preparing the paint, attempt to open one of the jars and in doing so, splatter half of the contents all over the kitchen floor and cabinetry.
(2) Buy a souvenir cup at the circus and repeatedly drop it or kick it over, and in doing so, splash half of the contents all over the floor. Luckily the cup was only filled with water.
(3) Share cotton candy with her friend. Hold the bag from the wrong end, and drop the remaining treat on the floor. Try to eat the “clean” side, but not before I grab it from her and hide it in my bag.
(4) Go to a local Italian restaurant for her birthday dinner, specifically chosen by Chloe because they offer good desserts. Receive a lovely piece of Oreo cake, to be shared between Chloe and her friend. After one bite, drop the plate (oops! broke the plate) and the cake on the floor.
(5) Get a replacement piece of Oreo cake, which Papa splits evenly in two for Chloe and her friend. Bring piece to the edge of the table and proceed to put more of the cake on her clothes than in her mouth.
I kid you not. All of this really happened between the hours of 2:30 pm and 8:30 pm today. The only thing that didn’t happen, which happens fairly regularly, is that Chloe didn’t spill any milk. Are all 8-year olds like this?
Overdrive
Our girls were at it again tonight – raising the decibel level to bloodcurdling levels and not always because they were fighting. I think they’re doing it now because they know that we’ll react to it.
And when we react, they have us right where they want us. Sputtering, barely coherent parents with bug eyes and bursting headaches. Ugh. Kids are so damn manipulative.
Whenever they act up, I dream of the day when Sophie and Chloe have children of their own. When our darling grandchildren drive my daughters to distraction. And when my girls call us to complain about their children’s behavior, I’ll have a shit-eating grin on my face as I say (without much compassion at all), “Now you know what it was like for us!”
A New Room (Almost)
This image is now outdated. The insulation has been installed and by the end of the week, we’ll have sheetrock on the walls. Painting is scheduled to start next Monday.
And soon enough, we’ll have a new old sunroom. Our living room will once again be free of the girls’ crap (it’s not all crap, but a lot of it is). We’ll once again have a view of our fireplace, which is currently blocked by our TV.
And all of this for the cost of one year of private college tuition! Or at least three VERY memorable vacations. Or a new car. I can go on and on, but it just depresses me when I think about it. So I’m not going to think about it anymore.
I Have a Headache
I love my girls. Really, I do. But between Chloe’s screeching sound effects that prevent us from hearing ourselves think, and Sophie’s blood-curdling screams every time Chloe does something to offend her, I am going to quickly become a major contributor to Tylenol’s bottom line.
Unless the cacophony continues unabated, in which case I may need to graduate to prescription painkillers. Or replace my two girls with a few more dwarf hamsters – who although incapable of giving hugs and kisses, are QUIET all of the time and a lot cheaper to raise.
As I write this, my husband is upstairs with the girls attempting to get them ready for bed. But the girls are very good at ignoring us (not something I’m proud to admit, I might add). As Sophie gets older, the bedtime routine gets more complicated. And Chloe is incapable of doing what we ask her to do the first time around. It takes at least several requests before she makes a move to comply, and when she does finally act, she channels snails.
Is there a union for parents? I’d like to go on strike and demand improved working conditions.
Piggyback Ride
Chloe gives Sophie piggyback rides. And now Sophie gives Gloup and Alubus piggyback rides.
That said, the novelty of owning pets seems to have worn off a bit. I find myself reminding Chloe to play with the animals more often than I did in the beginning. You know how it is – favorite Hannah Montana episode or parental (in this case, hamster) chores – which would you prefer if you were 8 years old?
I’m finding that the days are too short since we’ve adopted these two creatures. In addition to the pre-hamster tasks (get ready for school, homework, set the dinner table, clean up after dinner, take the occasional bath, get ready for bed…), we now have to make sure Alubus and Gloup are hydrated, fed, cleaned, recreated…long live the hamsters.
Sparkly Witch
“Ding Dong the Witch is Dead” just gets better and better when Sophie the Sparkly Witch sings them. And her lyrics are much more enjoyable than the original version, I might add.
Au Revoir, Harry Potter
We heard the patter of not-so-little feet last night at 10 pm. As they made their way down the stairs, we knew it was Chloe. She approached us with a bittersweet smile on her face and asked “Can I stay up to finish Harry Potter? Please? Please?” She had made it to the epilogue of the final tome – how could we say no?
Chloe was excited and sad at the same time. “I don’t want it to end.” She was unabashedly proud of her accomplishment – a total of 4,198 pages read in less than four months. Her favorite part of the series came near the end, when Harry and his friends battled Voldemort and the Death Eaters. Dumbledore and Ron were her favorite characters and the saddest part for her was when Dumbledore died. She was most surprised by the truth about Snape (who wasn’t nearly as evil as she once suspected).
Chloe is going to miss Harry Potter and is looking for the next series to dig her teeth into. Suggestions are welcome. She’s understandably afraid she’ll never find another series that she’ll love as much as Harry Potter. “J.K. Rowling is such a good author,” Chloe said wistfully. Perhaps Chloe will be the next J.K. Rowling…