All posts by Pink Me Not Mom

Frazzled Working Mom's Fleeting Moments (2007-2013)

Another TGIF

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I am really glad it’s Friday. I am really glad that Chloe’s eye is better and that Sophie, so far, seems to have escaped contamination.

Sophie is starting to get used to the idea of getting a bed – when we first told her we had ordered a big girl bed for her room, she protested mightily: “I don’t want a bed, I want my crib!” Over the last couple of days, however, she’s started talking about the “pretty bed” she’s going to soon receive. It helps that her Grammy bought her a new nightstand and lamp – everything in her room is now “pretty.” According to Sophie, Grammy is also going to be bringing her a pretty new chair next week. I don’t think Grammy is aware of the deadline, however.

In one week, we will be on vacation. I can’t wait. My first real vacation since starting the new job – almost seven months ago! Great Wolf Lodge crazy water park resort, here we come! Chloe will be in heaven there. Sophie will likely be completely overwhelmed and my husband and I will probably be in need of a bottle of Extra-Strength Tylenol. Anything for the kids, right?

Frazzled Working Mom's Fleeting Moments (2007-2013)

It’s a New Day, a New Dawn

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OK – so the drama of last night subsided a bit this morning. Chloe does have pink eye, and my husband took her to the doctor and got her a prescription. If you look at the photo with a magnifying glass, you’ll see that the eye on the right side is visibly irritated.

After a day of eye drops, she’s doing a lot better. Back to camp tomorrow. That is, if they don’t throw her out because she has pink eye. I just know she’s going to announce it to everyone who asks why she wasn’t at camp today. And if I tell her to simply say she was sick, she’ll accuse me of wanting her to lie and still announce to the world that she has pink eye. And even though our pediatrican said it would be ok for her to return, pink eye is SCAAARRY – one of those super-contagious kid things – and they might try to kick her out.

Speaking of which, my eye has been bothering me all day. My mom thinks it’s sympathy psychosomatic irritation. I think I may have pink eye. It is super-contagious, after all.

The freezer is working again – although I haven’t yet called to cancel the appointment. I’m afraid if I call it will stop running. So I am waiting until tomorrow to pick up the phone. My computer is still ornery.

In contrast to yesterday evening, Sophie and I had a chance to bond over her farm animals – we played hide and seek with them. And I started to read a Babar book to her – she wasn’t particularly interested in it, except to point out the Mommy, Papa, Sophie and Chloe elephants. At least I was Queen Celeste.

Frazzled Working Mom's Fleeting Moments (2007-2013)

Whatever Can Go Wrong…

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…Will most certainly go wrong. I’ll just list all of the fun things going on in our household this evening:

(1) I arrived home after a long day at work and Chloe still hadn’t taken her bath. And was filthy from camp. Why? Because the kids went frog hunting today. Luckily she didn’t catch any of the little critters, because my brother once got salmonella poisoning from a turtle – granted, not the same animal, but close enough to make me cringe at the thought of frog-borne disease.

(2) Chloe was wearing a paper eye patch. When she took it off, her left eye was all red and irritated. “Chloe, what’s wrong with your eye?” I asked. “I don’t know, Mom. It’s bothering me.” Pink eye? I hope not, but it’s looking like it it might be the dreaded bacterial conjunctivitis – with the gook that accompanies it. Murphy’s law, right? And to top it all off, her Papa didn’t even notice it.

(3) A child in Chloe’s camp “village” has lice. Chloe was examined by the camp nurse, along with the other kids, and she’s ok. For now.

(4) I noticed that the freezer door doesn’t seem to be shutting properly. It’s global warming in the freezer, and if it continues, all of the contents will end up in the garbage. We have an appointment with the repair service, but not until Friday.
(5) Sophie was cranky. I hardly saw her tonight, what with all of the other drama. She ended up spending more time with our babysitter than with us.

(6) My stupid Lenovo laptop keeps crashing on me – I’ve been seeing at least five blue screens a day for the past 10 days. That’s not a good thing, to put it mildly. And if it continues, I’ll be visiting the Apple store for a new computer much sooner than planned.

It’s just one of those nights – and I’m very glad it’s almost over.

Frazzled Working Mom's Fleeting Moments (2007-2013)

OLS

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“OLS” apparently stands for outdoor living skills. Chloe is learning some of these skills now that she started a new day camp in the middle of nowhere. OK – not quite the middle of nowhere – since we live in the middle of everywhere, but just enough isolation for Chloe to be able to swim in a lake, go canoeing and learn how to avoid bears when camping (isn’t that what OLS are all about?).

She was excited because it turns out that one of her little friends from preschool two years ago is in her group. So they had a reunion of sorts today. Chloe didn’t love the boating because she had trouble paddling and was embarrassed by her inability to go anywhere – she’s a great little diver and swimmer, but as I’ve mentioned before, her coordination skills lag behind some of her other talents.

The kids’ OLS activity today was a nature walk, which Chloe loved. She heard that they might also learn how to make a fire – and she could barely contain her excitement when she told us about that. I better hide the matches before she starts to experiment…She came home fairly filthy (we had been warned), but happy. We’ll see how long her enthusiasm for communing with nature lasts.

Frazzled Working Mom's Fleeting Moments (2007-2013)

No, We’re Not in Hawaii…

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…But the weekend was absolutely gorgeous, and we spent all of it at the swim club. Two full days of galavanting in the sun – what a treat!

In keeping with yesterday’s blog theme, I showed Chloe a video of Greg Louganis at the 1984 Olympics this morning – his flawless dives are really quite something to behold. Chloe, never one to censor herself, reacted to the video by saying, “That looks easy!” I guess that’s the idea, though. A professional diver should make her acrobatics look exceedingly easy.

The first thing Chloe did when we arrived this morning was to practice her diving – and I am not lying when I say that as the day progressed, her legs were straighter and more together. A couple of her dives were really fantastic.

Sophie made progress of her own today. For the first time, she was willing to float in her vest (in the big pool) without holding our hands. Granted, these attempts at independence lasted only seconds at a time. But she was visibly proud of her bravery.

My predictions for the end of the summer: Chloe will be doing flips off the diving board (she actually does a somersault under the water just after she comes out of her dive) and Sophie will be “swimming” across the pool in her floatie vest all by herself.

Frazzled Working Mom's Fleeting Moments (2007-2013)

She’s Only Seven…Really!

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Chloe’s the pipsqueak at the pool who’s diving off the high dive. There are other pipsqueaks at the pool who jump off the high dive – but jumping is the operative word. They’re not diving. I will take more of these small videos as the summer progresses, so friends and family can witness Chloe’s amazing feats for themselves. Two weeks ago, she couldn’t do this. As it happens, she’s advanced to the next level in swimming lessons at the YMCA as well – Minnow II.

I’m going to make sure she watches some of the swimming and diving during the Olympics next month. A little inspiration will go a long way with her, I’m sure. Greg Louganis, watch out!

Frazzled Working Mom's Fleeting Moments (2007-2013)

Our New Favorite Book

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“The Invention of Hugo Cabret” by Brian Selznick is quickly becoming one of our favorite books. Chloe and I started reading it together last weekend, and we had an hourlong marathon session this evening before bed.

What we love about this book is that it contains all of the elements we love: it takes place in Paris, it serves up lots of adventure and mystery, and has beautiful illustrations that advance the plot. Two of the main characters are smart, industrious children. At first she didn’t understand why there are so many drawings, but now she can’t get enough of them. And it’s also about the history of movies, in particular the filmmaker Georges Méliès. The book is magical.

Chloe can barely contain herself when I tell her it’s time to stop reading and go to sleep. “Please, please read more!” The book is so enjoyable, in fact, that I just may have to sneak into her room tonight and read the rest of it myself. I’m not sure I’ll be able to wait until tomorrow

Chief Mom Officer Musings

The Impostors

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There are times when I look at Sophie and forget that she’s only two. She likes to think that she’s a big girl – and she often talks like a big girl. Even in this photo, it looks a little like she belongs in a Elizabethan-era portrait, when children’s faces were made to resemble those of adults. She’s a child of many faces, this one. And when she acts beyond her years, Sophie the Impostor takes center stage. She seems taller than usual, too.

However, those moments of maturity are fleeting at best. As soon as I start losing sight of the fact that she’s only two, she shakes me back to reality. With the silly dancing (sometimes naked), the whining, the crying, the toddler “poopy” talk, the picky eating – her true age is thrust back into my consciousness like a missile.

Chloe spends a good deal of time acting like a pre-teen. I don’t think I ever acted like a pre-teen when I was seven. But the way she talks, the way she reads – I’m sometime temporarily brainwashed into thinking that my oldest daughter is hitting adolescence. Luckily, however, those moments of Chloe the Impostor are also fleeting. With the silly dancing (sometimes naked), the whining, the crying, the seven-year old “poopy” talk, the picky eating – Chloe the Sequel Imposter appears and acts like a toddler.

Seven must be an awkward age for the young generation – at least it is for Chloe. She’s caught between two worlds. The world of her cute little sister, Sophie, and the world of iCarly and Hannah Montana. It’s quite confusing, really, for all of us. The multiple personalities are difficult to track and hard to control. I have visions of a mini toddler Chloe whispering to real Chloe in one ear, and tweener Chloe influencing Chloe in the other ear. And when the two are whispering together, that’s when all hell breaks loose.

Frazzled Working Mom's Fleeting Moments (2007-2013)

A Monday in July

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Another cute stuffed animal photo. It’s Monday, back to work after an extra-long weekend. Back to the old routine – except that my husband took today off as well.

This was a bonus for Sophie, who got to spend some quality time with her Papa while Chloe was at camp. Apparently, she’s super monkey at the playground – taking risks and needing extreme supervision so that she doesn’t get herself into trouble.

We never had that problem with Chloe – she was always very prudent. Sophie takes care, but she’s not afraid. She grabs onto the rings and swings from them – although she can’t yet go from one to the other, she’s perfectly content to HANG and SWAY. Until she falls. And that’s where it gets a little crazy. Because if you’re not there to catch her, she’ll still fall. And it’s a pretty long drop to the ground.