Note: It goes without saying that I won’t be totally off the hook when it comes to the following crimes against Mommy, since mornings, evenings and weekends are still fair game, but I’ll take whatever reprieve I can get.
10. Waking up in the morning without set plans for the day (which sometimes was actually a nice thing, but mostly not).
Continue reading Top 10 Things I Won’t Miss When I Return to Work
10. Being able to wear jeans everyday.
9. Free time! In particular, having the luxury to really appreciate these last few months at home with the girls.
Continue reading Top 10 Things I Will Miss When I Return to Work
Earlier today, our New York City family adventure included a stop at the legendary Ricky’s Costume Shop, a warehouse containing the largest Halloween costume collection I’ve ever seen. It was impressive, and the kids got a kick out of all the disguises.
My monologue was clumsy, at best, and went something like this: “Chloe, you don’t want to be sexy yet. Men like women to be sexy. Little girls are not allowed to be sexy (I didn’t mention the child beauty pageant exception). When you’re 30 you can be sexy. Besides, Santa Claus does not let his elves deliver presents to sweet little children wearing outfits like that.”
costume she coveted. It’s called the “Sexy Santa Velour Set.”
The children distribute the presents.
Chloe decorates her new diary.
Sophie is unable to contain her excitement about her new Diego video.
Chloe and her cousin give each other wet willies on the train to New York.
The motley crew (minus the two moms, who are taking the photos) in Central Park.
What I do know is that she loves him so much that she allows him to play with her barnyard animals. And she expresses her admiration in other ways too. Like letting him hold her sacred burp cloths (which she treats like Peanuts’ Linus treats his blanket) and her little lamb, Shirley. She’s even managed to convince him to watch her morning cartoons with her, thanks to which he’s learned that Dora the Explorer has a cousin named Diego. If he asks for one of her grapes, she happily shares with him, and only him. A request from anyone else is flatly refused. And when he enters the dining room in the morning, she greets him by jumping up and down, pointing at him and screaming in glee.
As far as she’s concerned, he might as well be a rock star. I’m sure she would adore a poster of him over her crib. I’m not sure it would go with her bedroom decor, but it would certainly make her day.
Too tired to write much this evening. Was up in the middle of night thanks to Sophie, who apparently had a nightmare. Then up again at 6:30 AM, thanks to Chloe, who absolutely had to see the presents that Santa Claus left for everyone. You know, in case he changed his mind and removed them by 8 AM.
It was a lovely day, spent among family – eating good food (I don’t think our kitchen has ever had that much of a workout – I even used the microwave as a regular oven), drinking good champagne and wine, and relaxing. The girls enjoyed their presents, and Chloe had only one meltdown, when we pushed her to take a walk with her Papa, aunt, uncle and cousin, and she adamantly refused. Sophie spent most of the afternoon napping (I wonder why…) and when she wasn’t sleeping, she was either eating, playing with her new Play-Doh or her new toy pirate ship, or pushing her shopping cart around the house.
Our relatives also enjoyed themselves, a sentiment that manifested itself by their eating way too much. My oldest nephew, who is 17, said he’s gained about 5 pounds since arriving here – 3 days ago! This is what happens when you come to America (or go on a cruise). You conveniently forget healthy nutritional habits and succumb to gluttony.
Tomorrow’s plan is to confront the crowds at the American Museum of Natural History and to visit Central Park. One can only hope that some physical activity – perhaps strenuous rockclimbing – will help to ease the pain induced by our recent overindulging. To be continued…
When my husband and his siblings were children in the early 1970s, they lived in Poughkeepsie for a couple of years.
In honor of his sister’s visit this week, we bought her a box of Drake’s Devil Dogs, to remind her of those long-ago days in upstate New York.
Disclaimer: I did not intend for the processed little cakes to serve as dessert on Christmas Eve – witness the homemade pear tart in the photo, which I toiled over earlier this morning.
My sister-in-law was justifiably very excited about introducing her kids to her childhood treat. And since we’re flexible and reasonable people, we broke them out, along with the doughnuts (!)she bought at the supermarket earlier today, so that the younger French generation, and Chloe and Sophie too, would have a chance to savor these two classic American delicacies (hint of sarcasm here).
Were the Drake’s cakes overwhelming hits? Let’s just say that nobody threw up and there are still plenty of Devil Dogs left. The photo of Sophie torturing hers with a spoon speaks a thousand words. I’ve captioned it “Death to Devil Dog.”
We spent our first day as New York tourists visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art. All nine of us piled into two cars and trekked into the city. It was ten times more pleasurable than I would have imagined, given that our group included a toddler, two six-year olds and two teenage boys.
Sophie logically fell asleep somewhere during our visit of the European bedrooms. Chloe, other than a few “I’m bored” comments, held up admirably well, and even enjoyed most of the adventure.
I like to think that our warning to her earlier this week – that her French family was expecting a well-behaved little girl – might have actually had a small impact. But if I’m being honest, the real reason is probably the Game Boy – incredibly, she and her cousin took turns without any disputes. Their shared interest in electronic games has allowed them to bond. I never thought I’d say this, but I’m liking Game Boys a lot this week.
My sister-in-law’s youngest son is Chloe’s age. They got along very well today, and Chloe made an extra-special effort to speak in French. I think she quickly realized that she’d have to resort to her Papa’s native tongue if she wanted to have a proper playmate. It seems to be working. The two played Monopoly and video games together, and even danced to, you guessed it, more “High School Musical” songs (I wonder if my brother and I tortured our parents with “Grease” as much as Chloe tortures us with that cloying soundtrack).
Their two older sons are 13 and 17 years old. Real teenagers. Outfitted with cool haircuts, cool clothes and cool technology. My sister-in-law last visited us with her oldest son, seven years ago. We were both pregnant, I with Chloe and she with her youngest. My nephew, 10 years old at the time, slept through practically the whole weeklong trip. Despite the blur, however, he still remembers his introduction to doughnuts. Enough said.
We plan to join them at playing tourists this week and are looking forward to rediscovering some of the New York’s more popular sights. Because of our hectic sightseeing schedule, you may find fewer postings than usual during the next few days. Not to worry, however. I promise not to leave you, my faithful readers, hungering for amusing anecdotes about the girls’ antics. At the very least, I’ll make sure to catch them with the camera, making funny faces for their friends out in Cyberspace.
A pause in our regular programming to bring you some entertainment, courtesy of Chloe, Sophie and Troy from High School Musical. The video truly speaks for itself. Enjoy!
