All posts by Pink Me Not Mom

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

Stop Kissing!

Leave a comment

This is Sophie’s silly face. She’s quite good at making silly faces. One of my favorite Sophie faces is the one that involves her rolling her eyes when she thinks I’ve done or said something silly. I’ll have to try to get that mug on camera one day.

Sophie (and Chloe too, for that matter) generally doesn’t like it when her mommy and daddy kiss. “That’s gross!” she inevitably explains. And when we do it just to bug her, she rolls her eyes and turns away from us. If we do it again just to bug her, she yells, “STOP THAT, GUYS!”
The other day, however, Sophie requested that her parents kiss. And this time around, she thought it was the funniest thing ever. Don’t know what to make of her change in attitude. Maybe she doesn’t think boys are disgusting anymore. Maybe she’s seen too many princesses kissing princes. Maybe she likes a boy at school and thinks it would be fun to kiss him. Who knows?
What I do know is that Sophie’s newfound appreciation for her parents’ kissing won’t last. I’m sure she’ll be back to her old dismissive ways soon enough, especially when she hears Chloe continue to express her opinion that kissing is “GROSS.” She’ll succumb to the peer pressure to agree with her older sister, even if deep down inside, she thinks her kissing parents are cute.
Frazzled Working Mom's Fleeting Moments (2007-2013)

Sleepy Sophie

Leave a comment

Sophie didn’t have a particularly good night last night. At around midnight, she heard me puttering around and cried out. I went into her room and gave her a quick kiss and cuddle.

After settling back into my bed, I heard the the clicking of her lamp on and off. Not a good sign. I tried to ignore it, but after thinking that she had finally fallen back asleep, I heard the call. “Mommy, I need you!” So I returned to her lair. And this time, I crawled into bed next to her. And I started to fall asleep myself. But as she gets bigger and as she adds more and more stuffed animals to her bed, there’s less room for me. I remained with her until I thought she was sleeping again (the heavy breathing was a clue), and then I returned back to my room.
The calm lasted all of three minutes and the cries started again. I was starting to get grumpy – the night before I had only slept five hours and I was TIRED. So I returned to my little four-year old. And after a brief conversation with her, I decided to take action. I carried her into my bed and let her sleep with her Papa. I joined the stuffed animals in her bed and slept like a baby.
Frazzled Working Mom's Fleeting Moments (2007-2013)

Pensive Chloe

Leave a comment

I have no idea what was going through Chloe’s mind when I snapped this photo. But she was obviously thinking very hard about something.

Schoolwork? No. Alubus? No. Poor dwarf hamster doesn’t get much attention from her these days. Piano? No. She conveniently forgets about piano – she’d be a prodigy if she practiced, but she doesn’t practice, so she definitely wasn’t thinking about piano. A new story she’d like to write? Perhaps. How she was next going to bug Sophie? Unlikely, because she’d be smiling if she was thinking of something so nefarious.
But there’s something about this photo that I love. Maybe it’s the moment of calm reflection it depicts or the fact that she didn’t know I was taking it. Or maybe it’s because she starting to look less like a kid and more like a tween. When I look at Chloe in this picture, my mind projects a few years into the future. To a Chloe in high school, starting to think about college. The years will go by quickly, just like these first nine years have sped by at lightning speed.
My baby Chloe. Not so much a baby anymore.
Frazzled Working Mom's Fleeting Moments (2007-2013)

I Want to be Five

Leave a comment


Sophie’s best friend from pre-K turned 5 this week, and that makes my little girl a little sad. She wants to be five too. She’s afraid that her friend will start kindergarten before she does.

And as much as I try to explain to Sophie that she and her friend will start kindergarten together in the fall, she just doesn’t get it. When I tell her that they may even be in the same school and perhaps the same class (although the latter is highly unlikely), she still doesn’t get it. She exclaims to me, with great consternation, “Mom, you don’t understand. It’s complicated!” when I try to console her.
She’s simply pissed off that she’s not five. If only she knew that this is just the beginning of a long career as the youngest. She’ll be dealing with this until she finally gets her driver’s license – a year after everyone else. It’s a good thing she’s tall for her age, which might soften the blow. But it might not. Poor thing doesn’t know what she’s in for.
Frazzled Working Mom's Fleeting Moments (2007-2013)

Barbie!

Leave a comment

Shoot me now. This photo does not even begin to convey Sophie’s reaction at McDonald’s yesterday when she saw the display of kids’ meals toys. BARBIE! BARBIE! BARBIE!

When she realized what was going to accompany her chicken nuggets, she about collapsed from excitement. She screamed. “Oh my goodness! I can’t believe it! It’s a Barbie mermaid!” She danced. She squealed. She screamed and danced some more. When she got her Barbie mermaid into her hands, she looked at it with such admiration and love, I felt a twinge of jealousy. She hasn’t let it out of her sight since.
How I despise Barbies. This one may have to go mysteriously missing sometime in the near future. But I imagine I won’t have to make it disappear. She’ll eventually lose it on her own. The countdown begins.
Frazzled Working Mom's Fleeting Moments (2007-2013)

Camp Cayuga!

Leave a comment

Chloe has been Cayugaed! We attended Camp Cayuga’s open house in the rain today and she’s ready to go. She’s already chosen the bed she wants to sleep in (either the top bunk or one of the single beds in the corner by the door), met up with her pen pal and worn her new Cayuga sweatshirt.

How things have changed since I went to sleepaway camp. Chloe will have the luxury of toilets and showers in the bunk (I had to walk to a different building – not so much fun in the rain, or the cool morning air), and a huge range of activities from which to choose, including trampoline, trapeze, riflery(!), archery, horseback riding, swimming, scuba, tennis, ceramics, etc. etc. etc. Pretty crazy.
The guide also told us that the counselors, not the kids, are responsible for cleaning the bathroom area. I assume that’s because of liability issues – heaven help us if this coddled generation of children is exposed to chemicals in cleaning products. When I was a kid, no one cared about exposing us to chemicals – we had to clean the bathrooms ourselves while the counselors looked on and inspected our work. How times have changed. I think she’ll still have to make her bed, but I’m not even 100% sure about that.
Can I go to camp, too? Maybe I’ll quit my current job and apply to be a camp counselor. Or start a camp for adults who are nostalgic for their adolescent sleepaway camp days. That’d be fun.
U.S., Wanderlust, Washington, D.C. (Older Posts)

Our Nation’s Capital, Day Five

Leave a comment

I did it again. Lost our camera. Only 16 months after the last time. There is something seriously wrong with me. Cameraitis, perhaps. And it’s a shame, too. Because yesterday was an absolutely beautiful day and I had some great pictures of the girls at the different presidential memorials. Instead, you’re stuck with a stock photo of the Jefferson Memorial. Sorry.

Continue reading Our Nation’s Capital, Day Five →

U.S., Wanderlust, Washington, D.C. (Older Posts)

Washington – Day Four

Leave a comment

We visited the Capitol today. Along with a lot of school groups. We had tickets for a general tour that we obtained from our senator, but those tickets did not allow us to visit the actual Senate chamber. All hope was not lost, however. While in the visitor center, we learned that having a non-US citizen spouse can be a very useful thing. We walked up to the Senate appointments desk, mentioned that my husband was French and that I had dual citizenship, and faster than you can say veto, we had four tickets to the Senate gallery. The irony of it had me smiling for most of the rest of the day. The Senate was in session, although they were not debating anything of huge import. Only a few senators were on hand, but I was able to point out a few recognizable faces to Chloe, including Senators Schumer, Kerry (at least I think it was him – he was a little too far away for me to know for sure), Dodd and Franken.

Continue reading Washington – Day Four →