Category Archives: Frazzled Working Mom’s Fleeting Moments (2007-2013)

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

My Big Girl

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Chloe is definitely going through some kind of difficult stage. Do the terrible 7s exist? If not, I’m officially coining a new term: the “sucky 7s.”

It’s been challenging over the last few days. Having her home from school doesn’t help. Kids should be in school all year long, with just a day off here and there. Not too many days off in a row, because that’s when they start going bonkers on you.

It’d be easy to attribute her recent behavior to my return to work. But that’d be giving me too much credit. So I don’t know what it is. But it’s tough, and it’s not much fun. And we’re at a bit of a loss as to how to handle her.

Mind you, although I’m complaining about her, she really is a big-hearted, loving child. But she just takes things so personally, and gets frustrated so easily. It can’t be hormones – we have a few more years before that, I hope. Although maybe she’s suffering from some premature aging disease…

Chloe is a lot like me. A lot like I was at her age. And I wasn’t an easy kid. But I wonder, could she have really inherited all of my annoying genes? That may be part of it. She must also be taking cues from us. But I’m a bit at a loss.

Parenthood can be so frustrating. For every step forward, I feel like we take a few steps back. I hope that her special papa day tomorrow will set her straight – at least for the next week.

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

A New Dawn, A New Day…

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…And I love my girls again. It’s amazing what a good night’s sleep and a day away from them does for the soul. Especially after their craziness yesterday.

They were back to their cute selves tonight. Happy to see Maxime and me, dancing and singing, and most important, smiling.

It helped that they spent a nice day with their grammy, going to a show – a musical version of “Rapunzel” – and having chocolate chip pancakes and French toast for lunch. I mean really, if that doesn’t put them in a good mood for at least a couple of days, I don’t know what will.

Chloe is off from school tomorrow and Wednesday. Wednesday should be a good day – her papa is taking off to spend some one-on-one time with her. Tomorrow is a bit of a question mark. No real plans, although she’s tried to get in touch with some friends to arrange a playdate. But a lot of her classmates are away for the Presidents’ Day weekend. So the makings are there for a meltdown.

On the other hand, Sophie will probably be thrilled. In her little eyes, the potential for fun with her big sister is infinite. At least until they start fighting. Our babysitter is going to have her hands full – and I will be sure to wish her much luck in the morning.

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

Meet Jim-Jim

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Jim-Jim is a guinea pig. Jim-Jim belongs to a friend of Chloe’s from school, and we are guinea pig-sitting him for the next week.
Chloe, of course, is thrilled. Sophie thinks Jim-Jim is a mouse, but no matter. A rodent is a rodent, no?

Actually, Jim-Jim (short for Jiminy Cricket) is kind of cute. He’s pretty low maintenance. Only requires hay, pellets, water, lettuce, carrots and orange slices to be happy. He also likes grapes. He lives in a fairly spacious green house cage, with a wooden box inside that serves as his bedroom.

We’re all a little nervous – this is quite a bit of responsibility for us. Raising kids is one thing. Raising a guinea pig is another matter altogether. I was tempted to ask the friend’s dad for the name of their vet. But I restrained myself. Didn’t want to unnecessarily worry them. Besides, they probably don’t have a vet.

Anyway, one day down, eight to go. So far, so good.

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

Hula Girl

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Chloe had her annual school play today, called “A More Beautiful World.” It was very cute. Awfully long, but very cute. Chloe’s class’ scene took place in Hawaii – and the kids did a hula dance and sung a hula-ish song.

I know this is an extremely crappy photo. But it’s the best I could do with my little camera. So you’ll have to take my word for it that if you look hard enough, you might be able to spy Chloe in the second row. I tried filming some of it, but the little movie was a mess.

Chloe was in heaven because she got to wear a bathing suit, a hula skirt and a lei. Surprisingly, she danced to the beat of the music fairly well. And she sung, too. After the play, the class had a “luau” party. With pizza. I don’t quite get the connection myself, but I guess it was doubtful the kids would eat roast pig.

Luckily, I missed the party (had my fill of them when I was enjoying life as a non-remunerated professional mom). But I made my mom take Sophie. Chloe was thrilled to have her Grammy there, and Sophie loves spending time among the big kids.

Chloe told me that the boys were trying to catch glimpses of the girls changing out of their bathing suits, and it sounds like some of them actually succeeded. Chloe wasn’t too fazed by this (which is actually quite disturbing, now that I think about it), because she said at least she saw one of the boys changing out of his costume. That, of course, made me feel a lot better.

I can’t wait until next year.

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

Happy Valentine’s Day

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This is Sophie giving us attitude. She’s been doing that a lot recently. From imitating all of the things we wish Chloe wouldn’t do, to finding her own ways to annoy us to death.

This face, however, was more of a Sophie being silly face while eating a Valentine cupcake. It’s truly thrilling to see what new things she going to do everyday – whether she surprises us with new verbal skills, or acts even more closely like her monkey cousins with her climbing skills – even discovering what pisses her off is somewhat entertaining, once we manage to distance ourselves from her tantrums.

Now that Sophie so eagerly apes her sister, the pressure is on Chloe to behave. But for a 7-year old, that mandate is especially difficult. At dinner, Chloe got up to get a napkin – but she didn’t simply stand, walk and retrieve. She stood, danced (and shook her booty) and eventually retrieved. During which time, Sophie, who usually thinks her sister is the best thing since sliced bread (except when Chloe hits her), stood, danced (and shook her booty) and retrieved nothing.
For a few minutes, dinner devolved into a dance contest.

What to do? They were too cute to get angry. And they did eventually sit back down and finish eating. My husband and I lost control over our girls for a pretty delightful five minutes or so. It wasn’t the first time and it definitely won’t be the last. The joys of parenthood.

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

Lego Mania

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Chloe has rediscovered the joy of Legos. She played with them when she was younger, but until today, she hadn’t tinkered with them in at least a couple of years.

And then, surprise, surprise. When I arrived home earlier tonight, the Village People were waiting for me! OK, not really. But tell me her sculpture doesn’t make you want to sing and dance to “YMCA.”

The unanimous favorite was the clown on the right. Papa knocked over the construction worker on the left, but Chloe handled it extremely well. No tears, no screams. She calmly put the little guy back together and was evidently very proud of her creation.

I love it when Chloe creates something and is proud of what she’s accomplished. It was a great way to end the day.

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

The Great Crib Escape (or Not)

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Sophie is just about 2 1/2 years old. And she’s smart in more ways than one. She is extremely verbal, she defends herself well against her older sister, she knows her shapes. She’s even starting to make serious progress on the potty. She dances and sings. And in a true test of her intelligence, she’s started to imitate our behaviors. Most of the bad ones at that..the heavy sighing when frustrated, throwing things when angry (Chloe hasn’t yet mastered the role model gig), slamming doors, etc.

But for every smarty pants thing she does, some of her other actions perplex us, to say the least. Her mastery of colors is still sketchy (I hope she’s not colorblind – it mostly afflicts males, but you never know). There’s only one pair of shoes that she’ll let us put on her feet (this is reminiscent of the Crocs torture we were subjected to last summer). But what makes us laugh is that she climbs into her crib like a monkey on speed. But even though she’s more than capable of climbing out, she won’t even try. Chloe was light years ahead of her on this score; in fact, she was already in a bed at 2 1/2.

I’ve even encouraged Sophie to climb out of her bed. I know, you’re thinking I’ve got to be an idiot to egg her on. But I don’t understand it, really. This is a toddler rite of passage. They climb (or fall) out of bed, and then climb into mom and dad’s bed. It’s supposed to be a game. Sophie usually loves games. Her lack of interest is slightly worrisome.

On the other hand, she’s saving us money for now. The longer we go without having to buy a new piece of furniture, the better. But, still…Sophie, get your act together! A little rebellion will do you good. Discover the joys of the crib escape before you’re too old!

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

Looking Forward to Thursdays

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This evening marks the start of a new round of “Survivor.” Which means that Chloe and I have something to look forward to enjoying together.

As some of you may recall, I’ve written about her love for “Survivor” before, and I enjoy watching it with her. Definitely a guilty pleasure. When I recently told her that a new season was soon to begin, her face lit up and she grinned a grin as wide as the Cheshire Cat in “Alice in Wonderland.”

I think she likes it mostly because it’s a grown-up show, and she thinks the young, attractive women are the epitome of cool. In this season of fans vs. favorites, she immediately remembered James, the gravedigger, from last season. However, her hopes were dashed when I told her that blond, anorexic Courtney wasn’t selected to return. Then they were raised again – when she saw that Amanda was back.

The show has just started. Micronesia. Downpouring rain. Fun, fun, fun.

Let the games begin!

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

I’m Sitting Here Watching Primary Returns…

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…and feeling optimistic about the future. Because I have to believe that a talented Democrat,whether a woman or an African-American, is going to win back the White House in November, and put our country back on the right track, both in the eyes of its citizens and in the eyes of the rest of the world.

I voted for Hillary Clinton today. Her last debate appearance convinced me. Her mastery of the issues, and her poised and confident delivery impressed me. And, hell, she is a woman. An extremely accomplished woman, who has succeeded depite all the naysayers, as a senator. And despite the baggage. What politician doesn’t have baggage? And, frankly, I’m not a dreamer. I’m not someone who believes that one person can unite the country (or more important, Congress). To me, that’s naive – a nice sentiment, perhaps, but awfully naive.

I was proud to vote for her, and I hope she becomes the nominee. I want my girls to grow up knowing that, as women, they can reach for the stars and aspire to great things.

And the talk about change (Obama) vs. experience (Clinton) is all well and good, but it is inevitable that a woman in the Oval Office will bring change. Much needed change. And let’s face it, times were pretty good with Hillary’s husband in office before Bush laid waste to everything his predecessor had accomplished.

At the end of this incredibly long primary process, if the nominee turns out to be Barack Obama, I will cast my vote in November with a smile on my face. And with continued hope that someday, before I grow old, we’ll see a woman serving as President of the United States.

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

One Step Closer to Potty-Trained

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This is our second go at potty-training. And with no more kids coming down the pike, it’s going to be our last (yeah!). Chloe took to it with a bit of difficulty. With her, number two was a piece of cake. But number one took a couple of years.

A few months ago, Sophie started to show some interest in the potty. Every once in a while, perhaps two times a week, she would sit on the potty and try to go. Sometimes successfully, sometimes not. But she wsa willing to try, and who were we to say no?

Then, as is often the case with toddlers, she lost interest. Nothing for some time. Lately, however, her potty antenna is up again, and our babysitter has been encouraging her to use it, with some good results.

The latest chapter involves our asking Sophie if she’d like to sit on Diego (the potty seat on the toilet is graced with pictures of the cartoon character – kids’ merchandising at its finest) when we sense that she’s ready to go. Her answer is usually no, and she proceeds to put her diaper to use. But she’s recently taken to asking us to visit Diego when she experiences a break in her movement. So upstairs we go, and she goes to work on the toilet. And she succeeds.

We’re in no particular rush for her to be trained, but we have applied to join a swim club. If we get in (fingers crossed), and if she’s decided she’s able to go diaperless by then, we’ll be all set. Goodbye baby pool. Hello deep end!