The other day, Papa took Chloe and Sophie to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. They had a great time, really they did. Despite Sophie’s running commentary to the contrary.
Category Archives: Frazzled Working Mom’s Fleeting Moments (2007-2013)
Glasses!
I am currently the only one in my family who wears glasses and thinks that glasses are a really cool accessory. I know, once a nerd always a nerd. At least I don’t think glasses are such a cool accessory that I wear fake ones. My lenses are legitimate.
Chloe constantly makes fun of what she calls my “horrible eyesight.” Sophie tries to grab my glasses, which makes me nervous, because if they break then I truly won’t be able to see. And I’m afraid that if she tries to wear them, even if just for a minute, she’ll permanently damage her perfectly good eyes.
However, the other day Sophie discovered our dear babysitter’s oversized frames. And she hid herself away for a few seconds in order to surprise us with her new look. She looked very studious. She wasn’t able to wear them for long – our babysitter’s eyes have gone to s**t as well. But Sophie cracked herself up. And when she’s happy, we’re happy. Even if she looks like a dork.
I Love My Girls
I was lying in bed with Sophie the other night, reading “Ladybug Girl and Bumblebee Boy” and “Armadillo Rodeo.” After we had finished the stories, we cuddled and I took her hand in mine. And I studied her little palm and her little fingers, and they are perfect. I then caressed her cheek. So soft and smooth and amazing. And I look at Chloe, who is getting taller and more beautiful by the day. And smarter and smarter.
Sophie is my playful clown. Chloe is my serious thinker. And I love them. And I want to spend more time with them. And I don’t quite know how to accomplish that. I certainly spend a lot of time thinking about it – at 3 AM when I’m unable to sleep – but haven’t yet come up with a solution. I’ll get there eventually, I know I will. But I’m starting to lose patience with myself.
I just need that one bright idea. The lightbulb flashing in my brain. The 3 AM epiphany that will lead me to mommy nirvana. Or at least what I think mommy nirvana would look like if I could create it. Soon enough.
Chloe’s a Mac. Sophie’s a PC.
And Papa is an enabler. When I got home from running a bunch of errands I found Sophie playing games on the PC and Chloe playing games on the Mac. Papa was also fooling around on his laptop but quickly made himself scarce when he realized I was prepping to capture the moment on film.
I think that Apple should look to Chloe and Sophie for their next commercials. Their rates would be a lot cheaper than those of Justin Long.
What this photo says about our parenting skills is another matter. I admit that seeing the three of them lined up on the couch typing away was not as shocking or disconcerting as it should have been. Of course, they all thought it was very funny. And I just had to take a photo of the scene for posterity.
Irish Dancing
Meet a future star of Michael Flatley’s “Lord of the Dance” show.
Spring!
Finally, some vitamin D that doesn’t come from a bottle. Spent lots of time outside. As promised, I spent the morning and early afternoon with little Sophie. We took a walk and she played with a friend. I watched her have fun in gymnastics and took her for a slice of pizza. She was happy to get her one-on-one mommy time. I was happy to give her lots of hugs.
Later this afternoon, I went for a walk today on a local hiking trail with my mom and Chloe. Chloe had fun and the good news is that she didn’t trip, fall or otherwise hurt herself, which usually happens at least once during these outings. There were a few brief moments of suspense when she decided it would be fun to use a log, which had fallen over a threateningly large pool of swampy water, as a balance beam. Much to my surprise, she made it across and back without losing her footing. Amazing.
After we returned from our expedition, we bought Chloe a new bicycle. She needed a 24″ bike. She’d been riding a 16″ inch bike for the past four years. She never once complained. But we were neglectful parents, until today. The timing is perfect, because her 4-year old sister is about one inch away from being able to ride the 16″ bike (with training wheels, of course).
Hello, spring!
Spending Time
Apparently, Sophie is under the impression that I don’t spend enough time with her. In order to disabuse her of that notion, I am going to have some special Sophie/Mommy time with her tomorrow morning.
Instead of schlepping Chloe to piano and creative writing class, I am going to devote the morning hours to my little baby. Beautiful weather is in the cards, and I hope to spend at least part of the time outside with Sophie, galavanting around the neighborhood.
It’s nice to inhale some warm air. It’s not going to last, of course – this is one of those March teases. But I’m going to enjoy it while I can, which apparently means until Sunday evening. But I’ll take it where I can get it. By 5:45 pm today work was like an abandoned city. The parking lot was just about empty at that hour – a little early, even for a Friday. Everyone was eager to get the hell out of Dodge.
For the first time in several months, I arrived home and sat on the front stoop with Sophie reading a couple of new books she and her Papa bought at the bookstore. Boy, was that nice. So nice that I almost forgot my stresses and troubles. Not quite. But almost. That’s progress for me.
Sunshine, see you again tomorrow.
Goofy Chloe
This is Chloe’s favorite chair. She likes sitting on it in the morning, in front of the radiator, where she keeps her butt warm and enjoys her breakfast.
She’s usually reading a book while sitting on this chair. The problem is that she’s nine years old and has no ability to multitask. So she eats a bite of her waffle. Reads a page. Warms her butt. Eats another bite of waffle. Reads another page and warms her butt some more. And before she knows it, she has 15 minutes to get ready before it’s time to go to school. When we remind her of the passing time, she’s no longer goofy Chloe. She’s pissed off Chloe. And she moans and groans. Wastes another five minutes moaning and groaning. She stomps up the stairs to get dressed and brush her teeth. She calms down. Goes to school and generally comes home happy.
And the next day, she sits in her favorite chair. Eats her breakfast. Reads a page. Warms her butt. And moans and groans when it’s time to get dressed. Goofy, goofy Chloe. How I love you.
When Mommy is Away…
This is what happens when Mommy’s away on a business trip. All hell breaks loose. The stereotypical American kids, playing Nintendo Wii while eating dinner. The scary thing is that Papa is French. And he’s allowing this to happen in the void created by my absence.
Yet another sign that we should be seriously thinking about packing up our belongings and returning to the old country before it’s too late.
Homeward Bound
I enjoyed my solitude – obvious from my last couple of blog posts. But now I’m ready to go home. Ready to hug my kids and my husband, to be assaulted in the early morning hours by a bright-eyed and bushy-tailed 4-year old and ignored by my 9-year old as she’s engrossed in a book. I’m mentally prepared for the race that now defines our Saturday mornings. Wearing the chauffeur cap to schlep Chloe to piano and creative writing, and Sophie to gymnastics.
It sounds like I didn’t miss much – other than some insulation work being done in our attic. Oh, and lest I forget, a call from my husband a few minutes ago to inform me that the car battery died when he went to pick up Sophie from pre-K. He’s not amused. I think it’s odd, actually, since the same thing happened to my mom a few weeks ago when she went to retrieve Sophie from pre-K. I wonder if there’s some kind of electromagnetic field hovering over the school. Glad I’m missing that excitement.
I understand I’m returning to some crappy weather. Not surprising at all considering the winter we’ve had. The upside is that we gain an hour of daylight this weekend. That will put us all in a better mood, I’m sure. Moving up the dates for daylight savings time was the only good thing President Bush did for this country.