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

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

Chloe Sews and Finds Synonyms

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Chloe decided that she wanted to make herself a new wallet. I gave her an old t-shirt, and she proceeded to sew and sew and sew. After a few missteps, she completed her project today. It’s a little rough around the edges, but she even sewed her initial onto the fabric.

She’s become all arts & craftsy. It’s quite amusing, actually. Especially since it took me way too long to remember where we kept the sewing kit.
In addition to finding a talent for home economics, Chloe has also decided to keep a notebook filled with synonyms. She’s spent the last few evenings compiling her wordlists, in order to “write more descriptively.” Yep, that’s what she wrote in her book. She’s started a new elective class at school called “Junior Great Books” and she loves it. And there are only three kids in the class, which I love. And if that class inspires her to write more, than I will be a very happy mommy.
Frazzled Working Mom's Fleeting Moments (2007-2013)

Sophie’s Castle

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Sophie wanted a house. She tried making one herself, but was having a very difficult time getting the pillows to stand up straight. So she begged and pleaded for help. Papa was suffering from strep throat (how he got it, but not the girls – at least not for now – is beyond me), but he loves his daughters. Anything to keep them happy.

So he gathered himself up, and proceeded to build Sophie the best pillow castle ever. After attacks from the flank by her older sister, which caused some of the pillows to come crashing down, much to Sophie’s consternation, Papa dutifully made the necessary repairs.
Castle Sophie has survived four days now. There’s a truce in the household and Chloe has kept her paws off the construction. Every morning, Sophie checks on it, to make sure it’s structurally sound. I give it another couple of days at the most, if only because as long as this thing is up, we can’t sit down.
Frazzled Working Mom's Fleeting Moments (2007-2013)

Sleepaway Camp?

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In an effort to help Chloe decide whether or not she’d like to spend a couple of weeks at sleepaway camp next summer, I sent away for a bunch of different camp catalogs. We started to receive them last week, and boy, how things have changed since I went to camp so many years ago. Eons ago. Eras ago.

Anyway, in addition to the activities that were popular even when I was a kid (e.g., tetherball, lakefront, arts & crafts), all of the camps now seem to offer enrichment programs that come closer to resembling Club Med than camp. Want to do circus arts? Check. Want to try out extreme trampoline jumping? Check. Want to attempt paintball? Check. Want to fly through the air with the greatest of ease on a flying trapeze? Check.
It’s absolutely insane. So crazy that even I was feeling nostalgic for camp when looking at the brochures with Chloe. And that’s saying a lot because while I tolerated camp, I never really LOVED camp.
We’ve received five brochures so far. And another interesting tidbit is that of the five camp directors, two are recovering lawyers. Just like me. I have absolutely no desire to become a camp director – let’s face it, I’m just not the camp type. But again – makes me wonder about the profession I chose for myself 12 years ago. From the beginning, I always rationalized the decision to go to law school by telling everyone who asked that having the degree would open up lots of doors. Directing sleepaway camps wasn’t exactly what I had in mind, but hey, to each his own.
Frazzled Working Mom's Fleeting Moments (2007-2013)

Chloe’s Brilliant

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“Brilliant.” According to her teachers. “She’s well-rounded in all subjects.” These things I believe. She’s always been a smarty-pants.

“She’s mellow and easy-going.” This I do not believe. Two adjectives I’d never ever use to describe my daughter, unless she was abducted by aliens and came back as Chloe II.

That said, her teachers had nothing but praise for my big girl. The only bit of criticism, if one can call it that, is that during class she sometimes sneaks peeks at whatever book she happens to be reading that day. Horrible, I know.
Her math teacher was so impressed by her math skills that Chloe now has the responsibility (which she’s never given to a student) of updating the sunrise/sunset chart every week. It tracks the hours of daylight on a given day, down to the minute. It’s a pretty intricate graph, but apparently Chloe mastered it with ease.
We’re raising a brainiac. Let’s hope she still thinks being a brainiac is cool when she hits her teens.
Frazzled Working Mom's Fleeting Moments (2007-2013)

No More Towels?!

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Sophie made a startling announcement tonight as she got ready to camp out in my bed (the hubby is traveling and I’ve made it a tradition to let the girls hang out in our bed when he’s not around).

I asked her to get her stuffed animals and towels (old burp cloths that are to her what the blanket was to Linus) and she came back with her animal favorites, but no towels.
“Don’t you want your towels?” I asked. “No. They’re getting old.” “Don’t you think they’ll be lonely without you?” “Yes, but that’s ok. They’re old.” Wow. Those burp cloths have been a part of her life since I spawned her in the hospital.
When she made her pronouncement, I felt a pang of sadness. I’m getting older (ugh – almost 41) and that means my girls are getting older. I’m actually a bit traumatized that she might be ready to give those smelly old towels up. I’m going to have to take a photo of them for posterity.
Frazzled Working Mom's Fleeting Moments (2007-2013)

Happy Thanksgiving

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Another successful Thanksgiving – the girls have passed out after a day of gluttony and game-playing with aunts, uncles and cousins.

Today’s festivities didn’t disappoint. There was time to catch up with relatives we haven’t seen in a few months, time to help mom set up the new MacBook we (including my brother and his wife) got for her 65th birthday, time to cuddle with my little Sophie while watching “Chicken Little,” time to play dominoes with my big Chloe, and of course, time to eat and eat and eat until the buttons everyone’s pants started to burst.
I feel a little nauseous right now and I didn’t even eat as much as I have at past Thanksgiving meals. That was because I was busy chasing my girls around my mom’s apartment. In some cases it was just for fun. In other cases, it was because one or the other was upset about something (hey – when you’re at someone’s house for 8 hours, the kids are bound to go a little stir crazy). And when they are upset about something, I know that at least one positive thing will come of their consternation. In such cases, I almost always have the opportunity to tell them how much I love them and give them lots of hugs to prove it. And that, I must say, is priceless.
Frazzled Working Mom's Fleeting Moments (2007-2013)

Gingerbread House

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This year’s gingerbread house is a great success. The girls and Grammy worked on their masterpiece for a couple of hours this afternoon and managed to accomplish this miraculous feat without any outbursts.

I guess this means that holiday season is now in full swing. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving at mom’s, Friday is mom’s birthday (and bowling) and Saturday is the annual family party at our cousins’ house. Let the festivities begin!
I LOVE THANKSGIVING.
Frazzled Working Mom's Fleeting Moments (2007-2013)

Flu Shot and Swine Flu Mist

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Yesterday, we hit the jackpot. Our pediatrician gave the girls their annual flu shots (tears and more tears) and their first dose of H1N1 nasal mist (that feels funny, mom!).

Chloe spent the entire day and part of this morning complaining about the soreness in her shoulder. Sophie, on the other hand, was simply knocked out today from what I think were the effects of the shot.
So – good news is that we took care of our parenting duties – for now. But the H1N1 vaccine requires another dose one month after the first one. Not sure how likely we’re to see that happen, but fingers crossed.