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

Chloe the Photographer

Artist, pianist, photographer, swimmer…a girl of many talents. She did admit to me today, however, that running fast is not one of her talents. That’s where she and I are very much alike.

She had relay races at camp today and not only did she run slowly, she fell. On her butt. And was embarrassed. When I was a kid, I hated running. You know, the presidential fitness crap where kids need to run 100 meters (or whatever the distance is) in under a certain time, and do push-ups and sit-ups – all for a silly piece of paper that everyone received anyway. How I despised that. It was traumatic.

When I was a little older – a teenager perhaps – I actually jogged. For about a month. Hated that, too. It hurt my knees. I don’t understand running for pleasure. It’s way too painful – not just the breathlessness, but the pounding of feet on the pavement. I then turned to Jane Fonda aerobics videos. The ones where she’s wearing a lavender/purple-striped bodysuit and matching legwarmers. I did that for about a month, too.

Chloe definitely shows signs of having my sports genes. Which is why I’d be thrilled if she sticks with swimming for a bit longer. I stuck with tennis for a few years, and even played for my high school tennis team. Second doubles. The coaches were just being nice to me. I pretty much sucked at that, too.

By the way, the odds are really stacked against Chloe. I’m not entirely to blame, however. Her Papa is just as bad as me. So it would be all the more remarkable if she remains the little fish that could.. if not, there’s always photography.

Another Sophie Silly Face

As promised, one more silly face for the record. This one was supposed to be a scary face. But she was too amused to make a serious go of it.
The result is a photo that is actually kind of cute. The ringlets get me every time. Especially when you see them in a picture framing her whole face.
On a totally different subject, Chloe had her last day of school yesterday. She was very nonchalant about the whole thing. I would like everyone to know, however, that I was very faithful to my darling big girl over the past year. I packed a note in her lunch bag everyday, without fail (except for once or twice). It was something my mom did for me, and I remember that gesture with great love and fondness. I just had to continue the tradition with Chloe. Which gets me thinking that in a couple of years, when Sophie starts kindergarten, I’ll have to do it for two kids. That’s a lot of notes, and I might need to start writing them sooner rather than later.

When Sophie Grows Up

When I think of Sophie, I think of a crazy, adorable little girl. Who is afraid of nothing. Who takes risks that no normal 33 month-old would ever consider.

Who goes to the playground and hangs from the monkey bars and swings upside down from the parallel bars. Who is doing somersaults and attempts headstands like Chloe. Who runs faster than her 7-year old sister. Who jumps gleefully from the bed over and over and over again.

When she performs her silly Sophie tricks, I often wonder where her silly tricks will take her when she’s older. To the moon, perhaps? Maybe not that far. I was watching the US Gymnastics Olympic Trials last night and as I saw the young girls jump over the vault and nail their floor routines, I briefly thought of Sophie. Perhaps I should enroll her for toddler gymnastics – except as we all know, she doesn’t follow direction.

Maybe she’ll become a champion skier (I have no idea if she has any skill in that area – perhaps we’ll find out next winter), or a skydiver. As I uploaded this photo, a light went off in my little head. The perfect job for Sophie: stuntwoman. Yep, I can she her name in lights now. The most famous stuntwoman who ever made it onto film. She’ll be able to stand in for all of those curly-haired actresses out there. All two of them.

I’m going to start looking into college programs now. One can never plan too early for these things.

Summer’s Here

And Chloe’s last day of first grade is tomorrow. Camp starts on Tuesday. I can’t believe how quickly the year flew by. It’s astonishing, really.

So much has happened since last June. Between the time spent with the girls and the new job…all good, really. And here we are. Looking forward to the summer and to weekends spent at the pool.

We decided to go away for a couple of days during our week off at the end of the July. We’re taking the girls to Great Wolf Lodge, a hotel with a huge indoor water park. When I showed Chloe the Web site, her eyes opened wide in excitement. The multitude of slides were almost as wonderful to her as the hotel room itself, with the bunk bed for her and Sophie to share.

Speaking of beds, we still haven’t ordered a bed for Sophie. Haven’t found one we really like, and haven’t had time to continue our quest for one. Pathetic, really. Poor Sophie. When Chloe was ready for a bed, we obsessively shopped for one and found it rather quickly. With Sophie, we’re rather indifferent about the whole process.

On the other hand, Sophie has something Chloe never had. Riding with Papa on his bike. My readers will recall that Sophie’s initial foray into riding on the back of Papa’s bike was an unmitigated disaster. Primarily because she did not want to wear the helmet. She has since come around, realizing that we all wear helmets to go bike riding. And we’ve enjoyed several family rides together over the last few weeks. And today, for the first time, my husband took her with him for his weekly exercise ride. “Faster, faster,” is her mantra. She came home from the adventure all smiles. What more could we ask for?

I’m Increasingly Obsessed…

…with the idea that we might actually go away for one whole week next year without the girls. This shouldn’t come as a surprise to my few loyal readers, as I’ve mentioned it in several blog entries over the last week or so.

But honestly, every time the girls exasperate me (which happens at least once or twice a day), I try to take a deep breath and tell myself that in approximately one year, if all goes well, my husband and I will be boarding a plane to some exotic, sinfully extravagant vacation while my mom – god bless her and her continued good health (I don’t actually know if god will bless her, since I’m an atheist heathen, but it can’t hurt to try) – keeps the girls occupied in our absence.

Every once in a while over the past few days I thought that it would be fun to bring the girls with us on this milestone adventure. But even my mom tells us we’d be crazy to do it (and she must really believe that, considering that she’ll be the one stuck with Chloe and Sophie if we choose to travel sans kids). And every time that warm-hearted thought of a family vacation crossed my mind, one of our darling daughters sabotaged it with her behavior. Needless to say, I am now 100% convinced that we’d be certifiably crazy to pack their bags along with ours.

Which means that we’re free to fantasize and contemplate the most luxurious vacation we’ve ever had. Frankly, I’m giddy about it. Giddy enough for two, which is a good thing, because my husband has yet to display any kind of emotion over the idea of this trip, except to say that he wants to go to Tahiti. Which is very helpful, of course, because we all know how much fun a weeklong vacation essentially spent inside a plane cabin would be…

The Latest Chloeism

Every year-the week of July 4-my mom takes Chloe on a road trip to see my aunt and uncle in upstate New York. They have a lot of fun, and Chloe loves all the nature.

We were talking about next year’s trip (I know, we haven’t even hit July 4, 2008 yet), giving our daughter advance notice that in 2009, my husband and I would be going away to celebrate our 40th birthdays and 15th wedding anniversary – without the two girls.

When I told Chloe that she might stay on an extra week next year to go to camp, she asked if she’d be alone. I responded that she’d be staying with her great aunt and uncle, but that yes, she’d be alone with them.

In the few seconds before she reacted, I could see the wheels turning in her little head. “Grammy won’t be with me?” “No,” I answered. To which she replied, “but if I’m by myself, I won’t be able to get angry at anyone!” “All the more reason for you to spend the week with them,” I said. Chloe laughed. And so did we.

By the way, Chloe received her last report card as a 1st grader today. It was just about perfect. And I was extremely impressed. And proud.

Will We Ever See Chloe’s Face Again?

This is Chloe’s preferred pose lately. Between her obsession with perfecting a headstand, and the hair that covers her face (even when standing upright like a normal human being), it’s hard to capture her on camera these days.

The elusive Sophie has become a camera-junkie. The former Camera-junkie Chloe is now elusive Chloe. It’s like a seesaw.

Chloe is two half-days of school away from being able to announce that she’s going into second-grade. Pretty exciting. In looking at all the things she’s brought back from school over the last week, I’ve been able to appreciate what a terrific little artist she’s become. She showed me some great drawings, including a portrait of Anna Jarvis, the woman who started Mother’s Day. She’s also shared her journals, which are a hoot. They’ll be even funnier and more poignant when she’s an adult looking back on her childhood days.

In reading her stories and her essays, I realized that Chloe, while a sometimes intense and passionate (read: exasperating!) child, is also a very happy little girl, full of love. Her writing reflects optimism and fun – as it should be. But in the day-to-day child rearing that we face, it’s sometimes difficult for us to remember this. Happy messages, like those contained in the pages of her journals, are the perfect reminder that we’re doing at least a little something right.

Let’s Play a Game

It’s been a constant challenge to get Sophie to look into the camera. Whenever we ask her to smile, she coyly turns away and avoids the lens.

But when she was playing in the attic this evening, I had an epiphany. What if I turned the camera into a game?

“Sophie,” I coaxed, “Can you make a happy face?” She readily complied – witness the funny-looking grin in the top photo. A little forced, perhaps, but this is one of the first head-on photos I’ve taken of her in a long time. Cause for celebration.

“Sophie,” I cooed, “Can you make an angry face?” She was having too much fun to get angry, but she gave it her best effort – witness the silly face in the second photo.

I have a few more funny shots, which I’ll roll out over the next couple of days. Enjoy.

My Friend, Big Bear

Sophie has started to interact with imaginary friends. This morning, soon after waking up, I heard her talking to the stuffed animals that keep her company in her crib – she was very loving, making sure that they were comfortable.

After waking up from her nap this afternoon, Big Bear accompanied her everywhere she went. Including to the potty. Big Bear apparently even went potty. Number two. And when they both finished their business, she brought him downstairs and started to play with him. Making sure he sat with her in the sunroom.

A few minutes later, she announced, “Big Bear smells.” “He does?” I asked. “Big Bear prouted.” For those of you not in the know, a “proute” is a fart in French. And to emphasize the gravity of the situation, she exclaimed, “Big Bear stinks!”

Other than Big Bear having issues with flatulence, we had a very nice Father’s Day. It was relaxing, and while we didn’t make it to the pool, we had fun together.

We bought some books for the girls. Chloe has been reading Roald Dahl’s “The Witches” since early this afternoon. It’s more than 200 pages long, and she is almost finished with it. Needless to say, we haven’t heard much from Chloe’s mouth since about 1 pm. It’s now after 8 pm. I’ve always loved books, but I am now starting to have a totally new appreciation for them.