Papa took the girls apple picking yesterday. I was working while trying to stay conscious in bed, sick as a dog for the first time in a couple of years. I had a flu shot last Thursday and this is the second time I’ve become sick within a day or two of receiving the immunization. Am I paranoid or is there something to that rather peculiar timing?
Chloe is unhappy with me because she wrote a parody of Katy Perry’s “Firework” that I told her I’d like to include as tonight’s blog entry. However, she wanted to juxtapose her masterpiece with the lyrics to the actual song. And I refused. Mostly because that song sucks.
I love my girls’ schools. I just got home from Chloe’s Back to School Night and every year, I’m reminded of how lucky they are. Yes, there is undue emphasis on standardized testing (thanks again, President George Bush, Jr.). Yes, our are schools are constantly struggling with budget cuts. But, despite it all…
We’re having a very family weekend this first weekend in October. My aunt in Ithaca is celebrating her 60th birthday and my uncle is throwing a big party for her tomorrow. We left the house this morning and made it to the Finger Lake region in record time, but it was an extremely disappointing drive.
“I just don’t get why the parents don’t tell their kids they’re bad!” exclaimed Chloe as we were watching the atrocious auditions for the “X Factor.”
Six reasons why I love you, Sophie:
(1) At the risk of beating a dead horse, you are the best cuddle monkey ever.
(2) You are a loving and sensitive little girl.
(3) You’re the future artist in the family.
(4) You make me laugh when you shake your booty.
(5) You are friendly.
(6) When I think of you, which is almost every minute of every day, I smile.
Grammy gave Sophie a very special birthday present today. All the more special because she assembled it and painted it with lots of love and 30 hours of toil. Sophie is beside herself with joy.
Sophie is bored. We are not paying enough attention to her. “I’m annoyed by blogs. I’m annoyed by everything.” Even cuddling wasn’t enough for her. She wanted to play. What did she want to play? I have no idea. Because she wouldn’t say. Coloring challenges didn’t enthuse. Stickers didn’t excite her. “You’re all busy and I’m not and it’s not fair,” she complained.
Sophie allowed me to put her hair back today for the first time in several weeks. She also allowed me to change her earrings, after being traumatized by a somewhat worrisome experience in France when one of her earrings actually embedded itself inside her ear. Yes, that sounds gross and it was gross, but it’s all in the past.
And all is better now. Sophie’s wearing lovely blue sterling silver earrings that I bought for her as a pre-birthday gift and has her hair up so that she can show off her lobes. She’s a picture of perfection at almost six years old. And she still loves to cuddle.
Sometimes it’s the simplest little thing that makes me want to just grab Chloe and Sophie and hug them. Papa has been traveling this week, so he wasn’t able to pick up the girls from school. His loss was my gain. I got to leave work early and spend some extra time with my little ones on a beautiful pre-fall afternoon.