Category Archives: Treasures from the Archives

Ringing in 2010


As 2010 approaches (now only a couple of hours away), I think about where we were 10 years ago, and all that has changed since then.

The time has flown by. It’s been almost 10 years since my father died. I still find it hard to believe that that he’s gone. In 2000, I was in my second year of law school. Chloe was a little more than a year away from being born. The Twin Towers were still standing and most of us had not yet heard of Al Qaeda. We weren’t at war. Our main concern was whether or not our computers would still work on January 1, 2000.
Since then, law school diploma, a few short years as a practicing lawyer, a new career in legal marketing, two home purchases, and most important, two beautiful children. It’s hard to imagine what life would be like without Chloe and Sophie. Aside from the random moments of “I wish I had a few minutes alone,” they bring me so much joy that I’m sometimes overwhelmed by the power of it. Earlier this evening, Sophie came up to me and looked at me with those big brown eyes of hers and planted an unsolicited kiss on my cheek, and I melted. My dear, sweet, happy Sophie. And when I watch Chloe buried in her books or playing word games, I’m transported back in time to my own childhood. I see so much of myself in her it’s uncanny.

Who knows what the next ten years will bring? What I do know is that when we celebrate the arrival of 2020, Chloe will be 18, Sophie will be 14, I’ll be 51 and my husband will be 50. Those numbers, in of themselves, are crazy enough. But I’ll stop projecting into the future. We still have 10 more years to go until then – what I hope will be 10 wonderful, fulfilling years.
Happy New Year, everyone!

Wii Fit!


Chloe was a sight to behold this morning. This is a child who has absolutely no interest in sports (a fact that leaves us in no doubt as to her parentage, by the way). And yet, miracle of miracles, she spent two hours experimenting with at least ten different Wii Fit activities. Jogging. Juggling. Yoga. Various balancing games. Skateboarding.

Most shocking revelation of all? Her favorite program was the running course. Let’s face it. She does not possess the grace of a gazelle. And she can’t run in place. But she was having fun. And it was fun to watch her have fun.
In the end, she burned off close to 200 calories. OK – so it wasn’t a “Biggest Loser”-style workout. It was, however, a million times more enjoyable.

Reserved

We’ve each had our set seating at the dining room table for a few years now. However, now that Sophie is 4 years old, she’s decided that it’s time for a change.

She doesn’t want my seat. She doesn’t want Papa’s seat. She wants her sister’s seat. Chloe, who is like a 20-year old when it comes to certain things – like vocabulary – is still an 8-year old kid when it comes to her sister doing things to annoy her.
When Sophie set the table yesterday, she played musical seats with everyone except my husband. Chloe was upset that she had to seat in what had been Sophie’s seat for 4+ years. It took her way too long to get over it.
It was Chloe’s turn to set the table tonight. Not one to take any chances on some last-minute Sophie shenanigans with the seating arrangements, Chloe made herself a ‘reserved’ sign at her usual spot. Fortunately for Chloe, Sophie was too tired to care. But I don’t think the story is over yet, not by a long shot. Because Sophie has a long memory, and will gleefully remember the consternation on Chloe’s face when she had to switch spots. This saga is going to continue for a long time to come, I just know it.

Oh, the Crowds!

We went into the city today to see a show called “The Flaming Idiots” at the New Victory Theater. With a title like that, we knew it was going to be good, and we were not disappointed. A trio of irreverent, clever jugglers had the four of us in stitches from start to finish.

Before the paid entertainment got underway, however, we decided that we’d go in a little early and enjoy the festive holiday scenery. It took us an hour to get into town (it usually takes about 25 minutes) – not a good sign. The streets were full of throngs of people. To the point where I kept wondering what the hell would happen if there were any kind of emergency. The area around Times Square was so frenetic and so crowded – I haven’t seen it like that in a long, long time. Then again, that’s because I try to avoid New York City during Christmas week. Duh.
Anyway, we first went into Toys ‘r Us in Times Square. Nightmare! Fire hazard! Jammed with masses of tourists. We did, however, become the proud owners of a zhu zhu hamster. That Sophie creatively named Zhu Zhu. We survived the toy store, barely. And made our way, because we’re masochists, to Rockefeller Center. Never again.
After the show, we tried to go to dinner. First at Junior’s. A real epitome of gourmet dining. With a 40-minute wait. John’s Pizzeria was just around the corner. With a line of at least 50 people out the door and yet another line once inside. I told the bouncer-looking dude that while the pizza there was good, it wasn’t that good. So we walked back to the car and ate on the other side of the Hudson. New Jersey does serve a purpose, you see.

How the Grinch Stole Christmas!

The four of us are sitting in our cozy den watching the annual holiday showing of “How the Grinch Stole Christmas!” We’re enjoying the Grinch song and watching the Grinch dog fall over from the weight of his faux reindeer antlers.

This classic cartoon is helping me get into the holiday spirit after another much-too-eventful day at work. Only 1/2 day left to go. By the way, we didn’t win the lottery. Crap.
Sophie spent time with her papa today making little creatures out of corks. Very cute. They’re painted lots of different colors and there’s a whole colony of them currently residing on our dining room table. I have no idea what they’re going to do with them, other than add matchstick legs and build a house out of legos for them to live in – we’ll see. The essential thing is that Sophie had some super quality time with her dad today. And I think they may have even bought me a couple of presents, too. Yippee.

Not Soon Enough

1 1/2 days until vacation. First vacation since July (how many times have I mentioned this on my blog?). I had another fun-filled day at work. Speaking of which, I played Mega-Millions the other day and the drawing is tonight.

I’m finding myself dreaming of winning the lottery more frequently than I used to. Wonder why that is. And since a cousin won the lottery years ago with a group of colleagues and my best friend’s brother won the lottery in England years ago as well, the odds of my also winning are pretty much slim to none. But spending a couple of dollars every few months can’t hurt, because you just never know.
So when we win the lottery, there are lots of things I’m going to change. Quit our jobs, to begin with. Volunteer instead. Spend lots and lots of quality time with my girls. Buy a home in France so that we can spend more time there. We need to start introducing the girls to their European heritage. Travel the world. Start a charity. It’s fun to dream. Do you hear the deep sighs?

Soft Bellies


I am cold. It’s very cold outside and there’s no thaw in sight. My hands, which are never cold, are cold. Hell, my butt is cold. Sophie and Chloe aren’t cold, however. They’re so warm when I touch them, I don’t want to let go of them.

But they don’t like to be smothered. Especially not by their mom. Which means that I’m still cold! I was rubbing Sophie’s belly earlier and it was toasty. And oh so soft. I love my girls’ soft bellies. I hope their bellies stay soft forever.
Two and a half days until vacation. And then I’ll have lots of opportunities to rub bellies before 2010. Can’t wait.

Sea of White

The snowstorm came. And blanketed the region in beautiful white fluffy stuff. The girls came home from their weekend at Grammy’s, having been cozily ensconced in a 33-story apartment building, to a yard full of enticing snow. They had a snowball fight and with Papa’s help, gathered a bunch of snow into a pile. Why a pile? So they could jump in it. Not sure how that turned out, but Chloe and Sophie were happy.

Our neighbor kindly cleared our driveway for us with his snowblower. A very nice gesture that won’t go unforgotten. The time saved, not to mention the muscle aches – boy, were we thankful. The snow was light, but there was a hell of a lot of it and it was taking us a long time to clear it away.
Back to school and work tomorrow – except for the hubby, who’s now on vacation until January 4 (I’m so jealous). My vacation doesn’t start until Thursday at noon – so I’ll be counting down the hours until then. First multi-day vacation since the end of June, and I’m more than ready for it.

Let it Snow


It looks like we’re going to get slammed tomorrow with the first major snowfall of the year. I have a major problem with that. For several reasons. First, my distaste for cold and snow increases proportionally as I get older. Now that I’m 41 and I’m starting to head down the other side of what I hope will be a very large hill, I dread the winter. Second, tomorrow is only December 19. IT’S NOT EVEN WINTER YET. Third, my husband and I are supposed to go out to dinner tomorrow night to celebrate my birthday.

The girls love the snow. Really, what kid doesn’t love the snow? Even I liked the snow when I was a kid. As long as my feet didn’t get wet. Which means that in retrospect, if I’m being honest with myself, I just lied. I tolerated the snow at best.
Chloe and Sophie, however, really enjoy the snow. And their Papa enjoys it with them. Good thing. If the expected weather doesn’t disappoint, I just hope it’s not a preview of what’s to come.