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

Chloe’s Moving Up

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Chloe had her moving up ceremony today. At 10:30 AM. They couldn’t possibly have a picked a worse time for working parents (the number of moms and dads on their BlackBerries during the show – and I was guilty as well – was pretty astounding. And also pretty depressing, but that’s another blog entry for another time). Anyway, it was a cute ceremony. Each class sang a song or recited a poem. It was very informal, which was nice, because in no way did the circumstances call for caps and gowns.

Next year, she’ll be in a grade 3-5 school, which is why her current K-2 school had a celebration to mark the occasion. I’m sure glad there are no more school-related events this year, however. Juggling schedules had become a little complicated of late.
I can’t believe that Chloe is going to be a 3rd grader. Nine years old in a few months. Argh! I hope she likes her new school – they certainly seem to offer a lot of terrific enrichment activities. I also hope she makes some new friends. In the meantime, summer is here. Chloe’s last day of school is tomorrow. And our weekends are more or less booked until mid-August.
I feel like the summer is almost over, and yet it’s barely started. I need to stop projecting so much into the future, and just live life in the present. Maybe time will seem to go more slowly if I succeed.
Frazzled Working Mom's Fleeting Moments (2007-2013)

Home Alone

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We had some time alone with Chloe today (Sophie was lucky enough to go home with my mom for a sleepover), and watched “Home Alone” with her.

We were looking for a good movie, and when I saw this, I knew it would be perfect. I hadn’t thought about this film in a very long time, but had no doubt that Chloe would love it. The three of us watched it together, and all of us were in stitches. I haven’t laughed so hard in a very long time. And it was the first time I saw Chloe laugh so hard she was literally bent in two.
During her brief hours as an only child this afternoon, Chloe also managed to talk her dad into playing two games with her. Good one-on-one bonding time, which doesn’t happen all that often. I think Chloe really appreciated it, and my husband seemed to enjoy it, too. In fact, I think and hope he had a nice Dad’s Day. It was relaxing and fun. Despite the crappy weather.
Frazzled Working Mom's Fleeting Moments (2007-2013)

Will the Rain Ever End?

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It’s been raining, almost non-stop, since the beginning of June. With every passing week, I think of the swim club, and all the money down the drain because we haven’t yet been able to go this season. Unless it’s nice next weekend, we’re looking at the third week in July before we even have the possibility of going. In which case, it will end up being an outrageously expensive summer. I hope that our babysitter will at least have some warm, sunny days during the week so that Sophie can enjoy the pool.

This weather is crazy. And depressing. We went to the mall today, which is always busy on Saturdays. We got there late morning and it wasn’t too busy. But because it’s Father’s Day tomorrow and the weather was so horrendous it was more crowded than usual. It took us longer to get out of there than it did to drive home; the parking lot was jammed.
The people who have beachgoer-dependent businesses must be quaking in their Crocs. One-third of their summer has been lost to this crappy weather on top of what was probably turning out to be a crappy season simply because of the economy. Bummer for them.
And it’s so depressing outside. Everything is gray and wet. So very wet. The girls are starting to go stir crazy, I think. While at the mall they were running all over the place. Including into each other. All of this pent up energy. Sophie was running sprints in the hallway of the movie theater. Back and forth, back and forth. I was getting dizzy just watching her.
Chloe’s barely been able to ride her bike. And I’d love to ride mine with her. I’m crossing my fingers that it might start drying out tomorrow, but when I looked this morning the long range forecast for the week didn’t look too promising. Do you hear my big, resigned sigh?
Frazzled Working Mom's Fleeting Moments (2007-2013)

Moving Up from Pre- Pre-K

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Yep. It’s not enough to do pre-k graduations, now you have to move up from pre- pre-K. This is Sophie dressed for her “Footloose” performance. In a Flashdance-style off-the-shoulder shirt and leg warmers.

The great suspense for this evening was whether or not Sophie would perform with the rest of the class. Would she remain essentially immobile the whole time? Or would she shake her booty like we know she can do?
Sophie did us proud. She wasn’t necessarily as coordinated as some of the other kids (and for the record, she was probably the youngest one there), but she was shaking. Her arms, her legs, her butt, you name it. Kevin Bacon, eat your heart out. And afterwards, when the entire school sang “Corner of the Sky” from “Pippin” (the theme of the night was Broadway musicals), she was singing. We were dubious, but she was definitely moving her mouth to the words.
At the very least, this evening’s festivities gave us a taste of what graduation from pre-k will be like for her next year. I wonder how much of the tears I saw tonight were due to the warm, tender and loving feelings the parents have for their kids, or to the end of tuition payments, at least until college. I have to admit that next year, when Sophie is wearing her cap and gown for her official pre-k graduation, my tears will likely represent a mix of both, with emphasis on the latter.
My Artists & Writers in Training

Chloe is a Published Book Reviewer!

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Chloe submitted a book review for The Twits to our local independent bookstore last month. We are proud to say that it was just published the store’s e-newsletter! Reprint below. Next on tap, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I’m very proud of my budding book critic and thankful to the folks at the bookstore for their willingness to print her review.

Roald Dahl…..as popular as ever!
twitsThe Twits by Roald Dahl
reviewed by Chloe (8 years old)

You might want to know some facts from the book The Twits. So here they are. In The Twits both Twits hate each other so much, they pull pranks on each other. Like this one: For dinner, Mrs. Twit made spaghetti. When Mr. Twit gets his spaghetti he said they were a bit squishy. Mrs. Twit just says it’s a different brand. Guess what it really was? I’ll give you 10 seconds. 1-2-3-10-gotcha! If you’re about to say worms, that’s correct. And you know who did it? None other than Mrs. Twit! The Twits was a very funny book. And that’s all I can say.

The author is Roald Dahl. I’m sure you’ve probably heard of him. If you ever do read this book, I hope you enjoy it.


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

565 Books

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The results are in. Chloe read the equivalent of 565 books in 2nd grade. At the beginning of the year, her teacher told the class that 30 pages read would equal one book. Chloe read 16,950 pages. Yes, 16,950 pages.

Pretty incredible, if you ask me. I am fairly certain that she holds the school record for the 2008-2009 school year. I just hope she keeps it up next year!
Sophie is still on her Adam Lambert kick. She just exclaimed, out of the blue, “I like Adam. He’s so cute.” I told her he was on vacation so that I could avoid watching Adam Lambert American Idol videos for the 565th time. But I’m fighting a losing battle. So off we go, to watch him yet again.
Frazzled Working Mom's Fleeting Moments (2007-2013)

Oh Shit!

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My little Sophie bear – the child who rarely gets into trouble, who is a quiet, generally easygoing, well-behaved child, became frustrated at our babysitter’s house the other day.
“Oh shit,” she said. Our lovely babysitter thought she misheard at first. That is, until Sophie said it again, with gusto. Our babysitter took Sophie aside and asked her if she knew whether what she was saying was bad. Sophie, at three years old, doesn’t really know how to lie and responded that yes, indeed, she knew it was bad. Her babysitter asked that she not say it again.
But by then Sophie was on a roll. And she let it rip one more time for good measure. That landed her in a time out, of course.
Needless to say, the truth is out. My husband and I have potty mouths. We try to refrain from displaying this side of our personalities in front of our kids, but let’s face it, you can’t teach old dogs new tricks. And kids are super perceptive. Boy, was I embarrassed. Our babysitter took it in stride – it was the first (and will hopefully be the last) time she gave Sophie a time out.
The good news is that Sophie hasn’t seen fit to use the word since. We’ll see how long that lasts. In the meantime, I’m trying desperately to watch my mouth. And my husband would be wise to do the same.
Frazzled Working Mom's Fleeting Moments (2007-2013)

Up and Away

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We just got back from the movies – we took the girls to see “Up.”  I don’t remember being so moved by a film in a very long time.  I think I cried through half of it.
Granted, I had a bit of an emotional day today – Chloe was tough this morning and I was unable to banish my ensuing bad mood for most of the afternoon.  So perhaps I was predisposed to a crying jag.  But all the same, the movie touched me profoundly.  
The early sequence of Carl and Ellie living their lives together from childhood until her death, postponing their shared dream of visiting South America until it was too late, was beautiful.  And when old Carl, thumbing through Ellie’s scrapbook towards the end of the film, realized that his wife had lived a happy and fulfilled life despite their shared hurdles and disappointments, and that for her the true adventure was simply sharing her life with him – that was lovely.  
We should all grow old and have the good fortune to reflect on our lives and realize that we lived and loved well.  And I suppose the real message is that you should live your life to the fullest – so that when you look back, you have no regrets.  
Frazzled Working Mom's Fleeting Moments (2007-2013)

Field Trip to the Museum

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What a day.  I chaperoned Chloe’s class trip to the museum – and I now have a much greater appreciation for teachers of young children – the crap they must deal with on a daily basis is astounding.  This is mostly because kids do stupid things.  

The visit itself was a little strange – the museum suffers from a bit of an identity crisis.  Part art gallery, part science museum, we spent the first part of the morning in a room filled with ancient Greek artifacts while the docent talked to the kids about the differences between mammals, birds and reptiles.  This part of the tour culminated in the kids making turtles out of clay.  What ancient Greek artifacts and turtles have to do with one another is beyond me.  Why the docent couldn’t talk to the kids about the cool Greek stuff was also beyond me.
The second part of the visit was a whirlwind tour through “Asia,”  which for the most part involved talking about Tibet, yaks and the symbolism of Buddha hand gestures.  One child made it very clear that he wasn’t going to pray to Buddha.  You know what’s next. Kid goes home, having misinterpreted the situation, and tells his parents that the museum guide was proselytizing the children about religion.  Lawsuit ensues.  
By the time the docent showed the class the 1400-year old sandstone wheel of law from I forget which country, the kids were antsy.  They wanted to eat.  The cafeteria was claustrophobic and NOISY!  The acoustics were torture.  My head is starting to pound just at the memory of that place. 
After lunch we had over an hour (!!!) to discover the museum in our small groups – I was responsible for 5 kids.  This is where the visit started to head south.  I must say, the day started out all warm and fuzzy – with Chloe proudly hugging me and holding my hand for the first half of the excursion.  She was possessive – in a way that warmed the cockles of my heart.  That affection, however, didn’t last.  When she found out that I had allowed another group to join us in our exploration, she had a hissy fit.  She wasn’t willing to share me any more than she had to – should I have been flattered?  Chloe tried to be discreet about her disappointment, but she is not good at discreet.  And after a couple of hours of thinking that the bottle-of-aspirin headache was worth the mother-daughter bonding, I was wondering why I had bothered to come in the first place.  Oh well – I tried.  And I might even try again some day – in the surely naive hope that once she gets older, her fits will be reserved for things that really matter.
My Artists & Writers in Training

Time for Yet Another Chloe Poem

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It’s Time for Graduation


N.B. Chloe is graduating from 2nd grade and starting a new school in the fall.  There are way too many graduations.  Even Sophie is having a “moving up” celebration next week.

It’s Graduation!  It’s Graduation!
This is a really big situation.
I’m leaving school, I’m leaving school.
Isn’t this so cool?
When I grow up 
I’ll become a saint
Now think I might faint.

A Mom's Ramblings About the Marvels & Mishaps of Parenting, the Joys of Family Travel & the Writing Life