Chloe and Sophie Say Resolutions Are Stupid – Happy 2014!

I asked the girls to write about their New Year’s resolutions for 2014.  I expected a sarcastic list from Chloe and a heartwarming list from Sophie.  Instead, they wrote tirades about the stupidity of New Year’s resolutions (you can read them below, if you dare).

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With Love, From Truffle

I am full of love these days.  Pure unadulterated love.  Love for my new toys, received on that crazy holiday that is really not environmentally friendly with all the wrapping paper it produces.  Love for my new bones, which are so meaty and delicious that I continue to act a little like a hound of the Baskervilles when anyone approaches me while I’m chewing on them (I have improved, however – just ask my human mom).  Love for my friends, Tony and Mira, who tire me out whenever I see them.  Love for my little Sophie who trains me like a pro and cuddles me.  Love for my human mom who buys me said bones and who hasn’t been yelling at me as much as she used to.  Love for my big Chloe who is still so clueless about dogs that I’m able to act like a maniac with her because she has no idea how to handle my awesomeness.  Love for my human dad who calls me in his irresistible French accent, “Ma petite Truffe!”  Yes, he persists in using the feminine even though I’m very much a male.

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When Being A Mom Is All That It’s Cracked Up To Be

I am the first to admit that there are days when I just want to throw in the towel and escape to an island with a beautiful white sand beach, turquoise water rippling with rainbows of tropical fish, hotel staff wanting nothing more than to ensure my happiness, and most of all, quiet.  Quiet from the kids and quiet from the day to day trials and tribulations of parenthood.

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Sophie’s Reading Milestone

Sophie has never really loved to read on her own.  She’s never had the patience or the desire to attempt any tome without illustrations (the artist in her enjoys graphic novels) unless we’re the ones reading to her.  This, of course, is in startling contrast to her sister, who was reading lengthy chapter books at six years old.

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But we all march to the beat of our own drummers, and Sophie is no different.  She takes her time.  She’s deliberate without being a perfectionist.  She’s a creator and a bit of a scientist.  She’s a fashionista. And although she’s reluctantly read several books since the start of the school year for her language arts class, the other day she officially joined the ranks of children everywhere who have conquered their first big-kid, several-hundred-page-long novel.

And in Sophie’s case, that several-hundred-page-long novel was not Harry Potter.  On Sunday night, she came running into the TV room, giddy with excitement.  She was jumping up and down, screaming, “I finished it! I finished it!”  The novel in question, The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell by Chris Colfer (yes, of “Glee” fame), held her in rapt attention for three weeks as she slowly absorbed a 438-page story about twins who enter a land inhabited by their favorite fairy tale characters.

Sophie was extremely proud of her accomplishment.  For the first time ever, she read and read and read.  Some evenings, she’d read for 90 minutes straight. No TV, no video games.  Just the book.  For a kid who used to moan and groan if she had to read for 15 minutes, this was momentous.  And to hear her laugh as she read a funny passage was priceless.

I don’t think that Sophie will necessarily become as fervent a reader as Chloe.  But she’s enthusiastically started her next novel, “Flora & Ulysses” by Kate DiCamillo, and in between critical commentaries about the book jumping around a little too much, her laughter is ringing through the house all over again.  And that’s music to this mom’s ears.

In the Spirit of Thanksgiving…

Another Thanksgiving holiday has come and gone.  This year, we enjoyed the weekend’s festivities in the presence of some new additions, including our baby cousins Scarlet and Nathaniel, and puppies Truffle and Thora (Thora lives in Ithaca with my aunt, uncle and Temba the Tibetan spaniel, who was none too happy about Truffle’s and Thora’s blossoming friendship).  And although we missed not having cousins Seth, Liz, David, Elias and Felix around the table with us, the Jetsons-like wizardry that is Skype allowed us to see and talk to them in real time from Iraq and California so that their absence wasn’t as acutely felt.

The weekend passed by in a haze of food, laughter and dogs running around our house.  We made our annual trek to the movies to see The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.  Frozen is on tap for this afternoon.

Of course, we couldn’t start eating our feast without someone suggesting we all share what we were thankful for this year.  After the inevitable groans and eye-rolling, we got down to business. My list is a long one, with Chief Mom Officer sitting at the very top. No surprise there.  It’s been an incredible year – one that I will cherish for the rest of my life (or until I can’t remember it anymore).

Everyone else shared their thanks – some funny, some serious, but all heartfelt.  And then Sophie, being Sophie, announced in her compassionate 8-year old voice:  “I’m thankful for home, family and friends and all the other things that are important to have in your life, because many people don’t have all those things.”

Couldn’t have said it better myself, my sweet one.  Happy Thanksgiving to all.

On Sophie’s Cuddles, Discovering the Joy of Reading and Growing Up

Sophie has always been our resident cuddle monkey.  I’ve written about her propensity for hugs on many occasions over the years, and until Saturday night, it hadn’t occurred to me that my little monster has not been as cuddly as she used to be.

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