Yes – two brothers for Chloe and Sophie. Not of the human species, thankfully. Two dwarf hamsters that Chloe lovingly named Alubus and Gloup. They are very active little creatures, running on their exercise wheel, eating and drinking, and chewing on wood.
Mutant Sophie
Sophie, Sophie, Sophie. She woke us up again last night. Crawled into our bed AGAIN last night. I love her with all of my heart, I truly do. But I am exhausted. She’s exhausted. My husband is exhausted.
And the worst part of it is that she’s cranky in the morning. I’ve always said that the terrible two’s are a misnomer. It’s the thunderous three’s that are the nightmare.
Granted, you wouldn’t think so from her lovely double smile in the photo. She can be a real charmer when she sets her mind to it.
Today Sophie discovered the wonder of scissors. This morning, she gave one of her dolls a haircut. She stopped after we told her that the doll’s hair wouldn’t grow back. This evening, she took the same pair of scissors and cut off a few of her curls. The good news is that she has so many curls that her handiwork was unnoticeable. The bad news is that cutting paper apparently doesn’t provide sufficient entertainment for her.
Giddy-Up!
Sophie the Cowgirl is back. Sophie the Cowgirl also needs more sleep because she’s still coming to visit us in bed every night. And shoving her feet in our faces. Co-sleeping with a 3-year old sucks. Especially when it’s not voluntary on the parents’ part.
The good news is that I am now on vacation. So there will be no need to get up early for the next two weeks. But we may have to resort to chaining Sophie to her bed if she doesn’t start appreciating her mattress again soon. I am a 40-year old woman who needs her beauty sleep, for crying out loud. I’m all about cuddling, but on my terms. And not in my bed at 3 AM.
Vacation Around the Corner
Tomorrow is my last day of work before a two-year – oops, Freudian slip there – two-week vacation. And it may start a little sooner than planned, because snow is expected and who knows how long I’ll be able to stay at work before having to rush home to avoid the white stuff.
In preparation for vacation, the girls had more fun with the computer camera this evening. Predictably, they were in stitches. That is, when they weren’t arguing whose turn it was to pose for the camera.
No plans for the vacation, except to see a couple of movies, relax with the family and build a new sunroom (or watch a new sunroom being built). It’s been an eventful year. Good and bad. New job, shitty economy, daughters who grow more beautiful every day, Nanny’s death, turning 40…kind of makes me wonder what 2009 has in store.
I Hate Quicken for Mac!
I need to vent. Because instead of spending my very precious time writing an enjoyable blog entry about my kids, I am trying to figure out why I can’t reconcile my Amex account in Quicken.
For all of its faults, I never had a Quicken problem with my PC. But Quicken for Mac sucks. And it’s not Apple’s fault, it’s Quicken’s fault. I can’t reconcile the goddamn Amex account and it’s driving me nuts.
So now I’m frustrated and annoyed and obsessed with figuring out what’s going wrong. And I don’t know that I’ll be able to figure it out. Which is getting me even more frustrated and annoyed.
While I’m at it, the other thing that’s frustrating and annoying is that I have no idea what to get the husband for Christmas. I have one present for him, but I’d like to give him at least one other present. And he makes my life impossible because he rarely gives me ideas, and when he does, it’s something like – a drill. Now, some may argue that if that’s what he says he wants, I should just get it for him. Except that when he mentions the drill, he then adds, “but that’s not a fun gift.” And then he also adds, “And I’d need to do some research to determine which kind is the best.” By the time he does his research, I’ll be shopping for next year’s Christmas present. Call me Scrooge, but this holiday shopping is a pain in the neck. And so is Quicken for Mac.
The BIG Day
It’s official. I will be turning 50 in less than 10 years.
It’s a little strange, to say the least, that the 40 year milestone has just about come and gone.
The girls and my husband let me sleep in this morning – until 7 AM! – and greeted me in bed with gifts and homemade cards. It was very sweet. Mom gave me a pair of lovely earrings and a photo album chronicling my life, from infancy on. It’s an amazing book of memories and I can’t stop looking at it. My aunt gave me the bracelet my father gave to her for her Sweet 16 approximately 45 years ago. A remarkable, thoughtful gesture, to say the least. I’m wearing it now. And my dear brother and his wife sent me a gift certificate to a local spa, which I plan to use for a facial to get rid of the recently spawned 40-year old wrinkles.
I usually feel like my birthdays are a big letdown. But I don’t feel like that today – I had a great weekend and a great Monday, and now I’m 40. And surprisingly enough, that’s perfectly ok.
40 Years Minus a Few Very Short Hours
It’s almost here. A friend told me that once you reach 40 you enjoy certain job protections that under-40s don’t have. I’m trying to look on the bright side of things.
The rest of our stay at the casino was fun – even though my imminent birthday didn’t bring me any luck WHATSOEVER (apart from the chocolates in the hotel room). In fact, I experienced the worst luck I’ve ever had in a casino. I’m going to try not to read too much into it by thinking my crappy luck is an omen for my 5th (I’m going to throw up now) decade. Rather, I’m choosing to view it as a fitting way to end my 30s.
When I wake up tomorrow morning, I’m going to be halfway to 80. I’m going to be almost 20 years out of college. I’m going to have almost 20 years of work experience behind me. I will have had my driver’s license for 23 years, the right to vote for 22 years and the right to drink alcohol for 19 years. And if I continue to think about how long I’ve been doing all these things, I’m going to need to see a psychiatrist. So I’m going to stop before I go down a path of no return, and just enjoy the fact that I should be receiving some presents tomorrow.
P.S. It’s fitting that on the last day of my 30s, my blog has had its 3,000th visitor.
The Countdown Continues
Made it to the casino this afternoon, and had a lovely day. Told the woman at check-in that I was celebrating my 40th birthday and they sent some lovely desserts to our room. Also told the blackjack host that I was celebrating my 40th birthday, and they gave us access to the hotel lounge, where we enjoyed complimentary food and wine. Did you really think that I’d let this momentous weekend pass without trying to get something out of it?
Unfortunately, however, the casino is currently winning, despite the freebies. The afternoon started out auspiciously – I was up $175 playing blackjack. But things went downhill from there and we have some catching up to do.
Tomorrow is a new day, however. And I’m confident that I will not be leaving this place without some cash in my pocket – I have a good feeling about it, really I do.
Getting Closer
My celebratory weekend is officially upon us. Just a couple of days before the decade of my 30s is behind me.
I’m excited for the next few days. Girls with Grammy, my husband and I at the casino. That sounds particularly irresponsible given the current state of the economy, but I don’t care. Because I’m turning 40, and I’ll never turn 40 again. It’s going to be FUN, FUN, FUN. I’m even bringing my gym clothes – but that’s a joke. Because the only exercise I’ll be getting is at the blackjack table. I’m not even expecting to win – I’m just expecting to have FUN, FUN, FUN. I may even treat myself to a facial.
For about 30 or so hours, I will be doing whatever I want. No need to cater to the 7-year old and 3-year old, and no need to really cater to the husband (although I am happy for his company). It’s going to be all about me.
And it starts tonight, which is usually my husband’s TV night. I already told him that it’s now my TV night, which means I’m going to watch a movie he won’t like. And he won’t be allowed to complain.
For someone imminently turning 40, I’m feeling giddy like a kid. This is the life.
The Countdown…
…to my big 40 is going to end very soon. It doesn’t seem real. It does, however, seem a little old. I don’t feel particularly decrepit except for the fact that I feel like I’m as distracted and forgetful as ever. And I can’t seem to come up with a single decent idea for a birthday present when people ask me what I’d like to mark the occasion. I think there’s something psychological going on there, but I can’t quite pinpoint what it is.
But I like to think that those lapses are due less to my age and more to my very busy schedule. Chloe claims I sometimes forget to pack her a snack with lunch. I disagree with that – and until she brings me proof, I refuse to believe that I would ever do such a thing. Besides, how dare she criticize when for the past four days, she has conveniently forgotten to work on her report about France?
Sophie was able to identify the Jonas Brothers when she saw them on TV commercial today. That scared me. What the hell does she know about the Jonas Brothers? She’s only three years old! Thanks, Chloe, for contributing to the corruption of your little sister.
In any case, my mom is taking the girls this weekend so that my husband and I can get away to celebrate my milestone. I’m looking forward to it. Maybe the overnight escape will help me feel a little less old. Maybe not. But I’m planning to get a facial while I’m at the hotel, which at the very least, might make a couple of the 40-year old wrinkles disappear.