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

The Things We Do For Love

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Tomorrow morning, I will have the pleasure of waking up at about 6:45 AM in order to prepare myself to go register Chloe for summer camp. My neighbor, also a dedicated mother, is joining me to register her son as well. We are leaving at 7:30 AM.

It’s a YMCA day camp, and if you don’t register on the one day of their open registration, you’re basically screwed. With a bit of luck, we get there early enough to avoid the huge line, and we’ll be in and out quickly. And our dear children will have marvelous, enriching summers. Because, god forbid, if we don’t provide them with entertaining, unforgettable summers, our kids will end up in therapy for the rest of their lives.

Truthfully, the number of camp options is overwhelming. There are fancy-schmancy day camps that cost upwards of $5K, there are reasonably priced Y camps, there are the camps run by the town and the public schools. There’s the local art museum day camp, there are dancing and acting camps. There are enough local camps that if we lived in a warmer climate, and we didn’t care about whether Chloe attended school, she could go to a different camp every week of the year.

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

The Invasion of the Chloe Monster

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Chloe invaded our marital bed last night. At about 3 AM. And woke us up. Except my husband fell right back asleep and I, of course, did not.

She sprawled out between us. And between the constant squirming, and the noise of her mouth sucking on her thumb, I couldn’t get back to sleep. I was extremely frustrated, as you can imagine. I had been fast asleep. It was pleasant.

After a 1/2 hour of doing my best to refrain from kicking her – intentionally – I threw off the covers and got up to leave to sleep elsewhere. Chloe sensed I was getting up, and kindly invited me to sleep in her bed. Gee, thanks. Why are you sleeping in your bed, I wanted to yell.

But I’m the mommy, and I can’t kick my lovely offspring – intentionally – and I can’t yell. So I moped out of MY bedroom at 3:30 AM, and into her cold bed (her room is always a few degrees cooler than ours). I still couldn’t fall asleep, so I read a little. Until 4 AM or so.

Little miss princess Chloe slept cozily in our bed until 7:15 AM and woke up happy and rested. I had dark circles under my eyes. The joys of parenting.

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

Spelling Bee

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Chloe has her first-ever spelling bee on Friday. She’s supposed to study the spelling words she’s accumulated in class over the last few months, and we started our preparations this evening. She spelled word after word after word. And in a tribute to the movie “Akeelah and the Bee,” which we watched together a couple of weeks ago, we stuck to the most difficult words from her lists.

But she was more interested in singing the spelling than actually spelling the words correctly. So she spent most of her time misspelling and then respelling. But she had fun, and I did a good job of maintaining a calm demeanor (the spelling coaching does get kind of boring after a few minutes, but I will admit to enjoying that more than some of her arts & crafts projects).

In the meantime, we’re making good progress with Matilda by Roald Dahl. We haven’t laughed out loud as much as we did the first time, but we’re enjoying it a whole lot. The downside is that Matilda’s precocious reading hasn’t really inspired Chloe to read much on her own, but that will come with time. I just know it will.

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

Ode to the Baby Bottle

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Could it really be true?
A plethora of bottles, green, purple and blue.
They’ve been a part of our lives since 2001
But since March 29, 2008 we are finally done.

Sophie has spent the last three nights

Reading books instead of setting her sights
On her bottle. The going has been a little tough,
but tonight was the first night she seemed to say “enough.”

There were no tears, she went to her crib with a smile.

And I think we can finally donate the bottles to the recycling pile.
They served Chloe and Sophie well, for seven long years,
But it’s time to say Au revoir, Auf wiedersehen, Good riddance and Cheers!
Frazzled Working Mom's Fleeting Moments (2007-2013)

Spring is in the Air

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Spring is in the air. The sun is on board in any case. The temperature, not so much. But it’s amazing what a difference one year makes.

Chloe took out her bike this afternoon. Last year at this time, she was still unsteady on two wheels and needed help getting started. Not only did Chloe not need any help this time around, she rode around the block and then to the nearby playground – all told probably close to two miles.

Now, that may not sound like much. But for Chloe, that’s huge. She’d still sit in a stroller if she could – she’s a bit of a lazy butt, truth be told. Today, however, she was the queen of bicycles. She reigned over the road (because the sidewalks in town are impossible to navigate on two feet, let alone two wheels), and did so (mostly) responsibly.

And when she took a spill (she did so twice), there were no tears. There would have been tears, and lots of them, last year. But this year, she picked herself up and her bike up, smiled, and rode away.

And after an afternoon where she challenged us with her less-than-stellar behavior, the bike ride did wonders for her attitude. She was happy and calm for the remainder of the day. Her endorphins had a workout and it showed.

The question I have now is whether she’ll maintain her enthusiasm for this mode of transportation, now that she has seemingly mastered it. Only time will tell. But if the grin she wore during her outing is any indication, I may have to buy myself a bike too…

My Artists & Writers in Training

Matilda

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I just spent the last 1/2 hour reading the first three chapters of Roald Dahl’s Matilda with Chloe. We finished A Wrinkle in Time yesterday, which she loved. But it was a little intense, and I thought we’d do well to enjoy some lighter fare.

By the third chapter, we were laughing so hard we were crying. It was the image of a little boy with a finger superglued inside his nose that did it. And the language, of course. We laughed and laughed and laughed.

It was actually difficult to put the book down, but I didn’t want to set precedent by reading too much at once, or else she’d be pleading with me to read and read and read every night. And I’d go insane. What I’m hoping is that this might actually be the book that pushes her to read on her own.

You’d think she’d get it. If she reads on her own, she can read when she wants. She wouldn’t need to depend on her mommy’s schedule for reading sessions. She’s a great reader, so that’s not an issue. I like to think that it’s simply because she loves my company and how I read to her.

In the meantime, I will admit that I’m actually looking forward to tomorrow’s visit with Matilda. On second thought, maybe she should wait for the next book before she discovers the joys of reading on her own.

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

Chloe’s Ladybug Condo

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Chloe has a pet! The best part is that we didn’t have to buy it, we don’t need to buy supplies for it, and it requires absolutely no maintenance.

Yes, it’s a ladybug. Chloe hasn’t yet given her a name, but that’s not to say she doesn’t love her very much.

When I arrived home from work today, Chloe grabbed my hand, eager to show me her “ladybug condo.” Chloe is holding the dwelling in the photo – which she made herself. The ladybug resides somewhere inside of it. Chloe even gave it some lettuce to eat.

You have to love her industriousness. Knowing that we have absolutely no desire to get a family pet, Chloe found her own little friend. We’re going to have to change the lettuce leaf in a couple of days because she doesn’t want the ladybug to get sick from bad greens. The bug has been in its condo now for a few hours, and I hope the lack of light hasn’t killed it yet. The good news is that if it has kicked the bucket, we have plenty more ladybugs in the attic waiting for some love and attention.

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

I Wanted Raviolis!

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An outsider would have thought or fervently hoped that Chloe was rehearsing for a role in a Shakespearean tragedy.

The screaming, the tears, the stomping, the ripping of paper…all of the elements of melodrama. All of the elements of a temper tantrum more appropriate for a 3-year old than a 7-year old.

Now, I hate to belittle my 7-year old’s problems. And my husband and I are really trying very hard to acknowledge the pain that she sometimes suffers in the name of childhood.

But tonight’s pain was a challenge. She gave herself red, puffy tearstained cheeks because, horror of horrors, our babysitter had told her she could have raviolis for dinner, but Papa (mean, horriblePapa) didn’t know that and made chicken instead.

“I wanted raviolis!” Promising her that we’d make raviolis tomorrow instead, and dutifully acknowledging her torment, did no good. She cried and cried, and cried some more. And screamed and screamed, and screamed some more. And stomped and stomped, and stomped some more. And got sent to her room. Twice.

Oh, the agony. Chloe ate the chicken, and sheepishly asked for seconds. Oh, the ecstasy. Long live chicken!

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