Little did Chloe know when she decided to accompany to the supermarket today that she would have the best supermarket experience ever!
A new Stop & Shop opened nearby and I wanted to check it out. When we got there, we discovered that you can use scanners as you’re shopping (similar to baby and wedding registries) to keep track of your purchases, thereby allowing you to pack up your recyclable bags as you shop. Once you’ve finished cruising down the aisles, instead of having a cashier ring up all your groceries, you simply turn in the scanner and pay by credit card.
Needless to say, Chloe was in heaven. She was scanner queen for the day, making sure everything we placed in the cart was accounted for on the handheld computer. The best part is that I now have a weekly food shopping companion, at least until the novelty has worn off. Who’d ever thought that a supermarket could be so much fun?
My husband was traveling on business for a few days this week, which meant that I had a chance to spend some extra-special time with the girls. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t a lot of extra special time – it amounted to a few extra minutes hanging out every evening – but it was fun nonetheless.
Sophie and Chloe had a great time jumping around in the attic, enjoying the company of the ladybugs that have sought shelter there. They played tag, jumped over each other and over me, did handstands and drew pictures. The best part of all? They actually got along. I let Sophie fall asleep in our bed, and she asked that Chloe keep her company. Which Chloe devotedly did, until she got sleepy herself and returned to her own bed.
The second best part? I stuck to the army schedule. In the bathroom washing up and brushing teeth by 7:40 pm. Reading books to Sophie by 7:50 pm. Giving hugs and kisses to both girls by 8 pm. Turning on the TV to watch my shows by 8:05 pm. Like clockwork for three nights in a row. The hubby is back now, and it’s 8:18 pm. I can still hear the girls running in the hallways. Fun for the girls. Not sure it’s that much fun for Papa. The guy has no discipline!
Sophie doesn’t consider Alubus to be her pet. She’s draw his portrait from time to time, but that’s about it. She’s clamoring for a pet of her own (hear that, Papa?). Tonight, we were reading “Annie and the Wild Animals,” a story about a little girl whose cat goes missing in the dead of winter, only to return home in the spring after giving birth to kitties.
The book put Sophie in a bad mood. Why? Because Sophie wants her own pet. Reading about fictional cats just doesn’t cut it for her. Problem is, I hate cats. Her father might be willing to indulge her at some point in the future since he grew up with cats, but I really hate cats. My dislike of the creatures stems from one the jobs I had in Paris. I worked out of my boss’s apartment, and she had a cat. And the cat was psycho.
I guess kittens are cute enough. But as they get older, they’re not nearly as fun as dogs, and those litter boxes are gross.
Sophie may have to settle for something a little less ambitious. We have ladybugs in our attic and they’re sort of cute, no?
We had a weekend of games – Boggle, Monopoly, musical chairs, tag…lots of fun. Oh, playdates and movies too. Oh, and lest I forget, watching Jude Law (amazing!) perform Hamlet.
It’s time to display some photos of the girls from almost three years ago. Aren’t they cute? Time flies.
Sophie, now 4, who is already talking about boyfriends (apparently one of her classmates has a boyfriend), and is coyly refusing to divulge any information about Justin, a little boy in her school. I hadn’t heard his name before today, so I suppose this is a recent development. I think she may have a little bit of a crush.
Chloe is happy that she doesn’t have to worry about boyfriends for at least another few years. But rumor has it that she and her two girlfriends were mighty excited yesterday when our neighbor came over to join the fun with his two friends. The six kids horsed around, but my husband told me they were pretty happy to have the extra company.
If this is a preview of what we’re going to be dealing with in the not-too-distant future, it’s already giving me agita. Which is why these old photos come in handy. Because they remind me of the fact that no matter what happens, Chloe and Sophie will always be my little girls.
Sophie caught my husband and me in an embrace a little while ago. She doesn’t like when we do that. “No hugging!” she emphatically yelled, adding, “You’re not supposed to be in love together.”
When I suggested that the three of us hug together, she replied, “Just you and me.” When I told her that Papa would feel sad if he were left out, she smiled and said, “Just you and me. Not Papa. Because he stinks.”
Poor Papa. Left out in the cold again. But Sophie likes me these days. Probably because she’s not seeing that much of me. That’s the upside of not being as available to my kids as I would like. At least they love me more than usual. I know, I know. I’m totally rationalizing here. But a working mom has to make herself feel good to get through the tough times. I think I’d much rather be in a position where the girls were sick of the sight of me, but that will just have to wait.
Ok. I bitched and moaned about work in yesterday’s blog entry. Rough day. Today was rough, too. But I don’t have the know that I had in the pit of my stomach that I had yesterday. Perhaps I’m starting to develop a thicker skin. I hope so. It’ll be easier to deal with the coming onslaught if I manage to take things in stride.
While at our neighbors’ Halloween party the other day, Chloe decided to make herself a “Chloe” sign out of legos to pass the time (she was surrounded by lots of little kids and didn’t have much else to do).
Little did Chloe know when she decided to accompany to the supermarket today that she would have the best supermarket experience ever! 
