Not Me Monday

I certainly did not return from the beach yesterday and declare, "Eh, I don't have the energy to make rice cereal... hey, hand me a beer, will you?"

It must have been Chloe's other mother.

Chloe Post: I am BACK from the beach!

I had so much fun this weekend with Mommy! We went to visit Aunt Diane and Uncle John and I went in the ocean! It was so cool! I didn't really understand why the water would come in and then it would leave again, but I liked it a lot.



Well, I liked it until a wave caught me in the face! I didn't like that at all!




Mommy said that I had to be careful in the sun, so she got me a little tent for me to play in and take naps. She said it has SPF stuff. I don't know what that means. Aunt Diane also put up an umbrella for me so I could sit out and watch everyone. She and Mommy and Uncle John like to read at the beach. I do, too. I "read" one of my favorite books.



I love the beach!

It was a bad day for Mommy's childhood idols...

I had prepared myself for Farrah (although I still think it's so very sad - I liked her very much in her interviews over the years), but Michael, too?

I don't know what he did or did not do, but I would guess that anyone who had been denied a childhood by a physically and emotionally abusive parent and was forced into the limelight before he had a chance to develop and learn who he was, could spend the rest of his life constantly trying to relive his lost childhood and constantly trying on various masks to see which one fit the best.

He became a performer at the age of 5 and began working for a living... so maybe it makes sense that he created a wonderland for himself filled with the toys he had never been able to enjoy. He was abused by one of the adults who was supposed to love him more than anything... so maybe it makes sense that he might feel more comfortable around children than adults. He went thru puberty with the world watching... so maybe it makes sense that he felt ugly and constantly tried to change how he looked to find the "right" way.

I'm not saying he was innocent of the charges because I have no way of knowing that. I'm not saying that he didn't become increasingly difficult for me to watch or understand because I think he was very disturbed. I'm not saying I would want Chloe around him because I so wouldn't.

But, I think you can take his circumstances in early life and his outcome at the end of his life and draw a conclusion that doesn't necessarily equate to pedophilia. If he did rape anyone, I would find that heinous and unforgiveable. And if someone falsely accused him of rape for money, I would find that heinous and unforgiveable, too.

At the end of the day, all I can say is that his life and his death are very sad to me. He was an incredible performer with severe emotional issues and I find that very sad.

And here are my 2 favorite Michael Jackson songs:

The Way You Make Me Feel
Black or White

Mommy Post: Help, help me Rhonda.

56 STARS ON HER FACE??!


Chloe is NEVER GOING OUTSIDE.

I need a cocktail. Between 56 stars and the thing last night on ABC about teen pregnancy, I don't know what to do with myself.


She is NEVER GOING OUTSIDE.

Chloe post: I'M GOING TO THE BEACH

Two more days and I'm going to the beach!

I will eat sand!
I will blow bubbles at Aunt Diane and Uncle John!
I will wear cute hats!

Two more days!

Chloe Post: Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day, Daddy!!! Yesterday, I had so much fun playing with Daddy... I can lean forward when Daddy holds my hands and stand up! Daddy loves how big and strong I am getting. We had a nice time playing and then Mommy and I took him to Local 44 for dinner. He really liked the presents I got him - a digital frame for the office so he can have pictures of me and a coffee to go mug with a mini digital frame. Mommy read about it in American Baby magazine - it said it was THE gift for Digital Daddies.

I also want to wish a Happy Father's Day to Granpa, Pop-Pop and Uncle John (my godfather). I sent them cards to tell them how much I love them.

The day before Father's Day, I went to visit with Mom-Mom and Pop-Pop. I had lots of fun playing with them, too. They can't believe how big I am getting!

Precipitation

I'm so sick of rain, I could vomit.

Chloe, of course, finds rain fascinating... or maybe it's just that she enjoys watching me struggle to get her in and out of the car while avoiding the storm. That little pistol.

Not Me Monday

When Chloe was laughing to herself this morning in her bassinet around 4am, I definitely did not think to myself "GO TO SLEEP, CHILD, YOU ARE KILLING ME." Not me. Instead, I took a moment to rejoice over how cute and creative she is. Uh huh.

Chloe Post: I am SO busy!!

Mommy says that I am like the Visa card - I'm "everywhere you want to be." It's hard work being the bell of the ball all of the time, but I am more than up to the task...

Here I am in North East, MD at the Foundation Golf Tournament a couple of weeks ago:



As a sponsor (sometimes I borrow Mommy's credit card), I'm pleased to tell you that the Foundation raised almost $8K at the event! Uncle John was a sponsor, too, and I cheered him on during the putting contest.

On Saturday, I was AGAIN helping Mommy raise money for the Foundation. She and Aunt Mel planned the Sapphire Sunset event to raise money for a scholarship and they raised more than $1200!




Then yesterday, Mommy and I went to Flag Fest at the Betsy Ross House. Aunt Jennifer was a vendor, so we went to support her. Mommy said I looked very patriotic in my outfit and Betsy liked it, too:



Whew - what a busy weekend! Mommy and I went home and had a relaxing evening while Daddy went to the office for a bit. We played the game where Mommy kisses my tummy and says "belly, belly, BELLY... BUTTON!" I love that game! Mommy is silly.

Chloe Post: Reflections on Giving Rice Cereal a Second Chance

So, I've discovered that it's FOOD and not some weird version of my bottle that for some reason they won't give me IN my bottle. Thank goodness Mommy took advice from Grams about cereal preparation, or we might never have figured this out. (Let's be honest - I love the Blonde Lady, but she is a rookie). Grams assured Mommy that she could safely ignore the directions on the box (and in every parenting magazine she has consulted on this issue) and thicken up my cereal. It doesn't taste (or smell) as good as the food M&D are eating, but I'm getting there! Maybe Daddy will buy me a stromboli soon if I work through this rice cereal.

Mommy says maybe.

She says that I am becoming a little piglet. Yesterday, I was STARVING. I ate 27 oz of formula and a full serving of rice cereal (well, some I got from osmosis, but most made it into my mouth!). I've been really working hard in my walker, though. Athletes need more calories.

Anyway, I also caught on very quickly that the little green thing is the vehicle for receiving rice cereal. Daddy has taught me that I must be actively engaged with my feeding, so I was grabbing for the spoon to help Mommy get it to my mouth faster. She was surprised I caught on so quickly! (Note to readers: she has clearly never tried to get food from Daddy.)



After I inhaled the cereal, I knocked off about 3 oz of formula. Mommy thought I would be in a "food coma" after that. Boy, was she wrong! I had lots of energy for a rousing game of Duck and Ladybug and then Mommy and I danced in the living room to a Broadway soundtrack. I could tell that our dancing and singing really enhanced Daddy's experience as he was trying to read. I could just tell.



Anyway, I am revising my opinion on rice cereal. It's my path to strombolis and I give it thumbs up. Plus, I slept like the dead last night. I'm ready to wreck all sorts of havoc for Miss Stella.

Loser Girl Tuesday

I forgot to do a Not Me Monday!

Let's just say I definitely didn't ignore the weather report on Sunday and dress my baby in long-sleeves when it was a million degrees outside. Then I definitely didn't leave her in cute panties and a bib in lieu of her dress when it was super hot. And then when she got chilly I didn't just slap on the first thing I found in the diaper bag which matched neither panties nor bib.

Fashion plate!

Ratings from Chloe...

Rice cereal: I'm not at all sure about this. Why do Mommy and Daddy want to play a game with this goopy stuff and a spoon when they know I am waiting for my bottle?

Watching Mommy struggle to get me in the car in the middle of a rain storm: I'm a big fan of this. Mommy is so funny!

Seeing Uncle John and the Phi Sigs at the Foundation Golf Tournament: Very fun!

Uncle John's golf game: Let's just say he didn't bring home a trophy.

Congratulating Patti Anne on her graduation: Awesome!

My Baby is SO Advanced

One of Chloe's teachers, Miss Stella is from Pakistan and she has an accent. Sometimes, it takes me a second to follow what she's saying, so yesterday when she said "Chloe wants to do everything early," for a second I was confused. I thought she meant that Chloe wants to move on to blocks while everyone else is still on bubbles, but Miss Stella clarified: "Everything! She wants to do everything early! She will talk and crawl and hold her bottle - all early!"

Which is clearly so true.

This morning, Miss Stella and I had a long conversation about the importance of tummy time and how well Chloe does with it and how another in the class (sorry, Zavier) wants no parts of it. We talked about how babies at this age should get 10-15 minutes/day of tummy time and with Miss Stella doing it at school and Daddy and I doing it at home, Chloe gets double.

On my drive in to work, I was thinking about how hesitant I was to return to work when my leave was ending and how weird it is that we ended up using this pre-school that's out of the way and not what we expected. And I realized that Chloe being in pre-school right now is not just allowing me to be a better employee, but it also allows me to be a better Mommy. I feel like we've found a great fit at the school with teachers who see Chloe's potential the way that Ed and I see it. When I'm thinking about work, I can totally think about work and at the end of the day, I can totally think about Chloe. I also realize that me bouncing her on one knee while conducting conference calls was not allowing her to move developmentally and that by being in school, she is growing leaps and bounds. I'm not feeling jealous (at this second, I could change my mind) of Miss Stella and Miss Lynn right now - I'm feeling lucky that we have them as partners.

Not Me Monday

Another blogger that I read often, MckMama has a fun Monday tradition: Not Me! Mondays - an opportunity to be brutally honest (and self-forgiving) about the ways we are splendidly imperfect Mommies.

• I definitely did not take Chloe to school this morning with a wet diaper so that I could help her post her morning blog before we left this morning - nope, not me!
• I did not just snuggle her back to sleep at 5am instead of getting up and making a bottle - not me!

This is going to be a fun exercise for me each week because I recently took a "What Kind of Mother Are You?" quiz and learned that I am "The Executive Mother." One of the struggles it lists is this one:

Self-criticism. Intensely committed and wanting to be equally competent at work and family, the ENTJ mother struggles to live up to her "superhuman" expectations for herself. She may find herself constantly assessing her performance, confident about what she did well but even more self-critical when she thinks she should have done more.

This is DEFINITELY one of the things I struggle with as a mother, as a wife, as an employee, as everything. So, tune in each Monday and watch me accept my imperfections with humor instead of with hand-wrenching.

Chloe Post: Livin' Large in the Muppet Mobile

Yeah, I'm on the move!! You remember, faithful readers, how much I like to stand up? Well, Daddy adjusted the height on Mommy's Freepeats find and now it's perfect! Saturday night, I chased Daddy all through the living room and kitchen. Daddy can't escape me! I have discovered something marvelous - at the bottom of my legs are these two little things, not unlike my hands, actually. These new things are not good to chew on because it's hard to reach them, so I will keep my hands for that. But they are great for getting me where I need to be! Mommy says they are my feet and I now wonder... have they been here this whole time?


Anyway, I love this Muppet Mobile. I like to be intimately involved in what Mommy and Daddy are doing and this allows me full access. Mommy and I can watch baseball and TV shows, but Daddy and I prefer Ken Burns' documentaries:

Mommy kept scooting me back from the screen, but come on! This is war!!

At one point in the evening, Mommy noticed that I was getting sleepy, so she tried to put me in my bassinet with Pooh and my paci. I cried until she put me back in my walker. That will teach Mommy! Although, I guess she wasn't far off...