The Girls Lately

The girls are playing with friends–J’s down the street, and although it’s getting past dark and I should call her in, I can’t quite bear to do it, since tomorrow night will be a (sniff!) school night, so it’s really her last summer evening. M’s been gallivanting all day with several friends. So I thought I’d give you a general update on what’s up with us.

First, I mentioned that the painting’s done, so here’s a sample of the two variations on turquoise that the girls used (and the pictures are a bit off, because J, for whatever reason, has her name all over her room, and I was avoiding that, and M’s room still needs to be put back together a bit).

J’s room:

And M’s room:

So, what else? The girls have been pretty obsessed with the tv show Chopped lately. Actually, it’s annoying because I like this one, too, so when they’re watching, it’s hard for me to resist joining them. The other morning, J said, “Mommy, name 3 breakfast foods.” I guessed immediately what the plan was. I listed off bread, turkey bacon, and banana, set the timer for 15 minutes, and she went to work. Before the timer went off, she presented this:

She went with a basic pan-frying of the bacon, sauteed the bread in butter in a pan, and went creative with the banana, mashing it and combining it with some cherry juice and rice pudding. When she realized she had time, she cut her toast and added a spinach leaf garnish. M and I served as judges, after a hesitation and a whispered request to only taste a little bit, because she was planning to have the dish for breakfast. M really didn’t think that the banana “popped” in the pudding concoction, but that worked for her since she doesn’t like banana. We decided to chop an imaginary competitor instead. Their dish sucked, and they were cocky to boot.

What else? M has been obsessively, adorably internet shopping. If it is a sleeveless, flowy shirt from a retailer that begins with A (Aeropostale, American Eagle, etc.), she wants it. On more than one occasion she’s taken copious notes on a Post-It about some item or other to try to find it in the store, without mentioning it to me ahead of time. She’s learned the hard way about “online exclusives.”  Most recently she strided into an Aeropostale and asked the salesteen for a “heather gray full-zip hoodie.” She was so assertive and precise in her recitation that the salesteen almost laughed, but didn’t. Unfortunately, M didn’t have the item number, so they wandered the store in search of the elusive hoodie. No luck.

The salesteen then ventured, “. . . Aren’t you maybe p.s., anyway?” This was the first time I understood that the p.s. from Aeropostale is the kid version.

M was adamant: “Oh, no! I fit in here.”

“Alright,” said the agreeable-if-unconvinced young woman. Then, meeting my eyes, “Well, good, stay loose, right?” Yes, thank you.

As we headed out of the store I said, “Well, if it’s just a basic sweatshirt, maybe we should check the p.s. store.”

“Oh, Mom, no,” M groaned. “It is so juvenile. Seriously, I’m way past that.” I had to laugh, because we’ve never even walked into the store, but later she and J showed me their online selection. Looked pretty Justice-y. She’s right. They’re way beyond all that glitter and pink stuff.

Also, both of my kids trying to press the wrinkles off of my face. Seriously. I’ve got two vertical lines between my eyebrows, and they’ll take their fingers and press, press, press, all the while frowning about how ineffective their efforts are. I’m usually patient for about a minute, and then I shoo them away, “Leave me alone!  I worked hard, for years, on earning these! They’re not going anywhere!”

When they’re not attempting to improve my appearance, watching reality chefs, or drooling over the latest fashions, the girls are jumping around their “obstacle course” in the basement playroom. Gradually, they’ve been getting rid of toys and filling the space with trendy furniture. Basically, if you’ve come across any cheap, funky turquoise furniture at Target or Bed, Bath, & Beyond in the last year, chances are that my children have purchased it. They find the stuff irresistible. The most recent acquisitions were super-soft poufs on clearance from B, B, & B. Of course, none of this furniture really matches the yellow walls in there. But I am not painting the room turquoise. I mean it. I’m done.

reality tv