June 16, 2011

• I Hover, So?

  Zoe’s Daily Funny:
  Our friends Angie and Jin used to date. Angie lived in Bayside and would come to Jersey a lot to visit Jin. Then the 2 decided that they were going to live in sin and move in together and live in Jersey. Then Jin decided he should make her a decent woman and they got married and moved to Queens. Then, just recently they moved back to Jersey (the next block over from us. YAY!) We ususally pay them a visit once a week during our family walks. Sometimes our visits are in the evening. Sometimes Kayden wants to be a fun sponge and the hubs will already leave with with him to walk back home while Zoe and I are still coming down the stairs to put on our shoes. One such evening the hubs had already left and I was putting Zoe in the stroller. Jin and Angie had come out with us to say bye and had helped buckle her up. As they turned to walk back to their door, I was just double checking Zoe’s seat belt and she said with a soft happy sigh…
  
  Zoe: I love them.
  
  Angie heard her and turned around and goes “We love you too!” Being her mother I thought it was really sweet. I know she meant it with all her little heart when she said that because she only says that to her family.
  

  ---

  
  Rear Ended 
  So yesterday as I’m driving, minding my own business, talking to Angie (via speaker), and on my way to pick up my kids when SOMEONE rear ends me. I looked in my rearview mirror and saw a Korean girl (everyone by where I live is Korean) in the driver’s seat and I was just thinking “OH I AM GOING TO RIP HER A NEW ONE!” I called 911 first and then I got out of my car to examine the damage. Our trunk is totally dented in and one of the muffler’s is crushed. Her car was pretty much totaled in the front and there was smoke coming out of hers. She hit me pretty hard. I think she was driving an M350. I just saw the Mercedes sign dented in I was probably 10 cars behind a red light and my car’s been at a stand still for probably a good minute. PAY ATTENTION GIRLFRIEND! I saw her in her car and she looked scared. She was young so I started to feel bad. She came out and I asked her if she was ok and she asked me the same and she kept apologizing. I asked her what had happened and she said her brakes weren’t working. Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight.  We waited for the cops and she called her mother to come. I called the hubs and I was just so relieved it wasn’t my fault. It’s weird because we have a family trip coming up that involves 10hrs of driving and I remember thinking this past weekend ‘just don’t get into an accident.’ Yeah ok. Because of the 1 crushed muffler the officer told me to just pick up the kids and go straight home and not to drive it till it got fixed. She had to go her car towed. Before I left the mother came over to me with her and she was apologizing to me in Korean. I told her it was ok and I told her not to yell at the daughter and that at least no one got hurt. I asked the girl…
  
  Me: How old are you?
  Girl: 18
  Me: So this is your first car accident?
  Girl: (she looked down at her feet) No.
  Me: Ok, well your parents should yell at you then. (I looked at her mom) You should yell at her when you get home.
  
  What if Zoe and Kayden had been in the car? It would have been a whole different situation. When my kids are involved my claws will come out. I’m sure that goes for any mother.
  
  Angie and Jin: Thanks for worrying. You guys are such great friends! LOVE yous. Like Zoe said “I love them.”
  
  

  I know I can be a helicopter mom. I can’t help it. I’d rather be that way instead of seeing Zoe get seriously hurt and then thinking “I shoulda…!” So as of March (just a little bit past her 3^rd birthday) I JUST started to let Zoe go up and down the stairs by herself. I don’t know  if you’re thinking “NOW?” or more “I still don’t let my 4yr old walk down the stairs alone” but whatever. She kept saying “Mommy I can do it. I’m a big girl. Can I do it?” So I finally caved. It’s just a lot of stairs, which means a lot of hardwood, which to me means could lead to a broken leg,  which then leads to me at the end thinking “I shoulda…” I mean Zoe is super clumsy. She is that girl that will get hurt tripping over her own two feet. Last month we took Zoe and her cousins to see Rio at the movie theater and afterwards we took them to Cassie’s (which is a pizza joint a few towns over). She got a booster and was sitting on the open end of the booth. I was sitting next to her at the head of the table and I CLEARLY said  “Zoe be careful. You could fall off your chair and fall on your face on the floor and get hurt. Just sit still.” WHAT HAPPENS 15 minutes later? She falls on her face. *le sigh*  So back to the stairs, so far she’s been good. Really cautious. I get mad when she just hangs out on the stairs.  You either need to go up or down. Friggin pick one!
  
  So that same Saturday Zoe fell on her face she had ballet in the morning. I had made Zoe her first egg, cheese, and mushroom omelette for breakfast and she devoured it. She even ate her 2 strips of bacon and almost all 5 pieces of her cantaloupe (she left half a piece). I was so happy and so proud of her I let her pick 3 starbursts from the candy jar. I told her that she could eat one on the way to ballet. That evening we took out Zoe and her 2 older cousins to watch Rio and then took them out to dinner at Cassie’s. I guess Zoe just happened to tuck her hands in her pocket and fished out the 2 last pieces of candy she’s been holding. Her cousins Isabella and Hannah saw it and it was just “Awww Zoe you’re so lucky!” “Aww we wish we had a piece too” “Zoe it looks so good” and just kept looking wistfully at her 2 brightly packaged squares pieces of goodness. I pulled her aside and told her that if she didn’t have enough to share she should stop taking them out because then her cousins would feel bad because they don’t have candy. We came back to the table and she took it out again. HELLO?! Did we not just have a conversation?! I said to her…
  
  Me: Zoe, how many pieces do you have?
  Zoe: 2.
  Me: Do you have enough for you and your cousins?
  Zoe: No.
  Me: Do you want to let your cousins have the candy and I’ll give you candy when we go home.
  Zoe: Yes.
  
  The hubs and I made eye contact and I know he was feeling what I was feeling. I was so proud of her because the way I saw it she was making an ultimate child sacrifice. What kid would give their candy up knowing that they weren’t going to have any for themselves at that moment? She gave her cousins her 2 last pieces of candy and just had this smile on her face like “I hope you enjoy it cause it’s really good!” even though she had none left for herself. I gave her 2 when we got home.
  
  

  {06.11.11} Pre-School
  Zoe came home from school last week with a piece of paper announcing that she’s starting pre-school. Her father was sad. She starts beginning of July.
                                        
  
  {06.15.11} The Damage
  
  

  • 10:08 am
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