Tales of a Black Friday VIP (Guest)

The alarm clock, aka DH, woke me up at 1:30 am after what amounted to about 3 ½ hours sleep. I grumbled about the insane hour for a few minutes and then crawled out of bed and into a hot shower. The shower did wonders to truly wake me up. Around 2:30 brother in law and friend made their way to our place and we all just sat around waiting for the Limo to arrive. I will tell you that watching Dirty Jobs at 2:30 in the morning is a hoot, especially when you get the “pleasure” of watching Mike Rowe pop a zit that remains on the hide of some poor animal who gave its life to keep a tannery in business.

Before anyone came to the door to announce its arrival we could hear the engine of our ride approaching. Still hours before dawn we climbed into the limo promptly at 3:00. We were greeted by a peppy Event Staffer who congratulated DH and welcomed us into the massive limo that clearly could have held 5 times as many people as it was asked to transport this morning. Soon we were off. Peppy Event Staffer jumped right into her “To Do” list and grabbed some footage of us in the limo and asked DH a few questions. We all promised her excitement and enthusiasm would soon erupt it was, after all, only 3:00 in the morning. She also handed us our Best Buy Black Friday VIP passes. DH’s sported the winner title. The rest of us were winner’s guests. We also were handed a bunch of Best Buy gear we were encouraged to wear. Blue and yellow scarves, Best Buy ear warmers, hats and the cream of the crop a Best Buy sweatshirt for DH. Size Large. Clearly they should have questioned the winner about their shirt size. A large? Laughable. The sweatshirt spent the morning by itself in the limo. The trip to Atwater Village was a quick one. The limo pulled right in front of the store opposite the swarm of dedicated Black Friday shoppers that clearly numbered a few hundred people. We were told we’d be let out into a special VIP tail gating area.

Peppy Event staffer got out first positioning herself to get footage of the crew exiting the limo. We gave a couple hoots and hollers and DH exited first and we all followed. We were target of a bit of heckling from the crowd but they quickly lost interest in us, I’m sure they were thrilled that their four day camping excursion was nearly over. We were immediately ushered to the VIP “tail gaiting” area. You could almost hear crickets. Or laughter. The concept, in theory, was a good one. The execution was a bit mishandled. Four Best Buy camping style chairs placed around a blue Best Buy blanket. The “VIP Breakfast” was a bag of a handful of caffeinated beverages some Chex Mix and some muffins, the ones that come in a bag (Think 7-Eleven). We all hesitated a bit because the sturdiness of those camping chairs is always suspect, at best, and none of us wanted to bet that person, the one who fell on their tail in front of the line of anxious, angry, exhausted shoppers just waiting to make fun us.

Aside from the underwhelming VIP Breakfast Treatment we were taken care of quite well. Countless event staffers and Best Buy employees came to congratulate DH and give him kudos for writing a great poem. We all just stood around attempting to keep warm and marveling at the fact that the couple in the front of the line had been there since Monday. Crazy. As time passed more and more “cutters” arrived. Those people who arrived at 3:30-4:00 hoping to just by pass the line of sad folks who’d lost days of their lives in an attempt to save some cash. From our end Best Buy did a great job of cutting them off. Our limo combined with a line of shopping carts blocked access to the store’s doors, still they hovered. We all took in some of the VIP caffeinated beverages and just got a bit antsy. I was allowed to go in and use the store restroom. It was quite odd to walk through the store that was completely void of any customers. There was, however, a small army of blue shirts putting the final touches on things.

Around 4:10 the store manager came over and commented we could go in early if we wanted. “Sure”. He then said we could go in right away. “Great”. We were ushered in, under the watchful eye (and camera) of peppy Event Staffer. We were introduced to Joyce our personal shopper. The door busters we’d requested were already waiting for us at the front of the store so the main items we needed to retrieve were the two TVs and two Sony Receivers (surround sound bars). We quickly found the TV my Dad wanted us to purchase and then found our TV, it was one of only two we saw of that model. Two blue shirts happily moved them to the front of the store for us so we wouldn’t have bother pushing them around. Peppy Event Staffer followed us around, pushing our cart of small items, telling us to enjoy the VIP treatment. It took some time to find the speaker systems but we did and that basically finished up our shopping experience. The friend that tagged along was still roaming filling his own cart so we just kind of hung out. It was fun to hear the manager call all associates up front and get them pumped up for the day. We stood alone in the middle of the store watching all the blue shirts scream and jump and get excited for the hell they were about to experience.

Friend finished shopping and we made our way to the front of the store to check out. Just then they started letting in the first 50 people. It was before five so no one (other than ourselves) could check out but it was nice that they allowed the nuts who’d camped out for days get their hands on their merchandise before forcing them to fight with the masses. As we checked out it became clear the crowd outside had gotten a bit rowdy. There was a police presence that wasn’t there before. There was also a handful of news vans and cameras all over the place. Poor DH had two cameras and reporters in his face as he attempted to count out the cash we owed beyond our $1,000 gift card. I had to double check the cash count. Oddly the cash he grabbed was exactly forty nine cents short of what we needed. I could cover that. J Once our stuff was paid for some reps from Best Buy and the Event Staff Company took our newly purchased electronics out to the limo. We waited for brother in law and buddy to check out and then headed for the door.

The scene inside the limo was laughable. The once spacious vehicle was now crammed full of electronics. I basically had to sit sideways on the bench next to my Dad’s new 40” LCD Flat Screen. As passengers we were occupying a very small portion of the space- the boxes clearly filled it all up. Good thing they opted for the stretch Hummer limo. We wouldn’t have gotten our gear home in any other vehicle. We thanked those who helped us. Gave one big “Thank you Best Buy” for the peppy Event Staffer still wielding the camera and we were off, quite happy to no longer be on show. The caffeinated beverages we’d ingested earlier were wreaking havoc on our otherwise empty bellies so DH and I dug into the gourmet, VIP, breakfast that remained in the bag. He feasted on the bag of mini muffins and I took in some chex mix. We talked over the experience on the way home. The quick drive back down the freeway was just enough to kill any energy I had left. I was tired! We were back at our place by five. Once again the huge limo pulled in front of our house. We unloaded our gear and then the guys helped DH moved our old TV out to the garage. I went to lay down for a few minutes while DH played with his new toys. I must say the TV looks good in our front room!

All in all it was a great VIP experience! DH was treated well, as were we, his guests. I can definitely say we’re unlikely to ever have another Black Friday experience like this ever again.

Overachievers Need Not Gloat

Having committed the cardinal sin of motherhood, running out of milk, I headed off to the local 7-11 to severely over pay for liquid calcium simply to avoid the long, Thanksgiving Eve, lines at the grocery store. On my way home I found myself completely irritated by the rash of homes already brightly lit with Christmas lights. Personally, I adore the holiday season and fully recognize that we’ve all been subjected to all things Christmas in retail stores since before Halloween but this, the individual homeowner’s attempt to show others up, bothered me.

I get it. They are better than I am. They are organized and had, apparently, a great deal of free time in the last few weeks. Clearly they didn’t have Pee Wee soccer parties, work commitments, birthday parties or funerals to contend with. No, they, the “first on my block to flip the switch” family, had plenty of time to beautifully wrap each tree on their lot and precisely place each strand along their roof line. It’s irritating, really, what am I doing wrong?

At some point this holiday season our house too will be adorned with lights. They won’t be precisely hung, rather hung rapidly in an attempt to complete the task. Our trees will not be as beautifully wrapped as those I saw tonight- we’ll keep working until the kids have a complete meltdown. Extra lawn and garden decorations will not be theme coordinated, instead, we’ll allow our kids determine what of all the stuff we’ve amassed they prefer to put out this year. Yes, our house will be decorated but it will likely be mid December before that occurs and it will not be work worthy of being nominated into the Christmas Lights Hall of Fame.

I’m not taking anything from those who choose to be the first on their block to flip the switch. It’s a great accomplishment; I just wish they’d wait another couple days, say, until after Thanksgiving, to remind the rest of us how completely inadequate we are

The Cleanliness Gene, it Skipped a Generation

I’m embarrassed to admit it but to anyone who knows me this isn’t, truly, much of an admission as it is widely known… I hate cleaning. Just to be clear I’m not speaking of personal hygiene, no, that I enjoy doing and proudly admit I shower each day, am fully grossed out if my hair isn’t washed every twenty four hours and can’t wait to brush my teeth when I pop out of bed in the morning. What I speak of is cleaning my house. It’s a good thing I am not a 1950’s housewife as I would certainly have met a tragic demise enabling my hardworking husband to replace me with a more diligent, meticulous, housewife.

My Grandmother is an impeccable housekeeper. I’m quite sure her house could pass a white glove test any day of the week. Until recently she was sure to vacuum every room in her house- everyday. I’ve never seen her sink full of dishes and her furniture is seemingly unable to attract dust. Yes, she dutifully attends to each surface in her home; it’s clearly a source of pride for her. My mother is the same way. She doesn’t share quite the same over the top, obsessive compulsive, cleaning style as my Grandmother but that is only to say that upon entering my parent’s home you may, on occasion, see dishes drying in a rack or a stack of mail that has yet to be dealt with. Yes my Mother’s home was always well kept. As children we were required to help vacuum, do dishes, dust and clean the bathrooms. More than once we joked with her that the reason she had four kids was to help with the cleaning.

What happened to me? I curse genetics and the fact that I was so callously passed over by the cleaning gene. Day after day I ignore the smudges on the sliding glass doors that run the length of our family room and the hard water stains that plague our shower enclosure. It simply doesn’t elicit an emotional, “need to act”, response in me. Dishes are kept piling up until there is a need for clean forks and even then I recruit my five year old to help me load the dishwasher. The cleaning task I’m most dedicated to is sweeping the hardwood floor. This I must do at least every other day but that’s mainly because I despise smashed Cheerio remnants sticking to my feet. Yes, fact is, cleaning is about 1,000th on my “To Do” list, maybe even farther down on the list than that.

I definitely subscribe to the C.I.S.E. school of cleaning. That is- Company Is Soon Expected. Yes, when DH and I expect to have people over we are good about cleaning. Dusting, sliding glass doors, mirrors, the works. Toilets even get special attention. The kitchen counters are cleared off, dishes washed and actually put away. Come party time our place is down right tidy, just don’t look in the closets or in our bedroom, our usual places for hiding clutter we don’t’ have time to adequately deal with. I will admit I enjoy having every surface clean and it makes me happy to stand back and look at the gloriousness that is a clean house but I can’t seem to get myself to want to do that every day, every week.

Yes, it’s true; the cleaning gene skipped my generation. For the sake of my children I hope they are blessed with this gene that so sadly bypassed me. So far, so good, on that front tonight LJ was the one who suggested we unload and reload the dishwasher. Even the 16th month old brought me some trash that had been sitting on my bed side table since last night so she too may be on the way to being able to keep a clean house one day. For me? I fear I’m a lost cause. Guests are always welcome at our place. Unannounced ones will be greeted with hugs and half hearted apologies for the state of the house. Expected guests will be given the same hugs as well as my smug satisfaction that, once again, I may have fooled them into thinking I’m a decent housekeeper.

Want to win a printer? I do!

My regular blog browsing allowed me to stumble on a giveaway that's taking place here:

http://www.svmoms.com/2008/11/epson-artisan-8.html

The "rules" are simple. Post your name and email in a comment on their blog. The winner, as determined by a random drawing, will be notified on Black Friday. While the contest is hosted by a "Mom's Blog" it's not limited to those of us blessed enough to have had our nether regions stretched beyond recognition by an adorable bundle of joy.

The EPSON Aritisan 800 printer would be a wonderful early Christmas present. Feel free to enter. Or not. If you don't that only increases the chance that I will be named the winner.

The Anatomy of getting a new HD TV

DH: “Honey, if I combined all the money from your parents, my parents,your siblings, my siblings, your present to me and my present to you we could get a new flat screen HD TV for Christmas”

ME: “So part of MY Christmas gift would be that YOU get the TV YOU want?”

DH: “You know you’ll use it too, it’s in the living room, you’ll love it”

Fast forward one week

DH: “Honey, Best Buy is having a contest. You should write a 250 word essay on your favorite Black Friday Experience. You can win a bunch of stuff, including a $1,000 gift card”

ME: “Sure, Honey”

Fast forward one week

DH: “Honey, I sent in my essay to Best Buy. In less than a week they’ll be calling me to tell me I won”

ME: “Sure, Honey. Wouldn’t that be something?”

Fast forward four days

DH: “I freaking won!”

ME: “WHAT? I’m on the blue-tooth. I can’t hear you. WHAT?”

DH: “I FREAKIN WON! Best Buy called me and emailed me. I have to get all the paperwork signed and back to them but I WON!”

ME: “SHUT UP!”

DH: “I FREAKIN’ WON!”

ME: “You best not be kidding about this. I’m so proud of you! Oh my gosh! Are you serious? Really?”

DH: “I’m serious. I wouldn’t kid about this. I’m totally shaking!”

*******************************************************************
No, really. DH won Best Buy’s Black Friday VIP Contest for the LA Market. Really. My DH, a winner! We’re just a happy little suburban family, things like this don’t happen to us. Direct from the Best Buy website Jim will receive:

http://askablueshirt.net/blackfridayvip/

Prizes: Twenty-five (25) Grand Prizes (One (1) per Participating Store) – A Black Friday Store Event, consisting of: limousine transportation to/from the participating Best Buy store/winner’s designated location on November 28, 2008 for winner and three (3) guests, a Flip Video Mini Camcorder to videotape the Grand Prize winning experience, a $1,000.00 Best Buy Gift Card, and up to four doorbuster tickets (one per winner and each guest, no more than one ticket per doorbuster). Approximate Retail Value: $2,000.00/each. .


Now the accountant in me realizes that this much celebrated victory does not come free. Sometime in late January, long after the Christmas cards have stopped rolling in, we’ll receive a 1099 from Best Buy for the retail value of the contest winnings. That said we’re still thrilled! What a fun experience! Clearly DH is beside himself. I’m a proud, excited, supportive wife. DH is currently on his laptop reviewing floor plans of Best Buys to determine the best route to take in the half hour that we have in the store before the crazies who have been waiting in line for days join us. Okay, he’s not, but he is actively trying to figure out the way to maximize our buying power.

DH has been coveting a flat screen HD TV for a while now. Don’t all men? He’s been doing research on what accessories are required, those that are not and where to get said accessories for the best price. Want to know what came in the mail today? HD TV cables purchased online in a wonderful attempt to save money.

Clearly the universe believes my DH deserving of a new TV.

I tend to agree.

Eleven Years

Today marks my 11 year work anniversary. I actually started working with the company in July of 1997, through a temp agency, and was made a full time employee on November 18, 1997. Eleven Years. Five hundred seventy two weeks. Two thousand eight hundred and sixty work days, minus the ridiculously small amount of holidays we get each year. Eleven years. I type it, I say it, just doesn’t seem possible.

I started there as a recent college grad with an accounting degree under her belt completely unsure of what I wanted to do with my degree. Sitting for the CPA and doing auditing hours was the choice of my father but I was not so convinced. Looking back part of me wishes I’d listened to good ol’ Dad. The other part of me can’t help but be wonderfully satisfied with how things have shaken out, thus far. After a few years of various clerical accounting positions and increasing responsibility I was named Branch Controller which was more about controlling operations and their impact on my branch’s financial statements produced by Corporate. Just a year into that I started doing the Assistant Corporate Controller work and actually began helping produce financial statements for the entire company. I was in over my head, or so I thought. I had no experience and the classroom debits and credits were a far cry from the day to day reality that was a real live accounting department. Apparently the executive team didn’t doubt me as much as I did and I was named Corporate Controller in 2002, I believe.

The first few years of being Controller were rough, to say the least. Despite the confidence I gained by being awarded the position I still needed to prove myself. To the Execs, to my new subordinates and to myself. There were tough days, heck, there still are but through the years I’ve managed to gain the respect of the people that may have once doubted me. Most of all I’ve proven to myself that I could do it. I’ve not done it alone. I’ve had the support of a great mentor in my CFO who pushed, and sometimes pulled, me along. I had the ear of one of the greatest friends (professional and personal) that I could ever ask for that was in the Assistant to the President position and as my foundation, I’ve had a wonderful core of employees that make me better at my job because they are good at theirs. Yes, I’ve been blessed.

Over the years I’ve help produce nearly 100 months worth of financial statements for 10 plus branches each month. I’ve managed 7 financial statement reviews, 1 financial statement audit and 8 bank audits. When I stop and think about it I can’t help but smile.

Eleven years, 132 months, 572 weeks, 2,860 work days. All that time has passed and I find myself learning something new nearly every day. In this age of rapid turn over and people moving on for a few extra bucks, THAT is why I’ve stayed. I never quite know what is going to happen on any given day. Our true entrepreneurial spirit of a CEO and our Executive Team make my job interesting. That group of Execs took a chance on me, the recent college grad with an accounting degree under her belt that was completely unsure of what she wanted to do.

It appears it’s worked out for all involved.

Achieving Balance. One Day at a Time

Today I made a move to attempt to regain a bit of balance in my life, if only for a day. The last few weeks work has been stressful. I’m talking, meetings, deadlines, new employees, all piled on top of day to day expectations, stressful. I’ve not been getting out of the office at the hour deserved of my early check in time. Work has been eating away at my all too precious family time. Today I changed that. There were plenty of “To Do” tasks to keep me in my chair for a few more hours (days?) but I stood up and walked out of the door at 3:49. Only 49 minutes after I intended to leave. Not bad.

I pulled into the driveway just as DH was unloading the kidlets. Joy was visible on LJ’s face and he took great pleasure in attacking me with paper raccoon, an animal that fills me with quite an unreasonable amount of fear. J-Mo too was all smiles. Already my decision to leave financial statements for tomorrow was paying off.

As if I’d planned the evening’s agenda with DH ahead of time we both dove right into tasks that would benefit the family. DH headed to the kitchen to start dinner and I, with LJ’s help, started some laundry and folded up a load that had seemingly taken up permanent residency in our dryer. LJ was all smiles as I walked him through folding his own shirts. He did quite a good job. Then the kids and I made our way to J-Mo’s room. Poor dear’s room has become quite the museum of little girl clothes. I’m not kidding when I say every piece of clothing we’ve ever purchased (or been gifted) for her during her entire 16 month existence is still housed in her tiny bedroom. Also in the room is a stack of maternity clothes I just can’t seem to part with. Long story short, the girl’s room was a disaster. Making matters worse my little pincher grasp phenom has taken to picking at the border hung around the middle of the room thus forcing us to move the crib to the middle of the already cramped quarters. LJ and I laughed at the number of wooden blocks we found scattered around her room. LJ also had fun, per my instructions, stuffing the current season’s wardrobe into the appropriate drawers. Properly folding them will have to come at another time. I managed to throw a fair amount of stained items away, tossed some torn up shoes that once belonged to DH and I and even bagged up the maternity clothes for future donation. It was a productive time. Much work remains to be done but for now we’ve made enough room for us to walk into and J-Mo may even be able to play in there. Victory. Work complete and the three of us had a blast hanging out together.

By the time LJ and I finished up her room J-Mo was done inhaling her dinner. She’s quite the fan of DH’s chicken, it seems. Bath time! My little one adores the water. She happily lay on the ground in the bathroom allowing me to strip her down. I had only gotten the shampoo on her when LJ declared that he wanted to take a bath with her. I hesitated as I was only planning on quick bath for her but then conceded, why not? LJ stripped down and joined his sister in the bath. I rinsed off the girl and got to work on soaping up the boy. LJ took pride in the fact that he need only shake his wet head before his sister was laughing from head to toe. Pure joy rang across her face as her brother entertained her. Bubble beards, pouring water from a cup just in front of her, shaking his head like a wet dog, it made no difference what he did, she ate it all up. I stood back and watched. It almost felt as if I was intruding on their play time. The smiles on both of their, now clean, faces is something that’s now etched in my memory.

Today I achieved a bit of balance. I answered countless emails, reported on the state of our Accounts Receivable, discussed staffing issues and yet all that I accomplished was eclipsed by the ten minute exchange in our grimy little bath tub. That was exactly why I walked out of the office today at 3:49.

Hi, my name is Tanya. I'm a "snoozer"

I recall the first few weeks (months?) of marriage to be quite the adjustment. I was suddenly forced to share "my" space with DH. Yes, this was by choice and, yes, I love him it was still quite the adjustment. The restroom I used to be able to use whenever I pleased would suddenly be occupied at the most in opportune moments. The TV in the living room where I longed to lounge and watch misc. chick TV was suddenly being used to watch soccer games. Yes, life changed the minute my darling husband moved in and made "my" space "our" space.

The most frustrating part of the transition was DH's morning routine. The incredibly intelligent love of my life was a "snoozer". Yes, a bona fide, set the alarm 45 minutes earlier than he really intended to get out of bed kinda guy. This was a maddening realization for me, the accurate alarm setting girl. I set the alarm for the very minute in which I planned to awake from my slumber.

I attempted to sway him to my logic by explaining the more solid, productive, sleep he'd experience if he wasn't fiddling with the alarm every 3,5,or 7 minutes. He did not agree. His argument? That it was like he was cheating and getting to sleep "just a couple more minutes", like he was somehow being naughty and sleeping in. In reality he was simply getting up at the time he'd originally intended , he gained not an extra wink of sleep at all.

My logic was wasted on my silly man. Frustratingly each morning his alarm would ring and wake me up before my intended time thus forcing his sleep theory on me. Eventually, after many arguments err discussions on the subject, I realized there was little I could do to change him and I managed to learn to sleep through his alarm and wake up happily (most mornings) at the sound of my alarm, jump out of bed,and prepare to take on the day.

Fast forward six and a half years. Three times in the last week I have rolled out of bed at least 15 minutes after my intended 5:00 wake up call. Once glance at the 4:30 AM scheduled alarm tells you one thing. I'm now a snoozer. Yes, I spend the last half hour or more of my much loved sleep playing with my blackberry that serves as a alarm. I'm not exactly sure when it occurred. I'm embarrassed to admit it but, my name is Tanya and I'm a snoozer.

My Daughter the Guinea Pig

Tomorrow DH and I will be taking LJ to his first USC football game. That alone will, no doubt, produce countless blog worthy experiences. Just thinking about the fun we’ll have tomorrow makes me want to go on an on about it. I must save that for another day. Instead, I’m posting on the experience my daughter will be having tomorrow.

DH and I are card carrying members of the “It Takes A Village” society. We’re blessed to have both sets of our parents in close proximity. LJ attends preschool where my Mom teaches and he takes a day off from school each week to hang out with my wonderfully supportive in laws. Our parents, combined with our siblings, their spouses, as well as our friends, rarely leave us without babysitting resources. Oddly enough the stars aligned against us tomorrow and babysitting options were limited. There was a moment in the week where it was appearing that I would be sending my boys off in their cardinal and gold without me. DH came to the rescue and managed to arrange a tag team of sitters for the day.

J-Mo’s day will start off normally enough. We’ll wake up, get her dressed, fed and wind her up good for the day. My darling sister in law (married to my brother who’s attending the game with us) will come to our house and hang out for a number of hours. This is a great solution. J-MO is obviously familiar with our house and my sister in law is a capable and experienced (key!) babysitter. The two will no doubt have a grand time playing with blocks and trucks (yes my daughter is playing with toys handed down from her brother) and enjoying a fair amount of cuddle time. Both will be blessed by their time together and I will get a good jump on tailgating knowing that my daughter is happy and well cared for in the safety of our own home.

Mid day there will be a hand off. My brother in law, DH’s youngest brother, a mid twenty-something with absolutely no experience with babies and his adorable and babysitting inclined future wife will be coming over to relieve my sister in law of her J-MO watching duties. Tailgating happiness will continue as I know there are two sets of eyes on our precious sixteen month old. As day turns to evening, coincidentally as we approach kick-off time at the stadium, things on the babysitting front will get a bit dicey. Adorable and babysitting inclined future sister in law will head to work leaving mid twenty something with absolutely no experience with babies alone with our darling daughter. Brother in law and future sister in law will be taking our precious cargo back to their place as not to trap them at our house. The timing is such that there will be about a two hour window where twenty-something brother in law with absolutely no experience with babies will be alone with our girl in their house that is far from baby proofed, that has a pond, that they share with a dog. My only hope is that the alcohol consumed during the pre-game tailgating session is enough to lessen my stress about the situation or, even better, to take my mind off of it all together.

Yes, mid twenty-something brother in law with absolutely no experience with babies will be the sole person in charge of our daughter. Poor guy has never changed a diaper. Not a single one. Ever. We’re attempting to make the process as easy as possible. DH is dropping by their house tonight to drop off, and incidentally set up, the pack n play as well as install the car seat into their vehicle. While dropping off the gear required to care for our daughter DH will be giving his brother a quick lesson on the art of diaper changing using a poor, unsuspecting, doll. I think it would be a better idea for him to make mid twenty-something brother in law attempt to diaper their puppy. Yes, that would better demonstrate the squirminess and Houdini like sills of our little one. Alas, DH will show him just how “easy” it is all the while laughing about the experience his brother (and our daughter!!) will share tomorrow.

I know that my brother in law adores our daughter. I know that he will do all he can to protect her and care for her. It’s simply that I can’t even begin to explain to him all the trouble the little one can get into inside two minutes, let alone two hours. I can’t wait to hear about the items she attempted to ingest or the couches she attempted to base jump off of. Yes, it will be an adventure. As the game kicks off and my pre-game buzz fades my attention will, no doubt, turn to what is happening back in Long Beach. Did J-MO go down well for him? Did she fight him? Did she have poop blow out of epic proportions? I fear the experience will be so traumatic that poor brother in law will declare he will never have children.

Yes, I will enjoy watching USC, hopefully, take care of business vs. Cal but I will, the whole time, be wondering if twenty-something brother in law with absolutely no experience with babies had a strong enough defense to deal with our sixteen month old.

Stealing Moments

Life is busy. Life is crazy. Life is crazy busy.

Recently I've found myself longing for the world to stop spinning, just for a day. Heck, I'd even settle for a calm hour. If I'm honest I will admit I've been waiting for that to occur for as long as I can remember.

"When life calms down I'll....."
"When I have a free night/weekend/day I'll....."
"Next week I will..."

Turns out life never calms down and the days I long for don't show up. Instead the days pass by with me unable to truly control it. My "baby" boy is now five. My "newborn" daughter is approaching a year an a half. I feel like I've allowed so many moments to pass me by simply because I'm waiting for the perfect moment. That perfect moment rarely occurs.

In the attempt to simply accept my crazy life I've spent the week looking to create almost perfect moments. I so often want to hang out with my son and just have fun. It's tough when two nights a week there's soccer practice and work commitments have kept me there beyond my usual exit time. Tonight, with dear daughter sleeping, my son happily playing his Nintendo DS and DH grabbing a cat nap on the couch I started clean up the kitchen. I threw out a desperate "Hey, LJ, want to help me with the dishwasher?" "No thank you, Mom." At least he's polite. I began to clear the dishwasher of the load of clean dishes when little man came in. "I can help you before the start of the next race." Bingo. Moment created.

We weren't at Disneyland or at the beach but the ten minutes we spent unloading and reloading the dishwasher was great. We spoke of the day's events and looked ahead to this weekend's USC game. I allowed him to figure out where to place each plate and bowl, he accepted that challenge and did a darn good job.

The moment wasn't perfect but it was ours. My life feels a bit more balanced because I stole a moment.

Proud of my sticker

I VOTED

Yes, I did. It's such a great honor to be able to vote. I love the process and find myself like a child in line to enter Disneyland each time an election comes around.

This morning DH and I packed up the kids and headed to our polling place to vote. We arrived about 15 minutes before polls were scheduled to open. The fact that a sizable line had already developed frustrated the Mom with two children in tow in me but the proud American in me absolutely loved it. Yes, there we were husband and wife with our 5 yr old and antsy 1 yr old waiting to play our part in the democracy that defines our country.

I bent down to explain to LJ that everyone there gets a choice that no one person gets to tell us who will be our leader. "Are they voting for John McCain? or Obama?" I reminded LJ it didn't matter. That the greatest thing is we do get a choice.

We get a choice. What a wonderful thing. Luckily for us, and admittedly for those in line with us, things moved in such a manner that we managed to sneak ahead of a number of people so the kids didn't get too antsy. Turns out that location housed the polling places for two neighborhoods. One labeled orange, one green. Despite having one large line there were two check in tables and banks of machines. For whatever reason the early birds were primarily from the green neighborhood. We were from the orange side of town. This meant we got to quickly move into line to check in and subsequently vote.

The kids were great and tolerated the process nicely. DH and I walked out proud to be sporting our "I VOTED" sticker and happy to start our day. While walking back to the car DH wondered aloud why we've never done the absentee voting routine. I quickly agreed with him that that wasn't a bad idea, certainly easier. As soon as it was out of my mouth I realized I wouldn't prefer to do that. There is something about standing in line with people from all different walks of life and waiting my turn to cast my vote. It is certainly a disruption to our usual morning routine but it's something I will happily do whenever called upon to do so.

Plus, absentee voters don't get stickers.

A Fall Classic

Despite what the thermometer and its 80 degree reading says, fall is in the air. I’m sure they are enjoying beautiful fall colors up and down the East Coast. Here in So Cal? No fall colors to speak of, leaves are either green or dead, but we know it’s fall thanks to the Santa Ana winds that have been driving us crazy for the last few weeks. J-MO has a closet full of adorable “cool weather” outfits that she’s yet to wear. Instead I’ve been squeezing her size 24 month buns into size 18 month shorts in order to dress her appropriately for the weather. Don’t worry, the marks from the elastic go away, eventually.

In addition to bizarre temperature shifts there’s one thing I know I can count on each fall: the annual showing of “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown”. It aired on Tuesday at 8:00. Tuesday is soccer practice night for LJ and 8:00 is too late for our boy to start a show so, thanks to the wonder that is our DVR, it, minus the first three minutes because I nearly forgot it, was recorded so we could view it at whenever our hearts desired.

Our hearts so desired last night. The oddly short World Series deciding game was over, I was lying on our bed just resting, LJ was wandering around looking for something to entertain him. I came to his rescue. I told him of the show I’d taped the previous night. It didn’t take much prompting for him to climb onto the bed with me. After explaining (and apologizing) to my five year old why I’d skipped the first few minutes, we settled in to watch the Peanuts gang. LJ and I lay side by side holding hands. My boy, the sweetheart that he can be, commented sadly every time poor Charlie received a rock, “they aren’t very nice to him, I’d give him candy!” Indeed, little man, we share with everyone, right? Such teaching moments this 40 year cartoon provided.

It was nice to hang out with my little guy. He’s so busy these days doing things that 5 year old boys do like playing soccer or riding his scooter or crashing monster trucks, it’s rare that I really, really, get to have a few quite moments with him. He’s seemed so much more grown up lately, I can’t seem to fully grasp the fact that he turned five last week. All that said my boy did give me a few glimpses at my “little” LJ. He, to this day, inaccurately refers to Snoopy as “SnooFy”. When he first said it last night I nearly corrected him. I may have even opened my mouth to do so but I stopped the words before they came out. For one more year that little beagle can be Snoofy. Yes, there’s a hint of my baby LJ still trapped in there. It’s rare I get to see glimpses of the baby I once knew but when I do it’s a golden moment.

I’ll let “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” stay on the DVR for a few weeks. Then, in a sad moment I’ll delete it. Like the Santa Ana winds it’s a fall classic. One to be enjoyed only when the conditions are perfect.

On being a sick Mom

I hate being sick. Silly comment, I know. Who enjoys being sick? I just hate the disruption of life. Life does not stop because I'm not feeling well. Work deadlines still loom, children still require dinner and laundry still piles up. All this while I battle a fever and seemingly hack out my lungs.

Being sick does bring some good with it. DH really does step up and take care of me. Don't get me wrong, he will roll his eyes when I suggest he purchase a thermometer even though we surely have 10 in the house, but he moves beyond and tends to my care. This evening he brought home 7-up and some saltine crackers. Ah, yes, the cure all remedies of my childhood. No matter the ailment Mom would give us 7-up, saltine crackers and big stick popsicles. I know that saltine crackers and clear soda won't really cure my raging chest cold but knowing my husband loves me, hacking cough, runny nose, fever and all, makes me feel better instantly.

Wish he could do something to take care of the meeting I have scheduled at the office tomorrow morning at ten.