Miles' Turns 2: A Birthday Party

Happy Easter!

Evie woke-up with MANY, MANY "Wow's!" of excitement to her Easter basket. Each and every item was removed with the reception of "Wow!". After an M&M snack-pak breakfast and an energetic display of running in circles grunting... we decided to put up the basket and have sausage & eggs.
We got dressed late and headed in the backyard for Evie's first egg hunt. Grandma La-La and I made it rather easy not knowing how absolutely eagle-eye this kid is. After 5 minutes... we decided to turn her around and do another egg hunt with more tricky hiding places. She got all those, too. This apple didn't fall too far from THIS tree, apparently.
All are currently enjoying naps (the author here is enjoying a Bloody Mary after finishing up her Mimosa's from breakfast. Ah, holiday's the way my family always celebrated them. Drunk.)
Up next: A 12lb ham lunch followed by the Easter Parade on Monument Avenue?
Stay tuned...

Our first conversation...

While driving to Lowe's tonight, I heard some backseat exclamatory gibberish.
I returned the enthusiasm, "Did you see the doggies, Evie?"
{pause}
"Nooooo...." she replied (Evie has this really cute and funny way of furrowing her brow and slowly saying"no").
"You didn't see the dogs? Right there [pointing]. Look out the window!"
"Dawgs?" she asked while leaning forward to see.
"Yeah!"
She sat back. Obviously, she missed them.
"Evie, did we just have our first conversation?"
{pause}
"Noooooo...."

Pretend

I was giving Evie a bath last night when she suddenly (and quickly) reached into the water, shoved her fingers in her mouth and began to much on something.
I asked her (as if she'd answer the question, "What are you eating?"
She had her lips pursed tightly. We looked at each other for an extended second before she hummed in response, "MMmmmm!"
I thought, "Is she eating a hair? Gross! Did she find a floating hair or... lint?!. What is it? what is she eating?"
I wasn't worried... more curious.
She reached into the water again with her thumb and forefinger. She pinched something and quickly returned her fingers to her lips, "Mmmm!"
Did she just pick something out of the water? Did she just eat a pretend food?
She did it again.
I did it, too.
She did it again.
We began to mimic each other back and forth and laughing at the silliness of it all.
Did we just share a pretend snack? How cool.

Evie 21-month interview

Evie talks. A LOT. Unfortunately, a lot of it is just ramblings accentuated with mimicked facial expressions, gestures and tones. She whispers. She yells. She asks questions and gives us a battery of demands. All of it... in non-sensical gibberish.
But, she does know some things and here is what she does know (and how it sounds) cause every day she gets a wee bit better, the vocabulary expands and these days of babytalk are going to fade away...

Enjoy!

Do you want to go brush your teeth?

This wasn't really a question.
It was really a listing off of tasks that needed completion before going to bed.
I don't know why I said it in the form of a question.
Evie stands up leaning heavily into dad's lap as he sat watching the news. She rolls around on her shoulder blades against his knees. Moo-Cow in one hand, pacifier in mouth with her electric pink PJ's on... basically ready for bedtime to commence.
Evie looks up at me while arching her back against dad's lap, "Mmmmmm..... no."

Did that just happen?

An evening with a toddler

I'm really digging Evie's ingenuity lately. Maybe that's not the best word for it. I'm not very strong at articulating what I am thinking & feeling...
I'm enjoying Evie's boldness, her communication development, her creativity in conveying her message and her remarkable ways to resolving issues that sometimes seem way too big for a 20-month-old to problem solve.
Its also her brevity. Her way of walking up to me (as soon as I walk in through the front door after work), taking my first finger in her hand and leading me into the dining room where da-da is currently occupying one chair at her mini play table for two. Da-da looks at me, pained (this cute, directness Evie has recently adapted can also turn into demanding persistence that we sit with her at the little table until she releases us... which is never). "Deep be bah bah, da!" she points to the table. I sit. Evie furrows her brow, obviously I have misunderstood her very clear and articulate directions (how dare I?). I pull her onto my lap. Also not the response she wanted. I get up and put her on my seat. This is OK, for now... until dad sees an opportunity to escape. Evie is again unhappy until I quickly move in to the now vacant guest chair. All is, again, temporarily, right with the world.
To break up the chatter-chatter of Evie's nonsense, I make suggestions of what we could do at the table. She stands up and points to the wall (through it is a direct line to her bedroom), "Bah bah bleee kah kah? [furrowed brow again] Kah, KOW?!." I'm not understanding what a Kah-kow is so I suggest, "Do you want to color at your table?"
"Tay!" Off she scampers.
Evie has VERY recently developed this "Tay!" word. Rob and I think its her way of saying "OK!", as in "K!" but it comes out, "Tay!" She will understand nearly everything you say to her and respond in the affirmative, "Tay!" if it is something she wants.
"Do you want to help Mommy clean up your bath toys?" "Do you want to go brush your teeth?" "Go pick out some books to read." "Go give daddy a hug."
"Tay!" "Tay!" "Tay!" "Tay!"
Its all pretty spectacular.
Makes my heart melt and sing at the same time.
Not to go all Hallmark-moment on you - but this really is THAT moment in time you will later tell your kid about when she is 16 and just doesn't 'get it' when you want to know why she won't hug you g'night anymore.
So, Evie goes into her bedroom and closes the door. She has to then open the closet door that is directly behind it (old homes = bad layout). I can hear all kinds of noises from the dining room doorway watching her closed bedroom door. Its like listening to a muppet show in there - all these exaggerated noises. *scrap, drag-drag-drag* Evie must now be pulling out her plastic bin (She has a clear 1 1/2ft. tall case with lid that contains coloring books, crayons, markers, paper, etc. Its honestly pretty hefty for someone about 2 1/2 ft. tall). *grunt* [pause] *drag* *grunt* [pause] *c-r-e-e-k!* [that was the closet door closing] *grunt* *drag-scrap* [bedroom door flies open and slightly klonks the closet door behind it]. Evie emerges holding the case up against her chest. *huff! huff!*, she takes 2 steps and puts down the case. [pause] *grunt!* Evie picks up the case and takes 2 more steps before dropping it again. I finally break my gaze and lean forward to take the case from her.
"Ba-kah be blah bloh."
"Yup, that's right. We'll color."

Play tent

I snuck into Evie's li'l red tent when she was busy with her books. I grabbed her pillow and pretended to snore (*snore! shooooo... *snore! shooooo!). Evie excitedly tried to pull her other pillow through the crib bars and grabbed the comforter. She snuggled in next to me and snored right along (*snore! shoooo....!)

Rainy Day

Its amazing how having a kid makes you revert back to the type of things you did to have fun when you were a kid. In this case, going to the mall to hang-out! (Where else do you take a kid for low budget fun?).
Turns out Evie only stayed in the kid-pit long enough for me to snap this photo... the rest of her time was spent sprinting up the stairs and around the mall.

Mommy Dearest

Today, I actually said what my mom used to say to me [in regards to a display of bratty behavior], "Evie! Don't be so ugly!"
As soon as the words escaped my mouth, I knew I could never go back.
I am well on my way to becoming my mother.

One week later: HOT and SUNNY!

Evie gathers every cup she can find this morning... and then insists on carrying them everywhere.


Enjoying the park (on Park Ave) in the fan. What a beautiful day!


OK, Its actually HOT out here today! I'm stripping down...


Plastic kids' cars are downright HAIR-RAISING....

Playdate slash cook-out

Evie and Tyler got along swimmingly (and more importantly, the parents all get along well, too!)

Storytime

SNOW DAY!

What a great way to celebrate Evie's 20-month-birthday!









I am so glad our 1920's neighborhood still features a central area that has a coffee shop, wine/beer store, various diners, a yoga center and a florist! We walked down to enjoy a hot cocoa break mid-day today.

SNOW!

Here's what our place looks like at 7AM today!

Puck likes to shove his head in the snow (like an ostrich sticking its head in the sand), rev up and RUN!


I'm the snow b*tch. Yes, I couldn't wait so I am out there in bare feet + slippers and my hoodie housecoat I wear when I wake up. Rob finds my stupidity hilarious.


After shoveling a path to the sidewalk, here's what the house looks like this AM!


Here's my car! Notice the roads here. They do nothing here hence the Southern "freak-out" when it snows...


Here's looking down the street. Beautiful trees (although branches are starting to snap).

Baby's first SNOW!

If you've ever been to the South, this is considered a crazy deep snow.
I went to the movies with K while Rob stayed home with Evie. While exiting the theaters, we found snow covered cars in a thick, fresh snowfall. Upon entering my house, I snatched up Evie and threw her outside for just the 5 minutes before dinnertime.
"Whoa!" she exclaimed.
so distracted by the snowfall she actually wore a hat and kept her mittens on. And then, she treked straight for the park (this kid would swing in a hailstorm).

Bye-bye.

So, Evie has mastered "bye-bye."
I. mean. MASTERED.
CONQUERED.
Is currently destroying World Record for the most "bye-bye's" said in one week.
When Rob looks over my shoulder as I am changing her morning diaper & he leaves the room, "bye-bye!"
When I get a cup of coffee and exit the kitchen, "bye-bye!"
When she throws away a piece of paper, "bye-bye!"
When Puck walked through the room, the bathtub water goes down the drain, when her shows end.
BUH-BYE.

Asparagus

I made pork tenderloin and steamed asparagus for dinner last night. While cutting up the asparagus, Evie's hand ran along the edge of the kitchen counter, "mah-mah! mah-mah!*"
(*mah-mah is Evie's generic phrase meaning, loosely, "Excuse me mother, what is that you are working on and how might I get involved?")
I tossed a flowery tip her way to get her to stop & to sort of say, "Oh yeah? You want raw asparagus, do you? You want it? OK, here it is. Enjoy!"
Well, she did. She liked it.
Evie also later enjoyed steamed asparagus. By the end of the meal she decided on really enjoying just the tips. After demanding the only remaining tip on MY plate... I lobbed it her way muttering, "here."
Ah, the sacrifices of motherhood.
Its going to be stems and stalks for me from here on in, isn't it?

A parental rite of passage: the midnite run to ER

Evie dozes on me for a morning nap
Well, Evie's "cold" has become so worse - she is now inconsolable.
So was the scene at 1AM last night (Sunday night).
Evie's had a runny nose and "wet" cough for well over 10 days now and only recently (Tuesday and Wednesday nights) did it become dry. Those nights her cough was that sudden, relentless coughing spasm that sends you upright in bed gasping for air only to cough more. It was terrible. She's cry and we'd race. She's rub her eyes and we'd lay her back down. On Thursday we discussed taking her to the doctor Friday if things were still bad.
Of course! thursday night wasn't AS bad so she stayed home all day Friday. When I got home from work, I noticed she had a slight fever (100.1) and Rob said she had been cranky since her nap. Uh-oh.
Friday night was a little rough but we had also become use to rough from this entire past week.
Saturday morning, Evie just looks and seems sick. You must understand one thing - this kid is totally her father's daughter. When she is sick, you can tell but she otherwise tries to continue to act normal. When I'm sick, everybody run for your lives! I want attention, coddling and more attention still.
Back to Saturday morning.
I call the pediatrician at home who thinks it may be RSV (a baby upper-respiratory) as an over-the-phone diagnosis. I inquire about going to an ER or some emergency kid clinic. She recommends one but it doesn't open until 2PM.
By 2PM, Evie seems fine... sick but maybe I'm over-reacting. OK, here's my other sidenote. Rob's really more of the one questioning my over-reaction at this point. I mean, really, ER? She doesn't seem THAT sick but I'm telling you... my mom instincts were up and waiting till Monday could be really bad. In the end, I never went.
Saturday night is... OK. Sunday is OK and we even spend an hour and a half out front playing on the sidewalk.
Sunday night, Evie goes to bed no problem. By 11PM, she's up crying. I console her and leave. She cries again. I go in the room and she stops, so I leave. She cries again, I go in and she stops. She is actually there with eyes closed. Is she faking? I'm a little annoyed and leave. She cries again so I rock her until she falls asleep. I lay her down, she cries. This continues for quite awhile until all are in bed by midnight.
At 1AM, she is UP. Crying. Hysterically. Again, a note - hysterically for all kids is quite bad. This was an Evie hysterical.. much milder than the average tantrum throwing brats you may have witnessed. Evie is REALLY a great trooper when sick so when she cries without stopping.... sticking a spitty hand in her mouth... you know it is the REAL DEAL.
We are getting a little stressed and frankly, pissed at this point. Without knowing what to do, we pull her into bed with us. Terrible idea. She trashes and cries every 10 minutes until its now 2AM.
I tell Rob its time to go to the ER. We obviously are NEVER SLEEPING EVER AGAIN so we might as well get up and hang-out with all the insomniacs and severely sick while we are at it.
We get to the ER (its nearly dead, a good sign that things will move quickly).
Some fumbling for insurance goes on (again, I have only been at my new job for 2 weeks and have no insurance cards yet).
Evie goes through a series of crying spells after each poke & prod... rectal temp (nothing), ear check (nothing), throat swab (no flu or strep throat) and finally, a chest x-ray.
Turns out, bronchitis.
It was nice to have an answer and to justify our midnight run. It was nice to not spend the night resenting Evie for crying & wailing. It was nice to know that it was solvable and maybe now, we could all get some sleep.
One Yo Gabba Gabba CD & Walgreens prescription fill later, we were all home and in bed t 4:40AM.
I am happy to report that after a very listless morning (Evie snoozed on me for 45 minutes! she NEVER falls asleep on people!), she ran laps all around the house before going to bed SOUNDLY.
Phew.

sidewalk chalk

I picked up this little tub of sidewalk chalk for $1 at Target. A stupid impulse buy much like every weekly $10 expenditure I have at the Target Hot Spot area. Besides, we still have a whole cart of chalk from Evie's birthday last year... but this was only $1! I had to have it.
Evie's really been into going outside.
Sun, wind, cold, hail... it doesn't stop her. She's a driving force who insists on being out in nature.
We went outside Sunday after lunch despite this pesky cold she's had for over a week (she's been waking up all night coughing and, in turn, waking us up all night, too).
I thought she'd race for the park but she sat on the front steps instead. Tap, tap, tapping her toes (she can reach the next step with her feet now).
I went back side and got the chalk.
She loved it. Well, I loved it. I drew unicorns and hearts and stars... all the girliest stuff I could think of.
Evie then spent the next hour sitting on each drawing while defacing another... er, I mean to say, coloring in the shapes I had made.
Scribble, scribble, swipe, swipe! She doesn't have any form to her writings yet and she still switches hands but it is noteworthy that she didn't eat the chalk nor did she snub it like last summer. I can't wait till spring when we can do more activities like this!

happy valentine's day!

Delicious puzzle from grandma...

lazy.

baby baby BABY!

OMG.
I'm getting baby crazy. I don't know if its because all of my closest friends are recent new moms, my kid is now a toddler and beginning to become more independent or that its spring... but I am baby crazy. My clock is ticking and its absolutely WIERD. I feel like a crazy person. Who really sits aroun d crunching numbers in their head all day like I've been doing? Let's see, if I got pregnant in June then that would mean the baby would be born in March so Evie and it would be almost 3 years apart... ah!

New Park: Bryan Park

Leaps and Bounds, More Learned Tricks

At the school playground yesterday, Evie began walking up the steps to the slide... on her feet! She usually crawls but this day was one for taking actual big-girl steps. It was later continued today by going up and down the steps to the house - alone! Wow!

Evie says "hot!" and blows on her food. The really funny part is when it is clearly NOT hot and she does it anyway. She then sideways glances and giggles wildly. I think Evie is beginning to understand the art of obvious humor. She does things like this to see if you are paying attention... and then shakes her head like a monkey with laughter. Its great. Its like Vaudeville.

She knows "cheese!" but not really in the sense of taking a picture. When you take a picture you have to tell her to smile and her smile is not worth asking her to smile. She closes here eyes and juts out her lips with teeth clenched... she looks like she's straining. Its better to catch her off guard.

Current vocabulary: Doggie, Puck, Pwee (please), meh-meh (Moo Cow), muh-ma (mom), da-da, dish (What's this?), dat (I want that), cheese, chews (shoes), zocks (socks), pap (pacifier), hot!, two (she counts 1-6 by always saying "two"), uh-oh, wow, whoa!, happy, hi.

At the park, Evie can go down slides by herself. She is starting to learn how to hold on to the chains on the swing. She picks up trash (of course!).

Evie knows how to turn on and off light switches. How to close doors. How to pick up things mom drops or hand over things mom/dad ask for. She knows when to wait if we are outside (don't run off!). She will help clean up her toys in the bathtub and stand waiting to be wrapped in a towel afterward. She knows how to wash and dry her hands after meals (with help, of course). Evie can point out almost every body part (ex: taps her teeth when you ask where her teeth are and stomps her feet when you ask where her feet are). Evie understands how to get specific things like coats or shoes and will then race to the door when you suggest going outside. Evie signals she is done eating by steadily lining up the rest of her food off to the far right side of her placemat. She will shake her head 'no' whenever I suggest eating anything she ate just last week (we seem to be getting pickier as we get older). Evie will get messy but likes to have her hands cleaned off. Evie still hates anything put in her hair.

Trash Collector

Evie has learned a new trick of throwing things away.
I filled the laundry basket with clothes from the dryer and hauled it out to the couch for folding. Evie sometimes takes an interest in knocking over the freshly folded piles of shirts. In my attempts to deflect her grabs, a pair of my underwear hit the floor. She immediately grabbed them and ran off. I decided not to pursue since I could now fold in peace.
Visions of guests coming over to find a pair of my panties laying about began flooding my mind... so I stopped folding to go on the hunt.
Evie stood in the corner behind the chair.
After asking her where the goods were (and realizing she doesn't have a clue what I am asking about) I figured they'd show up.
They did.
In the swing-top trash can in the kitchen.
Part of me finds this funny and part of me is beginning to wonder what else I've lost or soon will lose.

t-i-r-e-d

Today was my second day at my new job. Its always hard to concentrate for 8hrs a day when you have no idea what it is you should be doing let alone concentrating on. But, I'm still full of excitement to dive in. I just need to know when to dive.

Today Evie repeated "happy! happy! happy!" at the end of her nearly touched dinner (yes, nearly). We then took a bath in which she giggled at the bar of soap touching every part of her body. After pointing out Moo-Cow on the towel bar, "Ma! Ma! Ma!", I scooped her up & out of the tub. Dad got her dressed for bed before she zoned out on my lap during the nightly news. I simply love the weight of her sitting on my lap at moments like this.
Evie used to wave her hand in front of her mouth when I'd ask, "Want to go brush your teeth? C,mon! Let's go brush your teeth!" Now, she screams in horror. Ah, the many phases.

One last day before work, work, work!

I set the alarm to get up at 7AM this morning. I figured after sleeping in until 8AM these last 2 weeks was going to KILL me when I had to get up at/around 6:30AM for my first day at the new job tomorrow.
Evie awoke not too much past my getting up. Rob joined us & we all had breakfast... or rather... we tried to teach Evie how to scoop up her oatmeal in a spoon. Mom 7 dad then had to tag-team clean up Evie since most of the oatmeal landed everywhere but in her mouth. I think oatmeal is one of the main ingredients in cement just after sand and gravel.
I got Evie dressed and thoroughly enjoyed the full arm embrace I got as I pulled up her pants. She then also did NOT want to be put down. Normally I find this completely annoying since I have things I want to get done. She weighs a lot and being one-armed truly slows a person down. But, this morning, I thought, "You don't want to go down? Great! Let's be siamese twins for the day! This will be fun!"
Rob was full of energy this morning and had Evie ready to go to the sitter's at 8:30AM. Normally we show up at 9:15AM. Evie didn't want to go. She was completely content laying belly-to-bely on me in our living room side chair. I truly enjoyed feeling her belly breathe and feeling it hop when she giggled. Damned, tomorrow is going to be hard. I'm suddenly flooded with the feelings I had leaving her at 2 months old.
Off she is whisked and out the door to the car. She watches over Rob's shoulder and then turns to get in the car.
I close the door.
I'm left wondering if yesterday was just a perfectly outstanding day hence the reason why I am pining to stay at home with Evie now or if we finally just got into a groove (only to have that be broken once I work again).
*sigh*
Kids are amazing creatures.

A little fried..

I'm at that place in time where I try to throw too many stokes in the fire because frankly, I am cold (bored) and suddenly the fire rages (too many people get back to me with ideas for get-togethers) and I am temporarily blinded by either joy (yeah! I have so many friends and things going on, this is great!) or stress of the workload (holy crap, I took on far too many things and I am suddenly overloaded with commitments).
This rant will only make sense to a select few (Alycia, Natalie... yes, I am naming you) and the rest may be confused.

Other than the above, I have enjoyed a Monday and Tuesday with Evie at the sitter's. I thought I would be WAY more productive in her absence but have realized its winter and I am completely overwhelmed with the extra time on my hands.... do I paint the entire kitchen or clean out the entire basement? (I chose to do neither).

So here I sit on Tuesday night with only freshly highlighted hair and a $200 H&M clothing bill to show for my time off, but hey... I needed some pamper time, too, so don't wag your finger too closely to my eyelashes, thank you.

I managed to accomplish some things yesterday like switching to Gmail (and manually copying over friends' email addresses), making vegetable stew, putting away CC memorobilia and starting my taxes (yuck).
Today, I showed up to a hair appointment that was slated for tomorrow. To fill my new found time, I went clothing shopping & met a friend for lunch. I later returned to the hair appointment early this afternoon (since they managed to fit me in for a cancellation) and chilled for an hour before Evie came home from the sitter's.
I spent this evening connecting with displaced CC friends and trying to work out the details on a co-worker's baby shower invite I am designing.

I have realized recently that I would make a HORRIBLE stay-at-home mom. I also realize that it is FAR MORE WORK to stay at home than my actual job has ever been. Watching a toddler all day while trying to accomplish anything is exhausting beyond anything I have experienced since my college days. There have been moments in recent days where I have seriously sent praises out to all the single moms out there who do this... ALONE and while working multiple jobs.
I can't wait to start work so I can get back to a routine,
I'm such a man.
I sound like my father's generation. Or hell, his generation before him.
I LOVE being at home, too. Don't get me wrong. I'm all hands on. I love to clean, bake, cook, and take Evie to all new places.
But I am such a better mother on the weekends and at night. Days on end would make me so nasty.
But, maybe Evie doen't notice this - which is good. I don's want her to.
She cried, scratch that, HOWLED when I left her at the sitter's Monday morning after watching her Thursday - Sunday.
She doesn't cry for daddy like that.
Hmmmm. Makes me so sad for her and secretly happy for me all at the same time.
I know going back to work now will make me miss her terribly, too. Its like my summer break is ending and its time to go to a new school with all new students and teachers.
Ah, mixed feelings abound today.

Saturday Morning Playdate

Its always good to get 'em together and tire 'em out. Miles and Tyler came over at 9AM for a brief indoor play followed by a spin at the elementary school playground (again, only 3 houses away from us). They don't really play together so much as copy what the other one is doing: Yank the toy out of their hands and pantomime, "its mine now, sucker!"
Many fake cries, goldfish, and poopie diapers later... everyone was home by 11:30AM and we ran some errands to further tire Evie (and ourselves) out.

Liquidated: Circuit City

Since Evie's story begins at Circuit City, it only seemed fitting that I take up a little space on her blog to write about its final chapter.

"Circuit City to liquidate remaining US stores
he second-biggest electronics retailer in the nation, Circuit City Stores Inc., says it has reached an agreement with liquidators to sell the merchandise in its 567 U.S. stores after failing to find a buyer or a refinancing deal."

So that's it. A leading retailer in the electronics business for 60 years is now no more.
Surreal.
I hate that that word gets overused, but honestly, Friday was... surreal.

I sat at my desk Friday morning about 9:30AM. I've been a wee bit late everyday this past week. Its hard to wake and go to a company in which you have truly done nothing since the beginning of November when it first filed for Chapter 11.
As one of my co-workers put it, "it's been like walking in a morgue for the last two months, I'm glad its finally over."
I had checked the online news first thing that morning anticipating something positive before the courts would release final word around 10AM. Overall, the online news looked promising. We did have 3 interested liquidators but also 2 very interested parties who wanted to buy the company with hopes of moving forward with the business as a whole.

So, as I sat in my cube pep-talking 2 co-workers. While I shared my theories that the real people who will get screwed would be the directors since the new investors would get rid of the old regime in the first order of business.... I overheard word that there would be a "Town Hall Meeting" at noon. Moments later, 15 minutes before the news was released to the press, it was over. An email was sent out announcing our liquidation.
What?
I had just finished my pep-talk. And, this wasn't any part of it.

Suddenly the halls get very busy. It was like the bell had rung and passing period had begun.
I heard people making jokes like, "Well, I guess you could flick me off now (said a boss to her subordinate)."
I saw some people wide-eyed not really understanding what to do next... do we have to vacate immediately?
Some people began furiously asking for samples of their work while printing out pay stubs as proof of employment for their next job.
I.... sat there. Watching. Mouth hung open. I was speechless.

I, however, have a job.
Yes, the timing couldn't be MORE PERFECT.
A friend turned me on to an opportunity with his company. I hate to post the name of the place on a public blog but basically, I got federal job working in the internal IT dept as a web designer. Yes, I will be going back to my web design roots.
I found out about this opportunity in late December. So late, in fact, they called on December 23rd and wanted me in that day! Due to the holidays and various vacation schedules, I went to an interview late Monday January 5th. Apparently it went very well because my friend called throughout the week with positive news. By Friday, January 9, an emailed offer arrived. Coincidentally, on Friday, January 9, Circuit City announced its plans to hasten its possible buy-out by going to auction the following week. We all thought this type of thing wasn't going to happen until March 1st (this would be the first day of our new fiscal year).

This past Monday, January 12th, I took my HR rep out to lunch. As we sat she turned and said, "You're quitting."
"Yes."
"Damned!"
I told her my feedback on my experiences while working at CC. She listened and asked forward-thinking questions. We were both wondering if any of this was ever going to see the light of day. If the company went belly-up, all of this conversation would be mute anyway.

I called my department Director Monday afternoon and we made plans to meet for lunch on Wednesday. She was out all week moving into a newly renovated home.
I slowly told close co-workers throughout the beginning of the week. How do you tell people you have a job in such a volatile environment? Its like announcing, "Its my birthday!" Besides, who wants to hear your good fortune when their fate hangs in the balance?

Many people were not at all supportive. Jealous, yes. Insecure, yes. Was it hard for me to handle, yes.
I feel terrible. I feel lucky. I feel like there is something I could do to help so many excellent co-workers but in reality, what the heck can I do? Its not like I'm on a life raft that I have any control over.

There were some people who were surprised I had a job. Maybe its because of the market and they've been looking, too. Maybe its because they think they are better than me and are surprised I landed something. Maybe it never truly sunk in that they should be looking, too. After all, some of these people have NEVER HAD ANY OTHER JOB besides Circuit City. After years of being somewhere it becomes the very definition of who you are. To have the rug yanked out from underneath you must be... terrifying. Plus, I think people found my acceptance of another job was somehow "quitting the team". I had opted to jump overboard rather than continue to help bail out water in the great sinking ship.

So, after the news broke on Friday... we sat around for an hour waiting for the Town Hall Meeting. People stood around in the cafeteria waiting for the auditorium doors to open. The room was packed, standing room only (the chairs had been removed for this meeting). Additional employees stood in the cafeteria East Wing waiting to hear the news over the speaker system.
The same panel that has been addressing us for months - acting CEOs, HR Directors, General Counsel, etc. One by one they spoke. One did not receive any applause from me (and a few others). Some people walked out of the meeting... it seemed pointless after awhile.

Many went out to lunch just to get out of the building. I stayed. I didn't know what to do with myself outside of the event that was unfolding minute-by-minute. At 2PM our Director called us together to hand out final letters (notices of the liquidation, really). Everyone would get 60 day severance and health care coverage through the end of March. All are required to report to work on Monday to gather things and see if they will need to stay working at the office as assistants to the liquidators. Some already know they will have to stay on... many assume they will not (why would the liquidators need someone who creates our marketing plans?).

I was one of the last to leave. Its hard to leave. All that stuff - the piles of old Tabs (Sunday circulars) all, useless. All the archives of TV ads, in store ad campaigns, photos of national stores, email addresses of outside vendors... all worthless. Pointless. Useless. I hate to sound dramatic but it really was a rather dramatic scene to behold. I also have to mention here that some Circuit City memorabilia was taken home: a jacket with a logo, an autographed football, a coffee mug. Perhaps it will all be on Ebay sometime soon. The end of an era.

I had taken home nearly everything the night before in preparation of the worst and, again, my last day was in one week. I gather my last remaining things (a lamp, a pin board and a box of kleenex) and headed out at 3:30PM.
I headed straight to the bar.

I might report back to work on Monday. Turns out that I may be eligible for one week's worth of severence pay since I wrote in my resignation letter that my last day would be January 23rd. I wouldn't want to jeopardize free money afterall. ;-)

So, that's that [clap, clapping of hands]. Its over.

A new chapter begins....

Potty time

So the doctor tells me to go and buy a baby toilet during Evie's recent 18-month check-up. It seems both completely ridiculous and sad that she is becoming a kid (and no longer my little baby).
So, I bought this $25 plastic job that features a lid (so it becomes a step stool later) and a rubber ring to "cushie that tushie". Whatever, I think she should have to learn how to sit on a frigid, hard surface like the rest of us, but, whatever.
So, the doctor tells me to let her get comfortable with it and just let her play with it. We put it in the bathroom maybe a week ago and its just sat there. I showed Evie the flip-up lid and she expressed no interest.
Fine.
Suddenly, this morning, Evie lifts up the potty lid. I was putting on mascara and I hear Rob from the doorway, "Hey! Psst! Check out it out!"
Evie picks up the lid and correctly sits on the toilet.
(No, she didn't actually 'go'... she doesn't even know how too. She just sat there in her footie pajamas and must have been mimicking what she sees us do).
Before I could comment on how funny/cool the whole action was... Evie then stood up (as if to flush? I looked on, hopeful), grabbed Moo-Cow, shoved him in the mini-toilet slamming the lid shut.
*sigh*
Thank goodness this wasn't the real thing or Moo-Cow is in for a lot of baths.

So much going on and yet, ...nothing to report.

I haven't been blogging lately. No idea why. I really am quite bored at work these days but I can't really do this sort of thing there.

When I get home, I've been giving myself more slack than ever when it comes to expectations - some nights I'll cook and some nights I give in and order out. All nights I lay around in my PJs after Evie is down by 7:30PM.

I finally put away the last of the Christmas decorations today. I had a wreath up on the mantle, some lights, a trio of Yuletide singing cow pig & chicken electronics (ah, its so horrible, its great), and some reindeer. I can now officially cross that task off my list.

I actually dusted something today (no idea when I last did that. Its seriously must have been before Evie was born) and even vacuumed the baseboards in the hallway. I'm realizing how truly gross my house is. I now see why my mother is horrified. I also now see why that woman could never handle a full-time job when I was a kid. The limited time to clean, organize, cook, bake and run a household goes completely on the wayside when you have a 3ft tall munchkin terrorizing the dog with a plastic recorder in hand.

Oh! Here's something worth reporting!
I booked a house on the Outer Banks today. Yippee! Rob and I haven't had a true "vacation" in years. No exaggeration. We went to Asheville for 1 overnight this past Thanksgiving Weekend but that was sandwiched in between the days spent with my parents for the actually Thanksgiving holiday in Greensboro. It was so nice but not nearly long enough to be deemed a "vacation". Before that, we went to Virginia Beach for 2 nights in August of 2005. Before that, we went to Montreal for 1 week in September 2004. Now THAT was a "vacation".
So, I found a dog-friendly house in Avon for late August. We will be staying there from Sunday to Sunday (one full week! Yes!) but we will also be bringing the dog, a 2-yr-old... oh, and my parents. This could prove great or really bad. Fortunately the house has separate TV rooms, 2 separate decks, a hot tub and a neighborhood pool pass so I am hoping we will all find ways to take breaks from one another. I'm also anticipating finding time to dump Evie with grandma/grandpa (er, did I say dump? I meant "lovingly drop off and leave in the care of") for a day or two.

Another Saturday Night

In an effort to do good on one of my New Year's Resolutions (see previous post), I decided to finally pick-up the canvases Rob bought me when I had this "great idea!" to paint last March. The paints I had rushed out to buy have also sat untouched for well over 9 months now.
Its sad how often I do this.
So, I turned on my iPod, laid out Evie's splatt-mat on the dining room table and invited Rob to join me.
What the hell else are you going to do when you have no babysitter?
So, Rob tried his hand at watercolors (a craft he, too, has put off for nearly a year now) while I got to it.
I pulled out this glue I bought in 2004 when I was going to decoupage something. I pulled out the origami papers (also purchased in 2004 for part of the decoupage project that never got underfoot). I grabbed the paint brushes long ago packed in the basement and began seeing what happened.
Four liberating hours later, I completed 2 masterpieces and am left feeling somehow "relieved" for letting some playtime loose.

New Year's Resolutions

1. Be more creative. Do. Something. Anything!

2. Allow myself to get messy. Allow Evie to get messier.

3. More adventures.

Yo Gabba Gabba Gear!

Crap! When did I miss this siren?

They used to have earrings featuring all the charater's heads, a hanging Brobee necklace, a Plex keychain and more. Damned, this is all that remains:

click here: Hot Topic
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Christmas: Its a Wrap

We drove to my parents' house for Christmas this year. We spent last year in Ohio and after traveling these last 6 years... we are left questioning if we will just stay put for Christmas 2009. If only we could transport all our friends to the Richmond area over the holidays, than we could get everything we want (hint, hint).
So, I came home after working on Tuesday Dec 23rd, to a VERY worn out Rob. Eve was freshly laid down for a quick nap. Turns out Rob was developing a cold and was burnt out after having a very active kid all day. One fast food meal and a quick nap later, we were on the road. We got to my folks' house by 10:30PM that night.
Wednesday was Christmas Eve. We let grandma get Evie up while we tried to ignore the fussing downstairs (my mother, not Evie). Rob and I then spent the day running a few errands to our favorite haunts (sans baby) and we dined on a most excellent lunch of hot wings at Buffalo's. All-in-all, a good day. Dinner that night was lasagna and everyone crashed reasonably early.
Christmas morning included copius amounts of coffee, mimosa's and my mom's homemade breakfast quiche. We also TRIED TRIED TRIED to get Evie excited about opening gifts. The girl opened maybe... 2 total. She was more into exploring the house, sitting in grandma's chair, playing with coasters and basically talking to herself. Ugh, disappointment.
Evie did go BONKERS over her Yo-Gabba-Gabba figurine set. She took them all out of the box. Then put them all back in the box. Then took them all out of the box. Then put them all back in the box. You see where this is going, right?
Another Christmas hit, the xylophone. She transported this thing everywhere and played all sorts of "melodies."
Evie's Christmas top ten:
1. Yo-Gabba-Gabba figurines
2. Xylopone
3. Mini magnetic Doodle Pro
4. Little People Play Farm
5. Foofa T
We lingered in North Carolina the day after Christmas (and stocked up on post-holiday close-out must-have's from Target) before heading home Dec 27th. This additional time allowed us to all finish up the severe colds we brought to grandma/grandpa's house... grandma was quite happy with this.







All-in-all, a great holiday but I'm still looking forward to the Christmas that involves Santa-anticipation and mass gift-opening. Perhaps 2009 will be the year?

18 months (today!)

Today, Evie officially is One and a Half.
Today, I realize how much more work is expected from me.
Looking back... NOW... the beginning seems so easy. All that was expected of us was a messy house and exhausted parents cradling a well-fed & loved newborn. Simple, right? Gawd, it was so horrible in the beginning. The stress! Was she eating enough? Did I hear her cry? Is she still breathing? Did she just have a blow-out & did I bring an extra onesie?!.
At today's doctor's appointment we got the typical, "Is she eating OK? Is she playful?" type of questions.
Then we got, "Is she using a spoon?" Well, yes. Sorta. I load it up (but only if its sticky food liked mashed potatoes and only if I feel like dealing with her dumping it everywhere).
"Is she using a cup?" Well, yes... when I get a wild hair and enjoy the comic relief of watching her try to use a cup.
"Is she talking?" Um, well, she says 'daaawg' for 'dog' and 'hi' after much coaxing. Oh! and she points to her PJs and yells out "B-B! B-B!' when wearing her Brobee pajamas, does that count?
"Are you disciplining her?" Um, you mean like telling her 'no!' and trying to get her to stop giggling?
The discipline question really got me.
This kid seriously thinks we are funny. And we get even funnier when we panic or yell out,"no!' to dangers like standing on chairs or running away down the sidewalk.
What am I going to do if Evie is anything like I was as a kid?
What's Rob going to do?
I don't know how to get this kid to take me seriously but I can say this - it better happen SOON or we are in a load of trouble when she gets to 13. By then, its too late!

It was bound to happen sooner or later...

Evie pooped the tub last night.