The Lo.Co.

Relocation

2010-10-12T16:45:00.000-04:00

The Lo.Co. is slated to relocate its physical office location, so why not do the same in cyberspace? The Manager misses posting more regularly and is looking for new inspiration. Welcome to "The Lo.Co. Meeting Minutes," where you'll see shorter, but more frequent, updates on our workday.

Windy Skies

2010-10-01T10:00:00.000-04:00

It’s been a bit rainy this week – so rainy that J!m C@ntore might have come to town. Mostly this has been all right regarding Cabin Fever issues, although the Outsourcer was canceled on Thursday. The Wednesday Night Shift was probably the worst of the storm, with a few power surges in the office. K.Lo woke up screaming a few times, and continued to wake up on the Thursday Night Shift, still a bit traumatized and skeptical that the wind was really gone.

N.Lo has a night light in his room, but lately wants his door all but completely open at night with the hall bathroom lights on. Management has tried turning them off after he is fully asleep, but early-morning complaints about the light ensue.

K.Lo and I braved Target yesterday morning – and actually, it was basically just raining outside, and not very hard, for that matter. The store was pleasantly un-crowded, and K.Lo enjoyed some popcorn while wearing a witch hat from the dollar bin. She also asked for just about everything in the store that was shiny, cute or adorned with Hello Kitty. Her latest costume idea evolved from a butterfly cheerleader to a cheerleader witch, and later, back at the office, she practiced her best cackle and the line, “Give me back my shoes!”

Each morning we ~~fuss at~~ work with K.Lo for chatting too much and too loudly before everyone in the office is fully awake – particularly N.Lo, who with his door wide open, tends to wake up before he is ready, which then affects the rest of his work day. This morning, K.Lo popped right in to N.Lo’s room to see if he was awake, and N.Lo complained, “No, I’m not done sleeping.” Sigh.

A main objective of our Target trip, aside from refilling the office pantry, was obtaining cake mix and icing for a birthday cake. Whose birthday cake? Benny Baby, who apparently turned 4 yesterday. And Benny Baby, in case you didn’t know, likes pink icing and Jasmine. Our office likes cake, so why argue? We lit candles and sang, too.

Employee Files

2010-09-28T21:46:00.001-04:00

Currently, K.Lo has a yellow sheet of paper taped to her TV. I’m not really sure what this is all about, although K.Lo seems to like seeing the colorful “shadows” at night. Who is the Manager to argue with an employee’s creativity.

K.Lo likes to say about certain songs, “It has a good beat!”

Our office is relocating, eventually, and Management decided to tell the employees because, well, it would be really hard not to tell K.Lo. She has a lot of questions, that one. And Management feels, considering K.Lo’s work style, that it’s best to let her process over time, rather than dropping a bomb last-minute. Sure enough, K.Lo is alternately excited and nervous about this move, to the extent that she can wrap her mind around it. Mainly, she wants to know if we’ll be taking specific supplies with us to the new office, although occasionally she’ll mention other concerns, such as what the new Outsourcer will be like, or whether there will be places to play. The Manager gives answers to the best of her knowledge ~~while secretly worrying about their truth~~. We are looking forward to a new location!

N.Lo is mainly oblivious to the upcoming relocation, as he should be. However, as some days at the now well-familiar Outsourcer are still difficult, the Manager has a bit of nerves about starting all. over. again. At a new Outsourcer. Which we will hopefully find.

K.Lo, having an active imagination as well as access to television commercials and water-cooler talk at the Outsourcer, comes up with new items every day for her Christmas/Birthday Wish List. (It’s a collective entity, at this point.) She practices what she’ll tell Santa, and likes to actually see the list that’s stored on the Manager’s computer. Recent additions were a scooter, roller skates, Beauty and the Beast a Lalaloopsy Doll and a backscratcher.

N.Lo lately does things on his own time, in his own way, and it’s best not to mess with him – which is why training in the Employee Rest Room has all but come to a halt. Although recently, he did randomly discover the art of peeing in the potty while standing up.

The Manager realizes N.Lo’s 3rd Date of Hire Anniversary is fast approaching, but don’t ask her about it, please. She has no idea, on anything.

Photo Series ~ N.Lo, Haircut

2010-09-18T10:30:00.000-04:00

Employee Files

2010-09-07T23:00:00.000-04:00

In the cafeteria, N.Lo has overtaken the Manager’s chair. Seems to be a permanent restructuring.

N.Lo’s also had a vague cold for the past few days, or maybe it’s been the past few weeks. Symptoms are mainly a cough and crankiness.

K.Lo matter-of-factly pointed out said crankiness this morning to the Manager, after observing N.Lo grumbling to the CEO, “No, don’t talk to me,” in an otherwise upbeat conversation.

Crankiness comes in the form of Twoville Tactics, usually regarding order of operations. In other words, Management requests employee action, and employee firmly states, “No,” followed by a condition (“I’ll put on my shoes/color this paper/finish my breakfast first.”). Then, he might or might not follow up on his own condition, and basically it is a very long tug-of-war process to get anything accomplished, much less get out the office door…

N.Lo continues to sustain regular injuries, the latest of which have been two badly skinned knees from falling on the concrete outside, as well as a face scrape incurred during a light-sabre fight at a party. (True story. He held his own.)

He’s very aware of rules and whether K.Lo is following them, particularly if she uses a “bathroom word,” or if she interrupts Management. He will note firmly, or wearily, depending on the situation, “No, don’t say that, that’s a bathroom word.” Or, “K.Lo, Daddy’s talking right now.”

Said interruptions of Managerial convos happen regularly. Frequently. All the time. We might be working on that one for awhile with our little chatterbox.

K.Lo and the CEO had worked out a deal last week regarding Good Behavior and the purchase of a certain black dress from Kohl’s. She earned said dress last Thursday and has been wearing it ever since.

The CEO also picked up a few shirts for N.Lo, who insisted on wearing both at the same time.

It’s September, and K.Lo’s excited about the prospect of Sunday school starting up again. “It’s September?? That means I get to do the PRAYER TABLE! And the ALTAR TABLE!” etc. (These are learning stations, of sorts, in our Catechesis of the Good Shepherd program, which she clearly loves very much.)

K.Lo is and always has been a “What are we doing tomorrow?” kind of girl. She likes having something to look forward to, as well as understanding what day it is in the normal routine. Lately, she asks what we’re doing not just tomorrow, but also the day after, and the day after that, and the day after that, until the Manager really has no idea what we’re doing anymore, at least not so far in advance…

She continues to like to write names, mostly her own, and sometimes remembers all the letters. They might or might not appear in order, but they are usually all on the page, somewhere. Progress!

Today the Manager asked, exasperated, “How many times do I have to ask?” And she very cheekily replied, “Three.” Sigh.

Photo Series ~ Outsourcer

2010-09-03T22:15:00.000-04:00

When the Regional Manager comes along to pick up the employees from the Outsourcer, you get pictures! I never think to take any.

N.Lo in the hallway next to his cubby. He brought not only his two blankies that day, but also Bear and Kitty Cat.

K.Lo was in the middle of a game with her friend when we arrived. It involved snapping this black elastic band that they found somewhere. In this picture, her friend was just about to snap.

Much better picture! Please note the Manager nearby attempting to gather up and sort out the approximately ten thousand school-gear items. (It’s a daily struggle.)

The employees and Manager love the Outsourcer!

From the Desk of K.Lo

2010-08-26T21:30:00.000-04:00

“Mommy, I’m brave of thunder now.” She is definitely not as sensitive to the thundering. She also likes to ask whether you’re scared of the thunder. (The correct answer is, “No, of course not!”)

“I don’t cry at preschool anymore. And I’m not shy of people.” This is sometimes – dare I say mostly – true.

On the first day of school: “And I saw my friends x, y, and z! They all came back! Just like two months ago! It was like a big party!” I’m not sure how long the excitement will last, but today was a good day.

I hadn’t pushed the issue of a new school year with the employees, as K.Lo seemed puzzled over a “new” situation, when she was already established in the 4-year-old room through summer camp. Didn’t want to stress out the employee needlessly. But with new backpacks (K.Lo’s wish) and some old faces returned, I think she “got” it. And was much more pleased than expected!

“Mommy, you like my new dress?” “I love your new dress. You look like you could be on Fashion Show [which is what we call ProjectRunway].” “Whaaat? Fashion Show! Mommy, Fashion Show doesn’t exist on the earth.” Since it was on TV, K.Lo assumed “pretend.” Which is not necessarily a bad thing. However, I explained that ProjectRunway does indeed exist on this earth. She said, “Where?” And I told her, “In New York City, where your cousin lives.” She said, “Oh!”

Also, I love when she says, “Whaaat?” like you are saying the craziest thing ever.

A recent outdoor art project, completely devised by K.Lo, was “painting” the deck with a bucket of water and a broom, like it’s a giant canvas. Love it. Made me think of our trip to the zoo, with the giant chalkboard wall.

Company Excursion: Life + Science Museum

2010-08-20T20:00:00.000-04:00

On Monday, the Lo. Co. went on a company excursion with the Regional Manager to a previously unexplored Life + Science Museum. We enjoyed a (pretend) dinosaur walk, a small farm tour, a fossil dig, a butterfly house, a brief black bear sighting, a train ride, and a musical jam session with sticks, bells and drums. After lunch, we learned about weather, geology, space travel, and various small creatures (not all of them lovely). The employees were very well behaved on this excellent excursion! Here are photo highlights.

life science museum

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Employee Files

2010-08-20T15:00:00.000-04:00

What does one do with an employee who is always falling asleep in his cubicle, taking unscheduled breaks? It’s a bit concerning. N.Lo’s missed dinner more than a handful of times over the past few weeks, and today slept in until 9AM, only to have an 11AM meltdown, followed by a self-imposed nap. Perhaps it’s a growth spurt, or simply a new work habit? The Kitchen Staff wonders if the employee needs more iron…

K.Lo requested that I blow-dry her hair yesterday. The blow-dryer is, after 4 1/2 years, finally not a terrifying machine, but a curiosity. As K.Lo often bathes before bed and sleeps on wet hair, the outcome of the daytime blow-dry produced quite a different effect. It’s kind of lovely!

N.Lo’s been drawing people, specifically the CEO. In fact, most pictures are both of the CEO and for the CEO. It’s best not to suggest otherwise, being so presumptuous as to think the picture is, for instance, for you. Because you would be wrong.

K.Lo, being four and a HALF (do not, under any circumstances, leave out the “half”), as well as TALL, feels the world unjust as far as what she is and is not allowed to do. Isn’t 4 1/2 years old practically grown-up? Isn’t she, as she suggested the other day, going to be a teenager soon? In some cases, the employee’s spirit cannot be quashed, and the Manager finds it best to simply let her try a desired activity, such as painting her own fingernails. But in other instances, such as painting office walls, Management must officially deny the request. That one’s for grown-ups, kid, sorry.

One of K.Lo’s favorite things to do lately is ask me words to spell, so she can copy out all the letters on paper. Usually it’s our names, sometimes it’s objects from around the room. N.Lo often follows suit, saying all the same things, but drawing his own version of the letters. “Mommy, how do you spell my name? [writes a ‘letter’] Okay, and what else?”

Work Tunes

2010-08-13T08:45:00.000-04:00

At the Outsourcer this week, the employees have been singing that old favorite about the peanut.

A peanut sitting on a railroad track,

His heart was all a flutter.

Around the bend came Number 10

Toot Toot Peanut Butter

Accompanying art:

And a performance! Made all the more charming, I feel, by K.Lo’s raspy cold.

The Original K.Lo

2010-08-10T12:00:00.000-04:00

K.Lo’s latest art phase has been rainbow-style coloring, different mediums:

Watercolor, framed awesomely by KJ:

And various crayon pages or colored pencil drawings:

(The two pictures in the upper left-hand corner of the door are mine and N.Lo’s. K.Lo favors pastels for coloring book pages.)

K.Lo finally caught The Cold that’s been circulating our office for two weeks now. Yesterday morning, she handed me the magnet picturing a kid and a thermometer to mark the day on her calendar.

Demands from this employee are certainly getting tougher. Management continually ponders this problem out loud, looking for creative solutions. However, although clearly this employee is rather sharp, a future trailblazer for sure, Management often just want the employee to do what she is told. Without an argument. We are sometimes too tired for creative solutions.

She sings John Mayer and Matt Costa songs around the house, mindlessly humming the tunes...

She also loves the new “flower” cookies we bought, the ones she can wear like a ring and then eat.

She tells anyone new she meets that she’s going to be 5 soon. On February 3rd. She *might* think she’s going to kindergarten starting on February 4th, but we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. :)

Dress Up Like the Manager Day

2010-08-10T11:30:00.000-04:00

The Clean-Up Kid

2010-08-07T21:00:00.000-04:00

At the Outsourcer, N.Lo is getting used to the routine. He “transitions” better between activities, doesn’t cry (as much) at drop-off. Is actually playing when I pick him up instead of lurking on the fringes. His teachers say he doesn’t actually play with the toys too much during free-play, but always wants to help clean up. They say there’s always one kid who actually likes helping, and that’s him. That’s my boy.

He’s had a lingering cold with a cough for over a week now. Sheesh.

He must be growing again. In addition to the falls, trips, spills, bruises, cuts, and bumps, he is sleeping more. Although that could be the cold as well. For the past three nights, he’s fallen asleep before bedtime, and tonight he fell asleep before dinner. Aw. Every time I change his PJs and put him to bed, and he doesn’t stir.

He’s talking more, not necessarily in a more advanced way, but in a chattier way. He volunteers more information.

He’s on a “good guys” and “bad guys” kick and it’s interesting to see how he assigns those two roles. In a surlier mood, he’ll say about himself, “I’m not going to do that because I’m BAD.” Hmm. He hasn’t picked up that descriptor at the Lo.Co.

In the car the other day, he very carefully pieced together a question: “Mommy, why is the sky blue?” Huh. Kids really ask that.

Headed down the hall with a broom.

Photo Files

2010-08-03T16:00:00.000-04:00

What else has been happening at the Lo.Co.?

A little bit of Mrs. Potato Head design…

The CEO and employees created new wind chimes using pieces of an old set, along with some spoons. All K.Lo’s idea.

Fort-building and occupation… and a difficult time getting both employees to sit still, look at the camera simultaneously, and smile.

And an N.Lo on my back. He climbed up there against the Manager’s wishes during a meeting in the Conference Room. See those bruises? Poor N.Lo, still bumping into everything…

Employee Files

2010-07-30T21:30:00.000-04:00

N.Lo, the little dear, has had a cold, courtesy of the Manager. His ended up worse than mine, however, with lots of sniffles and coughing today. Yesterday, his energy was still up, so he did go to preschool, upon his own insistence. “I am not sick!” But then he cried at drop-off. Managers can’t win! I told the teacher to call me if he acted sluggish, but he ended up staying the whole time and having a reportedly “great day.”

The employees made paper plate pinwheels attached to a ribbon at the Outsourcer, and at K.Lo’s request, each are hanging from their respective beds. Cute.

The Purchasing Department didn’t realize we were so low on Pull-Ups, so N.Lo spent the entire work day training in the Employee Rest Room. Only one accident! The Manager felt like a broken record with the number of times she reminded the employee to use the potty, but still. What an achievement! He wore pants and/or underpants for much of the day as well.

The Manager notices a pattern with employee work styles, especially in regards to office supplies. N.Lo uses toys in a fairly standard manner – not saying he lacks imagination, but tools stay with tools, cars stay with cars, etc. K.Lo, on the other hand, is a master re-purposer, always has been. She loves to fill containers with tiny pieces of a game or set and call it something else. One of my favorite recent instances of re-purposing came with a set of puffy Hello Kitty stickers. She invited us each to pick one, and whichever one we wore on our shirt, we were instructed to say (or sing), “Such-and-such pow-er! Ksssssh.” I picked a seed packet sticker, so it was “Seed pack-et power! Ksssssh.” Like some cartoon she watches, I’m not sure which. One’s super-hero power is contained within the sticker – or badge.

K.Lo has also been asking to wear makeup, usurping a small makeup kit of the Manager’s, with the CEO’s permission to use it at home, only when playing, in the Manager’s presence. Because we don’t want her to be one of those scary small children who wear makeup. But when playing (at home, playing, in the Manager’s presence), the results are interesting, indeed. :) You look great, K.Lo!

Training Session ~ Kitchen Staff

2010-07-24T14:15:00.000-04:00

Employee Files

2010-07-23T22:25:00.000-04:00

N.Lo has been training in the Employee Rest Room pretty much every afternoon while at the office. Still no pants. The Manager wonders when we’ll be able to make that transition, but otherwise, he seems to get it. Proud! He likes to be called a “rock star” for any successes.

K.Lo loves to push some buttons, particularly at the end of the day when it is cleanup time. Management is kind with instructions and reminders until about the 5th time, when our tone shifts. The other evening, she lost use of her Candy Land and I Spy games for hiding in the closet instead of picking them up and putting them away. K.Lo, K.Lo… come on. We don’t ask much. However, the Manager found her comment a few mornings later very interesting: “I’m not going to play with toys in my room today, because I don’t want to clean them up later.” Hmmm.

K.Lo has really clicked with bike riding (with training wheels, anyway) and rides circles and circles and more circles around the concrete area in the backyard. So fun to watch.

For some reason, both employees demand cheese every morning from the Kitchen Staff. “Don’t forget the cheese!” Mozza sticks and cheddar are the favorites. Since they are healthy fare, the Kitchen Staff usually abides.

Yesterday at the Outsourcer (also known as the Gulag), each employee made an art project with a paper plate attached to a pretend placement and ants stamped across the scene. It was to go along with “The Ants Go Marching.” Really cute stuff, but moments after I brought the projects out to the Conference Room to take a closer look, I noticed a ginormous ant of reddish hue on the couch arm, as though it had materialized straight from the art. So weird. I hope it didn’t have friends.

The other day at Exercise Place (EP), the ladies informed me that K.Lo played guitar and sang to everyone for about an hour. That’s my girl.

K.Lo loves a particular commercial on TV – ironically for feminine products – where a woman strides down the staircase and out the door, shedding layers of fashionable clothing. “She has so many clothes!” Today (keeping in mind it was upper 90s, free of the heat index), she donned no less than 3 dresses and a tank top. And a jump rope necklace. And a plastic drum for a hat, temporarily. When I picked her up from EP, she was wearing just two dresses, and promptly asked for one more (which was around her waist only) to be removed. Kind of like the commercial, over a 2-hour time span.

N.Lo, picking up cues from his coworker, shouts “What?!” in response to, “N.Lo!” Also, I’ve heard him saying, “WhatEVer,” mostly to himself. Good thing. :)

The Ever-Cool Canine Staff

2010-07-19T08:00:00.000-04:00

One Fell Off and Bumped His Head

2010-07-18T22:15:00.000-04:00

N.Lo has perhaps gone through a recent growth spurt, or else the Manager’s unfortunate Klutz Gene has begun to manifest itself. If there’s a way to bonk his head on some furniture, he’ll find it. He trips. He spills things constantly, especially bowls of snacks. Sometimes two and three times for the same snack. Sometimes it’s raisins, which the dogs should not eat, but do anyway, before we can clean it up. Sometimes, his accidents are the direct results of things he isn’t supposed to be doing, but a lot of times, it’s out of the blue and for no reason at all.

Is it just a phase? Management hopes so. Mr. Bump, our refrigerated cold-pack, also hopes so, since he’s working overtime. And I’m sure N.Lo, now covered with bumps, bruises and scrapes, also hopes so.

Employee Files

2010-07-15T20:15:00.000-04:00

Today, neither employee cried at drop-off to the Outsourcer. I won’t say it’s not going to happen ever again, but today, it was pleasant. Refreshing.
N.Lo has a chair at the Outsourcer that anchors him. It’s green. He sits there now at drop-off and will often be sitting there when I pick him up. It’s his Safe Place. I’m not arguing.
He doesn’t like to talk much about his day there. He might insist that he cried or didn’t have fun, even if it’s not true. When asked about his friends’ names, he thinks a bit and says, “Umm… something.” K.Lo usually offers so much information without us asking and has to be told to pipe down if we want to ask N.Lo anything at all. Funny to see the differences in personalities.
We’ve been training here and there with the Employee Rest Room. N.Lo sometimes cares, sometimes doesn’t. He can’t really wear pants to train, not yet. Yesterday, I intended on some afternoon training, but instead he fell asleep on the Conference Room floor. Pants-less.
K.Lo lately likes her My Little Pony’s hair to be scented… I don’t know where this came from. But, I’ll spray some scenty stuff from Bath & Body Works there, and she seems satisfied. She’ll tell everyone she sees, “Smell my pony’s hair, doesn’t it smell so good?” Today, N.Lo had a bit of an accident on one of the ponies, and K.Lo said, “Oh no! My pony doesn’t smell good anymore?” Unfortunately, it didn’t.
K.Lo likes to say things like, “Mommy, I’m a big girl now! I can hang my clothes in the closet, and pour my own juice, and…”
She really can pour her own juice. This involves pulling the big juice container down from the counter, unscrewing the cap, pouring just a little bit, replacing the cap, and filling the rest of the cup with water. She taught herself. After so many years of filling a seemingly endless parade of juice cups, Management nearly fainted.
Also, she’s transitioned, for the time being, to calling Management “Mom” and “Dad,” instead of “Mommy” and “Daddy.” I feel it’s too soon.
The CEO is working extra (temporarily) at his Other Job, so he’s gone in the morning at the start of the Day Shift. The employees say, “Where’s Daddy?” when they wake up, followed by, “But I forgot to give him a kiss.” It’s a little sad.
When Management asks N.Lo to complete a certain task, he often likes to say, “No,” followed by, “Never!” – which he punctuates by stabbing the air overhead with his pointer finger.

A “negative space” picture drawn by K.Lo on our company excursion last week.

N.Lo shucks some corn while wearing his coworker’s rain boots.

K.Lo, presenting Leaf Frog Art, created today at the Outsourcer by both employees.

Happy 4th of July from the Lake

2010-07-07T16:15:00.000-04:00

One of our favorite companies was kind enough to host us again at the Lake House this 4th of July, and our whole company, including the Canine Staff, had a blast. N.Lo wasn’t afraid of the water this time, and K.Lo often jumped off the dock without her life jacket—as long as you were there to “jump her off the dock.” (I’m quite sure she could do it all by herself.) We floated, we played, we read, we ate, we lazed. We played Mermaids. We watched fireworks, covered our ears and cried. We stayed up late, but didn’t sleep too badly. The Manager might even have been persuaded to ride a jet ski. And the CEO was maybe even kind enough not to throw her off.

With over so many pics to sort through, it’ll have to be an album. (Thanks to Andi and Ash for their mad camera skills…) Can’t wait ‘til the next time around!

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N.Lo ~ Summer Reading

2010-07-03T09:50:00.000-04:00

Favorite Recent Quotes, 2

2010-07-03T09:45:00.000-04:00

Both employees, about bushes that apparently “look like pickles! Pickle bushes!”

N.Lo: “Mommy, did this cucumber come from the garden?”

Mgr: “Yes, it did!”

N.Lo: “What about these tortilla chips, did they come from the garden?”

Mgr: “Hmmm.”

K.Lo, while the Manager was shopping: “Mommy, those pants are rockin’!”

K.Lo, in response to the Manager’s new sunglasses: “Ohh, Mommy! Those glasses are fashionable!”

N.Lo, about a small scrape on his toe: “Daddy, I want you to cut my booboo off.”

Favorite Recent Quotes

2010-07-01T22:15:00.000-04:00

K.Lo at the Regional Manager’s Office, after N.Lo had an accident in the Employee Rest Room: “Uh-oh! It’s time to freak out!”

N.Lo, every time he puts on a Diego pull-up: “Mommy, can we watch Diego? Is it on now?”

K.Lo, reporting on small mishaps around the office, “Mommy, come and see such-and-such. It’s a big problem.” Occasionally, a la Wonder Pets, “This is serious!” (She sings it.)

N.Lo, at preschool pickup, directly after the teacher reported that he had a great time playing in the sandbox: “No, I didn’t play in the sandbox.” [Pout.]

K.Lo, in excitement and concern over our vacation packing procedures: “Mommy, don’t forget to pack the life jackets and the bathing suits!”

K.Lo, today after preschool, showing off her construction paper 3-corner hat – with a feather in it, of course: “Mommy, guess what? It’s America’s birthday!”

Sweet

2010-06-27T17:00:00.000-04:00

Shorn

2010-06-27T13:30:00.000-04:00

Classic

2010-06-26T20:00:00.000-04:00

I took this picture because K.Lo casually put her arm around N.Lo during story time, which was so sweet. But the expressions are priceless as well. Are the CEO and N.Lo pleased to be reading the pink “Posey” book? Questionable. But K.Lo clearly is…

Employee Files

2010-06-21T21:15:00.000-04:00

N.Lo does not love the Outsourcer. The first day, he made it through like a champ, whereas K.Lo cried because it was a new room with new teachers for the “summer camp” season. The second day, K.Lo was just fine, but it began to dawn on N.Lo that this drop-off business was going to be a regular thing, and he cried. A lot. He does okay if he has his blankie, and the teachers don’t mind that he has his blankie, but it’s still kind of painful for all. On Day 3, both N.Lo and K.Lo cried, and I left the building feeling like a measly Manager.

N.Lo is used to drop-off at Exercise Place and our church nursery – but he is always in the company of his coworker. It’s interesting to see just how dependent he’s become on his coworker… more in an endearing way than anything. But it will be good for him to stand on his own two feet. On Day 3, I was actually asked whether they should just push through the tears and keep him there (oh dear – is it that bad?) or call me to come get him. It’s a pain for all, but I advised to push through. Otherwise, he’ll learn if he cries enough, he doesn’t have to stay – as opposed to opening up to the experience and eventually having a good time like his sister.

On the way home from Day 3, I tried asking N.Lo about his teachers and his day to get him talking about it all, and he said, “Um. I want K.Lo to talk.” Huh! He knows he can hide behind her chattiness!

Now, of course, N.Lo is crying at Exercise Place dropoff, too. Sigh.

On to more positive news! Courtesy of the Regional Manager, N.Lo was provided with a new pack of undies and on Sunday, K.Lo suggested he wear them after his bath. He was all excited about the prospect, so we went with it, and had several successes in the Employee Rest Room. Go, N.Lo! After three accidents, however, we quit for the day. I think he was getting tired of the whole process, and I don’t want to push the issue, especially with the Outsourcer goings-on. We are not in a hurry.

Our company celebrated CEO’s Day yesterday – Yay for the CEO! He is the best ever, and we couldn’t dream of a better one to head up our company. We set up a new digital frame – replacing the one for his office that broke – loaded up with 2010 company photos, as well as cards the employees had made at the Outsourcer. And while he slept in, the rest of the company went to the grocery store to procure some important items, such as donuts, bacon (to go with bacon and eggs) and steak for dinner. We arrived home just in time for the CEO’s clock-out from the Night Shift, and the employees ran down the hall to see him. K.Lo said, “Happy Father’s Day, Daddy! I love you!” And N.Lo said, “Happy Father’s Day WE GOT YOU STEAK!” Yes, that was all one sentence. One highly awesome sentence.

The employees learned (somewhere…) to say “Girls rule and boys drool!” and the ~~patently false~~ vice versa. The coworkers compete, usually in the cafeteria, with their respective phrases, and N.Lo struggles to piece his together because he’s so anxious to get to the subsequent “YEAH!” and fist pump.

K.Lo still fawns over Bailey and calls her the favorite, because she’s cute and sweet and cuddly. Whereas Bender is grumpy and growls. But she still loves Bender a lot. Nicknames for each of the Canine Staff are “Bailey Brownie” and “Bender Batater.”

More employee files to come.

The Zoo!

2010-06-18T20:45:00.000-04:00

Management has been determined to make a trip to the zoo for awhile now, and we finally committed. It’s a great zoo, a natural habitat zoo, with a lot of large, open spaces that mimic the animals’ home environs. Yesss, the Manager realizes all arguments that zoos exploit animals for the purpose of entertaining humans… We enjoyed ourselves, however, and appreciated the lack of cages and amazing animals who did not appear very tortured. Here are the highlights. Please note my zoom wasn’t a-workin’’ at all, the effect of which was more amusing than anything…

inchworm!

gator

cougar, napping

N.Lo looking at more gators

K.Lo saying, gimmee your camera! (please)

she wanted to take a few pictures of the gators and the “dead, icky dragonfly”

there’s a giraffe in this photo, somewhere

a bald eagle – injured and rescued, no longer able to fly

seeea lions

hi, sea lion! hi!

puffins, possibly the greatest word and bird ever

we didn’t think we’d see any polar bears due to warm weather, buuut…

that was probably my favorite moment of the day

this water/paintbrush/giant chalkboard may have been the employees’ fav

(a kid N.Lo’s size fell in the other bucket minutes later. scary. his grandma felt terrible.)

elephants!!!

lots of sculptures/photo ops throughout the zoo

helicoptor like those used in elephant tracking… had to be tested out by all employees – er, the CEO and the employees

more elephants, both babes I think

the rhino sculpture… first pose reminded me of the elephant challenge in antm thailand

the real rhinos… cough. somewhere off in the distance.

egg sculpture

favorite picture of the day right here:

more sculpture climbing and photo op

we *just* missed lemur playtime! they were all taking an afternoon nap in that log.

chimpanzees, with one on the rock looking very thoughtful.

k.lo then proceeded to take about 10 shots that looked just like this one…

Manager and ~~staff~~ chimp sculpture

some super-awesome river hogs with whippy, fly-swatting ears

there’s a lady lion sleeping back there

and an ostrich! and more giraffe specks!

Overall, highly excellent company excursion, in spite of the camera-zoom fail.

Yesterday

2010-06-13T08:15:00.000-04:00

N.Lo fell asleep on me.

Later, the employees played with the Wiggle Worm sprinkler, catching water in the mouths and spitting it, mostly on the deck and at each other. Ah, summer.

Camp!

2010-06-10T20:45:00.000-04:00

I regret to say I didn’t capture a picture this morning; however, there was so much to do! Two lunches to pack! A second backpack to fill with necessary supplies, like Pull-Ups and a clothes change. Because N.Lo started summer camp! It was a last-minute arrangement made yesterday morning, as last year’s students have priority, and the director was still sorting out attendees. But is the Manager a little thrilled about 8 hours a week to herself while the employees have some fun? Just a little bit!

Yesterday, our company managed to procure lunch boxes for both N.Lo and K.Lo, who wouldn’t wait until the end of the summer, after all. Not much of a selection, but Target had Disney Princesses and Toy Story, and at Lo.Co., that’s pretty much all you need for employee approval. N.Lo seemed marginally interested at his giddy coworker’s suggestion that he was going to preschool.

K.Lo herself had a new room and new teachers to meet, and was not thrilled this morning. She saw some familiar faces and helped pick out her own new cubby, but otherwise wasn’t having it. As I had to see N.Lo off to his room, K.Lo literally needed to be peeled off my arm, while wailing, “I want my mommy!” Heart. Breaking…

N.Lo, meanwhile, was a little fussy and reserved in the 2-year-old room, saying “NO” to all suggestions that he play with dinosaurs, pick out a cubby, etc. Then he heard about Snack Time – which, granted, would not occur for another hour at least, but N.Lo claimed a green chair, announced loudly that it was his green chair, and he wanted a SNACK. His goodbye to Mommy was pretty secondary to the prospect of food.

The Manager, sadly, didn’t have anything great to do on this first foray into freedom – most of the time was spent at an annual physical. However, the appointment was a whole lot easier without a restless employee in tow. And there’s always next Tuesday and Thursday for more appealing (and quiet) activities. And the ones after that, and after that…

At pickup, K.Lo was her usual happy self and told me all about her drawing, the bubbles they caught outside and her adventures on the playground. N.Lo, too, seemed perfectly content in his classroom. His teacher reported that he had a great day, and was only upset when he needed a change. Understandable.

Here’s hoping next week goes just as smoothly…

Someone Stole My Uniform

2010-06-09T16:15:00.001-04:00

Hmm. Somehow I can see such closet-pilfering becoming a trend.

Employee Files

2010-06-08T20:15:00.000-04:00

Brief Memo: Housekeeping does not appreciate employee critiques of office cleanliness. Suggests picking up dust cloth and getting to work if employees have issue.

K.Lo was a flower girl this weekend! The rehearsal on Friday was, uh, interesting, with all signs pointing to a possibly public meltdown and non-performance on Saturday. However, K.Lo processed the location information and assignment requirements overnight, and pulled out a stellar (by which the Manager means darling) performance for our friends’ wedding. N.Lo looked mighty snazzy in his tie as well.

N.Lo has been sort of a mess since Monday. Wait, is it only Tuesday? It seems like it’s been such a long, long work week already… Yesterday he ran a mild fever all day, and with no other symptoms aside from extreme crabbiness, the Manager wondered if he might be cutting some molars. Even though he already has them all? Maybe he doesn’t. We might never know, however, because the Manager checked and sustained a decidedly un-fun finger bite. Today, the fever seemed to subside, until the evening, in which he clocked out for the Night Shift in the Conference Room almost an hour early. Aw.

Also, he has a new cry. It’s more… passionate. Guttural, or something. Basically, it’s harder to block out, which does not please the Manager. Or K.Lo, who ran down the hall yesterday afternoon with her hands over her ears, shouting, “I have to get out of here! It’s too loud!”

K.Lo started crying at Outsourcer drop-off again, panicking at being left alone in preschool, as well as the gym daycare. What in the world? It’s only mild histrionics, but still.

Today was the last official day of preschool! Thursday starts “summer camp,” which is basically the same place, same time, same cost… more play, less curriculum. K.Lo recalls something about an orange tent, possibly from last year’s camp. She is looking forward to the end of the summer already because (in honor of the new school year), she’s “going to get a NEW LUNCHBOX!” Today, she requested Dora. Tomorrow, who knows what the choice will be.

K.Lo is fantastic at “find” games, such as those in Highlights for Kids. Noting here, as I’m not sure I’ve mentioned in the past. She has an eye for details.

N.Lo is currently obsessed with the song “Suddenly I See” by K.T. Tunstall. The Manager doesn’t lie. “I want the ‘I See’ song!” is a commonly heard refrain the company car.

One afternoon, in a random fit of bossiness, K.Lo created and taped up a sign for the Manager’s likeness that says (according to K.Lo), “DON’T WALK IN FRONT OF THE MOMMY PICTURE.” If one does so at the wrong time, one will be severely reprimanded while referred to said sign.

Our office was most fortunate in scoring a second basketball hoop for our outdoor office space (two hoops = a full court!), as well as a small bike with training wheels, a large tricycle, a plastic scooter, and a Big Wheel from a giving company – all free. Employees (and Management) are thrilled. K.Lo loves the Big Wheel at the moment, and N.Lo seems to favor the tricycle. The Big Wheel, according to K.Lo, has a TV on it, in which she watches “Team UmiZoomi.” It’s very high-tech.

Four’s a Charm

2010-06-03T19:15:00.000-04:00

K.Lo, in her fourth performance at preschool (one at the end of each “semester”) finally sang. Despite forewarnings to the contrary (“I don’t want to go to preschool. I like singing at home, but not at preschool. I want you to stay with me, Mommy…”), she stood with her class, she didn’t hide behind the piano. She sang and even smiled and did the hand motions of “Peanut Butter, Jelly.” These pictures really aren’t the greatest, but they do warm more heart quite a bit! Videos to come.

[The theme was based on one of our favorite books, If You Take a Mouse to School. Each kid wore mouse ears and a backpack.]

Company Morale

2010-05-30T14:30:00.000-04:00

*Whenever Management plays MarioKart Wii and wins a race, N.Lo says: “High Bumps!” He means fist bumps, which have somehow replaced the High Fives of yore. First it was one fist bump, and now it is a double.

*At the start of the Day Shift, K.Lo is responsible for changing out her Night Shift pull-up and into underwear. The past few mornings, it seems like Management has had to pester and prod a bit too much. Today when we arrived at the Outsourcer, however, it suddenly occurred to K.Lo that she was still wearing her Pull-Up. Oops. Luckily, she has great teachers who asked why she was upset and helped her right away with the backup uniform drawer. Management was extremely grateful.

*N.Lo and Management are currently dealing with the World’s Worst Diaper rash, which is just not fun at all. It’s painful for everyone, really, to see N.Lo scream in pain. And vexingly, it seems to have been caused by healthy foods, blueberries and now watermelon. What in the world? Management is caring for it the best they can and hoping it’s gone soon…

*K.Lo, in her 4-year-old honesty, says some lovely things to the Manager, such as “Mommy, your knees are all blown up.” (Meaning big, I guess.) Or, “Mommy, you shouldn’t wear that dress to church, it will not be beautiful. Sigh.

*One morning at breakfast, N.Lo whistled – such a surprising sound that I wasn’t sure what I heard at first. He was very proud, but then wouldn’t try again because, as he said, “No, I already did whistle.” Clearly he would not be performing any tricks for the Manager’s sake.

*Favorite song lyrics, by K.Lo: “All the single Shreks, All the single Shreks!”

*Our company did make it to see Shrek last week, and the employs sat still enough, which is all Management can really ask. K.Lo did ask why we didn’t have to wear glasses, because the only other 2 movies they’ve seen in the theater were in 3-D. Also, Management will be writing a letter to Regal, because apparently N.Lo is supposed to be free… and no one had ever asked his age before this past trip to the theater.

*Two things that keep K.Lo very quiet are: swinging, which she’s at last learned to do by herself – every Manager’s dream! And shelling and eating pea pods. Last week, she ate the whole container from our produce-delivery company in one sitting.

*N.Lo can, in fact, throw a good tantrum, and as a professional Manager, I thought it my duty to take some pictures.

*For Manager’s Day, the Outsourcer helped K.Lo’s class paint their mommies, and we picked them up a week later, having to guess which one was ours hanging on the line. I didn’t have a hard time finding mine!

*The CEO found a wiggle-worm sprinkler on clearance and the employees have been having some fun.

Can We Go Out in the Rain?

2010-05-17T13:00:00.000-04:00

Why, yes! Yes, you can.

She Pedals!

2010-05-16T15:00:00.000-04:00

K.Lo has dabbled in the, um, cycling arts over her four years, but never *really* got the hang of pedaling. We have a small patch of concrete to work on at the office, and then there’s the street… It hasn’t really done the job. So today we took the employees to a park with a big, flat path, and pedal she did! One and a half times around the pond! Go, K.Lo, go!Management was proud, and so was the employee herself.

Next up, steering…

Insight

2010-05-16T11:30:00.000-04:00

Yesterday in a more exasperated moment, I asked K.Lo why exactly it is that she repeats requests approximately 50,000 times. Because while I can understand that this habit is half age, half personality, it doesn’t make it any less exasperating. K.Lo actually thought about it and said, “Because you don’t hear me.”

Oh.

Except, I do hear her, and I explained as much.

Then she said, “But you don’t talk.” (Meaning, you don’t respond to said request.)

Oh.

But, and I explained this to her as well, much of the time I do talk, because I know she needs verbal acknowledgement. But K.Lo’s so busy repeating that she can’t hear me. Which makes the conversation all the more exasperating.

So, I doubt the conversation will change much, but at least we each have a little insight now.

***

Other K.Lo Classics:

Friday evening after we returned home from the beach, K.Lo was cold, tired and a ball of whine. So the CEO and I teased a bit, saying something along the lines of “Boo-hoo, I went to the beach and had so much fun, so I have to cry now…” (We mean no harm. Or maybe we are actually mean.) Often it gets a smile out of her. But K.Lo wasn’t having it just then and said, “No, Daddy (and Mommy), you stop kidding me!”

Yesterday afternoon, the CEO joked with K.Lo about something or other, and she wasn’t in the mood. Her response. “Daddy, stop. You are ruining my life!” My, my.

The CEO recently got a cut on his ankle, and K.Lo assisted with every step of recovery: bactine, band-aids, triple antibiotic ointment. She was very pleased with her work and said, “I’m a good nurse!” And she is, because she’s very gentle in her administration of said band-aids and follows up daily with patient care.

Mr. R

2010-05-12T10:30:00.001-04:00

K.Lo mentioned that “Mr. R came down” at the Outsourcer, which I assume means down from the wall. Mr. R and his Ripping Rubber Bands. I remembered my infamous Mr. R costume from Kindergarten and Letter People Day, so I brought it out for K.Lo’s amusement.

Of course, K.Lo wanted a Mr. R costume, too, so I made an easy version with construction paper, a stapler and rubber bands. After I took the pictures, she pointed out that she needed wristbands, so we added those. (“But you forgot the wristbands. Look!”)

Also, I should probably delete these shots, but they are kind of funny. That’s a basketball flying through the shot, and then N.Lo chasing after it. He’s wearing only a Pull-Up, because all this excitement took place in the midst of a dicey bathroom cleanup situation. Apparently N.Lo isn’t feeling well. And Housekeeping wants a raise. That’s all I’ll say.

Company Tree Planting

2010-05-10T20:00:00.000-04:00

Since a big tree in our office side yard blew down one day, and even before that (we knew it was coming), the Landscaping Staff has wanted to add a new tree to grow in its place. We were lucky enough to procure a free magnolia tree from a nearby company, and today our staff planted it.

I especially love this series because of N.Lo’s outfit. N.Lo, I should mention, had A Day today. Cranky all morning, nap from 2PM to 4PM, awakened by coworker, not too happy about it, back to bed after a pants change (soaked), woken up at 5:30PM because it was Dinner TIme, and insisted on going back to bed at 7PM. Literally threw a fit, demanding that early bedtime. Must be growing.

So anyway, the tree.

We begin with some help digging.

Sit in the hole for a moment. Suggest planting a K.Lo Tree; employee declines. Plant actual tree instead.

Help fill in with dirt.

Some suspicious looks from N.Lo.

And… water!

Landscaping Staff proud. Management hoping for fast tree growth, but re: employee growth? Would appreciate a slowdown.

Fancy Nancy the Astronaut

2010-05-10T15:00:00.000-04:00

K.Lo’s idea. That’s a piece of one of those bug catchers where you trap a bug and look at it through a magnifying glass. Pretty clever, I thought!

N.Lo & CEO: 2 1/2-yr. Profile

2010-05-10T09:30:00.000-04:00

Let’s look at N.Lo sleeping in another context. It seems he may be related to the CEO, as evidenced by company records.

Overheard in the Office

2010-05-10T09:00:00.000-04:00

All K.Lo:

“You’re not the bestest mommy in the whole world when you’re yelling, but when you’re happy, you’re the bestest mommy in the whole world.”

“Mommy, I forgive you.”

“You forgive me? What did I do?”

“Oh, nothing! But I forgive you.”

“My nose doesn’t have boogers. It’s empty, just like a trash can.”

“Mommy, you’re whining. I can’t hear you when you’re whining.”

“Can I have more gummies? But you said ‘yes’ to N.Lo…”

“N.Lo, the neighbors can hear you. Keep it down low.”

“Can we go to the mall? Can we go to the re-quarium? Can we go to the beach? Can we go to the museum? Can we go to the park?” Every day, there’s a new request for adventure.

“Mommy, did you finish writing your article? Oh! You did such a good job! I’m so proud of you.”

Desk of K.Lo

2010-05-02T22:45:00.000-04:00

I have no idea where she gets it from, but K.Lo says things like, whatever (in the most withering of tones), totally, like, and just saying. There’s two problems here: 1. My employee talks like a teenager. 2. I, apparently, talk like a teenager, too.

K.Lo’s Killer Memory lives on: We went to see colleagues we hadn’t visited since, oh, December. In that time, they’d had their new-to-them office painted green. I almost drive right by. K.Lo looked puzzled as we pulled into the driveway, and said, “It’s green?” I said, “Well, what color was it before?” I didn’t remember, but I wanted to see if she did. “Brown,” she said. And sure enough…

She’d also really like to go to Chili’s, where we ate dinner once months and months and months ago… N.Lo had a corn dog, and she wants to order one, next time.

Santa came up in conversation one day: “Is he at the North Pole… right now? Well, what does he do there?” There’s a whole other toy-making world to be imagined the rest of the year…

Desk of N.Lo

2010-05-02T14:45:00.000-04:00

I’ve taken a few more pictures of N.Lo asleep at his desk, because the cuteness never really gets old. This picture was taken the day the Manager lost “other blankie” twice around town: first, at Time Warner Cable, and secondly at the grocery store. While the employee has 2 other security items (pictured), the permanent loss of the 3rd would have been quite traumatic… The Manager sort of felt like taking a nap at her desk that afternoon, too.

This one looks like a scene… In reality, N.Lo likes to flip over that chair and sit on it upside down, and that’s K.Lo’s cup ~~misplaced carelessly~~ on the floor. A few minutes later, he woke up and went to bed in his room.

The company went with the CEO on Friday to his volleyball match, and it worked out pretty well. This year, the employees can (mostly) get past all the noise and activity and focus on what’s really important: the giant sandbox under their feet. Settling into the Night Shift afterward was a bit rough, but the trouble was still worth it overall. The CEO and his mini-me perhaps showed up to the game looking a little bit alike.

Overheard in the Office, Etc.

2010-04-28T18:15:00.000-04:00

K.Lo: “YOU DON’T HAVE TO REPEAT IT A HUNDRED TIMES!” Hmm.

N.Lo: “Ugggggh.” [General grunt of frustration, mimicking coworker and possibly Management.]

N.Lo: “I don’t LIKE my blankies.” Said after denied the opportunity to greet K.Lo at the Outsourcer as planned. He likes to go down the stairs to the playground and find her. She saw us first, instead. Sadness.

After N.Lo’s first official use of the Employee Rest Room last week (no activity since), he received a sticker. So, K.Lo naturally wanted stickers again as well. Management tried to convince her it was N.Lo’s time now, and as a result, we’re back to more frequent accidents. Management kindly requests that you shoot them, now, please. We started fresh with two new potty charts, one for each employee. N.Lo is interested in the idea of stickers and special treats, but not really the potty, so much. K.Lo is happily back to getting her stickers.

Ice cream is a current office favorite.

Occasionally, the employees will try cafeteria foods they hadn’t previously tried … pudding, cereal with milk, toast with peanut butter (and raisins on top?) … K.Lo historically does not love sauces, dips, spreads, mixtures, etc., and N.Lo follows suit. So the expanded repertoire is nice.

And N.Lo’s office supply of choice has been the Lite Brite. Interestingly, he can actually pierce through the black paper, which K.Lo never mastered – and I note that because it’s not easy for grown-up hands, much less the hands of small employees.

Both employees refer to the black paper as “the mat,” which is from Dora the Explorer. Except it’s really “the map,” on the show. It’s a trickle-down translation, stemming from K.Lo’s pretending to search for things using “the mat.”

Uniform Accessories, Revisited

2010-04-27T23:30:00.000-04:00

Management gets some interesting requests for assistance with, um, creative fashion choices. I wonder what Heidi would say?

N.Lo & the Soccer Ball

2010-04-25T08:55:00.000-04:00

They seem to get along quite well!

Work Day: N.Lo

2010-04-20T22:15:00.000-04:00

8:25 AM Wake up at Manager’s prompting. Speed-prepare for coworker’s drop-off at Outsourcer.

9:15 AM Go to Library with Manager, choose “Puff the Magic Dragon” cartoon series – which we checked out and returned last week.

9:30 AM Pick strawberries with Manager and colleague.

10:15 AM Eat strawberry ice cream independently. Wear half.

11:00 AM Return to office, firmly request to watch Barbie in the Mermaid Tale.

1:00 PM Help pick up K.Lo from Outsourcer, give 2 big hugs.

1:15 PM Go to park with the “fish bridge,” i.e. the bridge that’s shaped like a fish.

1:45 PM Attempt acrobatics on picnic table, land underneath on face. Tongue bleeds profusely.

1:55 PM Calm down at prospect of “Popsicle at home on front porch.”

2:20 PM Finish Popsicle, deliberately squish caterpillar, causing coworker to burst into tears because “now he won’t turn into a butterfly.”

2:30 PM Prepare for bath. Make use of Employee Rest Room for the first time!

2:45 PM Partially flood rest room floor with bathwater.

3:00 PM Bonk head on coffee table. Cry.

3:30 PM Nearly fly off the couch into coffee table; saved by Manager.

4:00 PM Bonk coworker in face with Weeble Wobble airplane. Refuse to apologize for 5 full minutes.

4:15 PM Pretend to make and throw snowballs at coworker and Manager, complete with “fssssh” sound effects.

5:45 PM Recount Caterpillar Incident to CEO, solemnly echoing K.Lo’s description of “green juice” coming out of the caterpillar.

7:25 PM Prepare for Night Shift. Wear Toy Story PJs with Woody Hat. Agree to place hat on pillow, like a good cowboy.

Strawberry Picking + Ice Cream

2010-04-20T12:00:00.000-04:00

Uniform Accessories

2010-04-19T15:00:00.000-04:00

Management takes no responsibility here.

Employee Files

2010-04-18T23:15:00.000-04:00

N.Lo is sort of outgrowing Afternoon Breaks. Only sort of, because sometimes he will sleep, sometimes he’ll kick the wall and babble for an hour and a half, and sometimes he doesn’t go on Break at all. But, if he doesn’t take a nap for a few days in a row, it catches up with him in the form of crankiness and falling asleep at his desk. (K.Lo had “tucked him up” in this picture, whispering all the while.)

K.Lo is full ideas for work projects, some of which drive Management a little nuts, mainly due to timing: either the ideas come in too quickly, making it impossible to settle in to a given project, or else the suggested idea comes at the wrong time of day … and K.Lo doesn’t easily take “no” for an answer. However, a lot of the ideas are also very good, and feasible. Like the time she proposed purchasing a $10 slip-and-slide at the grocery store. Or the snowball fight we had using a mountain of paper from the recycling bin. Or outdoor picnics, just for fun.

N.Lo, in accordance with his age and decrees from the Twoville Offices, must do everything for himself, which is admirable and even cute – except when our company is in a hurry. And, the Manager has a mild worry that we’re fostering an OCD work style. Like when the employee has to hit every single automatic-door button going into and exiting from the library. Or when he takes the package of wipes all the way back to his own cubicle and brings them out again, because he wanted to do it. And so forth.

Housekeeping changes employee bed sheets “as needed,” which might be a little lazy of them, but in the past work week, the staff changed N.Lo’s bed sheets no less than 3 times, for various reasons. Laundry Fairy is not pleased, and has a lot of catching up to do on Monday…

K.Lo likes to watch “Fashion Show,” a.k.a. “Project Runway,” occasionally with the Manager. The other morning, she pretended to be the host, saying things such as, “One of you will be out.” And, “Go in the living room and work on your challenge. I’ll be right back to check on you!” And, “Bailey is on the runway.”

Overheard in the Office

2010-04-11T23:30:00.000-04:00

N.Lo, every night: “I love you! Sleep tight! Don’t kick the wall!” Because he does, all the time.

K.Lo, noting N.Lo’s yawn: “You’re tired, buddy. You need a nap.”

N.Lo: “No! I’m not tired! I don’t need a nap!”

K.Lo: “Yes, you are. You yawned. You’re tired and you need a nap.”

N.Lo: “No! I’m not tired! I don’t need a nap!”

Etc.

K.Lo: “Ohhhhh, Bailey. Isn’t she such a cutie, sweet dog?”

N.Lo, noting babies in the store: “Hey, that’s a cool baby.”

N.Lo, when playing with toys that light up or do other tricks: “Hey, Mommy? That’s pretty neat?”

N.Lo, about everything: “NO! I. Want. To. Do It. MYSELF!” And then he will go back and undo whatever Mgmt did, just so he can do it himself.

K.Lo: Lots of things that will not be repeated here, because they are all songs and sayings themed around potty humor. Yes, we’re at *that* phase. Fun! Especially in the cafeteria. And especially with her coworker’s participation.

K.Lo: “I’m going to ride my Jet Bubble bike!” She is referring here to N.Lo’s tricycle, which she is too big for, but rides anyway because her new bike with training wheels makes her nervous. A Jet Bubble bike is from Mario Kart Wii.

Monkey Do

2010-04-09T19:00:00.000-04:00

Even though his coworker will abandon him, N.Lo enjoys working on his own in the backyard (along with the Canine Staff), and he has recently discovered the trapeze. Cheese!

N.Lo’s Breakfast of Champions

2010-04-06T11:45:00.000-04:00

Us Managers often lament that we cannot even go to the Employee Rest Room in a given workday without employee issue. Usually, it is a case of employee disruption, banging on the rest room door, possibly accompanied by shouting and similar agony. Today, it was a lack of supervision (two minutes!) that led to N.Lo’s breakfast “revision.” The kid likes some marshmallows, and he doesn’t mind helping himself… Classic.

(K.Lo noted, “He poured too much!”)

Photo Series: Ferry Ride to Aquarium w/ Mendacious

2010-04-05T22:00:00.000-04:00

View Full Album

Easter Prep

2010-04-04T20:30:00.000-04:00

Management’s last-minute conference with the Easter Bunny led to the arrangement of these baskets, along with a line of Easter eggs leading from the employees’ cubicles to the cafeteria. The employees were pleased. (Princess Tiana was the main feature of K.Lo’s basket, and for N.Lo’s, four racecars of the Lightning McQueen variety. We *hope* they work with his race track. We will see.)

Happy Easter!

K.Lo & the Canine Staff

2010-04-03T22:55:00.000-04:00

K.Lo has come to know and love the Canine Staff. Bender is known as the Manager’s Dog, the silly or crazy one. (It’s true.) And Bailey is the sweet one, the cute one, the one who will abide any sort of love and hugs. Also true.

Photo Series: Office Egg Hunts

2010-04-03T22:45:00.000-04:00

Photo Series: Haircuts

2010-04-01T21:15:00.000-04:00

Photo Series: Typical Team Project

2010-04-01T08:00:00.000-04:00

Photo Series: Make-Believe

2010-03-31T23:45:00.000-04:00

Photo Series: Creature

2010-03-31T23:40:00.000-04:00

Photo Series: Bubbles

2010-03-31T23:30:00.000-04:00

Beach!

2010-03-20T22:25:00.000-04:00

In spite of our fortuitous location, the Lo.Co. doesn’t make it to the beach often. Primarily because, even in spite of March water temperatures, K.Lo will not stay out. And frankly, the Manager just isn’t going in. So we’re at a crossroads – until the Inspector comes to town, anyway. Lovely 3 hours, spent this past Monday. We’re still filing a grievance re: $6 for parking, but ah, nature. Friendship. Little darlings in the sand. Priceless.

“Tea Party”

2010-03-14T22:18:00.000-04:00

The Inspector Mendacious has come to visit our company once again, and on Sunday afternoon, we took one employee/little girl to the local tea shop to see if her on-the-job training was paying off. And it was. K.Lo expertly dispensed sugar cubes in each glass and helped pour lemonade, which came in its own pot, into her cup. She was mostly dainty with setting down her cup, as well. We ordered the “Wee Tea” for the employee – the plate included a cheese sandwich in the shape of a teapot, a few pb&j sandwiches on cinnamon raisin bread, and some bite-sized desserts. I’m also told she tried the edible pansy, but I missed that part. Afterward, we walked along the river. Lovely, lovely.

Spring Flowers

2010-03-09T15:25:00.000-05:00

I ask you: How does one not smile when picking up an art project at the Outsourcer featuring this little face?

Also, the daffodils are in bloom! K.Lo and N.Lo pick them on the way in to the office. K.Lo has seasonal allergies, contributing to the zoned expression here – I realize the flower is probably not helping. But it’s cute!

Our Beach Party is Evolving

2010-03-07T14:00:00.000-05:00

Pool Season!

2010-03-05T15:15:00.000-05:00

Note: The only part I had in the following photo series was the camera. And helping with bathing suits. The Employees, directed by K.Lo, set up the entire scene.

Love. It.

And then, N.Lo… Where did the little song come from?? “Splash, splash! Oh, yeah, yeah!”

Notes from the Kitchen Staff

2010-03-05T11:30:00.000-05:00

The KS has been meaning to mention these for awhile: a set of 101 cookie cutters from Wilston. Covering every season and the entire alphabet, they are fantastic! K.Lo was lucky enough to receive them this past Christmas, and the Kitchen Staff uses them multiple times every week. Typically, we use them for the Outsourcer, picking a shape for K.Lo’s PB&J sandwiches. K.Lo likes hers without the crust, anyway, so it works out well. Not a bite has been left from the shape sandwiches. We also use them for toast in the morning, and the employees each like to pick their own shapes.

Obviously, the cutters are most intended for cookies, which I’m sure we’ll get around to someday, too!

Employee Photo Shoot

2010-03-05T10:35:00.000-05:00

This shoot was initiated and staged by K.Lo. Personally, I would have staged it away from the backdrop of liquor bottles, lest Management look like they have some sort of *problem,* but regardless, we did succeed in capturing some of the employees’ energy. Needless to say, I love my munchkins.

N.Lo: New Bed!

2010-03-02T12:00:00.000-05:00

This post does double-duty, as not only does it show N.Lo’s bed, but it also captures his new comedy routine, entitled, “Want to see my other funny face?”

K.Lo: New Bed!

2010-02-27T21:00:00.000-05:00

More from the Art Dept.

2010-02-23T21:00:00.000-05:00

K.Lo has always been a little bit of an artist, and it’s fun to watch her work. For one, she is quiet. Intent. Whether it’s coloring, painting, drawing, cutting and/or taping, she is involved when in that space. And lately, her art is coming together. You can really tell what stuff is, all of a sudden.

K.Lo and the MagnaDoodle. The shots are basically the same, I realize, but could you choose one employee expression over the other? I could not. I love the little creature she drew.

She draws lots and lots of smiley faces, but this one was noteworthy for the rectangle eyes. Also, she is into details such as eyebrows and (in other pictures) five fingers on a hand.

And then, the multimedia project. A house! Note the trimmed grass, colored green, the door, the stickers holding it all together. (The Manager may have finally tired of a certain employee using yards and yards of Scotch tape at a time. She was told to make do with what was in front of her, and she did!) I helped with cutting the roof per the employee’s direction, but that’s it.

Also, I don’t have a picture, but today she made “wind chimes” with scissors and black paper. It was particularly thoughtful, as our office has a set hanging out front that is broken. And of the ginormous stack of paper she cut throughout the work day, she worried it would get lost in the shuffle at cleanup time. “But I made wind chimes for Mommy!” Aw. They are hanging on the kitchen window. With Scotch tape.

The Art Dept. at Work, II

2010-02-20T11:00:00.000-05:00

In Pictures: A Thursday Morning

2010-02-18T20:35:00.000-05:00

While K.Lo is at the Outsourcer on Tuesdays and Thursday, N.Lo and the Manager have a little time together. We go to the library, or back to the office, or to the grocery store or the park. Today, we went to a new (for us) park, and then out to get a sandwich. A sub sandwich, to be exact, because the Manager didn’t know this place didn’t have a kids’ menu. N.Lo, however, didn’t blink at this new (to him) food and proceeded to scarf half of it down. Thanks to the Jones Co. for these awesome park photos!

Water Cooler Talk, Cont’d.

2010-02-16T11:30:00.000-05:00

N.Lo likes the responsibility of throwing things into the trash can. He returns very proud from these expeditions. Lately, he comes back saying, “Ka-chow!” (From Cars.)
K.Lo sometimes traps Management into unproductive, stubborn conversations that are like verbal Devil’s Snare. Yesterday, she insisted that our town had a parachute store, and she wanted to go there to buy a parachute. Cute! Except not, because in her mind there really was a parachute store and she really wanted to go there. Right then. Suggestions for pretend parachute shopping or visiting the parachute store another day were adamantly rejected. Sigh.
And this morning, a similar conversation occurred, wherein K.Lo proposed that the Manager stay with her at the Outsourcer. Somehow this conversation escalated into my saying something like, “K.Lo. That’s not how the Outsourcer works. Managers leave. That’s the way it is. And I’m tired of getting into these nowhere conversations with you.” I fully expected protest in response. Instead, K.Lo paused, smiled mysteriously and said, “Things have changed on my planet.” … ???
N.Lo, ever into music, has begun to ask in the car, “What’s that music called?” As in, what’s the name of the song? So I’ll tell him, and he repeats the name back, and he’ll talk about whether or not he likes it. And he has opinions.
The employees went through a phase recently where they left any and all veggies on their plates. It seems to have ended, for which the Kitchen Staff is grateful. But after awhile, the Manager did realize what was really going on. K.Lo wasn’t eating her veggies. And therefore, by all coworker logic, neither was N.Lo. N.Lo, who admires and mimics his coworkers all throughout the work day. The day the moratorium happened to end, the Manager suggested, as usual, “N.Lo, eat your green beans!” and he said, “No! I don’t want green beans. I don’t like them.” Thirty seconds later, K.Lo miraculously picked up a handful of green beans and ate them. N.Lo, who of course was observing carefully, picked up a handful as well. “I’m going to eat my green beans!” Well, thank goodness for that.

Water Cooler Talk

2010-02-15T20:15:00.000-05:00

N.Lo: “I’m a big boy, and I’m going to preschool.” Oh, boy. I guess it is time, after all. If K.Lo weren’t enrolled, I think I would wait an extra year, or even two. But at pickup and drop-off, N.Lo wants to stay. Every single time. And frankly, it would be kind of nice to have the office to myself for two mornings a week. We will see if the CFO approves this budgetary expense for either summer or fall.
K.Lo, who left the room and began crying inexplicably. “I lost a flower up my nose.” Actually, it was a small bead shaped like a flower, and upon examination, that bead was nowhere to be seen. Oh dear. Trying my best to keep cool, I tried the first step in nose-bead removal, which was simply blowing into a tissue. And that worked. Phew! Weirdly, she wanted it back afterward.
K.Lo, watching Spongebob Squarepants: “Sponges don’t talk!” She notes this a lot lately regarding most cartoon characters. Then she said, “Spongebob talks, but my sponge in the bathroom doesn’t talk.” So astute.
K.Lo, on the melting backyard snowman: “Poor Frosty!” And then, “But he’ll be back again someday.”
K.Lo, riding over one of a few small hills in town: “That bump tickled my belly!”

The Art Dept. at Work

2010-02-14T11:45:00.000-05:00

Oh, What Fun!

2010-02-13T14:00:00.000-05:00

Where our office is located, we don’t see much snow – which, at this point in my career, I’m okay with. But, when it does arrive, it is about perfect. Just the right amount, stays only a little while. Makes it that much more magical.

This morning, while the Manager slept, the employees ventured outside. Let’s also note that the CEO bundled up the employees and was able witness the employees’ joy firsthand, rather than in pictures. Good timing, Snowfall, arriving on a Saturday!

Pause for a break inside, with a little static head…

And then, when the Manager woke up, it was back out again for some more fun.

Shaking the tree for some extra snowfall…

Coming after the poor Company Photographer. Ahhhh!

Snow Angels! K.Lo, the Manager and the CEO, respectively.

Chasing around in the snow…

Fun for the Canine Staff!

The rolling of a ginormous snowball/photo op spot…

King of the World! Except K.Lo, who said, “No, I’m a princess.”

And then down the hill for some sledding, on the employee-dubbed Rocket Run. After a few unsatisfactory turns sliding down, Management improvised to create a makeshift sled (or snowboard, if you must) out of a giant tupperware lid.

See you later, Snowfall! You’re already melting, but we hope you come again soon!

A Cowboy Prepares for Bedtime

2010-02-12T19:55:00.000-05:00

Employee Files, Cont’d.

2010-02-10T14:40:00.001-05:00

K.Lo told the Manager, “Open up so I can see your belly.” Followed by: “Oh. What’s that peanut?” Meaning the uvula.
The Kitchen Staff does prefer cookies made from scratch, but the Pillsbury holiday cookies are pretty fun sometimes, too.
There were 4 small pieces of chicken on K.Lo’s plate last night in the cafeteria, and Management advised to finish all 4 if she wanted to have a cookie. K.Lo said, “But I don’t want to eat the stinger!” referring to a small end piece that did, actually, look like a bee’s stinger. She was allowed to eat the other 3 pieces for a cookie.
The employees are growing again, all of a sudden, especially K.Lo. For a few weeks now, she has complained that all her underwear are “wedgie panties,” and indeed they’ve seemed a little tight, in addition to a few shirts and pants. Today we bought two new sets of 7, Dora and Tinkerbell, at Kohl’s, which K.Lo later told the gym daycare ladies was the place to buy panties.
We solved the shoe issue today as well with a pair of brown and pink Mary Janes that shouldn’t fall off her feet at the Outsourcer tomorrow. (Sigh.) The shoes were a lucky find, as most styles didn’t come in her size regardless of price, but these—these were about $5 on clearance. I’m still in shock that she agreed to them. Clearly the stars were aligned on this purchase, and I expect it never to happen again in the employee’s career with the company.
Both employees have fallen into a new, post-teeth brushing routine at night, which involves taking Management’s hands and 1-2-3-jumping all the way from bathroom to bed. It’s cute. Also, N.Lo becomes very giggly as he insists, “No, I want one more hug. And one more kiss,” forever, until we finally say good-night. How is one to resist?

Employee Files

2010-02-09T20:15:00.000-05:00

N.Lo likes to tell stories about seeing ghosts or dragons. “There’s a ghost in the living room, Mama!” Or, “I saw a DRAGON in the car. Roar!” Quiz him further to find out what colors these apparitions are, and he will tell you like he saw them.
K.Lo, having just turned 4, is already excited about turning 5. She hasn’t forgotten the time I mentioned in passing that one does not ride the school bus until she is 5. She follows up very excitedly with, “And I’m going to go to a new school!” I wonder what’s going to happen when she turns 5 and a) discovers there are 6 more months until the school years begins and b) she might not even ride the bus. That’s kind of a longer post for another day, but to make the story short, the Manager isn’t a fan of the bus, and would prefer to drive the employees, whom she instinctively feels will not like the bus, either. Not to mention, our street is assigned to what is, essentially, a crappy school with self-admitted low academic standards, and we will be trying like hell to gain admittance to either a charter school or any one of the 3 schools we are allowed to apply for under the county’s open-choice policy. Like I say: longer post for another day. I’m sure you can tell I’m not at all concerned about it, a year in advance.
Yesterday on the way to the gym, my car slammed into one hell of a pothole and K.Lo asked, “What was that?!” I explained three times that it was called a pothole, to which she kept saying, “WHAT? I can’t hear you!” So by the last time, I pretty much shouted, “Pothole!” N.Lo then asked, “What was it called?” K.Lo paused, thinking hard, and said, “It’s a hothole, N.Lo!”
K.Lo and N.Lo are increasingly affectionate of the Canine Staff, which is nice for the whole company, considering that the Canine Staff used to be our main office workers, until we hired humans. They give the dogs hugs when we return to the office, and N.Lo looks for Bender, who sleepily comes out from the back bedroom. “There’s Bender!” he says. “I missed you!”
The shoes we bought for K.Lo’s Date of Hire Anniversary were a little too small—or really, just right, fit-wise, but K.Lo likes a little space with her feet. So I returned the shoes the next day, and found a replacement pair at Target. I bought the smallest size they had, which was 2 sizes too big, but I figured she’ll grow. Instantly when trying them on, she exclaimed, “They fit perfect!” even though there is an inch of space between heel and shoe. She wore them to the Outsourcer today, however, and apparently had some issues. “I fell in my new shoes and Miss Jenny looked in my bag and there weren’t any other shoes.” This story led to a minor meltdown and some guilty feelings for the Manager that I hadn’t packed backups. Several minutes later, K.Lo asked, “Mommy, can we buy some new shoes?” Sigh.
Luckily, new rain boots arrived today from Andria & Co., which are fabulous and the perfect size. They are pink, complete with butterfly face and glittery wings painted on the sides. K.Lo wore them the rest of the work day, indoors. And, of course, with no pants.

In Pictures: K.Lo’s 4th Date of Hire Anniversary (II)

2010-02-06T20:00:00.000-05:00

K.Lo’s long-awaited celebration with colleagues took place today at the park. Overall, I would call it a great success! The key factor remained the weather, which magically cooperated. It was chilly, but after one rescheduling, one park switch due to excessive mud and one hell of a wind-and-rain storm yesterday evening, gray skies were a blessing. The cake, too, turned out just as the Kitchen Staff desired, with the help of certain tools from the craft-store baking aisle, namely buttercream frosting, purple coloring and edible glitter. It was a basic sheet cake with a Cinderella toy set (from Target) on top. Voila! The homemade piñata, which I hope to soon procure pictures of, was also a hit, and the kids all seemed to have fun on the playground. We’re grateful to our colleagues for braving the cold air to come celebrate.

And, with that, the Manager can’t lie when she says she is so glad it’s over. Even the most basic celebrations for employees are so much fun, but a whole lot of work! K.Lo’s expressions while we sang “Happy Birthday” (see below), of course made it all worthwhile.

In Pictures: K.Lo’s 4th Date of Hire Anniversary (I)

2010-02-03T23:10:00.000-05:00

When the Manager Moonlights

2010-01-31T09:25:00.000-05:00

When the Manager moonlights, there are no notes for the Lo.Co. file. No pictures. No end in sight. The Manager is tired.

It will get better. This week contains a deadline and a learning curve and a dash of frustration. Maybe you can match up each moonlight job with its description. (It’s not difficult.)

At any rate, here are some of things happening in our office:

K.Lo’s party was moved from one Saturday to the next due to inclement weather. Although I don’t put much stock in the extended forecast, so far, it doesn’t look great. Contingency plan will involve a small, indoor party. Maybe. Please stand by.
N.Lo has a belly again! Apparently his growth pattern is belly out, stretch up, belly out, stretch up… I love that about N.Lo.
K.Lo’s favorite art media at the moment is Scotch tape. Lots and lots of Scotch tape. I’m kind of torn on letting her play with it, but it keeps her quiet and seems to be such a source of joy. And it’s not that expensive, really, so why not.
K.Lo went on an Outsourcer field trip to the “BIG library down the town.” And she will tell you all about it, from the bus ride, to the steps, to the stories that were read. Managers were encouraged to attend, and K.Lo’s class must have been informed, as K.Lo excitedly said to me beforehand, “And then you’re going to meet us there!” Well… I hadn’t planned on it. But, okay. I imagined several Managers there, and a crushed little Manager-less K.Lo and couldn’t handle it. So we went. Frankly, it was not the greatest decision, as I was only one of three Managerial Staff members present, and K.Lo, while happy to see me and N.Lo, didn’t respond well to the collision of worlds. The outing ended in tears. But later, attending Managers were given a certificate of participation, which is rather silly, but somehow encouraging. At least our presence was appreciated, if not completely successful.
We have big plans for K.Lo’s actual birthday. Park time in the morning. (Maybe I should just bring the pinata and call it a day??) Cupcakes, friends, and more friends in the afternoon. And lots of presents! This year is the first that we’ve kept all the presents under wraps, from both us and far-away family. Should be fun.
N.Lo continues to prove that he’s not completely impressionable and does, in fact, have some fire inside. Which is good. Even when obstinate behavior becomes a challenge to smooth operations. In the midst of his fits, he is still, as the CEO noted, terribly cute.
K.Lo has been sailing through her potty charts: Hooray! Some of the Special Treats have been duds, but this is what happens when you shop the dollar bins. I’d call it an 85% success rate, which isn’t bad. One bonus is that the treat selection always changes. Last week it was Valentine’s Day, and now we are on to St. Patrick’s Day and Tinkerbell. One of the biggest hits, strangely, has been socks. I feel like I have been rewarding Dobby, with the socks.
The coworkers alternately cooperate and argue like, well, good coworkers.Typically, arguments erupt over office supplies, as they would in any office. Management tries to refrain from intervention, unless the situation escalates into excessive shouting or bodily combat. Lately, though, the arguments are over who gets to say what. For instance, when we round the last corner on the way back to the office, the employees like to say, “We’re hooooome!” Which is so cute. Except now it’s, “No, I want to say ‘We’re home!’ and “No, I want to say it!” and “YOU CAN’T SAY IT, I’M SAYING IT!” and then crying, followed by, “Mommy, N.Lo yelled at me!” Sigh. Words, really? We are fighting over words.
N.Lo and I both got haircuts last Sunday. A parent-child special for $20. Frankly, I was nervous—for me, not him. But, it was in-between trim, and ended up being fine-ish. For the moment. N.Lo was a champ, and didn’t flinch a bit during his haircut, which took place in an airplane seat. (I sat in a regular chair. By the way.) During my haircut, he played by himself over on the pirate ship slide and with the toy table, and then cleaned up after himself. Sheesh! Really couldn’t have asked for a more perfect trip to the haircut place.

Here are some pictures, just a few.

K.Lo at the princess party a few weeks ago. It took place at a children’s museum, and this pic is from the karaoke station. The Ariel dress isn’t ours, but K.Lo loved wearing it for a little while.

There are no great pictures of our haircuts, try as I did. This one is passable.

Random, but I like these pictures of K.Lo, and then the one of the trees. Cypress, I think? Even (especially?) in the winter, they really are beautiful.

Employee Files

2010-01-21T20:00:00.000-05:00

The employees are both addicted to pretzels lately.
Workplace conversations have increased in entertainment value. For instance, on the way to the dentist, K.Lo and N.Lo discussed whether or not each was scared, and whether they should be scared. Also, they often argue semantics, fighting over the meanings of certain words, or the locations of objects.
Work on K.Lo’s office space is nearing completion. The Regional Manager and Manager have painted the ceiling and walls. Curtain and princess bed installation will take place on Jan 30. Pictures to come at that time.
At the Outsourcer today, K.Lo’s class made Super Vegetable Soup in honor of Mr. V. Each employee was assigned to bring in a vegetable; ours was okra. I had predicted K.Lo would go hungry, and sure enough, her teachers noted at pick-up: “K.Lo went hungry today… she ate half a cracker.” So very amusing. While she will eat certain vegetables, okra is absolutely not one of them, and she does not generally enjoy soup.
It is birthday party month! K.Lo and I have attended three so far, with another this weekend, and K.Lo’s on the last Saturday of the month. All have been fun; N.Lo stays home with the CEO for “Man Days,” and certain projects have been completed during this time, such as a shelf for N.Lo’s cubicle. The Manager loves organizational items, and so highly approves of Man Days. Additionally, K.Lo has deemed the party-going as “Ladies Day,” which is declared with a high-five.
K.Lo like to talk. Obviously, this news is not earth-shattering, but it has helped recently to simply acknowledge that she is Chatty, and perhaps not everything she says has to be taken so seriously. The trick is, how to respond in a way satisfies the chattiness without leading us down an unfavorable path. Always a challenge.

From a party day, aka Ladies Day, playing with a parachute. So much fun!

Sneak Peak

2010-01-16T23:30:00.000-05:00

K.Lo’s 4th Date of Hire Anniversary fast approaches, and the Manager is perhaps just a little bit excited about the actual day of, when the opening of presents will occur. This year will really be the first that Management will give the employee something to unwrap; last year, the swing set was built (aw…the linked post makes me miss our GA colleagues!), and the years before are fuzzy. I don’t recall there being a big gifting of any sort, and there wasn’t too much suspense leading up to the day. This year, like Christmas, K.Lo gets it.

K.Lo’s main present will be the conversion of her office space into a sort of “princess” bedroom. This upcoming week, the Manager and Regional Manager will paint the walls pink—the shade is actually called “Poetic Princess,” which is rather fitting. Before and After pictures to come. Then, K.Lo will get a new/old bed, with a curtain canopy, while N.Lo takes over K.Lo’s old bed, another big transition in and of itself.

Not a lot of money will be spent on this project, and frankly, not a lot of money was spent on the following presents, recently purchased by Management. Deals were found: coupons, clearance sales, etc. But this is what we ended up with. Shhh, don’t tell K.Lo…

Replacement glittery shoes. K.Lo has a pair of pink glittery shoes, which she loves to death, but she lost one. How, why, we don’t know, but the shoe is gone. Just like in a fairy tale. These are rather “Dorothy,” but I’m fairly certain K.Lo won’t mind.

A “paper doll” storybook. K.Lo pretty much adores anything Disney princess. The dolls aren’t really paper so much as colorforms. It’s a sure winner.

A fairy/butterfly Barbie. Need I say more? I wasn’t a big Barbie girl growing up, but K.Lo really is. I’m okay with that. I support it. It will likely do little harm. The wings on this convert into a dress, which is pretty nifty. And lastly…

A guitar! What? It’s so cute! Management briefly considered a small piano, but it was a bit pricey. The guitar was much more affordable, which allowed us to purchase the aforementioned without destroying the company budget and sending the CFO into fits. The CEO and K.Lo can jam together. The only problem we foresee is that likely, N.Lo will want one, too.

Employee Files

2010-01-13T15:30:00.000-05:00

The employees enjoy bologna lately, which they call “flat hot dogs.”
N.Lo has never minded having his socks on, but lately notices or looks to see whether K.Lo has hers on. And of course, usually she does not. So he insists on taking them off.
A good, solid employee project in the afternoon is bringing out the air bed for bouncing. Yesterday, K.Lo wore her bathing suit and said the bed was a pool, jumping off a small stool onto it, which I thought was pretty clever. It is blue, after all. The CEO has made me pledge to drive the employees to the hospital whenever they crack their heads on surrounding furniture. Which apparently, inevitably, they will.
N.Lo has occasionally been ornery the past few days. We don’t know why, other than that he is 2. Sometimes when he does not want to do something, such as have his diaper changed, he says, “NO! I’m thinking.” As in, he is too busy to have his thoughts interrupted. I love it.
Also love: K.Lo, pointing to her belly and saying, “Mommy, my feelings hurt. And that’s why I can’t go to the gym today.” I guess she didn’t feel like going anywhere today. Me, either.
K.Lo has taken to assigning all past events as having happened “two months ago,” or “two weeks ago.” She will say something like, “Two weeks ago is when I wore that dress.” Or, “Two months ago, it was summer?”
She continues to talk about Jessica, her imaginary Facebook friend, usually when the CEO and I are discussing a conversation we had with colleagues, or similar. She interjects with, “So… Jessica was like…” and continues from there. Emerging details on Jessica is that she still attends high school, but is 4 years old. She lives far away, but in our same town. She has red hair. She gave K.Lo a car seat for her birthday. And she died one time, but the doctor woke her up.
Another sweet thing K.Lo says regularly: “You make my heart feel so happy!” Aw. Likewise, my dear.
One day awhile back, let’s just say two months ago, even thought it was more like three, N.Lo got into the Silly Putty while I had my back turned, and the warmed goo was stuck all over his shirt and pants. It sat in a Target bag in the freezer for awhile, in an attempt to ~~avoid cleaning it~~ freeze off the substance. At some point, to make room for food, I tossed the bag in the ice bin and promptly forgot about it—until the CEO filled his glass with ice one day, only to discover the dispenser was um… clogged. Long story short, the bag was torn, but the clothes were spared, though still, vexingly, covered in gunk. I have so speak with the Laundry Fairy yet again for her laziness. She then let the torn bag sit on the counter for another month—much to the annoyance of the Kitchen Staff—and today, finally, cleaned it. The solution to the cleaning problem was ultimately hot running water, coupled with fingernail scraping.
K.Lo finds these seeds around town, takes one at a time back to the office, and calls it her baby beetle. We made a little bed for the beetle with cotton balls and a toy tissue box, and then every now and then they get dry and crack, so we have a backup paper beetle, cut and designed by K.Lo. Face provided by Management.

The Incentive Program’s Return

2010-01-12T21:15:00.000-05:00

Management has had to get serious, once again, regarding K.Lo’s training in the Employee Rest Room. We are hoping against all hopes that this Incentive Program will be the very last in what has been quite an arduous production. We are back to a sticker chart. It’s like we’re starting from Square One… But never mind that. Here is how the program works:

Each row on the chart has 7 spaces. One sticker is earned for every potty success, which for the almost 4-year-old means making it to the potty on time, requiring no clean-ups or uniform changes, and flushing. Should any of these three points be violated, a sticker is lost. At the end of each row, a Special Treat is earned. Since Saturday, with mixed levels of both success and interest, K.Lo has earned two Special Treats. One was a bookmark craft, and the other was a headband with ribbons on it—very Valentine’s Day-ish. Treats waiting in the wings are: a pink tin mailbox container, a Conversation Heart pillow, a Valentine’s stamp set, and two bow barrettes with red sparkly hearts. For those I’d like to thank the Target Dollar Bin, which at times like these, I love so very much.

So, we’re attempting to make this a serious effort while remembering that it’s not the only thing happening in the company and in each of our careers. There are other things. Successes and projects and admirable work habits all around. And so many worse problems for a company or employee or manager to have. We will work our way through this issue just like the rest. We will succeed.

(Right?)

Performance Review: Teeth

2010-01-11T13:30:00.000-05:00

Today was our employees’ first trip to the dentist. I’ve put it off for several reasons: first insurance (or lack thereof, at the time), then age, then the simple fact that it’s the dentist. Who likes the dentist? Not I. Well finally, after receiving multiple recommendations for one particular dentist’s office, acquiring the all-important dental insurance, and allowing the requisite 6 months to pass with the item MAKE DENTIST APPOINTMENT on my to-do list, I did, and we went.

It was not bad.

The office is very kid-friendly, the staff is great. And they did not expect much out of either N.Lo or K.Lo, which very much took off the pressure. K.Lo warmed up a little to the hygienist’s explanation of procedures, i.e. laying back in the chair to watch the ceiling TV while having teeth looked at and “brushed.” She felt some of the tools. N.Lo seemed more into the whole proceedings at this point, I will note. Ultimately, K.Lo did not sit in the chair, but did stand near the hygienist and allowed her teeth to be brushed with her new Snow White toothbrush and the chosen bubble-gum flavored cleaner.

The most tedious part of the whole visit was waiting in-between K.Lo and N.Lo’s cleaning. New and stressful situation for all, general patience levels lacking for those under 3 1/2 feet, the denied requests for more than 1 sticker from the big sticker roll. And all the stuff to carry. Winter coats, scarves, purse, bag, and more bags: dentist goodie bags filled with toothbrushes and floss gadgets and magnets. And t-shirts! And the treasure chest toys! I thoroughly appreciated it all, but add in the 30-lb anxious toddler who insists constantly on being held as well, and sheesh.

N.Lo’s cleaning basically involved a “lap exam,” where he sat on my lap facing me and leaned back headfirst onto the dentist’s lap, where he was more or less cooperative. Impressively cooperative, in fact, considering some of N.Lo’s recent moods and demands. He didn’t enjoy it as much as the tool show earlier, but he didn’t fight much, either.

And that was about it! They had their pictures taken at checkout. They looked at the saltwater fish tank on the way out, and we were on our way. It was a “baby steps” sort of visit. N.Lo was not expected to even lay back in the chair—just a quick look was the bare minimum requirement. K.Lo should have lain in the chair and had an actual cleaning, but did not, and that was also okay. Next time, more familiar with the place, the employees may be more open the chair, and the cleaning, etc. That is the hope. But still no pressure. Which is a relief—as well as the fact that both are cavity-free, with well-spaced and fairly clean-looking teeth, in spite of their once-daily brush schedule. We are working on it. Baby steps.

Goopy Goop

2010-01-07T23:15:00.000-05:00

K.Lo and I had the best time this afternoon making and playing with “Goopy Goop,” a fascinating, slime-like substance. The recipe is inexpensive and easy, and seems like it would be fun even for older ages, so I thought I’d share. I swear this is same slime made for us in second grade science class… it was green back then. Today, we made purple.

Mix 1 cup Elmer’s glue in a bowl with 3/4 cup water until smooth.

Add desired food coloring, 1 drop at a time. We only needed 2 drops for great color.

In a second bowl, mix 1/4 cup of water with 3 tablespoons of Borax until dissolved.

Pour the Borax mixture into the glue mixture and stir. Goop will form. Liquid will be leftover. Pull out the goop and set aside while you mix up a second batch of water w/ Borax. Add to remaining glue mixture for second and last pile of Goopy Goop. *Note: I only had enough glue to make half of this recipe, and it was plenty.

Keep the Goop at the table to play, and be amazed. Store in a Ziploc bag.

Bueller….

2010-01-07T22:00:00.000-05:00

Remember that moment at the end of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off when Ferris is attempting to erase the miles off Cameron’s dad’s car with a block of concrete and the car set in reverse, and the car slips from its hold and zooms backward into a spectacular crash through the glass, into the air, and down into the woods of Cameron’s backyard? We had a moment like that in our office yesterday, in miniature.

N.Lo, you may recall, received a remote control car this year from Santa. It’s a neat little toy, as the steering works by motion sensor, similar to a Wii. No joystick. Easy to use for all ages, even the Manager, who may or may not enjoy egging on the Canine Staff, especially Bender. So, the Manager, or Housekeeping, or the employees—let’s say it was the employees, shall we?—happened to leave the car and its steering wheel on the kitchen table. N.Lo, eating an early dinner by himself at one end of the table, was unseen by Management and the Kitchen Staff, who were catching up on workday briefings just around the corner. Out of nowhere, a vroom, a crash, an insulted cry. N.Lo’s plate of ham and peas spilled everywhere. The Canine Staff immediately on cleanup job. More tears. Chaos!

Apparently, the little employee grabbed the steering wheel and pressed go. Oops. I swear I didn’t laugh… Just remember, if you do happen to purchase this great toy for your staff: not recommended for table use!

Challenges in the Workplace

2010-01-05T21:30:00.000-05:00

Some notes for the Manager’s files, wherein she over-thinks everything. She realizes that there’s more to life than work, and that’s she’s bigger than the employees, has been working much longer. But still.

Training for N.Lo in the Employee Rest Room will not begin until he is at least 2 1/2 years old. There are several logical, reasonable arguments to be made here, but the biggest reason, above all? I am in no rush whatsoever to discover that I am a complete and utter failure at the ERR Training Process. Because at times, with an Iron-Willed Employee, it kind of feels like that’s true. And the thought of cleaning up the floor after two children does not at all appeal. To put it mildly. Not to mention the Laundry Fairy would have a(nother) fit.
On the other hand, sometimes I think N.Lo is here in this office to remind me that I am not, actually, a bad manager. Typical managerial tricks of the trade work with N.Lo. And while I occasionally gripe at N.Lo, I’m hard-pressed to think of a time when I’ve really yelled at him. N.Lo brings out my better side. It’s makes me a little sad to say that, as though I think N.Lo is a better employee. Not true: I love both equally. And fiercely. But K.Lo is undoubtedly more of a challenge.
K.Lo, an employee here for nearly 4 years, truly does not understand who is boss. Or rather, she understands, but seeks to overthrow or best management at every. possible. turn. Sometimes I am up for the challenge, the creativity, the battle. The dance. Sometimes I am just tired of it. Makes the ever-important *consistency* difficult…
I do realize that in the grand scheme of things, the day-to-day passes all too quickly, and before we know it, the employees will be out in the world. I make every effort to appreciate the employees at each stage and the career journey itself. I see the gifts; I know them well. Practically speaking, however, employee respect for management is pretty key. Basic. Essential. Because I can appreciate the little renegade so much, until she runs into traffic and refuses to move because she “doesn’t want to,” or “doesn’t care.”
Lastly, on detachment in the workplace: I don’t get it, but do I need to study up? If a Manager shuts down her emotions to a degree, she benefits by remaining unruffled in conflict. But what is lost? Seems like positive emotions would be nixed as well. I ponder, only because otherwise, I’m out of answers on how to address a strong employee will (with an apparently strong Managerial will).

That is all for tonight. In the meantime, will resist looking for all-day outsourcers and/or one-way ticket to Bora Bora.

Progress Report: Hair

2010-01-04T15:30:00.000-05:00

K.Lo’s hair. It’s long, all of a sudden! You may recall that for about 2 years, she had none.

Around 1 year…

And 2 years…

Finally there was some around 3 years…

Now, we’re almost to 4 years! Freshly washed (no small feat) and brushed, and without a braid or a “piggy,” here is K.Lo’s hair today. So pretty.

Rules are Rules

2010-01-04T14:15:00.000-05:00

K.Lo is at the beach! I temporarily overruled the law that says it’s bad luck to open an umbrella inside the house. It was a “sun” umbrella after all… And all was well for about 10 minutes, until N.Lo jumped on said non-bad luck umbrella and completely broke it. I’ve had it since college.

But keep up the good work, K.Lo! I love your imagination these days. Sincerely, The Manager.

Company Holiday Season: A Final Photo Review

2010-01-03T23:00:00.000-05:00

‘Witness: Christmas morning at the Lo.Co. Several outfit changes, including some underpants-only uniform decisions. (Guess what N.Lo’s favorite present was??) Wrapping paper. Mayhem. Smiles. Excitement! Lots of dolls and a couple tea sets. A Long-Suffering Bailey Dog. Some car remote control action. And a little New Year’s thrown in. Whew! What fun!

Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T23:30:00.000-05:00

To bring in 2010, some favorite pictures from our recent company celebrations...

*More of these soon… the Manager is currently sorting out old and new computer systems.

Score: 1 for CEO (I guess)

2009-12-30T22:40:00.001-05:00

For some long months now, Human Resources have been engaged in a low-grade, background argument regarding the hire of a third (and final, let’s emphasize) employee. Without getting into specifics at this time, we will simply note that the CEO’s vote is “nay” and Human Resources says, “YAY.” So the running joke in our office has become the CEO commenting in key moments of mayhem—think employee meltdowns, excessive noise, accidents, managerial forgetfulness: “And you want a third.”

He finds himself rather hilarious, that CEO.

Today in the gym parking lot, just as we arrived, K.Lo was going on and on and on about being thirsty, repeating the request as she so often does, until acknowledged. It can drive this Manager a little batty, having to scramble for the “Off” button. (Ignoring does not work, oh no.) Especially annoyed in the moment, I responded along the lines of, “K.Lo, I hear you. You do not have to say it over and over and over again. It drives.me.nuts.”

To which she responded: “Oh.” Followed by, “Mommy, and you want a third?”

SIGH.