Out of the blue { where does "out of the blue" come from? Where or what is blue? And why does something happen to it suddenly? }.
On Friday 11/14, I heard a noise at 1:00 am that woke me up. I slapped Randy on the head and asked "Did you hear that?". With our ears wide open, we heard our bedroom door open. "Was that our door?" Randy stood up and who was at his feet? Teague!
"I want to sleep in Mommy and Daddy's bed."
And so began our bedtime saga. Teague had never gotten out of bed before. He had never opened his bedroom door before. He had never left his room before. But now we have to deal with it.
We aren't quite sure how to handle it, but lack of sleep doesn't help us make a decision about how to approach our night owl.
For now, you can refer to us as the "unrested otts".
Friday, November 21, 2008
bedtime saga part I
bedtime saga part II
We had a genius idea. We told Teague he could stay in our bed, but NO pacifier was allowed. If he wanted a pacifier, he had to sleep in his own bed.
It worked! He started the night in our bed, but by 11:00 he hadn't fallen asleep and wanted his pacifier to do the trick. So he ASKED to go back into his own room. H.E.A.V.E.N.L.Y.
Total time spent in our bed = 3 hours
bedtime saga part III
Progress. He fell asleep in his own bed without getting out once! He would have slept all night - if he hadn't had a coughing fit to wake him up.
There's nothing like a cold to derail ALL of your efforts!
Total time spent in our bed = 2.5 minutes!
Thursday, November 20, 2008
store closings
Sometimes I get untrue emails. I wonder if this one falls into that category. If it's true, do any of these store closings effect you?
Nationwide store closings
STORE CLOSINGS AND LAYOFFS
Ann Taylor closing 117 stores nationwide. A company spokeswoman said the company hasn't revealed which stores will be shuttered. It will let the stores that will close this fiscal year know over the next month
Eddie Bauer to close more stores. Eddie Bauer has already closed 27 shops in the first quarter and plans to close up to two more outlet stores by the end of the ye ar.
Cache closing stores. Women's retailer Cache announced that it is closing 20 to 23 stores this year.
Lane Bryant, Fashion Bug, Catherines closing 150 stores nationwide. The owner of retailers Lane Bryant , Fashion Bug , Catherine's Plus Sizes will close about 150 under performing stores this year. The company hasn't provided a list of specific store closures and can't say when it will offer that info, spokeswoman Brooke Perry said today.
Talbots, J. Jill closing stores. About a month ago, Talbot's announced that it will be shuttering all 78 of its kids and men's stores. Now the company says it will close another 22 under performing stores.. The 22 stores will be a mix of Talbot's women's and J. Jill , another chain it owns. The closures will occur this fiscal year, according to a company press release.
Gap Inc. closing 85 stores. In addition to its namesake chain, Gap also owns Old Navy and Banana Republic . The company said the closures - all planned for fiscal 2008 - will be weighted toward the Gap brand.
Foot Locker to close 140 stores. In the company press release and during its conference call with analysts today, it did not specify where the future store closures - all planned in fiscal 2008 - will be. The company could not be immediately reached for comment
Wickes is going out of business. Wickes Furniture is going out of business and closing all of its stores, Wickes, a 37-year-old retailer that targets middle-income customers, filed for bankruptcy protection last month.
Goodbye Levitz / BOMBAY - closed already. The furniture retailer, which is going out of business. Levitz first announced it was going out of business and closing all 76 of its stores in December. The retailer dates back to 1910 when Richard Levitz opened his first furniture store in Lebanon , PA. In the 1960's, the warehouse/showroom concept brought Levitz to the forefront of the furniture industry. The local Levitz closures will follow the shutdown of Bombay ..
Zales, Piercing Pagoda closing stores. The owner of Zales and Piercing Pagoda previously said it plans to close 82 stores by July 31. Today, it announced that it is closing another 23 under performing stores. The company said it's not providing a list of specific store closures. Of the 105 locations planned for closure, 50 are kiosks and 55 are stores.
Disney Store owner has the right to close 98 stores. The Walt Disney Company announced it acquired about 220 Disney Stores from subsidiaries of The Children's Place Retail Stores. The exact number of stores acquired will depend on negotiations with landlords. Those subsidiaries of Children's Place filed for & nbsp;bankruptcy protection in late March. Walt Disney, in the news release, said it has also obtained the right to close about 98 Disney Stores in the U.S. The press release didn't list those stores.
Home Depot store closings. (E. Brunswick, Rt 18 just put up their closing sign) ATLANTA - Nearly 7+ months after its chief executive said there were no plans to cut the number of its core retail stores, The Home Depot Inc. announced Thursday that it is shuttering 15 of them amid a slumping U.S. economy and housing market. The move will affect 1,300 employees. It is the first time the world's largest home improvement store chain has ever closed a flagship store for performance reasons. Its shares ros e almost 5 percent. The Atlanta-based company said the under performing U.S. stores being closed represents less than 1 percent of its existing stores. They will be shuttered within the next two months.
CompUSA (CLOSED) clarifies details on store closings. Any extended warranties purchased for products through CompUSA will be honored by a third-party provider, Assurant Solutions. Gift cards, rain checks, and rebates purchased prior to December 12 can be redeemed at any time during the final sale. For those who have a gadget currently in for service with CompUSA, the repair will be completed and the gadget will be returned to owners. http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9834177-7html
Macy's - 9 stores
Movie Gallery - 160 stores as part of reorganization plan to exit bankruptcy. The video rental company plans to close 400 of 3,500 Movie Gallery and Hollywood Video stores in addition to the 520 locations the video rental chain closed last fall.
Pacific Sunwear - 153 Demo stores
Pep Boys - 33 stores
Sprint Nextel - 125 retail locations. New Sprint Nextel CEO Dan Hesse appears to have inherited a company bleeding subscribers by the thousands, and will now officially be dropping the ax on 4,000 employees and 125 retail locations. Amid the loss of 639,000 postpaid customers in the fourth quarter, Sprint will be cutting a total of 6.7% of its work force (following the 5,000 layoffs last year) and 8% of company-owned brick-and-m ortar stores, while remaining mute on other rumors that it will consolidate its headquarters in Kansas . Sprint Nextel shares are down $2.89, or nearly 25%, at the time of this writing.
J. C. Penney, Lowe's and Office Depot are scaling back
Ethan Allen Interiors: The company announced plans to close
12 of 300+ stores in an effort to cut costs.
Wilsons the Leather Experts - 158 stores
Pacific Sunwear will close its 154 Demo stores after a review of strategic alternatives for the urban-apparel brand. Seventy-four under performing Demo stores closed last May.
Sharper Image: The company recently filed for bankruptcy protection and announced that 90 of its 184 stores are closing. The retailer will still operate 94 stores to pay off debts, but 90 of these stores have performe d poorly and also may close..
Bombay Company: (Freehold Mall store closed) The company unveiled plans to close all 384 U.S.-based Bombay Company stores.. The company's online storefront has discontinued operations.
KB Toys posted a list of 356 stores that it is closing around the United States as part of its bankruptcy reorganization. To see the list of store closings, go to the KB Toys Information web site, and click on Press Information
Dillard's to Close More Stores. Dillard's Inc. said it will continue to focus on closing under performing stores, reducing expenses and improving its merchandise in 2008. At the company's annual shareholder meeting, CEO William Dillard II said the company will close another six under performing stores this year.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
self portrait
election party
Tricia invited us over for an election party. I couldn't watch the election because there were so many kids there! Of course I took my camera. Wouldn't you like a picture of yourself on a historic night? These kids can look back and say look how little I was on the day Obama was elected President.
halloween party
I took pictures at daycare for their halloween party. Here's the story:
Atryu was a dinosaur.
We played Ring-Around-the-Rosie. Teague and I taught them the second verse:The cows are in the meadows
eating buttercups
ashes, ashes we all stand up!
I love seeing them hold hands.
Alexis was a fairy.
Jennifer thinks of everything. Her house was decorated so nicely for the party.
Noah, the mighty lion, conked out before the party started.
Katie was a princess.
Phoebe was a fairy.
And of course, I'm a forgetful mom, so I didn't bring his fireman custom. So Jennifer improvised and we made him a hunter. Pretty cleaver, huh? He wasn't happy that I was taking pictures and not playing with him.
boo zoo
the train broken down when we were at the boo zoo in battle creek. this was teague's reaction. pretty much the only reason why we went.
it got fixed eventually and we got on it in the end.
