So, Sweets and I had to decide what to do. We both agreed we were not ready to leave Gavin in someone else’s care for three days and two nights. But, the question on the table was whether Sweets would stay home while I traveled or whether I’d drag them with me. I decided I wasn’t yet ready to be away from my boys for so many days/nights, so they were coming with me! Overall, the trip was both great and incredibly challenging. There definitely were some lessons learned about traveling with a toddler.

We tried to arrange our flights to align with Gavin’s nap time, which was especially important given the flight was 4 hours on the way to Vegas and over 3 hours on the way home. Gavin slept for 30 minutes on the way out and didn’t sleep at all on the way home. Even though we purchased an extra seat for him (best move we could’ve made!), it was still a huge challenge to contain him to our row of seats. He doesn’t yet “get” the baby apps we downloaded to Sweets’ iPad. Books go only so far. Lesson learned, next time we assume he won’t sleep at all (and bring appropriate activities to accommodate).

Another challenge? Staying in a hotel and planning meals for a toddler. When it’s just two adults in a hotel, the conversation goes something like this: We’re hungry. Great, let’s pick a restaurant and get something to eat. It’s then easily an hour between choosing where to eat, getting there, getting seated, ordering your food and getting served. With a toddler, it’s not as easy. Because, when the toddler is hungry, it’s go time immediately. There is no hour to give. So, we had to be ahead of the game, which can be challenging when you’re staying in a hotel, let alone a freaking casino in Las Vegas!

That said, the rest of the trip was pretty amazing. From a work perspective, I had worked really hard to organize this trip for my company. I only had six weeks to get hotel rooms, restaurants and meeting space for our company. In any other city, that short time frame probably wouldn’t be a big deal. But, in Vegas, where they host conventions in the tens of thousands, no one really cares about a 20-person meeting. I spent a week being seriously ignored by a number of different casinos. But, I eventually figured out a way to be heard … and everything fell into place.

We had amazing suites in the Palazzo (Venetian) hotel that included marble bathrooms with double sinks, separate bath/showers, vanity tables and private toilet rooms; sunken living rooms with sectional sofas, coffee table, desk and a table where we could eat; three flat screen TVs – one in the living room, one in the bedroom area and one in the bathroom; and view to die for! Our room overlooked a $600 per round golf course and a beautiful mountain range. Feedback about the trip has been amazing so far and my bosses both told me they were very pleased with how everything turned out. Phew!

From a personal perspective, it was hard balancing my work obligations with my personal commitments. But, we managed to make it work. Sweets was very accommodating – taking the bulk of the parenting over the three-day trip. And, Gavin was a CHAMP given his nap schedule was non-existent and his routine had vanished. He turned on the CHARM with all my work colleagues – seriously made some of my co-workers and the significant others of my co-workers fall in LOVE with him. It was sort of ridiculous how good he was. Especially since he didn’t go to sleep until 9pm on Thursday night (11pm Chicago time) and 10pm on Friday night (midnight Chicago time). Let’s not mention that our morning flight back to Chicago on Saturday was delayed, which turned into an all-day affair at the Vegas airport. Gavin didn’t melt down once during our trip. He’s my personal hero!

Here are a few photos from our trip. One thing is for sure: even though Chicago is having a mild winter so far, it was darn nice getting away to a place where a coat has no name!

The view from our 39th floor room. Not bad, especially when the sun was rising over the mountains!

In celebration of the Chinese New Year, the Palazzo has a Red Dragon display.
Every night, there is a display with lights and fire coming out of the dragon’s mouth.

After my work meeting, my company took a trip to tour the Hoover Dam!

Of course, we got back late Saturday night and both Sweets and I got really sick. I can’t believe I’m sick AGAIN! So, I apologize for my otherwise lack of presence in blogland. But, between the trip and my lack of good health, I haven’t been checking in with the internets. I hope y’all had a great weekend, too!

On Friday, Gavin began his transition into a toddler room, spending a few hours with the bigger kids. We then had a nice snow storm that decided to peak during the afternoon rush (thankfully I left work at lunch and it only took me an extra 25-30 minutes to get home). We then dressed up Gavin in his snowpants and boots for the first time to take him outside to play in the snow. He HATED the snowpants and boots, so he cried whenever we put him down. But, he LOVED the snow and was happy to explore our yard and all the places where snow was accumulating, so long as he was in our arms! Between the new room at daycare and the snow, needless to say, Gavin slept like a champ that night!

We were supposed to do a family-only thing on Saturday. It involved snow and being outside and ice sculptures and music and other fun things. But, my hair appointment (I got my hair chopped, y’all – photos coming soon) bled into Gavin’s nap. And then, it was suddenly late afternoon and we weren’t going anywhere. We even skipped a birthday party that evening, preferring to stay home, order in ribs and hang with our neighbors (who were equally as lazy and showed up in pajamas!).

But, we made up for it on Sunday! We went to Gavin’s first music class – he’s now in the 12-24 month class. We have the same teacher (whom we love), but the class is in a bigger room with bigger kids! The structure is much the same as the infant music class, only the songs focus more on words kids say, rather than sounds babies make. Gavin was a bit overwhelmed at first, but warmed up towards the end and had a blast banging on the drums. We then headed out to the suburbs to meet up with Gavin’s city cousins at a children’s museum. It.was.awesome!!!!

Apologies for the number of photos – it was hard to choose which ones would best reflect our day!

The Car Room, with race tracks galore.

The Art Room, where Gavin preferred music!

The Nursery, where Gavin fed babies and stood up to bigger kids when they wouldn’t share the baby bottles.

There was lots of talking on the phone. Even when no one was listening.

Gavin learned how to stamp library books.

Gavin competed with his cousin on dueling computers.

Gavin and his other cousin on dueling video phones.

Pretty much everything was either too big or had to be explained. But, Gavin was a good sport and seemed to have fun.

And then, Gavin discovered the water room.

Where he proceed to get.soaking.wet!

But, was fascinated with the buttons and handles and other hardware that made water appear and disappear.

And it didn’t matter that he was too small…

… because all he wanted to do was play with water.

And so, at the end of the day, he was an exhausted little boy. As we were exhausted parents. But, it was so worth the energy to see our little guy have so much fun. I’ll leave you with a few of my favorites from our day!

And, now I want to know how on earth it’s already Wednesday? No, seriously. I’ve got packing to do (a work trip – more on that next week) and photos to take (y’all want to see the new locks, right)? And that’s above and beyond the pile of work I have and taking care of an especially tired toddler (it’s Gavin’s first full week in the toddler room – we are all going through the transition together!). And, oh wait, Gavin turns 15 months today! Good—NESS!! I hope everyone is having a great week and you can count yourselves lucky if you see another post from me this week!

And then Gavin happened.

And I became an Amazon convert. I signed up for Amazon Mom and started using Subscribe and Save options. Next thing you know, I’m getting 30% off goods I use everyday and 2-day shipping and it was wheeee, so much fun! So easy, I didn’t have to leave the house. Because all this stuff was delivered to my front door!

Needless to say, I’m on a first-name basis with our UPS delivery man. His name is Bruce. You think I’m kidding? Ask my neighbor. Just the other day, I was taking SoMi for a walk and saw Bruce down the street. We exchanged cordial hellos. I ran into my neighbor a little while later and she said Bruce mentioned he had just seen me. He knows my first name, too.

I kinda love Bruce. Don’t worry, I’m not jumping the Sweets ship for the man in brown. But, I really do love UPS. Bruce is symbolic for my experiences with that company. Every driver I’ve met has been cordial and nice. They stop to say hello. They learn your name. They take time to ask about your family and summer plans. Not only that, but Bruce trudges up two flights of stairs with my deliveries even though I always try to meet him downstairs. He’s nice like that.

As a related aside, I also used to be buddies with the UPS guy who delivered to my work office. He’d stop by to say hello, even when he didn’t have any deliveries to make. Again, good people.

Every once in a while, something I order online will be delivered by FedEx. And, lawd help me when they come to the door. That’s if they come to the door at all. We have a secured gate/fence around our front yard, so visitors have to be buzzed in. On more than one occasion, FedEx buzzes and then throws the delivery over the fence. By the time I get downstairs, they’re back in their truck moving onto the next location. One time, I came home from work to see a delivery sitting squarely in our front yard. It had likely been there for hours.

When they do actually make it to the door, they often leave things at the bottom of the stairs, without making sure the correct person comes to get them. With that company, it feels so very corporate. It feels like employees have to meet quotas or they don’t get paid. It feels like they’re forced to be jerks just to get the job done. Either that or FedEx has some whacky hiring practices where only the worst will do.

That’s why I vigorously nodded my head YES YES YES (and not in a good way) when I saw this video yesterday morning on the local news. Here, take a look…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKUDTPbDhnA

Because, truth be told, it doesn’t surprise me that a FedEx delivery person would be caught throwing a computer monitor over a fence. Yeah, that’s right. A monitor. With glass. That breaks. Didn’t even bother to buzz the owners. Merry Christmas, eh? Guess the best gift back to FedEx was the homeowner posting the surveillance video on YouTube for all to see. I’ll be keeping track to see whether future FedEx deliveries land in my hands, rather than my front yard!

There are different people who fill our lives. Family. Close friends. Long-distance friends. Acquaintances. Service professionals. Employers. And so on.

One of these people in my life, a person whom I don’t see very often, has found herself in a very difficult predicament. What I can tell you about this situation is it has affected all aspects of her life. Her ability to be a good wife. A good mother. A good business owner. Her ability to have peace of mind. They’ve all been negatively affected by this predicament.

Although I’m not particularly close to this woman, she felt she could trust me. She confided in me. Put it all out there. Showed she’s strong, yet vulnerable. Smart, yet not ready to make all the right decisions. Shared how this predicament has affected so many parts of her life. How everything weaves together, so when one part fails, the sum of the parts fails, too.

Week after week, she told me more and more of her story. If this were my best friend speaking to me, I would’ve stepped in after those first words left her mouth. That’s how serious this situation is. But, this isn’t my best friend. This person isn’t even really a friend, per se.

I found myself in a very difficult position, not really sure I could do more than listen. I offered her insights and advice. Suggestions of what she could do. But, I wasn’t ready to leap into the territory of actually taking action myself.

And then, she disappeared. I mean, maybe she’s where she’s supposed to be. Maybe she’s just fine. Maybe she’s not fine, but working on her life to get it to a place where she’s fine. And maybe something is seriously wrong. I don’t know, because she vanished from my life.

We were supposed to see each other a few weeks ago. She was a no-show. I sent her a text. She did not respond. I do not have another way to contact her.

This isn’t the first time she’s disappeared from my life without notice. The last time, it took her over a month to reconnect with me. What’s different is this time I know the details. I know the likely reason why she’s disappeared. It makes me uneasy. And sad. I don’t like being armed with such information. I want to rid myself of knowing too much. And yet, I can’t.

It’s weird to be in this position. This situation itself weighs on me heavily, although it has nothing to do with me directly. We’re not friends. And yet, I know the intimate details of her life. I worry about her. I feel protective of her. And yet, I feel there’s a limit to how much I want to get involved. After all, I have my own family I need to take care of. I need to protect them, too.

I considered calling the police. But, there’s nothing they can do. I don’t know where she lives. I’m not even sure she’s legally residing in this country. I can’t direct the police to where she might be. And I certainly don’t want to get her in any more trouble than she might already be in.

So, I sit and wait. Wondering where she is. Pondering whether she made a good or bad decision. Curious whether I’ll ever see her again. This position I’m in, it’s uneasy. And yet, here I am. With very few options. Sitting. Waiting. Wondering.

Have you ever been put in a position where another person in your life is in trouble and there’s very little you can do to immediately help?

There was a man whom I’m going to guess was homeless (maybe he wasn’t homeless, but he was certainly a person in need). He opened the door to Dunkin Donuts for Sweets, speaking words to him I could not understand, but I’m guessing were words of kindness and warmth. My guess is he was hoping for some change or a few dollar bills. Sweets smiled and said thank you as he walked inside.

Two women walked up a few moments later. The same man spoke to them and opened the door for them. These women? Wouldn’t look him in the eye. Didn’t utter any words to him. They continued with their conversation as if he didn’t exist.

I was APPALLED.

Look, you can say what you want about the homeless. You can tell me they don’t try to look for real work. You can assume every homeless person is a drunk and drug addict and will put your money to poor use. You can choose not to give them money or food or clothing. And I will not judge.

Because all those statements I just made? They’re a matter of opinion and we’re each entitled to our opinions. It is your own judgment call and your own prerogative to choose what you’d do in that specific situation. In fact, there have been times (sometimes more often than not) that I have chosen not to give money to those soliciting my attention for some of the reasons stated above (I much prefer to provide food or clothing if I have it).

However, I cannot imagine walking by any person, especially a person in need, and pretend they don’t exist. It’s unconscionable to treat another human being as if they’re something less than any other human being. Period. I was so angry at these two women that I came close to saying something to them.*

The man deserved a thank you. Or a head nod. Or hell, even some eye contact to acknowledge he exists. To think these women weren’t decent enough to treat him as an equal made my blood boil. Thankfully, my rage simmered when Sweets exited the store, gave the guy some change and brought me my hot chocolate. Sometimes chocolate with a little whip cream cures all.

* I have always been an outspoken person. I still am. Within reason. Ever since I became pregnant with Gavin, my decision making process has changed. I now realize that the consequences of my actions don’t just affect me. They affect my family. And sometimes, I need to make choices that are best for my family, not just best for myself.