Case of Mistaken Identify

This is the story of my life; one that has been a little burdensome at times. No, its not like I get mistaken for someone famous like Matt Damon…. though there was that one time - it’s the nose (and I think it’s more like the ripped Jason Borne version of MD than some of the other characters he’s played). Unfortunately, I get mistaken for retail workers. It doesn’t matter where I am or what I’m wearing, if I’m in a store, someone is going to ask me for assistance. Chris loves it when this happens. I could be in Target - where the employees wear red shirts and khaki pants – sporting black pants and a blue button down shirt and tie, and someone will ask me if I can check the stock on something in the back. “Sorry, I don’t work here.” is my normal response if it’s something along this nature. If they ask me where something is, and I actually know, I’ll point them in the right direction. If it’s someone older and they ask me what the price of something is, I’ll either go to the price scanner for them, or go to a register and ask a real employee for the information. I’ve been to weddings where I’ve taken off my jacket during the reception and would be headed to the bar or to the bathroom and someone will mistake me for a waiter. If I’ve had enough drinks, I’ll play along; once I cleared a table’s plates and walked them into the kitchen and another time I went and got a pitcher of water and filled someone’s glass. When they find out that I’m a guest like them, they’re mortified.

I’ve been in department stores wearing shorts and a t-shirt and have been asked if I could open up a fitting room. I’ve been in shoe stores trying on shoes and someone will ask me if I have a certain size or if what they are looking for comes in a different color. I have been a guest at a hotel and someone will ask me if I can have someone come unlock their room because they left their key inside. I have been shopping for cars at a dealership and someone will ask me what the mileage is on a specific model vehicle. This is not a lie. I get mistaken everywhere I go. One time someone told me I looked, “extremely knowledgeable” and that is why they asked for assistance. I didn't buy it.

Unfortunately, I haven’t always been kind in my tone or response. Chris and I were rushing to a wedding once and stopped in at a drugstore to pick up a card. Someone came up to me with a weekly ad circular in their hand and started to ask me questions. What was meant to be an inquisitive, “does it look like I work here?” sounded more like, “Open your eyes lady. Is anybody else in this entire store wearing a Giorgio Armani suit? How can you be so stupid?!?!?” She was humiliated, and so was I after the words came out of my mouth. I apologized profusely, but it didn’t help. Not only did I feel bad for my tone, but the look of disappointment on Chris’s face the entire night made me feel even worse.

Yesterday while shopping at a children’s classic store Janie & Jack, it happened again. I was wearing blue jeans, sneakers, an American Cancer Society Relay For Life top with the word “RELAY” printed down the sleeve holding a large cup of tea I just bought at Teavana. A woman was shopping with what I’m assuming was her daughter and new granddaughter. They were browsing the sale rack and she got my attention. Holding up a light pink ruffled yoke top and a rose colored cardigan, she asked, “Do these two go together?”

“Um… not really.”

“well, what goes with this piece?”

Shuffling through the rack, I pull out a grey knit top and a white cropped cardigan. “I would suggest these two pieces.”

“What other pieces are part of this collection?” I realize she thinks I’m an employee.

“Oh, I’m just a dad offering up his fashion advice.”

“I’m so sorry, I thought you worked here.” and then gave me a puzzled look. Not a look of embarrassment, but one of ‘why are you helping me then’.

“I’m just a gay dad offering up my fashion advice. I would never put my daughter in those two pieces you have,” said in a jokingly and somewhat flamboyant way.

“Are you in I.T.?”

Where in the world did that come from? If I’m not a retail employee I’m a computer geek? That’s a far stretch.

“Nope. Just a gay dad.” Again, trying to play it cool.

“Do you work with computers?”

Okay, now I get it. I’m wearing my glasses. Is that what she’s going for? I’m starting to get confused here, and normally it’s the other way around.

“I work on a computer, but I not on computers.” Referencing my shirt (I’m always the walking billboard for Relay), “I work for the American Cancer Society managing their signature event, Relay For Life.”

“Nope. That’s not it. Do you do something creative on the computer?”

Now I’m at a total loss. What is this woman talking about? I just look at her.

“Are you creative on the computer? Do you create anything on the computer? Graphics? Designs? I see that you are creative on the computer. I just can’t see it.”

“Um. I guess so. I mean I do some design, but it’s not part of my job.”

“Well, whatever it is, you’re going to be famous. Famous, I tell you. You are going to be very famous for your creative outlet.”

I have a blank look on my face.

“I’m a professional charlatan. I know these things. You’re going to be famous.”

And with that, I walked away. All I could think was, “isn’t a charlatan a swindler? That isn’t a good thing, right?” And then I felt stupid. Am I thinking of something else? She didn’t say clairvoyant, because I would have been all up in that. So I then went back and hovered a little in the area that she was in, hoping that we would make eye-contact so I could start the conversation again. I didn’t happen. Chris had by now checked out and we went outside the store to meet with Kyle and Cathy who had munchkin sleeping in the stroller. After telling the story, Cathy wanted to go back to see if the woman could tell her if she was having a boy or a girl. We turned around but realized neither one of us where going to ask her the question. Both of us were too chicken to do it [this part is for Cathy…It hit me when we got in the car, Cathy you don’t need a charlatan or a clairvoyant to tell you what you’re having. You could simply ask your doctor instead of driving everyone crazy. You’re due in eight days and you refuse to find out the sex if baby “P”. I’m tired of buying yellow outfits for when he/she comes.]

All I have to say is Ted Bundy, Bernie Madoff and "Squeaky" Fromme were all once called ‘creative’ before they became famous, and no one thinks the type of fame that they have is a good thing. I can live without the predication.

Unless… (smile)

Here is another case of mistaken identity.

Help Block Out Skin Cancer

A little sunshine is a good thing, but your little one can easily get too many rays. A baby's skin is 10 times more sensitive to the environment.... and those under the age of 6 months should never be exposed to the sun.

With a thinner skin and a developing natural protection system, a baby's skin needs special protection from the sun and irritating chemicals.

While flipping through "American Baby", I saw a wonderful ad with my two favorite brands - Johnson & Johnson and the American Cancer Society. Johnson & Johnson's Neutrogena has come out with a Pure & Free Baby Sunblock stick. I can't tell you how excited I am about this (I know, I know... I'm a little geeky). This product has no irritating chemicals, is fragrance free, hypoallergenic, won't sting eyes and has no dyes and oils. Perfect for our little Kensington!

Skin cancer is a very real issue, and melanoma is deadly. One blistering sunburn in childhood or adolescence more than doubles a person's chances of developing melanoma later in life. Sun exposure is the leading cause of skin cancer, and one that is relatively easy to prevent. You should learn the signs, visit your dermatologist to check for skin cancers, and be vigilant about using sunscreens such as this one. Actually, you can visit the American Academy of Dermatology here and find a free screening in your area.

To find out more information about skin cancer, prevention and detection, contact 1.800.227.2345 or visit http://www.cancer.org/

The American Cancer Society (ACS) and Neutrogena, working together to help prevent skin cancer, support the use of sunscreen.

Man down...

Kensington and I are preparing to have one less person in the house this week - Chris has to go to "strike" training in Ohio. No... Chris isn't going on strike, but the telecommunication union employees may be, so all management has had to dozens (if not hundreds) of hours of training to prepare for the strike.

Anyway...

Last week I went into work on Friday and Auntie Jackie offered to watch Kensi for the day. It was the first full day that she'd been away from us. On my way to work, Chris called and said he'd gone into the living room twice looking for her :)

I dropped her off around 8:30 and had her diaper bag fully filled (this time - as opposed to our Superbowl party that we went to and forgot the bottle, so I had to backtrack to get it). I had an 11-2:30 meeting and after it was done, I called Chris who asked how she was doing. "Well, I don't know. I haven't called.", "What?!?! If I would have known that, I would have called." "Chris... It's Jackie. She's a mile down the street from me. I'm not going to call and hound her. She's okay. Trust me."

And she was :)

Happy Valentines Day... a day late.

Wow... so much to catch you up on - but unfortunately it won't be today. I'm just pooped. Within the past couple of days, Kensington has had a 'girls day out', a valentine's dinner with Rudy & Jorge (and family), a Taggies fashion show thanks to Pro, an afternoon with M2, a special How To Hug A Porcupine surprise and so much more. These are things I'll be posting about in the coming days. Stay tuned :)

Random pictures from the past 10 or so days...

Mark and Tom... She's still a little to small to fit into this 0-3 months outfit, but WE ARE TRYING! :)









In a new onesie from Mazha and Fazha.






Binkie Free (just for you Teresa)











Joanie laughing at how tired I am (This is payback for making fun of her and her twins).











Auntie Kiki










Auntie Jackie, along with Jamie and Scott are making sure that Kensington is a Rangers fan. Not sure if she's even going to like baseball guys, but you can try :)







The sad thing is, I was hoping she'd spit up right about now. Jordan... not Kensington.




Evan and Patti. Hey Kerry.... I think Evan want's a little soldier running around the house.






Mommy-to-be Natasha feeling things out. She's about to have a little Princess as well.

There must have been some magic...

In that old silk hat we found,

For when they placed it on her head,

She began to dance around... Kensi the Snowgirl,

Was alive as she could be.

And the children say, She could laugh and play...

Just the same as you and me!

This outfit was supposed to be a gag gift from Kate, Jordan, Dan, Kiki and Cindy (along with the wonderful toys and gift card they bought Kensington's vibrating crib mattress). They saw it at Babies R Us and thought it was hideous, so they bought it thinking we'd hate it... but would never tell them because we'd wouldn't want to hurt their feelings (do they know me?!?!). When we opened it up, EVERYONE (with the exception of them) LOVED it. Our nephew, Mason, was the first to have an oppurtunity to wear it and he looked so adorable... so we couldn't wait for Kenis's turn.

Only one small glitch. The outfit is 0-9 months (okay... like that makes sense!!!). With the eight inches of snow we had this past weekend, it would be the perfect time to have her in the outfit. So while Chris was outside shoveling and snow blowing for an three hours on Sunday, I dressed her up - but she still to tiny to fill it out, so yes team... we'll be holding on to this outfit for another cold winter season, and for Christmas next year, will be making all of you Kensi the Snowgirl apparel that I will be expecting you to wear in the office. Lets just say I'll be making this part of your goals and evaluation process as being a 'team player' :o)

The cute pink backdrop is her monogrammed blanket, which she loves to sleep with. It's sooooo soft. Thanks Karen in Massachusetts!!!

The quickpage used for the picture above is from Raspberry Road Designs. Please check out all of the amazing pieces Susan Darter has put together.

Today...

Kensington learned how to write her name in cursive. Her penmanship is BEAUTIFUL.

Okay... she's not that advanced, yet, but she's getting there :o)

While she didn't learn to write her name... she did learn to cry when she wants food. Yippee for us. Last night Kensi' appetite grew... instead of her normal (can it really be classified as normal if she's only been doing it for 4 days???) 2 ounces a feeding, she increased to 3 ounces. She work up again at 2:30am and took her 2 ounces and after her burping and changing, she wanted an additional ounce. This routine happened again around 5am. At 8am and 10:30am she took her regular 2 ounces. She's been sleeping and we've decided to forgo the pediatricians "2 ounces every 2 hours" to a feed-on-demand routine. It works better for all of us here in the hotel. By the way mom, thanks for the advice... she burps easier when you rub her back versus patting it.

Back on January 31, 2008, I blogged about the amazing support we had receive within the first 24 hours of starting our adoption journey. We had received the cutest little shirt (that's not so little on Kensington) from Marilyn in the ACS HR department and I couldn't wait to put it on her. The design is a freebie Quick Page from Biebel Scraps.

Here she is this morning getting ready for another changing:














She already has her adoptive daddy, Chris, wrapped around her finger:


















Pictures from the hospital. Look how tiny she is. She looks like a cross between Boris Yeltsin and an Oompa_Loompa in the hat. We decided not to keep the hat on her her hospital picture - less is more (lol)

Lions and tigers and diapers... oh my!

I know I posted on my coworkers in the past, and said that they are all nut jobs. I still stand by that comment... but they are nut jobs with HUGE hearts.

Today we had our monthly staff meeting, followed by our Secret Snowflake party. I ended staying up until 2:30 last night working on Jackie's gift (if you want the back story, continue reading... if not, fast forward to the black text below)

[A couple of us went to Jackie's house back in September during lunch time and as we were leaving, I hijacked one of her lawn ornaments - a ceramic frog. At first, we were just going to put the frog in the safe at work, and when Jackie would go into it - hahahaha... her frog would be there. But then we thought... how can we keep with joke for as long as possible? I know... why don't we take pictures of the frog all around town doing different things. Oh... better yet, why don't we take the frog to Fire Island with us and get picture of it there. And so we did. Pictures of the frog on the Suffolk County police boat, on a pool table, kissing the deer... we had a blast the entire weekend with it. The fun didn't stop there. It ended up going to Indianapolis, Albany, NYC, New Hope, the Poconos... as many places as we would possibly take it until on October 30th, Teresa and Kate (yes ladies, I blame you both, broke the frog). In order to keep the joke going even longer, we snuck back over to Jackie's house and kidnapped the second frog - side, side story - we actually went to the wrong house on her street and ended up crawling on our hands and knees looking for the frog. Then, we went on their neighbors back deck and I ended up running into a tree as we snuck back to the truck to leave empty handed... it was only as we drove away did we see the correct house we were supposed to be at and ended up laughing so hard I almost wet myself. To wrap that story up, we went to the house and grabbed froggy II.

How we were going to let Jackie know was to put a scrapbook together of the 300+ pictures of the frog and give it to Jackie at the holiday party. To make the plan work, I had to volunteer to put the Secret Snowflake gathering together to ensure that one of us had Jackie as our gift's receiver. One of the 'rules' of the gift giving festivities was that the gift had to coordinate with the receivers name (i.e., If your name is Debbie Downer, you could receive Dunkin Donuts coffee and mug, or a Drama on DVD. You get the gist) Jackie's initials are J.W., so I ended up doing the cover with "Freddy the Frogs Jounrney around the World to find his was home. I came up with a corny storyline about the frog being kidnapped and having to take odd jobs to buy a plane ticket to get home. Teresa got some great pics of the frog at the airport, and almost had her camera confiscated at Newark due to the fact that she was taking pictures in a secured location. Below you find a couple of the pages that I did... all in all, I was pretty impressed with the job I did. I used the Artemia by After Five Designs Freebies and quick pages.

After the holiday party, I went back to my office and continued to work. Then my coworkers started acting strange (again). They would walk back-and-forth by my office and just give me a look. Then Cindy came in and asked if I could help her with the goal setting sheet... and when I asked 'with what part', she responded with "just come to my desk and you'll see". I knew right then and there that they were up to something and then I was escorted to the board room.

The entire crew (minus Dan because he's a boy and boys don't do showers) was there, including Megan who left us a couple of weeks ago and Carol who is still on her maternity leave. They all went above and beyond... clothing, tubs, blankets, drying station, sleeping sacks, taggies, and butt paste galore (which brought on another conversation about our outing at Fire Island). We also got our "entertain me" set, blankets, gift cards, Dora the Explorer movie and the cutest darn bibs ever!

Chris and I can not thank you all enough! We can't wait for you to baby sit.

Thank you... we mean it more than you know!

It has been less than 24 hours since announcing to all of you, our friends and family, the amazing news of our adoption process. We can not begin to thank all of you for your warm wishes, thoughts and prayers, suggestions and possible baby names to choose from. The emails, phone calls, text messages and MySpace comments truly bring a smile to our faces and tears to our eyes.Keep them coming! ;o) We're riding this high as long as it last... only because we know that there will be a point where it turns into a waiting game. tick-tock, tick-tock.

To further fill you all in our yesterday’s events, after signing the papers to make it official, Chris and I headed to our American Cancer Society office in Albany to talk with HR about benefits etc. Being greeted with so many smiles definitely put us to ease. I have to say, working for the ACS is truly a blessing. They care about their employees – they talk the talk and walk the walk. As we entered the conference room we quickly noticed on top of all the paper work a baby shirt that read "My Daddy works for the American Cancer Society". The thought of all of this becoming a reality, and not just a discussion, hit me hard. I broke down and Chris quickly followed. There are the moments that make what seems to be a dream very much real. Needless to say, Marilyn (our Benefits guru) walked us through the process giving us leads on where to find additional support. This is what solidifies ACS as one of the top employers in both NJ and NY (and soon to be the U.S.).

So, until we complete the home study process (more to come soon) we will take the caseworker, Mary’s, advice – we will take it slow, we won’t get our hopes up, but we will go get a car seat just in case the call comes in. ;o)

Again, thanks for the well wishes. We, without a doubt, have the best support system anyone could want.