My Black Friday Experience

As many of you know I worked retail full time for over 13 years and a total time of 17 years working retail in general. I have never shopped on Black Friday, I have always worked. I love to work that day, many people think I am crazy, but I would rather be behind the cash register helping people than in the line. So this year I worked at Gymboree 8am to 5:30pm. I found out that Kohl's was opening at 4am and saw something Madeline wanted for Christmas that was going to save me $27 if I went to the early bird specials. So I planned to get up, run to Kohl's (I mean who would be up at 3am getting ready to go shopping) get what I needed, and still make it home to sleep for a couple hours before heading out to Oxmoor to work at Gymboree. I was so wrong. I snapped the pictures below not just to post here, but to show my mother I actually got up at 3:30, and actually ventured out to go get the "wanted" present. Plus I could not believe my eyes the site of hundreds of people and a line to pay that was probably a half a mile long.

(The picture above is of the people in front of me . The woman had 2 strollers full of toys- she had 4 kids she told me. Her friend came to help her just push the strollers and to also tag team and help her shop- she brough the strollers to use as her "carts")

As I pulled up on Preston Hwy (that Kohl's is closer to my home) the traffic was backing up. I was wondering if maybe there was a wreck or something. NOPE, it was the traffic to just get in the parking lot. A parking lot that is bigger than most. So I went to the next light and got in quick, but had to park in the lot next store to Kohl's, which is Walmart's lot, that too ,was quite full (their specials didn't start until 5am) Anyhow, I walked into Kohl's with people "OH MY GOSHING" as much as me. The time was now 4:08am and the line started at the front of the store and wrapped around to the back of the store by customer service. I grabbed my one item I came for (thank god they still had) and got my place in line. Was I crazy? How could I be, everyone else was there shopping just like me. I actually ran into 2 people I knew...as I stood in line I honestly just kept giggling thinking-- how crazy is this. People were picking things up like they were free. I met some people in line that all seemed nice and since I felt so silly standing there with one item, so I went and picked up another 2 items. My line buddies saved my little ole spot while I stepped away to pick up a couple more things. The line started to move a bit and I thought, hey, this is not to bad. As I made it to the front for my turn in line, I looked down at my watch and realized I had been in line one hour and 10 minutes. As I got down all these people at the door seemed to be in some sort of line. It was the actual line I was in, wrapping itself around the entire store once. - Thank goodness I came at 4am. ( The picture above is the view from the line behind me. I held the camera above my head to try and get a picture of the line. All I got was these "so happy" people waiting in line with me LOL)

So I got home around 5:30 and after such a crazy morning, I opened the blinds and watched the huge beautiful moon set and the sun come up. I now had to get ready for my big day working at Gymboree . Gymboree was the busiest its been in years and out of over 600 stores in the company, the store here in Louisville was #2 on Black Friday.

So it was an experience I will never forget. Will I do it again, probably not, unless its just a deal I cannot pass up of course.

How time flies!

Today I went through some old pictures I had saved online of Madeline from past years. Its amazing how time flies. We have had so much fun together. Most of the pictures are Madeline at 2 years old, with one below taken at 3 months old. I honestly don't remember her that small. Poeple will come in Gymboree while I'm working with tiny babies and it's hard to believe she was once that small. It amazing my little girl will be in Kindergarten in August 2008....

I love Breadsticks!

After coming home last week from a weekend in Chicago (girls shopping trip) I took Madeline to her favorite place- Fazollis. We never go out to eat because as some of you know, Madeline doesn't eat much except for bread, bananas, fish sticks & peanut butter. We have struggled to just get her to try new foods and she is a stubborn little one. I'm amazed sometimes she has the energy she does with the lack of food she consumes. Everyone says, its "just her age", "shes just a picky eater". She really missed me while I was gone for 3 days in Chicago so when I got home I took her to eat her favorite- Breadsticks at Fazollis. We had gone to a Fazollis in Lexington visiting Madleines cousins one weekend and she never forgot about it. As you can tell below, she was very happy to get some breadsticks- she consumed 6 of them. Guess this filled her up for the week LOL!

My ballerina!

This past Tuesday Madeline started a new class at a Dance school. She has talked for a while about taking ballet and tap class. At the Little Gym she was in a class with ballet and tap and gymnastics, but mainly wanted to do just tap and ballet. So I put her in a Dance School that she will learn just tap and ballet and participate in recitals. She amazed me. Usually she is a bit shy around a lot of people she doesn't know, most kids are. We arrived at the school early so she could see the new place. Other little girls began to arrive and Madeline just stayed by my side. I was wondering how she would be when it was her time to go back to class. At the little gym, you have windows where you can watch the class, but in a ballet school like this you cannot watch them. They got back to a room and the door is shut. It gives the girls focus and the discipline of being a ballerina. So her class started, she took my hand and had me walk her to the door , puckered her lips for a kiss, and turned around and said, "bye mommy", and went right into the room. She was just fine and after the class was done, she ran out and said, "mommy, I did so good and I love it". I knew this is where she is meant to be.

Posing before her class. She was actually watching the big girls in the back room
She was very happy about the new school
Practicing some ballet moves before class. She is a natural!!!

Halloween! Trick or Treat

How lucky we were to have such fantastic weather on Halloween. We had a great time trick or treating with our best buddies. Since Madeline and I live in a condo, we cannot trick or treat there. This is our first year to stay here in Louisville for Halloween . Every year we usually drive to Lexington and trick or treat with Madeline's cousins, but this year was a school night and a weeknight and it was just going to be too late. So our friends kindly said, you should go with us. So we did just that. We headed over to the Graffs and had a great time. Their house is decorated all over for Halloween. We took pictures with "Headless Harry" and the big cat.

Madeline and Sarah seemed to tire out after a few blocks, so when we got back to the house they wanted to hand out candy to the remaining trick or treaters. They had a fun time sitting on the chair, handing out candy and just being goofy, as usual. Other pictures below are taken from Madeline's Pre-school Halloween morning. They had a big party at school that day.


Sarah, Harry, Rachel, and Madeline before heading out for candy! Posing with the CAT
Madeline & Sarah handing out candy
Madeline digging into her candy and posing goofy

Some of her friends at school.
Madeline & her friend Amy