She's Been CONAN-IZED!

Charlie and I were both waiting anxiously for a phone call from the Grommet last night. Okay, maybe I was a litte more anxious than Charlie. I'm the mom. He's my baby. I don't care if he's gonna be 20 (Oh Sweet Jesus) in a few months, he's still my baby. Fine, truth be told, I'm always anxious when I'm waiting to hear from one of my kids when they're traveling. Even when I have counted the hours and I KNOW they should be where they should be, it is very hard not to pick up the phone and call or text. I wait for them to call me, let me know they're okay, and then, hopefully, I rest easy.

If it weren't for babysitting Keeva, I probably would have worn tread marks into my livingroom carpet waiting for Bry's call. Wes got stuck in Friday traffic in LA after picking up product from a vendor and decided to wait it out at a friend's house. He called me at the shop and asked if I could take Keeva home with me. He doesn't know how grateful I am, because her puppy energy kept me from clock-watching. Ellie, of course, doesn't look at it that way. That look of "Oh great...the kid is here. Hide my toys." Followed closely by her complete and utter shunning of me is a pretty fair indicator that I have lost my Mommy License for the night.

While I'm chasing dogs and throwing sideways glances at the clock, silently counting back hours to Hawai'i time, the phone rings. I feel a sense of relief wash over me, but then I hear Charlie say; "Hi Honey!" Anxiousness returns. It's not Bry, because the greeting most certainly would have been "Hi Bud!" It's one of the girls. Don't get me wrong, I'm always thrilled when any of the kids call, but when one of them is away and I'm waiting to get that "I've arrived safely" call, that particular kid's call is the only one I'm interested in. I return my attention toward saving Ellie's face from Keeva's rapid-fire tongue lashing.

Charlie seems to be having a great conversation with Averie. He's animated and every once in awhile, he makes some excited exclamation like; "Really? Wow Honey! That's awesome!" I can tell that she's excited as well because I can hear the volume of her voice on the phone on the other side of the room. I'm thinking now that perhaps I should pay attention, so I settle the pups on the couch on either side of me and listen while Charlie talks to Averie. He keeps saying things like; "Well, of course you should!" and "No kidding?" and "Good for you, Aves. I'm SO proud of you!" Okay, okay, okay! I can't stand this anymore. I start making gestures at Charlie to tell me what's going on. He puts that "one minute" finger up at me and nods his head. I don't like that "one minute" finger. It's never really one minute is it? Finally, when I'm just about to explode and grab the phone away from him and his nodding head, he says; "Okay Honey. Yes, yes, I'm gonna tell Mommy right now. Good job Averie. You're on your way Girl! Okay, bye Honey."

OH MY GOD Charlie! Please tell me what's going on! He has that puffed-up rooster look. That look that says; "Make way for proud Dad!" He couldn't smile any bigger as he begins to tell me. Well, it seems that our daughter has been "Conanized". I'll just put the link to the Late Night blog post that mentions the particulars of this esteemed, and sought-after honor. Please scroll to midpage:

CONANIZED

Yep, my talented girl is one of the few. In fact, she's the very FIRST West Coast NBC Page to have that honor bestowed upon them. The "Lisa" mentioned in the post is, in fact, Averie's boss at NBC and told her when she gave her that coveted pin that she should wear it proudly on her uniform, but to keep it safe because people would definitely try to "borrow" it from her.

Whose kid is that? Uh huh..that would be mine. Does she not rock?

Now, was I waiting for a call from someone? Oh yeah. He's toast.