Disney CEO

When Zack was a toddler we would frequent Disneyland Park two and three times a week. Before he was speaking in full sentences he would ask "go park?" and it meant can we go to Disney. Going to Disneyland WAS like going to the park for him. We would go for a couple of hours, he would run around, see the characters and maybe ride a couple of rides. He loved Toon Town; if Minnie Mouse could speak she would have called him by his first name - we were regulars!

Last night I had a totally different experience with that once little kid. As we stood in line for rides it was quite apparent that he has become much taller than me and in fact when we got to the front of the line at Mr. Toad's (Oh yes, it's a must for me!) the ride operator had told the mom and her son in front of us, "smallest rider first"....I'm sure you can see where I am going with this. Zack had a field day with it...Mom, that means you need to get in first! HA, the joke is on him because now I am the one who gets to sit behind the steering wheel! That hasn't happened for 16 years!

Anyway, as you can imagine the conversation was quite different from 14 years ago. Back then we discussed which character to see, potty breaks and trashcans (he was obsessed; he knew where every trashcan in the Park was). Now, we discussed what changes he would implement and the kind of staff training required to run the Park (when HE becomes CEO of Disney, of course).

It was such a special night, just spending time with my bid kid.
It truly is the Happiest Place on Earth.

Stop the Clock

Who has time for a blog? NO, REALLY! Who?! I set out with the best intentions and then life gets in the way. What else is new?!
I thought I would update you on the events of last week. You know it must have made an impact on me because I haven't bothered to write a post in well...years!

Daniel  My baby went off to 6th grade outdoor science camp! (Is 12 too young to call a baby?)
A short four years ago I sent Zack off to the same camp. Some of you will remember the mental breakdown I had with that one; afterall I was sending MY BABY off to 6th grade outdoor science camp. I have been accused of not knowing when to cut the cord...

Anyway, I was nervous to send him just for the fact that he hasn't been away from home for a full week before. Then God decided to have a little fun with me...

Incident One - Fatal bus crash on the main route into camp (the road was closed for 24 hours). Break failure led to the worst bus crash authorities have seen in 23 years. At 7am the morning he is supposed to leave we got a call from the school saying "sorry folks, no camp today". That is when the tears started. (Daniel was hysterical that camp was postponed and I was hysterical that I got to keep him with me another day) The next morning all systems were go; I shipped him off to the mountains. The next couple of days were spent just trying to stay busy. It helped that Gary and Zack bought me a new laptop - they know when a distraction is needed!

Incident Two - Sweeping manhunt (in vicinity of camp) for lunatic ex-LAPD who has shot and killed multiple people. That was a bad afternoon; that was Thursday. Let's see, hysterical mom has to pull off the side of the road because she is crying so hard she can't see the lanes. I attempt to go to design class and leave half way through due to panic attack. Luckily my mom and husband are able to talk some reason into my head or I would have been driving up the mountain to get him.

Incident Three - Snow and rain the morning of the departure from camp. Of course at this time my thoughts went back to incident one...

Something Gary said to me while Daniel was away is that he is not going to come home from camp and thank me for worrying about him. It's not something he would want me to be doing (lucky for me it's just in my nature...)
I hate it when he is right!

Daniel had the best time at camp. He had such great stories, such great memories and was even talking about going to sleep away camp this summer. That will be an entirely different post....
All that worrying and he had the time of his life; and you know what? He never once asked me if I worried about him!
So glad we are all under the same roof! I am one happy mom.

From the Johnson Archives

Remember that list of fairies I posted the other day? Well, another fairy that will be visiting our house soon is the tooth fairy. Zack will have six teeth extracted on March 31st. Which brings me to the "archive":

Zachary had seven teeth pulled in 2004. I know what you are thinking...how many teeth is he going to have left? Let's just say he has a very overcrowded mouth...kind of like a shark.

Zack post extractions in 2005.

Anyway, Gary and I took Zack to the oral surgeon in June of 2004. I sat with him while they put the IV in his arm and watched him fall asleep (this, by the way, is Zack's worst memory of the whole ordeal; the needle poke of the IV). The nurse ushered me back to the waiting room where Gary was thumbing through a magazine. An anxious and excruciatingly long half hour later it was all over. The nurse came out and said we could come back to the operating room and see him. Well, anyone who knows Gary knows that he can't stomach that type of thing. So I said I would go, he could wait there. I walked into the extremely bright operating room to see my little eight year old lying on the operating table; barely awake with bloody gauze in his mouth. Is it getting hot in here or is it just me??? He mumbles, "Hhhhii, mmmmmm". Well, that is all it took to put me over the edge. Now, I know it is getting hot in here! I think I am just going to take off my jacket....all of a sudden the nurse is running over yelling "she is going down, get a chair". I think I will just rest my head on the table for a minute. Where is the oxygen?!? Next thing I know I am being wheeled into the recovery room (yes, hooked to the oxygen tank), where Zack is already waiting for me.(when did they move him?!?) So there I sat, in the recovery chair with Zack looking across the room at me from the "visitor" chair. This is about the time that the nurse went to the waiting room to proclaim to Gary, "Well, they are both doing better now!" You can imagine Gary's shock when he saw the two of us.... his son sporting a mouthful of gauze and his wife sniffing oxygen.


We both recovered from the event, but it will forever be apart of Johnson history!

Wish us luck for round two!

Office Fairies

Office Fairies are the people in my office; who I rarely see (they are magical like that); who make my life easier while at work.

I started thinking about that this morning when I noticed my paper supply had been magically re-stocked.

I need to look into fairy service at home:

The paper fairy: I would never have to run out at 8:00pm to buy a ream of paper because one of the boys used the last sheet and has a 10 page paper due the next day. Thank you for reloading the printer, paper fairy!

The trash fairy: I would never have to kick the bathroom trash out of the way to get to the toilet OR come home to the smell of stinky kitchen trash. Thank you, trash fairy, for keeping the trash bins emptied (and void of rotting food).

The bathroom fairy: I would never have to look at drips and dribbles (I’m in a house of boys…you get the drift). Thank you, bathroom fairy, for cleaning the toilet and sink 4 times a day (even if it is at the very time I have to go…without fail).

The breakroom fairy (aka the coffee fairy): This is more of a convenience for Gary since I don’t drink coffee, but the fairy does restock the tea so I can see a use for him. Gary would never again have to run out to Starbucks because he ran out of coffee in the early am hours. Thank you, coffee fairy, for supplying us with multiple varieties of teas and coffees...especially the caffeinated ones for Gary :)

The vacuum fairy: I would never have to nag Gary to vacuum the house again (imagine that)! Thank you, vacuum fairy, for sucking up all the paper punches I almost always spill on the rug while emptying the electric hole punch.

The computer fairy: I would never have to worry about fixing my computer, loading software, or killing viruses again! Thank you, computer fairy, for loading all of the most up to date software and never causing me a moment of down time.

I think I need to update the chore charts for my boys...I'm sure these services can be negotiated for the right dollar amount!