C Tann-Starr's Outside Blog

Maryland Is Beautiful...

The wonderful thing about hanging out with writers who produce Localism posts is the fact that if you read their blogs you kinda know where you want to go and what you want to see when you get there. I had breakfast with Margaret Rome this morning after I checked out of the Hilton and am having lunch with Audrey June Forshey at her office right now. I will be having dinner with the incomparable Lenn Harley tonight. I'll admit to being a wee bit nervous because she's my hero (LOL). I keep hearing, "we're gonna have fun," echoing in my brain. I'm grinning like an idiot in anticipation because we are (LOL). ;-)

I am thrilled to still be here meeting and greeting Rainers.  I have a lot of eye candy to share with you from our sight seeing later on. At some point before I return to New York City I'm going to take you on a tour of Maryland and show you what I've experienced with my friends during our down time. I also promised the kids I'd show them something interesting before I return home. They likes planes, trains, automobiles, boats and birds. Lately Noah has been into trees (LOL).

Stay tuned... I got a lot of eye candy already and am still collecting more so this may take a while... I have a checklist but may have to do a few cross offs (LOL). ;-)

I would like to take time out of my calculated wandering about to thank Audrey June Forshey and Maria Carpenter for being such wonderful hosts to me this afternoon (and allowing me to high-jack their Internet accounts so I can say hello to my Facebook and ActiveRain peeps before I get back on the highway).

I would also like to say a big thank you to Margaret Rome for inviting me to such a lovely business event. She is a thoughtful friend and knows how much my shorties love to feed the birds so she took me to a lovely, quiet spot to enjoy them after breakfast. When I get to Lenn's house I'll show you what I enjoyed most about it. They were surprisingly friendly and walked right up to us.

My kids would have loved it. They are gorgeous... simply gorgeous. :-)

The ActiveRain Open House Was Awesome

I was thrilled to be there not only because spending time with the people living in my computer is always a sweet treat but because Lenn Harley went out of her way to attend the first ever ActiveRain Open House. I am star struck and in awe of this woman. I love the way her mind works and as far as I am concerned no one does hard core real estate the way Lenn Harley does.

While watching Margaret Rome and Lenn Harley chat I felt as if I were in the middle of an ActiveRain Group Club Chaos convention (LOL). The 991 writers of Club Chaos have produced approximately 27,591 blog posts since June 23, 2008. As one of the group's founders, and someone who routinely lurks on their real estate blogs, it was a pleasure and a privilege to get to spend quality time with some of the best minds the real estate industry has to offer. Lenn has a standing invitation to use any picture off of my blog she likes. Very few people get Card Blanche with me (especially with my work because Carte blanche is French for “blank card,” meaning one that can be filled in as a person wishes) but there are several that totally knock my socks off and I consider them family.

BTW, after our business is done we are doing a sleep over on Tuesday. When I check out of the Hilton I will be eventually checking in with Lenn. Yay! She is the copyright queen, a huge influence and my friend so I am doing the snoopy dance with the anticipation of a great visit. I absolutely adore her and am looking forward to being her guest on Tuesday because I am a sucker for sushi, shotguns and girl talk. There is more to me than Hagen Daz. The list is long. Seriously long and a wee bit twisted (LOL). ;-)

Have you ever had the pleasure to meet Erica Rome? She has an amazing musical gift and a wicked sense of humor that really appeals to my quirky nature. I'm into snarky banter and am already prone to say just about anything that is on my mind, so it is always mad fun to mildly misbehave when I am with her (LOL). You can't be snarky with just anyone because some people don't get irony. She's fun, still waiting for me to grow up and I keep hinting I might do that when I'm 50. "Might" being the operative word (LOL). Then again... why should I? I like having fun, giggle frequently and recently discovered kids have a way of keeping you young. BTW, I am having my second childhood with and without the little minions in tow, so I guess that means I don't mind playing with my blogging buddy's kids, even if they are already grown (LOL).

My kids have been teaching me how to frolic and the rule is practice does not make perfect unless you practice perfectly (LMAO). Sometimes, I slip into my practice shoes and have at it when I am really comfortable with the people I am hanging out with. You can not do that with everyone. You have to pick and choose because people tend to try you on for size before they trust you. Newbies, a small word of advice: The best jobs are the ones that do not feel like work and have the added bonus of being something you can share with the people you care about while you make new acquaintances and friends. Find something you love about your profession to hang onto (things can get tough), then make it your business to have fun with it. :-)

In my case, I am very happily addicted to blogging because I realize when my kids get older they'll have so much raw material to share with their hypothetical kids. Sometimes, bloggers can give perspective to history in the making, like with 9/11 eye witness accounts or mourning the destruction of Shea Stadium while learning to embrace Citi Field. Writing is fun for me and I look forward to having pleasant conversations with my readers, friends and family about the stuff that I find interesting. I look forward to sharing DVDs and PDFs with my potential grand-kids because if you get the right mix of professionals together in the same spot at the same time anything can happen... You can learn something from just about any type of story told if you bother to pay attention to what is going on.

Friendships can create magic and inspire comraderie to the point where a writer will drive 255 miles to share a meal and a significant moment. Business trips can become a major source of pleasure if the people you associate with are really nice. I think the ActiveRain Community is a wonderful place to park my digital diary because I think my friends are wonderful and when the shorties inherit the business they may be inheriting some of my best business friends as well. If you don't write about the people that matter to you, how will others know who they are? Sometimes, I wonder how many cases of paper it's going to take to print this puppy out and catalog all those notes. 882 of those 27,591 blog posts belong to me and if this keeps up I may have to create a library to store it in (LOL). ;-)

When you really like a writer you start printing them out and sending links so other people can discover them. Link love can be a lot of fun if you can get your friends and family to meet you at a particular place and time. There is no point in doing social media if you have no intention of ever being social. The cool thing about blogging is that people can take their time to catch up with you when ever they want. I think that's why I really enjoyed myself today. Yes, I did quite a bit of work but I also got to socialize, explore Maryland and play.

Prior, I got to spend a little bit of time with Margaret Woda during REBar Camp and I routinely lurk on her blog, so it was a real treat to see her again in MD at the ActiveRain Open House. Richard Iarossi and I have been chatting through social media accounts for approximately two years. Two days of lively conversation with Richard and I parted company feeling as if I've known him forever.

Bloggers who are transparent writers have a way of making you feel totally at home because you know them through their writing. You hear their voice through the rich texture of their diction and share what they see through their photographs and video clips so when you do get to finally meet you feel as if you just spoke with them the other day and are simply picking up where you left off from a previous conversation.

Realtor Magazine was on hand covering the event. If you ever get a chance to chat with Gabe you should. He's a very nice man who knows what he's doing and does it very well. I am sooooooo into digital tech and always enjoy watching film crews do their thing. One of the things I love about living in New York City is the fact that there is always a movie being made somewhere. :-)

I particularly enjoyed hanging out in the kitchen (the basket of cookies and good company caught my eye).

Margaret Rome selected a country house for the AR open and brought lots of goodies. It's a comfortable place with a huge yard, one I could very easily imagine my kids running amok in. I cell phone e-mailed a few of my buyers to see if they want to come down and take a look while I enjoyed spending some time with Gabe, Katherine and Helen. I am going to Barnes and Nobles after dinner to see if I can find Katherine Tarbox's book. Helen Dellheim is coming to New York City for a visit so we're gonna hook up and I am taking her to Yotveta and Kyoto. There are a few interesting little get togethers being planned and plotted by this group. I like small, intimate gatherings. You can really have a great conversation if there are not too many guests that need your attention. We had a nice turn out and the ebb and flow of visitors made me very happy that I and my TomTom only got lost a little bit. I would have been very upset if I had missed some of my fave writers. I didn't get to make the acquaintance of everyone today because a few people were leaving when I arrived. People kept coming when we started to leave for pizza at the Upper Crust. That was very cool. I think this is a tradition that is really going to take off if today was any indication of the things to come. :-)

I would love to fit this into my business plan because I am still blown away that I went to an open house with Margaret Woda, Dr. Stacey Ann Baugh and Martha Brown... What can I say except that I have a big, stupid cool aid grin plastered on my face (LOL). Tickled pink is an understatement because Martha and I have been Facebooking each other to death talking about one day getting together. I have been waiting to hug this woman for over a year and a half so today was a big deal for me. I finally got that taken care of and will happily admit to hugging several of my friends. It was even more fun to discover new things about them their blogs don't reveal.

Dr. Stacey is da bomb diggity. We have been chatting and laughing all afternoon. I frequently lurk on her blog and we are taking our wee ones on a play date to the zoo and the aquarium. Stay tuned for some very interesting Life With Wee People posts. She has a four year old waiting to meet my three year old, Stephen, the Blur Minion, who is a very adventurous, social little man. This might become a bi-monthly thing because it really is a nice ride and doesn't take that long to go from New York City to Maryland. We like going on road trips so get comfy with the idea I will be making more of them. The shorties need to get out more, stretch those tiny little minds and meet new people. They enjoy seeing themselves online and I enjoy watching them discover new things. The Brooklyn aquarium is an old friend to them so checking out the Maryland one will keep them very busy with the Localism project.

Did I mention I like invading states? I do you know... Frequently. I share a lot but don't tell you everything  because I have been hoarding my eye candy and writing chapters. Yes. Blame it on the books (LOL). ;-)

We all know Bridget McGee as the Mortgage Mama. What you might not know is if you get Bridget, Richard and Dr. Stacey together for a conversation you will not stop laughing as long as the three of them are bantering back and forth. This is why I always advocate gravitating towards people who are witty and smart. If you select the right friends your vocabulary will improve and learning something new will make you very happy. Fun people make submitting to the process a no brainer. In the words of Granny Tann: "I will do boring once but I wont do it twice." (LOL)

Martha Brown, Katherine Tarbox, Carolyn Tann-Starr and Helen L. Dellheim... Hmm... I bet you wish you were a fly on the wall for our country kitchen conversations (LMAO).

I have some friends who tried to make it but couldn't. Maybe next time...

For a couple of them I found myself wanting to say you ought not to always be a passive reader only interested in trolling for business but you should come when bloggers invite you to attend free events. We invite you personally because we really want to see you. Social media tweet-ups can be mad fun as well as useful. That's why we have them. Some people think they are not missing anything by constantly ignoring invitations to simply show up and be because they don't see the beauty in allowing people to discover who you are and respond to what they learn and know.

If not for social media I certainly would not be hanging out with the Senior Editor of Realtor Magazine, a bunch of classy bloggers and an amazing attorney.

I'd be running the street with clients (as usual), watching BBC television on Netflix, skyping with my fave Brits, cooking dinner and minion sitting instead of hubby (LOL). I tried to get him to come to MD with the shorties but Mike declined. It would have been nice to let Noah run loose with the camera. He's quite the shutter bug. He would have loved this place. ;-)

Little Dude would have been all for the Christmas shot in front of the fireplace pose (LOL).

My kids would have enjoyed being surrounded by Realtors. They think they are mini-Realtors in the making. I hope the next time I come to Maryland I get to meet Ellie McIntire's wee one. If baby is anything like Mama I am in love. 

To know Ellie is to love Ellie. In the blink of an eye we clicked.

I just wish I could figure out how I managed to spend the afternoon with Anne Hruby and not get a single picture. Talk about "Duh???" moment. She sat next to me in the pizza shop and I was going to take her hostage later on but I forgot (LOL).

Talk about having a senior moment (LMAO). She just recently joined ActiveRain and doesn't have a profile picture up. I was going to do something about that tonight. Virgin bloggers are a fun challenge for me and we all know what happens if you get remanded to the Club Chaos boot Camp. You can't go home until you write a blog post. Chicka escaped writer's jail because I got distracted by food twice. Bad virtual writing warden (LOL).

She's teaching a GRI class tomorrow. Hmm... Are you thinking what I'm thinking? (ROTFLMAO)

If you're not or clueless you obviously don't read my blog (LOL). Go here to bring yourself up to speed if you dare. It's fun helping newbies get started blogging. Mid April will be two years for me. ;-)

BTW, the pizza here was excellent.

Feel free to go to the Upper Crust Pizza/Grille located at 9161 Reisterstown Road, Owings Mills MD 21117 to find out. This Native New Yorker has absolutely no complaints. It's a cool spot to hang out in and they were kind enough to push a whole bunch of tables together for us.

The first ActiveRain Open House was an awesome experience. The conversations and company was priceless. Looking forward to brokers hosting many more. :-)

Insanity Is Watching Your Body Parts Turn Gray (LOL)

"Jabon Desodorante Antibacterial" seemed like a harmless phrase. The soap smelled nice. The box says it's from Turkey...

This is what I get for not speaking other languages. The active ingredient is something called Triclocarban. I am assuming that is why my body parts are now turning gray at an alarming rate (LOL).

All I wanted was a friggin' shower after the gym and chatting with my hubby and son's teachers during a call conference.

Now I am a gray chick about to do an open house in 30 minutes. My life is turning into a cartoon. Seriously...

New  road trip rule: do not buy exotic soap from Turkey unless someone you know tried it before you (LOL).

Meet me at 1 PM here: 2716 Spring Hill Road Greenspring Valley - Owings Mills if you want to hang out and see if I start glowing in the dark from this. Warning: this is not Photoshop. I am friggin' turning blue gray over here. I need another shower and a new bar of soap. I can't take pictures with Lenn Harley and Margaret Rome looking like I'm casting for Shaun of the Dead (LOL). ;-)

Life With Wee People: Call Conference

I love the school my kids are going to. The teachers are really cool and they come up with such interesting ways to help their students. Noah got his assessment done today. Hubby was there while I am in Maryland so they call conferenced me in so I can participate. I learned something new and useful today about Noah. We now have a new project to do with the shorties so I am going to start on it now while I am here and when I get back we going to use some of that eye candy I am collecting to help Noah with his social cues and reading.

I'm thinking scrap book, but not quite. I need to get him to comprehend and describe what it is he is seeing and has seen. Mikey and I have to get his visual tendencies shifting into high gear so his reading and comprehension can improve enough so his school and life experience can become an adventure of meaning.

I guess the first rule to is never assume what they do or don't know. Make them tell you. I see more road trips and joy rides in their future. We are going to be making our own work books where they glue their pictures down and label stuff. I may have to film this because trying to get the non-verbals to explain themselves verbally should be very interesting. I may need some mommy advice from the people who have gone before me. Get ready for some quirky Facebook and YouTube embeds of me teaching the shorties how to read with books they will create themselves (LOL).

I am sitting in my hotel room smiling with glee. Orange County Choppers seems like a good place to start. A motorcycle book would be lovely. We can talk about wheels and colors. The Air Space Museum holds a lot of possibilities as well (LOL).

Hilton Pikesville

1726 Reisterstown Road, Pikesville, Maryland, United States 21208

Tel: 1-410-653-1100 Fax: 1-410-415-6232

Live From The Hilton At Pikesville: Realtor Magazine Goes To The Gym With Margaret Rome

I like this place. It's close to everything on my bucket list of things to see and do while in Maryland. It is also an hour from Washington DC so I am going to show you guys the harbor later because I think my kids will get a kick out of seeing it while I eventually make my way to DC for a brief meeting (and joy ride by a few historical sites).

We like the South Street Seaport in Manhattan so how can I not get some shipping eye candy to show off later (LOL). My kids are not just car crazy. They like trains, planes and boats too. This morning was a lovely 40 degrees so I am wandering about in a hoodie and gym clothes until lunch time. We have clear skies and no hint of bad weather in sight so the ActiveRain Open House and Pizza party later should be fun. If you want to blame someone for us having pizza this afternoon you have to blame me for the menu. I am a New Yorker. I like sampling pizza pies when I travel and Margaret Rome (being a sweetie pie of a host) selected a cool pizza spot so I shall be blogging about it before the open (so you guys can find us if you want to come hang out at the ActiveRain Open House and go get a slice later).

Barnes and Nobles and a host of other neat businesses are located in the Woodholme Center. I am a WiFi kinda gal, so I need to know these things when I am wandering the I-95 corridor. When you blog on the fly like I do you are always scoping computer access points. Is it a social media diva thing or digital addiction? I don't know. I can't decide and really don't care as long as I can log in when ever I want to catch up with my friends and family. LifeBridge Health and Fitness has computers you can use so I didn't have to whip out my laptop to see what you guys were doing during my morning workout with Margaret (LOL). Realtor Magazine was on location to capture more digital film and they will be covering the ActiveRain Open House this afternoon. We're cooking up a few more things to do today so if you don't come to the AR open you may miss your opportunity to come out and play. (Am I teasing you? You betcha - LOL).

I love my TomTom but sometimes it has a dumbdumb moment. If not for this sign I would have driven off the complex (LOL).

The walkway fascinated me. Margaret had to explain a storm ripped the green off it's awning hinges (LOL). Here I am thinking, "Wow, I've never seen that before. What a neat design..." I had no idea something was missing (LMAO). I kind of like the way it looks without the green but since I have nothing to compare it to I guess I have to let that notion go. I am a New York Sports Club kinda gal so being here as a guest was a neat treat.

Stating this place is huge is an understatement. I was in machine Heaven. I had to shoot hubby and my gal pal Susana each a text telling them I was having a blast but wish they were here. Sana and I go to the gym with Tamara. Mikey likes to work out in the parks. This place has an indoor three lane track circling the floor so you can run circles around all the work out stations. There's a pool downstairs and lots of other rooms to meet your personal trainer. I got to meet Margaret's. What a nice man. :-)

Gabe and Kate have been doing a marvelous job of collecting footage of a typical day in the hood. Sometimes people forget that Realtors have to get up really early and stay up really late because business takes up our prime time hours. Small business owners are constantly trying to balance work, necessity and play. I love blogging and am always whipping out the camera if I see something I think is interesting. I am so used to being on the backside of the viewer it's a bit strange when you find yourself on the other end with your friends. We have been playing pass the Nikon since I got to Maryland. I have hundreds of shots. I kinda miss having the kids underfoot to help me pick 'em for my blog. As soon as my call conference is done I am going back to work and collecting lots of eye candy. I am looking forward to sharing my day with the wee people.

Stephen, the Minion Blur would have been all over Margaret trying to follow in her footsteps. Shorty is quick on his feet. Dancing in and out of a ladder would have been right up his alley (LOL). Noah would have stuck to gabe like glue. Did I mention his has a digital camera to drool over? ;-)

I always do several miles on the bike as a warm down before I leave the gym. It was nice to discover Margaret Romes ends her workout routine the same way. :-)

Random Maryland Musings

I am waiting to say good morning to my kids. They are not due to be up yet. It's kinda strange not having them here with me. I have to do a call conference at 10 AM for Noah so I figure that would be a good time to order breakfast. By the time the tray shows up I should be off the phone and recovering from what ever it is I am about to do to myself in the guise of working out (LOL). I am getting ready to meet Margaret Rome at the gym. We have some more filming to do with Realtor Magazine so this should be very interesting.

I also e-mailed a couple of ActiveRain peeps I'd like to try and see while I'm wandering around during my business trip. I may actually make it to Washington DC today so if we can tweak our schedules I shall have a lot to blog about. :-)

I really want to collect some cool eye candy for the little minions while scoping something fun for them to do when we all come down together. I'm hoping the natives will point me in the right direction. It's been mad fun so far (LOL). I have no intention of being a bench warmer while I am here although the view from this one was particularly lovely. I shall blog about that later because this bench is located in front of yesterday's open house. Today's open house shall be a unique experience because Lenn Harley et al is coming.

It's moments like these when I really, really love my job. ;-) 

Gotta run. My shorty alarm just went off. Time to call the hubby and spoof on the wee people. Mornings in my apartment are usually an interesting event (LOL). :-)

Realtor Magazine Dinner With Margaret Rome and some of Maryland's Finest Professionals

Was it worth driving 242 miles from New York City to Maryland? Yup. I love the people living in my computer and any business meeting that ensures I get to spend some quality time with them is a priority for my schedule. If not for Margaret Rome I would not have had the pleasure of meeting Helen L. Dellheim, an Associate Broker and Attorney at Law that knocked my socks off. Her wee people are older than my wee people so I am looking forward to picking her brain about teenagers and real estate. We had a blast comparing notes and I have a lot to learn regarding kids and the industry so I bet you wish you were a fly on the wall for our coversation with Margaret Rome's mentor Ann. To say that was a real treat is an understatement of major proportions (LOL). Besides, I may need a Maryland lawyer because I took a virgin blogger hostage and made her write a blog post before I let her go home (LMAO). I'll be high-jacking my newest Club Chaos bay-bay tomorrow to force her to write another blog post. She's helping me with my Russian since I am away from my gal pal Susana so helping her start to write is least I can do. She joined Club Chaos, Whacked and Diary of a Realtor yesterday. The way I see it, if your first post is going to be a diary entry, the least I can do is help make it interesting (LOL).

Yeah, I know, you didn't expect Club Chaos Boot Camp to take hostages, eh? At least my version of writing jail is mad fun (LOL). Will I be telling you more about the other creative writing inmates volunteering for quirky bouts of creative incarceration with Wordy C? You betcha, but first you need to name these professionals who attended a spanking social media event with Realtor Magazine and Margaret Rome (LOL).

Pssst... it wasn't just a crab cake dinner. We were allowed to order anything on the menu as a guest of Margaret Rome. Half of us ate Italian. I had the double crab cake with spaghetti and tea. It was absolutely marvelous. Good company and great food makes me a very happy blogger. The Olive Branch gets a thumb up in my foodie paradise book of nice places to eat. :-)

Don't forget to go say hello to my writing hostage. It's Anna's first blog post and she may need some kindness therapy to get over being a wee bit shy. Don't worry. Dr Stacey will be around to curb my quirky predilections for making people write in the here and now rather than procrastinate. It appears I may suffer from outside office syndrome and my ActiveRain addictions are contagious (LOL). You too will crave blogging if you hang out with me. I dare you to come to the first ActiveRain Open House tomorrow and not blog about it. ;-)

Rumor has it I may be trying to kidnap Ellie McIntire, Margaret Woda and Lenn Harley. Tune in tomorrow for when our next blogging hostage says...

OMG - is she really a Realtor? Who let her out of New York? Be afraid. Be very afraid... She's thinking about working here on the weekends. Seriously... :-P

Realtor Magazine Rocks

Katherine Tarbox with Margaret, Helen, Anna and Ann at an open house in Maryland I attended with my Rainer blogging buddies. I have sooo gotta chat more with Gabe the camera man. He has a spanking digital camera i have to get a shot of. I love tech toys and the film crew has techie stuff that makes me wanna go shopping (LOL).

We're going to out to dinner. Will be blogging live from the Hilton later.

I also will be conducting a few interviews of my own tomorrow. Gotta collect lots of eye candy. :-)

We're having mad fun.

Film at 11 (LOL). ;-)

Life With Wee People: The Autistic Photographs of Noah E Starr

We are always wandering around after school doing something. I like letting the kids play TomTom because you never know when and where they are going to tell you to turn. Stephen likes feeding the birds and squirrels so since the shorties wanted to see the lake (and toss bread) we went to Flushing Meadows Park to hang out by the boat house and splash puddles.

Noah and Stephen had a blast wandering about chasing birds and examining trees. It doesn't matter if there is rain, sleet, snow or hail. My kids are park crazy. They are going to want their five minutes in bad weather and how many other minutes they can get their hands on a good day. This was fun. We stayed out for about an hour and traveled from one side of the lake to the other on the hunt for some eye candy.

Here are Noah's fave shots of their play date. Will be chatting about other adventures later. Enjoy. :-)

Fun is watching Stephen, the Minion Blur, feed the birds. He actually aims at them with great gusto (LMAO). ;-)

Life With Wee People: Black and White

We are all way past our bedtimes over here and having a blast playing in Photoshop. We are supposed to be  packing my bags for the Maryland trip, however, Noah has discovered the black and white option and is content to bleed the color from our photographs like a digital wizard performing magic to amuse his captive brother. 

The shorties have discovered the drop down tables and I am cracking up laughing at their expressions of surprise. We are in the middle of a major digital gigglefest over here. How can I not sneak in a shot with the web-cam? Seriously (LOL).

I promised Noah I would post more of his photographs so we're peeking at his growing collection and will do it after breakfast tomorrow morning if we don't do it tonight. I'll be out the door around 7AM so he has to finish picking his choices of what to share now. The boys will be hanging out with their Dad until I get back from my business trip. Will be blogging live from I-95 during lunch to let you know how my trip is progressing. I promised I'd do four for Sunday and Monday so the wee people and the rest of my bay-bays can keep up.

Noah has been having a blast with both cameras while Stephen has been creating these really demented videos (LOL). Obviously I need to work on Mr. PDD-NOS because Mr. Autistic has an expectation that Stephen, the Minion Blur, shall blossom as Cecil B Demented (his director sidekick). How can I not encourage their mad movie making? It's just too much fun handing Stephen the video camera and watching him spin into a frenzy (LOL).

I know, I know, bad Mommy Blogger - we're supposed to be calming them down not letting them run amok (especially when we all know frenzy is an understatement - LOL). Little Dude talks when he wants to, does sign language and other non-verbal cues. Giving him a camera makes him talk. I like hearing him chatter. I especially enjoy when he tries to make inanimate objects say "cheese."

I should film that (LOL).

Gotta go. Noah wants the laptop back. Seems I'm being sent to my room by my 8 year old who is trying to work  (LOL). ;-)

Life With Wee People: Friends With Cameras

My favorite part of being a writer is sharing something about my day with my kids and readers. Watching them skip off to school, marching off to do wee people chores, engaged in playdates and/or going on road trips makes it all worth while and frequently inspires me to chat about what I experienced or found interesting for the day. When the shorties are not around to get up close and personal with a project I am working on, I always make it my business to snap several pictures so they can see what they missed and help me decide what to blog about.

They like blogging... They love seeing themselves in the mix. They enjoy discovering life and having digital memories that prompt a reminiscent smile regarding a particularly tasty cookie, brilliant bug, fascinating yard or awesome car ride. We frequently joy ride with them playing TomTom after school. Kids will not hesitate to tell their parents where to go if you let them. (Yes, I have a wicked sense of humor but no, do not take that last line two ways - LOL)

Besides me passing along my Nikon fetish to the Little Minions I've also passed along my love for the hunt for eye candy. Noah is totally into his coffee book. I think the project is coming along fabulously and I will be posting more "Autistic Photographs of Noah E Starr" before I go on my next AR Road Trip so you can see what he has been sharing with me.

I hope to get the kid blogging. I am trying to use it as an incentive for him to read. Bloggers share a lot and sometimes if we/they take the right picture it will make you want to experience an event for yourself. Talking about life is fun but showing you what I am talking about is so much better don't you think? I think so. :-)

Bloggers can save you if you get lost while running amok looking for stuff to blog about (LOL).

Margaret Rome and I have been on a few eye candy hunts together and the very the first one was an accident (LMAO).

I was supposed to be going home from North Carolina after having mad fun teaching about being a "Google Whore" and "How To Monetize Your Blog" at Real Estate BarCamp RDU with my ActiveRain Club Chaos bay-bays. Seminars are a hoot. I really like them. I am looking forward to going back and doing it again. Maybe I'll bring the shorties and the Hubby if the dates work out with school (LOL).

I checked out of my hotel like a good little wife, had breakfast, got an invite to have lunch and figured what the hey, might as well stay for dinner because there was still so much to blog about and people to see (LOL). Dinner was so much fun I decided to spend the night in NC and had a lovely sleepover at SarahGray's house. BTW, that event alone is at least four very fun blog posts waiting to happen because we had wildlife drama  but I digress (LMAO).

The point of bringing up NC is the fact that my TomTom failed while I was on the road. I was bent out of shape because there was a lot of highway construction detours and being a cranky New Yorker I was afraid I would get lost and take forever to get home. What did I do? I decided if I was going to be lost I might as well do it my way and started calling blogging buddies and making up AR Road Trips on the fly so I could get back to New York (LOL). Margaret Rome was at a business convention. When she discovered I was about to invade her state she offered me her Garmin, a free convention pass and a spanking dinner. I accepted. We were not together two minutes before we had our cameras out covering the event and each other (LOL).

Friends with cameras do that. They will start laughing about an event and soon invent an eye candy moment out of a flat tire, squirrel attack, lightening strike, snowflake, clogged drain, raging hormones, crazy kids (LOL). Here are a few of my fave shots from the first evening we hung out in Maryland together:

Had my TomTom not failed I would have missed all the fun and a stellar dinner. :-)

Being a good blogging buddy, of course I had to travel back to Maryland to return the Garmin. How could I not? Friends with cameras tend to want to use them. Besides, she has this spanking listing with classic cars so I met the owner and hung out in his garage (LMAO). Yes, I took lots of pictures. I also gave my girlfriend my camera so I could get in on the action. Did I mention me and my kids are car crazy? We are you know. We lurk at car shows. Getting a personal tour by an investor and/or collector is always a sweet treat. :-)

It's moments like this that make my kids run to go to work with me. We have fun with sellers and buyers. We have fun with other Realtors. It isn't just a profession, it's an adventure where you get to connect with people, make new friends, experience life and take a moment to enjoy when people are kind and take a moment out of their busy lives to share something that they love with you. If you only use your blog to troll for business and nit pick about how someone else does something different than you do, maybe you need to figure out why you are blogging instead of trying to tell someone else why they should or shouldn't blog what they do. Just because someone tells you the definition of blog equals business log doesn't mean you actually know what someone else's business plan is (LOL). 

I have visited and will continue to invade states to hang out with my friends with cameras. We frequently mix pleasure with business. We are about to have an ActiveRain Open House in MD. If you had bothered to come to this listing you would have enjoyed the company of the seller, listing broker and visiting broker. We had a lovely time. The seller left us to hang out and conduct business as we saw fit. I played photographer and e-mailed exclusive photographs and info to my New York buyers.

I am about to go to Maryland to do it again at another of Margaret Rome's listings. My boys love farm houses. Too bad Mikey decided to stay in New York to minion sit. Maybe next time... At least they'll have lots of pictures to help me sort through.

The last time I went to MD Stephen selected this tree as a screen saver. Noah went for the car (LOL). :-)

I will be staying at the Pikesville Hilton for a couple of days while on business in Maryland. Margaret Rome has been helping me study to get my MD real estate license. I've got all her books and notes and a really cool tote bag out of the deal (LOL). The best part is the company. Chicka is mad fun and I love her home office. I am going to have to talk to her about what to do with my den. I have no idea. I am clueless. I may have to beg Kathy Passarette to come to FL and save me from myself (LOL). :-)

I wanted the boys to drive down and hang out on Sunday (did I mention the Rome home is gorgeous?) but Mikey just recently got back from FL and doesn't want to take the drive with me because he would have to drive home ALONE to get them back in time for school on Monday and I don't think he wants to do three hours alone with the wee people asking "Where's Mommy?"

I dealt with the "Where's Daddy?" mantra while he was painting our house in FL (LOL). I am overdue for blogging about that bit of mischief. BB and TLW represented Mikey for his social media closing. We brought a FL house without stepping foot in it (LMAO). We had people we trust do everything for us instead while we e-mailed, texted, faxed, spoofed, ranted and got multiple "clear to close" notifications that didn't clear to close on time (ROTFLMAO).

Hmm... methinks I need to write a first time buyer from hell post, eh? It had a lot of fun moments so I aint mad, just glad hubby got what he wanted. Mikey is a trip so spoofing on him is going to be soooo much fun and also why I gave him to Mama and Papa with a virtual bow and a big grin on my face. BB and TLW are wonderful. I shall brag about them later. :-)

We have no idea how our little Autistic/PDD-NOS trust fund babies are going to make out, but we do have every intention of teaching them to be business owners collecting passive forms of income like rent and art/music/book royalties. We are cultivating the wee people to have an expectation to take over and expand the family business. The key is to collect friends who are smarter than you and let them train you so you can share what you know with the people you love and make life interesting for the kids while they get trained. Kids are never too young to inspire. If you don't plant your seeds early you are wasting a lot of valuable time.

Life is short. Work at the things that make you happy and show your children they can do the same. Buy what you can afford and pay it off as fast as you can. That's why we like land. Land is a five year or less payment plan. Our first three plots we paid lump sum for them. The fourth I took a mortgage with the owner holding it. Now I'm looking for four more. A nice spot in TX near Melodious, a nice spot in PA near Susan Mangigian, Barbara Ries and my Uncle William, a nice spot in MD near Margaret Rome and a nice spot in NC between Laura Watts, SarahGray Lamm, Patti Caldwell and Carol Smith. I might even get a plot near Granny Tann in VA. Who knows... No one knows what the future holds but it is so very nice planning for it.

Now is an excellent time to buy so rather than argue with fence sitting people we are out running around  investing in our own family and buying what we think will be a lovely place to spend quality time at. The kids will grow up surrounded by family and friends and I will get to run up and down on mini-vacations visiting people while I paint, write and relocate my clients. I am chipping away at my work week. I want to work smarter not harder so I can have more fun. We do sleepovers a lot with friends and family members. We also trade apartments and houses for vacation.

Too bad the kids are not coming this weekend. Margaret and I have been wondering what they'd do in the backyard once they got a hold of it. I was going to take the train back so Mikey and the kids could keep the car but now that the shorties are staying home I'm doing an AR Road Trip with a gal pal and going on the hunt for some Maryland eye candy. I will be popping in for the Realtor.com event, among other things. I already made an appointment to high-jack Margaret on Sunday for a couple of hours. Gotta get my training in and she is helping me brainstorm on my three books. Nothing like having a published author help you with your publishing projects. I should be back home by Monday night.

Maybe... (LOL) 

A Word Of Advice Regarding ActiveRain Community Guidelines

In June 2009 I chatted about the ActiveRain Community Guidelines and provided a short set of fave quotes. Now I am going to give you guys a word of advice that should also serve as a gentle warning.

1. When you comment on a writers blog and they have the setting checked off to receive e-mail notifications your comments are forwarded from the ActiveRain server.

2. If you edit your original comment and update it on a writer's blog, the server sends an e-mail notification that you commented and provides your edited comment, so there is still a record of the first comment and the exact moment the second comment replaced the first comment on a blog post.

3. When you act as if you didn't make the first comment, and stand by the second comment as if it is the first, the e-mails from the server impeach your statement. You can't pretend the edited comment is your original comment. (If readers print this out and fax it to a writer to complain that means other people have already captured your original comment. If the writer has already downloaded and saved the web page the writer already captured your original comment).

4. If you delete your comments because people call you on it, the record has already been established and you can't take it back.

5. There is a reason why the community rules say do not attack another member. The electronic paper trail doesn't go away no matter how much you wish it would.

I know when I owe someone an apology. Do you? Stop digging a hole for yourself. Play nice in the electronic sand box people. E-mails have headers that contain time stamps, code routes and confirm origination. I have better things to do than keep telling people I am done having a particular conversation. Sometimes, you have to know when to leave people alone when they ask you to.

Like all blogging moments, this too shall pass. The question is, do you want it to pass quietly or with a big bad bang?

I vote for the quiet passing. How about you?

Please feel free to read The ActiveRain Community Guidelines here. I think sometimes we forget ourselves while we wander about cyberspace making unsubstantiated statements as if speaking from a position of authority when that position has not been granted and does not exist. It is a grave thing to commit business torts. Never casual think you can interfere with someone else's business in a public forum with impunity. You never know when a competitor may decide to make an example of you because you've provided so much for their attorney to work with. It's even worse when attorneys you don't know read it and want to volunteer to make a case for you.

Play nice people. You have no idea who is following your blog on any given day.

As for me, my work is done. I'm going to meet Sana for a snack and make arrangements to go to MD to see Margaret Rome. I'm thinking a working three day mini-vacation. One of my buyers is interested in a Maryland investment. How cool is that? Very. :-)

Dear Diary... Dead Like Me: Seasons 1 & 2 Plus The Movie Life After Death

Tonight Melodious and I are going to log into our Netflix accounts and stream Dead Like Me: Life After Death. Why they canceled this show after two seasons I'll never figure out. It was really good and the morbid irony was sooooo much fun (LOL).

Awwwwww... come on... What do you expect from a gal who loves William Shakespeare and E. A. Poe? Hmm? (LOL)

Since the two of us have not seen the movie (but watched all of the episodes for both seasons) we're going to watch it together later this evening. Melodious is in TX and I am in NY but social media means we can be together anytime we please. Will there be a Dead Like Me Life After Death skype par-tay? Maybe... Depends upon who is on when we sync our watches to watch Ellen Muth & Jasmine Guy et al do their thing (LMAO).

Here's the Netflix quote: "A new assignment hits home for grim reaper Georgia (Ellen Muth) when her latest reaping, Hudson Hart (Jordan Hudyma), turns out to be the secret love of her sister, Reggie (Britt McKillip). Meanwhile, Cameron Kane (Henry Ian Cusick) takes over as Head Reaper, but he's not highly regarded by his undead underlings Daisy (Sarah Wynter), Roxy (Jasmine Guy) and Mason (Callum Blue) in this feature follow-up to the short-lived Showtime cult hit." Hmm... What was Showtime thinking? They should have never canceled this show. It had so many expandable characters... Maybe another network will pick up the D.L.M. rights like when they canceled Medium. One can hope, eh?

I also like watching BBC shows with my London UK gal pals. We finished all six seasons of Wire In The Blood and seasons 3 and 4 of Dr. Who was mad fun. Freema Agyeman as the character Martha Jones is such a treat to watch. Freema also plays a character in the UK version of Law and Order (which I am really craving to see but don't know how to find in the USA). I am a huge Law and Order fan and have watched every episode except for the UK version. If we write lots of fan letters do you think they'll let it play here? I hope so. I feel kinda deprived not knowing where to get the DVDs or official streaming version. If you find out feel free to post a link so I can buy or watch this. The script writing for the L & O franchise really fascinates me and Agyeman is a very talented actress. She also plays Martha Jones in the Dr. Who spin off Torchwood. If they do another season of both franchises I hope they figure out a way to bring her character back to both shows as well. If they didn't film The Legend of the Seeker with the Aussies I would love to see her kick a$$ over there (I like martial arts - LOL).

Social media is a beautiful thing. Where else can the international girls all get together for good conversation while  throwing a digital par-tay during and after dinner to share a movie without leaving the comforts of home?

Streaming allows you to work and play at the same time. If you are going to call conference with your friends you might as well have some audio visual fun with the people living in your computer. New York is minus 5 hours from London UK time. My midnight snack is dinner time for the UK ladies. Stephen likes to bother them at work so I have to go collect the Minion Blur so he can giggle at their accents while we plan my next gallery show. 3:30 UK time is an excellent water cooler moment on Mondays. Just sayin... ;-)

Life With Wee People: The Work Chronicles

My kids love to play musical beds. They rarely sleep where you leave them and frequently wake up to change clothes to suit their color mood. Needless to say, laundry is a never ending issue in my household and to complicate matters they like playing with the laundry bags (sometimes mixing the clean clothes with the dirty to drive me crazy - LOL).

In the wee hours of the morning I love watching them sleep while I get comfy and answer some e-mail. I am about to answer some e-mail in public right now. Might even rant a bit. Seems I've been overdue for one of those but I digress (LOL).

The wee people and I usually get up very early to have breakfast while watching cartoons, chase brokerage keys, hit school for the drop off, show houses, hit school for the pick up, show more houses, have a foodie playdate, do homework/arts/crafts then have dinner...

I usually show from 9 AM to 1:30PM and from 4PM to 7PM. I have shown homes at 5:30 AM because some of my clients had to be to work at 7. My schedule has run through 9 tours of duty covering 24 hours of showings depending upon what I am able to negotiate access to and the work schedules of my clients. My office is open from 10 AM to 8 PM, but I am very flexible and work outside the posted hours. It is a delicate balancing act because I am locked into my kids school schedules. What I am is very flexible. What I am not is stupid...

If you do not know what my life is like as a work at home mother it is stupid of you to assume you get to make the rules regarding what I should and should not be doing to accommodate the people in my life, whether friend, family, customer or client. I have been hanging out in this forum for almost two years and am still amazed at the people who can't refrain from diving in and calling another practitioner unprofessional because their business plan or personality does not match their perception of what it means to be a Realtor or a professional.

Some people dive to answer their phones. I don't. I have a life and wee people to enjoy. I've been turning my phones off at 8 PM because my office is closed and it's family time. Kids need their bath and cuddles, I need my Mafia Wars, Netflix and Amazon Unbox (among other things - LOL). I've been working upstate on the weekends and not been in the city for whim calls, so stop freaking out if you don't get me because I am out of cell phone range. I have multiple schedules and deadlines, which is why I make appointments for the week. Sometimes I'm booked two weeks at a time. If you break your scheduled appointment it does not obligate me to move another client's appointment to make you happy. After all, my 140 miles should not be squandered. My upstate and out of state time, tolls, gas and clients matter just as much as my New York City clients so whim calling brokers to engage in verbal abuse if we don't immediately answer or meet you at an impromptu open house because we are servicing another person's needs makes me sigh and go, "Hmm..."

You are not the only person in the world trying to buy a home. Stop acting like that. If you can't act better than my learning disabled three year old on a bad paint day then you need to withdraw and find someone desperate enough to put up with your crap. Did I mention that I am not a desperate broker? I am an anal rententive Real Estate Paralegal who happens to blog, oil paint, make music and be a very good Realtor. I don't hoop jump. I negotiate business transactions and create works of art.

If you think you are going to call me as a substitute while your main broker is busy and you want to see something behind his/her/their back I am not the broker for you. If you are making multiple brokers jump through hoops and think I would like to join your herd I am not the broker for you. I work with people who want to work with me who are reasonable. I am not here for everyone, but I can be here for someone and my time is very valuable to me. It is something that can not be replaced so I do the very best for my clients that I can because I have to maximize my efficiencies. I am not in the habit of wasting time. I have a bucket list. Me and the shorties are having a lot of fun crossing stuff off of it between working for clients.   

There is a process to becoming a customer and then client so get the "beck and call" metality out of your mind. Retaining a professional requires paperwork to be prepared, a meeting of the minds to take place and contracts to be signed. My answering a question does not mean I am automatically your representative. We both have to agree to having a business relationship. I am busy just like you are so leave a single message and not several dead air hang ups hoping I will redial your number out of curiosity if you are trying to obtain info or representation. I don't respond to dead air hang ups, do not call strange numbers with no messages attached and habitually delete them off of my telephones.

That is not mean. That is just common sense. I am not interested in capturing random numbers from people who can't leave a business message. I am a busy gal with several major projects in the works and do not always click through when I am talking to a friend/family/customer/client because (a) each conversation and project is important to me, (b) both of our time is precious and (c) if I don't know what you want because you can't be so bothered to tell me why you called - why would I bother to call back blind and uninformed? Who do you expect me to ask for? I don't know who you are. You didn't leave a message...

Real Estate is not the only thing that I do and I can not always stop what I am doing to jump through a ringing phone / e-mail hoop. I do not just schedule work, I also schedule study, research and play time. Sometimes the work/play projects involve my kids. We like to work and we love to play. They like feeling useful so I go out of my way to keep them busy and involved with my activities. They love to help out on my projects and see viewing homes as the ultimate form of socialization where they get to peek into other people's lives to see how the other half chills.

Most sellers and tenants are nice. They usually offer refreshments. My kids rarely say no to cookies and milk and come to think of neither do I (LOL). If I am chatting away with the listing broker, the seller and my buyer or we are having snack time with them I am not going to answer my phone. I'm trying to negotiate and/or gather useful information. If I am driving I am not going to answer my phone. It's a steep fine in NYC to do so. If I am in training my phone is off. If I am in class my phone is off. If I am in a house of worship my phone is off. If I am having sex my phone is off. My point being why my phone is off doesn't really matter, just know that I am otherwise engaged and please leave a message if you want me to call you because I will eventually get back to you (unless it is something I ought not to respond to).

I get hundreds of e-mails across eight accounts every day and it takes a while for me to sort and read through them all. Blogging means people talk on and off forum about anything and everything. I may eventually e-mail you back or make the call, but there will be times I simply will not answer. It's better that way. I can't make you all happy and would never be arrogant enough to presume to try. I don't encourage toxic relationships and find silence is golden when you want to avoid digital and real world strife. I pick my battles and frequently disengage from conversations that do not benefit anyone.

This conversation may benefit someone (or not) because I was stewing over a comment someone recently left me that I didn't answer until this morning. I realized I ought not to be commenting when I am really pissed off, so I logged off my e-mail account and took a drive to run some errands. I think sometimes if you have something you want to explain the comments section on a post you enjoyed writing may not be the best place to explain it if you think you are geared to launch an argument. A new post would create a better spot to have this conversation so the other post doesn't get ruined with arguments that ought not to be there. Thus, me answering my e-mail over here and me explaining something about how I work with my kids:

My schedule revolves around my kids.

I show with and without them.

I decide when they come out and when they stay in.

I will not accept a client or customer who will not accept the fact that my kids may be in tow from time to time. It is stated up front and I am very blunt about it. If my kids can't come then I am not the broker for you. I will not apologize for being inflexible about this non-negotiable fact. I will very happily withdraw and decline any business relationship that seeks to bar their presence. I do not take them with me all the time but I do take them out a lot. We have remained quite friendly with several sellers who were never my clients as well as the people that I do and have represented. My kids see exploring homes as an adventure and I can't imagine denying them the pleasure of discovering friendly people. They are particularly fond of our Localism adventures and will wake me up to take them on a road trip. Just because I haven't been blogging about them doesn't mean they are not going on. I share a lot but I don't tell you everything (LOL).

My kids really do love real estate and sometimes act as if I have magical keys because we frequently argue about my inability to get them into some of the listings of their choice. If they happen to see a sign in a yard to a home they find very interesting they want access. Instant access. It has lead to some very interesting conversations (and a few awkward moments) because there is boldness in their curiosity and the wee people know how to knock on doors and ring bells (LOL). If they really like a yard we snap a photograph for their collection and I snap a cell shot and send them to my clients to see if any of them like the outside. The first person to text okay gets the shorties in because I'll make the appointment for the client and bring them along (LOL). Yes, we sold a home in Hempstead that way last year. Kids saw it first. Got the client in second. two hours later we had a binder accepted. They were on hand for the appraisal, watching cartoons and munching on cookies in the kitchen. I didn't let them near the inspection. They like ladders (LOL).

I don't just do computer searches for the people I represent, I hang out and scope properties in the streets because people who buy houses want to know where the shopping is, the post office, the cleaners, the schools, the houses of worship, the hotels/motels, police, fire, public transportation routes and a host of other little details that make a neighborhood a place where they would want to live. That's why I like jogging all over the place. It's gets me up close and personal with a place. It's also why I like concentrating on the neighborhoods where we spend a lot of time. I take the kids on community walks because the schools they attended did the same thing. I let them play TomTom and enjoy the fact that they know which way to turn to get to places they enjoy.

Sometimes, while driving about, when my kids really like a house and tell me to go there I will call the listing agent and explain to them that I am a buyer's broker and I would like to do a buyer's open at their property on specific dates where I invite all of my pre-approved buyers to meet me at particular listings during specific times to view a privately e-mailed list containing an exclusive tour of homes. My buyers will pick and choose which homes to see off of that list and will meet me on the private tour at the designated times to see only the homes that interest them. That is so much more fun that an open house and the listing brokers I work with love me because I bring them foot traffic and excite their sellers. It is fast. It is efficient. My kids see familiar faces and have playdates with the kids of my buyers at these sellers homes. 40 minutes for each house (30 on location 10 to get to the next one in the neighborhood). I hang out and listen to my buyers, find out what they liked and disliked and we plan our next buyers open. We don't do the five minute visit like the popping in and out at the seller's open. We take our time and really consider a home, asking a lot of questions and trying to imagine what it would be like living there. If my buyer doesn't like a house I want to know why so I don't show what they really dislike. I start grouping them. Center hall colonial buyers are not invited to the hi-ranch opens, detached buyers don't attend the semi-detached house list, etc.

People who think my kids are not involved have no idea just how much they really are. They are speech delayed, so when something interests them and gets them chattering I am all for it and spend a lot of time trying to figure out how to make the schedule work. Real estate makes them talk. Construction sites makes them talk. Photography and video makes them talk. Music and art makes them talk. AR Road Trips makes them talk. So does Facebook and YouTube. 

My kids come first in all things. I will never stop taking them to work and exposing them to real life work ethics. They think they can do anything because I encourage them to try and frequently let them. They are hands on, visual learners. Audio doesn't dominate their thinking patterns so having the kids along at my gallery shows and property showings means a lot to me. We're sharing what interests us and they can get hands on with the projects. Anyone who has a problem with them being by my side needs to ignore me and find someone who suits their temperament to associate with. I am not the broker for you and I have no problem not being your broker if you can not comes to grips with that fact.

I have a lot of fun at work.

I am not giving that up.

I will dump the entire real estate industry with a smile on my face before I dump my kids. I gave up being a law enforcement officer so I could stay home and keep my son Noah safe, cart him off to speech and occupational therapy and juggle a host of tutors. I wouldn't even blink or think twice about it if I decided real estate was wasting my time or interfering with Stephen and Noah. That is the type of work at home mother I am but you don't know that I walked away from being promoted to Captain for a kid do you? How could you? You don't know me. I am not money driven, I am family driven which is why being a buyer's broker is fun for me. When I do a good job my buyers save money because a buyer's broker lowers the price, unlike a seller's listing broker who is obligated to get as much money as they can for their client. I have a pension and other jobs so negotiating a price reduction doesn't phase me. I am not a sub agent of the seller. I represent the buyer. That is why I get cranky when listing brokers talk crap about kids at work being unprofessional. I have never once pretended to be something that I was not in this forum or any other social media account that I own. Having children around does not make a work at home professional unprofessional. My kids have their own following and bring business to me.

It's amazing how people who are not supposed to discriminate against a buyer/renter because of family status would do so against a business owner who works with her family by her side. Being a Realtor means I can keep my kids safe with me and not worry about them while I work. It means I can have fun watching them help host a buyer or seller open house. It means I can treat them like people and teach them a trade.

So what if I bring my kids to work. It doesn't make me less of a Realtor for doing so. It's made me better.

If you read my blog you already I know don't take crap from anyone. I didn't take it from the inmates and I am certainly not going to take it from a reader, prospect, customer, client or another Realtor. Seriously...

I have an 11:45 scheduled for today and then I am going to the mall to find storage boxes and replace a rug. I may replace two if I find something reasonable. Yesterday, the shorties had a challenging time dealing with bubbly booties so I have to make it up to them with a nice surprise: Get Well Toys. :-)

Target has leather storage boxes that double as ottomans. I'm going to give each shorty their own box so they can put their toys away (and sit, stand, dive off into the futon and what ever else they envision ottomans would make good wee people use for). 

I hear they are very sturdy and cost $60. They certainly look nice on-line. I may buy one for myself as well. I figure Stephen will be building bridges across them because everything in my home eventually becomes a roadway. He drives cars, trains, remote controls, shoes, spoons (and all kinds of stuff) all over the house. Imaginative play is a beautiful thing.

I hope the manufacturer who put these puppies together envisioned wee people encountering their product.

They are about to be minion tested. Wont that make an interesting product review (LOL).

So, There's This Car Seat Sitting In The Middle Of My Futon...

The thought is slowly driving me insane. Have I inadvertently created a Minion Throne to rival the toilet bowl experience in my apartment? Never know... I hear 3 year olds are a breed unto themselves, are fickle with their loyalties, have brilliant if unorthodox problem solving capacities when they really want something you tell them they can't have and periodically suffer from Daffy Duck syndrome.

Who knows how a change in routine affects any of them. They are coded with the secret essence of a 3 year old (LOL).

See that linen pushed off to the side partially trapped by his seat? When I tried to remove it so I could change the sheets he started yelling, "Mine, Mine, MINE, MINE, MIIIIIIIIINE!" and had the nerve to wrestle me for it. Little Dude does not care if you are bigger than him. He will fight you. Shorty isn't feeling well, so of course I let him win and left the pooh sheet off to the side to swipe his planes, trains, automobiles and truck linen when he is not looking.

Problem is he wont stop looking at me... He is really, really looking at me. Like I'm a chicken leg... (LOL)

I wait and wait and wait and am starting to wonder when is the last time I saw him blink? Hmm...  Maybe now would be a good time to offer Noah something to snack on (as if I need an excuse to run like hell from a 3 year old (LOL). There are only four rooms. Where the Hell am I going to go?

So, there's this car seat sitting in the middle of my futon but now it's got this little person in it who wont stop following me around the apartment and staring at me. I figure if I sit still long enough he'll get bored and go check on Noah. I think he's on to me wanting to confiscate that sheet. He is not having any part of that (LOL). He sits when I sit and stands when I stand, moving when I move...  Every time I stop walking a noggin bounces off my butt.

What is up with that? Maybe we should take a nap. A nap sounds really, really good. Seriously... I am being stalked by a wee people and it is hard work figuring that out (LOL). We have four rooms and an alcove for Shorty to choose from but somehow, in his hour of protect the blankie need, Potty Man has decided he must not let me out of his sight. He is wearing his fave Cars undies and dutifully going to the bathroom. They must not be soiled. He likes his undies and keeps reminding me he has Cars...

Hmm... I wonder what he's thinking...

There is suspicion in his gaze as Stephen, the Minion Blur, wonders why I am not doing what I normally do. After all, I do this every singe day around lunch time. We've been home from school on break for a whole week. He knows the routine. Something is amiss. Shorty does not seem to be in the mood for surprises. He seems to be exceptionally tired today. Bags are forming under his eyes because he did not sleep well, yet Stephen knows I am supposed to be logged into my social media accounts chatting with clients, working on the upcoming books, playing with my friends and networking, networking, networking...

It appears that if Mommy is not typing madly on her laptop while Skyping with her British friends and watching Netflix BBC programs (like Dr. Who) with her gal pals, the world as the Blur Minions knows it will be spinning off it's digital axis. He likes my friends in the UK. They think he is cute, chipper, plucky and Step thinks they have such wonderful accents. He giggles when they talk. He also loves my Texas friends. Melodious has such wonderful diction and we laugh a lot. ;-)

Sometimes, I think that is why he obsesses over the speed dial. He likes having conversations with the people who live in my computer. He knows they are real because he sees himself living in my computer in Facebook, YouTube and ActiveRain, among other sites (LOL).

So, I am blogging away while Shorty supervises me in silence. Noah is lost in YouTube. I have heard this one before and I fear I may be starting to script SpongeBob as well (LOL). You know you are in trouble when you can say the next line without thinking and think even more lines without saying them. I love my kids but I am in Car Seat and YouTube Hell. Where am I going to go? There is no where to run and no place to hide and I have to keep marching the 3 year old into the bathroom because today is a very challenging potty day. 

You have no idea what I'd be willing to pay for a pull up right now.

My digital kingdom for a pull up. Seriously.

Life With Wee People: Well... That Totally Whomps... (So Much For Early...)

No good deed goes unpunished. Seriously... I have been up since 4 AM dealing with Stephen, the Minion Blur. He was irritable, cranky, didn't sleep well (and peed on me twice). That translates into not feeling well because when he whines and moans (and deliberately aims it at you) he wants your undivided attention.

Shorty demanding lots of affection and attention in super-needy mode is a dead giveaway I am going to have major issues... I don't want to have issues. I want to paint. I want to clean. I need to go to the store and buy food because the boys have been plowing through the food as if it is not supposed to be there. Sometimes, I really believe they think stocking reserves is offensive (LOL). I had a case of juice in the closet and they got all bent out of shape, like Mom's have to figure out a way to cram it into the fridge. Dump the chicken in the garbage if you have to, toss the eggs down the chute if you must but juice boxes must be cold... They are serious about their snack-age. If I cut their apples wrong I get attitude. :-)

So I'm thinking, "Yay! First day back to school." Break is over. We'll take our showers, hit the 24 hour diner, grab some silver dollar pancakes, maple syrup and turkey sausages with apple juice. It's a fave breakfast meal of the shorties at a great spot with lots of parking minutes from the house. The boys are in a good mood so when Step started drinking out of everyone's juice glass I didn't think much of it. It's what he does...

Then he says the magic words like a breathless, tentative question: "Pee pee?"

I am thinking, "OMG - how much time do I have?" He's got that deer in the headlight look like the thought surprised him. We're going to school in 20 minutes. We're supposed to be early. He's potty training in regular undies and I don't have a change of clothes in the car for him. He drank significant portions out of three large glasses of apple juice and now he has to pee. I know he is serious because he is climbing over Noah to go with me to the bathroom. I stand up to help him.

Too late.

Dude pees on his brother.

We're looking at each other shocked. It's an accident. His lip starts to quiver and I am thinking, "Okay. We'll take this home. We're minutes from the house... Quick change. Not a problem." I take garbage bags I use for my open houses from the trunk and put them on their seats and off we go. We leave the food on the table because we have to make the highway after this. I'm thinking, "Not too bad, we have time."

We're standing in the elevator. Noah passes gas. He looks horrified. I'm thinking, "Noooooo... it can't be..."

Yup. It is. The light-bulb goes off with my 3 year old. Stephen looks up at Noah and proudly chirps, "Pee pee?" Then he grins a big cool aid smile because in his mind they have something in common. They've gone in public.

Poor Noah looks absolutely crushed. His lips start moving but the words wont come. I feel bad for them both. I tell him it's okay because now I'm feeling kinda bubbly and unsettled myself. In the shower they go. Quick rinse, new clothes and I'm thinking, "We can do this," because they don't feel warm. Stephen starts yelling while I come into the bathroom with a towel to carry him out. Shorty says, "No."

He grabs his potty seat, hops on the toilet, promptly squats then goes with very interesting sound effects. 

They both have the runs.

My day is over... I am doomed to Nicktoons, YouTube and washing underwear for the rest of the day all because Noah wanted Rice and Broccoli for diner.

How do I know it was the Chinese food?

Guess what I am about to do... Yup. You got it.

Bummer... It was really good food and I had relaxing Monday morning plans that did NOT include the wee people underfoot until this afternoon. Poor Stephen is curled up in the fetal position with his shoes in my bed. Watching him not bounce off the walls is very disconcerting.

Did Laundry, Played Football, Scoped New Construction, Painted A Room, Painting Furniture...

The cool thing about having curious kids is that you can just about get them to try anything. Stephen, the Blur Minion, was on laundry detail today with Noah the Net Geek. Since he likes placing quarters in the parking meters I figured I let him put them in the washing machines. What the hell was I thinking? Dude wouldn't stop (LOL). I distracted him with the fact that the laundry room has a hidden bathroom. His face lit up like a Christmas tree. We had electronics in the laundry room (my cell phone) and he started trying to get the door open like a three year old on a mission of extreme importance. I soon had to distract him from the distraction but nothing I did was as interesting as seeing the inside of that bathroom. Shorty was spending an inordinate amount of time eying the door knob and contemplating the padlock ( which Step couldn't reach it but still tried to break in on several occasions - LOL).

When he wasn't having fantasies of drowning my cell phone in someone else's toilet, he was prolonging the agony of doing loads of laundry by picking my pockets and sneaking quarters into the machines to extend the wash cycles. I did previously ask what the hell was I thinking, right? That was my stupid mommy moment of the day (LOL). His antics kept trapping us in the basement for longer than expected and killed our work schedule (which I kind of didn't mind in the end after I got over having my emotional cows - LOL). 

Desperate to escape the laundry room, I resorted to playing football in the snow with my kids between wash and dry cycles. This, of course, would result in more wasted work time and laundry (LOL). Thank goodness the snow has been steadily melting and I don't mind slacking off if it's for the kids. We had fun but I am feeling it. Stephen tackles with his head. You can only take so many head butts before you really start running away from him for real. Dude never gives up either. I think the diving in the snow part whether he had the ball or not was kinda cool. It is 41 degrees and the snow is melting so I can't wait to see what it looks like in the morning when I drive the shorties to school tomorrow.

They will be going in early (yes, I am trying to get rid of them - LOL). I will not be picking up brokerage keys, showing any properties (might not answer my phone) and am taking the day off to relax and paint. The boys have been helping me paint which means I have been getting very little painting done. I need to finish my projects because I have to roam down the East Coast for a couple of days and do not want to return to this after a road trip. I know I am behind in my schedule and kinda don't care because we are having mad fun and I need to spend more time with my kids. They think they have real jobs. I have to remind them there is more to life than working with Mom (LOL). ;-)

We did do a run to Brooklyn to check out some new construction (this is why they think they have a job - LOL). My boys love construction sites so it's a mutual Bob-The-Builder love run because I am always scoping real estate and they like everything physical about my industry. It's second nature to them. We like playing something we call "I-Spy a New Condo/Co-op" (LOL).

Of course that means I have to let them do something constructive. If they do what I want I have to do something they want so I let them run amok with the rollers in their room. Yes, that little exercise resulted in more laundry (LMAO).

Stephen seems to think that attack of the minion roller is a game we all like playing (not). Is it the squeaks of surprise or the squawks of terror that turns his grin meter on? Even when I scowl he laughs. It's like he knows he is about to get away with it. Anticipation and all that jazz... He doesn't do it all the time but does it enough to disrupt our concentration and progress. I was really pissed off about the hall but I digress...

Noah is a very careful painter and seems to really enjoy helping out. Stephen, in sum and substance,  is a nut job who needs lots of direction. Don't let my complaining fool you because shorty loves to paint and can paint if he wants to. We are into equal opportunity arts and crafts in my house. Who knows what his talent will be when he grows up. I am not going to stifle Mr. Creativity, especially since he is so enthusiastic about slinging color. He's somewhat manageable if you give him a small job (sometimes small projects become really, really big ones - LOL) The giggles are usually a dead giveaway that attack is pending and we usually go into protective, defensive stances (but shorty also knows how to attack in stealth mode).

We are painting furniture together. He's learning something from this. What? I do not know (LOL). We have to do it in thin layers, then pull the paint up so what is underneath can show through as a distressed sort of finish. This is going to take a while because we have to do light colors to bleed through and highlight the dark layers. The top and trip are in progress. Cool, eh? We have to sand it down lightly and stain it a couple of times to make it glossy once all the under-colors are done. You can do a lot with thin washes of latex and acrylic on wood. Little fingers make interesting textures when you give them a wipe and have them dab the paint off while you are putting the paint on.

I am staying home so I can draw leaf patterns on the front and side so we can continue the project. Will let you see the final result when we're done. Just be warned it may take a while. The bookshelves are going to be fun. :-)

Silence...

I crave silence... I want the thoughts in my head to go away. I have things I'd like to get done and a lot of other things distracting me. Sometimes, when I watch my son Noah at work I wonder what he is experiencing while he sorts through his digital photographs. He is a cute little brooder and I love watching him quietly thinking his private thoughts. He has very expressive eyes when he's lost in a memory. It can be fun to watch his expressions if you do not disturb him and he remains unaware that he's being spied upon.

Noah took this shot and a host of others that I really need to post soon. I think his coffee book is going to be full of some very lovely eye candy.

I was spoofing on the shorties earlier, having a bit of blog post therapy, but I deleted the post because I found myself thinking it would be so much nicer to publish a quiet, simple little post while I curl up on the futon and pray for silence...

Stephen really, really needs to nap.

My left eye is twitching. I was on the phone with Sprint for 43 minutes. That's all I am going to say about it. Feel free to fill in the blanks (LOL). :-)