Training Materials, Rice, and Stickers

I know it's been a while and I have so many great stories to share. It's been busy here with me traveling and then getting called for jury duty - which by the way was fascinating. I know everyone tries to get out of jury duty, but it's so interesting. I'm actually very glad I was chosen and got to sit on a jury. If you have the chance, do it.

Ok, a couple weeks ago I was preparing for the first session of a Six Sigma Black Belt course I'm teaching. I had everything ready except the CDs for the students with the training material. I decided to bring my laptop upstairs and burn the CDs in the kitchen while my kids ate lunch. It was Naomi's day off how hard could this be? HAHAHA!

I set up my laptop on one part of my counter (away from any water or food sources) and the labels and cases for the CDs on another part of the counter. I got my children seated at the table with some chicken-flavored rice (one of their favorite foods). After I finish burning the first CD, I get the second started and take the first over to stick the label on it and slide it into sleeve. I thought I had a smooth process worked out. Then my son jumped down "I want stickers too!" he starts shouting. I peel parts of the unused paper off for him to play with and he proceeds to stick them on himself and chase Jake, our dog. I tell him to stop chasing Jake as I continue my CD making process.

Meanwhile, my daughter is still happily eating her rice. Ever once and a while my son pops back in for another "sticker" to play with. Suddenly, I wonder what has been happening with all the stickers. As I casually ask him what he's doing with the stickers, he replies "Nothin' mommy." This is when I realize he has stuck them to our wooden kitchen table, my couch, and on himself. (Have I mentioned he's in the stage where he only wants to run around in his underwear?) I go start unpeeling the stickers from the couch and his body. As I head back into the kitchen to continue burning the CDs, check on my daughter, and peel the stickers - I hope - off my table, I hear her laughing. I turn the corner to see her holding her hand out and Jake licking it off. I ask her "What did you just feed Jake?" See simply and innocently looked at me, held her one hand out to her side, and said "Nothin'." How's that for an 18 month-old?

I then spent the next 15 minutes cleaning up rice and stickers from the kitchen and children's bodies all while trying to not get rice stuck on the training CDs or in the CD sleeves. Believe it or not the CDs turned out just great.