My Little Networkers

The Vestavia Chamber of Commerce routinely hosts ribbon cuttings, which honor and welcome new businesses to our area. These events are typically after work and are always quite fun.

I brought both girls with me to an open house at Altadena Dental. They had a great time and were very well behaved. Grace really enjoyed the chicken tenders and fruit. She even had two cookies for dessert. I had an opportunity to see some old friends and meet several new ones. My girls are never going to have any trouble meeting new people and mingling at a social event!

Friday Night Adventure

One Friday night I agreed to go with a client to an entertainment venue to discuss the terms of a contract for an upcoming event. My wife had previously made plans, so my two little legal assistants came with me.

At one point, Kate was sitting in my lap. I was holding a contract and listening to a discussion. I did not realize that Kate (who was being strangely quiet) was chewing on the document. I quickly ripped the paper from her hands and realize a little bit of the corner was missing. It is really professional to be asking about an indemnity clause, while picking out pieces of paper from your six month old’s mouth.

Grace quickly realized that we were probably going to go out to dinner and started immediately lobbying for “Old McDonald’s.” I’ll admit that it is not my first choice and I tried to take us by a client’s restaurant. However, that restaurant was extremely crowded (great for them!) and the wait would not have worked well with our bed time, so I ended up using the aforementioned fast food option.

I ordered a Happy Meal for Grace and when asked to choose between white and chocolate milk, I chose chocolate (I was feeling generous because she was so good at our meeting). I guess I did not realize that my wife has tried to prevent Grace from realizing that chocolate milk was even an option at restaurants. No less than five times for the remainder of the evening Grace would randomly say, “chocolate milk, mommy is not going to believe this.” Needless to say, before even saying hi, Grace informed her mother that she had chocolate milk for dinner.

Race Report

The Sweetwater 50K race was a lot of fun. The race directors deserve credit for crafting an incredibly difficult course (it is almost as if they took some pleasure out of it!). I finished the race in about 6.5 hours, which was pretty good considering the water crossing and numerous hill climbs. I had a great time and look forward to the next event. Editor's note- Grace was sick the weekend of the race, so the family was unable to make the trip with me, hence, no photographic evidence of my trek.

Asking for Trouble

Grace has now completed her “Mother’s Day Out” program, which means that she becomes an additional child to juggle during the busy work week. Last Monday my wife went into her office and I had the girls. I made the mistake (?) of scheduling two signing meetings with clients. In addition, I had another client planning to drop by to sign his estate planning documents.

I did of course disclose to the clients that there was a chance for the meeting to be most disruptive. No one seemed to mind and everyone was excited about seeing the girls. I am happy to say that things went better than I expected. Kate was her usual happy self and she either smiled at everyone or slept in her car seat.

Grace was also good and was most polite. While her Daddy explained the documents, she sat in the corner and played with golf balls and a golf towel (I know, strange toys, but she claimed a golf tournament goodie bag of mine as her own). At one point I did feel a little tap on my arm and Grace was standing there next to the conference room table with the towel on her head. She was just beaming and she received the laughs she was looking for from all of us.

I really do appreciate the patience of my office staff and clients that allow me to make the girls a part of my practice.

Race Day

Enjoyed a fun trail half-marathon today. The Twisted Ankle Race takes place every May in Summerville, Georgia. It is an understatement to call the course "hilly." My brother-in-law and I had a great time and as you can see below, we had a fairly decent time (considering we took a wrong turn at one point and had to double back). Even more importantly, we had great support from family and friends!

Another Monday Meeting

My wife typically heads into the office for a few hours every Monday morning. I usually forget this fact and schedule at least one client meeting on Mondays. My three year old usually attends her "Mother's Day Out" classes, which means I am typically left with Kate. We recently had another one of our Monday meetings, where I was discussing an estate administration with a client. I had Kate in her car seat in a chair next to me. For some reason, she decided to crane her neck and stare down my client. She appeared mesmerized by what he was saying.

As he was talking to me, I could see him glance over at Kate and try his mightiest to keep from smiling. He eventually gave in and just started to laugh. I apologized for my little distraction, but the client thought it was great. Kate, you add much needed levity to some serious conversations. I wonder if I can get away with bringing you into the courtroom?

Shopping for Office Supplies

I outsource a lot of my copying and office needs to Staples (where I am a proud Rewards Member). I took my 3 year old with me today. She was very upset that Staples did not have "anything for her." Nonetheless, she was able to find something she wanted. She was proud that she brought some money with her (3 pennies) and I did not have the heart to tell her that she did not have enough (I was more than happy to make up the difference).

The picture below shows my girls playing with her new purchase (a roll of tickets):