A Pretty Darn Good Friday

Max lost his first tooth Friday. That tiny little tooth was dangling for several days before it finally came out on its own sometime during the school day. He didn't tell his teacher, so there was no pomp and circumstance, no visit to the nurse's office and no cool tooth box from the school secretary. He quietly put it in his backpack until he got to his grandparents' house where it rather was unceremoniously dropped into a plastic bag to take home and place in The Tooth Fairy Pillow.

When I got home, Max must have saved his excitement for me, because he knows I've been eager for his first tooth to come out. He greeted me with a huge grin and I replied with a squeal of delight which he didn't appreciate. I got the low-down from him and begged to get a photo of him showing off his new gap, but he wanted nothing to do with it. He was playing it too cool. "I don't know why you're so excited, Mom" was his sentiment.

At bedtime, Max put his tooth in the pillow and asked me to put it at the end of the bed so he didn't accidentally kick it off with his feet. Agreeing that was a good idea, I set the pillow at the foot of the bed. I fully expected to have a very happy kid jump on our bed Saturday morning showing off his two shiny golden dollars, but that did not happen. I went upstairs and after waiting several minutes for Max to tell me the Tooth Fairy came, I finally had to ask him. Nonchalantly, he said, "yeah."

Me:    Did the Tooth Fairy leave you anything?
Max:  Yeah.
Me:    Well, what?
Max:  Oh, just some coins.

And he went back to playing with his stuffed birds, clearly not interested in continuing on such a dull conversation.

Kyle finally got this shot of him later in the day.

In other news, I achieved another career milestone at ShopNBC. I was recognized with a promotion to a Director position. It's more or less same gig, but higher expectations and a few more opportunities to broaden my e-commerce experience. I'm looking forward to the new challenges this opportunity brings.

Push the code, PUSH IT!

I have to admit, it's sort of fun to be up with the IT crew during code push projects. Next time, I hope they don't wait until the day before to ask for Business to come early for validation. I got my butt into the office at 4:30 and thankfully all but one of my projects are running as expected. It's amazing how much I've learned about e-commerce in the past couple of years. As much as I can gripe from time to time, I really do love my job. I hope you love your job too.

www.shopnbc.com

Icky-sicky

It's great that winter is moving into spring, but with the weather fluctuations we've had in recent weeks, we've got three sick family members under one roof.

Max and Kyle are dealing with colds. I can not believe how much can come out of Max's nose at one time. Ew!

Cate just can't seem to get rid of her pneumonia. We were in Urgent Care a couple of Thursdays ago; got a scrip for a five-day dose of antibiotics which didn't do the trick. We were back at Urgent Care this past Thursday where we spent three hours. Her condition had worsened and she added a double ear infection to her woes. I can not believe the amount of drugs they put in her little body in the time we were there.

Our at-home treatment is pretty crazy. She has one daily dose of steroids, one tablet, two daily doses of antibiotics, one double dose of a morning nebulizer treatment, followed by single dose nebulizer treatments three times throughout the day.

She also gets a chocolate kiss for taking her liquid steroid medicine because it tastes so gross.

Being so sick so many times is beginning to take a toll on her school attendance. I think her absence count is up to 20 days. I think I will jump for joy when the year comes that she is awarded with a perfect attendance certificate. Thankfully, she is a smart girl and thankfully her teacher is thoughtful to deliver Cate's homework to us. I just wish she was focused enough to bust through her work instead of breaking down and whining.

Per my friend's suggestion, I think it's time I start looking for a pulminologist to see if there are other treatment options or a more accurate diagnosis for Cate.

Knock on wood, I will remain healthy because I've been out of the office so much for the kids' illnesses, I really can't afford to be out of the office because of my own illness.

Here's hoping you are enjoying good health!

My email inbox

The daily grind includes a massive flood of information coming at me via email. This is the norm for just about anyone in a typical 9 - 5 office job.

Most are work related, some are life-related. This life-related email is courtesy from Jolene who is watching Max these days while my mom has a break:

-------------------------------
From: Jolene Iverson
To: Jennifer Jensen
Sent: 10/8/2009 1:31 PM

Subject: max wants a treat

Poor Max, he wants a treat of chocolate with gold on it. I have told them they are all gone. which makes him sad. :(

So, we are on the search for an adequate stand-in.

So far, a good potty day. :)

Row, Row, Row Your Boat

We all work for the same company. So why does it seem we are trying to row in opposite directions? The saga of TV vs INET continues...

Master Procrastinator

Yep, that accurately describes me. It's review time at work. I love, Love, LOVE review time. Seriously. No snickering on the other side of the computer, thankyouverymuch.

However, I have put off my review writing WAY too long. And I think I know why.

This year, a new added twist was thrown in. I'm not sure if this was the year to add the new element to the review process. You know, like most companies, we will have no merit increase, our 401K match is suspended and any bonus that we were eligible for if we hit any of our numbers is completely dashed away. So too, promotions seem to be suspended in the short-term for my team members who are looking to move upwards in the company. It seems that our experience is not satisfactory. Yet, despite RIFs as recent as January (that were not performance based if you recall), upper management has recently announced four new team members in Buyer, Director and VP levels that all have the magical QVC experience. Me: not bitter. Really.

Back to the new twist. This year, the new twist in the process was, get this--in addition to writing our self-review, we had to submit 3 - 5 team members to provide 360 degree feedback. For me, the writer, this ends up equating to one self-review on horrific numbers and nine 360-degree feedback forms.

Try telling my team members why this year, more than any other year, it's especially important to submit a good review and fully participate in the 360 feedback process when all of the above is the frustrating reality.

Guess what? The self-reviews are due today. I have three 360s done, but I haven't even touched my review. Uh-oh. Yet, I am blogging.

It's going to be a long day. But even though I'm down to the wire, I will submit quality stuff. I promise.

What the hell is wrong with my priorities?

Rough Day at Work

My company conducted a workforce reduction today. As with every other company trying to remain competitive, profitable and sustainable, it was an inevitable step.

This is the fourth workforce reduction in twenty months. Another 11% of the workforce is gone this time around; a total of 27% of the workforce is gone compared to the prior year.

More friends and acquaintances are gone--just like that.

I still have my job. My team still have their jobs, for which I am very thankful.

Every time this has happened, the day starts out eerily quiet, whether we know it's coming or not. This time, I knew it was coming. Not everyone did, though.

Here's how it goes: HR comes over to the person and quietly says, "can I speak to you in this office?" A five minute conversation goes on behind a closed door. Shortly thereafter, the person emerges with drooped shoulders, head down, perhaps red-eyed. He or she quietly return to their desk where moving boxes have mysteriously shown up. It doesn't take long. The cube mates nearby talk in hushed voices, wondering whether they should approach the most recent victim of the process. Finally, a brave soul goes over and confirms the obvious. Hugs, more tears. They have been told they should leave the building as soon as reasonably possible. Oh, and it's not personal (in so many words...).

It's all over in a couple of hours. Then for those who are still left with their jobs intact, the quiet is replaced with guilt. Guilt that they were the lucky ones to still have a job and that they had to say good-bye. If they said anything at all. Guilt because they were stacking up the pros and cons, creating "what-if" scenarios in their head and the selfish sentiments of "better her than me." Guilt because they may be thinking, "that could've/should've been me."

It's no good. No good at all. But that's business. It's about right-sizing our company to run as efficiently as possible to drive sales. "Today was a very dark day in the company's history", said our COO of the company this afternoon. And he slept terribly these past couple of nights. "It was a difficult, difficult decision." He feels our pain. But it was doing greater good for the greater number of people--our shareholders. Our stock has gone from $0.28 /share a week ago to $0.54 /share at close of today, so I guess that's good for them. Oh yeah, we also learned today there will be a company-wide wage freeze and the company 401K match is suspended for FY2009. Did I tell you that it's all about business? It's buying more time to ride out this current economic shit hole we're currently in. I certainly hope we have enough cash...

And we still don't have an answer on where the board is leaning on the strategic alternatives review currently being wrapped up. I guess we'll know by January 31.

When is it all going to stop?

I'm a bowling pro

We've had our Wii for a little more than a year. Until recently, I really hadn't gotten into it. But then my division at work got a Wii as an award for winning a sales contest. It's now set up in one of the conference rooms, on a sweet LCD complete with surround-sound speakers.

Last week, our admin decided to set up a bowling competition.

If you know me, you know that I am competitive. It doesn't matter whether I'm actually good or I totally suck; I'm still competitive and can talk some good trash. Well, as soon as I heard there would be a competition, I started sending some talk via email to my first opponent and spending some of my lunch time bowling practice games.

My first opponent didn't have a chance on game day.

Now that I'm going into the second round, I have started to get a little obsessed about winning. I had the high score at work with a 188, but then some guy took it away with a 200-something. It was good motivation for me. I now own the Jensen in-house bowling high-score of 209. I think Kyle is a bit irritated that I am way better than him now. I've been training at home since last week and since I've put up so many consistent games, I am now a Wii bowling pro. Rock on!

I am looking forward to my next round in the tournament at work. It should be a good one.

Three Days In, Two Days Out

I guess cold season couldn't get to us soon enough. We are already on round two of colds in less than 4 weeks. With Cate's pneumonia and Max having a fever now, it's three days into the work week and I've been out two days.

Conceptually, working from home is a great benefit. It is not as fabulous when the kids are sick, but not sick enough to be bed-bound. But having this opportunity to stay home with my sick kid gives me some peace-of-mind that I don't have to anguish over priorities one way or the other.

Thankfully, I have an awesome boss and crew at work who have been managing things in my absence. The Blackberry work armed me with can be my best friend or my greatest enemy. Situations such as Monday and today deems it my best friend. I can dash off a quick reply or direct action through email and feel like my day at home is not completely stalling progress at work. Tonight, once the children are in bed, I can also log on to the work network and get some more substantial work done.

It's not perfect, but it works well enough.

Max and I went to pick up Cate from the after school program earlier than usual so we could get her home for her nebulizer treatment before picking up Kyle downtown. Max has fun fitting into the students' cubbies perfectly. Here are the two rascals cheesing it up.

After dinner, we headed out to Target. Cate has been so wired up from her steroid medication that I commented to Kyle on the way home, "I keep reminding myself that we won't be able to get hardly a syllable out of her when she's thirteen, so I'm trying to appreciate her constant chatter today!"

It seems the little man's fever has subsided and we can back down on the neb treatments for Cate. Looks like I'll be back in the office for the next couple of days. Whoo-whee!

Another Monday at Home

This is the fourth Monday in a row I am working from home. This past weekend, the colds hit my family. Cate got socked on Friday and was a real trooper making it through the school day. You know she's sick when she asks for Mommy and not Daddy. I got hit Saturday night while on Girls' Weekend, but at least it came on the final evening and didn't disrupt my fabulous time. Then Max fell victim to it yesterday. He sounded so unhappy this morning, I figured that I would stay home with him in case it went to his stomach which has always been the case with Cate. Tomorrow I should be back to 90% and then I'll be ready for Kyle to be sick.

I've got my two laptops set up--one with the VPN access to work and the other for internet access. I am actually productive away from work--go figure. My mom stopped by with homemade chicken noodle soup...yum! She was impressed by the make-shift office atop TV trays in front of the comfy couch.

On another note...
My thoughts have been with my brother Carl and his family living in Houston. While they did not experience any significant damage from hurricane Ike, there will be disruption to the regular day-to-day for a while. They are without power and it is not known at this point when power will be restored. He also doesn't know when he'll be returning to work in Freeport, TX, which is located along the coast of the Gulf. Fortunately, Carl and Claire already had plans to get out of the state for a while and they will be road-tripping it to Santa Fe, perhaps sooner than later.

Squirrels and the Bird Feeder

I'm working from home today and I've got that big bay window that is traditional for a rambler-style home. So I can see the sneaky squirrel climbing up our "squirrel-proof" feeder and clawing seeds out of the feeder and onto the lawn. This time, I caught him hanging upside-down.

Yesterday, a squirrel was clawing up my metal screen kitchen window. Missed the photo-op, though. Next time, my friend. Next time...

Bro Carl Says, "That Ain't Nothin'"

In response to a blog posted yesterday, my brother Carl e-mailed me with the subject header: That Ain't Nothin

See for yourself. Note his favorite blog-read on his computer monitor...

My Horoscope

My horoscope today reads:

You need a bit more structure than usual today, so find a good way to order your life such that it makes more sense to you. Things are going to keep getting better once you know what to expect.

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Taking a pause for a quick moment...thought I would show you what I walked into after lunch today. It occured to me that this is a visual indication to others how effectively I am in control of my workload...

Horoscope: So true.

Now back to work.

Phone Call From My Mom

Mom called me at work this morning. She calls often enough, so it's no big deal when her number is displayed on the ID:

Mom: Your son is really weird.

Me: Oh?

Mom: Yes. Your dad went to drop off the older boys and Cate goes along. I was busy doing something and came back in the kitchen, but Max was no where to be found. I called out, 'Max! Max!' And then I hear this little voice say, 'Wet, Grandma! Wet!' Do you know what your son was doing?

Me: No.

Mom: He was standing outside on the top step just on the other side of the door...in the rain!

Me: My little rain man...

Two o'clock in the morning

It's 2:00 in the morning and I am just wrapping up some prep-work for a 9:00 meeting with the EVP of Interactive / Marketing. It's a group status to review financials, what's working / what's not, and what's coming up.

The last time I attended this meeting was six weeks ago. It was my first one. No one told me what to expect. I bombed. Terribly.

And due to various (non-work) reasons, I haven't attended another group status since.

I have spent almost 5 hours preparing for 10 minutes of fame. I really hope I get it right this time.

When your child is sick

We are blessed to have our kids taken care of by grandparents while at work. It presents so many perks versus the mainstream childcare experience:

• The kids can be dropped off early, picked up late.
• We don't have to pay for days we don't need childcare.
• They will take our children even when the children are sick.
• And they even take our children if they themselves are sick.

We're downright spoiled.

So, as a working mom who has family members watching the children, there comes an interesting dilemma: What is the right thing to do when one or both of our children are sick? Does one stay home or do we go to work?

I struggle with this every time my children are ill, especially if they have a fever. The grandparents insist they are fine to have the sick one over. But then I think about all the things that need to be done at work, the meetings I must attend, or in this present situation, I just came back from vacation and I can't be out of the office again so soon. The guilt starts to brew: I should be the one cuddling and whispering reassurances to my child.

Max has a fever right now. He's barfed at least once a day since Monday night. All he wants to do is cuddle. And here I am. In between meetings. Wondering. Worrying about my little guy.