Meeting Bloggers can be dangerous to your kid’s health
Over the years, blogging has brought many cool perks. I’ve been able to drive a car from Ford, I’ve received countless books, and I’ve been fortunate enough to be invited to Sea World. But the coolest perk of blogging is that I have been able to meet and connect with people that I probably never would have met otherwise.
For instance, this past weekend, my family was able to meet up with Deanna from Deanna’s Corner and her lovely family. Deanna and I have been following each other on our blogs for as long as I can remember and I can’t think of a nicer person or a nicer family. I love peeking into the lives of her two little ones, Ane and Tad.
We all met at the zoo and within seconds Ane, who is four and a half, grabbed onto Swee’Pea and declared themselves friends. Swee’Pea’s not one to argue much so she went along fine.
Before long, we were off checking out flamingos and monkeys before lunch. Everyone wanted to get as close a look as possible.
Not everything was hunky dory, however. As we prepared to sit down in an outdoor eating area, we realized that Ane and TheMonk were nowhere to be found. Ane’s dad, The Webmaster, and I quickly went and searched for them. We found Ane fairly quickly as zoo staff had found her and were already calling security. TheMonk, however, was nowhere to be found. After frantically searching for him and calling out his name, a family noticed me and told me they saw my son walking up the walkway to the front with “an Asian lady.” I took off at a dead sprint in the direction they pointed me to. I haven’t run that fast in a while and it was all uphill. Luckily, as I turned the corner on the last section before the entrance to the zoo, I saw TheMonk holding the hand of a zoo employee. It turns out the “Asian lady” was a zoo employee taking TheMonk to security. As I called out his name, TheMonk turned to me with tear-stained cheeks and bolted right at me and as I scooped him up he clung fiercely to my neck as I smothered him with kisses.
Now that all was right with the world, I carried TheMonk back to the eating area where a very worried Mommy was waiting with Swee’Pea. We scolded each other for not watching TheMonk more closely in a crowded area. I tried to blame Ane, but my virtuous wife insisted that we couldn’t blame a four year old for leading our son astray. *Hmph* Maybe not, but I don’t recommend the girl as a baby sitter for those of you living in the great Northwest.
That small hiccup aside, we all had a great time getting to know each other. I couldn’t stop calling Ane and Tad (their blog name) Ane and Tad, even though I KNOW their real names. It’s a slippery slope when the blog world collides with the real world, I tell you. But I’m so glad these worlds did collide. Deanna has been a great blog friend. She sent us our Curious George videos when PBS briefly lost their minds and substituted Barney for our favorite show. She regularly makes a contribution to my Y and it was long overdue that we finally go to meet.
Next time, we’ll have to come to Seattle.
The kids had fun chasing fish at the Pygmy Hippo exhibit.
Deanna and my ugly mug.
Go and visit Deanna! Tell her I sent you!
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Hooray!! Looks like you all had loads of fun (minus the whole losing TheMonk thing). Glad all was well and you found him safe and sound. I can only imagine the yucky feeling in the pit of your stomach when you discovered he was missing, and the butterflies of relief when you found him again.
BTW, I posted a few pics yesterday especially for TheMonk on our blog. I’m sure you’ll know exactly which ones they are when you see them.
Hugs & Blessings!
Comment by MamáChanga — July 8, 2008 @ 10:54 pm
For the record, I am blaming Ane for wandering off with TheMonk. That girl thinks she knows everything, and for some reason, other kids believe her! Apologies again for turning her loose on your kids. She is still talking about them, though – she calls them her “friends at the zoo.”
It was great meeting you guys! The kids are even cuter in person!!
Comment by Deanna — July 9, 2008 @ 12:08 am
Oh how scary… maybe next time you should use some of these
http://www.safetytat.com/ They will not stop the kiddos from wandering off, but at least people know how to get in touch with you.
Nice pictures though
Cheers Eva
Comment by Eva — July 9, 2008 @ 6:39 am
Looks like a great time was had by all (and great times with twins/small kids regretfully tend to come with a panic moment or two)!
As far as meeting friends via blogs is concerned, I really think blogs are the bars of the 21st century…all of the benefits and none of the “yuck” factor!
Comment by Cheryl — July 9, 2008 @ 7:04 am
awesome. i wish i got together with more bloggers. looks like so much fun.
Comment by ali — July 9, 2008 @ 8:02 am
I want to meet some bloggers too!
Looks like it was mostly a successful and fun time. I’ve been there with a missing kid before. We had 3 adults and 3 kids and we still lost Amie at a crowded Science Center in St Louis when she was 3 years old. I’ve also lost Noelle at IKEA once when she found a little play area and my hands were full with a crying AnnaBeth at the time so I wasn’t paying as much attention to her as I usually do. Now we make sure and always get a cart and stick both of the little ones in it.
Comment by Julie — July 9, 2008 @ 8:10 am
Noted. I live in Seattle and Ane is officially off my babysiter list. Glad it all turned out ok!
Comment by James — July 9, 2008 @ 10:16 am
So if I can hook up with a few of my local bloggers there’s a good chance they’ll lose one of my kids? Sign me up!
Comment by Ed (zoesdad) — July 9, 2008 @ 4:23 pm
Scary! I’m so glad you found him quickly.
Comment by Rachael — July 9, 2008 @ 9:12 pm
Looks like you had a great day! On the losing Monk, it’s so hard to keep them at your side especially somewhere as fun as the zoo. I just bought this http://astore.amazon.com/gp/detail.html?tag=iowgee-20&linkCode=sb1&camp=212353&creative=380565&asin=B000COWM8C for my almost three year old, yes it resembles a leash, and no I do not care…she loves it
Comment by mamma knows — July 9, 2008 @ 9:30 pm
Maybe TheMonk wanted to see the animals on the surveillance cameras and zoom in and zoom out and switch to camera 1 and camera 2…
Looks like you guys had an excellent time!!
Comment by PAPA — July 9, 2008 @ 10:46 pm
Whew! I don’t recall ever losing you, but I did lose your brother twice, once at Disneyland and once in a department store…he found us in each instance.
Maybe a couple of lessons on where they can look for help if this should happen again.
Comment by Grandmother — July 10, 2008 @ 10:07 am
P.S. May I suggest a little more time on the treadmill, too?
Comment by Grandmother — July 10, 2008 @ 10:18 am
OMG. That must’ve been the scariest moment of your life. I’m so sorry that happened to The Monk. I hope he remembers it so that he will never, ever wander off again. In fact, can he please call my daughter and tell her how scared he was? She has run away from me a couple of times, although has never made it out of my sight. Cool that you have met other bloggers! Will check out Deana’s blog!
Comment by K and J's mom — July 12, 2008 @ 7:32 pm