Toddler Trot: And the Winner is...

...NOT Brooke. Oh well. At least she didn't burst into tears. That was my worst case scenario that I'd anticipated when I volunteered in a publicity opportunity today for the Lisa Ross Birth & Women's Center. Amidst all the chaos of the second annual baby crawl and toddler trot in the WBIR studios today, when it was Brooke's turn to run to me, she simply froze. She was probably thinking, "You people are crazy! and Where am I?"

Minutes earlier Brooke had been in a great mood. She was chompin' on goldfish and apples, her brothers were playing with stickers, and she was all smiles. We even practiced a little bit in the waiting room. One of her top priorities these days is to be within three feet of me at all times; so I thought this should be cake. Another mom called my shiny rhinestones on my shirt an unfair advantage. She does love bling. We've got this in the bag!

Since there were so many babies, they had three heats: one for the crawlers and two for the toddlers. The crawler race looked to be over within a few seconds when one baby darted out of the gate. Then as suddenly as he began, he veered to the left and headed for a giant camera. Oh, the drama!

Minutes before we were scheduled to go on, Devin began pinching himself and complained of needing to go to the bathroom. Are you kidding me? The worst is that he usually waits to the last minute to inform me of this. We didn't have much time. But knowing how TV waits for no one, I told him to hold it. Was I destined for a LIVE disaster?

During commercial, I placed Brooke with a stranger from the studio and went to the other side of the mat. She seemed calm and I still had faith she would run into my arms the moment she heard the word, "Go!" But alas, she was distracted by too much flurry. "Run? Run where? Why would I do that?" she seemed to be saying. Sigh. When the race was over I swept her into my arms and covered her with kisses. Isn't being a mom great--no matter who comes in first?!

Just then I remembered my squirming preschooler and we all headed to the restroom. Disaster averted. So please come out and support the Lisa Ross Birth & Women's Center at the Seventh Annual Healthy Walk for Babies on Saturday, June 5 at Victor Ashe Park. If you'd like to see the video for yourself, click here. Thank you, WBIR.

Toddler Race on WBIR 5/5 at 5pm

Part of me is excited, part of me is fearing the worst. I've agreed to participate with my 14-month-old Brooke in a toddler race tomorrow, May 5 on the 5:00pm news--WBIR. There will actually be two races: one for crawlers and one for toddlers. This could either go really well or really poorly, depending on whether Brooke runs to me at full tilt with a broad smile or gets stranger anxiety and bursts into tears. What will happen is anybody's guess. So you won't want to miss it.

I think it's mainly just for fun. Who wants a margarita for Cinco de Mayo when you could watch the unpredictability of racing babies--though I may need that drink after this! ;-) I'm taking all three kids to the station for a behind-the-scenes look at how TV is made. Having worked as a TV producer for 11 years, I find it kind-of odd that my children have never been to a television station. It's like that was a different life. Sigh. I don't regret my decision to become a SAHM five years ago, but if you have any interest in what I used to do, click here.

The main reason I agreed to participate is that hopefully it will give some good publicity for a fundraiser for the Lisa Ross Birth and Women's Center. That's where I had both Devin and Brooke--both beautiful experiences. The Seventh Annual Walk for Healthy Babies (just one mile) is scheduled to begin at 9:30am on Saturday, June 5 at Victor Ashe Park. We plan to be there. And if you'd like to see one of the videos I produced for them, click here and scroll down. Let the races begin!