I got a call from the radio station this morning – after voting had closed – that said we had qualified as a finalist in the Cutest Kid Contest! I suspiciously asked him if he was just inviting everyone who entered and he assured me no, you had to have enough votes to get a call. It means we have to show up at the Kid’s Expo at the mall tomorrow, at least for an hour or so, because we “must be present to win”. As much as I love my own baby, our horrible mall combined with hundreds of children is pretty much my personal version of hell. Ah well, at least I know the baby likes crowds and going places. Plus the mall has a Gloria Jean’s which means delicious delicious, super bad for me, chocolate filled frozen coffee treats.

Thanks for your votes guys! I’ll let you know what happens tomorrow afternoon. You can check my Twitter feed if you need to know, like, RIGHT AWAY…but unless you’re my mom or E’s mom (Hi Carol!) I can’t imagine being that invested.

Sorry there was no post yesterday, but I was too busy STANDING IN LINE FOR EIGHT HOURS. Deal or No Deal (aka Opening Random Boxes with Howie Mandel) held an open casting call at Foxwoods Casino, which happens to be less than 7 miles from my house.

So my thought process went like this “Hey, I don’t have anything else to do. I could really use $500,000. It’s Connecticut, how many people can possibly show up? The casino has air conditioning so spending a few hours there is better than sitting in the sweat box that is my house. I’ll just pop the baby in the sling and we’ll breeze right through”

Here’s what happened: EIGHT HOURS OF STANDING. 7,000+ people. I held the baby in the sling or in my arms the entire time. I ate exactly nothing and drank 1 bottle of water. When we got to the front of the line, a casting director gave me 20 seconds to talk about myself and then sent me home. I made a stupid joke about how when I got in the line I was still pregnant. I don’t think he was impressed. I forgot all the clever things I was going to say and had a boring answer for “What would you do with the money?” I am much funnier and more clever on the internet than I am in person. Don’t bother watching for me on NBC at 4 pm.

Here’s what else happened: Baby Evan was ah-maze-ing. He took three naps and nursed twice. The nice people around me held my place in line so I could go find a chair (or a quiet corner) to feed him and change him. No one said a damn word about a nursing baby in a casino and several people had polite conversation with me and had no idea he was attached to my boob. He made approximately 500 new friends and was called “SUCH A CUTE BABY” 40,000 times. Random strangers begged to hold him. He did not scream. He did not cry. He only threw up a tiny normal baby sized amount. I think he had a pretty good time. The best part was just how much it reinforced in my mind that my parenting choices were working and I am raising a happy, social, well adjusted baby.

If I do get to open some random boxes I will totally be plugging this blog on national tv and then fill it full of ads for $700 high chairs and Gucci baby shoes. But don’t worry, I’ll remember you from when I was still unknown and send you a coupon for 10% off.