What will baby look like?

As the days get closer to finding out what we are having, the families (both ours and the Le Top family) are getting a little more anxious. It doesn’t help anyone’s impatience that once we find out our baby’s sex, we plan on keeping our lips sealed until Thanksgiving, or in the case of our Le Top family, they will have to wait a whole extra FOUR days to find out!

Aaron and I are keeping ourselves somewhat distracted and are trying not to think about it, while my sister-in-law has resorted to other measures. She found a website while “working” the other day called http://www.makemebabies.com/. She grabbed a digital picture of myself and my husband, plugged them into the website, and voila! We have an image of our child….with a full mouth of teeth and crossed eyes!  FABULOUS!

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It’s Not the Destination…It’s the Journey!

source: http://www.cbs.com

I have never been so excited for Sunday night television!  After an exciting 2-part premier of The Amazing Race I couldn’t wait to sit down and watch how our ‘now famous’ photographer Marcy and her boyfriend Ron would perform this week!  The Amazing Race is my ultimate favorite show and like everyone in the office I have been very excited to cheer on a team that is part of our ‘le•top family.’

This leg of the race was quite intense!  Starting from Ho Chin Minh City in Vietnam Marcy and Ron had to obtain their first clue from the mouth of a very fast water dragon puppet – way to go Ron for having speedy reflexes since those puppets were tricky and swift!  The clue then directed them to the Main Post Office where they had a diversion – they had to choose from “Child’s Play” or “Word Play”.  Marcy and Ron choose “Word Play”.  They quickly made their way to the observation deck of the hotel where they had the task of scanning the crowded intersection below with the goal of identifying six Vietnamese letters moving along with the very busy traffic.  They rapidly recognized the first five letters but had some trouble with the letter ‘D’ – mistaking it for an ‘O.’  They were finally able to correctly identify all the letters and then had to hurry into town and attempt to unscramble these letters to make up the word “DOCLAP” (a well known word that means independence.)  This challenging task, using only the signs around them was slow going – but they were able to get some help from a local who was quick to assist them and the word was finally unscrambled.

The next clue led them to travel a very busy intersection of Durong Vinh Vien and Durong Ly Thurong Kiet – with another clue that led them to a road block – where they were presented with their next challenge.  Ron decided to take on this next challenge.  He had to disassemble a VCR, separate all the parts, and then place them in appropriate piles in order to receive another clue.  Although Marcy and Ron were the last team to arrive after completing their task, it was a close race with the other contestants.  Marcy pulled out her “taxi” whistle and was able to flag down a cab quickly!  Good thinking Marcy – use your whistle! (If I ever get to participate on this show I have to remember to ask Marcy for that whistle!)

Unfortunately the team to step on the mat last was Marcy and Ron – so sad! They were out of the race!

“My dad always used to say, ‘You can’t hit a home run unless you step up to the plate.’  And I think going on THE AMAZING RACE was stepping up to the plate!” said Marcy (about the end of her incredible journey!)

I had a lot of fun watching Marcy and Ron run this race – and it was very inspiring.  They worked hard as a team and finished strong. Congratulations Marcy and Ron for running a great race!  Everyone here is very proud of your achievement on this adventure!

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It’s Not Easy Being Green…But It’s Worth It!

The “le•top Family” has been working on reducing our ‘carbon footprint’ – and we know that it all starts at home.  Robyn, Assistant Credit Manager and mom, decided to combine 2 lessons into one – responsibility for our environment and financial independence!

Kira showing off her recycling earnings

Robyn decided that her 9 year old daughter Kira (a model since she was 6 months old!) was ready for a little more responsibility.  According to Robyn, “Recycling is an important factor in helping the environment therefore it has become part of my family’s daily routine. Things we use everyday can be recycled and it doesn’t even take much! Kira has been practicing the 3-R’s: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle! My family and I have always used the recycling bin given by the city but never thought of turning some of the material in for cash. My husband and I made a deal with Kira; if she is responsible enough to take care of all the recycling, including rinsing out cans, jars, and bottles and placing them into the appropriate bins, then we will take her to the local recycling center to turn it in for cash. It’s a fun activity for her because not only is she saving the planet, she also gets to keep the cash all to herself. She’s making a difference and having fun at the same time!”

I thought this was an awesome way to motivate – and great for the environment!  When my daughter Lilah is a bit older we will definitely utilize this idea.  I have to admit…I do not love rinsing out everything – so why not give her a chance to earn some pocket money!  By the way…would this count as an ‘allowance?’  Do parents still pay ‘allowances’ – or am I dating myself?

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Puppies that Inspire…Puppies that Delight…Puppies that Destroy – Everything in Sight!

As you may have surmised…le•top is chock full of animal lovers – with dogs leading in the popularity poll!  The big news at le•top this week is that our designers will have four new puppies to inspire them as they design the next fabulous le•top collection.

Sylvia and Brandi

One of our great summer staffers – Franklin – announced that he was looking for homes for his litter of Golden Retriever/Labrador puppies.  When his SUV full of cute furry pups pulled up you would have thought we were having a fire drill!  The result?  Four of the puppies ending up joining our extended le•top family!  They were just too cute to resist!

Sweet Brandi went home with Sylvia (our EDI specialist and chief softy.) This is the ‘second time around’ for Sylvia’s family – she had already adopted Cosmo last year!

Tiffany and Zane

Tiffany (our Accounting supervisor) is happy to have Zane at home with her three children; why not have four to monitor!

Joy (pronounced Joe-ee,) one of our Order Packers, is “papa” to a new little girl, C.K., a name inspired by our corporate identity.

I couldn’t help myself!  I am the very proud new “mom” to gorgeous puppy Cali (short for California, our beautiful home state.)

Cali

The “new puppy club” agrees that adopting a 7 week old puppy is a lot of work!  Some of the ‘new parents’ have experience with animals – while some of us have zero experience – but we are all enjoying the rewards of ‘parenthood!’  Cali is great but quite a handful (to put it mildly!)  Housebreaking is one of the more difficult obstacles so far…or maybe it’s the fact that she wants to chew on anything and everything!  In spite of the fact that she bites our fingers and whines at night while we’re trying to sleep – I love her!

C.K.

We are looking forward to a year from now…not just because they will all be trained, but because we have a celebration planned!  The “puppy club” is going to honor their first birthday with Sylvia’s homemade doggie cookies! I’m looking forward to that party!

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