A week after getting back from Disney World we went to Los Angeles. It was something we could not pass up–at least I couldn’t. Since my days as a child model for Spiegel, Sears, and others I have had an itch to do something like that again. Last year both Melissa and I were in a Sleep Number Bed commercial. A few weeks ago they contacted us and said that everyone remembers us and that they would like to fly us to California to shoot an infomercial. Well, we jumped at the chance…
To be treated like a celebrity for a day was quite the experience. When we got to the airport there was a guy with a sign with our names waiting for us. He packed our bags into the car and gave me several envelopes with some cash and hotel vouchers. He dropped us at the hotel where we had some food and relaxed a while. I have to mention that Emma’s aunt(My older sister) Mary came with us on this trip as there is no way that I felt Emma would stay with strangers for too long while we were filming. The next day a limo picked us up at 7am. Emma was OK with that time because she was still on our time schedule. We were driven to a beautiful home in Pacific Palisades and were greeted by a number of trucks, lots of people, and lots of cameras and equipment.
We met lots of people but the ones that stand out are the ones that Emma liked. She liked the wardrobe lady, Bonnie, the makeup lady, Donna, and the Sleep Number Bed rep, LeeAnn. Mary walked Emma around the neighborhood while we got dressed and had makeup done. Yes, we were made to be even prettier than we already are! Emma spent lots of time around the crew and after we filmed our 1st segment the 3 ladies I mentioned earlier excitedly came up to us and told us that they could not believe that Emma was not even 2 and a half years old because they were having “adult conversations” with her. Yes, Emma was a real chatterbox and entertainer that day. Everyone was telling her that she was going to be a movie star. Emma remembered these 3 ladies’ names–she has an awesome memory– and was constantly calling them and telling them to come by her.
We filmed 4 scenes altogether, the first was interviews with Melissa and I, the second was of me shooting baskets outside–boy was the pressure on to hit those shots! Emma especially cracked up the guys on the crew when we filmed the last 2 scenes. These were of us walking down the sidewalk in our beautiful neighborhood, and of us playing on and enjoying our Sleep Number bed in our beautiful bedroom. These scenes were shot later in the day around Emma’s nap time. She was not wanting to cooperate fully but was funny doing so. The crew laughed when she would yell out “No!” When we shot the bed scene she immediately started jumping on it and saying “Bunch” her word for bounce. She was quite the actress and even had a burly, Harley looking biker dude making funny faces at her and laughing. It was lots of fun and I can’t wait to see how the final version turns out. It should be airing in December. I was promised DVD copies of our last commercial and this one so I will post them when I get them. Oh, we also got a free bed for our Wisconsin house too so that is very cool!
As I said before, Mary came with us to California and I have to say she was a real lifesaver. It would have been almost impossible to have done it without her. Emma loves being with her. She has been using a phrase lately, “You’re not going away.” She was especially saying this to Mary for some reason and it was funny. She says it to me every day now. I just tell her that I’m not going away. Anyway, going back to California, a huge milestone was achieved there. On our second night there–the day of our shoot– Emma wanted to go to “Mary’s house” (Her hotel room next door). Well, it had been a long day since we went to Camarillo after the shoot to visit an aunt and some cousins that I had never met. Mary brought Emma into her room with the DVD player and Peter Pan and Little Mermaid. Melissa and I had some time alone–very, very, very rare for us–see previous posts as to why– so we went down to the lounge for awhile. Mary had said that Emma could sleep with her and I just said, “Yeah OK.” You see, Emma always needs Melissa and/or I with her to fall asleep–The old school parents might say to just lock her in her room and she will eventually fall asleep but I say that is not for us. We stayed for a while and even text messaged Mary who said everything was fine. When we went back upstairs it was all quiet outside Mary’s room. We went in our room and I stayed up for awhile expecting to get a call saying that Emma was calling for us…. No call came… Emma actually slept over at “Mary’s house” and was even OK in the morning! Heck, we were already having coffee when they came over to our room. The little stinker was all smiles and stayed in our room for a few minutes then wanted to go back to Mary’s room!
I have to say that it was a wierd feeling not having her by us that night. It was an uneasy feeling and one that I am sure I will experience many, many times in the future as I am a little(understated) overprotective…..It was also relieving because Melissa and I are sooooo lacking being able to spend time doing things alone!
Oh, one more item of interest…As Melissa and I were going to the elevator to go back to our room, we ran into the Sleep Number rep, LeeAnn. She said that we were tremendous and that Emma was a darling. They were all talking about us during dinner and she said that we were lucky they didn’t kidnap her! Emma definitely made an impression!
I am Emma’s Aunt Mary. In February of 2008 I was blessed to finally have met my younger brother Ken. We knew of Ken and to my regret did not look hard enough for him. Our first correspondence was via e-mail and then a phone call. I found out that Ken shared the same birthday as mine and that I also had a sister-in-law and a niece which made it even better. Our first meeting I could not contain my excitement and after meeting Ken and Melissa I knew that we were in for the most fulfilling lifelong experience. Ken and Melissa were so down to earth, warm and friendly people. They just seem to fit right in with the rest of our quirky family. It seemed as though that they had always been a part of our family.
We fianlly got to meet Emma and that was so much fun. She is so beautiful!!
We were also able to meet Lani, Ken’s mom and Ken’s grandmother, his sister Kathy and her three children.
Since then I have observed with such pride and admiration my brother whole heartedly take care of his precious little girl. She is such a fortunate little girl who is so very loved by two amazing parents.
Ken and Melissa both put Emma’s needs and wants first. They are always so happy to have Emma with them no matter where they go.
They work together as a team and yes I am sure that there are people who ridicule Ken for being a stay at home Dad but he is more of a man than most of the fathers that I have met.
He will be so rewarded in the years to come with an amazing woman that Emma will become for having such an unselfish Dad.
It is so amazing to me how Ken and Melissa co-parent so well together and their situation works well for them. I wish them nothing but the best in life.
Thank you again for including me in your trip to California. I would not have missed the time that I spent with Emma as well as the both of you.
I know you are overprotective but that is not a bad thing. I just hope that as Emma gets older maybe when she is 3, you will let her spend overnights with me whether at yours or my home. I truly enjoy my time with her.
Love you both and Emma too.
Mary V Cypser