Don't Forget...Miracle Monday is right around the corner!

Just a quick reminder that the first edition of Miracle Monday is almost here! Please don't forget to write a post on Monday describing a miracle that you have witnessed, that has touched your life or that you have somehow been a part of.

The American Heritage Dictionary defines a miracle as "an event that seems inexplicable by the laws of nature and so is held to be an act of God."

Miracles come in all shapes and sizes and I think it would be a blessing if we shared them with each other. No miracle is too large or too small. I want to hear about them all.

I hope that Miracle Monday will become a blessing to all who post here and to all who read them.

So get to writing and meet me back here on Monday morning!

Now that's the kind of customer service I expect!

I posted once before on my experience with Dell computers and their lovely customer service reps in India. My blood is starting to boil just thinking about it. After I posted my little tirade, I noticed on Statcounter.com that on two separate occasions someone from Dell computers looked at my post.


Now I'm not sure whether it was an actual human or whether it was some bot that was trolling the Internet for articles or information on Dell. But when I saw that, I got excited. Perhaps now I will get justice. Perhaps now I will get an apology for their poor customer service.

But, alas, no one ever emailed me or contacted me. So I will just have to take solace in the fact that I bought a laptop a couple of weeks ago and as cute as that lime green Dell laptop was, I purchased another brand. So there! Take that, Dell computers!


I thought since I let my feelings be known on a company with poor customer service, it would only be fair to let the public know about two examples of excellent customer service.

Example # 1:


Several weeks ago, my soon accidentally broke a couple of critical pieces to one of his Lego's Bionicles. The Bionicle was rendered useless without these pieces and the screaming and crying and whining were more than I could take.


So I called their 1-800 number and was immediately connected to a very nice English speaking lady. She asked me for the part numbers of the broken pieces and asked me how many of them I needed. She then proceeded to mail all of the pieces (I even asked for and received extras) FREE OF CHARGE! I was floored.


I assumed I would have to pay for the pieces and also pay for shipping. But no. I was informed that if any Lego piece ever breaks, they will replace it FREE OF CHARGE. My son and I literally did a happy dance. We did another one when the parts came via UPS a week later!


Example #2


At Christmas, my niece Jillian gave Peter a Floam kit. Not sure if you know what Floam is but it is a molding compound. It's not like Play-Dough...it's much cooler and more grown up. It's sort of like a slime with tiny little Styrofoam balls in it. You can mold it and shape it and cover objects with it. The kids had a great time playing with the kit. The kit contained several small tubs of Floam, some Styrofoam forms and some googly eyes, feathers, pipe cleaners, etc.


A few weeks ago, I noticed some other Floam kits at Wal-Mart for $9.86 each. One was a robot you could put together and decorate and the other kit contained two picture frames you could decorate. We pulled the kits out one cold rainy afternoon and the kids were thrilled. Thrilled until we opened up the small Floam tubs and discovered they were hard and not the least bit moldable.


I thought about returning the kits to Wal-Mart. That store will take anything back, with or without receipt. But I decided I would rather contact the Floam Corporation to let them know about the hard Floam.


I emailed their customer service department and a couple of days later received a note back apologizing for the hard Floam. The rep told me that the Floam should not dry out like that if the container is properly sealed. She also told me that they were going to start putting seals (much like the inner seal on a cream cheese tub) on the Floam containers starting this summer. She said that would prevent the drying out from occurring as well.


She then asked me if I wanted a refund on the kits or if I wanted more Floam. Since the kids had so much fun with the first kit, I told her I would take more Floam.


Today, my door bell rang. The UPS woman (who looks exactly like a man...Sarah and I actually argued over whether it was a man or a woman) handed me a package that contained SIX LARGE tubs of Floam. Just one of these tubs at Wal-Mart costs over $6.00 and we got SIX...for free!


The kids and I did another happy dance and I have learned a valuable lesson. It never hurts to contact a company and let them know you have a problem with their product. You may actually get more than you bargained for in return.


And people, one other valuable lesson I learned...don't buy a Dell computer.


I'm still bitter.

Pirate Themed Birthday Party - Works For Me Wednesday

I am constantly getting visitors to my blog because they have Googled something about pirate birthday parties, treasure maps or pirate costumes. So I thought this Works For Me Wednesday I would put links to all the pirate posts in one place in case someone else has a little pirate in their home and would like to do a pirate themed party for them as well.

Last year my son Peter went through a huge pirate phase. He had begun playing with Mega Blocks Pyrates sets and was fascinated with anything pirate, so when it was time for Halloween he went as a pirate, of course.

I was very pleased with myself because I put together an awesome pirate costume for $6. Is he not just the cutest pirate ever?

His fifth birthday was in November and I had never done an official birthday party for him. We had always just done something with family but he wanted a party with friends this year. I think I went a little overboard (pun intended) with the pirate theme but everyone seemed to enjoy themselves.

We made the cutest birthday party invitations. They looked like letters in a bottle.

I made a birthday cake shaped like a pirate ship. It was really easy and I was proud of how it turned out. Plus my son thought it was cool!

I also wanted to do a treasure hunt complete with treasure map and clues. I can't take credit for the clues because my husband wrote them. Too bad there's no money in treasure map clue writing...he could have a new career!

I think the kids had a great time and I know I had fun putting it all together. I hope these ideas help you out together a fantastic party for your little pirate.

Visit Rocks in My Dryer for more Works For Me Wednesday tips.

Announcing...Miracle Monday

I am not a worrier. If something is bothering me, I pray about it. So when I started getting an uneasy feeling about my blog I started to pray.

Was my blog supposed to be something other than humorous tidbits from my life? Was my blog supposed to be something different, something more? So instead of worrying about it and questioning myself, I started praying.

I asked God to let me know what my blog was supposed to be. I prayed about this for a while and my blog continued to be a blog about funny snippets from my life and I still had this nagging feeling that something was missing.

A couple of weeks ago, I was in the shower one morning and I was praying about my blog again. And while I was shaving my legs, God spoke to me.

Now, when I say spoke, I don't mean I heard a thundering voice or saw a burning bush. I mean 'spoke' in the sense that I felt a sense of peace and excitement and I knew exactly what I was supposed to do.

While saving my legs and praying about my blog, I heard the words "Miracle Monday" and got the idea that I should use my blog every Monday as a place to encourage people to write about miracles and then link them back to my blog. It would be like a clearinghouse for miracles.

I started thinking more about Miracle Monday and then I decided that it was silly and that I should just drop it. But I couldn't get the idea out of my head and I kept praying about it and thinking about it. And I realized that if God wanted Miracle Monday to happen it would happen whether I thought it was silly or not.

So with no further ado, I present:

I am asking that you spend this week thinking about a miracle that you have witnessed or that touched your life or that you have somehow been a part and next Monday, March 3rd, write a post on your blog and link back to it from here. (I'll have a Mr. Linky.) My plan is to host this every Monday starting next week.

And if this is something you would like to spread the word about, please feel free to use this button on your sidebar or to even write a post it about it this week letting everyone know that we are getting started with it NEXT Monday.

I know many of you may be thinking that you don't have a miracle to write about, but I bet if you stop and really think about it, you do. Your miracle doesn't have to be someone walking on water or someone being raised from the dead (although if you have a story like that, I would love to hear it!).

The American Heritage Dictionary defines a miracle as "an event that seems inexplicable by the laws of nature and so is held to be an act of God." Miracles come in all shapes and sizes and I think it would be a blessing if we shared them with each other.

So start thinking about your miracle, write about it, and link back to it here NEXT Monday.

Maybe now I can shave my legs in peace!

Mommy is tired so you get a rerun.

My husband has been gone all week and I'm tired, so the best I can muster up this morning is a rerun.

This was originally posted last summer when my blog was all shiny and new and I only had 3 readers. I hope you enjoy it.

Now I'm off to pour myself another cup of coffee and count the hours until my sweetie comes home and we can watch American Idol together.


Thursday, July 26, 2007

What About All the Lasts?

All of the baby books go on and on about when to expect the first smile, the first step, the first word. They go on in great detail about what milestones your baby should be reaching and when they should be reaching them.

We made sure to get as many of these firsts as we could on film. We got Sarah rolling over for the first time and Peter taking his first step. I have journal entries about their first words, where we were, how we felt, how they looked. All of this care was taken so that I would be able to look back and fondly recall all of the important firsts in my babies’ lives. So that I could remember everything exactly as it was.

But no one warned me to be on the look out for the lasts. No one told me to pay attention so that I would notice and remember the last time my son twirled his hair the way he had done a thousand times before. I used to think it was an adorable little nervous habit and at the same time I worried that he might be sitting in his very first job interview nervously twirling his hair between his right thumb and forefinger trying to figure out the best way to answer the question “Which piece of fruit would you be in the fruit bowl?”

He used to twirl his hair all the time but he doesn't do it any more. I wish I could see him do it again. How did I miss the very last time?

No one told me to pay attention so that I would recall the last night, the exact last moment my little girl would fall asleep with her pacifier plugged firmly between her lips, sucking like she was Maggie Simpson. She always looked so calm and peaceful sleeping with her paci but I was so busy worrying that she would be the only kid in kindergarten toting a pacifier, an assortment of blankets, doll babies and other lovies with her on her first day that I forgot to notice the last time she used it.

And what about all the other lasts I have missed. When exactly was the last time Peter said “oh-goo” when he meant yogurt or “nambies” when he meant bananas? When exactly was the last time I carried a sleepy Sarah to her room and whispered “lay your head on my shoulder” and she did?

How did my babies look as they drifted off to sleep the very last time I held them after giving them their very last bottle? Why don’t I have a picture of that sweet sleepy expression? How did they look the very last time they splashed happily around in their little plastic baby bathtub?

How did it look the very last time they scooted across the floor on all fours before they learned how to walk? How did they look the very last time they threw Cheerios off their high chair table?

How could I have missed all these lasts? Why didn’t I know to be looking for them, recording them, capturing them? There are many days over the last 4 and a half years when I have thought things like "when will he be potty trained?", “will she ever learn to walk?", “if only they were older we could…” and now I look back and in my quest to hurry and grow them up I’ve missed too many of the lasts. I don’t want to miss any more.

I want to remember the very last time Peter is small enough to be picked up or the last time Sarah gives me her hand as we are walking across the backyard. I want to remember the last time they call me “Mommy” because it won’t be long until I am just plain old Mom.

I want to remember it all. I want to savor it all.

I no longer want to hurry things along, because sadly, it seems, time is passing too quickly without any extra help from me.

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways....

On Valentine's Day, I read countless posts where the bloggers were waxing poetic about their husband's love for them and their love for their husbands and I wrote about this. So, you know there aren't a lot of flowers, candy and poetry being dispensed at my house.

But it doesn't matter, because I know that my husband loves me, truly loves me. And if my husband ever has any question about how much I truly love him, he should now be convinced that my love knows no bounds because...

I have recorded both nights of American Idol and have not watched them yet!

Dan has been in Ireland all week and won't be back until Friday night. So I am waiting on him to return before I watch the shows.

He was in France on another business trip three weeks ago and I watched AI all by myself. Well, savored AI is probably more accurate.

I do love American Idol. I love American Idol the way I used to love Melrose Place and Beverly Hills, 90210, and Friends and Seinfeld. My devotion to the show is deep....I honestly don't think I have ever missed an episode. We used to record it on our VCR if we weren't going to be home.

Egads! Did she just say VCR? What's that?

Thank goodness we have a DVR now. I love the DVR.

Um, where was I?

Anyway, a few weeks ago, when he was he was gone I watched the show...both nights. It gave me something to do in his absence. When he got home he asked me if I had watched it. When I told him that not only had I watched it but that I had deleted it from the DVR I could tell he was a little dejected...or maybe he was a little annoyed. Whatever his emotion, I felt like a heel.

So I decided that I would show my true love and devotion for him and record the shows so that we could watch them this weekend together. That means I can't dish about AI with my BFF, my mom, or my friends on the blogosphere, until next week and well, by then, this week's episode will be so last week that it won't even matter.

Now if that ain't true love folks, I don't know what is.

Free Babysitting - And I don't mean Grandma and Grandpa

Yes, Grandma and Grandpa are great free babysitters and we use them as much as we can, but if you aren't near family, there is also another way to get reliable and free babysitting so that you can enjoy some time alone with your significant other.

Here's how it works. Find two families that you trust and get along well with that have kids roughly the same age as your kids. One of the families will babysit all of the kids while the other two sets of parents are free to go out to dinner, a movie, shopping, whatever they want to do. Then the couple that did the babysitting gets two nights out with free babysitting while one of the other couples babysits all three sets of kids.

Pretty simple, right? So for ONE night of babysitting someone else's children you get TWO nights of FREE babysitting for your children. You keep rotating until all three sets of couples have performed babysitting duties once and gone out twice.

When we've done it in the past, we have tried to follow a few simple rules:

1. The kids must come over already having been fed their dinner.
2. We agree to a start time and a stop time so both families are dropping their kids off and picking their kids up at roughtly the same time.
3. There should be a time limit so that all three families get the same amount of babysitting. We use three hours but this could be adjusted to fit the needs of the people in your little babysitting circle. You don't want one family babysitting for a 5 hour stretch one night and then only getting to go out for a three hour stretch when it is their turn.

One other thing to note, it helps if all three families have similar schedules so that it is easy to find evenings to trade off. For example, don't include a family that has a husband that works nights or weekends if you are going to want to trade out on Staurday nights. Or don't start this with a family that has a parent that travels frequently so that they are never able to participate. If all three families have similar schedules it makes it much easier to find weekends that all three families are available to participate.

This has worked great for us and when it's time for my husaband and I to babysit, the kids are having so much fun playing with their friends, there really isn't even that much for us to do!

This works for us! Head on over to Rocks in My Dryer for more Works For Me Wednesday tips.

Why does Megan's pee stink?

I love Google. I always say that if you have any question, just Google it and you will find the answer. It may take you a little while but you can always find the answer.

Another thing I love, is checking my stats at Statcounter.com to see what phrases people are Googling to get to my blog. There are always lots of interesting queries but I think I finally found someone who believes in the power of Google even more than I do.

Some one actually googled "Why does Megan's pee stink?" and their search took them here. I am 99.9% certain that the person was not wondering why Megan from Fried Okra's pee stinks so I guess she didn't find the answer on my blog.

I laughed and laughed at the thought of this person actually using their first name in their Google serach, but it made me wonder, am I using Google incorrectly? Perhaps I should be Googling "Why can't Beth lose weight?" or "Why is Sarah so bossy?" Maybe I should even be using our last name to get an even better answer!

I guess I was wrong. I guess you can't find an answer to every question you pose on Google. Hmmmm....maybe I should Google that....

Oh no, she did not just ask me that!

Sarah must have preschooler PMS again. Every afternoon this week around 3:00 she has become unbearable. I have to walk on eggshells to prevent a major breakdown. Peter has taken to hiding so he doesn't have to endure the wrath of Sarah scorned and Dan,well he's just lucky to be at work at times like this.

Yesterday around 5:00, I'm not sure exactly what happened. I'm not sure if Peter accidentally called her 'Sarah' instead of her preferred pseudonym, 'Baby Anna'; or if I didn't let her help with something that I didn't even know she wanted to help me with in the first place; or perhaps, maybe one of the five hair clips she insisted I put in her hair that morning finally came loose and fell out. But whatever the cause, the whining, the crying, the short temper, the moaning, all finally reached a peak yesterday afternoon.

She was lying on the kitchen floor at my feet, rolling around in seeming pain. The very fake cries reached their climax and the very real whines reached their zenith when she abruptly stopped, looked up at me and said, "Mommy, do you remember what I was crying about?"

Oh no she didn't!

But yes, friends, she really did! She actually asked me what she was crying about.

I laughed at her because at this point, she had been 'crying' for so long I couldn't remember either. And, of course, that brought on more fake tears and more fake whining.

But really, what's a mother to do if you can't laugh at your kids every now and then? Because the laughter is the only thing that keeps me from crying!