7 Days!

There is no putting into words how excited I am for Christmas this year. I seem to have caught the girl's excitement.... and am as giddy as they are. It also might be that we am going home for Christmas this year. I love having excuses to go up and spend time with everyone there. I am looking forward to snacking and board games, chatting with my sister and watching all the kids running around in circles. That little list doesn't even sum up everything I am excited for... It is almost here.... SEVEN DAYS! I can't wait!

Finally Some Good Service

My battle with UdderCovers has taken a nice turn and none of the credit should go to them! If you google "Kaleb Pierce Milk Bands LLC" one of my posts is on the first page of results!!!
Someone saw me complaining on BabyCenter and took action!

A company has offered to replace my cover with one of nursing covers.I did some research and feel comfortable at least trying their product out. From what I can tell there is at least more stitching involved in keeping their boning inside the fabric. I chose to have them send me the Black Eyelet! I haven't seen the product in person yet, but I will let everyone know what I think as soon as it arrives.

The best part of this story is that this wasn't even their problem and they are coming in to fix it! Ah, if only more companies would be willing to actually take care of customers concerns! Really this just goes to show the power of Moms on the internet. I am not sure if this would have happened before our age of technology.

An Apology?

Within minutes of sending my email... I got this in response.

Hi Sarah,

We are sorry you child got hurt. As a father, I always check products used around my children to ensure their safety on a regular basis and I would hope other parents would do the same. I will look into what we can do to improve our product and thank you for letting us know. Again we are truly sorry. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Kaleb Pierce

Milk Bands LLC

Does that sound backhanded to anyone else?

UdderCovers Response

After giving UdderCovers a month and a half to get back to me... I got impatient realized they were never going to even acknowledge my email or concerns. So I wrote them again!


Did my angry and concerned letter fall on deaf ears?!! I am still hurt. It is adding to my pain, that you don't even care to apologize or acknowledge my concerns.
Please at least respond in some way.
Still concerned!
Sarah

This was their response... 

Hi Sarah,

What would you like from us? You used a promo code that brought the nursing covers down to $0 and only paid shipping fees.  What is fair as you did not really purchase the covers to start with and only paid for shipping?

Kaleb

Milk Bands LLC

After talking with Andrew, I decided to write them back.... Is this on track?? What do you think???

I was really excited. I loved your product. I was going to buy more (at full price!) And then, without warning... You almost took my son's eye out!!!! I want to hear that you are going to be using better materials to make your covers. Or be doing more stitching to keep that boning inside! I want to hear that you are going to improve your product! I want an apology, granted I know that will never happen. I want to know that you care about your products and the people who are using them! (I am not asking for anything from you again... as I don't trust you)
If this wasn't clear enough for you, I want your product fixed for other people... I cannot bear the thought of what could have happened if my son's eye had been open.

Here is my very first angry email for a company. Along with this the company recieved 9 photos of both Landon and my Uddercover.  You can see a few of the photos here.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=200758&id=624988073&l=95ff2540b6

Dear Customer Service Department,


I was very excited to hear about Uddercovers! Even more so when I found a code to get one for a discounted price. The deal seeker in me couldn't help it, I ordered 2! I have been using them regularly since my son Landon's birth, 7 weeks ago. Your product has given me a freedom I didn't have with my first 2 children. I loved my Uddercover and since Landon's birth we haven't left home without it. I have been asked countless time about my Uddercover, and each time I PROUDLY shared about your product. Even yesterday, I shared about how great I thought my Uddercover was.

I will not be doing that any longer!!! I had no idea that Uddercover could be a dangerous product. Or that I could potentially take my son's eye out..

After my most reccent feeding...In order to burp my son, I lifted my cover and pulled it to the side of my son and then down. My normally quiet and happy son, let out a blood curdling scream. When I looked down at my screaming son, to my horror, I found blood. There was a scratch on his face. It went from above his eye to the side of his cheek. Luckily it missed his eyeball!

I had no idea how I could have hurt him at first... and then I looked at my Uddercover!! The boning that is supposed to be a helpful way to peak at my son while feeding him was poking out! And not only 1 piece of boning but 2 pieces!

I have taken the liberty of attaching photos of Landon and of your faulty product also known as my Uddercover. I thought that maybe you would want to see proof of what your product has done to my sweet son, Landon.

I am frustrated. I am hurt. And I am filled with guilt that I hurt my son right after giving him exactly what he needed. How could you have done that to a new mother?

I have followed your care directions to a "T." My Uddercover is only 7 weeks old, surely it should not be worn out already. Especially since I have 2 different Uddercovers and only use them when I am away from home and feel the need for added privacy.

I am assuming that it wasn't your intention to hurt precious babies, like my darling Landon. And that it is your desire to be helpful to mothers that are just settling in to life with their new babies.

I am filled with questions. Why isn't your product reinforced more? Are you using faulty materials to make your product? Are your care instructions mistaken? Did you test your product to see how well it would hold up?

It is my current opinion that you are cutting corners somewhere. My experience says that, at the very least, you have not tested your product enough and are not informed as to what your product could do to these new little people.

I will no longer be using your product! From this point on, my once loved and bragged about Uddercover will be gathering dust... instead of being the advertising that it could have continued to be. I will also make it a point to share about my experience with your product. I am sure that my friends that are expecting new ones of their own will be very interested in my experience.

I am hopeful that you will find a way to make me a happy mother once again. And that you will find a way to protect these innocent children from harm. For that is all that a new mother is trying to do. Protect her child from harm. It is also exactly what I didn't do today. I harmed my baby with your product.



Sarah Chandler

(I placed my real contact information here)

PS I am hoping to hear from you soon. So that I can at the very least tell my family and friends that you as a company are trying to improve.

No Thing Thursday

It seems that today got away from me. I never found the time or desire to do any of my fun things. My list is supposed to be helping me be motivated to do the things that need to be done by helping me see joy everyday. I didn't need my list today. I found both motivation and joy without it!
My kitchen is cleaner than when I woke up! And I made dinner! I even found some time to take some pictures of Landon.

Can you tell that we had a lot of wardrobe changes today?
It was a good day. And as I am readying myself for bed, I am pleased. I wish there was more that I accomplished. Every mother feels that, right?

Tackling Projects and Making Dessert

Today was a slow starting day. I got nothing accomplished before lunch... or even before 3 this afternoon. Then it was like a switch flipped and suddenly I wanted to deep clean my bedroom. Of course that is something that didn't have to be done, unlike the dishes or the laundry. On the other hand, cleaning my room always helps me feel better about the rest of the house.
I am done with that project!
It feels really good to have started something big like that and have it finished that day.
Beyond doing something around the house, I wanted to do something fun. Today's fun thing.... Making dessert with the girls. I might have cheated on this one. We made Ice Cream Sundaes. Only we are out of most of our toppings.... The girls ended up with ice cream and bananas. Luckily, we found cherries in the fridge just as we were finishing up!
It was an easy thing, but doing little projects like that help me feel a little more normal.

And in the end the girls still got to do something a little out of the ordinary and had a treat too!

Thankful Tears

God has answered 2 of my prayers these last few days. I have seen hope in a hard health situation... It isn't that scary "C"word!  And someone else dear to me just got a job offer that will move them closer to us.

Mostly, I am thankful that sometimes God says,  "Yes!"

I still have quite the laundry list of concerns before the Lord, and I am trying not to take any of them back.

Elizabeth's Advice

Elizabeth just gave me some very good advice about my adventure in JCPenny yesterday. "Don't talk to strangers." It is amazing how right she was... oh the power of just ignoring someone. 

Day 2

Today has been a good day.

It feels like a weight has been lifted from my chest.

I saw my parents.

And although it seems silly, my house is cleaner today than it was yesterday.

At least right now, my heart is filled with hope.

I am praying that I can continue to see the positives of everyday.

A Visit from my Parents

Looks like my 2nd nice thing is already planned for me tomorrow. My parents are coming! I have wanted them to come for weeks now... and they are finally coming. In order for that to happen I HAVE to clean tonight and probably even more in the morning. I wish we had more notice... but that doesn't mean I would be any more prepared.
I am hopeful that my journey through all these happy experiences will really lift my spirits. Right now, they are seeming a bit like work...
Please be praying for our visit. It has been so long since we have seen each other. Right now it feels like a lifetime.

1 Messed Up Adventure

What a day. I don't even know how to express how today's outing went. Each one of these things is supposed to be nice and something to look forward to. I want these things to create nice memories. I don't feel like today's adventure went like that. It started out so far from my desire.

First of all...

I don't like people telling me how to raise my children.

Plain and simple. Especially not strangers.

I don't handle unsolicited advice very well.

I don't want to go into all the gory details... but I yelled at a woman in the store today. TWICE!

I could have just said something smart to her, and made her be the one who was embarrassed. I mean she was over stepping, butting in where she didn't belong, making the situation worse than it was and being rude. Instead, I was rude back and I embarrassed myself.

Adding to my embarrassment... I ran into a friend from church, right after yelling at the woman.

I ended up leaving the store without even looking at jeans.

After a break, in the food court, I returned to the store. Dug in and found a great pair of jeans at a pretty good price. And although it wasn't the way I was imagining my adventure going. It was a success. I guess that is how I have to look at my days right now, they might not go the way I wish they would... but as long as I am making some progress it is a success.

Thing 1

Today I start my 14 Things in 14 days. I am not going to do anything in a certain order, I think it will be better to pick and choose what I want to do each day. The goal today try and find a pair of jeans that fit. This is not an easy task, and might be replaced with just something new that fits.... That is not a bad thing either.
So I am off to do a little preparation at home and then I am heading out to find that perfect pair of jeans.

Wish me luck...

14 Things in 14 Days

I don't know how to put into words how these last few weeks have been. I feel so lost and yet needed. I have so much on my plate and have no desire to do most of it. And (worst of all) I feel a little bit hopeless. This is not how I normally view my life and don't want to continue on this way.
I just read a blog about a woman who set a list of things she wanted to get done in a months time. That might be the right way for me to brighten my days. With a list of nice things that I want to do. I am going to start out smaller and simpler than 30 days.

14 Things to do in 14 days

1. Find a pair of jeans that fit
2. Rent a movie just for me
3. Go for coffee
4. Have a lunch/dinner date with Andrew
5. Make a dessert with Paige and Elizabeth
6. Try a new recipe
7. Take the kids to the park
8. See my parents
9. Paint the girls nails (and mine too)
10. Read a book
11. Take Paige out on the town
12. Have a Elizabeth date
13. Take a bubble bath
14. Call April and Laura

My Poor Neglected Blog.

I have neglected this blog more than I ever thought that I would. These last few months have gone by so fast. The last time I wrote we were just expecting and waiting to find out what we were having. Oh how amazing life had been these last few months.


A major highlight.... My little man!!!


My girls are handling these changes pretty well... They are so proud of Landon too!

2010 Letter

It is that time of year again, when I look back on the last year. And set my goals for the new year. As I look back on this years letter, my goals are very different this time around. I am proud that I didn't loose last year's letter to myself. Of course it helps that I posted it online.

Oh the changes in the girls this year. At the beginning of 2009 Paige got a major hair cut and lost 2 teeth. She has made it her job to inspire Elizabeth to go potty. Her pretend friends have moved on some; but her imagination is still strong. Paige was in her first Christmas play this year and did a very good job. Then the very next week she sang a special in church. What a proud day! She is excitedly looking forward to starting school. (You are excited too)

Elizabeth has been trying very hard to make you happy this year. This has been an exciting change that has helped her potty train. Although we are still not done, we are getting closer. She loves to sing. and her very favorite thing to do is play dress up.

As a passing thought last year, I wrote about adding to our family at some point. Although it wasn't the plan at the beginning of the year... we are now expecting. We are very excited. The girls might be more excited than I am, which is a delightful surprise. Oh the changes that will be here in July.

Last year your main goal was to make it to Matt and Tina's wedding. Looking back, I am glad that we made it. What an accomplishment! You and Andrew have lots of memories of that trip. So do the girls. Although it was not on my list of goals at the beginning of the year. I am proud that we are going to make it to Disneyland in just one more week. This would not have happened if saving had not been a major goal for 2009.

Goals for 2010
Take home a new healthy baby
Finish potty training Elizabeth
Teach Paige to read
Start the girls with real chores
Continue to pay down credit card debt
Get a few more "workouts" in
Get the garage organized/cleaned out!
Have the family spend 20 min cleaning the house a day, it should help keep it under control

My dog is really sick. I am all over the place... What a day.

Trying Things a New Way

Andrew and I have been struggling to come up with a good way to get our youth more involved in planning and more excited about activities. Last night while I was browsing online, I decided to start a youth page of its own. Most of our youth are on Fb so I decided to start there. I am excited to try a new way of outreach.

Our First Emergency Room Trip

What a day we had today. I am not sure where to start besides that we decided to stay home sick from church.

The girls had been fighting the common cold all week (what every child gets during the winter, a runny nose/cough). Andrew had been fighting the same illness since Thursday. Then Andrew woke up today much worse than he had been feeling the last few days. I can't say that I have been sick, but I have been having a strange head/ear/sinus-ache, it is nothing like what everyone else is complaining about. They are all coughing and blowing noses... I am just complaining.

Anyway, we stayed home from church. Neither Andrew or I were feeling like moving, but kids are kids; once you get them all drugged-up they are ready to play anyway. After breakfast was over the kids were playing around the house while Andrew and I laid down for some rest. Off and on getting up to take care of this problem or that.

At about 12:30, I came out of the bedroom to find Paige on the couch. There she was sitting with her snack that she had chosen on her own, a tub of peanut butter and a spoon, watching Robin Hood. This was the first time that she had ever made her own snack, so I took the jar to go show Andrew in the bedroom.

On the way out of the bedroom and into the kitchen to put it away. I noticed something horrifying on the kitchen table.... An empty bottle of kids Tylenol. Now that would have been too bad, if I hadn't just bought the bottle and only used 3 doses from it.

Immediately, I am standing with the bottle yelling for Andrew to help. There is no sign of the medicine anywhere. Someone had to have eaten it. I am confused, I am shocked... I have no clue how this has happened.

What do I do... Who do I call... and WHO ATE THE MEDICINE? Of course, the first thing we do is ask the child who can talk. Paige says she didn't do it. But doesn't offer anything else. I pick up the bottle again and start searching for any answers on it. Only answer... call poison control, even if there are no symptoms. Now it is time to search for the phone book and call poison control.

It seems like forever that I am waiting for someone to answer. Then a million questions. And then the scariest words I could have thought of... Go to the Emergency Room.

I have never had to take the kids there before.

It was a lot of waiting but not in the waiting room. We were in the exam room for about 5 hours. They couldn't pump the stomach because it might have been more than an hour before that they had taken the medicine. We had to wait until it had been 4 hours since they had ingested it. Then draw both girls blood.

Finally at 4pm the lab tech came in and drew their blood. Oh, I hate needles. I really hate them near my children and even more when it takes longer than a shot. I thought the worst part was that they couldn't rule out Paige, even though she said that she hadn't done it. So I knew as they were drawing the blood, that one of the girls was in pain for no reason. What a horrible thought. I couldn't stop myself from crying (with my back to the kids of course).

At 4:30, they said that it was Elizabeth who had eaten the medicine, but that we still had to wait for more results before they could send us home.

At 5pm they came and said that we could go.

I have ran through the morning in my head so many times. If I would have not laid back down in my room.... If only I had said that the kids and I should go to church on our own.... If only I had moved the medicine up this morning.... I took it all on myself.

But that is what happens, sometimes you just have to do that. It is my job to keep them safe and raise them to be good and responsible people. And to day I could have failed them. Luckily, God had me wake up when I did. He had me check on the kids. Had me see the bottle. But he also had Elizabeth digest the medicine at a quick rate and without damaging her liver...at least that is the prayer of my heart right now.

Elizabeth, Let's have a talk

My girls and I had a weekend by ourselves. It was a fun time. We did all the things that you want to do but never stop and do together. The first night we did manicures and pedicures while we watched a girly movie. Saturday we took our time getting ready then hit the town running. There was shopping to be done. What a blast we had at the mall. We headed back home for some down time then woke up in time to watch Miss America. It was Paige's first time and she loved it. Elizabeth kept getting up and dancing to the music, but Paige sat right by me admired the women. It was so fun.

After the pageant, I told the girls that they should go and have some play time while I got some work around the house done. That really wasn't going well and after just a few minutes of good play time Elizabeth started screaming. It seemed to never end. After about an hour of the off and on screaming I told them 10 more minutes and it would be bed time.

Paige appently didn't like that idea; she took Elizabeth by the hand into their bedroom and as she closed her door behind them I heard her say, "Elizabeth, let's have a talk."

I wanted to follow them to hear what Paige would say, but I thought that would mess whatever they did up. So I stayed in the kitchen. They were in their for 10 minutes and by the time that they came out they were ready to play. There was no more whining or screaming. They stayed up for an hour more at least.

I am glad that I gave them that space to workout the issues that they were having. But at the same time I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall in the room. I wish I would have thought of sitting on the toilet and listening in.

I guess it was good for me though. There will be times that I want to know what they are saying, but listening in is not how I want to know. I want them to come to me and tell me. That moment was the highlight of my weekend, they really do work together well.