Everyday Randomness

What I thought was going to be a peaceful drama free day has been anything but, and it’s only noon.  This morning my grandpa called me wanting to know if I would ride to the grocery store with him.  My grandma isn’t feeling too well, and he wanted to get her some chicken soup and ginger ale.  I would have gone to the store for him if I had the truck, but since I’m vehicle-less I agreed to ride with him…with the baby in tow since I didn’t want to leave her with my sick grandma.

Ellie and I headed into the store while my grandpa sat in the car waiting for us.  I don’t think he’s been in a grocery store in years as he always sits in the car while my aunt and grandma shop.  I thought this would be a quick in and out, but it turned into anything but.

I grabbed the stuff my grandma needed then headed to the baby isle to grab a canister of Ellie’s favorite snacks.  As we headed to checkout we had to pass through the pharmacy section where a mother and teenage daughter were standing, obviously arguing as the mother was flailing her arms around. She must have seen me coming down the isle with Ellie in the buggy because as we approached her she began pointing at us and telling her daughter “that’s why!  Because I don’t want you to be a teenager mother like her!”

As I wasn’t exactly trying to eavesdrop on the conversation it took me a minute to realize what the woman had just said and that she was in fact talking about me. I immediately turned my buggy around and said “excuse me?  Did you just refer to me as a teenager mother?”  For an instant I was flattered that she thought I looked young enough to be a teenager, but that instant quickly passed as I began to feel offended.

The woman scowled at me and told me to mind my own business to which I replied I was minding my own business until she decided to blatantly speak about me in that way.  She replied that she was sorry, and being a teen mother must be hard, but she was just trying to explain to her daughter exactly why she doesn’t agree with her getting birth control pills.  The daughter was beside her saying “Mom, I am 18 years old.  If I want the pill I will get the pill.”

Yet again the mother turned to her daughter and said “Why?  So you can be like her?” I was extremely offended, and I probably turned every shade of steaming red as I informed her I was not a teenage mother, I am in fact a 28 year old married woman, and if I were a teenage mother she would have absolutely no right to judge me just as she was doing. A teenager who finds herself pregnant has enough to deal with without someone being so judgmental.

She replied that teen pregnancy is completely wrong, and I replied that she had no right to judge anyone, and she so obviously wrongly judged me.  I felt like I was talking to my own mother as she used to act the same way when it came to teaching her daughters about sex.  She would drill into our heads that she would not allow us to be on the pill because that would “make you have sex” as if taking a pill controlled your mind and body into doing the dirty deed.  Anytime either one of us felt the slightest bit sick we were always accused of being pregnant.  The flashback combined with this woman’s comments were enough to put me in a bad mood for awhile.

Ellie was beginning to get fussy from sitting in the buggy, and I was done with dealing with this mess. I turned to the daughter, gave her props her for doing the right thing and taking the steps to prevent an unwanted pregnancy if she does decide to have sex, and then I pushed the buggy on down to the end of the isle and towards the register.  The mother must have been in a bit of shock because she waited until I made it to the register and began checking out before she marched to the end of the isle and yelled at me to “take back what you said to her right this minute!”

The girl checking me out ask if everything was okay, and I replied that I didn’t know the woman, and she must have activated her act like a child button this morning.  As I paid for my groceries and pushed the buggy out the door the woman was still yelling and having a hissy fit.  Talk about being an example for your daughter!  She definitely succeeded in showing her daughter that a grown woman can still act like a child, and in thoroughly offending me, but I seriously doubt she succeeded in the birth control battle.

I definitely know what approach I won’t use when it’s time to have the sex talk with Ellie.  I won’t make a fool out of myself in the middle of the grocery store!

My Grandma has been begging me for a new photo of Ellie.  She has always had a display lining her hallway with photos of all her grandchildren, and now her great grand children, and she expects updated photos to be provided regularly.  A couple weeks ago she started asking me for a new photo, and I explained to her that money has been tight recently, so she would have to wait until I could afford it if he wanted another professional photo.  I did print off a few I’ve taken for her, but she continued to ask me about updating Ellie’s professional photos.  A few days ago she gave me $20 and told me “Now this is so you can go have Ellie’s picture taken.”

When I got home that night I kind of giggled at the fact that she expected $20 to cover the cost of a professional photo session, so I tucked the $20 away to add to my order when I had the extra cash to have them made.  The last photos we had made cost us well over $100.

Fast forward to yesterday.  As I mentioned in my previous post Hubby had to make an appointment to get new glasses, and Ellie and I needed something to do while we waited on him.  Because I received a membership in the PictureMe! Portrait Studios Portrait Smiles Club when we ordered our last photo package I can get a free 8×10 any time, so I figured I’d take Ellie to get one for my Grandma.

I had forgotten about the $20 she gave me until Hubby mentioned it on the way to Walmart.  He told me to use some of it to buy the $7.99 one pose package, and that should be enough to hold the family over until we could afford to buy more online.  We figured it’d be too expensive to order other prints we wanted right now as we’re on a very tight budget this week.

Ellie had a great photo shoot, and I was very very pleased with the service.  We had a good experience with the PictureMe! Portrait Studio in the Central, SC Walmart the first time we used their services, but this time we had great service.  The photographer, Beki, knew exactly how to handle a baby, was very patient when she wouldn’t smile, and went above and beyond to make sure we got great photos.

When it was time to order our photos I sat down with my plan to get the one pose package and the extra 8×10.  It turns out I got way more than that.  Because there is a special right now I also got a free enhanced 10×13, and it didn’t have to be the same pose as the one post package. With my club card I also got buy 1 get 1 free on any additional sheets I ordered, so that worked in my favor.  I went ahead and ordered 1 sheet of another pose I loved with a 5×7 and 4 wallets, and with the B1G1 I got two of those for $9.99.

Recapping my order I received

• 1 FREE 8×10
• 1 FREE enhanced 10×13
• 2 sheets with 1 5×7 and 4 wallets each (1 sheet free)
• and the $7.99 one post package of 30 photos (1-8×10, 2-5×7s, 5-31/2×5s, 16 wallets, and 8 keepsakes)

all for a total price of $19.24 including tax.  I’d say it was a pretty good deal, and on top of that when our receipt printed it included another coupon for another free enhanced 10×13 online.  I have to use the coupon in 30 days, but all I have to pay is the $3.99 shipping charge, so essentially this free print (a $19.99 value) pays for my entire order!

Ellie’s photos turned out great.  You can the unedited proofs (including the bad shots) at their My Online Portraits photos album.

If you’re looking for a cheap alternative to the expensive portrait studios I definitely suggest PictureMe.  Of course there are expensive packages as well, but the service (in my experience) has been great, and there are cheaper alternatives for those of us who just don’t have a lot of extra cash to spare but want to capture the memories.  PictureMe! was my choice because they are convenient, and there are always specials running.  The PictureMe! club card costs $29.99/year and comes with freebies such as 10% off or free 8×10s and Buy 1 Get 1 free.  You don’t have to make a purchase to get the free 8×10, so anytime you feel like swinging by Walmart is a great time to grab yourself a free photo.  There is also no limit to the number of free photos you can receive in the one year period.

Yep, that’s what I said. I will never shop at Advance Auto in Central, SC again. The customer service tonight was absolutely the most horrible customer service I’ve ever experienced at any Advance Auto location.

Hubby and I headed in tonight to get a few things for the Blazer. We need rear brake pads, and Hubby is going to do an oil change tomorrow, so we needed oil and a filter. I’m also wanting a seat cover to go in the back seat, so I went off to look at seat covers while Hubby grabbed the oil. Hubby headed up to the front counter to get the rest of the stuff he needed, and after a few minutes I joined him.

There were a total of three people in the store at this time including the two of us. One clerk was ringing up the other guy, so another guy came over to help us. He started ringing up the oil, and gave Hubby a total before Hubby could even get it out of his mouth that he needed more. Hubby said that wasn’t all, and the guy said, “You’ll have to pay for this first then because you didn’t tell me that. I can’t look up the parts until this order is finished.”

I told him to clear the order out then, and look up the parts. There was no reason for us to have to pay for our order in separate parts when he didn’t even ask if that would be all for us. He fumbled around for a couple minutes like he was clearing it out, then he said “Are you going to pay for this or not?” Hubby repeated what I had just said, and he looked at us like we were stupid before finally clearing the purchase to start over.

Hubby started telling him what we needed, a Fram oil filter for a 2002 Chevy Blazer 2WD (which does matter because the oil filters are different sizes), and a set of rear brake pads for the same vehicle. The guy just stood there staring off into space, so Hubby repeated himself. “I need an oil filter for a 2002 Chevrolet Blazer.”

The guy finally started looking it up, but he didn’t even choose the right vehicle. He chose a 2002 Chevy Tahoe. Hubby repeated that it was for a Blazer. When the guy finally found the right vehicle he said “what were you needing again?” Hubby repeated that he needed an oil filter.

From where I was standing I could see the screen as the guy was looking things up. When searching for the oil filter he chose the ignition section. I pointed out that the oil filter would be in the filters or tune up section. After standing there for another 5 minutes watching this guy squint at the screen so hard I thought for sure I should tell him to go pick up some prevera on his way home one thing became very obvious. Not only did this guy know nothing about car parts, but he apparently didn’t even know how to do his job.

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When I had Ellie she was so small we were actually a bit afraid of putting her in an infant tub. The first time we gave her a bath we decided to put aside our fears and try it, but we soon realized the infant tub we bought just didn’t work for her…at least not in the beginning. The newborn sling held all the soap, so after we rinsed her we’d have to re-rinse her in the sink.

We ended up bathing her in the little pink tub the hospital sent home with us. It was only about 12″x8″, and she fit perfectly in it. Of course she quickly outgrew that, but it worked the first few weeks. We did eventually use the infant tub, but that only lasted until she was about 4 months old. At that time she started throwing her head back and banging it on the hard plastic.

I wasn’t quite ready to move her to the big tub yet, so I set out in search of something else. A friend of ours had just purchased the Munchkin Inflatable Duck Tub for her son, and he absolutely loved it.  The tub is recommended for babies 6-24 months who are getting a bit too big for infant tubs. The only store in our area selling this inflatable tub was Walmart, so I ran out and purchased one on sale for $12.

After Ellie’s next bath I knew my money had been well spent.  It only took me about 2 minutes to inflate, and Ellie was splashing and playing in no time. The size of the tub is perfect.  Ellie can sit in it with just enough room to stretch her legs out to splash, and I don’t have to worry about her going anywhere.  She “lounges” in it while I wash her, then she’s right back to playing.

This tub has the features I wanted without having a lot of extras I don’t need, and bath time was so much easier. What are those features?  For starters the bottom of the tub is textured so little ones won’t slip and slide around like Ellie would constantly do in the plastic infant tub.  The “rings” of the tub provide the perfect amount of cushioning, so I don’t have to worry about Ellie getting hurt in the big tub.  Oh, and there’s a suction cup on the duck’s “tail” that holds it in place so you don’t have to worry about it slipping around inside the big tub. There is also a drain plug to allow you to easily drain it without having to dump the water out.

When you squeeze the duck’s beak it quacks.  Ellie absolutely loves to hear the duck quack, so I have to squeeze it quite a few times while she’s playing.  The only downside to the quacking is that now she’s big enough to move around, and sometimes she’ll try to climb the duck’s head because she knows the quacking comes from something in that area.

One other feature is the temperature indicator.  There is a blue circle that turns white with “HOT” written in it when the water is too hot.  I did love the fact that the tub comes with it’s own temperature indicator, but I have found we don’t really use it.  Don’t get me wrong…I don’t want my baby burning in her bath water, but the indicator doesn’t seem to be accurate enough to use.  It normally tells me the water is too hot when it reaches 93 degrees, and I’ve found if I put her in the water at this temperature she begins shivering within a couple minutes.  I always test the water with two Safety 1st Bath Pal Thermometers plus my wrist.  Both must read the same temperature somewhere between 94-97 degrees before I’ll put her in the water, and I believe you shouldn’t rely on a single method when it comes to keeping baby safe from water that’s too hot.

The only other downside is that the size of the head and tail of the duck make it a little hard to fill the tub directly from the tap, but the fact that the tub is inflatable helps.  I just turn the tub so the side is facing the tap, and I push the side towards the tap to allow it to fill.  I don’t mind this because the size of the head and tail mean Ellie isn’t likely to bump into the spout and get hurt while she’s playing in her tub.  There’s extra cushioning in that area in case she does happen to fall (like when I stand her up to rinse her with a fresh cup of water, but the non stick bottom helps with this, too!).

Other than that we absolutely love this tub.  Ellie was 6 months old when we started using it, and I see it lasting until she’s ready for the big tub.  I’ve never had to re-inflate the tub at all, and it has withstood the cat using it as a bed whenever he feels like it.  I was so afraid kitty claws would result in a quick death for this ducky, but it hasn’t received even a single pinhole.  If we ever do have an air leak the tub came with 2 repair patches.

Overall this is definitely the best tub we’ve purchased for her.  She’s free to splash around and play without getting hurt on hard plastic or the big tub, and it’s currently even doubling as Ellie’s kiddie pool on these hot summer days.  It’s so lightweight and easy to carry that I don’t have to worry about deflating it to take it outside, although the fact that it deflates makes it perfect for travel or an overnight trip to Grandma’s when she’s bigger.

My $12 was well spent, and I definitely recommend this tub to any parent who’s ready to move their baby out of the infant tub but not quite ready for the adult tub yet.  In fact I just purchased another one for my sister to use when her son grows out of his infant tub.  Since she only has showers in her current house this duck tub will be perfect for her to use with the little one.