Worst recall plan ever

Put yourself in this situation: You work for a company that manufactures cribs. You start getting reports that the spindles and wooden slats in your cribs are breaking, causing children to get hurt. You decide to issue a voluntary recall before word gets out and you get too much negative press. How would you work the recall?

Jardine Enterprises has decided to handle it in the most illogical fashion I've ever seen. We purchased Lauren's crib from Babies'R'Us shortly before she was born, without really looking at the brand. Turns out it's a crib that is now being recalled. I registered our information online to get the voucher, and this is how they're handling it:
--Enter info online and wait for a package to arrive from UPS with instructions on how to get the voucher. Keep in mind that Jardine advises to stop using the crib immediately.
--When that package arrives, it will include a return mail package. I'm supposed to take apart the crib and mail back the mattress support plates, bolts and identification label. Wait, it's not mail, it's UPS so I have to go to a UPS store or drop box, or schedule a pickup.
--Wait 1-2 weeks after sending the hardware back for the voucher to arrive, at which point I can go to Babies'R'Us and buy a new crib.

See any problems here? Where's my kid supposed to sleep?!?!?!? My plan: go to Babies'R'Us and buy a new crib now, and when I finally go through all the rigamarole, return the crib and repurchase it with the voucher. That's all fine in my situation, but not everyone has an extra $200 lying around to buy a new crib (the vouchers won't give you any money back if you buy a crib less than the voucher's value, so you better make sure you buy one that's expensive enough!). Those families will end up with children sleeping in a crib their parents now know to be dangerous. I also haven't confirmed yet that Babies'R'Us will go along with my plan since they're not open yet. I tried calling the Jardine recall hotline, which is supposed to be open, but no one answered after 10 rings!!!

Bottom line: don't buy anything from Jardine Enterprises.

Guitar Hero--what have I gotten myself into?

I've never considered myself much of a gamer. Yes, I owned an original Nintendo when I was in 4th grade, but that was about the extent of it. I never got into any of the online, multiplayer games, or even really into PlayStation 2. We only bought that one because it worked as a DVD player, too. But for some strange reason, this year I bought a Nintento DS. It's a great little handheld game system, and there's a great range of games available for young kids to old people (I'm in the middle there, I think).

This weekend Guitar Hero was released for DS. I've seen it played before, but never actually played it myself. But I couldn't resist picking it up. It's pretty cool...there's a guitar grip that slides into one of the slots, and it comes with a stylus shaped like a guitar pick to "strum" the strings. Now, the little time I have left in the evenings ends up in screams of, "For the love of God, I'm not Stevie Ray Vaughan...why am I playing his guitar solo?!?" And that's in Easy mode. I do kick Chris' butt, though :) So please, don't bother calling between the hours of 8 and 10pm. I'll be doing my best Santana impersonation.

You know what's good for waking you up in the morning? Riding an elevator that drops several floors twice on your way up. It may leave you shaking and in tears, but hey, you'll be awake.

I didn't do one of these last year?

Father's Day #2 is now officially under the belt. I went back through the blog to see what I wrote last year, and apparently I wrote nothing. I'm a horrible wife. Now I feel this horrible pressure to make this Father's Day thank you incredibly deep and sappy. Unfortunately, I don't really live in that zone. I'll do my best.

Before having Lauren, Chris and I were both a little scared of what kind of dad he would be, mostly because he wasn't completely sold on the idea of having kids to begin with. Then she arrived. And it was still a little rocky for a few weeks. Now that I'm no longer sleep-deprived or hooked up to a milking machine, I completely understand why. Feeding a baby is one of the most intimate things you can do, and breastfeeding completely cuts Dad out of the picture. Then the magical day: Chris was the only one that could get Lauren to stop crying. Everything changed in that instant. He went from a scared, hesitant procreator to a true father.


That all bumped up a notch once I went back to work and he went part-time. Now I was the one asking him what to do with Lauren, instead of the other way around. He started taking her to doctors appointments and shopping for baby food, although he never really caught the bug for buying baby clothes. That must be a purely female genetic thing.

Fast forward to now and he's a much different man than before Lauren arrived. Not that he wasn't a good guy, but he has a much more serious sense of purpose and is willing to do anything for his little girl. I still think there's nothing better than seeing a father and his daughter hugging, laughing, dancing and generally having a good time.

So Chris, thank you for giving me the best gift I could ever wish for.

The new baby

We finally broke down and bought Chris a new car: a 2008 Volkswagen Jetta Wolfsburg Edition, dubbed "The Wolf" by James. His old 2000 Jetta was falling apart, and we either needed to sink some money into it or just get a new one. So, Chris got an early Father's Day present.

I finally voted for a winner!

**POLITICAL COMMENTARY BELOW**

I can't tell you how good it feels to know that I don't pick losers all the time. Ever since I've started voting, anyone and anything I've voted for has lost. I was starting to get a complex. But now that Barack Obama has secured enough delegates to get the Democratic nomination, I can officially say I've voted for a winner, even if it is a preliminary race.


I'm looking forward to the election in November. I feel like it's going to be a good race, and both candidates have their strengths and weaknesses. In past elections, I've actually been a McCain supporter. He's a straight shooter, has a lot of experience, and is respected on both sides of the aisle. That's important in a President...someone who can work with others to get things done. My biggest concern with McCain is his age. Not because it means he's out of touch, although that is a legitimate concern. It's more that I'm worried he won't make it through in good health.


With all that being said, I'm still leaning toward Obama. I know he doesn't have McCain's experience, but that means he's not jaded and skeptical and tied into "how things are done" in Washington. I do wish he had waited another four or eight years to run to get more experience, but I realize that a lot of things can happen in that amount of time that could potentially jeopardize the opportunity.

I mostly hope that this will be a clean race without a lot of mudslinging. Happy campaigning!