Customer Service

This past Tuesday, I was on a mission to get the kids some shoes for Easter. I have already acquired their clothing, and thought it was time to get the shoes, being that Easter is only a few weeks away. Ciara needed brown dress shoes to go with her dress. I usually get their shoes at Nordstrom, but have been made fun on since that sounds a little extravagant. This time I decided to check out some of the cheaper stores. I first went to Payless. They do not have any brown dress shoes. Then I went to Khol's. Again, no brown dress shoes, but some cute brown sandals that might be good for summer. I looked at the price, and they are $25. But I couldn't find Ciara's size. I also looked for Caden, but again, nothing. Either they didn't have his size, or they didn't have what I was looking for. Then we went to Famous Footwear. I have to say, I was quite disappointed in their selection. Mostly, they had tennis shoes, which is not what my kids need right now. I finally decided to go and check out Nordstrom. The new kids shoe department has this great fish tank with a coloring table right in front of it. The kids were in heaven. And Ciara loves shoes. She kept picking out new ones to try on. I found some really cute patent brown ballet flats for Ciara, and some stylin' skater type shoes for Caden. Of course, they didn't have their sizes. But the great thing about Nordstrom is that if they don't have it, they will find it and ship it to your house for free. Ciara shoes showed up on Friday. I had to hide them because she keeps putting them on. Caden's will be here in the coming week. The ballet flats were so hard to fit. They need to be somewhat tight so that they stay on the feet, but I hate buying shoes that fit so well, since they won't fit for long. Plus, Ciara has a really slim foot. We had to buy her ballet and tap shoes in a slim size. And most kids shoes do not come in a slim size. I decided to go a half size up on the flats anyway, so she can (hopefully) wear them through next year. The sales lady gave me some things to put in Ciara's new shoes to keep them on her feet (think Petals). She gave me 2 different kinds free of charge. That is why I shop at Nordstrom. Yes, some of their shoes are a little ridiculous (no, my kids do not need designer brands), but they do have great deals, and they really take care of me. Caden's shoes were only $5 more that they Payless or Khol's brand, and I would rather pay the $5, and have a better quality shoe and great service. So for those of you that think I am frivolous in shopping at Nordstrom, I no longer care. I love Nordstrom! The following day, I took all 3 kids (my 2 plus my nephew) to Albertsons to do some grocery shopping. It wasn't so bad with all kids. They were quite well behaved. I was having some difficulty finding things on my list. I couldn't find thermometer covers (we have one of the ear thermometers, and it needs the covers to work). I first asked at the pharmacy, and they said to check the baby aisle. Nope, not there. I gave up. We were checking out, and the check-out lady asked, as always, "Did you find everything you need today?" They always ask this, and I have always replied, "Yes." This time, I told her that I could find the covers. I thought she would just direct me to a different aisle, and I would have to come back and check out later. But someone else was sent on the search for me. Unfortunately, they didn't' carry them, but she suggested some other stores close by that would most likely carry them. I was quite pleased with the help. When we got to the car, Caden decided he didn't want to get in. I still have a basket full of groceries, and am trying to get all 3 kids in, and he throws a fit. Great. But one of the bagger/can-i-help-you-to-your-car? guys comes to my rescue. He came over, introduced himself (Adam), tried to calm down Caden, and loaded all my groceries in the car. I wanted to hug him. Just when I start to think that customer service is a dead language, I have a good week.

Disney on Ice

Yes, we went to Disney on Ice. Just Ciara and I. We had front row seats, which was really fun. Ciara was just mesmerized by the whole thing. She had the biggest smile on her face the whole time. She was thrilled because Lilo waved at her, and Tinkerbell blew her a kiss. Also, Nana (the dog from Peter Pan) came right up to us. She thought it was the coolest thing ever.

Here is Ciara with my Aunt Rhonda. Her and her daughter came with us. We all had a blast!

Here is Captain Hook and the pirates. Ciara was worried that he was going to steal her snow cone, so we had to hide it under our seats.

Here is Nana, wanting some attention.

Karma

So the funeral is over.  It was considerably sad, but I hope that the healing process can now begin.  I titled this Karma, because I have a small update.  After my FIL was so rude, he had a small incident.  He was having his lunch in his car in a Home Depot parking lot (this sounds strange, but he does this quite regularly) when he started to fall asleep (also quite normal for him).  He says he felt some one hop in the back of his truck, so he woke up and ran out to see what was going on.  There were 2 guys stealing one of his saws.  He chased them, and caught up with them but they threw him to the ground.  He was hurt, not seriously, but enough that he has been sore for a while.  I feel bad that this happened.  But my first thought was that karma will get you every time.  He has since let the dogs sleep at their house with my SIL, but they have to stay somewhere else during the day.  

On another note, I went to the new Nordstrom yesterday.  It is beautiful.  It is large, and pretty, and they have so much stuff.  I could spend hours in there.  But I didn't have time.  I found an Easter outfit for Caden.  This sounds easy, but since Rocky has banned all sweater vests, this is harder than it sounds.  I had to find something that did not require a vest, and most Easter outfits for boys are all about the sweater vest.  I found one, and Rocky has approved, so mission accomplished.  

One other interesting thing happened.  On Wednesday at the gym there was an incident.  For those of you not in Utah, we had some pretty serious wind on Wednesday.  As I went out to get in the car to leave, I noticed a car parked at a weird angle to mine, blocking me.  I went back inside to find out what was going on, and it turns out that the wind had blown a car out of it's parking place and across the lot into the car next to me, just brushing mine.  The worst part was they couldn't find the owner, so no one could move the car.  And I had to pick Ciara up from school.  I talked to the manager of the gym, and was very disappointed in him.  He basically said, "Well, there isn't anything we can do.  Sorry."  And then left.  That was it.  I was really upset by that.  I called the police, and they came out.  I felt really bad for the people parked next to me, and they got almost all of the damage.  I had a small scrape on my bumper, but as soon as I was able to leave, I took off so I could get Ciara.  I still have no idea whose car it was.  Ciara's school was great, they just let her play until I was able to get there, but I still felt so bad.  I wonder what this says about my karma . . .