I have a strict Christmas Card policy. Cards must be out no later than December 5th to give all friends and family ample time to admire my darling family during the holidays.
Everything was right on track.
Family pictures taken by October 20th...check.
Card designed by November 10th...check.
Card ordered by November 17th...check.
Card delivered by November 25...NOPE.
Card delivered by Dec. 1st...STILL NOTHING.
Email sent to Shutterfly requesting delivery status on Dec. 3rd.
I received a note that said that it was on the truck and would be overnighted to me for arrival on December 5th.
LIES.
As of last Friday, December 11th I still had not received said package of Christmas Cards. At this point, I know that it's time to get on the horn and get to the bottom of this mess.
Here's how my conversation went:
Marc...shutterfly rep: "Hello, tank you for calling shutterfly custumair serveece. Thees iz Marc" (said with heavy Indian accent)
L:Marc, this is Lola Farlow. We have a serious problem here. I have a strict policy to get my Christmas cards out no later than December 5th. In order to give myself ample time to write messages of hope to my friends, I ordered my cards on november 17th. It is December 11th and I HAVE NO CHRISTMAS CARDS! Not only have I missed my personal deadline, but I've been lied to by Shutterfly representatives. I'm furious. How are you going to fix this??!
Marc: Ms. Farlow, I am so sorry for this problem. Let me track the package for you. (pause) It says it was delivered on November 30th.
L:It most certainly was NOT delivered on November 30th or we wouldn't be having this conversation, would we?!
M: No, Mam.
L: What I need from you Marc is to tell me how you are going to get me new christmas cards ASAP. That means as fast as humanly possible. Can you help me with that or should i speak to your supervisor? (i told you...I was mad.)
M: Here's what I can do for you. I can send you a new order with 3 day shipping at no cost to you.
L:That is not soon enough Marc. I have to believe that in circumstances like this, surely a company such as yours who prides themselves on sharing memories, would want to get me my Christmas cards as soon as possible so I can share our memories with our family and friends. Wouldn't overnighting the cards to me be the best idea??
M:Yes Mam. We will overnight them to you.
L: And how many days will the production take?
M: 3-4
L: Can you please rush those?
M:Yes Mam. And then we will overnight them to you. You should have them by Friday.
L: Thank you Marc. However, I still can't believe that I still had to pay $107 for cards that never got here. Isn't there some way you can refund me my money?
M:(pauses) Ms. Farlow, we will refund you 107 rupees.
L: Marc, I do not want RUPEES! I WANT 107 DOLLARS!
M:Yes Mam.
We then wrapped up our call with me thanking him for understanding the predicament I was in and doing his best to help me get my Christmas cards out. But, the real test will be to see if/when I get my Christmas Cards. So do not despair friends. the farlow family christmas cards are on their way!
There are only 13 shopping days until Christmas. I'll be honest...I'm a little concerned. Not for my shopping...I've been done for weeks. But, I have yet to see any glimpse that Den Farlow has even started his shopping.
Remember the meat thermometer last year? The office chair for my birthday? I'm terrified that Den Farlow is going to fall into his old routine of hitting Bed, Bath and Beyond and Staples on Christmas Eve. The thought sends chills down my spine. Because you and I both know that just won't end well.
So, here's an updated list:
1.) Heel-Tastic
My heels are bad friends. I won't post a picture of them here, but let's just if I accidentally rub them against Den Farlow's leg at night, he screams as if he's been sliced open. They're pretty bad.
Look at that before and after! How can I NOT get this!! I need it!
2.) Warm Winter Accessories
After getting DUMPED on here, I've really learned the value of good warm clothes. And frankly, I need some new additions. I'm dying for each of these:
Dory Boots. Size 10. In any color but yellow. Buy them here Den.
Yep. The Trapper Hat. Several years ago i posted about how much I wanted it. Everyone laughed. Now they're all over the place. And I still REALLY want one. It's cold here in Iowa! This would be perfect. Buy it here. Any color would work. (p.s. all outerwear is on sale for 25% off and has free shipping. but you need to act fast!)
3.) A Steam Mop
This is one of those things that I didn't know how much I needed it until I couldn't have it. Here's the story. It's Black Friday and this bad boy is on sale at Target for $80. (normally 150) It's last on my list, but only because I had to get to electronics and toys first. When I get to Home Appliances, I see a lady load the last one in her cart. Hoping that i could get her to give it to me I go up and ask her if she's seen any more. "I am dying for this mop. What can I do to get you to give it to me?" Nothing. Her ice cold heart had no compassion on my need for this steam mop. I tried the tatic to some other people, but no one would budge. I walked away without the Steam Mop and my life just hasn't been the same. I need a Steam Mop.
4.) Flip Camera
Preferrably in my signature color of Pink. I just think that this would be hours of fun.
5.) A big chunky ring
This one from Sundance would be perfect. A size 8 would be great so I can wear it on my middle finger.
6.) A puppy
This would really be the easiest gift ever. Can you imagine my joy upon finding this little bundle of joy under the tree?? I would die. I ask Den Farlow every day if he's getting me a puppy and he says no. I think he's just trying to lead me off the track. I promise that I wouldn't need anything else but this puppy.
7.) My Family
That's my dad. And he's coming out HERE for Christmas! Den Farlow can't claim this one. None of us can. The best gift of the year is that we'll all be together for Christmas. I can hardly wait! It's been since July of 08 since my girls saw my dad. That's 18 months ago. I really didn't think that we'd have another Christmas together! But...in 6 days my parents will be here. That's the greatest gift ever!
Mercy. It's snowing hard here. Full on Blizzard until tomorrow night.
Here's what it looked like at 3:00:
Not too bad...just a dusting.
Here it is at 10:00:
Yikes. 11.2 inches so far.
More pictures to come tomorrow!
I'm off to snuggle down and sip hot cocoa!
xoxo
What a wonderful Thanksgiving we had! We stayed here this year and had dinner with 25 of our friends! Initially, I was going to host at my house, but when the numbers started going up I moved it to the church. Best idea ever. No stress, no worrying if the house was clean, etc. It was perfect.
I went all "Turkey Nazi" on my friends and took over the decorating. its what I do...so sue me!
I did not want to spend Thanksgiving washing dishes, so I went with paper goods. Tacky...a little. But so nice when it comes to clean up.
I kept the Adults table decorations pretty simple. Candle centerpiece and pumpkins. easy peasy.
Let's be honest...people were more concerned about the food than the decorations!
(P.S. that is bottled root beer that the cute elders (and us!) are drinking! Let's not get the wrong idea!!)
The kids table was my favorite.
Butcher paper table coverings, crayons in metal buckets, Turkey Day Activity books at each place, cute Turkey Silverware Roll-Ups.
And then...my crown jewel...
The Turkey appetizer. So cute, right? The kids munched on the cheese/grape tailfeathers while we got dinner ready. brillant!!!
Claire and Kohen loved it!
I'm so grateful for good friends here. They've made all the difference.
Hope your day was wonderful!!!
Today this sweet girl is three! Hooray!!! Here are some of my favorite things about Claire Bear.
1.) Claire has always been and continues to be my easiest child. She was a dream baby (which lulled me into a sense of false security...also known as GRACE) (Case in point...she wore this hat and sat quietly in the corner for the entire duration of Emilie's 3rd Carnival Birthday Party. Had you heard the noise level, you would understand that that is a miracle.)
2.) She is sensitive beyond measure. All it takes is a cross look or tone of voice and she tears up.
3.) She is happy by nature. Nothing really phases Claire. She's just happy to be.
4.) She is the wittiest child in our family. She's hysterical. She's always throwing funny things into conversation. It kills me. Her latest is to add "stinky-bum" to every conversation. Example: while saying the prayer the other night "thankful for Mommy stinky-bum". I know it's totally irreverant, but you can't help but smile.
5.) She loves to sing. Any song, any where...Claire will bust it out. She's suprisingly good too.
6.) She's a nurturer. She loves to take care of anything, but especially loves to shepard Gracie around.
7.) She adores Emilie. Wants to do anythinig and everything that she does.
8.) Claire loves the morning. She's always the first one up and is always in good spirits.
9.) She's also great about going to sleep. However, before she goes to sleep she demands "MOMMY-NUGGLES!!" "DADDY-NUGGLES" "EMMIE-NUGGLES". We all oblige her, because who wouldn't want to snuggle the Bear?
10.) She refers to herself as Claire-Bear and routinely prays for "Claire-Bear".
She's darling. Delightful. Easy. Makes me laugh all the time. There is not one bad thing I can say about Claire. She's perfect!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEET GIRL! WE LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!
Today is Claire's 3rd birthday! HOORAY!!! So, expect a lot of Claire-centered things today! To start it off, here's Claire's arrival story. It's still one of my proudest moments!
So, here's the story of how Claire made her entrance. My friends Liz and Cyndi threw me a baby shower2.5 weeks before Claire was expected to come. All afternoon I had had Braxton Hicks contractions, but nothing painful at all. They continued throughout the shower and we joked that I was just waiting for the shower to be over to have this baby. That wasn't far from the truth!
I got home at 11:00ish, got ready for bed and crawled in to go to sleep at 12:00. At 12:15, I was having some discomfort and noticed that it was about 7 minutes apart. I called the doctor and told her that they were coming pretty regularly and though the contractions didn't hurt too bad, I came quickly with Emilie and I thought I should head to the hospital. She agreed, but I could tell that she thought I was a LONG way off. Wrong.
The hospital is about 25 minutes away from here in Greenwich, CT. By the time we were 10 minutes away my contractions were 4 minutes apart and increasing in intensity. When we pulled up to the hospital they were every 2 minutes and pretty painful! They put me in a wheelchair and wheeled me up to the maternity ward. The nurses were nice..."how are you doing? etc." That's when I screamed "I NEED TO PUSH!! I NEED TO PUSH NOW!"
They put me on the table and determined that the baby was coming. Unfortunately, there was no doctor...which meant I couldn't push and they couldn't give me medicine.
All of the sudden the baby's heartrate started to drop and I had to push. Two pushes later and Claire came out! What surprised us all was that she was BREACH! That's right...she came out bottom first, with her feet up by her face!
It turned out to be a blessing in disguise that the doctor wasn't there. Had she been there, they would have done an emergency c-section. The natural delivery was painful...super painful, but the recovery has been exponetially better than with Emilie.
I feel super grateful that Claire made it here safely. She was in fact, the first breech delivery that any of the nurses could remember. Apparently there are so many things that could go wrong with a breach delievery that they do NOT do them. But Claire made it safe and sound, and for that I'm super grateful.
So, from the time they put me on the table to the time that I had Claire was 11 minutes. Unbelievable!!
Here are some pictures of us at the hospital (note: I am not a beauty queen after having a baby...nor do I try to be!) 
(Emilie meeting Baby Claire)
(Emilie LOVES Baby Claire)
(Daddy and his girls)
My mom, who is a great photographer, comes on Saturday, so I hope to have better pictures to post then.
Anyway, we are healthy and happy here!!!
It's over...phew! This week was crazy! From Halloween parties, to last minute sewing of cloaks, to making my costume and "discussing" why Den Farlow wouldn't dress up this year...I'm all worn out!
Here's a look at the past week:
The girls were all Princesses this year. So cute. Except that it was 34 degrees and windy on Beggars Night! So, two days before, I decided that I had to do something drastic. It's against everything I believe in to let kids trick-or-treat in their jackets. It covers up their costume and totally ruins everything. So...I whipped up three of these little things:
Coordinating fleece lined cloaks.
They were darling...and oh-so-snuggly.
I thought they looked like the fairies from Sleeping Beauty, but other people (den farlow) might have mentioned something about the "grand wizard" from the KKK. unbelievable.
It was seriously too cold to trick-or-treat, so we came home, changed into our snugglies, turned on the fire and watched the new Tinkerbell movie. Perfect.
Ever vigilant, E was on door patrol. I wonder how much made it into her tummy. Judging by the wrappers on the stairs, I would guess quite a bit!
The next night was the ward Trunk-or-Treat. This was a blast (and much warmer!).
Here's Emmie and her BFF William. They are too darling. Is it too early to start praying that she will marry William?? he's just such a darling boy!!! :)
Here's my get-up for the ward party.
I'm the wicked witch to my girls Princesses. We tried to get Den Farlow to be the Handsome Prince, but he was having none of it. I've spent the past week going to bed mad at him for being such a dou...well, you know. I guess Halloween isn't for everyone.
Thankfully I have GREAT girlfriends! We had so much fun making our skirts and cute costumes!
The tights and shoes were my favorite!
And I have to throw a picture of our friends Kelly and Julie...
I love that Julie rocked a lip ring at a ward party. Perfect!
It was a great Halloween, but now it's time to really focus on what matters...CHRISTMAS!
BREAK OUT THE CHRISTMAS MUSIC!!!! It's time to Deck the Halls!
I love Halloween. Its all sorts of fun for me. This year I'm totally into it...including meal times.
Beginning on Sunday, we've had spooky dinners each night.
Here's what was on our menu:
Sunday night: Bagel Mummy Pizzas.
The girls loved this. They eached worked on their own. It was brilliantly easy and fun for all.
Monday night we made these favorite little Mummy Dogs*.
Mousey Meat Loaves were on the menu for Tuesday, but I ended up dealing with an obnoxious 5 year old instead of making a spooky dinner.
This Meatball snake is always a huge hit. Perfect for lunch or dinner!
Tonight was my crowning jewel...Wormy Burgers*.
Oh gross. Sliced hot dogs tossed in BBQ sauce on a roll.
The girls almost couldn't eat it because they thought it was so gross! But once they tried it, they LOVED it!!
And here was dessert:
Wormy Apple Bake. mmm...so good!
I may not be able to keep my kitchen clean, but at least I have fun getting it dirty!!!
*pictures from here. and here.
