Burning Man…Avec Toddler

I love that this parent took his kid to the Burning Man festival - nice to know there are models of parenthood that involve adventure and art and wildness, not just “Mom jeans” and playgroups.

I do want to complain that, much as part of me would love to go to this festival, I don’t get why it has to be a burning “man” - and since I failed in my attempts to become a hippie, I have a feeling I really wouldn’t fit in.

I also really like clean toilets.

80s Prom

Last year, I was newly pregnant. I was chubby in my material girl desperately-seeking-fashion-help outfit, not drinking, and I STILL had a blast - everyone jamming to the classics - in big fluffy flashy prom dresses and Rick Springfield gear - oh, it was deliciously obnoxious…

So I highly recommend it. I don’t think I’ll be able to make it - right before Father’s Day and my birthday - but darn, you should go in my stead…

(Oh yeah, and as for the fact that this is a benefit for Planned Parenthood: I just want to say that PP was there for me when I was 17 (and later) and needed a check up and my family didn’t have health insurance. Health services for women and girls, reproductive education, can be vital support for people, having nothing to do with abortion…)

Info on the Dance:

Old Michie Building (aka Old Live Arts) 609 E Market St, Charlottesville, VA 22902 US
When:	Saturday, June 14, 8:00PM
Don’t go dancing with yourself; get into the groove with others who’ve got the beat to support Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia (PPAV). On June 14th, we’ll be partying like it’s 1989 with the Second Annual 80s Prom. So get pretty in pink, jump in your little red corvette and have the time of your life!  Must be 21+. Featuring DJ Steve Richmond spinning the 80s tunes, costume contest, prom court and much, much more…. Tickets $10*/ $20 with PPAV membership *only available at the door Pretty sweet sponsorship levels $35 Polaroid picture under balloon arch $50 Polaroid picture under balloon arch plus song request Super cool sponsorship levels $100 VIP Lounge entry and champagne for two $250 Two 80s Prom tickets, VIP Lounge entry for up to four guests and bottle of champagne For advance tickets & sponsorship, who you gonna call?  www.ppav.org\80sprom.html

Daily Progress website

I love how the other morning I was trying to read about the shootings on the freeway and a giant ad kept blocking the ENTIRE STORY with no visible cue as to how to remove it.

GREAT.

I like the cleaner look of the new design, but I still feel like I can’t find up to the minute information very easily at all.

Meanwhile, what did working parents do with schools so abruptly closed???

Mom Cliques

I am inherently antisocial.

But here I am, trying to socialize my children.

So we go to these free for alls at parks and play places, and I’m miserable, because all the mothers know each other and are all smirky and smarky and snarky and snurky in their little cliques, cold and distant and critical-looking, and I just want my kid to have someone sweet to play with. But instead, I’m remembering how much I hated junior high, because I was always the new kid and never the cool kid and it didn’t matter how nice I tried to be, I was always an outsider.

But now it’s worse, because I don’t care if I’m the outsider, but I don’t want my kid to be an outsider. I don’t care if the other moms are snarky to me - but could they and their children include my child?

This is why, another mom told me, she’s antisocial.

I get it. I totally get it.

I am in love with this family.

I have a total crush on “The Family Hack,” the purported local blogger family whose site’s purpose is to help you ‘get the most out of your time, money and mobility.” And they do have posts on shopping deals and toys for kids and how to travel with kids and the like.

a) I didn’t know you could have time, money, or mobility while being a parent - really? it’s possible? are they miracle workers?
b) Take a look at their bios - they are beautiful, witty, irreverent - they look like they’re having fun -  and constantly illuminated in a soft, golden haze of fearless goodwill

Oh, I want to be them. I want them. I want to emulate and gravitate and prostrate myself before them. They are so cool.

I am so unworthy.  

Take the Quiz!

With which candidate do you match up?

Figure out which candidate you match up with:

http://www.gotoquiz.com/candidates/2008-quiz.html

 

Saw this on one of our local blogs… oh gross, look who I’m matched to:

My Results:
100%

Dennis Kucinich

Seriously, as a “working mom,” I guess I have political issues I care about that fit with my demographic - healthcare, wage issues - but to be honest, my general positions on things haven’t changed since becoming a mother. Supposedly, you’re supposed to get more conservative as you age and procreate, but so far, that hasn’t happened to me…

Has anyone else experienced a huge shift in their political views since becoming a parent? Does working or not working affect your views?  I’m very curious!

Working Moms Coffee Hour

Interested in meeting other working moms? We’ll be at Cville Coffee (with or without kids; with or without spouses) from about 10:30-12…

Hope to see you there!

It Becomes About Class

A friend of mine recently watched the HBO special Little Rock Central: 50 Years Later, about a school famous for resisting desegregation back in the late 50s. Apparently, the first look at the school seems to point to progress in terms of integration and academic success - but a closer scan shows that the honors classes are filled with a majority of white kids, and within the classrooms, the white kids sit together and the black kids sit together - so things are better, but things are worse, perhaps, because now the issues are so deep under the surface that even when the kids were questioned about what was wrong with the way they were sitting, they didn’t know what was being talked about. They didn’t even see it.

So my friend and I were talking about culture and class, and how they are integral pieces to school success - but she also mentioned something interesting: the PTA meetings at this school are held during the day. Between 9 and 5. It’s all white parents. Mothers.

This infuriated me. I don’t know about you, but that seems like a really obvious and fixable error on the part of that school. Parent involvement, and the atmosphere in your home in terms of what’s expected and understood about education and success - that is so crucial to doing well in school. Even if you’re poor, even if you’re in a racial minority - if your parents/family prioritizes your learning, it’s going to be a huge boost to you. If right off the bat working parents are basically informed, due to the timing of PTA meetings, that they are not welcome or expected to be part of their kids’ education - well, what message trickles down to the kids?

I hope there’s none of that going on in this area. If you know of any parent-related things going on during normal working hours only, events/meeting/activities that would be helpful for any parent, I would love to know about them. I don’t want working parents to be excluded from opportunities to be involved with their children, simply because the rest of the community doesn’t find it convenient to schedule things in the evenings or weekends. That’s elitist crap. 

[Yes, I'm aware that by posting online I'm excluding people who aren't internet- savvy - a type of discrimination? Any ideas on how to reach out to working moms / parents beyond the online world welcome.]

Letter to Toys R Us

This is a draft letter from a group of us parents disgusted by the poor treatment we’ve received at the local store… I’m not really a letter-writer, so am looking for feedback!

 

Toys “R” Us, Inc. Headquarters
One Geoffrey Way
Wayne, NJ 07470-2030

Store Manager, Toys R Us Charlottesville, #8338
590 Branchlands Boulevard
Charlottesville, VA 22901

October 8, 2007

Dear Sir/Madame:

This is a letter of complaint about your Charlottesville, Virginia store.

Recently a number of parents in the Charlottesville area discovered, through conversation on our various online networks (including over 500 area families), that enough of us have had such truly awful experiences at this store to point to a systemic problem with the store itself; our stories are not just random, isolated incidents. Convinced of the ongoing customer service problems at this store and frustrated because we would like to continue to patronize it, we decided to send this letter in hopes of having the situation amended for the better.

Please read the examples of poor customer service included on the following pages for specifics pointing to the repeated bad treatment many of us have received from management and staff.

We can only conclude that the company cares little for its customers, children and adults alike. Staff members lack the politeness and respect central to common courtesy. There are frequently no staff members to check out or assist customers in a timely fashion. Getting a refund or product information often becomes a nightmare. Consideration for the customer’s needs is, overall, poor.

The problem is that you do have competition. Many of us are taking our business elsewhere — shopping at locally owned toy stores, visiting big box stores, or going online – finding the kind of customer service relationships we desire and deserve. But our hope is that your company will actively address the issues we have outlined here so that we can visit your store in the confidence that we will receive consideration and respect.

Thank you for your time and consideration of our complaint. Our community looks forward to hearing from you. We will be sharing your response with the larger group when it arrives.

Sincerely,

Amy S. Marshall, co-moderator of the Parents Network of Charlottesville and Charlottesville Working Moms

2323 A Crestmont Avenue

Charlottesville, VA 22903

amymarshall@gmail.com

Gisela and Mark Swift, gisela@picantecreative.com

Cecily Reynolds, cecilydetlg@yahoo.com

Ghizlaine Taft, gmtafteam@yahoo.com

Kristen Nelson, krvv88@hotmail.com

Melanie Bowyer, melihol@yahoo.com

We purchased a safety gate a couple of months ago. A couple of weeks after we installed it, apparently a piece broke off and my daughter opened the gate! It was at the top of the stairs and could’ve been a bad accident. Luckily I was right behind her and grabbed her before she could move further. We immediately ordered another one online we had at the bottom of the stairs from another store because so far was working great and this one from Toys R Us was obviously not safe. It took us a while to take it back to TRU and we didn’t have a receipt. SO you can guess the rest.

The manager would not take it back, even though it was a faulty product that could’ve hurt our daughter. The manager could care less, was very adamant about the no receipt, no return policy. Didn’t even offer to call the manufacturer or anything. Back in Colorado (we just moved here 2 months ago) we NEVER had a problem with Babies R Us or
Toys R Us. They took things without receipt all the time and gave us credit.

Please sign both my husband and my name as outraged parents.
Thanks for doing this,
Gisela Swift
Mark Swift

—————–
My son got a present for his birthday that he didn’t want, & didn’t want to hurt the person’s feelings who gave it to him, so he took it back to Toys’rUs (from where it was purchased) to exchange it. Should’ve been an easy thing, right? The guy at the desk very rudely proclaimed that the policy had changed, & w/out a receipt they could do nothing. Now, the person who gave it to him should’ve given him a give receipt, but that’s neither here nor there. The sales guy was not only initially rude to my son (he’s 9, & I was trying to get him to handle this on his own w/ me at his side, thought this was going to be a great confidence-building teaching moment), but refused to even acknowledge that it was my son who initiated the conversation in the first place. He wouldn’t even look at him! I said to the sales guy, that my son was handling this, would he mind explaining it to him, since it was his present & he’s the one exchanging it. The guy (still not even acknowledging his existence) looks at me & says “that’s your job, you tell him. I’m not gonna.” My head nearly spun around like the exorcist’s. Needless to say, no exchange occurred, my son is still stuck w/a present he doesn’t want, & I called out the manager. Eventually this guy was sent home, but the policy remains the same. I called the corporate office, & they have a special portion on the system dedicated to complaints about the policy. What does that tell you? (Shop at Target! They’ll exchange w/out a receipt!) Moms & dads, here’s my warning to you: if you must purchase a gift from Toys’rUs, get a gift receipt. I for one have no need to ever cross the threshold of that store again as I will not go to a “children’s” store which is clearly not child friendly! In fact, I think it would serve them right if we parents boycotted them all together!

Cecily Reynolds, cecilydetlg@yahoo.com

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Back in April my little boy who turned 3 received 2 Imaginarium train sets which we certainly didn’t need. I had the same experience there, no receipt nor gift receipt…sales clerk as rude as could be an the manager vague and barely interested in explaining their “nonsense” policy. I kept the other set because I own a preschool and thought we could eventually use it here but REFUSE to buy anymore toys there. Target, Walmart carry just as many toys…..
Ghizlaine Taft, gmtafteam@yahoo.com

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I’d be happy to sign a petition to ban toys-r-us though, as their customer
service sounds like a nightmare and its only a matter of time for it to
happen to more of us. I do feel like the corporate upper management of the
company would like to hear about this.
Kristen Nelson,krvv88@hotmail.com

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I’m with you on letter writing. I loath going in Toysrus.
Melanie Bowyer melihol@yahoo.com

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