Play Dates

I like to think that my daughters are good at sharing.  Having a sibling constantly borrowing their toys helps ensure they are good at sharing.  We work hard at keeping them good at this skill but recently have had to stop a few scuffles over toys.  One way to help build sharing skills we have found is to bring other children over to play with their toys.

Mya and kitten

We had a play date last week with friend and fellow blogger Melissa and her daughters Mya (5yrs old) and Zoey ( 7 months old).  We had dinner together then the girls all got to play.  Mya was very interested in our foster kittens and even got to name one of them. 

The girls all played very well together and there were no squabbles over toys.  Nadia was so excited to have friends over she was bringing out toys to Mya and Zoey, although my house looked like a toy bomb exploded in it afterwards.  While Charles watched the girls, Melissa and I went through Nadia and Nicole's closet to find hand me down clothes for Zoey.  It is great to have a friend to pass on all the extra clothes to!


As Melissa was getting ready to leave, Zoey discovered Nicole's rocking duck.  While she is still too small to make it rock, she enjoyed sitting on it and exploring its duck head. 

Play dates are great for kids and parents.  They give us Mommy's time to commiserate and have a chance to speak with a fellow adult.  They also allow the kids to interact with other kids of different ages and to practice sharing.   

More bad customer service

I had another horrible experience with employees at a store today.  It is a large chain pet store and the location was one I had not been to before, and never will again.  I needed to purchase two dozen crickets for my leopard and bibron's geckos and had promised my girls a new fish for their fish tank.

It was busy inside the store and I stood in the cricket area for 10 minutes without being helped.  I was within sight of the cashiers and I know they saw me as we made eye contact.  After ten minutes, I went to an office where I found three managers and a dog trainer chatting.  I asked for assistance with crickets.  A manager told me there were two people in that department.  I informed them I had been waiting and no one was there.  She rudely told me again there was two people over there.  I demanded she help me.

One of our plecos

After she angrily packaged my crickets, I went to look at the female betta fish.  I was finally approached by an employee who did not ask if I need any help, he simply stated "Are you ok?"  All of the fish were in filthy water that had chunky debris floating in it.  It was obvious that the water hadn't been cleaned in a very long time.  I am an avid fish keeper and generally would never buy a fish kept in the conditions these fish were in. As I was checking out with what appeared to be the most "healthy" fish, the cashier told me all the fish had come in a day or two before.  It was very obvious this was not true.

I typically buy my crickets at another location of this store and don't have any problems.  It just reminds me that it is not always the company that needs to work on its customer service.  Sometimes a few bad people in a store are enough to ruin the whole experience.  I can guarantee I will never go to this location again.

What's happened to customer service?

Nadia had a doctor appointment with an children's orthopedist yesterday.  She has been walking on her toes for a few months and her pediatrician referred her just as a precaution.  She had already seen a neurologist to rule out possible cerebral palsy.  The orthopedist seemed extremely busy/rushed, saw us an hour after our appointment time, and didn't even introduce himself to myself or Nadia.  He spoke very gruffly to me and never spoke to Nadia.  All in all he acted like I was wasting his time.

I realize that doctors have a lot on their books and tend to have emergencies that force them to run late.  I am not one of those people who get angry for waiting five minutes past my appointment.  What does anger me is being treated as a burden when I am a paying customer and being forced to wait an extremely long time with no explanation.

I have worked in the retail world before and have seen all kinds of angry customers that my job required me to be polite and smiley to.  Why is it that some doctors and other professionals have got out of the habit of providing exceptional customer service?  Many people won't return to a store they have had a bad encounter with an employee but are willing to continue to see a healthcare provider who is always late and rude.  There are many choices for a doctor, yet some doctors feel they are entitled to be rude.

I expect good customer service from any place I pay for a service.  I am more than willing to pay higher prices to receive a good experience.  I drive 40 minutes for my children's pediatrician and even further for my veterinarian.  This doesn't stop for me with healthcare, I also choose where to grocery shop, clothes shop, pet food shop and home product shop based on the experiences I have had with employees and the reactions and actions of management.

I feel it is time that our society works their way back to good customer service and bedside manner.  We all deserve to be treated well and shown our business is appreciated. 

Phoenix Zoo Adventure

Growing up in the Seattle/Tacoma area, I was surrounded by fantastic zoos and animal parks.  Woodland Park Zoo, Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium, and Northwest Trek helped shape my love of animals.  I had always hoped to take my children to the zoo at least once a month and instill a love of animals in them also.

Unfortunately Las Vegas does not have a modern zoo.  I have been hesitant to take my children to the Las Vegas Zoo after seeing pictures of the facilities.  Whenever we travel to a city with a modern zoo, I make a point of making a trip to the zoo.  While in Phoenix over the weekend, we made a trip to the Phoenix Zoo.

Nadia and aldabra tortoise

Letting kids experience animals that they would not normally see gives them a respect for the world around them.  The girls were thrilled with seeing the animals in real life instead of just in pictures.  We were lucky enough to have an old friend who works at the zoo that allowed Nadia and Nicole to meet the giant tortoises.

Experiences like these will surely stick with them into adulthood, even if they don't remember it happening.

Homeward Bound

I am a lover of all animals and believe that animals improve peoples lives.  We started the day Nadia and Nicole were born teaching them a love and respect for animals.

In addition to our own animals, we strongly believe in animal rescue.  While my schedule does not permit me to volunteer at any shelters or organizations, our family does foster kittens and cats for a local cat rescue, Homeward Bound.

www.homewardboundcats.org
www.facebook.com/HomewardBoundCatAdoptions
We are currently fostering four 6 week old kittens.

Fostering involves providing love and shelter for cats until they are old enough to be adopted.  Many people wrongly assume there are many people who are fostering so they won't be needed, however, there is always a lack of foster parents.  Another misconception is that it will be hard to return the cats when it is time for them to find their forever homes.  The joy that comes from a kitty finding their forever family outdoes any heartache that comes from returning the kitties.

 Nadia and Nicole love the kittens we foster.  They have learned to become gentle and play nicely with them.  Since they became old enough to interact with the kittens, Nadia and Nicole have become more careful in all their activities.  They have learned to respect the animals boundaries, as well as becoming more respectful of peoples boundaries.

Fostering has been a win win situation for us. I highly urge everyone who is able to volunteer in any capacity with an organization.  The benefits are more than can be counted.