vine.com review

First, let me apologize for not keeping up with the 'blogging everyday' thing.  I do the best that I can but sometimes I get home and am dead on my feet or am too busy making memories with my family and can't bear to be dragged away.  I think that is worth the missed day, and I will make it up, I am sure. 

I mentioned in a previous post that we use Bac-Out as a part of our cloth diaper wash routine.  Bac-Out is an awesome product.  It's made by Biokleen, which is a company that makes a lot of natural cleaners.  It's technically called Bac-Out Stain and Odor Eliminator.  You can use it as a cleanser for laundry, cloth diapers, carpets, drains, etc.  It has a strong lemon/lime scent which is nice in the wash but doesn't remain on your clothes after the wash.  It's natural, non-toxic and biodegradable. 

Unfortunately, since not everyone has caught on to the awesome-ness of this cleaner, you can only purchase it from a select few brick and mortar stores.  There are a lot of places online that you can order it from but usually the shipping cost + the cost of buying it online is higher than to just drive to the store(s) that you can buy it from. 

The closest place that we can buy it from is a Kroger grocery store more than 10 miles away and we were having to drive out there twice a month to buy the only size that they had available which was 32oz.  We decided that since we were going to be using this as a part of our diaper routine that we would just order a larger quantity online and hopefully get a discount for ordering more than a gallon. 

I searched on amazon.com and found a deal ordering from a website called vine.com .  They charged $31.87 for a gallon of Bac-Out including taxes and shipping, which was a deal since we were paying more than $14 for the product at Kroger not including tax or the cost of gas to get there.  Plus they offered 2 day shipping. 

When I picked up the box from the front porch I noticed that the outside of the box was wet and I was scared to open it.  When Corry opened it, more than a cup of the product had leaked all over the box and the packaging inside because when UPS shipped the package they damaged the box.  It was packaged with those inflatable bags inside of an appropriate sized box.  Needless to say I was disappointed. 

I went back to amazon the following day and filled out a complaint with the company just to let them know that the item was damaged.  I just wanted them to know for the future that maybe they needed to package to assume that there would be damage by UPS or that they would speak with UPS about it.  I expected an apology and maybe a 'we hope that you have a better experience next time'.  What I got was totally unexpected.  Within an hour of sending the complaint, I got a returned email from the company stating that they were sorry that I had such a bad experience and that they would send a replacement item out immediately and that I could expect it in two business days.  I was shocked and amazed that a company would go out of their way to make my experience right.  I was even more shocked this morning to see that the box already made it to my door.  They sent it overnight to my house.  I am blown away with this company's customer service.  Not only did they apologize and make it right, but they made it better than my original experience.  I would completely recommend this company to anyone who shops on Amazon. 

Vine.com is a website that offers 'everything green' including soaps, cleaners, food, and household items.  They have anything that you can want, it seems, on their site.  They offer free delivery with a purchase over $49, which is awesome since they offer 2 day or faster shipping.  This is definitely a company that I will order from again.  They have definitely made a good impression on me and my family. 

What company's have you had an excellent customer service experience with? 

-Sara

Toys multiply while we sleep

Before Isabella was born we had already purchased enough clothes to outfit Octomom's brood.  We had all the baby gear in place months before she arrived.  Her closet and bedding was all washed and prepared at least two months before she was born.  We had even gone to two consignment sales before her birth but we had very few toys. 

I will have to admit that I was a bit lost about how and when to acquire toys.  I saw them in the store but I wasn't sure about what you needed when and if you just bought some and went with it.  I had always heard the old adage that kids are going to love the boxes more than the toys (which is completely true!) so I knew that I didn't want to waste a lot of money on toys.  I knew that in the first few weeks she was just going to be a sloth and so I wasn't super worried about having toys on hand and I figured that we would just buy some as we went along. 

Fast forward two and a half years and we have more toys than we know what to do with.  Blocks, fake food, Little People (which is the oddest name brand for toys, I think), Lego's, toy cars, books, etc. all run amok in our toy room.  One of the big selling points of this house that we live in is the extra room off the front door that specifically holds toys.  In our last house we didn't have a dedicated space just for toys and it just felt like we were being over run by toys in all rooms of our house.  Since we were downsizing with this house, I knew that we would want an area that was just for toys.  

Here's another small item that they don't tell you before having a baby: if you leave toys out over night, they will multiply while you are sleeping.  Just ask anyone who has stepped on a Lego or a block in the dark.  You thought there were only a few and you could miss them but no.  Corry has this favorite picture that he laughs about - something about stepping on a Lego and winning a krumping contest.  This phenomenon doesn't exist anywhere else in nature.  I swear if I don't completely pick up the toys at night, when I wake up in the morning it feels like the kids played with the toys all night. 

My kids are at that age where they are capable of picking up their toys, but it gets done faster and much more efficient if I just do it.  I mentioned that I need to work on patience, right?  My sanity at the end of the day is saved if I just wait until they go to bed and then clean up the living room and our bedroom.  Well, at least clean the toys up and make it look like Hurricane Toddler(s) didn't just come storming through the house.  I don't know when they drag out some of these toys or when they get certain toys in certain places.  Just this evening when I was going to start the bath water I noticed a My Little Pony in the bathtub and a bath time letter underneath our bed.  Sometimes I can't help but wonder when they get all of this out.  I know that the house is semi-picked up when my mom leaves when we get home, but in the few hours before they go to bed the entire house is turned upside down some nights.   

As a bonus though I have discovered a new source of fun.  Picking up the toys at night has become like a game to me.  It's kind of like carrying all the groceries in from the car in one trip.  You know that it's ridiculous and that you look like you belong in an insane asylum while you are trying it, but you just HAVE to try and see if you can get it all in one trip.  I try to see how much stuff that I can carry to the toy room at the same time without dropping anything.  I guess this is the 'fun' that I have as a parent.  Don't judge...