Monday, November 24, 2008
Queen Bee Articles
I would like to draw your attention to some changes we've done over the last few days. We no longer will have our main site up, but rather just this blog and then the Queen Been Articles link we added. Please feel free to browse the articles over there. There is a lot! Recipes, crafts, homemaking tips, decor, shopping advice, and parenting suggestions are over there. Thanks for your visits! We do appreciate your comments and words of encouragement!
Around The House During the Holidays
We have 18 days until my hubby comes home! Ladies, I did it! I managed to raise 7 kids, homeschool, keep up with a business, move, go on two vacations, stay sane, and entertain for 15 months by myself!!!!!!!!!!!! I did it and I and my children are living to tell about it!!!
Some things have suffered because I can't do it all. Things like my walls, the closets, the garage, and occasional dirty face. I just laugh. That is the only thing I can do to keep myself from losing it.
The other day I went to use the bathroom in my downstairs bathroom. There I found Minnie Mouse doing the backstroke in my TOILET! There she was, face up, floating while she was maxing and relaxing in the "pool". She fit just perfectly. "No one" knows who did it.
I'm enrichment leader in my ward and we recently did a craft with sticky velcro. I brought them home and the kids thought they were cool stickers. Now velcro is stuck to my walls in odd locations. I guess I could try to use it to hang up the Christmas stockings! Only kidding!
Speaking of Christmas, we are waiting to put the main tree up to avoid the ornament "migration" that happens each year at Christmas. The littles ones love to "see" (translation: TOUCH) the ornaments and forget to put them back in the same spot and they end up on the side of the tree that is more hidden. Then we end up with a patchy tree. :) Thank goodness old St Nick doesn't give gifts by grading on how the tree looks! We would get coal.
We were invited over to a friend's house for Thanksgiving. I've been experimenting on a Gluten free pie crust and I think I found a great one! I may try some xylitol as a sugar replacement too. We'll see...
Happy Thanksgiving, dear homemakers!
Some things have suffered because I can't do it all. Things like my walls, the closets, the garage, and occasional dirty face. I just laugh. That is the only thing I can do to keep myself from losing it.
The other day I went to use the bathroom in my downstairs bathroom. There I found Minnie Mouse doing the backstroke in my TOILET! There she was, face up, floating while she was maxing and relaxing in the "pool". She fit just perfectly. "No one" knows who did it.
I'm enrichment leader in my ward and we recently did a craft with sticky velcro. I brought them home and the kids thought they were cool stickers. Now velcro is stuck to my walls in odd locations. I guess I could try to use it to hang up the Christmas stockings! Only kidding!
Speaking of Christmas, we are waiting to put the main tree up to avoid the ornament "migration" that happens each year at Christmas. The littles ones love to "see" (translation: TOUCH) the ornaments and forget to put them back in the same spot and they end up on the side of the tree that is more hidden. Then we end up with a patchy tree. :) Thank goodness old St Nick doesn't give gifts by grading on how the tree looks! We would get coal.
We were invited over to a friend's house for Thanksgiving. I've been experimenting on a Gluten free pie crust and I think I found a great one! I may try some xylitol as a sugar replacement too. We'll see...
Happy Thanksgiving, dear homemakers!
Monday, November 17, 2008
'Tis the Season
Well, it's getting to be that time again to give to charities. I'd like to share this clip with you. Hope you get a good smile or two. Ugh, sorry about the advertisement..I can't change that.
Friday, November 14, 2008
Soggy Adventures in Motherhood
If I see one more soggy, stuffed animal bathing in the sink by himself again I think I'll grow another gray hair! Madi, my five year old autistic kiddo, has learned to bathe her animals in the sink and she involved other siblings in her delightful new skill.
Oh, the magic and the power in the pushing of the sink plug! Oh, the possibilities!
We have a large bathroom that we call the "kids" bathroom. Each day, that I peek in to be sure there are no science experiments growing in it, I always find something new and unusual. Upon occasion, underneath the double sink cabinet I find all the makings for someone to live snugly for a week in the cabinet, i.e.: pillows, blankets, the important family of stuffed animals, cups, and most importantly some snacks smuggled from the kitchen.
This week someone decided it was time to bathe the menagerie of stuffed "family members". Every morning when I come down the hall and peek in, someone has left a new stuffed pet alone in a full sink of water. I thought the forgotten pet would be forlorn in there by themselves, but I seem to be the only one bothered by it.
The animal takes three days to dry and still looks like a wet pup. The memories have been made, the valuable life skills learned and the children have skampered off onto a new adventure forgetting about poor Diego left soaking in the sink.
That is when I pull the plug....onto new adventures in motherhood!
Oh, the magic and the power in the pushing of the sink plug! Oh, the possibilities!
We have a large bathroom that we call the "kids" bathroom. Each day, that I peek in to be sure there are no science experiments growing in it, I always find something new and unusual. Upon occasion, underneath the double sink cabinet I find all the makings for someone to live snugly for a week in the cabinet, i.e.: pillows, blankets, the important family of stuffed animals, cups, and most importantly some snacks smuggled from the kitchen.
This week someone decided it was time to bathe the menagerie of stuffed "family members". Every morning when I come down the hall and peek in, someone has left a new stuffed pet alone in a full sink of water. I thought the forgotten pet would be forlorn in there by themselves, but I seem to be the only one bothered by it.
The animal takes three days to dry and still looks like a wet pup. The memories have been made, the valuable life skills learned and the children have skampered off onto a new adventure forgetting about poor Diego left soaking in the sink.
That is when I pull the plug....onto new adventures in motherhood!
Sunday, November 9, 2008
The Me-Time Myth
I read a very inspiring article this week. It was out of The Old Schoolhouse magazine, The "Me Time" Myth, by Amy Roberts. It was one of those articles you read and think it must have been meant for you. I hope I'm not plagiarizing or stepping on toes, but I would like to quote a few things out of the article.
She says "Me Time is a myth. It is an unattainable, always interruptible, never satisfying piece of junk psychology." To paraphrase she talks about taking some Me Time and never feeling satisfied. It sounded like a good idea: go out by yourself and refuel, get refreshed, and rejuvenate yourself so you can keep going. Only problem was, after being away from home, she returned to dirty dishes, laundry, and baths. Would the time ever come that she could leave and return without a huge workload of chores waiting for her?
After feeling like running right back out the door after arriving home, she talks about lashing out at her family. She finished the chores loudly, slinging dishes around, hurrying the children through baths, and getting short with everyone until she could escape to more Me Time in the sewing room or at the computer. Then came the late nights because she felt dissatisfied from the lack of time for herself and the disaster of a house she would have to wake up to, and so then in the morning, armed with coffee, she would sit at the computer ignoring the daily duties awaiting her. The kids were into stuff, they would call out to her, and her response was "She's not here right now".
Then came the resentment for her husband. He had business meetings, lunches and trips. Because she perceived the time with his job as unfair she went on strike on the weekends: no laundry, dishes, or parenting. But that backfired because it spilled over the weekend to the week. She only felt more overwhelmed and fed into her desire to escape.
Oh, how I could relate to the pattern. This is when my Coke addiction started. Coke (as in the soda Coke....don't want any confusion there) became my comfort and escape. In a town where there is so little to really do, I turned to food, late nights on the computer and our small theater occasionally. I wasn't getting satified and things weren't necessarily better when I returned home either. The house was usually in disarray, the kids hungry, a meal to prepare or a stinky diaper to change. Isn't the one thing we seek out in life fulfillment? Didn't I want all these babies? Why am I trying to run away from them?
Amy Roberts goes on to say that "In a moment of clarity, as only the Lord can offer, I saw my behavior for what it truly was: selfishness. Along with this epiphany came the conviction to quit seeking Me Time."
The Me Time myth suggests that we find fulfillment outside of the roles of wife and mother. That these two things are not what really defines us. It accuses "precious little ones and God-given spouses for suppressing us. It reduces motherhood to a disease in with little dirty faces and endless monotonous tasks slowly suck the life out of us. It says that we can never be refreshed by spending time in the presence of those we care for day in and day out. It points out a perceived hole in our world that needs to be filled, a tank that must be refueled, a monster that will swallow us if we neglect to feed it Me Time." We will continue to seek after more Me Time, which starts a vicious cycle of snapping at people infringing on our Me Time, dreading everyday life, feeling as though our day is ruined if we don't have Me Time and if we do manage to get it, we will despise the re-entry into our defining roles.
There is a cure for this. You are trying to seek out something that will fill the emptiness in your soul. Only God can fill that hole. Our time away from home and family should be spent seeking God. Anything else will fall short. The company we keep should be about edifying and strengthening us in our roles as wife and mother. The time we spend away from our family should be uplifting to our souls, and make us anxious to return home cheerfully. Our jobs and roles in the home should not be something we cast aside as evening falls and all the children are in bed. We should find contentment in serving others. Anyone counseling you to seek out self will only cause more resentment. I can testify to this. The time I have spent away from my family doing righteous, uplifting activities with other women, learning about God and his Gospel, or even spent sitting in my car praying has brought me back home rejuvenated and anxious to care for my family. My house might be destroyed, my dishes may be piled high and the baby might be stinky, but there is comfort in setting these things back in order. What will matter when this life is said and done? I'm reminded of the saying that it will not matter what kind of car you had or house you owned, but how you treated your little ones, how you loved those around you.
I'm not saying that you should never seek out Me Time. As was stated in the article, once you have filled this hole with God, comfort and assurance in your role as mother and wife, and sought to evict selfishness and replace it with service, your time away will not be the only way to save your sanity. You will find the blessings of motherhood. You will find the blessings of being a wife. You will find the joy of being a Daughter of our Heavenly Father, and you will be able to embrace these joys, blessings and roles and not seen as something to be escaped.
She says "Me Time is a myth. It is an unattainable, always interruptible, never satisfying piece of junk psychology." To paraphrase she talks about taking some Me Time and never feeling satisfied. It sounded like a good idea: go out by yourself and refuel, get refreshed, and rejuvenate yourself so you can keep going. Only problem was, after being away from home, she returned to dirty dishes, laundry, and baths. Would the time ever come that she could leave and return without a huge workload of chores waiting for her?
After feeling like running right back out the door after arriving home, she talks about lashing out at her family. She finished the chores loudly, slinging dishes around, hurrying the children through baths, and getting short with everyone until she could escape to more Me Time in the sewing room or at the computer. Then came the late nights because she felt dissatisfied from the lack of time for herself and the disaster of a house she would have to wake up to, and so then in the morning, armed with coffee, she would sit at the computer ignoring the daily duties awaiting her. The kids were into stuff, they would call out to her, and her response was "She's not here right now".
Then came the resentment for her husband. He had business meetings, lunches and trips. Because she perceived the time with his job as unfair she went on strike on the weekends: no laundry, dishes, or parenting. But that backfired because it spilled over the weekend to the week. She only felt more overwhelmed and fed into her desire to escape.
Oh, how I could relate to the pattern. This is when my Coke addiction started. Coke (as in the soda Coke....don't want any confusion there) became my comfort and escape. In a town where there is so little to really do, I turned to food, late nights on the computer and our small theater occasionally. I wasn't getting satified and things weren't necessarily better when I returned home either. The house was usually in disarray, the kids hungry, a meal to prepare or a stinky diaper to change. Isn't the one thing we seek out in life fulfillment? Didn't I want all these babies? Why am I trying to run away from them?
Amy Roberts goes on to say that "In a moment of clarity, as only the Lord can offer, I saw my behavior for what it truly was: selfishness. Along with this epiphany came the conviction to quit seeking Me Time."
The Me Time myth suggests that we find fulfillment outside of the roles of wife and mother. That these two things are not what really defines us. It accuses "precious little ones and God-given spouses for suppressing us. It reduces motherhood to a disease in with little dirty faces and endless monotonous tasks slowly suck the life out of us. It says that we can never be refreshed by spending time in the presence of those we care for day in and day out. It points out a perceived hole in our world that needs to be filled, a tank that must be refueled, a monster that will swallow us if we neglect to feed it Me Time." We will continue to seek after more Me Time, which starts a vicious cycle of snapping at people infringing on our Me Time, dreading everyday life, feeling as though our day is ruined if we don't have Me Time and if we do manage to get it, we will despise the re-entry into our defining roles.
There is a cure for this. You are trying to seek out something that will fill the emptiness in your soul. Only God can fill that hole. Our time away from home and family should be spent seeking God. Anything else will fall short. The company we keep should be about edifying and strengthening us in our roles as wife and mother. The time we spend away from our family should be uplifting to our souls, and make us anxious to return home cheerfully. Our jobs and roles in the home should not be something we cast aside as evening falls and all the children are in bed. We should find contentment in serving others. Anyone counseling you to seek out self will only cause more resentment. I can testify to this. The time I have spent away from my family doing righteous, uplifting activities with other women, learning about God and his Gospel, or even spent sitting in my car praying has brought me back home rejuvenated and anxious to care for my family. My house might be destroyed, my dishes may be piled high and the baby might be stinky, but there is comfort in setting these things back in order. What will matter when this life is said and done? I'm reminded of the saying that it will not matter what kind of car you had or house you owned, but how you treated your little ones, how you loved those around you.
I'm not saying that you should never seek out Me Time. As was stated in the article, once you have filled this hole with God, comfort and assurance in your role as mother and wife, and sought to evict selfishness and replace it with service, your time away will not be the only way to save your sanity. You will find the blessings of motherhood. You will find the blessings of being a wife. You will find the joy of being a Daughter of our Heavenly Father, and you will be able to embrace these joys, blessings and roles and not seen as something to be escaped.
Sunday Night Thoughts
When I was in high school I hated Sunday night. I sometimes felt anxiety, dread, mostly uncomfortableness that I had to start another week in the morning and that my usually wonderful weekend was coming to an end. I feel a little like that today.
Yesterday we went to Kearney for a training meeting (church related). I felt good, the meeting was wonderful, and I was in the company of some very wonderful women. We got home in time for me to go Geo-caching (www.geo-caching.com) with the boys that led us on a 2 hour goose chase for NOTHING, but I had a good time with the boys. And then a migraine set in and I forced myself to get a newsletter ready for today for church and then went to bed. This morning we were up at 5:30 to leave by 7:30, to be at church for another early morning meeting. Curtis now gets to ride with me to the meeting since he was released from his duties and so we had a really good talk on the way.
We talked about the example of fathers in the home. For many years I had heard men exclaim that they were not really needed by their children, but the mothers...they WERE needed. Most of these thoughts came from men whose marriages had failed, or had had been a teenage father, or were only following the example of their father who had been mostly absent from their childhood. I'm sure there have been many studies done on fathers and their influence and I could write all the things I've read about that, but what I really just want to say is that sons follow their fathers. Daughters are looking at their fathers as an example of what to look for in their husbands. Sons look at their fathers to learn how to be a father, how to be a husband, how to fix the stuff that Mom has set up for Dad on a Saturday morning. Fathers parent differently and children are very aware of those differences. My sons asked me Saturday if I had ever had to stay with just my dad while my mom was gone. It took me back to a memory I had when I was 9.
My mother's father had had a heart attack and the family had called mom to tell her that they thought this was IT for him. She flew back to Nebraska, leaving my sister and I with our father for a week. I don't remember having cookies, cakes, or candy a lot as a child. For one, sometimes we just didn't have enough food except what we were served at meals, but the other is for obvious reasons: tooth decay, weight,etc. Well, the week we were in Dad's care, we had cake, brownies, McDonald's and Whataburger. Dad let us help him cook the sweets and then we split them up and took them to neighbors to share. We listened to Loverboy in the huge Pontiac we drove around in and it's when I became aware that we wore seat belts. Dad had to take us to get passport pictures (we were moving to Germany in a few months) and so he had to do our hair. My hair looked like a rat's nest in back, and my sister's hair looked like a rat's nest on the side. My mom freaked out when she saw our passport pictures. "Ron! They have to have these pictures for the next 5 years at least!" We giggled because even though our hair looked hideous in the picture, Dad had made an attempt at least to do our hair. In years before that, I don't remember my dad with us much. He was trying to make ends meet and sometimes worked from sun up to past sun down. Once he went in the military, with the exception of field exercises, we saw him a great deal more. I remember bike rides, picnics, dates with Dad, driving lessons, playing HORSE with a basketball, fixing up our house, working on cars, mowing the lawn, and my favorite, listening to his stories of his childhood.
What will your kids remember of their father? Is it playing ball with him or sitting with him while he watched a game on TV? Will it be doing something with him or watching him do something without their involvement? What will they learn from their father's example? Does he have soft words for them or is it barking out orders? How does he treat his childrens' mother? If it is with respect, then they will learn to treat their wives with respect. My mom used to tell me to see how boys treat their sisters. How they treated their sisters was probably a good example of how they will treat you.
Maybe a little heavy for a Sunday night, but it was on my mind all day long. We only have a few short, short years with our children to teach them all they need to know before going out into the world. If changes need to be made, then by all means, make goals, pray, and MAKE a change. Children are our greatest blessings, we need to treat them as such.
Yesterday we went to Kearney for a training meeting (church related). I felt good, the meeting was wonderful, and I was in the company of some very wonderful women. We got home in time for me to go Geo-caching (www.geo-caching.com) with the boys that led us on a 2 hour goose chase for NOTHING, but I had a good time with the boys. And then a migraine set in and I forced myself to get a newsletter ready for today for church and then went to bed. This morning we were up at 5:30 to leave by 7:30, to be at church for another early morning meeting. Curtis now gets to ride with me to the meeting since he was released from his duties and so we had a really good talk on the way.
We talked about the example of fathers in the home. For many years I had heard men exclaim that they were not really needed by their children, but the mothers...they WERE needed. Most of these thoughts came from men whose marriages had failed, or had had been a teenage father, or were only following the example of their father who had been mostly absent from their childhood. I'm sure there have been many studies done on fathers and their influence and I could write all the things I've read about that, but what I really just want to say is that sons follow their fathers. Daughters are looking at their fathers as an example of what to look for in their husbands. Sons look at their fathers to learn how to be a father, how to be a husband, how to fix the stuff that Mom has set up for Dad on a Saturday morning. Fathers parent differently and children are very aware of those differences. My sons asked me Saturday if I had ever had to stay with just my dad while my mom was gone. It took me back to a memory I had when I was 9.
My mother's father had had a heart attack and the family had called mom to tell her that they thought this was IT for him. She flew back to Nebraska, leaving my sister and I with our father for a week. I don't remember having cookies, cakes, or candy a lot as a child. For one, sometimes we just didn't have enough food except what we were served at meals, but the other is for obvious reasons: tooth decay, weight,etc. Well, the week we were in Dad's care, we had cake, brownies, McDonald's and Whataburger. Dad let us help him cook the sweets and then we split them up and took them to neighbors to share. We listened to Loverboy in the huge Pontiac we drove around in and it's when I became aware that we wore seat belts. Dad had to take us to get passport pictures (we were moving to Germany in a few months) and so he had to do our hair. My hair looked like a rat's nest in back, and my sister's hair looked like a rat's nest on the side. My mom freaked out when she saw our passport pictures. "Ron! They have to have these pictures for the next 5 years at least!" We giggled because even though our hair looked hideous in the picture, Dad had made an attempt at least to do our hair. In years before that, I don't remember my dad with us much. He was trying to make ends meet and sometimes worked from sun up to past sun down. Once he went in the military, with the exception of field exercises, we saw him a great deal more. I remember bike rides, picnics, dates with Dad, driving lessons, playing HORSE with a basketball, fixing up our house, working on cars, mowing the lawn, and my favorite, listening to his stories of his childhood.
What will your kids remember of their father? Is it playing ball with him or sitting with him while he watched a game on TV? Will it be doing something with him or watching him do something without their involvement? What will they learn from their father's example? Does he have soft words for them or is it barking out orders? How does he treat his childrens' mother? If it is with respect, then they will learn to treat their wives with respect. My mom used to tell me to see how boys treat their sisters. How they treated their sisters was probably a good example of how they will treat you.
Maybe a little heavy for a Sunday night, but it was on my mind all day long. We only have a few short, short years with our children to teach them all they need to know before going out into the world. If changes need to be made, then by all means, make goals, pray, and MAKE a change. Children are our greatest blessings, we need to treat them as such.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
The Kirby Sale
Today, just as we were all dosing off for naps a guy shows up and offers a free carpet cleaning. It's been about 4 years since I've had a Kirby vacuum sales demo done, so I forgot this was how it started. I agreed and as soon as I shut the door hurried up and vacuumed. They show up.
Vacuum in a box. Check
Young guy with a kid. Check
Old guy wearing weird pants. Check.
A trip to Mexico to be won. Check. (Not by me, of course, but for the young guy with a kid).
20 calls ready to be made to see if we can make a deal. Check.
Just as they rang the doorbell I realized who they were and what they were doing. So, for the next 4 HOURS they were here, vacuuming, leaving their dirty filter discs on my floor to admire, some placed on my white couch for me to stress over, and all with a promise to clean my carpet while I wait.
I'm not usually a vengeful person. I don't like to make people uncomfortable, I don't like to be rude, and I don't like to be the bad guy. But, when I have 6 kids running around and I have not willingly scheduled for a 4 hour appointment with perfect strangers, I get a little cranky. I tried to make the most of it.
When he vacuumed the bed to show me all the disgusting dust mite poop, I pulled out our microscope and told the kids we were doing a science experiment.
I changed poopy diapers on his clean rug. I whipped out a boob to nurse the baby. I told him about every financial mistake we have EVER made in hopes of deterring him from trying to make a deal to sell the Kirby to us. I told him I NEVER walked on the carpet without shoes on because dirty carpets creeped me out. I also told him I vacuumed every single day of the year, which he somehow came up with the figure of 375 days, and then proceeded to vacuum the same spot 375 times, but actually only got to 150.
Oh, and then the actual shampooing started. Bubbles, BUBBLES!!!! The kids loved the bubbles. They walked in them, slipped in them, ate them, hopped, skipped and jumped through them and Isaac especially made a good effort to take the longest, most difficult, route through the room to get his shoes, stepping in all the bubbles on the way.
I do have to say the carpet looked 10 times better than when they started. But, as soon as we came to a final NO, we are not buying the Kirby, they packed up real quick and didn't get the biggest, greatest, scariest stain of all that was hiding under my couch...and they promised to clean it for me when they came in!
While I'm sure Kirby vacuums are great, I disagree with their selling tactics. Its not convenient to put someone through a 4 hour demonstration. Its creepy having them call someone in the finance department every 10 minutes. Its very hard to stay a gracious host (or prisoner in your own home) for that long with family life circulating around you. I felt sorry for the young guy that was doing the demo. He had a baby girl, he didn't look like he was yet 21 and THIS is the job he had to try and support the baby on. I asked a few questions myself, namely, if they stayed in this area only. They didn't. They went to Minnesota, Kansas, Oklahoma. Not only was he all over the nation, it didn't sound like he was home much to be with his baby. I don't know how long he had been doing this but he was up to 25 sales out of the 32 he needed to get to Mexico for a trip...which I'm wondering if he could actually afford to take once he got it.
But, I guess this is what you get when you accept a *free* carpet cleaning. I felt like an idiot when Curtis finally came home and they left an hour after that. Why not next time tell them "Look. I don't want to buy your vacuum, but you are more than welcome to come in with all your gear and test out all your gadgets on my carpet." Why can't I think that quickly?!
Vacuum in a box. Check
Young guy with a kid. Check
Old guy wearing weird pants. Check.
A trip to Mexico to be won. Check. (Not by me, of course, but for the young guy with a kid).
20 calls ready to be made to see if we can make a deal. Check.
Just as they rang the doorbell I realized who they were and what they were doing. So, for the next 4 HOURS they were here, vacuuming, leaving their dirty filter discs on my floor to admire, some placed on my white couch for me to stress over, and all with a promise to clean my carpet while I wait.
I'm not usually a vengeful person. I don't like to make people uncomfortable, I don't like to be rude, and I don't like to be the bad guy. But, when I have 6 kids running around and I have not willingly scheduled for a 4 hour appointment with perfect strangers, I get a little cranky. I tried to make the most of it.
When he vacuumed the bed to show me all the disgusting dust mite poop, I pulled out our microscope and told the kids we were doing a science experiment.
I changed poopy diapers on his clean rug. I whipped out a boob to nurse the baby. I told him about every financial mistake we have EVER made in hopes of deterring him from trying to make a deal to sell the Kirby to us. I told him I NEVER walked on the carpet without shoes on because dirty carpets creeped me out. I also told him I vacuumed every single day of the year, which he somehow came up with the figure of 375 days, and then proceeded to vacuum the same spot 375 times, but actually only got to 150.
Oh, and then the actual shampooing started. Bubbles, BUBBLES!!!! The kids loved the bubbles. They walked in them, slipped in them, ate them, hopped, skipped and jumped through them and Isaac especially made a good effort to take the longest, most difficult, route through the room to get his shoes, stepping in all the bubbles on the way.
I do have to say the carpet looked 10 times better than when they started. But, as soon as we came to a final NO, we are not buying the Kirby, they packed up real quick and didn't get the biggest, greatest, scariest stain of all that was hiding under my couch...and they promised to clean it for me when they came in!
While I'm sure Kirby vacuums are great, I disagree with their selling tactics. Its not convenient to put someone through a 4 hour demonstration. Its creepy having them call someone in the finance department every 10 minutes. Its very hard to stay a gracious host (or prisoner in your own home) for that long with family life circulating around you. I felt sorry for the young guy that was doing the demo. He had a baby girl, he didn't look like he was yet 21 and THIS is the job he had to try and support the baby on. I asked a few questions myself, namely, if they stayed in this area only. They didn't. They went to Minnesota, Kansas, Oklahoma. Not only was he all over the nation, it didn't sound like he was home much to be with his baby. I don't know how long he had been doing this but he was up to 25 sales out of the 32 he needed to get to Mexico for a trip...which I'm wondering if he could actually afford to take once he got it.
But, I guess this is what you get when you accept a *free* carpet cleaning. I felt like an idiot when Curtis finally came home and they left an hour after that. Why not next time tell them "Look. I don't want to buy your vacuum, but you are more than welcome to come in with all your gear and test out all your gadgets on my carpet." Why can't I think that quickly?!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)