Calling all nannies, mannies, daycares, child care providers, pre-school teachers, baby sitters and midwives. Did I miss anyone? We had an atrocious Friday the 13th. We finally found some time to go down to Quentin's new daycare and get our ID's so we could pick him up and drop him off. We decided to to do it at rush hour so we would know how long it would take to get there during peak traffic times. I can't even begin to give this situation justice writing about it but I'll give it a shot. It took us about 20 minutes to get to the daycare so we felt pretty good about that. The day took a dramatic turn downhill immediately upon pulling into the parking lot. It was clear the daycare wasn't open and it was 4:30 in the afternoon. Not a good sign. When we got closer it was clear the center was no longer open and under construction. We whip out a cell phone and call the number. The number is disconnected. Not good. Carrie walks up to the door and there is a cardboard sign etched with an exacto knife that says closed. Classy. All this daycare, ahem or lack there of, for only $200 a week. We get home and did some checking and called our first choice where we were wait listed. They have been inundated with calls since this place closed several locations so they had the scoop. Yes, these people took our money and closed their doors without sending a letter or a phone call ala Madoff. Scumbags apparently can be found in any industry including child care. Through a little research we found they were taking people's money on Monday knowing full well they were closing their doors on Friday. They gave parents no notice who already had children there. We are officially screwed because we have one week of maternity leave left and the best estimates for the lists we are on will have openings by summer so we now have no alternatives either. Anyone want to take care of Quentin?
We had some minor issues later in the day that don't hold a candle to that, but this Friday the 13th was so unkind. Carrie's awesome verizon phone took a run down the proverbial crapper and now only the 6 key works as in every time you open the phone it just repeatedly dials the 6 key. Some how that is my number on her speed dial. How did I make it to only number six? I don't know but every time she flips the phone open it calls mine. So today we are going to have to go out and buy another phone. Does anyone notice that these cell phone companies require you to sign a two year deal but none of these phones make it to two years. They all die before hand forcing you to "upgrade" to a new phone and sign another two year agreement. We've had enough! We're buying our contract out. Those fees really aren't that bad if you do the math. We are talking about less then $10/month prorated and she only has a couple of months left so we're done. One year agreements going forward.
So, we lost our daycare and Carrie had her phone die but I did attempt to get some flowers delivered yesterday for V-day. Of course that would go right. Right?!? No, I learned my lesson last year as I was attempting to track down flowers the day of so this year I took care of them a couple weeks in advance. I asked the flower shop to deliver them around noon. Noon comes and goes, no flowers. We have to get to the defunct daycare but I can't leave until the flowers come so I start stalling. I decide I'll got to the gym. That will give the flower folks a good hour to make it. I come back. Still no flowers. I go back to work and make some phone calls. It's now after two and still no flowers. I call the flower shop and they promise they will have them there no later then 3pm. I take a shower, make some more phone calls. Still no flowers. It's 4 pm now and we can't wait any longer so I take off to go to our hellhole of a daycare. We return ultra angry. There are some tears because poor Quentin is going to be homeless or Carrie is going to unexpectedly be a stay-at-home mom. We would be fine with that if we could keep her paycheck. So, it's really not the ideal time to walk in the house with a bouquet of flowers because everyone is mad and panicking but I did pay for them. It's officially 5:30 so I call the florist again and they put me on hold for about five minutes. They come back on and ask if they can call me back in 15 minutes. That's not a positive sign. They call back to tell me they already delivered them. Uh-huh. And they would be where? Well, I tell them they didn't get here. Carrie of course by now wants to know what is going on so that kills the surprise but does add to the misery. Flower shop says they will make it right. Well, in the end it turns out they read the 5 in our address as an 8 and delivered them to our neighbors - who accepted them with Carrie Spiegelhoff on the card. The driver went back several hours later and asked for them back and then ran across the street and delivered them to us. That must have been a really interesting conversation the wife had with the husband over there. In the end she got her flowers and liked them but by this time a stiff drink would've had a more positive effect. It was a rough one.
This morning we awoke still in disbelief and having no idea what to do. I figure everything happens for a reason so I am being patiently optimistic. That's a new role for me so I'll let you know how it works out. We can only wait and see. Hopefully some Christmas miracle happens and a grade A child care provider presents themselves at our door during our most dire hour. And oh I can't wait for March 13th, another Friday the 13th. And if that's not enough, there is yet another one in November this year. Happy Valentine's Day - from hell!
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