One Month

It's just a little over an hour away from being one month ago that Tom took his last breath.  I don't know how I feel about that.  I'm still in denial...shock.

I went to my first of a 6-week grief support group tonight.  It was well worth it and I look forward to figuring out this journey over the next 6-weeks.  I know it will take longer than just 6-weeks to get through this, it will probably take the rest of my entire life, but at least I am confident that this is the right direction to go in the grief and coping process.

I'll probably stay up until the time of 11:51pm.  That was the time on Feb 14th after Tom took his last breath.  Yes, I know the obit date and, in fact, the legal date is 12:45am on Feb 15th, and that is because it isn't legal until the hospice nurse arrives to call the official T.O.D.  Every year, it is going to be a struggle for me between the 14th and 15th.  I know this already.

I do have Tom's remains home now, in his forever urn.  It is so beautiful and was machined by a close friend.  It's 304 stainless steel, brushed finish, with Tom's name, dates, an eagle and Isaiah 40:31 engraved on it.  I will try to take a good picture and post it sometime.  I plan to keep him home with me for a long time.  To some people it creeps them out, but it does not to me, not at all.  I love looking at the urn and giving him a good night kiss.  Our family pic in an 8x10 stands on the shelf next to it, along with one of Tom's favorite eagle head statues.

Well, that is about all I feel like sharing tonight.  Thanks for listening, and thank you so much for keeping Nathan, myself and our family in your thoughts and prayers.

My week back to work.... (A MUST READ! you'll see...)

Monday, March 2nd was my first day back to work after 12 weeks on maternity leave. I have to admit, I dreaded going back to work and being away from my baby. And guess what...I survived it and now I'm living a new life. Keep reading to see what I mean...

Monday 3/2

4:30am woke up, nursed Nathan

5am got Nathan back to sleep, jumped in the shower

6:30am Nathan woke up, nursed, then watched Baby Einstein "Moves" DVD

7am Drove Nathan to my mom's for the day7:30am Got to work, caught up with some co-workers, and got to work with LOTS to do!

I'll spare the daily details, but I pumped twice on Monday, thought of Nathan a lot, called my mom to find out he was doing marvelous.

Tuesday 3/3

Same early morning routine.

7:30am Aunt Debbie came to watch Nathan

11am Daddy woke up to play with Nathan while Aunt Debbie ran her errands

2:20pm Daddy went to work

4:30pm Mommy rushed home to see her baby.

Poor baby didn't want to nap for Aunt Debbie. She walked the house bouncing away just to keep Nathan satisfied. Bless her heart, she did everything she could for dear-teething-Nathan-boy. As soon as I got Nathan in my arms, and Debbie drove out of the driveway, dear-teething-Nathan-boy crashed. Out like a light! I laid him in bed and he slept from 4:50pm to 9pm! (I got a lot of misc stuff done in that time.)

Wednesday 3/4 (Gma Sheila's 60th birthday!)

Same early morning routine.

7:15am Dropped Nathan off at Gma & Gpa Schwandt's house. It's so hard to leave my baby!

Mommy worked hard all day. Thought of Nathan, called Gma Schwandt to find out he was playing and having a good ol' time. Daddy had come over when he got up.

4:30pm Rushed to see my baby. Gma & Gpa Schwandt had a good fun day with their grandson!

That night Nathan didn't want to go to sleep very well, so we were up playing, bathed, nursed, rocked, and finally bed.

Thursday 3/5

Same early morning routine.

7:15am Dropped Nathan off at KinderCare

Mommy worked hard all day. Thought of Nathan, called KinderCare and he was doing good, having fun playing and watching the other kids. Daddy went to KinderCare before work. He tried to feed Nathan a bottle, but Nathan just smiled and talked to Daddy the whole time :)

4:30pm Rushed to see my baby.

We enjoyed a quiet evening together, playing with toys, chatting up a storm, nursing and rocking to sleep. We got good sleep this night!

Friday 3/6 (a.k.a. dooms-day-and-didn't-know-it)

Same early morning routine.

7:1am Gma & Gpa Schwandt came to watch Nathan.

Mommy worked hard all MORNING. Ordered Pagoni's pizza with her co-workers, and was really looking forward to eating it.

11:30am Went up to the front lobby to pay the pizza guy, but ended up losing my job!

Yes, that's what I said... I lost my job through "workforce reduction". My job was eliminated in order to save the company money through these hard economic times. I went up to pay and get our pizza's, and at the same time, our department manager was on his way to come give me the tap-tap, but I literally ran into him. He looked like a deer in headlights. He had to read a formalility to me, couldn't hardly look me in the eyes, and kindly went to get my important things to walk me out. The first thing out of my mouth was my BREAST PUMP, then my purse, coat, Nathan's picture I had just brought for my desk, and I asked about my pizza. He reimbursed me for the pizza I had paid for, out of his own pocket. Later, they did let my co-worker stop at my house after work with my desk belongings, including 'roxanne's grocery store' hehee:) and with that she brought my pizza! YEAH YUM!

I'm a little emotional., but I don't have hard feelings about it. I think I would if I didn't have Nathan, but since I have him, I'm looking at the positive side of things and thanking God for the blessing of being able to be with my son again. Of course it will be hard, financially, once the severance pay is exhausted, but I also put in my claim for unemployement. I will start looking for another job, but there aren't many out there. And instead of doing the same thing I have for the past 8 years, I'm going to look out in the finance field, or for some office job at the hospital. I figure, the banks and credit unions aren't going away, and people still need the hospital, so those are good places to work.

And finally, I will leave you with a picture of Nathan!

All Good Things Must Come to an END

My maternity leave is coming to an END. I have loved being home with Nathan, becoming a mother, learning about him; his little cries, whines, and the noises he makes when he nurses, even the grunts when he sleeps. I've falled totally and utterly in love with this precious child the Lord has given to me. I've always worked full-time, and thought of myself as a sort of 'business woman' since earning my Bachelor's degree. Now that going back to work on March 2nd is coming so close, I now look at myself as a 'business-mom-woman'. As much as I'd love to stay home with Nathan, we just can't afford the missing salary....we've got bills to pay, and Nathan can't quite meet my salary requirements. He's a strict boss, I tell ya! heehe :)

Our plans for Nathan's daily care when I go back to work has been that the Grandma's would share the week taking care of him. At first didn't want any Grandma's to have to be daycare person plus Grandma, because it's not fair to their right to spoil the kids as Grandma's are supposed to do. Well, the price of full-time daycare convinced us otherwise, but I've recently found an option that will work!

Back up for a second... Tom's parents have offered since day 1 to help watch Nathan for the first year. While they love their grandson, we want to be sure they can enjoy him fully, and taking care of a baby in their 70s is much different than taking care of a baby in their 30s-50s. In addition, my mom is turning 60 next month, and with my dad's health rapidly declining, she's got him to take care of as well. Basically the Dr said he would very soon need Adult day care. Long story, don't want to get into it, very emotional...

So I began my search for daycare centers with any possible openings next month. I called 3 places nearby home here and all 3 had openings. One was full-time only, one was Mondays & Fridays only, and the 3rd is a flexible schedule... so full-time or part-time, and any combo of days. That's KinderCare, and my friend Julia has been taking her 3 kids there for a while now and they love it.

I had a chance to tour the place the other night and fell in love. They can not only give Nathan wonderful care, but provide him with developemental toys, games, kids, and so much it blew me away! Their secruity is top-notch so I don't have to worry about my child being kidnapped. I am really excited for Nathan to have this wonderful experience and I know he will really thrive by going there. The Center Director just had her baby girl on Nov 20th, so she and Nathan are only 2 weeks apart. I think the babies will learn a lot from watching eachother, and growing up together. Look out baby girls, another girlfriend for Nathan! :)

*hugs*
Roxanne :)

Violated

....that's what happened to me today.... I was violated. My personal property violated and stolen. Here's the story:

My friend Nikki was off of work today, so she and I (and Nathan) went out for a late lunch at a new-old restaurant. The new restaurant is Solea, a Mexican cuisine. The building is the old Gulliver's. Jamie will remember good ole Gulliver's! Solea has been open for about a month. The food was really good, and we had an enjoyable lunch-date. Nikki even fed Nathan his lunch. She's such a natural, she needs to have a little bundle next!! So we're walking out to my truck, which is parked in the first stall of the parking lot, right in front of the building. I open the back door and fasten Nathan's carseat in the base, just as Nikki says (from the passenger side of the vehicle) "Oh my gosh!" I could hear her plain as day, but she hadn't opened the door... I look up to see her in a frame of broken glass. Someone broke my passenger side front door!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OH MY GOSH is right!!!

My first reaction was that the car parked next to me, which wasn't there when I parked, somehow opened their door and the corner of their door busted out my window. I commented to get the liscence plate, but we look and there is no apparent damage to the body of the door or anything... Just then, Nikki looks up and notices my Garmin Nuvi GPS system is missing out of the front windshield. No SHIT! I couldn't believe my eyes!! Nothing like this has ever happened to me before! I just bought the dumb thing, and only bought it for the use of my business (Pampered Chef) for when I go to shows and am unfamiliar with addresses, and driving in the dark on unfamiliar roads. I only put it in my truck cuz it was kinda fun to see the familiar roads on the little screen. I really could care less about actually having one just to have one...I never got a chance to use it for the purpose I had intended when I bought it.

So we went back into Solea to make the necesary calls. First the cops, then husband, and then insurance. Tom couldn't believe it either. He told some guys at work and then called me back to tell me the guys said they had heard of these getting stolen, the theif finding the home address programed in the thing, then going to the house and robbing it. So now I'm really freaking out, tears streamimg, this is the last thing I want to worry about....I already felt so violated by my truck being broken into with a busted out window. Both my insurance guy and the cop said they hadn't heard of this kind of thing happening, and the kind of thiefs that steal these really aren't that smart. They steal them cuz they are an easy quick sell...$100 or so to get the drug/alcohol money they want. still... bastards!

Well, the Glass Doctor is coming out on Monday to replace the glass. At least it's only $100 deductible, but the feeling of being violated will probably never go away. When I do get a new Garmin, I won't EVER EVER EVER leave it visible in the windshield like that. So here's to warn you all if you have one of these devices..... DON'T LEAVE THEM IN VIEW! Even little old Neenah has hoodlums that will bust out your window just to get the darn thing.

It's just past 11:30 pm, and do you think I'm tired? Yes, I'm tired. But do you think I can sleep? I don't know, we'll see. Tom's working 2nd shift, he gets home around 1:30am. It's only a few more hours, but I'm leaving the kitchen light and living room lights on. Theo is home, so I know he will alert to anything or anyone attempting to come in the house. I don't think we have to worry, it's not like we have a big beautiful house or anything, but still, it's our home. If someone were to break in here, that kind of violation would hurt even worse.

I suppose... I suppose I should put my baby in his bassinett and lay my head on my own pillow.......

Good night,
Roxanne
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the good and the bad

The good is that baby is still cooking inside getting bigger and stronger with each passing day.

The bad is I am positive for Group B strep, which means (and being my first) we are instructed to call the Dr office when either I am having contractions 7-10 mins apart or my water breaks, whichever comes first. I will be put on an IV antibiotic to ensure that Group B strep is not passed on to the baby if he is born naturally.

The good is I am still working. Up until the day we go in to have the baby.

The bad is I found out my paid disability leave is not going to be paid out as I had expected. Because my 1 yr anniversary date is Jan 2nd, 2009, and I will be having the baby before that date, I will not get any pay until that date, but my 6wks leave starts the day the baby is born. So that reduces the # of wks I will have at 60% of my pay. That part really stinks!!

The good is my body is starting to do what it should be. As of last Wednesday's appt I am 50% effaced and 1cm dialated. I know you can be 1cm for a number of weeks, but it's kind of exciting to know things are actually happening that should be happening. Dr. Kaldas said I look really good, my weight gain has been great, blood pressure all wonderful, and that I have made this real easy on him. I said and easy on me, too!! Which is a true blessing considering all the IUI's, a miscarriage, and almost the IVF we had been thru.

The bad is my body is definately taking a toll on the extra baby, amniotic fluid, placenta, and extra blood weight. My right sciatic nerve has been bothering me, but more so the past few days than ever. I can't wait to see my chiropractor tonight. It will probably be the last time I see him before the baby is born. My bladder is surely feeling the pressure of everything, and I can only stay asleep for about an hour and half at a time before I'm uncomfortable and have to change sleeping postions.

The REALLY GOOD is my favorite Holiday season is upon on us! After the hustle and bustle of shopping online and in stores this weekend, the beauty of crisp white snow dancing down on to our rooftops and covering the grass and roads, I am in awe of God's wonderful gift he has given us. I love Christmas music and have been playing it in the truck and on my iPod. I'm in the spirit. Every year I make a little gift for everyone in my family (in-law family included) and I just got all the "ingredients" for my gifts yesterday. Now is the fun part... putting them together!

I hope you all enjoy this holiday season!!

*hugs*
Roxanne :)

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34 weeks and Great!!

I had my regularly scheduled OB appt today. I am 34 weeks and doc gave me a rave review! After last Friday, I was a little anxious as to what he might have to say.

Firstly, I lost the 5 extra pounds of water weight I had freakishly gained last week. I'm so glad, but my feetsies don't look any less pudgy or papaya-like. That's ok though, cuz Tom promised to give me a foot and back massage this weekend. That, on top of my exciting afternoon at the spa tomorrow!! I'll post about that later this weekend. :)

Dr. Kaldas told me I look good, no rash on my tummy. I'm like, rash? what kind of rash? He was referring to PUPPPs syndrome where some women, at this point in pregnancy, develop a red rash with blisters on their tummies... Here, this is how crazy PUPPPs is: (One study has shown that male fetal DNA can be found in skin biopsies of the rash. Since 70% of women with PUPPP give birth to boys, a new hypothesis is that male fetal DNA acts as a skin irritant.)

Doc also told me as long as I am feeling well, no unrelieveable headache, and no painful contractions, I am good to go for another 2 weeks. So I will be back for Week 36 check up on 11/26.

Now that ROXANNE is back, me and my old self, here's the weekend plan:

Friday afternoon 11/14: Spa Ben Mar Nico's for prenatal massage, facial, manicure and pedicure with my 31 wk pregnant girlfriend, Toni, for our b-day presents to eachother:)

Saturday 9am-3pm 11/15: Tom & Rox birth prep class at AMC. We will install the car seat in the truck and leave the base in there (prepare is my middle name), make dinner and watch movies while Tom fulfills his foot/back massage promises:)

Sunday 11/16: Church, then visit my family to hear all about their wonderful vacation/cruise in Italy! They fly into Minneapolis late Friday night, then mom and dad will drive home on Saturday afternoon. I can't wait to see the video's and pictures!!

*hugs*
roxanne :)
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the scare at 33w 1d

I was in the hospital on Friday 11/7 being monitored. Everything is ok now, but here's what happened...

I woke up at 4:30am (nothing new) but I had a really bad headache. I went to work and it got worse. I couldn't stand to look at my LCD monitor...it was so blury and bright. Took 2 Tylenol extra stength and it wouldn't go away. My eyes hurt, my face hurt, my head hurt, my hands and feet still hurt (swollen like melons), and I just felt down in the dumps. So after freaking out worrying about these symptoms of pre-eclampsia, I called and got an appt for 2pm to see my OB.

My OB, Dr. Kaldas, was off so I saw Dr. Schluzelberger. Not sure how to spell her name, but she was very nice. Turns out I had gained 5 pounds of water weight in the past week (not good), my blood pressure was ok, but considering my other symptoms, she wanted to do some tests and monitor me to find out what was going on... So they sent me up to the 3rd floor (baby floor). On my way, I lost it, again. I called Tom, who was home raking leaves with his nephew Ryan helping, and I could hardly speak through sobbing tears streaming my face and trying to catch my breath. I was scared of what the outcome might be, I wasn't scared we'd be having the baby, but I was worried for his health, my health and the fact that I just couldn't stand the thought of possibly being put on bed rest. I can't! I just can't! Can't afford it paycheck-wise, can't stand it sanity-wise. There's so much we have to do yet before the baby comes and time is ticking. Being put on bedrest would be the worst possible thing that could happen to me right now. So Tom was on his way.... And then I called work to tell them I wouldn't be back. My boss could tell how upset I was, sensing my previous sobbing and all, and she was very supportive and encouraging.

So I got on the elevator and pushed the "3" button. I just felt so drained emotionally and energy. I had none left. They got me set up in a room and just as soon, Tom came in. I instantly felt better having him there with me. They took my blood to run tests and hooked me up to some monitors. One on the baby's heart rate, and one on my uterus. The baby was doing perfectly - very energetic, excellent heartbeat, "textbook-perfect" the nurses said. But I was contracting. Had 4 in like 10 minutes. But they didn't hurt, I didn't even know!! Once I watched the machine and concentrated on my body, I could associate what I felt with it being a contraction. Weird, but not good. If this was baby #2 or #3 for me, then fine they would probably go along with it, but not for the 1st and at 33w 1d, so they had more tests to do and were able to rule out pre-eclampsia which they did, so that was a relief. What they did find is that I have a bladder infection, my cervix is 50% thinned out (not common for 1st time and this early) but my cervix is definitely closed. I got set up on an antibiotic for the bladder infection and they gave me a shot to stop the contractions, which worked. Oh, and they had given me a narcotic to get rid of the terrible headache, which worked like a charm.

All in all, I was there from 2pm and didn't get home until 7pm. Once my headache was relieved, knew the baby was fine, and pre-eclampsia was ruled out, I felt 100 times better. My next regularly scheduled OB appt with Dr. Kaldas is this Thursday, so I will go to that and see what he says. We need to keep the baby in as long as possible. He has lots of growing to do yet in these final weeks, and being in the womb is the best place for him. Mommy and Daddy have lots to do yet to get ready for his arrival!

In fact, my friend Nikki came shopping with me at Babies R Us to get items on our "absolutely-need-before-baby-comes-home-list". After $450, the only two things I need yet are the breast pump and the pack-n-play. I want to make sure breast feeding is going to work out for us before I buy the pump cuz it's like almost $300, probably more after all the accessories for freezing, etc... I have a couple 15% off coupons that I can use the end of this month and into December, so we'll hold off on those two items for now. As of this moment, I have yet another load of baby stuff in the wash. It's drying now, so I'll start putting those things away... a nice sling to carry baby and still have use of 2 hands, a peanut shell for nursing, 0-3m white onesies, changing pad covers, boppy covers, lap pads, crib mattress pad, etc... I happily fold and put away baby's beloved laundry; I just love the smell of Dreft baby detergent!

How am I feeling now? I am much better. My happy, energetic self is back and baby is happily bouncing around doing his normal aerobics. Oh, and I'm hungry... time for lunch!

Love,
Roxanne :)

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Emotion - It's NOT funny!

If you even laughed at this, then you better look behind you and make sure there isn't a pregnant woman holding a bat or the newspaper ready to swing at you!

So I've been a little emotional this week. Good thing for Tom that he is on 2nd shift. Theo and the cats are wonderful companions. They listen and don't talk back. All I want to do is make my dinner and eat it, too. But it seems everyone else just has to call me at the worst time. And you know me, I'm not one to let the phone ring. I have to pick it up. I can't stand it. I also can't stand waiting an hour just to make pancakes for dinner.... So a little emotional, but at least I do get to eat... eventually and then the acid reflux acts up, again. When I saw this cartoon on babygaga.com I thought it was perfect for a post!

Ok friends, you CAN call me. I just am going to do better at finishing my dinner first, THEN tend to the phone. :)

Love -n- Hugs,
Roxanne

My little early riser & a Furniture Update!

EARLY RISER:

So it seems I can't lay around in bed past 7:30am on the weekends any longer. What the heck? The baby had been kicking me to get up since 6am both Saturday and this morning, and growling my tummy in hungar since 7am. So while my dog and husband lounge in bed zonked away, I get up, eat some cereal, and do the only thing fun to do this darn early in the morning.... I MAKE A FLYER! (for my pampered chef biz). I just love playing with my newfound most-favorite Microsoft program...Publisher! It's so awesome! So far I've made a Holiday Extravaganza flyer for an Expo I am working with another girl to set up. That flyer isn't completed yet, but I wonder if I can post a pic of it on here... I will try...

COOL! It worked!

Anyhow, I think my little early riser is preparing me for the big time. The big time mornings of actually getting up early to his little screaming voice begging for some cuddling, loving and, of course, food! :) That's ok, he's totally worth it! And it seems these mornings, while he's tucked away growing inside me, I get to accomplish some tasks I couldn't last night cuz I went to bed at 9pm on a weekend! ha! Am I getting old, or what?!

FURNITURE update:

Yesterday, Saturday, my mom picked me up at 11am and we got some very much needed errands done, had some lunch, ran into a friend I've been thinking about, and started shopping for furniture. Tom and my dad stayed back at the house and watched the Wisconsin Badger (football) game. Now that I think about it, I don't remember if I asked if they won or not? oh well. We do like the Badgers and I know Tom enjoys watching college ball better than the NFL because of all the terrible rules in the NFL. (It's a guy thing) What made me so happy was that Tom spent so much time with my dad. It was so nice of him and those two carted around like a pair, with dad agreeing to everything Tom said about this and that, and Mom and I letting those two off the hook once we found Tom's perfect chair! :) Anyways, back up a bit... Mom and I first stopped at Furniture Row in Appleton, Sofa Mart. As we sat on a comfortably, cute, very modern sofa, the sales guy approached us and we took on his help. With my very small living room, it's difficult to find a sectional sofa arrangement that A) I like, and B) will fit. He brought us around the corner to what he thought would work since it can be special ordered with the pieces that fit. As we measured (girl style... with picture frames, an acrylic sign holder, and our sharp eyes) to see if we could work out a configuration that would fit, I began to fall in love with this sectional. I was really hoping I could work in a chaise lounge on one end, but my crampped living room just wouldn't allow it. Darn! So I settled for the next best thing... a leather storage ottoman, rectangle shape, as to not take up too much valuable floor space. That way, I have a couple options... to sit on the sofa, to lounge on the sofa, and to sit with my feet up on the ottoman! We also found the perfect side table for the one end that would accomidate a narrow table. It has a nice deep drawer to hide fun things in, too. So, let's check off the list.... Sectional? check!; Ottoman? check!; side table? check!. Now on to Tom's dream chair.

The guys arrived at Sofa Mart and Tom began to take the rocker recliners for a test drive. He found one that was a contendor, but after what happend to us, we're needy, so we went to check out Van Vreede's. They were offering a free TV with purchases, and they always have catchy commercials on tv, so we wanted to check them out. WOW, that store was a HUGE dissappointment! The had crappy selection, not well constructed chairs, and the sales guy p'd me off by his comment about how I am compromising my sectional preferance for loose-back pillows because of my dog. Ugh, no I am not, you jerk, I love that my dog likes to find a snuggly spot on my couch to watch out the window for me to come home! So we left that store with a huge lump in our throats. Or at least, I did! On to WG&R across the street.

This is where Tom found his dream chair! After puroosing the millions of rocker recliners, finding some with interesting features, and even finding his exact old chair we had sold, Tom finally decided on a chair made by BEST. After all, it was the best chair he'd sat in. He even reclined back as mom, dad and I walked around the corner to check out a sectional (just in case). Dad walked away and came back to tell us Tom was sleeping!! Sure enough, I came to find him sunk into his new favorite chair, hat pulled over his eyes, and mouth open. So that was it, THE chair! We let the guys off the hook so they could get back home and do whatever guy-stuff.

Mom and I ordered the chair and headed back to Sofa Mart to order my sectional, ottoman and side table. After a long day consisting of about 8 stores (including mom and my earlier errands) and 7 hours of shopping, we were beat! But it was a GREAT day, a FUN day, and I'm so excited to get my sectional in about 2-3 weeks!!!!!!!!!! Yeah, yah, like for real this time!!! Unfortunately Tom's chair won't be in for about 6 weeks, but yet it WILL be here!!!!!!

As soon as furniture starts coming in, I'll take pictures. Here's a current picture of our living room featuring Tom's old black glider, and two borrowed gliders from my parents. And of course, Theo had to get his head in the shot!

That little blue thingy on the floor behind Tom's chair is one of Theo's favorite toys. It's one of those long dog things from PetsMart. He loves the shake the heck outta that toy! Cute dam dog! :)

Scammed!

EDITED AT BOTTOM, 9/4

It's official, we have been scammed by a going out of business sale. I can't believe it. I can't believe we got had by this jerk-off. I am beyond mad, beyond p'd off, beyond everything imaginable sane about this. I can't believe people do this to innocent consumers! Here's what happened:

In getting ready for baby, we realized our furniture, how wonderful it is and how much we loved it (yes, past tense), there just isn't any room in our living room to accomidate baby stuff like a bouncy, a swing, maybe some toys, etc... so one afternoon as we were leaving Sam's Club in Appleton, we saw Bassett Furniture Direct was having a going out of business sale. We thought, what the heck, let's check it out, maybe we'll find a good deal for a small sectional to fit in the corner of our living room. Of course, we happened across the most perfect sectional and also found Tom his dream recliner, rocker, glider, swivel chair. The sectional was fabulous! It had an amazing pull-out bed for overnight guests, and it was going to fit perfectly in our very small living room, whilst giving us room for a swing, etc baby stuff! Yeah, so we placed the order and were told 3-8 weeks for delivery. They weren't selling floor models, plus the sectional we needed the pull-out bed on the left facing side instead of the right so it would fit, and I didn't like the fabric Tom's dream chair was in, so I picked a nice chocolately color to complement the light mocca sectional. The sale was made on June 9th.

What is today's date? Oh yeah, it's September 3rd, almost 4th. It has been nearly 13 weeks and we do not have our furniture!!! At 9 weeks out, I started calling the store, but only to get a recorded message stating "...if you placed a furniture order, we will call you when it comes in.... for other inquiries, please contact us at sales at bfd wisconsin dot com..." Now, I didn't know if it was sales at bfdwi or bfdwisconsin or bfd-wi or what the heck, so I emailed all the options many times.... I informed them I was going to contact the BBB and a lawyer due to no delivery and lack of communication from them. I proceded to call Bassett Corporate office, but they couldn't help me because I the furniture we bought is made by Klaussner, not Bassett manufactured. How the heck was I supposed to know Bassett only sold Bassett manufactured furniture?!?!!! UGH! So I called another Bassett store to see what they could help me with. That is when I learned each store is franchised, so they are not affiliated with one another. Also, I learned that when that owner went "out of business", he actually sold his store and assets to a 3rd party liquidator who proceeds to bring in other furniture and sell that along with the store's floor models. No wonder we couldn't buy floor models of what we had picked out (even IF it corresponded to our living room and fabric tastes). Yeah, so $3,040.80 later - WE HAVE BEEN SCAMMED! That nice lady at Bassett in Schaumburg advised me to contact the BBB.

That is what I did, I submitted a claim to the BBB on August 22nd. The confirmation email states Bassett has until September 5th to respond to my complaint/claim. At this point, I don't want the dam furniture, I just want my money back so I can go spend it at a place I trust, like WG&R. As it is right now, I have no couch to sit my 6 month pregnant butt on, no couch to lounge my 6 month pregnant back on, and no couch for my 5 year old doggie to sit on to watch out the window! Ok, I'm more important than the dog, but you get my point. Yep, we sold our current furniture because we were worried about what we were going to do with all this furniture when ours finally came in. Tom's chair sold right away. Then the couch, loveseat, coffee table and end tables sold about 3 wks ago. So two weekends ago, Tom and his buddy Darren went to my parents house to pick up two glider chairs so we had something to sit on in the living room. Tom had brought in his black glider swivler chair (the ol' ShopKo special) back when his rocker recliner sold father's day weekend. The only good thing about all this is I had a chance to steam clean the carpets, which was nice to not have to move huge furniture around.

On with the drama.... My mom calls me tonight on my way home from work telling me that there is going to be a story about Bassett furniture's going out of business sale. So I rushed out of Wally's world and on to my in-laws to pick up the dog and catch the story. Sure enough! SCAMMED! The Post-Crescent also had the story in the newspaper today. According to this report, at least 25 people have put in claims to the BBB, the newschannel tried contacting the owner and even went to his last known address only to find nothing. Sure, he got his money from selling to the liquidator and took off, skipped town! A-hole! Man, am I ever beyond p'd about this. I can't believe we got scammed!! How would you feel if this happened to you?
And you know my real dilema is.... I've got to get furniture in this house before the baby comes. I certainly don't want to live 24/7 in my bed cuz it's the only comfy place to plop down after giving birth, to do feedings, to do anything. Anyways, we do have a claim in with the credit card company. Good thing it was charged! The credit card company is pursuing Bassett for failure to deliver paid goods. They have 30 days to investigate. After that 30 days, we should get our credit back so we can go buy/order new furniture.

Lesson Learned. And please, I hope you learn something from this too. NEVER BUY FROM A GOING OUT OF BUSINESS SALE unless you can take the goods home with you then and there!!

EDITED TO ADD TO NEW FINDINGS, 9/4:
We are getting temporary credit back on the credit card, so this Saturday we are going to WG&R Furniture to find and order a new couch/sectional, Tom's dream chair, and an end table (unless the couch we find has an ottoman). I also called the BBB this morning and since the owner has not been tracked down by the state yet, there is nothing BBB can do, especially since the business is closed. None the less, I am putting in a claim to the State Consumer Protection agency who works with the State Disctrict Attorney. This case has turned to legal legislation, so it's serious business. I just hope they track down that owner and he gets put in jail, along with the 3rd party liquidator he hired since they are not returning phone calls or answering the phone at all. Crazy! I can't believe we are invovled with this. At least we are getting credit back so we can order new furniture.

First...

Hello loyal readers!I hope you are ready for a real doozy-of-a-story today. This weekend, I had my first uncontrollable emotional breakdown. You ready for this?

Well, first of all, I had a great weekend. The breakdown was just yesterday afternoon. Let's first recap my fun weekend... Our friends J & Nikki came to town with their dog, Daisy (Theo's girlfriend). Nikki and I did a little shopping Friday night, then Sat the guys went disc golfing for Jeremy's bachelor party, and Nikki and I took a Totally Clear Acrylic Album 2 class at Archiver's.

We also did a little more bumming around before heading to my parents for a cookout. The dogs had so much fun running around outside, playing with eachother, barking at squirls running on the fence, and playing toys. They were SO pooped at night! Ok, so after J & Nikki left for home, I crashed out on the couch until it was time to meet my parents for a little shopping trip while they had an open house.

Here it comes.... After the shopping trip with my parents, I was on my way home and called Tom to let him know. In the same conversation, I warned him that I was feeling super crabby... and I was really hungary... but didn't know what for. Tom's appologetic, "I'm sorry babe" must have been my ticket to the breakdown cuz I just started sobbing, uncontrollably. I was SO hungary, SO crabby, and I didn't know what to eat. I wanted him to make up my mind for me and have something delicious waiting for me when I got home, but I couldn't get over myself. As Tom laughed at me, it only made the crying and uncontrollable sobbing worse! Not being able to pin point WHY I was so cranky, I sobbed even harder. I just couldn't handle it, I just wanted something TO EAT! ugh, is that so much to ask for?!! Against Tom's suggestion, I did not stop the car. I just wiped my eyes, with sobbing short breaths, and proceeded along my way, watching the traffic lights. Suddenly, a food idea crossed my mind--ARBY'S Rescue Brigade. As I started to speed up to get there as fast as possible, with tears still running down my face, I figured if I were to get pulled over it wouldn't be too hard to get out of the ticket. Just to think of an unsuspecting cop walking up to an emotional, pregnant lady balling her eyes out... he should let me go. Yeah, he would let me go--fast! So on to Arby's I went, got my food ordered with a half-way normal voice, kept my sunglasses on as I paid, and rushed home.

As soon as I got home, and ate my pick 5 for $6.95, I was feeling better. Didn't talk much, just ate, and Tom even gave me some much needed space/time to calm down. Thank goodness he didn't bring it up to me how crazy I probably sounded on the phone. He must have read something in his "father-to-be" book that instructed him what NOT to do in these cases. So there you have it, I had my first, unannouced, uncontrollable emotional breakdown. Thank you, baby, this is so much fun...! LOL :)

I hope you all got a good kick out of my first experience with this. You're probably recalling your first breakdown. I'd love to hear about your story! Please?! Then I'll know that I'm not the only one, and it IS normal... :) *HUGS*