We started buying compact fluorescent light bulbs a few years ago.  Fluorescent bulbs were supposed to last longer (than traditional light bulbs) and use very little energy. Like many families I know, my kids do not like the dark and have a terrible habit of turning on every blessed lamp and wall fixture to light their way.   Then, leaving them on.  Even in the daytime.  It seemed like I was changing light bulbs every other week.

Did I mention they’re expensive and I have a terrible habit of breaking things?

I’m a busy mother and, unfortunately, my husband often times has to remind me, “Can’t you slow down for even a minute?” or “Would it kill you to read a label?”

This time, he’s right.

Yesterday, I received an email from one of the many message boards I do read and was surprised to learn, when fluorescent bulbs crack, the materials inside are pretty dangerous.

I checked the manufacturer’s site to confirm this and, yes it’s true. These bulbs also need to be recycled and they should not be thrown away in the trash! According to manufacturer’s suggestions, here’s what I should have done:

What to do when compact fluorescents crack.

Compact fluorescent lamps contain small amounts of toxic mercury that can vaporize when the bulbs break, creating a potential health risk for infants, young children, and pregnant women. If a lamp does break, follow these cleanup procedures:

Keep people and pets away. Open windows, and leave the area for 15 minutes before beginning the cleanup.

Do not use a vacuum cleaner, even on a carpet. This will spread the mercury vapor and dust and potentially contaminate the vacuum.

Wear rubber gloves.

Carefully remove the larger pieces and place them in a secure closed container, preferably a glass jar with a metal screw top lid and seal like a canning jar.

Next, scoop up the smaller pieces and dust using two stiff pieces of paper such as index cards or playing cards.

Pick up fine particles with duct tape, packing tape, or masking tape, and then use a wet wipe or damp paper towel.

Put all waste into the glass container, including all material used in the cleanup. Remove the container from your home and call your local solid waste district or municipality for disposal instructions.

Continue ventilating the room for several hours.

Wash your hands and face.

As a precaution, consider discarding throw rugs or the area of carpet where the breakage occurred, particularly if the rug is in an area frequented by infants, small children or pregnant women. Otherwise, open windows during the next several times you vacuum the carpet to provide good ventilation.

Better late, than never.

There’s a company that manufactures American flags not too far from us - in fact, it is the landmark right before the exit lane I should be taking towards the beach - and it’s sort of hard to miss the eleventy-hundred flags flapping in the breeze.Perhaps some people would find it difficult to see the patriotism in that - especially, since they make flags - but, I know that it would be hard to deny that the corporation is probably just following through with some pretty heavy duty advertisement.

What would you say if I told you that NOT all American flags are made, you know, in America?

Well, I did NOT know this to be true and automatically assumed that any and ALL American Flags were:  Made in the U.S.A.

Yeah, silly me.  I should have known better.  I mean, I trusted that my kids’ toys were safe, too.  The reality is that most foreign-made products are more cost-effective.  At least, that’s what I’ve learned HERE over the last few months.

I also learned that many states are passing laws that make it illegal to sell American flags that were not made in the United States.

Then, I got confused.

You see, my father and mother immigrated to America in 1956 for many of the reasons why I find myself so torn about how we Americans treat our flag.

We have the right to burn our flag as free speech, yet there may be a law in place telling American consumers where and how exactly we should buy that same symbol of freedom.

You see what I mean?

It’s one of those complex and contentious arguments that I tend to stay away from - because, my mommy brain does not have spell check or a delete button - but, damned if the American Flag Patch I just sewed on my six-year-old’s girl scout vest didn’t say it for me:

You may need to lower everything on the sash or vest in order to assure the flag is placed in a position of respect.

Symbols are awesome.

I mean, every American child recognizes their country’s flag and is taught to understand the history behind the stars and stripes in school.  As with most things, however, it’s the grown ups that manage to muck it all up.

There’s a story behind our flag.

My parents nearly gave up their lives in search of it.  My brother is willing to fight and defend it.  Not only because it’s his job, but for more reasons that I may never be able to understand.

Keeping those two very simple statements in mind, I believe that the American Flag deserves my respect.

No, I don’t know where our flag was made - and I really don’t think I want to, either - it would only add to the patriotic dilemma I’m going through, at the moment.

But, even my skeptic husband would run out and take down our flag on a rainy day.

[cross-posted at This Full House]

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[This entry is cross-posted with This Full House]

Now, I’m NOT the type of person who likes to complain - heaven knows, my mommy ears are VERY tired already - but, our nearly new dryer broke two weeks ago and it’s STILL not fixed DAMMIT!

Did I mention, we’ve got 6 people living in our house?

Last week, The Boy (he’s 9) had a wicked stomach virus and threw up 11 times, on Thursday - I know, my 6-year-old was home sick with a fever and was good enough to count it for me - oh, and…DAMMIT…our nearly new dryer STILL doesn’t work!?!?

Not for the lack of trying - we’ve got the service center on speed dial - but, it seems that reliable customer service is the last thing on Sears’ mind.

As far as my family and I are concerned - yes, they ALL know and are just as surprised our new dryer doesn’t work - it’s time we aired out the dirty laundry and let you know….Sears sucks!

I can’t tell you HOW pissed I am, right now - DAMMIT! - but, at least I can show you - my husband Garth (not his real name) wrote Sears this letter on Saturday:

In January 2007, my wife and I purchased a Kenmore washer and dryer in your [town omitted] NJ K-Mart store.

The dryer broke this year literally on the last day of the warranty - had the machine broken one day later, we would have been out of luck.

How does a $1000 dryer break after 12 months?

Not only did it break, it was the “control panel” which is electronic; its not even a moving part!

Following my call for service, we waited almost a week for an appointment with a technician. He had to order a new “control panel” and he told us it can take up to two weeks to get the part and then another waiting period to get it installed.

Waiting two to three weeks for a repair to a dryer is an inconvenience and a major expense. We have six people in our home and I had to use a laundromat for thirty dollars last week and I’ll be doing it again this week.

I find it incomprehensible that a firm the size of Sears Holdings does not have repair components for a recent model appliance on the truck or at the local repair center.

We purposely shopped for a better quality product and we thought Kenmore was the answer, but obviously we were wrong. This is not an isolated issue for Kenmore either. We bought our stove at Sears a couple of years ago and it needed a new brain after only a few months too.

My mother bought all Kenmore appliances as I grew up and nothing else. She raised five kids and worked her machines into the ground, but they always lasted years and made you feel you got your money’s worth. Apparently, that ethic is gone and Kenmore is relying on its reputation to squeeze out more money by using inferior parts in machines selling at premium prices.

I feel cheated and I will be sure to tell everyone I know about my experience.

Guess what?

The part was delivered, and replaced by another repairman, within a week.

Surprised?

Me too.

Until, it broke AGAIN.

This time, the buttons on the “newly installed control panel” stick and the dryer starts up…arbitrarily…and will work on “touch up” mode ONLY.

The 1st repairman was back, today - we asked Sears NOT to send the 2nd repairman, who was rude, obnoxious and dismissive toward my insisting that he re-attach the vent and left the repair call with a non-functional dryer - I am happy to report that the dryer is now fixed, sort of.

The repairman unstuck the “touch up” button - not to mention, declared the machine exorcised of all arbitrary behavior- but, the “control panel” is still not lining up properly and some of the buttons STILL stick, sometimes.

Sears’ response, thus far?

Dear Mr. Garth (not his real name) Thompson,

Thank you for your recent correspondence. We are always interested in hearing
from our customers, but regret it was this type of situation that prompted
you to contact us. Please accept our apology for any inconvenience you may
have encountered.

We will contact the Store Coach and will share your concerns. We do not have a phone number for contact so if you would provide this to us we will forward this to the K-Mart store as well. They should be contacting you within the next two business days.

Thank you for taking the time to contact us. We appreciate your business and
value you as a Sears Holdings customer. We certainly hope you will continue
to make Sears Holdings your choice for quality and value.

Sincerely,

Jerry T.
Sears Holdings Corporation

Did I mention, we are dryer-less, K-Mart is NOT the problem and - since, they don’t offer repair service and YOU do - I really don’t see how they (K-Mart) can help?

Unless, the “Store Coach” can help us in catching up with ALL the dirty laundry!

Heads up, Sears…I’m telling my friends, and they’ll tell their friends….and so on…and so on…this mommyblogger is SO talking!

Since, you know, Garth (not his real name) doesn’t have a blog!

Spending a lot of my time on the internet - I’m in some pretty cool company, btw - I have learned a lot of things.

Like, sufficient knowledge on the proper uses of acronyms and emoticons that really helps to speed up conversation.

IFYWIM ;o)

Perhaps one of the most important facts to know is you can find something, on almost anything, if you know where to look.

Riiiiight.

In real life, I am a mother of 4 kids and really would love to find the time to do anything OTHER than get hung up on all the crap that can go on in a houseful of, you know, crappy things that don’t want to work.

Right?

Never mind, worrying about whether I feel pretty (or, NOT) and agonize over the fact that green is the new black.

That’s what blogging friends are for.

It wasn’t until my affiliation with Green Mom Finds - gosh, the site really does look pretty, really - that I became aware of Environmental Working Group (a.k.a. EWG) and just how much of that information is really only fingertips (sadly in need of a manicure) away:

“Our team of scientists, engineers, policy experts, lawyers and computer programmers pores over government data, legal documents, scientific studies and our own laboratory tests to expose threats to your health and the environment, and to find solutions. Our research brings to light unsettling facts that you have a right to know.”

But, wait, there’s more!

Skin Deep, for example, is their searchable cosmetic safety database, allowing regular folks (like you and me) the opportunity to investigate the ingredients on the products we buy:

“Right now, we’ve got 27,069 products in the database, and our goal is 1,000 donations — and 1,000 new products — to kick off the new year.”

As I see it, their I Feel Pretty campaign (now, up and running on Facebook) is pretty cool and if you want to learn more about ewg.org, watch their video and allow them to tell you, themselves, close up and in person.

So, don’t be afraid to ask questions - the OTHER thing I’ve learned from blogging is to say, “WTF?” and “What are YOU going to do about it?” - it feels really good, being even a little green, and you can always thank me, later.

Did I mention you look very pretty, today?

Okay, maybe it’s just me - with 20 people coming for dinner, Thursday and getting all punchy - but, I thought this was just too funny and then not.

Have you seen this video?

“Thanks to the nearly 300,000 messages you and others have sent, lawmakers are beginning to take toy safety very seriously, but there’s still a long way to go.

Along with our new song and video, we’ve just launched a new list of changes we want lawmakers to enact this year.”

The Consumers Union seems to feel that (as parents) our message is getting through and I’d like to believe so - really, I would - I can’t help but think there are people in this world who are dealing with so much more, you know, crud and that mine (as a mom) is such a small voice, really.

No one in my house is listening, anyway.

I mean, all the videos, catchy jingles and blog posts in the world don’t add up to a hill of beans, unless the people who have the “real power” to make a change admit that it’s getting a little too, you know, loud in here!

Is anyone really listening; how does one sift through all the noise?

[Video via: Not In My Cart]

Holy Hannah Montana, this is what I get for working late on Thing Two’s girl scout troop newsletter; another freakin’ recall on kids’ jewelry:

“Girls Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) has issued a recall of a charm and instructed their retail customers to remove the item from their shelves, after a routine test identified the lead content in one paint color exceeded safety standards.”

However, the metal content was deemed safe and you can read the rest of the press release, here.

I’m torn, here. On the one hand, kudos to GSA for keeping up with their random testing policy. Still. When it hits this close to home — I have an 11-year-old junior girl scout and 6-year-old brownie, for goodness sake — well, what’s a registered troop mother to do?

I want some butts, people!

[cross-posted from my personal product review site]

Wednesday is “hump day” here at This Full House of happy little idioms and many missing socks.

Where DO all those slippery little buggers go?

No matter. The week is half over and to jump start one of our most favorite of weekend festivities - after soccer, of course! - we’re reaching into our grab bag of really cool shopping tips and informative links.

Just so you know:

Inside CRM posted 100 Places to Find Reviews for Every Product.

It is perhaps the largest list of sites offering real customer feedback, I’ve ever seen. It’ll take me days to get through it - damn the laundry - I was, however, very happy to find a few of my favorite sites already listed.

Although, someone should tell them about Ask Patty and all of her wonderful automotive advice for women…easily read by men, too!

Toy shopping is going to prove difficult, this year - more than 20 million toys have been recalled, so far - if you are feeling a bit scared and confused shopping for loved ones this holiday season, you are NOT alone!

This year, Consumer Union - the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports - has launched the “Get the Lead Out This Holiday Season” campaign, requesting that we join in 12 days of safe shopping with their Not In My Cart initiative:

“It is time for Congress to take decisive action to protect all of us — especially our children — from contaminated food and hazardous products before they enter the marketplace.”

Take the time to answer their call to advocacy and send a message to OUR members of Congress to act now and help restore our confidence in the safety of the items in our carts!

I did and if we don’t, then who will?

My husband is going to hate that I’m writing about this, or - judging by our his most recent experience with Verizon’s customer service - maybe not!

We were one of the families subscribing to the Verizon 3 - cable, internet and cell phone service - anyhow, we bought their cell phone service in April of 2005 (using our Verizon DSL, by the way) and were promised rebates on the purchase of the cell phones ($500) and we had to show a bill and include certain packaging and mail it after six months from opening our account.

To check on the rebates, we were directed to an internet site that didn’t operate for weeks.

Finally, after submitting our information in April of 2006 and being promised the process would take only a few weeks, we got a response in October - their few is more than ours, apparently - the rebates were “declined” because we had a $5 late fee on the bill submitted; these rebates required only that our service be “active,” and there was no requirement that denied our rebates based on a late fee.

To make a long story short (I know, too late) we got the “That’s just too bad” and “we’re sorry, but there’s really nothing that we can do.” Not to mention, we agreed to a 2 year contract in return for the rebates, added two more lines, an exchange for local service that is NOT local, and still had connectivity problems with our internet.

“What am I supposed to do, now?”

I shrugged my shoulders and shook my head.

“Why don’t you just skip the crappy service and write a letter to the CEO!”

So, he did - composed a very nice letter to Mr. Ivan Seidenberg, Chairman and CEO - with the following closing:

“Your firm has a good reputation and I put my faith and trust in you as a result, Mr. Seidenberg, I believe that you will agree my expectations are fair and reasonable. To say Verizon and its vendors have not lived up to their part of the bargain, I think, is a fair evaluation. I am writing this letter in the hope your office will pass it along to someone with the authority to make things right.”

A few weeks, later - for real, not like before - there was a knock on our door.

“Hello, Mrs. Garth (not his real name) I’m here on an Executive Order to fix your problems!”

Well, heck-fart-and happy birthday!

“Come on in, clean a chair off and sit down!”

Needless to say, we were pleased with the “executive response” and the cable spent nearly the entire day, cleaning up our wires and searching for a solution to our high speed, low connectivity problem.

“The nearest station is about 20,000 feet away and it seems that you’re right at the limit.”

Of what?

“The service area.”

Swell.

“So, what we have to do is slow you down.”

[blank stare]

“For it to work faster, I mean.”

Riiiiight.

So, he did some adjusting, finagling and changed the who’s-eeh-what’s-its on each of our phone lines and we finally have internets!

Until.

“Hello, yes, this is Garth (not his real name) and we’ve been having problems connecting to the internet, again.

Last week, we had three days worth of…you’re connected…oops, you’ve lost your connection…no, wait it’s not us…it’s you…and your server sucks, by the way!

“No, yes, no and we’ve tried that already.”

Their solution?

“Perhaps, you’d consider switching to Fios?”

Oh no you didn’t!

“Yes, but my wife would like to get what we’re paying for already to, you know, work!?!?”

Apparently, we are - it seems that they decreased our monthly payment, already and had to lower our connection speed even more to just above dial up.

Their final solution?

“Perhaps, you’d consider purchasing new filters.”

[blank stare]

Oh - those who’s-eeh-what’s-its I mentioned - riiiiight.

So, it looks like we’re going to have to settle - unless, we switch to Fios and have them come in and replace our telephone wires, install their equipment and never go back - AGAIN!

In Verizon’s defense, the customer service representative was on the phone with my husband for a solid 90 minutes and - although, she couldn’t do anything more than clean up our connection by reducing our speed, a little more - I can’t help but wonder if perhaps it’s time that we consider sending another letter?

Oh, wait - didn’t I just post this to Moms Speak Up - helloooo, Verizon are you even listening?

[Edited to add:  I have included links to Verizon and the Executive to which our letter was originally addressed, giving them a fair chance to answer my call to action, as suggested by MSU readers via comments and emails to the author.]

I recently read a report in the Washington Post on the unhealthy lifestyles kids in the U.S. are leading, today:

“Almost one in six American children and teens are overweight, according to the U.S. Surgeon General’s office, which also warns that 70 percent of overweight teens will grow into overweight or obese adults. ”

Television, junk food and school lunches are the main culprits mentioned, but the article also makes an interesting point:

“Schools have a big part to play, but kids often aren’t offered the best choices at school or in the community. It’s up to parents to lead by example.”

Crap.

Well, taking into consideration that I spend most of my spare time (however stingy it may seem, at the moment) sitting in a car and/or driving my kids (everywhere) and allowing them to walk (anywhere) with the amount of traffic running in, around and through our town is dangerous, quite frankly. Then, the rest of the time, they see me working in front of a computer, while wolfing down a cereal bar, because I just can’t seem to find the time to, you know, eat.

Riiiiight - not a very good example, eh? - thankfully, our county offers a wonderful parks program (read: convenient AND affordable) that is chocked-full of activities NOT involving the use of one’s backside, still.

“Okay, so you’re not into sports and hate the outdoors…um…how about a nice pottery class?”

Once they hit their teens, the choices become slim (no pun intended, sort of) but, then I remembered receiving an email about a new concept - O2 MAX!

Have you guys heard about this, already?

O2 MAX is the brainchild of concerned mom Pam Goldman, fitness expert and aspiring entrepreneur Karen Kashinsky, trainer Heather Kandawire and the newly inspired Shirley Brown.

These woman got together and realized their vision - creating a safe place where kids could hang out, exercise, study and relax - and came up with one kicking business plan…over a light lunch…no doubt.

They opened their first O2 MAX hub in L.A. this fall and hope to continue opening new hubs throughout the country as the year(s) go by.

“We are driven by a passion to help teens avoid the epidemic of obesity and ill-nutrition that is growing in America . We take a holistic, mind-body-soul educational approach - we want to help kids be physically fit, intellectually successful, and balanced and confident in their personalities. We also want to create that place in our community where teens can gather and socialize in an environment that supports health, good nutrition, academic success, respectful relationships, and have all that in a safe environment with supportive adult trainers, tutors, and mentors.”

Now, why the hell don’t we all have one of these - instead of a bank at every corner - huh?

Because this is a totally new concept - rather than complaining about how fat and lazy are teens are getting - I thought that perhaps these guys deserve a little press, if not a big old shout out, too.

They ARE looking for a National Online Parent Advisory Board parent team advisers, just so you know.

I, for one, applaud you young ladies (and gentlemen) over at O2 MAX and hope that you see it fit to come on over to the right coast, real soon - you can hang with me and my kids, anytime!

A mom talks to CNN about the toy recalls and confronting Mattel - literally, she packed up her kids, their toys, got into the family’s car and drove to the toy manufacturer’s headquarters in El Segundo, CA - but, Dana Laine Parker doesn’t feel it was any big thing and that she was:

“…just a concerned mom.”

Mattel had no choice, but to listen and checked every single one of her toys against those products that have been recalled.

Some would say, enough already - what’s up with all these parents wigging out - we are so tired of hearing about Mattel and their public relations nightmare!

I bet the woman had all those guys running scared, right?

But, I would say - yes, I am also too busy being a parent to have to worry about such things - good on you, Dana! The poor woman just got so gosh-tired of all the misinformation and decided to take matters into her own hands - along with about 1,000 of their toys - and spoke up for herself and her family!

That, my friends, makes her a force to be reckoned with!