Sophie

In response to the panic in the streets that the scare of BPA has created, I've decided to ditch all my plastic stuff and switch to natural. Even silicon pacifiers have toxins! I've just decided to play it safe from now on. So I bought Ari "Natursutten" natural rubber pacifiers, a "Sophie" natural rubber teether, a "Zmooz" organic cloth and natural wood teether, and "Green to Grow" BPA free bottles. I expected her to accept the new toys in place of her old - she's just not picky when it comes to stuff like that. I never, however, expected that she would love them THIS MUCH.

The first time she figured out she could chew on the wood on her Zmooz, she got a huge grin on her face and just started chomping down. She thinks the squeak in her Sophie is absolutely hilarious, and a few minutes ago (before I trapped her in her entertainer) she was rolling around on the ground giggling and chewing on the giraffe's squishy legs. And her pacifiers double as natural teethers - she seems to actually enjoy them more than her others! She is able to more easily grip the ring and so can insert and remove it with ease, a struggle with her others. Anyway - I'm really glad with these purchase and I can rest knowing my daughter is chewing on something completely natural - and not chock full of potentially hazardous chemicals that have been deemed "inert" by the same people who are trying to sell them.

I have a feeling Sophie and the Zmooz are going to be regulars in her toy rotation from now. ;)

USPS Fraud?

So here's what happened:

Over Easter weekend I left my phone in Dallas. My Dad found it and mailed it to me on March 31, with a tracking number. The tracking number shows DELIVERED on April 3 at 3:58pm, signed for by J****, a worker at our apartment complex.

Only I never received my cell phone. I checked back many times, nothing in the office, nothing in my mailbox. I called the post office, who claims that they can do nothing about it because someone signed for it. I talked to J****, who says that the post office worker who delivers our mail has them sign for packages, then she takes them over to the main mailboxes and should leave us a key to retrieve them. No key. This is not the first time this has happened, though before, I made a lot of ruckus and they always eventually "found" the package stuffed somewhere.

I must interject here that the post woman who delivers our mail is THOROUGHLY INCOMPETENT. I have never had a package arrive on time. Once, the only time she's actually delivered something, she literally threw it at me and ran away. I lodged an official complaint with USPS; last I heard, it was "forwarded to [my] local office."

So, I gotta say, this woman has pretty much got it made in the shade. She's got gullible office workers signing for packages they've never seen. I filed another formal complaint with the post office investigative services (which, I just found out, has about as much power as the FBI) but I don't have any hopes of ever seeing my phone again. I'm really sad about this as I had irreplaceable contact information, photos, and videos on that phone. Technically, the apartment complex is legally liable, so I am going to get a replacement phone from them (if I shake enough cages) but I hope that, if this worker really is stealing mail, she's eventually put in jail where she deserves to be. I'm not the only person in this apartment complex missing a cell phone...