When life gives you lemons... How do you prepare to make the lemonade?

So this blog is more of an outreach for advice than anything....
As most of you know, I recently got a new car. (Only after the transmission went out in my Jeep.) Anyway, my slightly used, 2007 Mercedes has been nothing but a problem since I drove it off the lot. Please read the letter that I wrote to the owner of the dealership that I purchased it from. I sent it yesterday morning and haven't received a response. I'm wondering if legal council is my next step? Any Suggestions??

Dear Mr. Tom Maher,

 I would like to start out by apologizing. I am sorry that the events that have taken place over the last two months have led me to take up your time. However, I feel like at this point, I have no other option. I am sure that you are already familiar with the issues that I have had with the 2006 Mercedes C-Class 230 that I purchased from My Jeep Dodge Chrysler on November 26, 2011.

After a month of research, I walked onto your car lot, looking for a nice, reliable vehicle with better gas mileage than I was currently getting from my 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee, as well as a Bluetooth phone system to comply with the new cell phone laws. I had spoken with Humberto the salesman, prior to my visit, and told him that I was interested in the Mercedes. When I arrived, he took me on a test drive. During this drive I asked him numerous questions, including how the phone system worked, if the vehicle had any major problems, and why the steering felt “stiffer” than any other car that I had driven. He told me that a code from the Mercedes dealership was needed to activate the phone system, the car had never had any problems, and that all Mercedes Benz had “stiff” steering. Because a car salesman should be knowledgeable in the cars that they sale, and because Humberto was very kind, I took his word for it, and purchased the vehicle.

On November 28, 2011 I took the car to Stahl Motor Co. to get the “code” to activate the phone system. After talking to their service manager, Clete Ventura, I found out that the car never contained the equipment that is required for the phone system to function. I called Humberto and told him about this issue. The issue was eventually taken care of, about three weeks later, on December 16, 2011 after multiple phone calls to your company.

On January 3, 2012 the car stopped running and the engine light began flashing. After a call to Chad Royal at My Cars and Clete Ventura at Stahl Motors, I had the car towed, at my expense, to Stahl Motors. When I left the vehicle with Clete, I informed him that the breaks had been squeaking since I had purchased the car and that the steering was still very “stiff”. He informed me at this time that Mercedes are not known to have “stiff” steering, and that he would look into it. I rented a car from Stahl Motors and drove this car for 10 days, until my car was ready to be picked up. The service men at Stahl Motors had discovered that the steering issue was due to a broken power steering pump and rack, but the repair would be covered under the warranty that I had purchased.  At this time, an ignition coil had to be replaced, and thankfully, My Jeep paid to have the break rotor issue repaired as well. I paid my warranty deductible of $100.00 to Stahl Motors when I picked up the car.

On January 30, 2012 the engine light came back on in the car again. I called Clete, but he was out so I ended up talking with Ken. He told me to bring the car in the following day. I picked up a rental car and dropped my car off. Ken called me later that day to inform me that it was another engine coil and that the warranty would not pay for it or the rental car. That day I spent all day trying to get in touch with someone at My Cars. When I finally did talk to Larry, he was rude and disrespectful and unhelpful. Two days later he called me back to tell me that My Cars would not put any more money into the car and that I needed to bring the car back, he would take it as a trade-in and let me purchase a new car at “invoice” price. When I picked up the Mercedes from Stahl Motors, I had to give them $300.00 to cover the cost of the rental car as well as the price of having the engine light code read. This was very frustrating, as I would not have had the rental car for that long if Larry would have given me an answer sooner.

I spent all day Saturday, February 4, 2012 and Sunday, February 5, 2012 walking up and down the My Cars dealerships searching for another car. I wasted all of this time and effort, only to find out that I would be taking an $8000.00 loss on a vehicle that I have personally driven for less than 2 months and the monthly payment on the car that I chose was out of my price range. This is upsetting and unfair. I understand that Larry is offering me the new car, a basic Jeep Patriot, at cost and I appreciate that gesture. However, like I have explained to My Car from the beginning, I need a reliable car and I cannot pay more than $400.00 a month.

I don’t understand why it is that I am going on day four without any vehicle, but still making my monthly payments on a car that I purchased after being told I could rely on it. I am disappointed, and extremely unsatisfied with the level of service that I have received from your dealership.

I am not asking for a brand-new Mercedes C-Class in exchange for the 2006 that I purchased. I just want an affordable vehicle that fits my needs and that I can rely upon. I don’t think that this is too much to ask.  When a person purchases a vehicle, they are not only buying a car, but they trust that your company will follow through with providing adequate customer service and care as well.

I hope that this issue can be resolved quickly. I am the mother of a young child, I work full time, and I am a nursing student. I cannot continue to carry around the stress of dealing with a rude sales manager, as well as not having transportation, and I cannot afford to miss any more hours of work than I already have.

Thank you for your time, and I hope to hear something from you soon.

Amanda Grier

CC: Stahl Motor Company

Home Sweet Home

The old saying is "Home is Where the Heart is". Well my heart is definitely in our new home in the village! The location couldn't be more perfect and the style of the home fits our families needs and personality. Although the home is currently on the market, we are hoping that we will be here for a long time. I have a had a few requests for pictures, so here we go. However, I would like to start off by saying that my camera isn't the greatest and if you would like to see more, we LOVE visitors!! The drive is fairly easy from Salinas (even my mom can do it and she NEVER drives further than Northridge mall!). So here is "The New House" as Hailey continues to call it. (Even after living here for 3 months :)



Front Doors



Our Living Room. Check out the awesome free standing fireplace!



The Dinning Area



My favorite hangout, the kitchen!



Downstairs Bathroom




I think you can guess who's room this is :)

Let's go Upstairs!



Our Room



Office/Closet Space



 

Tiny upstairs bathroom, it serves it's purpose :)


 

Upper Deck



Lower Deck

I hope that you enjoyed the virtual tour of our home. I realized after reviewing this blog that I have left out pictures of the front and back yard, as well as the incredible view of the meadow across the street. I will try to do another blog on our yards later. (Hopefully once the flowers start blooming)

Six Months of Fun!

Wow, I can't believe it's been six months since my last post! I guess that I have just been having too much fun to stop and type about it :) Here is a quick catch you up to date, run-on sentence:

Hailey is growing and changing at lightning speeds, Jason and I went to a super fun wedding in Vegas, Hailey did some swim lessons, We made a big move to a wonderful new home in the Carmel Valley Village, I threw a baby shower for Sarah and Sadie, I had a scary Bells Palsy episode, Beautiful Baby Sadie was born, Hailey turned two!, we took a trip to the lake for Jason's birthday, and we had an awesome day at the Motor GP, just last weekend.

As I typed "Hailey turned two" I still couldn't believe that my daughter is already two years old!  Even though she is now carrying on full conversations with me. I often wonder if she is really a five year old stuck in a toddler's body. She has gone from giving random places the proper labels (like the ocean, gas station, grocery store etc), to singing her own version of "Old McDonald Had a Farm" and counting to 14! I have totally turned into one of those moms, who thinks their child is the best thing since sliced bread. Everyday I can't believe the new things that she comes up with.

I love my new house in the Village! It's beautiful, has a gorgeous view (from both decks) and is close enough to town that I don't have to pack my car with every possible necessity just to go to the grocery store. However, we do miss our friends!!

Work is going great! I have taken on a few new tasks, and the days seem to fly by. I'm really excited to start a nursing class in August. It's part of the RN program, but they let students that haven't started the program yet take it too. I am still waiting to re-apply to the program in September :)

Overall, life is good. We have a few little hiccups along the way, but my little family is happy, healthy, and loving life!

Another lesson learned from my toddler.

This week has been Fantastic! I decided to take advantage of the fact that the doctor that I work for went on vacation, and I have been bringing Hailey with me to work everyday. It was an awesome coincidence that this week decided to be a week full of fabulous weather as well.

First thing Monday morning we headed to the office with my car full of all of her favorite toys. Leap Frog laptop, doll with all of her accessories, magna-doodle, flash cards, a basket full of books, and handfuls of markers and crayons. We also brought along her pop-up tent with the tunnel that connects to it. I thought that with ALL of this, she would be able to entertain herself for an hour or so...nope. She took one look at the charts on the wall and decided that it would be much more entertaining for her to rip them all down. So, majority of my week has been spent following her around, picking up her "little tornado's" around the office.

Yesterday I took her to the free story time for babies and toddlers at the library at Carmel. It was wonderful. She got to run up and down the rows of books with tons of other babies her age. Unfortunately the story teller was sick, but I got her to sit still for one book about a little mouse and Valentine's Day. After the running, she sat down at a table with other toddlers and did a winter-themed craft. It was adorable, but a little out of place considering the beautiful weather.

Today was the best day of the week. We picked up lunch and took it to the beach as we have been doing each day. However, as soon as I parked the car today Hailey started yelling, "Ocean! Ocean!". This was her first time saying the word and I was shocked that she was able to put the word with the place. As we were eating (in the car to avoid sand in our sand-wiches) she kept yelling "Ocean!" out the window at everyone who walked by. By the time I was done with my lunch, she was practically out of her car seat, ready to run in the sand. Once we got on the beach, I noticed a lot of other children her age playing the water...in January!! I was shocked, but it was gorgeous outside and the waves had formed little tide pools that were perfect toddler size. Before I knew it, Hailey was sitting in the sand, pulling off her pants and running for the water. Even though I wasn't prepared for water play, we both had a blast! I ended up taking off her shirt and chasing my little naked baby  up and down the beach for 45 minutes. We had so much fun!

Lesson learned. When mother nature gives you sunshine in January, run naked in the ocean!

This is a picture from earlier in the week. I wish I had taken some today, but I was having too much fun to stop and grab my camera.

Rockin' the goodwill deal

So a few months ago I took it upon myself to become the "Activities Director" at my mom's little daycare. It has been a slow process, as I'm finding out craft supplies can get expensive! But we have made some really cute little things and the kids really enjoy it. Anyway, these little craft projects have made me start craving bigger, mommy-sized crafting.

So, back in October the family and I went to The Goodwill in search of some cheap but awesome Halloween costumes. Although we didn't find any costumes, we did find this awesome little, Hailey sized rocking chair. At the time she had just learned to say the word "chair" and had entered "the chair phase" as I call it. (By the way, she is still in the Chair Phase.) So of course, we bought it. It needed some work as it was covered in stickers and a horrible pastel purple color that looked more like paint primer than actual paint. Anyway, I promised Jason that I would clean it up and repaint it by Christmas and we could give it to her as a gift.

Well it didn't happen exactly as planned, but I finally found some mommy time and turned the chair into my own little craft project.

First step: Remove ugly stickers and Clorox wipe the heck out of it!!
Step Two: Do a quick sand with Jason's electric sander.

Step Three: Long, intense hand sanding until all of the previous painter's mistakes were sanded away.

Step Four: More Clorox Wipes.

Step Five: Let sit for half an hour to completely dry.

Step Six: Paint the base color. I chose black for this step because it was a good contrast to the top coat that I chose.

At this point, Jason and I were really happy with the chair. It was such a HUGE improvement, that I was considering leaving it like this. However, the crafter in me just had to keep on going.

Step Seven: Let dry for 3-4 hours.

Step Eight: Crackle Paint (a clear paint that reminded me of craft glue) entire surface. This part was a little tricky.

Step Nine: Let dry for 2-3 hours (Paint should still be tacky wet).

Step Ten: Paint top coat in the opposite direction of the crackle paint.

Step Eleven: Let dry.

Step Ten: Enjoy :)

I had so much fun doing this little project, and I can't wait for the next one! Even though Hailey really doesn't need anymore chairs, I would love to do more. I spent around $30 for the whole project and it was well worth it! The small pillow was a gift to me from my grandfather and was actually the inspiration for the crackled texture. I think it fits Hailey just as well as it has fit me for all of these years :)

It's raining, It's pouring, but we aren't snoring!

This weekend we went to Disneyland to celebrate "Nana's" Birthday. I was a little nervous about taking Hailey to Disneyland. I thought she may still be too young, but boy was I wrong! As soon as we walked through the gates, she was getting anxious. Even through the rain and the lack of a normal nap schedule, she was in great spirits all weekend.

Our first day there we decided to rent a stroller instead of taking the chance that ours would get stolen. The rental was really reasonable and it was nice to not worry about it parked in the "stroller parking lots" while we were having a blast on the rides. Hailey's favorite ride was "It's a small world". This made Nana VERY happy because this is also her favorite ride, and possibly the main reason that she loves Disneyland. Even though we got rained on most of the day, it wasn't too cold and none of us seemed to mind. We went back and forth between California Adventures and I just wasn't as impressed with CA as I used to be. The whole park seemed to be under construction and there really wasn't much for Hailey to do. Rachel and I took advantaged of the short lines due to the rain, and had a blast on Paradise Pier. Too bad my brother was too scared to join us.

On Sunday the whether took a turn for the worst and we all decided to skip the parks and hit up the local shopping of Anaheim. Across from our hotel their was a new mall, Garden Walk, so we decided to do lunch there and some shopping. We ended up eating at Johnny Rockets, which was delicious and the chef made Hailey some balloon animals which she loved. The shopping wasn't too great so we drove around and got "lost" although my dad didn't want to admit it. We ended up finding a huge children's store that my mom and I fell in love with! The rain really started coming down, but we headed to Downtown Disney to see what shops they had there. We ended up in Build a Bear to get out of the rain and I think that I had more fun building a bear than Hailey did.

On Monday we got about three hours in at Disneyland before the rain really started coming down. My dad and I left my mom and Hailey (napping) on the train ride and ventured out in the rain to hopefully walk on to Indiana Jones...NOT. The wait was still 65 minutes! Were these people crazy?? We decided to catch up with Nana and Hailey and call it a day.

Overall we all had a great time! Rain or shine. People are just happier in Disneyland. The Christmas decorations were beautiful and because of the rain, I saw a lot of attractions that we usually miss. Having Hailey there also gave us a new look on Disneyland. Happy Birthday Momma!!

Hailey's Birth Story

Well, It's been a year and...almost 5 months since Hailey was born and I still haven't put the story of her birth anywhere safe. So before I forget anymore details of the wonderful events that surround her birth, I'm going to get them down in print.

**This may be too graphic for those with weak stomachs :)

Sometime in mid-June 2009, my mom and I took a trip to my grandparents house in Merced. I was ready to pop, and didn't even know it! I spent all weekend swimming in their pool. I remember feeling completely weightless and carefree...I also remember how hard it was to get out! With the 30+ lbs of extra weight I was carrying around it was almost impossible to climb out of the comforting, cool water.

One night (I think it was a Saturday night) after a long swim, I went to the restroom and noticed spotting in my swimsuit. BIG red flag (literally). All during my pregnancy the Dr's warned me about how important it was to inform them if I had any spotting. So here I was, 2 hours from my Doctors office and boyfriend, bleeding. I decided to wait until morning to see if anything changed and I decided not to tell my family. I knew my mom would have packed me up and sped to Salinas in the middle of the night. I did, however, call Jason. Or I tried to. It turns out he was at a friends house that didn't have cell service. After calling as many friends as numbers I knew, I finally tried some land lines and got through. He told me not to worry, and we should call the Doctor on Monday. The next morning everything seemed normal.

On Monday, I went in to the Doctor, who "checked my cervix". Nobody prepares you for this. I was so shocked as he basically pushed his whole hand into me. Thank god I had convinced my mom to come with me and hold my hand. It turns out that the spotting was indeed from my cervix, which was now 1cm dilated and 80% effaced. To me, that sounded like a baby would be popping out at any minute. According to him, I could go into labor that night, OR walk around for another month before going into actual labor. YIKES! My second trip to the restroom in the 10 minutes after getting home from the doctor, I noticed more spotting and what I understood to be, my mucous plug... Oh the beauties of childbirth.


After walking around for 2 1/2 weeks in slightly uncomfortable pre-labor, we went to Jason's parents house to celebrate his 29th birthday.  Normally I am a very social person, and I was trying really hard to put on a smile and have a good time in the 90 degree summer heat with huge, swollen ankles, BUT I just couldn't do it! After 2 hours of sitting in a lawn chair with my feet propped up on a tree stump, I gave up. I leaned over to Jason and said, "I'm sorry , but I just can't hang anymore. I need to go home." At this point, I was a little disappointed in myself. I know how much Jason loves to celebrate his birthday, and all of his friends and family were there, but I was done. So he took me home, and went back to celebrate some more...without me. I was so excited to get back to our little house, in our air conditioned living room and prop myself up on our comfy couch. I tossed and turned all night long.  

The next day went on as usual. It was Friday, July 3rd. Since Jason had been out late the night before, he decided to stay home that night. We watched movies and he made me a peanut butter and jelly quesadilla for dessert. I ended up falling asleep next to him on the couch. I woke up around 10pm to the sounds of the TV and the urge to go pee....again :/ But something was different, I had energy! I felt like I had gotten a full 8 hour night sleep. As I practically skipped into the bathroom, I noticed some tightening in my stomach. After I went to the bathroom, I felt like I was still leaking. When I wiped I noticed more bleeding and in my heart, I knew that I was in labor. I slowly walked back into the living room and Jason said, "Whats up, you have a really big smile on your face right now." "I think I'm in labor," I said. He jumped off the couch and wanted to get in the car and start our hour long drive to the hospital immediately. I convinced him to let me take a shower first, then I made him take a shower. During all of this, my contractions had become very obvious and very regular, but I still wasn't in any pain. We left our house around 11:30pm. I remember during the drive I was trying to time the contractions but every time I got them, I couldn't help but laugh. I was just so happy and excited. We called our parents and let them know that we were headed to the hospital. I called my mom and asked her if we could drop off Tucker for awhile. She of course caught on and insisted on coming with us. (I was going to beg her to anyway.)


By the time we walked into the hospital, I wasn't laughing during contractions anymore. They weren't painful yet, but they were nothing close to funny. I remember putting on the gown, peeing (again) and getting weighed. I weighed in at 180lbs! As soon as I laid on the bed to have my cervix checked, the contractions came on full force. I was only 3cm dilated which was enough to get me admitted and a bed in labor and delivery. Unfortunately, there were forms to sign and it seemed like it took the nurses hours to get these forms ready. During this time, the contractions were increasing with pain and my mom, Jason, and I were in this small, dark room with a few nurses watching the tragedy of Michael Jackson on TV. I remember Jason whispering to me, "If they don't quit watching that TV we are going to pack you in the car and drive to CHOMP." I signed all of the forms, except for the form consenting to an epidural. I informed the nurse that at this point I could handle the pain and didn't need any medication.



 Finally I got put into the room that I would later deliver my beautiful daughter in. Our first nurse was HORRIBLE. She took one look at me and rolled her eyes. I had tested positive for Group B strep and needed IV antibiotics to protect the baby during delivery. Apparently the nurse had little patience for this. She gave me the IV, then hooked in the antibiotics, cold. I immediately forgot about the painful contractions. My arm felt like the bones inside it were freezing and breaking apart! It was so painful and unbearable. I begged for some relief. My nurse offered little help. After some persisting on Jason's part, I was given a warm blanket to wrap my arm in, this offered just enough relief for the contraction pain to come through. At this point, I had to go to the bathroom (again). This REALLY irritated our nurse. Basically she told me that I couldn't get out of bed and I could just go in the bed, and that someone would clean it. No kidney dish, no bed pan...just sheet and mattress. Thanks. So after holding it as long as I could (which made the contractions 10x worse) I went, in the bed. Humiliating. That was the first time during labor that I started crying. They were more so tears of embarrassment, than of pain. Of course nurse number one didn't clean me, but sent someone else in to clean me and change the bedding with me in it, real nice. Lucky for me, it was time for a shift change and grumpy nurse number one was out. I labored for a little while longer, lying on my back in the bed with my mom and Jason holding my hands during the contractions.

Then I went into back labor. This is not fun. I had heard about it in childbirth classes, but I sort of ignored it. I guess I thought that I was going to have this wonderful, pain free, routine labor.  I felt like every contraction was causing all of the muscles in my back to tighten. After what seemed like hours, I caved into to the epidural. Or so I thought.

I signed the papers and waited for the anesthesiologist. Every contraction seemed to get stronger and my cervix was dilating slower than expected. My nurse told me that it could be a long time before I got to push and she recommended that I get some pain relief so that I could rest before pushing. The Anesthesiologist came in and everyone had to leave. This was the second time that I cried during labor and these were tears of fear. How was I supposed to hold my composure, and stay completely still without having Jason there to talk me through it. He told me to be strong, and a nurse offered me her hand. I did the best that I could as he poked me twice and moved the catheter in and out a dozen or so times. After he left, a different nurse came in with a urinary catheter...I still haven't decided which one was worse. A few minutes later my nurse walked in and asked my if the pain was disappearing. I lied. I put on a smile and said that I felt much better. Jason came in and could tell that I was lying, but he didn't say anything.

 I told that nurses that the urinary catheter felt like it was leaking and that the bed was getting wet. They checked me and said that my water had finally broke. After another hour, Jason told the nurse that I was still in pain and I couldn't hide it any longer. She got the anesthesiologist and he poked around some more and realized that the first epidural had come out and the medicine was dripping all over the bed. It turns out my water hadn't broke yet. Now my options were, let him try again or get a one time injection that lasts 2-4 hours. I went with the later and got immediate relief. My mom, Jason, and I tried to take a nap and enjoy the absence of my moaning and groaning.

About an hour later, the nurse came in to check me and told me it was time to push. With Jason holding one leg and my mom holding the other, I pushed for 3 hours. The doctor finally came it and said in was time for us to meet our baby. Hailey Lynn Baker was born on July 4, 2009 after 11 hours of labor and 3 hours of pushing. This was the third time I cried during labor, and these were tears of joy.