Li'l punk

"My own" response

I got a response from Hallmark. It's generic, of course, but I did promise to let you know what they said. I am certain that I was not the only one offended by the radio ad, so I hope that "anonymous" from the last post was right and that the commercial has been pulled. Here is what they said:

Response (Support Agent) - 02/22/2007 04:52 PM
Thank you for contacting Hallmark.

Thank you for letting us know of your displeasure that a Hallmark
commercial you found offensive. We respect your views and are grateful you
took the time to share them with us. We realize this is a sensitive
issue for you, and it concerns us to learn that the placement of one of
our advertisements has been found offensive. We appreciate your
preference for Hallmark products and place a high value on your comments,
which will be carefully considered throughout our organization. It was
good of you to write us. Your letter provides us an opportunity for
further review and it will be forwarded to the appropriate department for
consideration.

We appreciate your taking the time to let us know your feelings.

Thanks,

Hallmark Consumer Care
www.Hallmark.com

When you need to send "your own" greeting

I was driving home from an extra chorus rehearsal last night when my ears caught the following on the radio:

“We tried to have a child of our own but it wasn’t working. So we adopted.” (Delivered in the most apathetic, monotone female voice you can imagine.)

“Blah blah blah blah...blah blah blah” (there was another “life story” but I didn’t hear it over the fuming in my head over the “our own” language as I waited patiently to hear what dumbass company was using this bit to make money.

Hallmark.

It seems they have a new line of cards called “Journeys” that are meant to help send a greeting to someone when the situation might be very specific and sensitive. Cancer. Infertility. Miscarriage. Caring for an aging parent. The list goes on.

While I applaud the gesture toward acknowledging that there are situations in life for which a “Get Well Soon” or “Thinking of You” card are just not quite right, the absolute FUMBLE on the radio ad is deplorable. Hallmark- you have obviously hired a team of individuals to create these “Journey” cards. To capture a specific market. Fine. Maybe you could use the same “sensitivity team” to help you create the friggin’ commercials? Did that thought cross your mind? Hmmmm?

Idiots.

(For more perspectives on the new cards, check out Brooklyn Girl, Gawker, and Julie who have already posted on this topic.)

UPDATED TO ADD: I sent a complaint to Hallmark via e-mail. If you wish to do the same, go here. I will let you know if they respond.

Potty time?

One day last week, Gabe ran up to A, pulled at his pants and said, "Daddy. Poopy." And sure enough, he had a load in his diaper. We are quite excited at the new development.

I have actually had a potty chair in the house for a long time, not because I want to rush the kid, but because the one I liked was on clearance and I had a coupon (or some other similar scenario). So, we pulled it out on Friday night and have been talking about it with Gabe. He loves to go over and sit on it. Of course, he also loves to fill the little bowl with his stuffed animals, so we're not in the final stretch by a long shot.

Honestly, we are really on the fence about the whole training issue. I don't want to rush him, but he seems to have suddenly started taking notice of his bodily functions, and I don't want to ignore that either. I am guessing that a lot of it stems from him being in the toddler room at daycare, where they have these tiny little flush toilets (they are sooooo cute), and he can see the other kids using them. Or maybe he's just tired of diapers. Or maybe it's another mode for pretend play. In any case, we're not rushing him at all. But it seems like such a grown up thing to be considering.

I'll let you know when we get a deposit that is not stuffed and furry.

Lucky mom

Yesterday's commute home was a nightmare. The roads have *still* not been cleared properly, and after struggling to get over to Gabe's daycare in the ice and snow, we proceeded to make our way home. Normally, our commute takes about 45 minutes for the 10-mile journey. When we reached the first bottleneck of the commute and found that it was completely stopped up, we knew that it would be a long drive home. While sitting in the first big jam (a bridge, so not too many choices), Gabe started asking for everything but the kitchen sink. "Bottle? Hold? (meaning hold him) Milk?" I asked him if a pretzel would suffice. "Noooooooooo" he said in a sad little pathetic voice. I felt bad and knew we were in for a long, whiney drive. So, I turned around, looked right at him and said very calmly, "The drive home is going to take a long time today. If you take a nap, it will go much faster, ok?"

And he said "ok" and went to sleep. Went. To. Sleep. Right there. No fuss. Good gawd, how did I get so lucky?