Don't Hire Derek Fuller from Royal Painting and Building out of Ipswich, Ma!

This blog wasn't meant to do this, but since they keep deleting my reviews, I wanted to warn people in our area about him!

We hired Derek's company, Royal Painting & Building to do our roof back in April/May of 2016. He had a great quote and was a customer of ours (he used to shop in our store 3-4 times a week!). He took a little longer than quoted to finish the roof, which we assumed would happen because once they started we had a heat wave, so they moved slower (which we were fine about).

A few weeks after they finished, we had our first rain storm. The ceiling in our living room was slightly leaking. We called him and he said he would send someone out ASAP to fix it. We called a few times, and he kept apologizing because they were busy and he had a death in the family. My grandmother passed the same time period, so we gave him another chance. It didn't rain the rest of the summer (other than maybe a light rain), so the leak of "out of sight, out of mind". 

In October, we had another big rain storm. The living room was still leaking slightly, but my niece's bedroom ceiling collapsed in from the rain! We didn't even know there was a leak until it was too late! This was a Sunday night (Monday being a holiday). We called their 24/7 emergency number they had listed online. No one answered or called us back. We called several times between 7PM on Sunday and about 1PM on Monday. We finally hired someone else to fix the roof area of that side of the house and fix the damage of my niece's bedroom. Derek finally called us back on Tuesday and said he would fix it, we told him we hired someone to fix because he didn't get back to us fast enough (We had a HOLE in our ROOF and it was supposed to rain again!). Derek was fine with that, and said he would come look at the pictures and the damage and that if we gave him the receipts/invoice he would pay for the damage. About a week after we saw and spoke to him, we email his wife Jessica (she answers the phones and emails), the invoice and he refused to call us back to set up a payment plan. My mother called a few times and Jessica would tell her he would call her back, then they stopped answering when she call all together. I tried from my cell and they called back within 5 mins (right after my mother called them!).  Jessica said they would have to talk to their other partner then call us back to set up a plan. I have called a few times since then with no return calls. It is now May and they are still refusing our calls and have yet to pay us back!

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do not hire them! Don't fall for their low estimates! They claim they use products, bought specifically for our house (that we paid for) and turns out they weren't put down! Take a look at the following photos of some of the damage!

Slight leak (June 2016) in the living room, the reason we called them.

This is what my niece's bedroom ceiling looked like the night it caved in!

This is a new(ish) leak we found during the snow/rain storms this winter (Feb-ish) of around our sky light,

We will need to re-do our whole roof this summer! 

We recently saw Smurfs: The Lost Village and LOVED it!

The movie follows Smurfette and a few of her friends on finding the "lost" village before the evil wizard Gargamel does. 

Plot:
The movie starts out explaining all the Smurfs are named after their characteristics (Brainy is smart, Clumsy is a klutz, Hefty is strong, etc) and Smurfette feels a little out of place. Smurfette is the only female in the village, but she was created from clay by the Evil Gargamel. While Smurfette is out playing near the forbidden forest (along with Brainy, Clumsy and Klutz) she sees another female Smurf.  Smurfette ends up being captured by Gargamel and at his castle, she ends up inadvertently revealing the hat, enabling Gargamel to mix up a brew that causes him to locate the village on a map.  Soon enough Hefty, Brainy, & Clumsy who followed Smurfette, help her escape and return to Smurf Village, where they are punished by Papa Smurf for disobeying his orders and confines them to their houses while dismissing their claims of a lost village filled with Smurfs. Smurfette decides to break out, with the help of Hefty, Brainy, & Clumsy because they are "Team Smurf". The four best friends follow the map and end up in various adventures, like being attacked by monster flowers and getting caught in a stampede of luminescent rabbits, one of whom they befriend and name Bucky, who helps them on their quest. After setting sail on their handmade raft along the river, they encounter Gargamel, Azrael, and Monty. Following a brief chase, Gargamel was thrown out of his own raft. Hefty and Smurfette convince the others to help save him. They do so but instead of thanking them, he pushed them out of their raft, leaving them to plunge down a waterfall. After surviving the waterfall and washed ashore, they are soon captured by the leaf-covered creature from earlier along with a few others and they soon reveal themselves to be female Smurfs. They are taken to their village, which is called Smurfy Grove, in the trees and get to know all the girl Smurfs, including the leader Smurf Willow, the tomboyish Smurf Storm, the hyperactive Smurf Blossom, the gentle Smurf Lily and the music-loving Smurf Melody. They all welcome the Smurfs, especially Smurfette, to their humble home. After a while of showing them what they do, Smurf Storm and Clumsy come back with her telling that Smurfette was created by Gargamel. Before they can attack her for being considered a traitor, Papa Smurf appears (after realizing Smurfette and the boys are missing, he goes out to find them), and the female smurfs accept him into their home. Then, Gargamel comes and destroys Smurfy Grove, capturing all the Smurfs, all except Smurfette, who is now alone, feeling guilty for her actions. However, Brainy's pet Snappy bug shows her a picture of her and the others, and she soon realizes that she is not a real Smurf, and heads back to Gargamel's lair with Snappy and Bucky to save the Smurfs. At Gargamel's lair, where all the Smurfs are, Brainy makes a plan to escape. Papa Smurf hears their plan and he and Smurf Willow decide to help them. Hefty, Brainy, Clumsy, and some of the female Smurfs succeed at the plan until Gargamel and Azrael spot them and put some of the female Smurfs and Clumsy into his Smurfilator, extracting their essence. Smurfette appears, tricking Gargamel that she wants to be an evil smurf again. When Gargamel tries to turn Smurfette into an evil smurf, he realizes that Smurfette is absorbing his magic powers instead, a skill she found earlier after destroying Brainy's invention. The lair explodes, sending Gargamel, Azrael, and Monty into a lake full of piranhas. Unfortunately, Smurfette has reverted to her original lifeless clay form. Papa quickly tries to find a spell, but Brainy states there's nothing they can do to save her, leaving everyone, especially Papa, heartbroken.

Back at Smurf Village, all the Smurfs, boys and girls, mourn the loss of Smurfette. Using their energy, Smurfette comes back to life and becomes a Smurf again and everybody happily celebrates. After which, Smurf Village and Smurfy Grove become united with each other and Smurfette finally became the new leader of the Smurfs and most of all, true-blue Smurf.

I took my 7 and a half year old niece to this and she LOVED it! She was giggling the whole time! We highly recommend seeing this to everyone! She even told me she liked this version better than the other movies (Smurf 1 and 2, both were live action)!

Boss Baby

So, it is April school vacation week for us this week and, of course, it is raining! So, what do we do? We go to the movies!

We saw Boss Baby!

This movie was very cute! It starts out with a 7 year old little boy named Tim. He has a loving family, his parents work at a puppy company. Tim's parents play with, sing to him, read to him at bed time. He is happy. Until the baby arrives. Boss Baby arrives at Tim's home in a taxi, wearing a suit and carrying a briefcase. Boss Baby takes over all of Tim's parents' love and attention. Tim begins to think that his parents don't love him anymore, and they only care about the new baby. One day, Tim discovers that Boss Baby is actually spy from Baby Co, trying to get more attention/love for babies instead of puppies. Tim still tries to get rid of Boss Baby, even going up against his team of babies in a hilarious "battle". Tim's parents catch on and ground him. Tim and Boss baby put aside their rivalry and work together to thwart a dastardly plot that involves an epic battle between puppies and babies. Through their battle against Francis Francis, they bond. The ending of the movie is pure love!

I took my 7 year old niece to see this. Her mother is expecting a baby in a few months. When the movie began, I was like "Oh no! I hope she doesn't feel unloved like Tim!" but as the movie progressed, I started to hope she has the same love for her little brother that Tim developed for his!

I recommend this movie for any child, but especially ones with siblings!

Recycle!

With Earth day coming up, I wanted to talk about recycling. Everyone talks about recycling plastic bottles/cans or paper. Not a lot of people talk about recycling (or reusing) children's things! The Children's Orchard is all about recycling and reusing items!

Did you know, we buy and sell children's things that they have outgrown?

1. Clothing/shoes: Children, at least twice a year, grow out of their clothing! Some items, like fancy dresses and suits, they only wear ONCE! We buy season clothing/shoes!
1. Spring/Summer
• bathing suits and cover ups
• shorts/capris
• t-shirts/tank tops
• sun dresses
• sneakers
• sandals
• water shoes
• rain coats/ boots
• Light weight jackets
• Dressy clothing and shoes for Easter/Mother's Day/ Weddings
2. Fall/Winter
• t-shirts/sweat shirts
• pants
• Halloween costumes
• sneakers
• rain coats/ boots
• Snow gear (jackets, snow pants, winter boots)
• Dressy clothing and shoes for Thanksgiving/Christmas/New Years/ Weddings
• Bathing suits (year round: for swim lessons or the hot tub/pool on vacations)
2. Equipment: swings, exersaucers, high chairs etc. the children only use for a few months (if they even like it). We buy gently used equipment (as long it hasn't been recalled)
• swings (inside and outside)
• exersaucers/ jump a roos
• high chairs
• changing tables
• pack n plays
• cribs (no drop sides)
• Strollers/joggers (single and doubles)
3. Toys and Books: Children have so many toy options these days! Typically, a child will lose interest in the toy after a few months! We buy them if they have all (or most) of their pieces!

When you sell to The Children's Orchard, you are recycling your children's outgrown items! Unless you give them to friends, the things your child outgrew sits in a landfill!

When you buy items from The Children's Orchard, you are reusing someone else's items!

Both are good for the environment!

Fairy Tales Lice Prevention Rosemary Repel conditioning spray

Right around back to school time, I decided to try Fairy Tales lice prevention spray. I was skeptical at first, but man am I glad I bought it! I use this product every morning before heading to work! I also put it in my 7 year old niece's hair every morning!

Over Thanksgiving break, I went away with my other brother, his wife, 3 kids and my other niece. I cuddle with the kids, and my niece slept in a bed with her cousin. Tuesday after the long weekend, my sister-in-law called to tell us her oldest had lice! Turns out, all 5 of them had to some extent. She told me to check my hair and my other niece that went up to visit with me. Thankfully, neither one of us had it! Why? Because we used the lice prevention spray!

Fairy Tales lice prevention spray is a leave in conditioner that detangle and protect the hair. Lice do not like the rosemary, citronella, and tea tree oil scents.
This product is gluten, soy, dairy and nut-free!

I highly recommend this product to any adult whose children go to school, day care or camp. I also recommend to any adult who is near children!

The Children's Orchard in Rowley, Ma carries these for sale!

Imagine That! Lawrence, Ma

Yesterday, during NH school vacation week with my 3 nieces and nephew, we went to Imagine That!

Let's start with, I have 3 nieces (age 8, 7.5, and almost 5) and a nephew (age 2.5). This was my first time going to Imagine That, along with the 7.5 year old girl. My sister in law and other 3 kids have gone once before.

This place was a fun day time activity. We went got a pass from our local library, which got 2 adults and 3 kids in FREE, so we only had to pay for 1 child! However, price wise, this wouldn't have been too expensive anyways. Children are $10 and adults are $1!

As you walk into the shoe less room:

1. There is a jumpy house. The kids LOVED this! They could probably spend all day in a jumpy house. I would only suggest you pay attention at this section because no one is monitoring the jumpy house. At one point, I saw too many children in the house at once. We just suggested the kids move onto another activity, so they wouldn't get hurt.
2. A "Doctor's Clinic" is next. Here, the kids got to play with baby dolls and bring them to the doctors. They had a few Doctor coats for them to wear while they pretended to be the doctor. This was a cute pretend station.
3. Next was a wooden ship. Here, the kids got to climb on and in the ship and pretend to steer the ship. On the wall was "windows", that when opened gave facts about different sea creatures.
4. Next was a little sitting area with large blocks for kids to play with..
5. Connected to the sitting/block area was the climbing structure. This was the kids' favorite section! My 2.5 year old nephew was the perfect size for it this year, my sister in law said last year he needed help climbing through it. This has climbing, tunnels and a slide. All 4 kids enjoyed this!
6. In the middle of the room is a pretend grocery store. Here, they have bins of plastic or wood food that they can "buy" from whoever is pretending to be the cashier.
7. The last section is the arts corner. This was the only section I thought really needed some work. They had a big roll of brown paper for the kids to paint or draw on, smocks, a wall of art supplies. You do have to pay for paint though, which was only 50 cents for a plate of paint.

They also have a small snack bar that sells food and drinks. They had an okay selection of snacks (oreos, gold fish, cheez it, etc) plus chicken fingers, pizza etc. They also had cans of soda, juice boxes, water, etc for drinks. They have a section for the kids to sit and eat their food or drink their drinks as well.

All in all, I really enjoyed the place! I think we will definitely go back. I do think the older girls, 8 and 7.5 years old, are probably aging out of this place, and would highly recommend it for 6 and under, but they did have fun!

The only real suggestions I have before you go there

1. Pay close attention to your kid(s), especially if they are fast and you are alone with more than one child. The people by the door don't stop children from leaving, even if the adult is not near. My experience: my 7.5 year old niece, when it was time to go, was out the door before I was even half way across the room. I'm not sure if the lady would have stopped her if she was younger though.
2. If you have them, have the kids wear the socks with the grippers on the bottom. The place is a little slippery, especially with the kids running.
3. Dress lightly. The room was pretty warm inside yesterday. And a few of my friends who have gone different days, said the same.

Online Selling?

Are you selling your children's stuff online? Facebook groups, craigslist, even yard sales are a lot more work for less money! Did you know, you could easily bring your child's clothes, toys and equipment to us and get money right then and there?

I have spoken with friends who sell online or at yard sales, and I have also sold at both. Here are a few things that is better when selling to The Children's Orchard!

1. Less time spent dealing with selling!  Between taking photos, posting to the numerous sites you use and waiting for people to respond or show up, selling things can take hours or days! If you brought the items to us, you could save yourself some time. We look at it when you bring it in, and let you know right then and there if we can buy it!
2. Meeting a stranger somewhere or having them come to your house can be dangerous! Selling to us is safe and convenient. We are located in a plaza with many people around plus we have only a few buyers, so you work with the same people over and over again

When you buy online:

1. You never know if the item has been recalled, unless you constantly check the list of recalled items. The Children's Orchard does that for you! We NEVER have recalled items in our store!
2. You can't return something if your child doesn't like it or it doesn't fit! Here, at the Children's Orchard, we allow you to return things! We know it's hard to shop with and for children. Kids are picky and they grow fast!
3. We go back to meeting a stranger somewhere. You never know who is placing the item online! We live in a dangerous time, why risk it?

Why waste your short time with buying and selling online? Come into our store and do both at the same time!

Support small and local businesses before they all close up!