What can go wrong, will.

So here is the timeline of AAFES frustrations:

June 3rd - Purchased futon and futon mattress for mom to sleep on when she vomes and ordered a crib and dresser/changing table combo at the AAFES Furniture Store on RAF Feltwell. The furniture store agrees to hold onto the futon and mattress until the crib and dresser come in for one delivery. They say the crib and dresser will be in in about 6-8 weeks.

July 31st - Eight weeks has passed. No word on the crib and dresser. I call the Furniture Store and am informed that the crib has arrived, but the dresser has not. They estimated it will be in in a couple of weeks.

August 14th - Two more weeks have passed. I call the furniture store and am informed that the dresser is now out of stock from the shipper. They don't know when it will be in. It could be as late as Christmas. There are eight people on the waiting list for this dresser.

August 15th - I actually go out to the Furniture Store to see if there are any other crib and dressers in stock that I can buy in place of the ones I've ordered. There's nothing. Just two really ugly cribs, and another crib with a dresser/changing table attached that is currently out of stock. So I'd have to order it. And wait another 6-8 weeks. I agree to keep the original dresser on order, pay for the crib, along with a vanity I see while I'm there. I set up deliver for the crib, vanity, futon and futon mattress for the next week.

August 19th - I have to go back out to the Furniture Store because instead of charging me for the crib and vanity, they have charged me for the futon and mattress. Again. I've already paid for these things...back in June. Get everything straightened out and accurately paid for, and confirm delivery for Tuesday on all paid-for peices.

Today - I had to take an entire unpaid day off of work, which was not easy, to wait for the delivery. They won't even tell you if it'll be an afternoon or morning delivery. They just tell you to be available from 8 am to 6 pm. So I wait. And wait. And wait. I check my receipts a hundred times to make sure the correct address is on there and that there is a contact number in case they can't find the house. In my gut, I just know something will go wrong.

3:15 pm - The delivery guys finally show up. I open the door to see the crib and the vanity. No futon. No futon mattress. The delivery guys (who are contracted out and don't actually work for AAFES) know nothing about a futon or mattress. They bring in the crib and vanity, and leave. I scream and stomp up and down the stairs for a few minutes. Then I call the Furniture Store, nearly in hysterics, explaining that I had to take an unpaid day off and wait all day for this delivery just to get half of my order. "It should have been there," says Dave. "I KNOW it should have been here. I paid for it. But it's not here, " I explain. Dave says he'll research the matter and call me right back.

Luckily, Dave is a wise man and realizes he's dealing with a hysterical pregnant lady who's about to be pushed to the brink. He calls back ten minutes later to find out how to get to my house and personally sends out two AAFES warehouse workers to deliver the futon to my house. By 4:45, I have received all of my order.

Well, except for the dresser/chaning table. But we'll have to wait a few months on that anyway. Assuming it actually does come in at all. At this point, I just have to pretend it will.

But the crib is finally here. Once I get some help putting it together, I can start decorating the nursery. And the futon is finally here, so mom will have somewhere to sleep when she gets here in a couple of weeks. And hopefully the dresser will come some time down the road. It'll all come together, sooner or later. But boy, they sure don't make it easy on you, do they? Sheesh.