Matthew has discovered logos and commercialism. He rarely watches TV, but I think he will catch a moment here and there of a commercial or two when we are watching TV because as we were pulling into Taco Bell on Sunday to grad a quick bite before heading to the park he noticed a Pizza Hut sign and started yelling “Pizza House Mama!! Pizza House!!” We never eat Pizza Hut, so I am guessing he must have recognized the logo from a commercial.
He also noticed a car with a Papa John’s logo on top of it today while getting Austin from school and he was all excited to see a pizza car. We watched it pull into the school, watched him deliver the goods, and then watched him leave. Matthew was all excited and even had to tell Austin that he saw a pizza car when Austin got into the car. Austin, being 11 and starting to get the teenage enthusiasm just did not share Matthew’s joy… shocker there!
Disclaimer: This entry is rated PG-13.
I had today’s blog entry pre-written in my head, I was going to call it “Mommy’s Little Helper: A love story” and gush about my love of Starbucks Venti White Chocolate Mocha, or my lifeblood, and how even after only 4 1/2 hours of sleep I can accomplish so much before 9am and how much I had gotten done already…. then at 8:50am my good day went bad.
So when I look back it was not the best day, but with all the pitfalls I was still able to get the kids off to school without choking them, the car jumped which involved calling the dealership to find out how to override the shift lock and moving a dead car onto the street, still got Austin to school on time at 7:30, got $150 worth of groceries, got a roast & veggies into the slow cooker AND got myself a dentist appointment for today for the tooth I chipped on Saturday… and then with one simple phone call to DH the day changed and my good day turned bad.
Now I am not going to say my husband ruined my day, but that is because he reads my blog… but I think you can read between the lines. I guess the main issue I am having is getting the kids up at 6am just does not seem like early enough for them to get showered, dressed, get their chores done, breakfast eaten, hair & teeth brushed and out the door by 7:20 & 7:30. I am really debating whether or not I need to start getting them up at 5:30 which means either I need to get up at that time also, which is nearly impossible when I don’t get to sleep until after midnight, OR if I can trust them to get up on their own with an alarm clock, and get ready without waking up the whole house. Some mornings I want to duct tape the mouth of my 9 yr old shut because he fills the entire house with nonsense noise… throaty noises like “uh-uh-uh-uh” which serve the ONLY purpose of comforting him and annoying the shit out the other 4 members of the family.
So the car battery was dead this morning, either Austin or Bobby left a light on inside and the car would not start, nor go into neutral without being started. So I called the dealership who told me to look in my manual for how to override the steering lock, which was a delightful discovery that I hope we never have to use again. Backing the car into the driveway did not work, my cables were about 2″ to short, so we gave some lady a heart attack as we pushed it down the driveway thinking that we were going to have the brute strength to push the car uphill into her car and she gave us a friendly little honk while waving at us with a single finger, I was thrilled with her strong level of perception that roads are only made for one car at a time and choosing to get pissed instead of you know, going around and driving on the correct side of the road instead of the middle.
Ok, so whatever… I got the kids’ papers signed as I was trying to run out the door to get Austin to school in time after the whole fiasco. I hate it when teachers come into the house early Monday morning and sneak papers into backpacks instead of giving them to the kids on Friday, it makes Mondays so much more interesting I guess. By this time I am already losing my voice because the kids have been up over an hour and in that time have only managed to shower and dress. The animals are starved, they have not eaten, and the bathroom, the bedroom, and the kitchen looks like a hurricane swept through it. I swear, kids have the anti-midas touch and everything they touch turns to shit. Ok, maybe not that bad turns to dirty, wet, filthy garbage, that is nicer.
So I get Austin to school, I go to Safeway to get a much needed coffee & some milk and ended up with $150 worth of groceries and we will still not have anything to eat. When I got home I browned a roast, cut up potatoes and onion & tossed them all in a slow cooker with baby carrots, garlic, and seasonings and dinner is done. While unloading the rest of my groceries I put a call into the dentist and snag a same day appointment at 4pm to get a filling put in the molar I chipped this weekend when I bit on the barbell of my tongue piercing which keeps rubbing on my tongue and making it swell. I called DH and asked him if he could come home 30 minutes early because there is no way I can get Austin at 3:30, pick up Christopher from home, take them a sitter and be at the dentist’s office at 3:45. Well that was a no-go so I had to call and reschedule at their next available appointment 3 weeks from now… I must be the world biggest baby because after 3 days of this I am ready to just pull the damn tooth myself… but after three weeks I will be wanting to shoot myself, I cannot handle tooth pain!
Ok, so I am frustrated with the dentist and my husband and my child who has already had his third trip into time out for yelling at me, getting into the fridge and for not listening, and the tears are starting to flow. I toss the toddler into the highchair with a yogurt, drink my coffee and try to clean up my mess from making dinner. The trash of course is overflowing because that is my middle son’s chore (that is a rant for another blog entry… I got to clean underwear off my curb because apparently my MDS got lost in his 20 foot walk out to the trash can). I also busy myself with filling my in-sink soap dispenser with the dish soap I bought today because I ran out of the bulk soap 2 weeks ago and have just been using my little bottle. I guess in the two weeks it sat empty it broke because I can push the dispenser down, but it will not come back up… so I just wasted 1/4 a big bottle of Dawn into the empty abyss of brokenness. In the process of trying to fix it I overflow my sink with suds and I learn that we have no clean dishrags to clean up the huge mess with. I turn to grab a paper towel and knock the cutting board off my counter sending the 1/2 an onion I did not use flying through the air. I take another sip of coffee and clean up my mess.
Meanwhile the baby starts complaining that he is still hungry and asks for another yogurt. I offer a banana instead which he gladly accepted and I left the room to come in here and start writing. Next thing I know a yogurt covered baby had escaped from his highchair, abandon the uneaten banana and made his way to my couch leaving a trail of yogurt paw prints all over my kitchen table, cloth dining room chairs, walls, and my couch… as I jump up I knock over my cup and my coffee ends up on my carpet. I am SO ready to crawl back into bed and call it a day… the baby can pick up Austin from school at 3, I’ll leave the car keys on my desk within reach.
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When I was working for Goodwill as a CNA, one of the things I admired that the company did was accept unwanted vehicles as a donation, fixed them up and got them mechanically sound and then sold them at the auction with proceeds going to help fund programs for the developmentally disabled. Unfortunately, if you are in a different part of the country these auctions may be harder to find.
However, if you are looking for an auto auction, Chicago readers are in luck. With vehicles available for test drive on Fridays and auctions every 2 weeks, it is easy to see how you can find a great vehicle for a low price. They also have a consignment program if you have a used vehicle you need auctioned off to the highest bidder. Check it out, this would be a great way to obtain a project car, a student car, a second car, or a very low priced first car.
*This is a sponsored post.
Not outside, but rather inside. I went to take a shower Saturday evening and did the typical turn the shower on and go do something else until it heats thing; except this time when I came back the water was no warmer than it was before. I asked Bobby to go check on it, and the pilot was out so he re-lit it, however the flame did not spread to the burning plate and the water did not heat. I ended up washing my hair in cold water as Bobby boiled water for a bath.
Sunday we went to a home improvement store and looked at water heaters with the idea of getting a tankless water heater and learned it was a complex installation costing between $2,000 to $3,000. So Bobby took me home so I could find a plumber while he went back to buy it, but after a half dozen calls I got the bad news that we would probably have an easier time getting one from the plumber themselves because that is what they are certified to install. If this is not possible, I am not against a tanked water heater, as long as they can get one bigger than my 60 gallon one which just does not meet the needs of 4 showers 1-2 loads of dishes, and 1-3 loads of laundry each day.
Oh, and if I did not have enough to deal with, the windshield wiper fluid pump on my van went out… UGH!!
When I took Driver’s Ed in high-school, I was immature and did not take it seriously. I also felt the information was outdated, the actual time behind the wheel was sparse and limited and I was in a class with all my friends and socializing was more fun than learning to drive. The class ended up being a waste of my parent’s money and nothing came from it.
When I was almost 17 I was able to convince my parents to try again, this time at a private Driver’s Training School. I passed with flying colors, however when I took the test I failed… of course the woman who failed me kept saying in a snotty voice “I never drove a B-M-W when I was a teen“, and then at the very last maneuver said I failed for not signaling when I changed lanes, even though the road was widening and I merged right before the lanes actually divided into two lanes. Second time was a charm, new tester and I only was docked 6 points for not being able to parallel park.
I love the idea of a Driver’s Ed DVD that a teenager or adult studying to take the exam for their license, I feel one can never be too safe on the road and any kind of training they can get is positive. It would even make a good refresher for someone who has moved to a different climate and may not know how to handle emergency situations for driving in snow, ice, rain, or other emergency situations.
And of course I cannot mention being prepared in emergency situations and not mention the importance of an emergency auto kit, I own two, one for each vehicle, as well as a small tool set with screwdrivers, ratchets, pliers, etc. and a first aid kit. The nice thing about the above kit, is it combines a lot of the items in my above three kits into one, making it a very handy, all inclusive must have for EVERY vehicle.
*This is a sponsored post.
