We Were Going To Go To Vegas

but decided to give all of our money to our mechanic instead.

A few weeks ago my Check Engine light came on. I wasn't too worried, it had happened before with another car. They said it was a computer thing and it didn't cost much to fix. So I waited a while before taking my car into the shop.

But then I realized the other car was new and had been under warranty. This car is older and not under warranty. Hmm, would that make a difference?

The answer was yes. Apparently, some parts of my engine (you know the thing that makes the car go) had broken (or melted or something). That didn't sound too good. And the parts were kind of expensive. Yikes.

And my car needed new tires. I was going to wait but I figured as long as it was there I might as well get them replaced. And apparently that costs money too. Double yikes.

(Now I should point out that our mechanic is honest. My family has been going to this shop for years. In fact some of the guys from the shop were at my wedding. So they take very good care of us.)

While my car was in the shop overnight, my husband was backing out of the driveway and broke the right side mirror on his car. I'm going to get this out there, my husband sucks at backing out of the driveway. We have tire marks well beyond the edges of the driveway. In fact he has driven over the neighbor's downspout on more than one occasion. Its just not good. I know this, he knows this. Although I'm pretty sure the neighbor thinks its me.

So he was pulling out of the driveway, checking his mirrors to make sure he wasn't on the neighbor's lawn, when he hit one of those mirrors on the gate. The gate that has been next to our driveway for all of the 11 years we've lived at the house. The gate that is not directly adjacent to the driveway but a few feet off of it. That gate.

So now we got to pick up my car from the shop, pay the ridiculous bill and drop his car off. Lucky for him, he didn't damage the mirror or the car that much so we weren't looking at body work. But still, it wasn't cheap.

So instead of taking a vacation, we fixed our cars. That just stinks.

Are We There Yet

Four simple little words. Alone they are fine, but used together they will strike fear in the heart of any parent. Especially if they are repeated ad nauseum over the course of a road trip.

Yesterday was one such day for us. Our cousin who got married in Las Vegas a few weeks ago was having a reception picnic at a park near her house in Illinois. We decided to go so we could see some relatives who weren't at the wedding. We also decided to bring Bunny along because the family hadn't seen her in about a year.

Now we live in Milwaukee which is about 2 hours from the greater Chicagoland area. B.B. (before Bunny) we used to think nothing of driving down for the day. Well we really didn't do it that often but we could have if we wanted to. But adding a toddler in the mix always complicates matters.

We had Chinese class in the morning. We decieded to have lunch after that and then hit the road. This puts us at about noon, which in theory should induce napping. In Theory.

In reality, not so much. We made the mistake of telling her we were going to a party. So the conversation in our car went something like this. "Let's go to the party." "I'm not gonna nap." "Let's go to the party." "I'm not gonna nap." Lather, rinse, repeat. For two straight hours.

I refused to pull out the DVD player to entertain her because I was hoping she would give up and fall asleep. Man am I stupid.

So we finally get to the party to see all the family. It was nice to see people we hadn't seen in a while. The park where the picnic was was on a river and really pretty. It was a beautiful day, 75 and sunny. The food was catered. It was worth the two hours of torture we had just survived. It was perfect, almost.

Almost because the pavillion where the food and tables were was covered with those little Asian Beetles (lady bugs) that are everywhere now. Now I may have mentioned my intense dislike of all things bug. If you get one or two of those Asian Beetles in your house, no big deal. But hundreds, nay thousands, yeah that is a big deal. And they were flying everywhere, getting in your hair, on your face, down your (my) shirt, on your food. Oh yeah and they bite. Not fun.

Bunny lost it. She loves all things bug. Except for flying bugs. Those she hates. So she wouldn't eat her food. She just kept saying "I don't like flies, go away flies. Make flies go away momma."

So in order to fend off a total meltdown, grampy took her for a walk and all was well. She found a bench under a tree where she proceeded to collect acorns, leaves, bark and wood chips. Yeah, that's my kid. If mommy were to venture down to her little oasis, she was told in no uncertain terms to go away. Only grampy and grandma could be there. Well alright then.

When it was time to go, we went back to the pavillion to say our goodbyes. Bunny gave hugs and high fives like a champ. And then she noticed the lady bugs. But this time they were on the ground, and she wanted to stay so she could watch them crawl around. "I love lady bugs momma."

Luckily for the sanity of all involved, she fell asleep as soon as the car pulled out of the parking lot and we managed to survive the trip.

Later that night, I turned to my husband and said "That was nice, let's not do that again."

Car Troubles - Hooptie or Bust

So it would seem that only having one car seat in a two car family has come back to bite us on the preverbial a$$.

Yesterday we were driving around with Bunny minding our own business, when weird noises started coming out of the back of the Pathfinder (yes I drive an SUV - don't hate me please). We stopped to check it out and it turns out the muffler is loose. Its swinging around and bouncing up and down.

So of course its only a matter of time before the muffler breaks free and either drags on the ground or drops off altogether. Now of course both are attractive options and will classify the otherwise good truck as a hooptie. Classy.

So we need to get it fixed, sooner rather than later. Even if we could transfer the car seat from my car to Bubs', he has meetings out of the office today and a turf managment study (golf) tomorrow. So Bunny and I would be stuck without a car.

The other option is to drive to our mechanic, take out the stroller and walk back. This is doable, its only about a mile and a half. But its supposed to rain today and tomorrow so with my luck we'd get rained on. And of course the mechanic isn't opened on Saturdays or Sundays.

So I guess its hooptie or bust this weekend.