Oil, Cars, and Boys....Oh My!

A short eleven months ago, we bought a fourth vehicle to accommodate our fourth driver. Thankfully, we did not spend a lot on it as we soon discovered the car had a drinking problem.

Uh oh.

Yep, we had purchased an oil junkie.

Awesome.

Must explain why the price on the car was so cheap, but I digress....

We stressed the importance of checking the oil to The Boy but what 17 year old kid does that faithfully? After all, that's what the lights on the dashboard are for, right?

Guess not.

Two weeks ago, the car croaked. Dead. On. Arrival.

Teen Boy, no oil, on the highway, car shuddering, and lights blinking equal a dead car.

At an ungodly hour, but I won't go there.

End result? Fried engine.

Can't tell you how excited I was to learn this information.

A perfectly nice car got hauled off to the salvage yard. Sigh.

Let me just tell you, visiting a salvage yard is an interesting experience.

Two guys (with just a few teeth between them) asked me about the car, commiserated about its demise, and offered advice for the future all while the girls played happily in the dirt digging up lost nuts and bolts.

We got to watch the Dead Car get picked up by a forklift, hauled off to be weighed, and taken off to parts unknown.

Poor car.

For our contribution to the salvage yard, we were awarded a check for $294.

Yay.

Would much rather have the car. Sigh.

But according to the girls, we are now rich!

Ah, to be 8 again.....

Grandma's Gone Missing

"Mom, I lost Grandma."

What?

Alex and Grandma headed out to Wal-Mart this morning for a few errands.

Didn't think he'd lose her.

Or, maybe she lost him.

Evidently, she told Alex to go get her a camera card. So he did.

When he came back to where he left her, she was gone.

Phone rang.

"Mom, what did Grandma come to buy here?"

Hmm, well, I don't know. Maybe clothes?

I sent him to the women's section to scan shoppers. After all, how many lost Grandma's could possibly be in Wal-Mart.

Phone rang again.

"She's not here."

Are you in the women's section, or misses, or juniors?

"There's a difference?"

Geesh.

A few minutes later, I got a text.

"I found her."

Well, where was she?

"By the birthday cards....like that was obvious."

The Bad Fairy

A lost tooth only means one thing.

A visit from the Tooth Fairy with money to share is close at hand.

Abby lost a tooth at school. She was so excited! Anna Grace spread the excitement with texts to Katie, Alex, and Daddy to share the news.

The tooth was lovingly placed under the pillow last night in anticipation of the arrival of the awesome Tooth Fairy.

The Tooth Fairy placed a dollar bill by her sink as a reminder to herself....and.... promptly forgot.

I was awoken this morning by two little girls who said....

"She forgot to come."

Huh? What on earth are you talking about?

"The Tooth Fairy forgot to come get Abby's tooth."

Oh my. The Tooth Fairy messed up.

Big time.

How do I remedy this situation?

After lunch and errands, I snuck into the girls room, swiped the tooth, and left the money.

Abby, for some unknown reason, checked under her pillow only ten minutes later.

Shrieks of excitement filled the air.

"Mom!! The Tooth Fairy came when we were getting your car at the garage!! I didn't know she could come in the day time!"

And Alex burst out laughing........

Teenagers.

Etiquette at the Ballet

Despite being completely fascinated by the dancers, my child was the wiggly non whispering one in seat 27, row H at The Nutcracker Ballet today.

While I am quite certain she only distracted me, I do feel obliged to point out a few issues I noticed today.

And yes, I witnessed all of these. Sad but true.

1. The ballet is not the movies. Please refrain from eating crunching chips, munching popcorn, and rattling your candy bag during the show.

2. It is not proper to slurp soup from a thermos while watching the Sugar Plum Fairy.

3. If your child cannot make it through the performance without playing Angry Birds on your iPhone, perhaps your child should not be in attendance.

4. Oh, and if your child is a babe or toddler in arms, chances are pretty good that he would be better off left at home.

5. When showing appreciation for a great performance at the ballet, clapping is quite acceptable. Whistling....not so much. Even for Georgia.

If you are going to dress your little darling in their Sunday finest, please teach them to act the same.

Thank you from all future theater and ballet attendees.

Christmas Traditions

Ah, Christmas traditions.

You know what I mean.

We all have them.

Maybe Elf on a Shelf.

Or, Grandma's special potatoes.

Maybe fancy outfits for church.

Perhaps opening one gift Christmas Eve.

Or, the dreaded fruitcake.

Well, I can pretty much guarantee you don't share our tradition.

You see, you know ours has to be quirky in some way or it just wouldn't be us.

Every year while decorating the tree, everyone has certain ornaments that they get to hang up. And that holds true for Alex.

His is this sweet little Santa that when placed "just so" on the tree, it would appear that Old Saint Nick is relieving himself on the branches.

Yep, our tradition is Peeing Santa.

We are so proud.