The curse of the last car payment

We have one payment left on Larry's car....do I even need to tell you the rest of this story? I mean, really. Don't you already know where I'm going?


During dinner on Friday night Larry mentioned how his car needs an inspection when we renew the tags... in May. He reminded me that both the check engine and air bag lights are on. I knew this. The air bag light as been on for YEARS. There is a reason for this. The light came on a long time ago, while the car was still under warranty. They fixed it, but the bill would have been about $2,000. So when it came back on after the warranty was up we never bothered to have anyone look at it. Of course, this fact has slipped our mind. The air bag light is just a way of life now. Hardly even notice it anymore.

But for some reason, now Larry talking about actually having to get it fixed reminded me how expensive it is. The car is only worth $2,000. I really don't want to pay $2,000 to fix a $2,000 car. A car that if it lasts another year I will be shocked. Don't forget that the check engine light is also on. It's on for a reason no doubt.

Ok, well whatever. We will just get a new car. We have til the end of May to shop around, save money, get ready to buy Larry a new car.

Then on Saturday we were pulling into the driveway...
Larry: "It's March"
Me: "It's MARCH?"
Larry: "Yeah, March."
I walk over the car and there it is, MAR, in all it's capitalized orange glory, "Well that sucks!"

So we don't have til May... we have til March.

This same thing happened when we bought the van. We had just paid off Larry's truck the month before and then his car just stopped running. He was driving home from work and the car just quit. No more. All done. I was waiting for him to come home from work. He was late. And then I see him and his brother come walking around the corner. lol. That's never good.

So we went that weekend and bought the van. Larry took my car and I've been driving the van ever since.

But I really wanted to be ready to buy a car this time. Not under the gun to buy a car because we NEED it, but because it was the right time. I was feeling frustrated because it seems like every time I have to buy a car it's an emergency. I hate spending large sums of money like that. AND it seems like the car we are trading in is always worth nothing.

But, ya know, if Larry's car was still good then we would keep it. And we would keep it until it had no more value to us. Then I would be complaining that we drive our cars into the ground. So I guess I can't win. You can use a car up and then expect to get some actual trade in value for it.

4 sentences

Insane is letting your preschooler be in charge of the paper shredder.

Stupid is letting the paper shredder get overflowingly full.

Frustration is watching your preschooler spill a half gallon of shredded paper on the rug.

Fear is yelling "Connor NOOOoooooooo!" as your preschooler tries to turn on the fan.

Connorisms

Larry was putting Connor to bed the other day:

Connor: "My nose isn't running anymore. I don't have a cold anymore."
Larry: "I'm glad you feel better."
Connor: "You don't have to give me the pink."
Larry: "Oh yeah, you don't like the pink?"
Connor: "No. I think it makes me sleep!"

(Holy self-awareness batman!)
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Connor, pulling out a packet of Mad Libs: "Do you want crunchy, hot, slimy, or umm... sparkly?"
(I thought that was so smart... they are all adjectives!)

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Connor was wearing a new shirt.

Connor: "I spilled yogurt on my shirt!" and starts to cry.
Me: "No. No. It's ok, no big deal." I wipe it with a towel and it's fine.
Connor: "I just don't like it when I spill yogurt on my beautiful shirt."

Unconscious

We had Connor's party on Sunday. We do a Superbowl/ birthday party every year. And every year it gets less Superbowl and more birthday. This time no one even stayed for the Superbowl. Which was totally fine. The party was fun. And as always we had way too much food.

Before the party I fainted in the kitchen. I just passed out. I didn't feel dizzy or anything. I had gotten up and went straight downstairs still in jammies. I put the meatballs in the crockpot and then went and sat down on the couch with kids for about 15 minutes. I did feel a bit foggy. Kinda like I couldn't really wake up. Then I walked over to the kitchen island and there was a glass of tea sitting there. I wanted it. I kept thinking about how I wanted it but I didn't reach out and grab it or anything. Like I couldn't really figure out how to get it.

Then I was lying in bed coming out of a dream. Then I heard Larry's voice coming through a thick fog "What happened?" I opened my eyes and I'm on the kitchen floor with Larry and the kids all hovered around. "I have no idea." I say and start to cry. I get up and Larry helps me over to the couch.

Larry said right before I passed out I asked him if there was anything he wanted me to do and that he said we needed to sweep the kitchen floor... but I have no memory of this. He said he looked down at the floor as he answered and when he looked back he saw my arm disappear behind the island... and then he heard me hit the floor.

I didn't hurt myself when I fell. I fell to the side, which is weird. So my hip hit first, which is sore, then my shoulder, and finally my head. But nothing hurts except my hip. My head just feels like Connor whacked it with a toy or something... and believe me I know how that feels.

I went to the doctor and they did an EKG and said everything was fine there. She thinks I had low blood sugar and told me to make sure I get at least 60 grams of protein a day. So I'll do that. Hopefully I can stay conscious from now on.

Happy Birthday Connor!

Yesterday was Connor's birthday. He's 4! I can't believe it. I cried. Actually I didn't cry yesterday. I cried on Wednesday because it was the last day I would ever own a 3 year old. boo hoo. I dropped him off at preschool and had to hold back the tears at how cute he was. Never to be 3 again.

His birthday was a big day. We made cupcakes together after we put Maddy on the bus. I really tried to let him do everything himself. He even cracked the eggs AND used the ice cream scoop to put the batter into the cupcake pan. Yes, I was very brave.

After lunch Connor had a field trip with his preschool class. They are doing a dinosaur theme in his class and they went on a dinosaur dig. It was so cute. There is a place not to far where they have a lake, nature walks, ect. It's nice. Apparently they also have a big sand pit where dinosaur bones are hidden. You can dig them up. The kids loved it. Connor yelled "I found a dinosaur bone! Keep digging guys!"

After the dino dig they played with a parachute. You know, the big round sheet and all the kids stand around it holding an edge. Then they put their arms up, and down, and up and then run under it. I loved those as a kid. I was kinda hoping they would let the moms play too... but it was just for kids. Too bad.

Then we went on a nature walk around the lake. Saw all the flowers and cactus. Some birds, some fish. And plenty of ducks. Pretty cute.

I put him down for a nap when we got home. I didn't think he would sleep since it was past the time he normally wakes up but I didn't hear a peep out of him. After he woke up we opened presents. He got a camera (sweet!), a light saber, and an Imagination Movers CD.

Larry made pancakes for dinner as requested by the birthday boy. Then we sang Happy Birthday and ate the cupcakes. I couldn't find the birthday candles so I improvised with tea lights. 4 little tea lights. He didn't seem to care.

I took him to the doctor today. He weighs 50 pounds and is 42.5 inches tall. Which is 90th percentile for height and off the charts for weight. I knew he was big.

Minor successes at 4:30 am

So couple of months ago I talked about how getting Connor to go pee by himself during the night. And how I think it may be the last hurdle to me sleeping through the night on a permanent basis. We still haven't been having much luck with that until last night.

We had been making such a big deal about him going potty by himself that I think he was feeling like he couldn't call us. Which wasn't true. We still went each time he called but it was always accompanied with a lecture about how big boys go potty alone. This finally came to a head the past few mornings with him wetting the bed because he won't go potty alone and he won't call me.

I asked him why he didn't call me or go potty. He said that it was 6:00 and he was too scared to go potty by himself. Which I don't understand because every morning at 7:00 he comes bouncing into my room. So it's too scary at 6:59, but not at 7:00? I guess my "Don't wake Mommy til 7:00" training took hold a little too well.

So I told him he can go potty in my bathroom during the night if he wants. He liked that. I'm not sure how that is less scary since it's much farther from his room, and he has to walk right past the hall bathroom to get there, but he seemed to go for it. Maybe he just wants us close in case there are technical difficulties. Maybe a wardrobe malfunction.

Well, apparently that is what he wanted to hear because when I came home from school last night Larry said that between bedtime and 9:30 Connor went potty alone about 27 times. That's fine, I figured that would happen once he embraced this new found freedom.

The real test came this morning at about 4:30. I woke up to Connor in our room saying "Um... Guys?" Larry was the first one conscious.

"Do you need to go potty, bub?"
"Yeah."
"Ok, go ahead."

And he did! I even got a kiss on the way back to his bed. Love it.

He is still going to wake me up but I don't have to get out of bed. We are one mini step closer to no more midnight potty breaks.