Auto Shop

Okay, I know that I said I would write about the girls adventures and journeys, but I need a place to gloat for my accomplishments today.  And Cassidy and Taylor helped me a little.  Well, they played in Dave's car and didn't spill their water bottles while I worked.  That's good, right?

So my car has been making weird sounds.  It kind of creaks now, like a little old lady.  But it's only 6 years old, and with just over 50,000 miles.  No reason for such sounds in my opinion.  Then the auto doors stopped working, and that just kind of sucked.  Dave began browsing used minivans for me.

On Thursday, we actually made it into the car ahead of schedule for school, which, frankly, NEVER happens; we're usually hauling ass to get to school.  So we're all strapped in, snacks at the ready, and the car won't start.  It made a horrible clicking sound but just wouldn't or couldn't get itself going.  

So I panicked about getting the girls to school.  Like they were going to miss a great lecture or something.  Duh.  But my tremendously generous neighbor let me use her van and off we went, and were not even that late!  I got my little errands done, all the while thinking about what mechanic would be able to come and rescue my car.  

On Thursday afternoon, I asked a different neighbor (Ron, who happens to be married to Nancy) if he would come and give me his diagnosis.  He has about 5 cars and 3 fancy motorcycles at his house, and apparently some other "projects" at other locations, so I knew I'd asked for a good opinion.  He asked me to start the car while he looked under the hood.  Click-click-click-click.  Then he asked me to honk the horn.  That's when the car demons came out.  My windshield wipers and blinkers started going!  Yikes.  I almost jumped out of the car.  Ron said that it was definitely the battery, an easy fix.  He even recommended where I should go to get a new one.

Ron clearly didn't know that I missed Auto Shop in school.  He didn't know that I NEVER saw my parents work on cars.  Shoot, I only learned to put oil in a car AFTER I broke a car for not putting oil into it.  Ron generously offered to do it for me, but he had very limited time, and I couldn't get the battery until later that night.

I was brave even without his help, and thought I'd give it a try on Friday morning.  Dave had left me his car, and I figured I could work on it while the girls were at school.  I brought up the entire toolbox (contents: lots of picture hooks, some leftover ikea screws, a hammer and a few screwdrivers) and opened the hood.  The girls were stoked that they got to come out and play in the garage.  I also brought the phone and put it within arms reach, thinking that after I got electrocuted I might need to call 911.  

I was filthy within seconds of putting the wrench on the bolt.  How does such a thing happen?  I was like Becky the Mechanic, probably had smudge across my forehead.  I got the positive side off first (woo hoo).  I was in a quandary as to what to do with the little hook-up thing that I had taken off because I was pretty sure that if it touched the battery while I was touching it, I would die instantly.  I sort of tucked it away and got it stuck enough that it didn't shoot back into place.  The negative side unfortunately gave me trouble.  Apparently it was a little corroded.  I gave up on that and started working on the third, and last bolt holding the battery in place.   It was in a difficult spot and a wrench would have been worthless to me, but luckily, I, Becky the Mechanic, thought to use my handy dandy socket wrench.  I even figured out how to make it do reverse clicking so it would loosen rather than tighten the bolt!  Well, as a result, it took mere seconds to get that one off (and I didn't lose it either).  But back to the negative connector thingy.  I had to -eek- chip and pry at it with a screwdriver.  More images of death.  Especially since the battery cover said that when fiddling with batteries to always wear protective glasses to avoid chemical smattering that could leave one sightless.  But I prevailed and managed to get it off!  

Car batteries are surprisingly heavy.  And disgustingly dirty.

So the girls and I loaded into the Saab and headed to Blain's Farm and Fleet before school on Friday afternoon.  I had researched Sears, Pep Boys, Costco and Blain's, and found that they had the cheapest batteries.  I brought the old, yucky one with me so that I wouldn't get death threats from my garbage man.  The automotive department was easy enough to find, just pass all the tractors and tools, and there it was!  A nice young lady brought me out a fresh battery and took the grungy one.  She wrote me up a sales slip and directed me back to the check-out area to pay.  Yay, that part was soo easy!

I was stressed about how much it would cost to recycle a battery and buy a new one.  We're trying to keep to a very tight budget these days, and an 80 dollar battery was not accounted for.  Well, the young man took my sales slip and rung me up.  He even asked his neighbor-checker if he had the right code.  Then he told me my total.  $7.51.  How the hell did that happen?  I looked at him for about 5 seconds and then hit enter on my little ATM thing and sprinted out as fast as I could go with two kids and a heavy, but clean battery.  I know, I know, I should have corrected him, and maybe someday I'll go back, but I was in a hurry (school) and I was kicking butt on the whole Becky the Mechanic persona, so I didn't feel bad, I felt justified....

So here's where it gets kind of sad.  Well, shortly.

I got the girls to school and wound up back at home.  I actually motivated myself enough to REINSTALL the battery.  And I didn't die!  I tightened those bolts like there was no tomorrow too.  Believe me, it's gonna be hard in five years to get that thing out.  I got in the driver's seat and turned on the ignition switch.  Can you believe it actually started?  And sounded normal?  And there were no freaky smells coming out of the vents?  Becky the Mechanic rules the Chrysler world!

I figured I could switch the car seats back to the van to go pick up the girls from school, but first I had to shut the hood of the car.  Ummm, it wouldn't shut.  I swear I looked for leftover tools all over that dirty little engine.  There were none to be found!  I basically jumped on my hood, and it still wouldn't shut.  Well ain't that a kick in the mechanic's pants.  I couldn't drive my fixed car because I was too dumb to get the damn hood closed.  Maybe I was not meant to be a mechanic....

Dave tried.  He couldn't do it.  We drove around town all weekend in the Saab.  On Monday I took it to my local oil change place.  They got it shut.  

Believe me, though, I told them that I had changed the battery myself.

Dental visit

Apparently I have been doing a good job in the oral hygiene department.  I wouldn't have thought so as I seem to SUCK at getting tartar off of their teeth.  I do try to get a good brushing in once a day, and they like to brush in the morning before we go out, but I didn't see sparkling, pearly whites.

The girls had a dentist appointment today with a new dentist (their last appointment was at about 20 months, so I was behind!).  It was a pediatric dentist that actually sees patients up to age 18 I think.  The funky thing around here is that ALL of the dentists want to see the kids by themselves - no Mom in the room during the cleaning and exam.  I thought that was very strange, but whatever.... all the moms I talked to seemed to think that this was an okay concept, so I tried to not freak out about it.  I figured they'd call me when one of the girls bit the hygienist.

I think it helped that they went in together, but I really have no idea what happened afterward.  I had told them that since they were big girls now, mommies weren't allowed to come with them.  So off they skipped with the hygienist who threw over her shoulder to me as she walked away, "Oh, they'll be done in about 40 minutes."  Good god, they're only 3.  How can a dentist appointment for 40 teeth take that long?  And I couldn't see them, and I had never been there before.  I mean, who did I just send my kids off with???  Hmmm, I was suspicious and nervous, so I texted Dave at work and annoyed him in order to distract myself.  

So about 45 minutes later, they called me back to meet the dentist and hear a report.  Yay!  I was so pleased to hear that the teeth looked good and that we were doing a great job!  He even said that they spit well so there should be no problem with using fluoride toothpaste (oops, been doing that for a long time now!).   He did say that the gap would probably correct itself when they get their permanent teeth.  He's optimistic!  Taylor apparently has a cross bite that isn't too bad and will probably correct itself too.  Especially if she stops chewing on her pacifiers (used only to get to sleep). 

We get to start flossing now.  That should be really fun.  Oh well, they see me do it every day, so maybe it won't be too freaky.  

When we got home I made sure to load them up with rainbow pancakes for lunch.  Yummy!  (Pancakes with m&m's in them)

Sorry no pictures.  I wasn't allowed back there!

Funny or sad

Yesterday morning, Cassidy and Taylor both said to me that I should go to work and Daddy should stay home with them.  Nice, huh?

When I asked them if they would be sad without me, Cassidy said not for a long time, and then reiterated that I should leave and Daddy should come home.  

So later, I took them swimming.  'Cause I'm a nice mom.

"First" School Day

In the kitchen area
Taylor painting
Cassidy at the carpentry area
Taylor working at the chalkboard
Stomping their feet to a song
Playing at the rice table

Okay, first an explanation of the title.....

Today was the first day of school, but it was kind of like orientation day.  I went with the girls, who were joined by about half of their class (of 14 total).  So it technically was the first day, but next week will be the real test....

So it is truly a free-for-all in there!  The kids were basically welcomed and then invited to find their name tags and hang up their coats (it was raining cats and dogs).  The kids were then encouraged to "go and play" where ever they wanted.  Their choices were beyond numerous.  They had a water table with boats, a rice table with digging toys, a painting station, a dress-up area, a kitchen play area, a coloring and cutting station, a story time area, blocks and animals, puzzles, play dough and more!  The girls chose first to play in the rice, which I found funny because, of course, that's an activity that we do frequently at home.  I urged them to try something new, and they went to the kitchen, also an activity that we play a lot at home!  No big deal, there was new stuff in both areas, so it was fun.  

There are two new kids in their class, one of whom was there with them today.  His name was John, and he enjoyed playing with them at the kitchen area.  His language did not seem as fluid as the girls, but who am I to compare!  They enjoyed playing together and didn't hit or bite each other!  The other kids spent a lot of time at the rice table and then most of the boys found the blocks and played cars and blocks for the first hour.  It was funny how there were initially no girls over in that part of the classroom.  The nature/nurture thing is pretty apparent!

After a while, the girls discovered the painting area.  Taylor was IN HEAVEN.  Cassidy was happy too, but Taylor just loves to paint, and I haven't broken out the easel almost all summer. I was very proud of her when she yelled across the room to me that she made orange using yellow and red!  Between the two of them, they came home with about 15 paintings....

About an hour into class, the teachers split the class up and some kids were "invited" to go downstairs to play.  They were given tickets to go, and had to carry the tickets with them downstairs (and then back upstairs when we returned).  Cassidy and Taylor were invited to go, and off we went.  The other half of the class switched later, though the teachers told us that if a child does not want to go, they're not forced.  

So downstairs is more of a gross motor room.  They have a little climbing gym area along with some big toys to play with .  There is also a little carpentry area, more blocks and some music toys (so it's the gross motor and loud, bang-y department).  The theme downstairs was summertime, and they had beach towels out, a boat to sit in, and cute music to listen to in the background.  

The girls both wanted to take their shoes off, which is kind of a natural habit for them at this point.  We never wear shoes in the house, and all their little gym classes have had them take the shoes off.  Well, not at school!  That's going to be a hard habit to break, I think.  

The highlight of downstairs was fishing.  The girls had fishing poles and a plethora of fish to try to get.  The poles had  a magnet on the end, and they could "catch" the fish that way.  They just thought it was a blast to sit in the boat and fish.  We do a similar activity at home, but they don't have a boat.  Instead, they pull up their little chairs to the step separating the kitchen from the family room, and pretend to fish that way.  Anyway, lots of pics of the fishing activity.  At one point, their little classmate, Devin, joined them, and they shared the boat with him.  Such good sharers!!!

Cassidy enjoyed working with real tools in the carpentry area.  She got to use a real hammer and nails and even a vice!  Earlier in the day, they had helped me put together an IKEA piece of furniture by hammering some dowels into pre-drilled holes, so getting to do it at school was like icing on the carpentry cup cake.

Both girls enjoyed climbing on the little play structure and zipping down the slide as well.  

We went back upstairs after about half an hour and found the play dough area.  The girls were very happy making shapes with cookie cutters for what seemed like a really long time (I was tired by this point!).  The dough was fresh and new, and very soft, so it was fun to play with.  Apparently they have a great recipe, and I can't wait to get it and start making it at home.  The other kids rejoined the group upstairs and it was almost time for snack.  Due to the rain, there would be no playing outside today.

Snack was a great milestone for the girls.  It was a modest serving of string cheese and orange juice or water.  Preschool is big on kids helping themselves as much as possible, so they got to pour their own juice or water.  Neither girl has EVER liked orange juice, and I tell you, they must have each had at least 3 cups of it!  So it was either the pouring or the witnessing of others enjoying it that got them to drink it.  Regardless I am happy because it's an option besides apple juice!

When the kids were done snacking, they were asked to gather at the carpet area for book-reading and singing.  By this time, all of the parents in the room were very tired, and we all just watched from the back of the room rather than joined our kids at the carpet!  The teachers led them in several songs, all of which incorporated movements.  All of the kids had a great time in this activity, and were giggling and laughing happily.  

That was pretty much the entire two and a half hours.  The girls instantly fell asleep on the drive home, but woke up when we got home so that they could play even more.  They were asleep by 8 this night (insert smiley mom and dad here).  I think they're going to love it, and they've seen that it's not scary in any way.  Hopefully they won't have too many issues!  I can't wait to find a gym and get some serious working out done... or at least go shopping on my own!  Yay, school!