Kim (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
grammarwoman) wrote2007-12-15 12:18 am
grammarwoman) wrote2007-12-15 12:18 am
We're the juice - 24 hours in review
Yesterday afternoon, right about quitting time, I called the husband to get his opinion on my doing some shopping on the way home (which would entail his picking up the Emperor on his own) or waiting to do it after the little man's bedtime. We settled on shopping sooner rather than later.
It took me a smidge longer to get through the store than I wanted; I found out at the checkout that my cell phone (only accurate source of time) was dead, so I hoped that things were going OK on the homefront. I arrived home to find the dog going apeshit and the husband's car (and also the husband and son) missing. As soon as I walked in the door, the phone rang, and after I hunted through a couple of rings (he never puts the damn thing back), I answered it to a snarled "Didn't your cell phone ring? The car died at the post office on the way back from daycare, and we're stranded."
Eek.
Luckily, they hadn't been waiting too long, and beyond-luck-and-into-divine-oversight, the car behind the husband's had a mechanic (with tools and a spare battery!) and a wife with a cell phone (as my husband's cell was also fritzing). The Emperor ran up and down the lighted paths of the post office as I vainly tried to get him to put his cold hands in his pockets; finally I just stashed him in my minivan to warm up.
The mechanic couldn't definitively answer our car woes, but seeing as the husband's car started with the spare battery and not his own, we felt justified in thinking it wasn't an alternator problem.
When we tried to pay the mechanic for his help (both the diagnostics and the pushing of the dead car into the post office), he waved us off and told us to pay it forward. Occasionally, people will do you right.
This put us behind for dinner and a little anxious, but at least we had a plan for the car.
Today the husband (on my advice) drove back out to his stranded car at the post office, unhooked the battery and took it and his receipt for the stupid thing (two months old and failing already) to Farm 'n Fleet. Testing proved it to be a lemon, and they gave him an upgraded model for free. Added benefits to the situation: while searching for the battery's receipt, he stumbled across his last temp-job paycheck. Uncashed, that is. Bonus money! Plus, he got some more holiday shopping done at the store. Woo! And he got to help an old lady check her oil, so instant karma payoff. Yay!
The biggest glee was that the new battery started his car right up -- *PHEW*. We did not need any trouble on that front. *fingers crossed* that the old workhorse can keep chugging into the new year.
This afternoon was the holiday party at the Emperor's daycare. I wish they didn't insist on holding all the classrooms' parties at the same damn time, as parking turns nightmarish and near-fisticuffs ensue. (Seriously.) The Emperor's classroom had a drape around the kids' floor area, and the parents could hear all the wiggling and restlessness of a bunch of penned-up 3-year-olds. Then they drew back the curtains, and the show started.
The Emperor was right in the middle, and he kept saying (in a voice that carried very well) "There's my daddy!", pointing to my husband standing in the back. I was hidden in the crowd, taking videos and pictures, or I'm sure there would have been "Mommy! Mommy!" too. The kids would "sing" a song, then a kid would tell a prompted knock-knock joke. If ever an audience needed prompt cards... The whole thing lasted about 10 minutes, and then the mad rush for hugs began. I got a big monkey hug and many smooches, then the whining for the food table started. Luckily, we grabbed a few blocks of cheese before the crowd queued up, so he waited somewhat patiently.
The teachers told us that the Emperor had had them in stitches all morning, as he had been trying to direct the show himself during rehearsals. "And now we do this! And now this!" I guess the thrill of seeing his daddy put him off his game. Then the teacher made a comment about how the kids were the bomb, and the Emperor corrected her "We're the juice!", waving his cup around. GOOFBALL.
Then while waiting to sit on Santa's lap, he threw up his bolted cheese all over his nice sweater (luckily just on the sweater, and not on any innocent bystanders), so that necessitated a quick change. Then he wouldn't look at the camera, and yeah, another classic bad picture.
The next stop was to get a Christmas tree. The traffic was horrendous -- we usually stay away from that part of town during rush hour, and for good reason. Then we got to the Lowe's to find a deserted section of picked-over trees. We got the best of the lot, only to find out it was half price. $15 for a tree? Sold.
Christmas is a little over a week away, and I've got next to nothing done for it. But at least the tree is up, and it smells FABULOUS -- the childhood associations of joy and excitement are sparking all through me. Hopefully it will help fuel my last-minute preparations.
And now, to bed.
It took me a smidge longer to get through the store than I wanted; I found out at the checkout that my cell phone (only accurate source of time) was dead, so I hoped that things were going OK on the homefront. I arrived home to find the dog going apeshit and the husband's car (and also the husband and son) missing. As soon as I walked in the door, the phone rang, and after I hunted through a couple of rings (he never puts the damn thing back), I answered it to a snarled "Didn't your cell phone ring? The car died at the post office on the way back from daycare, and we're stranded."
Eek.
Luckily, they hadn't been waiting too long, and beyond-luck-and-into-divine-oversight, the car behind the husband's had a mechanic (with tools and a spare battery!) and a wife with a cell phone (as my husband's cell was also fritzing). The Emperor ran up and down the lighted paths of the post office as I vainly tried to get him to put his cold hands in his pockets; finally I just stashed him in my minivan to warm up.
The mechanic couldn't definitively answer our car woes, but seeing as the husband's car started with the spare battery and not his own, we felt justified in thinking it wasn't an alternator problem.
When we tried to pay the mechanic for his help (both the diagnostics and the pushing of the dead car into the post office), he waved us off and told us to pay it forward. Occasionally, people will do you right.
This put us behind for dinner and a little anxious, but at least we had a plan for the car.
Today the husband (on my advice) drove back out to his stranded car at the post office, unhooked the battery and took it and his receipt for the stupid thing (two months old and failing already) to Farm 'n Fleet. Testing proved it to be a lemon, and they gave him an upgraded model for free. Added benefits to the situation: while searching for the battery's receipt, he stumbled across his last temp-job paycheck. Uncashed, that is. Bonus money! Plus, he got some more holiday shopping done at the store. Woo! And he got to help an old lady check her oil, so instant karma payoff. Yay!
The biggest glee was that the new battery started his car right up -- *PHEW*. We did not need any trouble on that front. *fingers crossed* that the old workhorse can keep chugging into the new year.
This afternoon was the holiday party at the Emperor's daycare. I wish they didn't insist on holding all the classrooms' parties at the same damn time, as parking turns nightmarish and near-fisticuffs ensue. (Seriously.) The Emperor's classroom had a drape around the kids' floor area, and the parents could hear all the wiggling and restlessness of a bunch of penned-up 3-year-olds. Then they drew back the curtains, and the show started.
The Emperor was right in the middle, and he kept saying (in a voice that carried very well) "There's my daddy!", pointing to my husband standing in the back. I was hidden in the crowd, taking videos and pictures, or I'm sure there would have been "Mommy! Mommy!" too. The kids would "sing" a song, then a kid would tell a prompted knock-knock joke. If ever an audience needed prompt cards... The whole thing lasted about 10 minutes, and then the mad rush for hugs began. I got a big monkey hug and many smooches, then the whining for the food table started. Luckily, we grabbed a few blocks of cheese before the crowd queued up, so he waited somewhat patiently.
The teachers told us that the Emperor had had them in stitches all morning, as he had been trying to direct the show himself during rehearsals. "And now we do this! And now this!" I guess the thrill of seeing his daddy put him off his game. Then the teacher made a comment about how the kids were the bomb, and the Emperor corrected her "We're the juice!", waving his cup around. GOOFBALL.
Then while waiting to sit on Santa's lap, he threw up his bolted cheese all over his nice sweater (luckily just on the sweater, and not on any innocent bystanders), so that necessitated a quick change. Then he wouldn't look at the camera, and yeah, another classic bad picture.
The next stop was to get a Christmas tree. The traffic was horrendous -- we usually stay away from that part of town during rush hour, and for good reason. Then we got to the Lowe's to find a deserted section of picked-over trees. We got the best of the lot, only to find out it was half price. $15 for a tree? Sold.
Christmas is a little over a week away, and I've got next to nothing done for it. But at least the tree is up, and it smells FABULOUS -- the childhood associations of joy and excitement are sparking all through me. Hopefully it will help fuel my last-minute preparations.
And now, to bed.