Just Heather
3
Collateral Damage
Feb 07, 2007 | Filed Under: Road Trip

We’re all fine! That’s how I started this story when I called my hubby and my mom. I was driving down 465 in the center lane. Traffic started slowing so I slowed down carefully and was doing fine. The next thing I know we got whammed from the passenger side by a pickup truck.

From what I could gather-and the way the police report reads-a van was behind me and not slowing as carefully as I. He swerved to the left lane to avoiding rear-ending me right into the path of the Ford truck. The truck swerved to avoid him, lost control and fishtailed his rear right into Brenia’s door.

Luckily, we bought Serenity specifically for her safety rating. The door is smashed in good from the outside, but from the inside there doesn’t appear to be any damage-which is why daughter is completely, totally fine! She was crying at first and I freaked out. There I was trying to keep my car from sliding to the right into more cars and whip around to check on my girls all at the same time!

I managed to keep control, get to the shoulder and frantically yell “What’s hurt?!” about 20 times. She stopped crying and said “I’m fine, Mommy, but that was scary!” I couldn’t stop telling her how proud I was that she stopped being scared to stop Mommy from being scared!

Lorelai slept right through the whole thing. She’s obviously fine. This morning I’m a bit sore, but that could be the stress of the day. Brenia feels fine, according to my sister. I was on my way to take her to Camp Grandma for the week so she’s not here with me to hug and cuddle and reassure myself she’s totally fine. Though it’s probably a good thing for her to be having a good time and not seeing the van every day. It will be fixed by the time she sees it again.

Of course the other two insurance companies are playing a game of Not It. The driver of the van-whose car was not at all touched-is now saying he wasn’t involved, he just stopped to see if he could help. Since the police report says differently, my insurance company should be able to get his to pay up. In the meantime, driving safely is going to cost me about $700! I get to pay my deductible and a rental fee while we wait. If they can get a commitment from either party before the repairs are complete, I won’t have to pay a cent.

I could rent a car and save a little bit of money since I only have 2 kids for a few days, but I’d just have to trade it in this weekend anyway. It is physically impossible to get 2 carseats and a 3rd child into the back of even the largest sedan. Plus, I need a van by next Thursday to haul 125 cases of Girl Scout cookies. It’s all about priorities.

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2
Travel Weary
Jul 18, 2006 | Filed Under: Living Inexpensively, Road Trip, Sibling Love

I have been to my hometown 4 of the last 6 weekends—most recently for a bridal shower my sisters and I hosted for our brother’s fiancee.

This weekend I travel north to her hometown for her 2nd bridal shower. Two weeks after that, it’s back “home” for the 3rd and final shower. I don’t know that the sister of the groom is actually supposed to attend all showers, but I want to be supportive. Plus, Leslie doesn’t know a lot of people in our two big families. We can be a little overwhelming.

I’ve been so busy the last few months that many things have been neglected—namely, this blog. Though I have been trying to keep up on my blogroll, even if I don’t have the time or energy to comment.

My summer has been full of:

  • library visits
  • weird animal events sponsored by said library
  • breaking up sibling fights
  • park picnics
  • road trips
  • the zoo
  • rescuing Lorelai from her big sisters
  • the children’s museum
  • free movie Tuesday
  • avoiding the neighborhood pool I insisted we had to have when we began house-hunting 5 years ago
  • more road trips
  • ignoring whining about damn near everything (except for being bored—that one I managed to negate!)
  • counting down the days until school begins (exactly 30!)

I dream of bouquets of newly sharpened pencils, after-school specials, and—most importanty—a big yellow bus arriving at my house daily to separate my children.

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1
Clueless
Jun 23, 2006 | Filed Under: Entertain Me, Mommyhood, Road Trip

I’ve been away awhile. I spent a week in my hometown and now I’ve got a lot of catching up to do. It’s been interesting trying to readjust to life with 3 kids at home. Lorelai is getting ready to take off. You can just see in her eyes she’s starting to figure out that she can move. Any day now I won’t be able to keep up with her. For now, she’s still somewhat content to lay around and look up at me with those beautiful blue eyes.

Those gorgeous eyes that are noticed by everyone. Last week, in my hometown, we went to the Red Skelton festival. At lunch, a very nice man stopped me and told me I had a beautiful baby with gorgeous eyes. A little while later, at the same restaurant, his buddy smiled and waved to me. I’m thinking he knows my dad or something. It happens a lot.

On the way out, I pointed them out to Mom and asked who they were. She told me and said they were in town for the gala tonight. The name didn’t ring a bell. I’m still thinking maybe they know Dad or they’re some local talent. Fast forward to Sunday night back at home.

Hubby is watching a documentary on the most horribly vile, terribly unfunny joke I’d never heard of. I glance up at one point to see these nice men I chatted with. “Oh, my gosh, are those the Smothers Brothers?” Of course they were, and I had absolutely no idea.

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3
Bah Humbug
Dec 06, 2005 | Filed Under: Family Ties, Hectic Holidays, Road Trip

The holidays should be all about family. They should be fun and relaxing, what with not having to work and all. Instead they are stressful, tiring and full of headaches. They end up being about which in-laws you can piss off the most.

Each year we load up the car with children and presents to travel…somewhere on Christmas day. One year it’s my family, the next year it’s his. It’s tiresome, but the one year we attempted to put our foots down and go nowhere it just didn’t work out. We ended up going to his grandmother’s house—in our pajamas—anyway. On a full year, we have 6 rounds of Christmas in addition to our quick morning at home after Santa has visited.

This year Round 1 is this weekend. Despite the fact that it is 2 weeks prior to the actual holiday, it will be my favorite. It will be calm and peaceful. No one will be rushed to get to the next location. I won’t spend the entire day wishing I were somewhere else. My children will have the opportunity to actually enjoy their gifts—and the loved ones who have provided them—instead of just watching a blur of wrapping paper fly by on our way out the door.

Christmas Eve is the worst. On a night that should be peaceful and warm, we start off at one of the coldest places on earth—my mother-in-law’s house. Then we all go to his grandmother’s house until it’s too late to enjoy leaving cookies for Santa. I never have the opportunity to sprinkle reindeer food for Rudolph with my children. I never get to enjoy reading a Christmas story in our new pajamas. We don’t sip a cup of cocoa after we’ve hung our stockings. By the time we get home they are too exhausted to do anything but whine.

It’s not that I begrudge him the opportunity to see his family. I don’t begrudge our families the time with us—or let’s be honest, our three children. I just want the opportunity to create holiday memories with my children that don’t center around the perplexing puzzle of fitting everything in the trunk. I want our own traditions, our own time as a family, and memories that my children will look back on and smile.

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3
Driving Mixmania
Sep 15, 2005 | Filed Under: Making Connections, Music Notes, Road Trip

The theme for Mixmania this time around was “Driving” and I chose to take it quite literally. Most of the songs are, in fact, about driving or cars. I have thrown a few personal driving choices into the mix. Also, I sincerely hope I do not offend the recipients delicate sensibilities, as driving brings my potty mouth out in full force. The songs greatly represent the sailor in me. I am hopeful that she was too busy laughing to be offended as the genre tends toward comedy. Here they are, not necessarily in order as I have lost the actual mix (I’ll update it as soon as hubby can point me in the right direction):

  • Adam Sandler—Ode to My Car
    This was in honor of the ghetto car I was driving at the time. It has since been dumped for my new Serenity.
  • Barenaked Ladies—Pinch Me
    As much as I truly love my life there are times when I’d love to get in the car and find that perfect time of year somewhere far away from here.
  • Eagles—Hotel California
    I don’t know. Maybe it struck me as the end destination.
  • Veggie Tales—Cheeseburger Song
    If Veggie Tales or JoJo’s Circus is not playing in my car, it’s not a real road trip. I figured a song about a drive-thru at least fit the theme.
  • Cake—Stickshifts and Safety Belts
    Um, self explanatory.
  • Beach Boys—Fun, Fun, Fun
    Though I never had a T-Bird, my daddy would take my keys away if I had too much fun (and he found out about it). 😉
  • The Playmates—Little Nash Rambler
    A Dr. Demento classic. “Beep beep. Beep beep. The horn went beep, beep, beep.”
  • Maxamillion—Fat Boys
    Busted—this is a carry over from my Summer Mixmania, but as I mentioned then it was our official road trip song so it definitely belongs here too.
  • DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince—Parents Just Don’t Understand
    “Drive fast—speed turns me on!”
  • Heywood Banks—Wiper Blades
    A Bob & Tom classic, and it has me laughing out loud every single time. Probably because it’s so me—I have a bit of a habit of leaving minor details like new wiper blades until after I really need them.
  • Nelly Furtado—I’m Like a Bird
    I guess I’ve got a bit of an escapist theme going on here.
  • Pink—Get This Party Started
    I can go for miles, if you know what I mean.
  • The Firm—Star Trekkin’
    Another Dr. Demento favorite: “Only going forward cuz we can’t find reverse!”
  • Vengaboys—Venga Bus
  • Merideth Brooks—Bitch
    Not at all about driving like the rest. This is just one of those songs that makes me want to roll down the windows, put my foot to the floor, and sing out loud.
  • Todd Yohn—Orange Barrels
    Perhaps the biggest reason for my on the road potty mouth.
  • Crystal Waters—
    Gypsy Woman (She’s Homeless)
    When I was younger, my sibs and I made up our own little song to the chorus for family road trips—Gotta go pee, gotta go now—which we sang repeatedly until Dad would finally stop and let us go. We had another great song—an original!—about ice cream that got us to the Dairy Queen drive-thru every, single time. It may have had something to do with the fact that not a one of us could carry a tune in a bucket.
  • Queen—Bohemian Rhapsody
    Every time I hear this song, I just can’t help picturing Wayne and crew jamming in the bug. Party on, Wayne. Pary on, Garth.
  • Brak and Freddie Prinze Jr.—Highway 40
    I picked a different version than he did because I think this one is much funnier.
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7
Sweet Serenity
Sep 13, 2005 | Filed Under: Love It, Road Trip

Oh, Serenity, how do I love thee. Pictures to come, but first cool stuff about my new car:

  • Whiny toddler no more—the DVD player is standard!
  • I have no idea what I’m supposed to do with 12 cup holders in a 7 passenger vehicle, but I’m sure we’ll figure it out.
  • The iPod line-in means he can quit messing with my presets!
  • Even though some jerk already scratched my door in the parking lot, she’s so beautiful.
  • I’m sure we’ll be restocking it soon, but the fact that the first aid kit comes ready made for my children is pretty cool.
  • Theoretically, I will never hear “I’m [insert temperature complaint here]!” again since she can reach her own damn climate controls.
  • I may now own a soccer mom mobile, but if you even think of calling her a van she’ll say FU!
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2
Notes from the Road
Aug 01, 2005 | Filed Under: Hoosier Girl, Music Notes, Road Trip
  • The trip to my parents’ house is much longer with a 1-hour stop at Old Navy.
  • I should never be turned loose at Old Navy when they are having massive clearance sales.
  • Indiana’s new interstate speed limit goes a long way towards making up lost time.
  • Traveling during bedtime does not necessarily indicate that my girls will actually sleep in the car—even when naps are skipped to improve this possibility.
  • Skipping naps? So not a good idea. Ever.
  • Someone who loathes remixes should never listen to Club Mix Hour on the radio—unless, of course, the only other options are country music stations.
  • I grew up in the one of the biggest redneck, hicktowns in America. This has nothing to do with my trip, other than I am reminded when I spend more than 5 minutes in my hometown.
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1
Survival of the Fittest
May 04, 2005 | Filed Under: Road Trip

I think I might have killed a bird yesterday. It wasn’t my fault. The bird flew under my car from the side while I was driving. I didn’t hear anything, but in my rearview mirror I saw something fluttering along the side of the road. It’s possible that something under my car just clipped his wings, but it’s more likely Darwinism in action. Stupid birds shouldn’t breed either.

Unfortunately, this isn’t my first run-in with wildlife. I nearly hit a Cardinal during my driving test many years ago. I managed to avoided it, luckily, since I’m sure killing the state bird would have had a detrimental affect on my score.

I once killed a 9-point buck with my Beretta. Doesn’t that sound much cooler than “a huge deer rammed into my car?” The trooper who arrived on scene actually asked if I wanted to keep it. While venison is pretty tasty, I’m not exactly sure how I would have gone about that. I’m guessing you can’t drop road kill off at the local butcher and ask for some steak and chops.

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