A day or two

So, today was rather an adventurous day.

It all started in the morning, of course. Christian was demonstrating how slippery a spot was on the hardwood floor, near the dining room table, but in the living room. Then, at breakfast time, Dexter came zooming through that spot and slipped and fell and got really mad and went away yelling, "I hate falling down!" A minute or two later, Christian who was mixing his instant oatmeal and hot water, slipped in the same spot and spilled half his oatmeal. It was the dry half, mostly, that went flying. He kinda hit my shoulder as he fell, so that kinda hurt. He left to get something to clean it up with, and Dexter came zooming through the same spot again and again went away yelling about how he hates to fall down.
I told Dexter to stop walking there. It's only slippery if you are wearing socks, and all the kids were. I asked Christian to spray and wipe there, to hopefully stop the slipperyness, but I don't think it really worked.

After breakfast, we helped Spencer with long division, using manipulatives. Yay, we did something for homeschooling!
Then, we raced off to tennis lessons for the boys and ballet lessons for Geneva; yay, something else for homeschooling, though it's not at home! The lessons overlap and are at the same place, thankfully.
While waiting for Geneva during dance, I realized that I was going to remember to bring the recorder and music to school that day, but I did not remember.
This is the day we usually get fast food for lunch, because we have to drive over 40 miles from tennis/ballet to school and we get there late, because tennis ends at Noon we are supposed to be at school for the play rehearsals at 12:30PM.

The middle three kids were invited to have parts in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" at the private school that the oldest one attends. They asked me to play Greensleeves for the little fairy dance. So, I'm thinking, "how can I get fast food and stop by home to get those things without really having time to do either????

So, after tennis and ballet ended, we raced toward home, and it came to me. I called the husband, who is nearly always telecommunting from home. So, I offered him a burger in exchange for him finding and gathering the things that I need and bringing them out to me, so I only have to stop for a moment at home. I also remembered to ask for the sesame sticks because Dexter won't eat fast food, except for whatever beverage we get. I was glad I did.

We got to school about 1:15pm, not too bad.
They had a good rehearsal, and I had fun chatting with the people there.

Then, I fed Trevor in the car for a few minutes, while Ravenna filled the water bottles and little ones went to the bathroom. So, our friends had left. Then, we tried to leave and the car died shortly after leaving the parking lot. It started again, but it was sputtering and wouldn't go when I pushed on the gas. BOTHER!

We were on a quiet residential street and I wondered if I dare try to drive where there was more traffic. Well, it started again and seemed to be going, got down the street. It stayed running at that stop light. Turned left, more sputtering and sounding like I was revving a sports car, which we all thought was kinda funny, but I was just pushing steadily. There was a Chevron on the corner, I should have just driven straight there, but it would've been a left turn and I wanted to turn right and go home! So, I turned right and it died on the very busy street, so I turned into the shopping center parking lot and it died and I was blocking traffic and it started again and I got a little farther and it died right in front of the store and wouldn't start again, so I was blocking traffic again, so I asked the kids to hop out and help me push it into a parking spot. So, we were all hopping out and a car was passing me on the left and telling me how rude I was to do that there, where I was blocking traffic. I was about ready to start crying at that point, but I didn't and kinda yelled back, "My car broke down!" So, they looked properly chastised and drove away. The kids were suprised that it was fairly easy to push, once we got it going and we didn't have to push it far.

I called Chris first and told him we were broken down and come and rescue us. Then, I called AAA and asked for a tow. Well, to make a long/painful story short, we decided to have it towed all the way back to our hometown, much farther than the 5 free miles. I wonder how much the premium plan is, that would have covered this expense? Mostly, we needed the help getting two more of us home, otherwise, we would've had to rent a car, or call a taxi, or tax our friends, ha ha.
As it was, we had to squish 4 people in the backseat of the husband's small commuter car. I put the baby in his car seat. Double-buckled the next two smallest together and then the biggest squished in next to them. They would've fit a lot better without any carseats, but I figured if anything happened, that would've been the safest or easiest to explain.
I went straight home and emptied out everyone, except the baby, and then went to the repair place down the street to meet the tow truck and Chris and Spencer.
The repair place was just closing, so at least we got to say, "Hi," to them before they left. And tell them that we think the fuel pump went out. And the warranty that I bought when I bought the car just expired three thousand miles ago. I guess I drive too much, because that was supposed to be a two year warranty and it's only been a year and a half.

Anyway, they think they'll be able to fix it tomorrow. I hope so, because the boys have soccer in the late afternoon and then one has Cub Scouts that night. I suppose it wouldn't be a tragedy to miss them, if we have to, because Chris takes his car to jazz bands on Wednesdays and hates missing them.

Adding to the drama was Spencer had planned to spend the night at his cousins' house and they were going to pick him up at around 4:30pm and we weren't getting home in time. So, Spencer asked his Dad to drive him the half an hour to his cousin's house. And by then, it was time for mutual, so he dropped the oldest two off at the church on the way and got back in time to pick himself up some turnovers at the store and then pick them up. Then, they picked up pizza.
I didn't have to go to mutual, because tomorrow is camp level meetings for the YW, so I got to stay home with the little three. It's kinda funny that three kids seems like so few now. I felt like we should have a party or something, just the four of us. Instead I fed the baby and read a great blog story (here:http://theprudenthomemaker.com/whenqueensrideby.aspx) and Geneva put on a movie for Dexter and then I started washing dishes and G & D asked me to cook bacon, so I did that while doing dishes, until Trevor woke up, then I was feeding him while cooking bacon, then everyone else came home, exept Spencer who is spending the night at my sister's house.

Oh, in the car on the way home, Ravenna was talking to her friend on my cell phone. I kept trying to tell her that she didn't need to tell her all the details, because I knew her friend would tell her Mom, and it would just be embarassing for me, but it was enevitable that they would find out anyway, Ravenna tells them everything! (hmmm... I wonder where she gets it??? hmmm...) Anyway, she was telling her friend how to spell something, but it's hard to hear over cell phones sometimes and she said, "no, 'y' as in eucalyptus, except that starts with an 'e'..."
We thought that was really funny.

Ravenna decided she was happy our car broke down, because while we were sitting in the parking lot, a former schoolmate's family came to the store. So, she hung out with us while her Mom shopped. It was fun to see them again.

Oh, golly. I guess we've come about to the end of a loonnng day...
I think I liked yesterday better. All we did was meet my sister and a friend at the Marina, where we walk and talk and play, then we came home and I spent a huge amount of time on iTunes, remembering old songs and looking for fun ones for Ravenna, who suddenly wants tons of music, because she got an mp3 player for her birthday last month.
'Course I should've payed bills yesterday. Oh well, that will be what I do tomorrow, while my car is in the shop.
Hope your today was more boring than mine.