Gramma Jean brought back lobster t-shirts from Maine for the kids! It was warm enough this morning that they could wear them! Katie wasn’t being terribly cooperative so she’s looking away in all the pics where Owen was looking at me…and vice versa…or the pic turned out blurry. Oh well. I can’t always get a perfect shot!
Before Gramma and Grandpa left.
Owen: I like when people leave.
Me: Why?
Owen: Because you stay here. 🙂
Not 30 seconds after we wave goodbye.
Owen: [Crying] I miss them and want them to stay here. I worry about them. 🙁
Me: It’s okay, I miss them, too.
One last game of Candyland with Gramma before they leave tomorrow!
About 15 shots and not one with everyone looking at the camera with their eyes open…so these are the two best ones. 🙂
Of course, I took two quick shots with mom’s camera and got a better one!
So Tom’s car is a Prius. Since he’s deployed, we took off most of the insurance (I think it has “garage” insurance) and it sits in the driveway. We put Stabil in the gas tank and I go out every so often to start it and reposition it in the driveway so the tires don’t sit in the same spot for six months. I have gone though this routine twice before with two other cars—for 12-13 months each—with no issues.
So of course guess what happened?
I went out to start it the other day and the doors didn’t automatically unlock. I thought I heard a very faint single beep when I tried it, but wasn’t sure. Hmmm, okay, I’ll just pop the key out of the fob and manually unlock the doors. Press the start button. Nothing. Oh crap. Put the fob in the ignition. Nothing.
$&!#
I know NOTHING about this car, really, aside from it’s a hybrid and we probably should have done a bit more research before just going along with status quo. Tom has been gone three months. I’ve started it twice for a few minutes. So I am guessing it never ran long enough and the battery is dead (hybrids have two batteries—one regular 12v that starts the car and the more expensive hybrid system battery).
So I called USAA to see if the car is insured for getting a jump (since it just has the most basic insurance on it) and it turns out I had more insurance than I thought I did—though not roadside and not what I thought I had. Turns out USAA does not offer storage insurance in North Carolina, which is what I thought we had. (I asked if North Carolina ever had storage coverage because I was positive our premiums really decreased past deployments…but she said it’s never been offered…so I have no idea what happened before.) So the increased premium to get us back to what we normally carry is a mere $16 a month… So I have to talk to Tom, but it looks like I will just add on full coverage and try to drive it every now and again. (The other inexpensive option is to plug it in to a trickle charger…so I’m researching that.)
My TiVo friends helped me out with info and links and whatnot (i.e. talked me off the ledge) and today David helped me jump it.
It worked and I drove around the neighborhood for about 10 minutes. I’ll likely go out every day or so now just to start it until we decide on a more permanent solution.
Tom can come home any time now. 🙁
Caught by Gramma Jean!
Katie didn’t get her way…at first.
So pretty…and so daunting. Mom had to help me with mine. 🙂
Carcasses!
Gramma Jean wanted to go to the ocean and take the kids, so we picked Owen up from school and headed out! I knew Owen hadn’t eaten much lunch (the menu for the day was mostly stuff he wouldn’t eat) so he ate turkey rolls and cheese on the way. We were going to the beach on base since we were already part of the way there from picking Owen up. So, it occurred to me to call the commissary and find out if they had fresh lobsters (the last time mom was here and we wanted them, no place had them). And they did! So we stopped off there first—and what should have been a 10 minute or less stop turned into at least a half hour since no one was in the meat department to help me, no one was answering the buzzer, the sushi guy went off to find him, and then it still took a good 10 minutes for him to come back, then he had to catch the wily critters. Then the traffic was pretty bad (even though we were going the opposite direction)…so we finally got to the beach about 4:00 (we picked Owen up at 2:30!). GRRR.
But all was well because Owen was very excited:
Owen: Where’s my suit? Can I get my suit on?!
Me: I didn’t bring your suit. It’s too cold to swim—but you can get wet because I brought a change of clothes.
Owen: OKAY!
Off and running! No looking back!
Okay, maybe a little looking back. 🙂
The weather and water were actually pretty nice for it being November—both were warmer than we had in Myrtle Beach in March!
Katie had NO fear of the water and went right for it. Unfortunately…the ocean got the better of her…a few times. She just lost her footing and was rolling around in the water and then would get up and fall over again. The water wasn’t deep and she wasn’t in any danger and never once made a peep! Mom and I were both recording her, but mom’s video is better:
So, we weren’t at the beach for more than five minutes before she was completely soaked. 🙂
She loved grabbing handsful of sand and carrying them around and giving them to grandma!
We were only there about a half hour before we needed to call it quits—damn time change has it getting dark at 4:30 plus the kids were both wet and sandy.
Unfortunately, we then had a looooooooong ride home in after-work base traffic so we all got to experience what Tom goes through every day. One hour and 15 minutes to drive 26 miles (but really one hour to drive 15 miles because the last 15 minutes was smooth sailing).
But both kids had a great time and before we even got home Owen was asking to go back!
Gramma Jean requested homemade mac and cheese and I willingly obliged.
A week or so ago, Owen asked to take a bath with Katie. She’s old enough now to sit up herself without me having to constantly monitor her, so I agreed…but I did want to wait until Gramma Jean was around to help just in case. 🙂
“Katie! It’s time for your bath!” Just like Owen, she heads right up the stairs!
Cute jams!
Thank you Gramma Jean!
I peeked out of the kitchen after dinner to see this.
Owen: Mama, is it okay to go outside and play?
Me: Yes.
Owen: Cool. Is it okay to wear my Crocs?
Me: Yes.
Owen: Cool. Mama, is it okay to take Gramma Jean outside?
Me: Laughing. Well I think you need to ask her.
Grandpa: Just wait until we get her harness. 🙂
Playing guns with Gramma:
Gramma put a pair of Katie’s old socks on her hands—and she loved it!
Sibling love.
She LOVED having Owen’s costume glove on her foot, which looked like a flipper. It stayed on for a good long time.
And in Owen’s Thor costume. She was moving fast and this was the best pic I got.
Gramma taught her how to kiss the bear in the book. 🙂 The book was from Grauntie Marge when Owen was a baby.
Katie opening a present…
Gramma wanted to see just how good Owen really was at hitting the ball. She was impressed!
Owen could even hit the balls like this!
He started asking me about 6:30am if he could wait on the porch for Gramma Jean… I had them call from five minutes down the road so he could go out.
She’ll grab it and haul it up into my lap…chewing on the blanket.
Grandma Marsha bought these PJs for Owen and we gave her a bit of grief about them being girls PJs…but we did put them on Owen at least once and I know I took a picture but I can’t find it!
I gave him his choice of hats and he picked Sparty! Good choice, Gramma Jean!
Since this week’s theme was family, I sent Owen to school in this shirt, along with a printout of the other pictures of him and Papa (and now Katie) in the shirt, too!
When I picked Owen up from school today, he asked where Papa and Grannie were. I reminded him they went home today and that I took them to the airport after we dropped him off at school.
Owen: But I don’t want them to go home!
Me: I know, buddy. I miss them…and Katie misses them.
Owen: I miss them, too—heh heh—I mean me three!
I’m not sure why it wasn’t thought of before we took Owen to school…so it was just Katie. (We didn’t get one single pic of all four of them during the whole two weeks. I think all of us being sick really messed with everything.)
I bought Owen a new size, so his old shirt got handed down to Katie! Now we have three cookie monsters!
And Katie’s first wearing at 15m compared to Owen’s first wearing at 9m:
So, after Lin’s help sorting and organizing, I finally took two huge bins of Katie’s old clothes to the local resale place (Once Upon A Child). I was fully prepared to be outraged at the amount they offered me because I have seen others get pissy and I just assumed they would offer a pittance…but I wanted to try it at least once. So, I came up with the lowest number I would accept—$40, which would make each piece worth less than 50¢ (disappointing, but at least I wouldn’t have to deal with the stuff again). I even had Linda carefully pick out any stained things because I know that’s a big no-no.
So I dropped off the stuff and waited for the phone call. They called about 9pm to tell me it was done, but they couldn’t tell me my offer over the phone. So it was about three days before I was able to make it in. So I take a deep breath and go in. She brings over their blue box with a smattering of my clothes in it and says “These are what we could accept” and it’s literally maybe 1/4 of one box. I get ready to stifle my outrage at the offer…and she tells me $40.17.
Wait. What?
Yep, $40 for the tiny selection when I would have taken $40 for BOTH full bins. Needless to say I was shocked—AND THRILLED—but also extremely confused because I didn’t think there was anything wrong with any of it. So I asked why they couldn’t accept the other stuff. She said they don’t take blankets or socks (which I know was specific to my stuff) but then she went on about pieces missing from sets and stains. Okay, whatever. She may have just been spouting the generic company line…so when I got home we checked everything out again—just out of curiosity, mind you—with a fine-tooth comb.
Aside from the blankets and socks, we only found two pieces with stains and two things that were actually labeled as part of a set that didn’t have the matching pieces. But otherwise everything else was perfectly fine. Like footie PJs that were brand new, never worn, just washed (stuff Katie skipped size-wise). Or ones that were like new, definitely no stains, etc. Brand new onesies, etc. A perfectly nice dress that was in pristine condition that was NOT part of a set…?? And the best thing? Stuff I bought there a few months ago that was only worn once…and they wouldn’t take it back.
I just don’t get it. I mean, I’m happy with the money I got, but I am completely flummoxed as to why they wouldn’t take that stuff. The only thing I can think is they had an overstock of those items (though you’d think footie PJs would be hot since it’s the right season) and she just didn’t mention that. Sooooooo, I’m going to take it all back in a few months and see what happens. 🙂
Katie wasn’t being very cooperative.
