Big Step for a Big Girl

Ever since the car accident in 2007, I'm a nervous driver, especially on the highway. I have gotten into the habit of always letting Brian drive when we take long trips on the interstate, which has certainly made it worse. Last Friday evening, I took a white-knuckled trip to meet my mom between here and her house in Pittsburgh. But it wasn't just the highway that was making me nervous - I was getting ready to send my baby girl to Oma's for the weekend - by herself.

As it turns out, of course, I had nothing to be nervous about.

Katy couldn't wait for me to turn my car around in the other direction, and they had a blast.  She barely spoke to me when I called, and mom says that they only sadness she expressed while she was there was, "Gee, I wish David were here." (He was missing her, too, and gave her the biggest hug when she came back)

Part of the reason for the trip was that my mom and Greg took Katy to see the Laurie Berkner band. She falls into the category of "kid's music that is tolerable for parents, too." The concert was downtown at Heinz Hall and my mom had made MATCHING DRESSES for her and Katy in sparkling peach. Katy thought this was the best part, and hasn't wanted to take off the dress since.

So we all enjoyed a different sort of weekend (it was certainly quiet around here without her. I took David swimming which he thought was a special treat.), and Katy did her best to wear out mom and Greg. I consider it a glimpse into the future of Big Kid stuff.

Reflection on the Almost-Three-Year-Old

In two months' time, David will be three. THREE!! Many have mentioned lately that he is really growing up, and it's so true. He's getting longer and leaner and SO talkative. He picks up language from Katy and uses it, whether he understands it's meaning or not.

On one of the rare mornings in which we were able to sneak David out of the room without waking Katy (he always wakes up first), he was lying in bed with me while I hemmed and hawed about getting up. All the sudden he said, "Mommy, I need to wook in the mirror," and he hopped up and went to look. "Mommy! I don't have eyebrows!" he claimed as he laid back down. I laughed and said, "Yes you do, Buddy, they're just so light you can hardly see them." I ran my finger across his eyebrows and he said, "Don't touch them, Mommy, they're reedee reedee fragile."

Another phrase that he picked up somewhere is to exclaim, "THAT'S interesting!" after everything we say. "What are we having for dinner, Mommy?" "Spaghetti." "Spaghetti?! THAT'S interesting!" Is it really? I'm pretty sure we have that every week, Bubs.

This week he uttered the words, "I have to go to the baffroom," which I took as my signal that it is Time to Train. But we're taking a different approach than we did with Katy. I just don't have the time/energy/motivation to do No Diaper Boot Camp. So we're working on it when we're home, but wearing diapers when we go out (still trying to stop and go potty every 30-60 minutes as it's possible). I'm sure it will take longer overall, but I kept putting if off because I thought it had to be all or nothing. We've tried this for a few days and it seems to be working ok so far. He's been good at staying dry, but we haven't had any poopy successes yet.

On Thursday mornings, I go to a mom's group/Bible study at my church, and he and Luke stay in the childcare area (the same rooms where they stay during weekend services). I think David thinks it's his preschool. He is so excited, asking, "Are we going to church today? I'm going to play with cars, and go to the big play gym and have a snack. Will Frank be there?" He and Frank (my friend Kate's son) like to wrestle and be boys.

So I was just thinking that we're approaching the halfway mark on that Difficult Year that we always talk about from 2.5 to 3.5. But maybe David's time frame will be different, because so far? Things are going well for my middle child. Of course, he has emotional meltdowns every. single. time we go outside about how cold his hands are (yet takes off his gloves).  But overall, it's not the consuming stress that I remember from last time. But perhaps that because he's still sleeping in a crib and we just started potty training. Perhaps there are many new challenges to come in the next year. Who knows. But he's a good kid, my David. A sweet boy.

Vehicular Woes

Over the past couple of months, we had noticed that the Corolla was having trouble accelerating and that shifting between gears was getting more difficult. I've owned one other manual transmission, a Nissan, which blew the clutch at around 112,000 miles. That's the exact mileage on the Corolla, so I was suspicious. One bitter cold January morning, Brian couldn't get it out of the driveway, and $600 later we had a new clutch. While they were in there, they found another problem, which luckily only cost us $60 for the part since they already had the transmission out (if you know anything about cars, I probably sound like a 2 year old in my level of understanding about the whole thing).

Then another morning, I loaded the kids into the van in the garage to take Katy to school and couldn't start it. Many of my immediate neighbors are not able-bodied to jump start a car, but I was able to recruit two (one with a car that runs and one that could help me push the van from the garage) to get me on the road to a field trip (which I had forgotten about until I called the school to say that Katy would be late).

Ten days later, in a Panera parking lot, my friend Stephanie and I huddled over the same van with the same jumper cables and a cell phone to our ear to walk us through the process. After working out the logistics of getting the van to the shop (I can't give Brian a ride there because we can't fit all 3 kids into the Corolla to drive back home), the mechanic said his "best guess" was the starter ($250). So we fixed that and hoped for the best. We got our van back last night.

This morning, my radio alarm went off and the news lady had a new tidbit for us: "All Ford Windstars from 1997-2003 have been recalled." You have GOT to be kidding me. Another repair (at least it's free), at the dealership, which will take more rearranging logistics. If they find a certain problem, it will take several days and they'll give us a loaner (oh, please, no, moving 3 car seats to a loaner?).

But still, all of this is cheaper than a new car. So I'm thankful for our vehicles, which will keep clunking along, if we can finally get them in working order again.