Friday, January 20, 2023

Week in Review: Dead Batteries, No Big Kids, and The Best Pants

On Friday, my mom called me around 3pm and I could hear noises in the background, so I asked where she was.  "Shopping at Kohl's" she replied and I said "No way, I am heading there after work ends at 4!"  I had an hour to kill between work and Eamon's basketball game and figured I could use it to make a few returns.  When I walked into Kohl's at 4:20, guess who was checking out?  My mom.  I went over and hugged her and she said "Don't tell me it's already after 4:00?  Dad is gonna kill me for shopping for so long!"  Apparently my Dad was waiting in the car for her outside, having gone to Lowe's and back already.  I said bye to my mom and went to do my exchanges.  When I was done, my mom called asking if I was still in the store.  Yup, I was.  Their battery was dead, and did I perchance have any jumper cables?  I said I was pretty sure I did, and went out to the parking lot, pulled up next to them and found the cables.  

But then we couldn't figure out how to get their car hood open.  It's a newish car (the battery died because my dad had been listening to the radio while my mom was shopping) and so my mom was reading the manual, and I was googling, and my dad, in his gentle Irish brogue, finally just asked a passing guy "Do you happen to be mechanical?" and the guy said not really, but how could he help?  My dad explained the situation and this nice guy was able to pop the hood, with some difficulty.  Then he made sure we had cables and knew how to use them, and left after we assured him that we did.  

I went inside my van and realized that I *also* did not know how to pop my hood.  Oh for the love.  We laughed and laughed and then my dad searched with a flashlight (it was getting dark) while I googled again.  He found it and just as he popped it open, the nice guy was back and said "Let me guess, you didn't know how to open your hood either?" and we all laughed and laughed again.  Talk about a comedy or errors.  This nice guy then thankfully took over and we got the battery charged.  My mom gave him a miraculous medal because she hands those out like candy, and the nice guy said that he already had one, but thank you.  I said "Oh you're Catholic?  So are weeeeeeee!!" as if I just came across a long lost relative.  We thanked him and his wife, who was patiently waiting in their car the whole time (not listening to the radio I'm sure).

Lessons:

1) Do not listen to the radio without your car running.
2) Do not believe a woman when she tells you it will be a quick trip inside a store.
3) Don't be afraid to hand out a miraculous medal.  Though I think it helps when you're a sweet grandma.
4) Know how to pop your hood and travel with jumper cables.
5) People are mostly very kind.
6) The daughter who jumps your battery is obviously your favorite child.  May the will reflect this.
7) It's always an adventure with these two:


I did make it to most of Eamon's game after...

#5 on the court but #1 in my heart (don't tell the others!)

A coworker of mine asked if my boys would want an old Nerf Gun that her kids were too old for.  Ummm yes please!  They had lots of fun with it this weekend.


I don't know if you can see it back there, but we got a little red air popper, and it has become quite the popular evening snack option in our casa.  Much cheaper and healthier and easier than buying bagged popcorn or making it on the stove.

On Saturday after Mass, Phil and I took JP out since he was going back to school soon and one-on-one time is hard to get.  We had a gift certificate to a restaurant right near our church but they were closed for renovations.  D'oh.  We took him to our favorite bar/watch sports/play Keno spot instead and it was great.  JP had joined us on our Body Diet Reset since Jan. 3rd and so we all treated ourselves in grand style (boneless chicken wings, loaded fries, tortellini) and felt stuffed and ready to get back on the plan.  Ha!

 On Sunday, we went to support my goddaughter who played the Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz at my kids' elementary school.  It was such a great performance!


Phil bought flowers for the Scarecrow (on right) and for me (on left) because he's a gem.

On Monday morning, we brought JP and another goddaughter/niece to the Boston airport so that they could return back to Franciscan University for their Spring Semester.  I'm so glad these two have each other out there!

JP and Bridget on the right

After dropping them off, we took the youngest four kids to the Boston Museum of Science for a few hours.  It should have cost us $159 just for general admission (crazy!!) but we belong to a cheap zoo near our home that has a reciprocal program and we got in for freeeeeeeeee!

It was a freezing snowy day and we were glad to be inside

Yes, he does!

And that's where the baby goes!

Deciding whether or not to pick in public.


Maggie could only see the old lady, how about you?

Snow!

The electricity show was lit ;)

Maggie on her bed of nails or how we make her tough.

Phil showing them sciency stuff


I totally didn't even think to pack food or drinks for the kids (the only drawback of not needing a diaper bag or stroller anymore) and so by 2pm we were all starving and headed home, stopping at a yummy no-frills restaurant on the way.  At the end of the meal, Xander offered to buy all the kids a $2 Kid Sundae with his funeral-serving money.  Brendan declared it the best day ever.  He does that a lot, but it's still so sweet.

I saw this post from Ryan Hall and could.not.believe this is the same person.  After retiring from running, he has put on 50 pounds of muscle...making his runner self look completely malnourished by comparison.  And I like the message...you just can't be all things at the same time!


Andrew, Eamon and Maggie left early Thursday morning to travel to Washington DC with their high school for the March for Life.  I miss them already!


What good doobies, even if one of them refuses to smile nicely :)


I have been wearing these pants every week, sometimes twice a week if I'm feeling sassy(pants).  They are so comfy, only $30 from Target, and look dressy with ankle boots but feel like pajamas.

And that's a wrap.  Now we have to figure out how to survive without any big kids in the house until late Saturday night, it's so weird!

15 comments:

  1. I happened to be awake reading blogs (hoping to get one more hour of sleep before tots get dropped) when this popped up. ;) I can just hear your dad asking 'are you mechanical?' What an ordeal, but I love that you all found the humor in it.

    The free museum looks like a great time. Oh how I love a pair of pants that work well and are comfy to boot.

    This sounds like a very busy week. I also love that JP goes to school with a cousin.

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    1. Thank God his not being mechanical was way more mechanical than us! JP and Bridget have been in school together since preschool (except for 6-8 grade) so it was so nice when they both decided on franciscan. Another cousin just graduated last May, so there were three there his first year.

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  2. I feel you on popping the car hood. My car burns oils, so I always have to dump in a quart between oil changes. Most of the time, I open the trunk and the gas cap before I finally remember where the lever is for the hood!
    Did JP already have his living quarters set up back at Franciscan? Even checking luggage, I can't imaging taking everything I needed to college on a plane!

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    1. Because he went to Austria for the fall semester, he did not have anything on campus for this semester. He had a checked suitcase, a back pack and another carryon bag. Then we ordered things via amazon and had them delivered there (like toiletries, a new set of sheets and a pillow and comforter). We told him to figure out a storage solution before he leaves for the summer so he could leave things out there. My husband and I both had friends with houses that would let us leave things over the summer, and some kids rent a storage unit and split the cost. If our second son decides to attend Franciscan next year, we told them they could take a car so that will make it easier!

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  3. Ha! I only figured out how to pop my hood because I had to take it for an oil change instead of my husband and they showed me there! So glad it all worked out. I can't believe JP is back to school already. Didn't he just come home? (I know it's probably been even faster for you!) Prayers for all the chicks out of the next this weekend!

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    1. He was home for 6 whole weeks but it went so fast! I already bought his ticket to come home in March for Spring Break :) You'll be happy to know that Maggie is texting me non-stop and I've heard from the boys exactly...zero times. What a difference!

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  4. Gah. I have no idea how to pop my hood OR use jumper cables. And this is going to sound so lazy, but this is one of the reasons I pay for CAA...I can call a technician if anything breaks down.
    But still, I really SHOULD learn how to do this. My husband travels regularly for work which means I'm solo with the kids and do all the driving. It's only a matter of time.
    Years ago our battery DID die when he was away and I asked a friend to boost my car, but she didn't know how to do it either, so we had to flag down a man on the sidewalk to help (which he did, very kindly), but it would have felt more empowering to be able to do this ourselves!!!

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    1. I'll give you a gold star just to learn how to pop your hood :)

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  5. How serendipitous that you should run into your parents! I also have no idea how to pop my hood but my husband and younger son are very mechanical, so that is happy.
    Those pants are really cute!

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  6. YES!
    4) Know how to pop your hood and travel with jumper cables.
    5) People are mostly very kind.

    I've been in the same situation and the worst part was admitting I didn't know how to pop my hood. Still feel a little ashamed about that.

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    1. Glad to know I'm in good company, Ally. And now we both know how to do it, so progress!

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  7. I'm giggling at you guys not knowing how to pop open your hood; these types of things happen! I'm happy that you found a nice soul to assist; or maybe he found you? Anyhoo, I smiled while reading that you ran into your mom at Kohls. *sigh* I wish I could run into my Mom somewhere; (aside from my dreams) aren't you a lucky girl?!

    The pants are super cute! And yay for a free day at the museum; you guys always have the best time.

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  8. The story of listening to the radio reminds me of when I was 15. I had just gotten my learner's permit and thought I knew it all. I raced out of church one Sunday morning to get in the car so I could drive us home. I turned the key half way and turned the radio on without starting the car and sat there for about 15 minutes waiting for everyone else to make their way out of church. By the time we got ready to leave, you guessed it! The battery was dead. My dad was so upset with me but I learned my lesson back in 1985 and have never made that mistake again! At least now you all know how to open your hood!

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  9. I just remembered that I turned the A/C on in addition to tge radio which is probably why it only took 15 minutes to drain the battery! Oh well! Lesson learned!

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