Beastly strong kids!

Don't remember if I told you about this and am too lazy to go back and check...  But the week before Christmas, during the BLIZZARD of 2012, my husband got his car stuck in a drift on his way and in taking our son to work.  So it sat in the drift until a day or so later when the tow truck guy was able to make his way to our small burg. 

Funny story on how the car got out the drift... but I won't get into that much here.  Let's just say it was pulled into the gas pump area nearby and left.  It wouldn't start because the engine was jam packed with snow.  I've never seen anything like it!  Like a huge full cooler.  I guess that what happens when you drive into a drift and then the blizzard blows snow underneath and then the plow dumps snow over the top out on the highway.  Anyway, it was a no go.   So it sat until some burly bros-in-laws & nephews came at Christmas time and used a tow chain to pull it  back the mile to our house and push it up into our lane.  So they worked on it the entire time they were here.  Melting snow with water and brushing snow out of that engine.  On Christmas eve I'm in Walmart around 6pm looking for a battery for them.  The only one there, I was skeptical about and didn't want to make the wrong decision so I left it there.  Robb went down later that night and there was no battery that would fit...  Great.  I should have bought it!  It was probably the one.  Oh well.

Anyway, a battery was purchased the day after Christmas and then exchanged the day after the day after Christmas, because it wasn't exactly a good fit.  I've gone with batteries that didn't fit quite right before.  It's not good.  Usually some train tracks will make it fuse to the hood.  It happens!

So anyway, got a good battery that fits finally.  It won't start.  The lights are on, but no one's home, if you will...But when you turn the key, it clicks.  So the car has sat in the cold.  We have a heated 3 car garage...  with no cars in it.  That's another story for another time... when I've drunk too much. 

So anyway, I called the local service guy yesterday who has saved our butts more than once with car issues.  He didn't have time to get us in until probably next week, but said that if we can thaw the car out, chances are... the starter got some moisture in there and it's frozen.  So...  I made the decision that the garage needed an overhaul.  I spent my lunch break yesterday and some time after work moving some things around to make room for a car.  Have you ever played those little tile slide games that you can only move something here, if you move this first.  But in order to move that, you need to move something else?  Yeah.  That's my garage. 

I have no pictures of it, nor would I show you if I did!  But here is a picture of a cutie with a bow on his head instead.  That's a good substitute, isn't it?

Made room just before Bible study last night and Robb and Ryan tried to push the car in with me steering a very stiff steering wheel.  We got 6 inches.  Had to call in the power and get the girls out to help us. 

I had my husband and kids pushing this car.  We got a few more inches, but ran up against snow and ice little drifts that were frozen solid.  Meri grabbed a scoop shovel and Ryan grabbed a sledgehammer.  I didn't want to see what he was going to do with it, but it turns out it was to break up some of the frozen chunks.  Then Meri scooped it out of the way.  They make quite the team!

But my little family unit was still unable to push this car in.  So Robb got my car.  It has a broken bumper anyway, and gave me some pushes from behind.  After a few more moments with a sledgehammer, we got it into the garage!!!  It had a few more inches to go before being able to close the garage door, so they pushed it in the rest of the way.  Accidentally scooted the deep freeze over...


My family is stronger than they know!

So today, I couldn't take my usual way to work...  I had to actually go outside and come into the garage to get there.

Um yeah...  I'm late because of car trouble...  Telecommuting traffic is a BEAST!!!

Telecommuting Snow Day

Yeah - it snowed..  It's a crazy winter wonderland out there today...

It started last night and it was all pretty while driving to church, but on the way home, our exit from the interstate was blocked by a police car with lights.  He was waiting for some idiot in the ditch to stop trying to drive up the snowy weedy hill after driving off the road. There was no chance he'd make it...  We took the next exit and saw another car flipped in the ditch.  I called the local police station to make sure that this one had already been found and it had been.  I really didn't want to stop...

So we got home finally.  The snow was too great for Mary and Joseph and they 're kissing the ground.  

I think they call it a winter wonderland because it's a wonder more people aren't killed by winter.  

 SURE it's pretty!!!

 

But boy oh boy does it make a mess!  and work.

Maddy was given 3 fish yesterday from her prom date from last year.  They're not dating but are good friends and plan to get married to each other if neither are married when they both turn 40.  Apparently that's a good give up point...  Anyway, two of the fish had died by this morning!  Poor Austin and Gibraltar....  The last one alive was given treatment fit for a Triton while the others had a mournful burial at sea with Robb and Maddy whistling Danny Boy in a kind of harmony.  He didn't want to wake the whole house up by pulling out the bagpipes!

 

Also this morning the girls woke up early to let us know it was a snow day.  We already knew and were going to let them sleep in.  Robb and Ryan got the car dug out so they could go to work and got stuck less than a mile from the house.  They'd realized by that time that the roads were beyond terrible and were trying to turn around.  They just got back after getting a ride from a kindly neighbor, who I'm sure will look at us differently from now on...  *you crazy young people you!!!*  *he's really old, he can say that!*  

So anyway, last night I was bemoaning the fact that since I"m a telecommuter.  I never get a snow day off from work...  But today I'm totally ok with it as I walk out to my office, shut the door and turn on some tunes "I" want.  Since it's coming up to Christmas, it'll be somewhat quiet today too!  I should get a lot of projects wrapped up and enjoy some peace and quiet away from the household hub-bub.  

Ahh... telecommuting is the life!