La cabane de la radio. (Radio Shack)

I took the kids with me to pick up an I-pod connector for the car. I thought it was a routine errand until Emily said she needed the potty. Suddenly the memory of the hundred or so times my mom took me and my brother to Radio Shack just waved over me. It was a great moment, despite that I found myself in the employee restroom with the kids.
Mom's always been technologically inclined as is Eric. I never think of myself that way. (read: nerdy--ha ha) But like it or not, I have an uncanny ability with tech stuff. (I read the 'HELP' on the upper title bar of any window----"hello!?!") Anyhow, I got the kids some candy, we loaded into the van and I hooked up the tunes. We rolled out with our Backyardigans over the speakers. Great day!

Forgetful Jones

Forgetful Jones was one of my favorite characters on Sesame Street. When I was a kid, I thought anybody with the same last name must be related, even cartoons and ultimately my Uncle Indy. (Indiana Jones, of course)
Now back to the point of this post:
As an adult, ole 'Forgetful Jones" labels me more recently due to my new found scatterbrain. This week alone, I locked myself and the kids out of the house. Had I thought a bit harder, I would have remembered placing the house keys in the center console of the old SUV. Today adds more chaos, as I put the keys to the new van in my vest pocket. I changed coats and subsequently left the keys in the van, locked the door and trotted off the playground. 1 hour later I discovered the mishap. My new friend, Courtney, offered me the use of her car, mind you we've known each other a month and stayed at the park while I drove to procure my spare keys. It dawned on me as I turned into my 'hood that I locked my house keys in the van too. A quick call to the in laws got no answer, panic set in. I detoured to check their house, and much to my relief Dad was in the garage. Cheers to Courtney and Dad!!

I do so miss the driver door keypad from the Explorer.

A funny thing happened on the way to the...

dealership. The Ford did not always have issues. Though sometime around 2002 it gave me a sign of what was to come. The rear washer fluid was leaking into the interior. I decided to ignore it. A few years later the rear wiper no longer worked and soon began to loosen. The tires were recalled of course, due to the roll over scare. The transmission blew in 2006 and then the 4x4 sensors were replaced just a couple months ago. So Friday night as we drove to the Toyota dealer I was relieved and excited. We decided to take the Ford through the car wash. Just as we resurfaced from the wash bay I turned to see water gushing through the rear window and another surprise on the opposite side, where it was now leaking as well. The Explorer had it's last laugh.

The wheels go round.

12 years ago Mike and I bought new cars as unmarried individuals. We agreed to take a trip to Monterey to celebrate. It was a fun weekend but we had not returned until recently. Friday we bought our first car together and we took it on it's maiden voyage to Monterey. This time we had our kids and a got to see the aquarium with a new perspective.

When it rains, it pours.

Turning 34 was sort of blah and that was a bummer, I'm not sure why I don't vacation on Hawaii every March. So fate stepped in to ramp up the action in my life. March 25th, I left the house without my mobile phone and when I went to pick up Brandon at preschool, I found him wiht a broken arm. Again. This is the second time in 6 months that he broke his arm and the second time that I forgot my phone. It was an interesting trip to the ER. I had both kids on my own and had to hold down Brandon while they adminstered his pain meds. Which left Emily to scream in fright while Brandon screamed in fright. Meanwhile, I was laughing as usual at the absurdity of the situation. What the hell else can you do? Monday he got his new cast and the Dr attempted to push the bones together again without any pain medication. This episode made me sick to my stomach and yet, Brandon was a champ, he calmly said that it hurt a lot.

Yesterday, Grandma got sick and now has to have a gall bladder removal. So last night I headed to the hospital to see her and wait. While in the room of 3 patients (whoopee, neighbors!) my aunt almost tripped a nurse carrying a large bucket of urine. I warned her, even grabbed her and thankfully nothing happened. To top off the night, the surgery was pushed to today and so my mom and I went to say goodnight to Grandma. The hallway was blocked by a gurney, mind you it was 11 pm, and I decided not to squeeze by, so I remained in the foyer. Wise decision, as the gurney was carrying a deceased patient. The nurse commented to the security escort that she did not like going to the freezer. Yeah, you think?! So that was my exciting week, 3 visits to Kaiser, another today and many more to come in the following weeks.