Car windows

Remember the old days of rolling down your car window with a handle?

This morning my window locks weren't on and the kids were messing with them. I quickly flipped the switch and got everything up. My mind drifted to my childhood in the old blue station wagon. How much harder it might have been to convince kids to roll up the windows.



I told the kids that we didn't always use a button to roll the window down and that we say "roll", because we used a handle to "roll" it down.

Cavett then said, "yea, that's because you were born in the nineteens!"

Ok, I expected the eighties or seventies. I didn't expect nineteens! But I guess it's true.


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Fueling Pet Peeve

It seems that I have uncovered a pet peeve of mine when it comes to the gas station. Now that we have a diesel car, diesel pumps seem few and far between. This afternoon after picking Cavett up from school we desperately needed to fuel up at the local Chevron. Every single pump was busy at that point in the afternoon. It seemed strange for a station with 10 pumps, only 4 of which could pump diesel.

There was one station that had a little white car just sitting there and it was far enough away that I decided to back in and scooch up to the pump. I got out of the car and asked the girl if she was using the pump. She retorted,"I'm using it! Can't you see?" Well, actually, she was sitting in her car looking at her credit card and on the phone. I stood there stunned. Really? Was she serious? So, I said, have you used it already? Again, she said, "Can't you see I'm using it and proceeds to pop out the gas tank cover all the while she is still sitting in her car on her cell phone. She also proceeds to tell me that I am interrupting her phone conversation. Well, exxxcuuuuuse me! The nerve! Was it really that necessary to get all worked up over it?

I scoot on down to the far station and by now one of the diesel pumps is free and I get to it just before a dump truck pulls up. I pump my 14 gallons and am on my way. I pass by the white car on my way out to see that she is still sitting there on the phone, not pumping gas, but taking up a diesel space. Uggh.

Maybe I was just sensitive today, because it was that kind of a day, but I'm sure you have had the same problem at one time or another. Just think about which station you pull into the next time you fill up. Is it a diesel? Could you have pulled into another bay leaving the diesel free for that kind of a vehicle?

Photo Story Friday

I know...you were hoping to find the saga of our job/house/life transition today, but it is on hold just a little longer. We are headed up to Dallas again today and hopefully Stephen will give me the green light then. I am about to burst at the seams to publish! I will talk to people on the phone and forget that they don't know the whole story yet. Ugh......



Anyway, I still have a great story today. Yesterday we had Verdi's hair cut. I decided to go pick him up from the groomer because we were kicked out of our house for our first showing! (Yes, not even 24 hours after the sign was in the ground.) Cavett was very eager and excited to pick him up and was even concerned when we walked in and he didn't see Verdi.



The groomer brought him out and it was like Cavett hadn't gotten a new dog. He wanted to hold the leash. I couldn't touch the leash at all. He loved being pulled and he also loved guiding him. He was concerned with how we were going to get him into the car and where he would ride since we had our little car with us. He was concerned about how cold it was and that Verdi didn't have any hairleft to keep him warm. Cavett tried to cuddle with him the whole way home. Kendrick even got a kick out of it.



After arriving home, we had to wait in the car downthe street for almost 30 minutes while the family finished up looking at our house. It was nearly an hour and 15 minute visit. I guess they liked it???? Time shall tell.


Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

My Definition of Hell on Earth

We spent the morning at the auto dealership getting our first check-up and oil change for the Jetta. Total time spent there--an hour and a half. it was the longest hour and a half of my life. The waiting room was full and there wasn't anything other than a TV with Regis and Kelly playing. Cavett wasn't a problem; he sat in the hallway and watched the movie Cars. Kendrick on the other hand wasn't interested in sitting still. I brought a car and a couple of books, but I would have had to have a Santa size sack full of toys to entertain him. We ran up and down hallways, played with a balloon, and another saleman gave us a ball to play with. Kendrick ended up with one head bump by running into a doorway and I got a fat lip from his thrashing. Had I been home, this one would have gotten a few tears.

5,000 more miles and we get to repeat it again. Hooray.

Another Day, Another Car

This is car number 4 in two weeks. This is a dealer car and isn't like mine at all. It's a 2008 and not diesel. I took ours back today because of the spots on the paint that needed to be fixed (see this post). They are also tinting our windows for free. Hopefully, I'll have mine back tomorrow.

The funny thing was as we were driving home from church yesterday, a neighbor saw us in our black car and looked at me like "What is going on?". I haven't had a chance to talk to her yet, but now she gets to see the silver version. It's gotten to the point that Cavett doesn't even question what car he's getting in.

BTW, I do love my Jetta TDI, just tired of the car swapping. Have I mentioned Satellite Radio is fantastic?

Another New Car

This is really crazy ridiculous! As a 2009 new model car, we were a bit weary of buying. I guess our fears came true. However, the dealership decided that they were going to keep our car and we could have a new one. Fine with us. We ended up getting the same car, but black with black interior and a sun roof. They also threw in tinted windows, some trunk gear and an Ipod adapter.

As we were finalizing the deal we noticed what looked like paint chips. Turned out the car had been pooped on by birds at the boat dock. The car had sitckers/tape on it, but because of the hot sun it melted through? Who knew bird poop could do that? So, I'm taking it BACK in on Monday to have it redetailed and tinted. Another loaner car. Can't wait.

Hopefully, this one will stick with us. Props to Archer Volkswagon for doing the right thing and taking care of their customers.

Most Unfortunate

Yesterday as I was driving the Jetta the power steering light came on on the dashboard. The car was still driving fine, but we decided to take it to the dealership this morning. After plugging it in to the computer they said that it was saying weird things, but it was still working fine. They called "Volkswagon International" and they said "huh? Let's take our time and figure this one out." Kinda gives me an uneasy feeling. So, I am now driving a rental car and it could be Monday before I get my car back. We are in a white P/T Cruiser. I've always hated these cars, but I am trying to pretend I am in a 1920's gangster car.




On the way home we stopped off at the park. It is a glorious day! I don't know what blew in last night, but at noon it was 80, breezy and low humidity. Picture perfect. Kendrick really enjoyed the park this go around. Being able to walk really helps. The only issue was that he wanted to walk down the slides.





Addendum: Now Germany is saying "I don't know. Try to replace ___ part." So, this part is "red light" ordered and it could be 10 days before I see my Jetta. :(

Some Sadness with Hope and a Promise

Today, Stephen decided to buy a car. This is not something he does lightly. Anytime he decides to make a major purchase there is much number crunching, analyzing, and weighing of pros and cons. I guess you could say he's been doing that for almost 2 years now, but after looking at 2 cars this weekend, and playing one dealrship against 3 others, he made up his mind. We bought the 2009 Jetta TDI Deisel. We are way excited. Now to get to the heart of the story.


It is with sadness to that I buy this car. It means that I turn in my first car that I paid for all by myself--a 1997 black Saturn SL1. I loved my little car. It saw trips to Auburn, New Orleans, and Dallas from Shreveport. From Houston it made countless trips to Shreveport and Grand Saline, not to mention back and forth to Huntsville while I got my masters. To top it off, this car withstood Hurricane Allison. I had 1 more year to pay it off and she was flooded up to the door handles that early June morning. To hear car alarms go off still sends shutters up my back. (That's what happens when a car is flooded. The car alarm continually goes off.) With a new set of electrical wiring, she worked great for 7 more years. Yes, the headliner had rotted and was falling down and it smelled of mold and the transmission grinded, but she still ran. She was never in a wreck, ok, except that brother Jonny backed into her when he was parked in front of me in the driveway. Just a little "dent"--ha, ha, no pun intended! So, we parted ways tonight. (P.S.--Not my car pictured. Now that I look through my pictures, I can't find a picture her! She was pre-digital when brand new. I wish I would have taken one tonight. )


As we were driving home from the dealership, there was the most magnificent rainbow in the sky. (This picture doesn't do it justice.) It looked as if it were right over our house from where we were on the interstate. It was so vivid, not one of those pale ones. After pointing it out to Cavett and talking about God's promise, it was as if God was speaking to me. "I won't flood the earth again." Jennifer answers, "How bout this car, God?" I didn't get an answer, but I felt as if he was reassuring me that we had bought the right car. Even if it wasn't THE best deal to be had on just any car, we made a promise to God by buying this car that we are taking better care of his world and using the resourses he gave us more wisely. Maybe I'm stretching it, maybe not. Anyway, the rainbow was breath-taking.

You'll see pictures tomorrow, as Stephen is back at the dealership trading in the Saturn, since we didn't drive it there. On a side note, as we were cleaning out the car, I let Cavett look for coins. Any that he found were his to keep in his piggy bank. He found about 75 cents in random assortments. We took them upstairs and put them in his piggy bank which sings "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" when money is dropped in. The only problem tonight was that it hasn't quit singing yet! It's been an hour and I've stuffed it in the cushions in the couch with a pillow and blanket over it until Stephen gets home.


Update on the cake: Last night I put the crumb layer of frosting on to keep it from drying out and this afternoon I put on the final coat and smoothed it. Decorating starts tomorrow.

New Cars

This afternoon we had a bit of time before Kendrick's friend, Teague's one year old birthday party. We decided to go look at cars. We just paid our last payment on our no intrest loan on the Expedition and with gas the way it is, we are looking for a car for me to drive that gets much better gas milage.

We started out at the Saturn dealership looking at the Aura. Both boys enjoyed playing around in the cars, but Cavett seemed to enjoy all the convertibles best.

Next we went to Volkswagon to see the 2009 Jetta TDI Diesel. This is the first car like it of its kind. I really liked this car alot and even got to test drive it alone-no kids, no husband, no salesman. How nice! The saleman claims this car can get upwards of 50 mpg. No kidding.

We aren't sold on buying a new car, but we can't get the Jetta used. Not sure if it's really worth it. Guess we have some number crunching to do and weigh the environmental aspects.

The Game Room

In our game room there are 2 long dormer windows separated by a 4' wall. They tend to be fairly functionless and take up space....until today. Each boy was able to play with their cars and racetrack without bothering the other. They also had great fun with the springy tunnel and the tent.

We are off to Grandmama and Grandaddy's tonight and Dallas for the weekend. Most likely, no access to internet. See you Sunday night.

Crawling Transmission

Today we caught Kendrick really crawling. He started thinking about it this weekend and I think he has about mastered it. This morning while I was ironing his outfit, he was eyeing the cord and immediately I thought, "I am in trouble! Here it comes." His poor little knees are so red.

On another subject, we are thanking God we got home safely yesterday. When we pulled in our driveway, the Expedition didn't sound very good. Stephen drove around the neighborhood a bit more and decided it was the transmission. So, we dropped it off at the shop last night. This morning they called and confirmed. I guess we are due. We are at 100,000 miles and it's a 2003. There goes the dividend.

How much fun can you have in the car?

This evening we drove to Grand Saline, TX to visit Stephen’s brother, John, who is in from China. On the way we munched on Chick-Fil-A and watched Mary Poppins. But the most fun was had during the last hour and a half.

We turned off the DVD player and the radio and sang. We sang everything from SongPlay songs, John Denver’s “Grandma’s Feather Bed,” musical numbers, lullabies, folk songs, nursery rhymes, and church songs. It brought back such wonderful memories of driving to the farm hanging over the front bench seat of our blue station wagon.

Toward the end we began playing “Guess the Secret Song.” I would hum it and he would try to guess the name of the song. He was really pretty good at it. Then he decided that he would give it a try. He hummed “Twinkle Twinkle,” but of course since it is 3 different songs (Twinkle, Baa Baa Black Sheep and ABC’s) we guessed the wrong one. I’m not sure if he realizes that that tune has 3 names or not, but every time it was his turn he hummed that tune, but said it was a different name. He did name one of the three tunes above though.

It’s really too bad that families today have DVD and CD players in the car. This tradition of musical family bonding is a lost art. Who sings in the car anymore without the radio? It was such fun listening to Cavett giggle and sing along in a sweet, sweet voice. If you’ve never tried it, go one day in the car without the radio/CD/DVD player and see what happens.