parting is such sweet sorrow

our veen has been a very faithful friend.

some (including me) would say it has been a miraculous vehicle.  for 221,729 miles, that veen has delivered us safely to and fro. 

since the weather has turned cooler, i have noticed something happening in the veen.  cold.  cold was happening. and not warmth.  the heat, alas, works in spurts.  the veen has been struggling through some odd temperature issues, like the engine temp gauge goes from cool to hot coolant temp warnings in a flash.  especially in idle.  whenever we are stopped the engine temp ratchets up while the temp inside the veen stays cold.  however, when the veen is in motion, the heat seems to work.  mostly.

so maybe there have been several days in which the kids and i huddle in the back seats after we drop off maxer and are waiting to bring bear bear inside preschool.  maybe we have even waited in the bathroom for some minutes because it got real cold in the veen.  maybe the hot coolant temp alarm/warning light has been on every time i bring max into school and leave the veen run in the parking lot.

i just kinda feel like i betrayed my friend.  because the veen was a real giver in our relationship.  i sorta trashed the inside by not maintaining a clean and organized interior, but still the veen got us like all our groceries.  i may have let the veen run right out of gas on the side of blue star highway, but still the veen brought us to every playdate we required of it.  this relationship between me and the veen has been super one sided and now i am a bit guilty that at the first sign of real trouble, we bought a replacement.

despite the veens real efforts to keep us warm, you just really need heat for more than a comfy ride. you need heat to keep the ice off your windshield and stop the fog from invading your field of vision whilst wheeling.  and the heater core is a super duper expensive thing to fix.  like probs half the value or all the value of the veen right now.  so it seemed like we really did not have a choice.

and then, my superhero hubs went and found a screaming deal on craigslist which we just had to act on.  the new addition to our fleet is really nice and clean and well equipped and has a sun roof and i admit, i am a bit enamoured with the tannish dream machine.  but still, my heart is a trifle broken at saying farewell to the veen. 

i used to have this prob when buying clothes.  i would not wear the new shoes or shirt or whatev for like a month after i bought it because it was just to new.  solved that issue by buying things only that i need, so then i have to wear the new jeans or go in my sweatpants which really is not appropriate for all outings.  so i get it.  the replacement vehicle is a need.  and the veen really provided for us well. 

so we are embracing the new and being grateful for the old.  i am certain that though the beginning of our relationship was slightly awkward, we will eventually settle into a new pattern of comfort.  brad heard back from the previous owners of the new to us van while we were dining at home conversing about how the kids for sure had to be in bed early.  i angrily chomped on my venison as i heard brad make plans to check out the veen that night.  my attitude was atrocious as we bundled and loaded up the adorables.  i even forgot to put shoes on so wore slippers to these very wealthy and nice people's house way on the north side of holland.  in the pouring rain and darkness, brad walked around the van we would purchase trying to get me excited about it.

look, a sun roof!
really nice tires.
the doors open automatically, one is not permanently out of commission like in the silver bullet. 
heated seats...

i stepped in puddles and kept glancing at the door of the house where the nice lady was frantically searching for keys.  i think mrs van lady sensed my lack of enthusiasm because she offered for me to take my adorables inside her house while brad took the new van for a trial run and she picked up her kids from sporting events.  i do believe she even included supper in that kind offer. 

though i was tempted to have a fourth meal of the day, i assured her i would be real content to sit in the trusty venture until brad returned.  sitting there in the unheated front seat, soggy with raindrops, feeling the cold air blowing through the heating vents, i decided maybe this new chrysler could work for us. 

ayla jo wreaking havoc on the old van while daddy is buying the new one.

so when brad returned with a smile, we comforted the child who arrived home to find us in her driveway and her mom picking up another duaghter, and then called to committ to a purchase.  we picked up the town and country the following evening, cashiers check in hand.  brad had spoken frequently to craig, who turned out to be kreig, which resulted in a moment of panic as the cashiers check was already made out.  but all is well.  kreig has his money and we have a new to us van.

new veen has dvd.  kids are happy.

max is blissful in this pic, mostly because i brought him donuts after school.  a little because we were watching brad purchase the new van.

i have not yet driven the newbie.  i am committed to the venture until the temps deem it necessary to relocate to the chrysler.  not to mention it will probs take at least until december to switch out all the belongings stored in the venture. 

octoberfest

though actual oktoberfest may in fact be some sort of beer festival, that is not what i am referring to in the title of this post.  i merely chose a name that incorporated a lot of october, and things are always sorta like a circus/festival around here so it works.

now, i have been avoiding the blogging business lately.  this is due to the fact that i cannot find my camera.  it is not lost, i just do not know where it is.  i fear it may be in cadillac, where we spent a couple days with the kleins and an rzr and a commander (all terrain vehicles).  it was an amazing experience in which brad's rzr broke down minutes after arrival and lots of sunday morning was spent on a road trip within a road trip to get an essential part.  it is no wonder that i lost my camera in all the hullabaloo.  and left all my food in the fridge.  oops

the good news is when i am not blogging i dont really think about my awful lack of responsibility.  the bad news is then i do not blog.  so i am admitting once again, i suck at keeping track of stuff, but am back on the bloggy bandwagon. it all balances out right?!

so here is the latest on the home front:

1.  harvest is happening.  this means i have whiplash from glancing out the window whenever a car, combine, or truck goes by in hopes it is brad coming in from the semi or combine or whatev.  because i miss him, and so do the adorables.  it actually rained lots on sunday, so it has not been a constant hardship because brad has been home lots.  that man just is such a vital part of this fam one night without him can be a struggle.  especially when you are me.

2.   max is a bucket filler.  that is right, sandy view is promoting a system of recognizing those who encourage, or fill up one another's buckets with good stuff.  and max was applauded for his kindness.  he stayed in from recess to help zip up his friends jackets.  omg awesome.  we are so proud, and so was he.  he got a note home, a dog pencil (for dad, and the dogs were like dressed for a wedding, so it was weird but did not matter), and lots of praise from his blessed mommy and daddy.


this morning was an extra special drop off as daddy came with us to make the delivery to sandy view. 


3. bear bear is such a passionate and strong willed child.  if he is being caring he is the sweetest boy ever.  if he is being bratty, watch out.  last week there was a new level of whining reached.  and it broke my heart because i get that the whining means he is needing attention.  it was a wild week with work and salsa and stuff.  and i was feeling like nothing was getting done well.  hate that feeling.  anyway, things are looking up this week. 



brad rewarded weston's very good choices with the current desire of his heart, another kitten.  brad is the greatest dad ever.  and i am a pretty amazing mom because i am the one that loaded up the veen with the youngest adorables and drove to the mobile home park that posted a free kitten ad on craigslist.  maybe we are just drawn to the strangest of the strange cat people, but what i found when i parked veen was disturbing.

the matriarch of the family whom i will refer to as big mama for obvious reasons, was very kind in talk and deed.  she was also an incredibley talented smoker as she had a cig hanging from her lips while holding all five kittens, directing her husband to locate a box in which to keep the two we came home with, and providing me with a monologue detailing the correct care of the kittens.

the kittens themselves were tiny, and disgusting.  bear would not even touch one.  all their eyes were matted shut and they were covered head to toe with brown smears which big mama assured me was food but my nose told another story.  a story about poop.  at this point i had to come home with one because the adorables were determined.  so ayla jo and wes each picked one out and big mama plopped them in the box in which they were first located that was soggy with pee and smelly with poop.   i gagged out loud while thanking big mama for her gracious generosity.

the ride home with the kittens was hilarious and panicky at the same time.  baby blue clutched her kitten until the meowing reached epic proportions.  bear was very concerned.  he wanted to bring them back because they were to meowy.  somehow i managed to rescue cupcakes cat from her deathgrip and throw it into the box.  both kittens clawed their way out onto bear bear's booster.  he was beside himself with panic.  he was terrified and grossed out and i had to pull over on the road and close the box to prevent further escapes. 

by the time we reached the farm, bear was horrified and never wanted to see the kittens again.  i dumped some kitty food into the box and left the whole thing in the big barn.  when we went looking for the newcomers after picking up max from school we found only an empty box.

we are moving forward.

4.  aylaroo and i went out for coffee with a dear friend yesterday.  it was amazing.  we sat and visited for over an hour.  the whole time my daughter was an angel.  she sat sweetly still nestled next to me in my seat.  i adored catching up and snuggling in with my girl.  the prinpress was very social as well, waving to the public as they entered or exited bigby.

when we got to weston's preschool to pick him up, you would have thought it was ayla jo who indulged in the caffeine.  she was twirling and hopping and waving at anyone who would watch her.  i think it was the tutu...

so here we are.  a rainy thursday afternoon, just about ready to prepare to get our oldest from kindergarten.  brad will be home tonight due to the rain.  it is a good place to be.