Flat Tires+Libraries+Hitchhiking Grasshoppers.

Last Thursday was a whirlwind of a day, and it took a lot out of me, hence my blogging absence. Derek headed out to Texas to shoot the wedding of some friends of ours (Congratulations Cale and Julia!) so he took the day off to get all his stuff together. His flight left at 4 which meant that we needed to get him to the airport no later than 3 and it was an hour away from our house. Yes, an hour. Plus Derek needed to stop at his office to do something so that meant we needed to leave by 2. Okay, no biggie. yeah, no biggie until I went out to my car at 10:30 so I could run up to my parent's house to borrow a suitcase- I had a flat tire. Oh joy.

I went back in the house to swap keys thinking I could simply drive Derek's car up to my parent's house so I could borrow a suitcase as well as an air compressor (my dad has like a gabillion tools and machinery, it's awesome) to put air in the tire on my car. I went back out to the car and guess what- chicken butt! No, not really. Derek's car had a reeeeally flat tire. Ugh. At this point I stomped back into the house to complain about how stupid cars are. Derek came out to inspect the deflated tires and deemed that my car was a little safer to drive. He told me to drive really sloooowly up to my parent's house to retrieve the air compressor and he would call the tire repair shop to price some new tires.

We had known for a while that my car was going to need new tires soon but of course like any responsible adult, we had been putting it off because putting things off always solves things, right? Haha, not so much.

So I drove slower than a turtle going through peanut butter up to my parent's house, found the air compressor and started to put air the injured tire.

It took foooorreeeevvverrrrr. By the time I got back it was almost 11:45. Derek said that he called the tire shop and they said they could replace a couple of tires (there were two that looked kinda worn down and sad) in about an hour if we got the car there by 12. It would take us twenty minutes to get there and I desperately needed to put gas in the car, which also meant that we'd have to stop at the bank because we do an all cash system. Que the mad dash to get dressed and pack Derek and all his film equipment.

Well, we didn't get there by 12, but thankfully they said it would only take about forty five minutes to replace the tires. However, the skinny mechanic guy (are people that work at a tire shop mechanics too? I feel silly asking this...) said that all of the tires on the car were worn down and it would be best to replace them all. Great. It was either spend the money to replace two tires and then come back in a couple months to replace the others, or just take the punch to the financial gut and get them all replaced right then. Sigh. We decided to replace them all.

It was past lunchtime at this point so we walked over to a sandwhich place to get something to eat. I had absentmindedly made the executive decision not bring the stroller because I am a genius. Thank God Derek is muscley enough that it was no probelmo for him to carry Toby. The benefits of the 7 Minute Workout I've been doing clearly haven't kicked in yet because I was wheezing from carrying the diaper bag. I'm such whimp.

Pappa Hulk and Hulk Jr. 

By the time we trudged back to the tire shop we didn't have to wait too long to get checked out. Toby was super stoked about the big tire displays.

New tires installed, we stopped at Derek's office for a few minutes and then began the long treck to the airport. After we said adieu to our patriarch, Toby and I made our way back into town. 

Thursday was also my aunt's birthday and my family had planned to go out for dinner that evening, so I had planned to run a couple of errands after dropping Derek off until it was time for dinner. What I didn't factor in was Toby falling asleep. My tired mommy brain didn't know what to do because I didn't want to drive around for an hour or so just to keep him asleep. I was talking to my mom while I was trying to figure out what to do and God bless her, she suggested I pop into the library. Genius. 

As soon as I parked in the parking lot Toby's eyes popped open. We still had lots of time so we went into the library. Thank you Lord for a/c!

I grabbed a couple of magazines and let Toby check out the board books.

He didn't want me to read any of the books. Apparently taking them out of the bin, shaking them, and replacing them was entertaining enough.

Compelling literature.

After a while books lost their thrill and Toby started walking in circles squealing. Time to go.

We went to my favorite place with a red bullseye to pick up a card for my aunt. Since I was there I had to do what my mom affectionately calls The Target Two-Step aka perusing the clearance endcaps.

As I mentioned it was cash day so I had grocery cash burning a hole in my pocket. Trader Joe's helped me out with that.

Finally we made it to the restaurant for dinner and to celebrate my lovely aunt's birthday.

 Happy Birthday Aunt Jenny! Mom is clapping joyously.

We went to Aunt Jenny's favorite Chinese food restaurant and all the place mats tell you what year you were born and what it means. Apparently I was born in year of the dragon. Fascinating.

Welp, finally the day came to an end and I headed home. But my adventures weren't over...

I was about ten minutes away from home when I stopped at a red light and while I was waiting I just looked around the car because... I don't really know why. It was probably God because I had a little hitchhiker- there's a big grasshopper/locus thing on the roof of the car. On the inside. Just looking at me with his weird face. 

Now as you recall, I do not do bugs. They make my skin crawl and I do hyperventilate. So yes, I was freaking out but only on the inside; it is my opinion that bugs can smell fear and thus that is why they torment me as they do. 

I decided to pull into a parking lot and try to coax the critter out of the car. I was having horrible visions of the bug jumping onto my face and me loosing control of the car and then balls of fire filling the night air. No thanks, I choose life.

So I parked in a Walgreens parking lot and opened all the doors. I grabbed a tshirt (why it was in the car to begin with, I cannot tell you) and started trying to flick the thing out of the car. That bug must have had iron claws because at first nothing was happening, it didn't want to let go. Then it looked like it had fallen, but I couldn't see where had gone. I found a flashlight in the glovebox and started to look for it, but I couldn't find it. The only thing that freaks me out more than a bug I can see is a bug that I thought was gone but there's no proof of it's exit. Then I saw it: crawling up the driver's seat. Awww heck no! I flicked and flicked with shirt. Finally it was gone and I got back in the car, cautiously of course. Miraculously Toby had slept through the whole ordeal.

I get home, open the door and start unbuckling Toby and guess who's watching me? Uh huh, the grasshopper. It was sitting on the back of the front seat. What the cuss! What do you want from me?! I snatched Toby from the car and booked it inside. 

My dad swung by to drop something off and just before he left I said, "hey want to get a grasshopper out of my car?". God bless my dad for not rolling his eyes at me as he usually does whenever my bug freakouts occur. How he got the bug out I know not and I don't really care to know. It's gone and that's all that matters. 

So that was my craziest day last week. Then end.