My daddy is a genius

Saturday the kids were driving me absolutely crazy. We needed to get out, and I needed more aligator clips. It wasn't anything exciting, but it wasn't home. We loaded into the van and drove our happy little selves over to Sally Beauty Supply. I got alligator clips, and the kids didn't touch anything. Success!! Next stop redbox (Do you really think my kids would behave in the store if they hadn't been bribed?) We pile back in the van, go to start it, and......lots of clicking no starting :( So we went and walked around the flea market thingy for a bit (mostly so I could gather my thoughts, but also in case by some miracle my van just needed a few minutes to think about what it had done and decide that it liked me again)
So we piled into the van AGAIN, and still nothing. I considered walking home, but my favorite daughter does not seem to understand that shorts are not appropriate clothing for November. I was pretty sure all I needed was a jump start anyways. There was a man sitting in his car not to far away, so I went and asked if he would help. He told me no because he was just about to leave (FYI he left 30 minutes later) I texted spare army guy. He was out of town. I texted another friend, but then I remembered that I have emergency road service. Anything to do with insurance completely terrifies me, so I called my daddy to verify how this procedure works. He told me that I probably just had a bad connection on my battery (it was true too the post on my battery were fuzzy and blue and ewwwww). He sent me to buy a coke. I bought a coke, and dumped it over the battery, which by the way is a very interesting thing to see. The blue turned all kinds of colors and then melted away. Sadly, the van still did not start. :(
I went back into the Sally Beauty and borrowed a phone book. I looked up emergency road service. There were 2 in town Seriously?!? Aren't there like 8 in Tremonton? and we have 2 here? Anyways, towing company number one does not do jumpstarts and towing company 2 does not take state farm, is going to charge me $45 and I am going to have to wait AN HOUR. At this point the really nice (and really flamboyant) guy that works at Sally Beauty offered to help me jump the van. So he pulls his jeep around and figures out how to open his hood (he says car maintenance is his boyfriends job) and the jumper cables don't reach. Then he realizes that I am parked next to the man that works at Game Stop. So the gamestop guy comes and tries to help me jump the van, but it still doesn't work. He is convinced that my starter is dead. Finally, I called a friend that lives nearby and she picked up me and the kids and brought us home.
I called and reported this all to my dad (you just can't fit this story into a text message). He told me that my starter was not dead, and exactly what to do. So this morning I went back and followed my dad's instructions, and it worked :D The gamestop emplyee that was convinced that my starter was dead watched the whole thing this morning. I wonder what he thought about that.
Anyways, the van goes again. Hoooray!! Now I just need a spare person with a driver's license so I can go back and get the truck.
P.S. I have a new respect for what my dad does for a living (he is a mechanic in case you didn't know). Getting the cables off the battery was a pain in the butt.

battling the backyard forest

Warning in advance: This post might end up a being whole lot of randomness

I'm sure somehow it is karma coming back to get me. That's what it has to be. I will probably be raking and bagging leaves until it snows. I am figuring 1 bag of leaves for everytime I bragged about how beautiful and green it is here in Tennessee. So far, I am at.....well I don't know how many bags, but I had to stop because I ran out of empty leaf bags. Maybe someday I will take and post a picture of my leaf bag tower for you all to see. Yeah, we all know how my picture taking promises usually end. But I do have some leaf raking thoughts for your amusement:
Confession, for a minute a thought it would be really fun to move all the leaves to the middle of the road and drive a car through them. You have to admit, it would look really cool. Don't worry, this is a thought I didn't act upon.
Today I am grateful for whoever came up with the brillian idea to put an mp3 player on a cell phone. This makes it possible for me to sing "Save a Horse Ride a Cowboy" really loud and off key for all my neighbors to hear. I'm sure they love it.
I am also greatful that my dad instilled in me a diverse taste in music, because naturally after "Save a Horse Ride a Cowboy" you must sing a John Denver song. That's just the way it is done.
Well, covers everything you need to know about me and the battle with the backyard forest. I will let you know who wins.

It's back! It's back! It's back!

Dear Kat,
Thankyou! Thankyou! Thankyou! I was wondering how I would survive deployment without dear so and so, but now it is back :)
feeling the sanity return,
Brandi B

Dear Spare Army Guy,
Thankyou so very much for claiming that caffeine makes you tired in front of smiley #1. Last night when she got Dr. Pepper at 7:30 she quoted you. Crap!! I forgot to punch you.
plotting my revenge,
Brandi B

Dear Smiley and Smiley,
I know you both claim that you didn't do it, but if you don't surrender my mouse soon, I am going to have to start holding your toys hostage. Now hand it over!!
batman is going first,
Mommy B

Dear body,
I appreciate the weight loss, I really do. It is nice to be in smaller pants, but please in the future, more off the butt less off the boobies. It's making me sad.
I must, I must, I must increase my bust,
Brandi B

Why again did I have children?

It was one of those days, the kind when my mother would sigh and ask, "who am I talking to, you or the wall?" Strangely, I haven't picked up that habbit yet. I sigh and say one of 3 things, "I think I need more children, one for every day of the week.", "I am going to trade you off and get a frog.", or "Why again did I have children?"
This time it was the last one, and I was met with 3 answers.
Smiley #1 "Because God sent us down to you."
Smiley #2 "Because you have to you are a mom."
Spare Army Guy "Because you are a woman."
I'm not sure which response was the most irritating.