Car Trouble

UGH! I've said it before and I will say it again. It seems like the majority of the problems happen when Doug isn't home. Or maybe it just seems like it because he deals with the majority of the problems around here.

Started car this morning and pulled it out of the garage to warm it up before taking Zach down to school to catch the bus. Everything went fine. Told Kate to go out and start the car to warm up again before taking her down to school. (I should have went out there with her to show her since she'd never done it before, but how hard could it be...is what I thought--she can do it) Mistake. She came in saying that the check engine light was on--but I told her it always comes on when the car first starts--well, that should have been my eye opener. When we went out to get in 10 minutes later the car was still cold and only auxiliary stuff was working. Hmmm...I tried to start it--nothing. Brake pedal wouldn't depress---hmmm....then car wouldn't even click. Poor Kate thought she broke the car. Turns out it is the same thing that happened to Doug when he took the boys to practice in Blue Mound 2 months ago--It may be time to take it in and figure out if it needs a new battery or what. Poor Kate. She had to walk to school thinking she had broken the car.

I had to back the jeep out of the garage down the driveway in between the Camry and the neighbor's car and pull it up close to the car. Then I had to find the jumper cables--I hadn't seen any for 20 years (back in my college days when I had to jump Cari's car every other weekend). Doug told me how to do it on the phone, but luckily the brand new never been used jumper cables had directions on them. Now to open the hoods and get started. Doug's jeep hood had to be "unbuckled" (weird) and then I looked around unsuccessfully for a "propper-up" thing. there isn't one. You just lean it back against the windshield (I was praying please don't let me drop it and break the windshield because I don't need anything else to happen today). Jeep done. Camry was easy--hood stays up by itself. Yeah. Red to red--black to black. Start car. It works! Happy dance inside my head--because it is too cold to do it outside. Unhook cables, hoods down, cables away. Jeep pulled back into garage. garage door down by hand. Leave Camry running for 20 minutes. Run inside--make smaller grocery list of essentials that we will need for next couple of days--cereal, milk, diet Pepsi, pop tarts (you're welcome Zach) since I am not running the chance to drive into Decatur and spend 2 hours in Wal-Mart to come out and find that the car won't start again. Run to Dollar General here in town (leave car running while I go in (thank God for small towns)--$21 dollars later and I put car back into garage. Turn car off (Praying all the time that when I go out there later it will start again so I can go somewhere if I need too). close door manually. Go inside and immediately open the diet Pepsi so I can get my caffeine for the day--it explodes. UGH! Anything else? Bring it. Ha.