so our day tuesday started out like any other, we got up, ate breakfast, and i started cooking the meal for the day. only, this morning went pretty smoothly, and i was done cooking by 10:20 or so, and ready to deliver by 10:30...that almost never happens anymore (i haven't had any other takers besides trendsic in a few weeks) i usually don't leave until 11:20 or so. so that put me in a great mood. i also heard how much they liked my pork loin and that was nice to hear as well. so going home from delivering, i was in a pretty good mood. before we made it home, kathryn was chanting "sasa nunas mommy" (for all those who don't speak kathryn, that means "chicken nuggets mommy")
when we got out of the car, daniel took off to the end of the side walk where the crepe myrtles and road are, and so i took off after him (he's a fast lil bugger when he knows he's being chased) and when i reached him he was already at the base of the trees...and was just running little circles around all the trees like a bee...and i realized, hey it's actually pretty shady over here, and doesn't feel like 105ยบ... but we need to eat lunch, so i've got to bring him inside... then it dawned on me, we could eat outside! chicken nuggets aren't messy, they're finger foods...so that's what we did. i took the leftover chicken alfredo from lunch and had chicken nuggets for the kids.
and kathryn loved the idea, so she got to bring the basket. 
and she handed out the drinks lol. while daniel was much more interested in what was under this lid.
and he sided with my chicken alfredo...so kathryn got all the chicken nuggets to herself. she loved that. no fighting, and we were all happy. daniel would take a bite, then run along and make a circle back to me for more food. kathryn didn't get up at all. she was quite content with her juice and nuggets.
daniel was impatient. (i'm ready for some more mom!) but the only down side was when the wind blew, the flower buds fell on us and a few times in our food, so i covered it up after we slowed down eating.
kathryn enjoying her juice. she was so excited that she got juice to go with her lunch (usually it's water, but on a special occasion like a picnic outside, i figured, the more she drank the better with the heat, so juice they got)
and daniel had fun playing with whatever he could find
and laying on mommy with a mouth covered in alfredo sauce.
yummy chicken nuggets, but the bbq sauce it her favorite. she'll lick it off before she takes a bite!
playing under the tree. he loves being outside! i love being in shade!
and of course kathryn, perfecting her picture taking skills, snapped one of me watching daniel wander off. then she smiled and said "i ta pisu a mommy" you sure did. good job kathryn. so we went back inside and our next adventure was to Hancock Fabrics to find a fabric i could use in kathryn's new room...i was meeting Corine (MIL) up there, since i always need another's advice, and i like her style. we found an adorable stripe print that didn't have quite enough yardage to make a floor length curtain, but it was being discontinued, and i liked it too much to find something else. so we got a paisley print to match and go at the bottom... i can't wait to see how cute it will look.
i decided i would take daniel and get the car cooled off while Corine finished inside, and that's when i turned the key to hear...nothing. NOTHING. are you kidding? dead battery right? whew, good thing corine was with me!!! i knew it would be ok, and honestly, i never really felt "overwhelmed" but it was only because corine was there. so thank you LORD for letting the car die when i had someone with me with another car! what a blessing. so she hooked up the cables, and the car started back up on the first try. whew. she was going to follow me home to make sure i got there ok, and i agreed. i called john and he recommended going to auto zone right in walker so they can test the battery, etc... and "they'll take care of me" well, that they did. what would women like me (with husbands trapped at work) do without places like auto zone. they checked the battery to find it was dead as dead could be. "need me to replace it for you?" "you do that here?" "of course!" so he got me a good duralast battery, and changed it right there (good thing too, cuz both kids were sleeping, and with the car off, they were sweating bullets) so after about 5 mins the new battery was in, and i turned the key...and hmmm, that didn't sound very smooth.... "i think we better test your alternator, that wasn't a good start" hmmm, nice. and, yeah, that's right. alternator is going bad, it is putting out about 1/4 the power it should. so...that's what killed my battery. the part wasn't in stock, but i ordered it, and it'll be there today. so $300 worth of car repairs, but i didn't really feel that worried. i guess that's what the $1000 emergency fund is for. peace of mind. i only hope that this isn't the beginning of a slew of car repairs on a 3 year old japanese car that is supposed to last forever! well, you know the saying that Toyota's and Honda's are the most reliable...i sure hope so!
