When life gives you lemons...

This morning had some real highs and a big fat low!

My 11 month old son stood himself up from sitting on the floor all by himself and he balanced for a few seconds before falling down. It was the first time and I managed to snap a quick (blurry) photo and send it to my husband. I was so proud!

I was running on time for a meeting (remarkably!) when my car wouldn't open. I thought that was strange and wondered if the battery in the key fob needed to be replaced, so I opened the door with the key and loaded the children in. It was my car battery that was dead.

In that moment I could easily have cried or given up, I felt incredibly frustrated. Instead I took a deep breath and thought about my options.

When I first moved to America I bought a red Mustang. When we had M I switched cars with my husband and drove his much more family friendly Mazda 3. When we bought the Minivan my parents and husband really wanted me to sell my old Mustang, but I am really attached to it so have delayed selling it! It was the first thing I owned over here, I paid for it outrightly with the money from selling my old Ford KA in England and I don't really want to give it up!

I thought about my options. Option 1- I could use the Mustang to jump start the Odyssey. I thought about it, I considered looking up a how to video on YouTube. But then I decided today wasn't the day to try for the first time, alone. I would probably shock myself.

So I opted for Plan B- Uninstall the car seats and climb into the back of the Mustang to install them (as it only has 2 doors!) I could only loosen one of the carseats from the Odyssey, so I went back inside and got Os old clip in bucket seat. Today M got to ride in her brothers seat (both kids were in seats that are age/weight appropriate for them).

15 minutes later both seats had a good install, I put the kids in the car (clipping them in was a small challenge) and we were on our way! I felt proud that I didn't give up and stay home, I was resourceful and strong. However my hair was wrecked so I threw it up into a ponytail. No beating me today!!!

It also reminded me of when my husband was deployed last year. There were a series of challenging situations that tested my strength and I am proud to say I survived all the things the little deployment gnome threw at me. Today was a small test to keep me on my toes and remind me of how kickass I can be!!

I hope you all have a great day and find the rainbows in every storm. Here are my little monsters enjoying their adventure in my Mustang!!!

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