Are you freaking kidding me? How much?

I have a ghost in my van. That's what the serviceman told me. My AC went out in the van last week. Not that big of a deal, except that I live in the South and I have 3 small children. Oh and I don't like the sound of 3 children crying because they are hot, that is just me though I'm sure.

Well I was at Sam's Club last week and saw one of those great deals you can't pass on, because if you do when you come back the next day they have already sold out. It was an Eddie Bauer 3-1 convertible car seat. Cole already has one and we have been real pleased with it. Sean, my chunky monkey, has already outgrown the travel carrier. They are 6 months today and he is about 21 lbs maybe 22 lbs. He is wearing 12-18 month clothing! Sweet little Katie is only about 14 lbs and feels like a bird compared to her brother. So these Eddie Bauer car seats were $90! I bought Cole's seat at $180, so I went ahead and bought 2. They only had 4 left, I had to. I don't think men understand the bargain part of shopping. It is like a gambling addiction and you just hit a big pot in Vegas. If it's 50% off, you have to buy it. You have to, otherwise you'll kick yourself over it for years. Trust me!

Okay so what was I talking about? Oh Sam's club and car seats. I had went there for formula, wipes and diapers for 3 children, enough to last for 2 weeks! My goal is to only go to Sam's twice a month when Alex gets paid. So between the 3 children already in car seats, the double stroller, 5 super-sized cans of formula, and the mega-sized wipes and boxes upon boxes of diapers, I almost couldn't get it all in the van. I was working up a real sweat in the 100 degree weather, it took me 15 minutes of loading, taking it out and reloading (think Tetris) to get it all in and have the children safe. So I had the van running this whole time to keep my sweet babies cool, and right as I get in the van and feel the cool air in my face, it suddenly turns HOT! It was so hot, it was cooler to roll the windows down type of hot. UGH!

So I drive back across town straight home, no more errands. Not that I had any room left in the van anyway. The kids are all crying because if it is so hot. Gotta love the South! So I call Toyota and immediately schedule it to get fixed the next day. I bring it in at 9 am, and sit there for 3 hours with all 3 kids (not fun by the way). He tells me good news/bad news. Bad news they can't figure out why it's not working. It wasn't working when I brought it to them and as soon as they hooked it up for the diagnostic, it started working. Good news was they aren't going to charge me. If it goes out again, they will have to keep it all day and maybe overnight. Crap!

So I am driving it around with no issues, and after a week, it goes out again. This time I drove it for 2 days to make sure it was really out. I brought the van back in this morning and they were able to find the problem within an hour. The compressor is bad. $2600! Yes twenty-six hundred dollars! (One dollar and NINE CENTS! Sorry but I often hear movie quotes in my head) Oh and it won't be fixed until Tuesday at the earliest! Luckily, they gave me a rental for free. Alex's truck is a two seater and the van is the only way to haul the whole family. I think the twins were just so sweet and cute, he didn't want me driving around all weekend without AC. You know when I was young and cute, I could get by on my looks. Now that I am old and fat, I can get by on their looks. Haye at least I am getting by!