Caddyput. A Short Love Affair with a Long Car.

I really just wanted a motorcycle. Andrea felt obligated to do her part as a wife and block any attempts at obtaining such a device.

My job in Kentucky came replete with an old beater mini-van company car. Leaving the job meant the joy of no longer having to endure hours of commuting in a radioless reeking box that smelled of a decade of spilled milk by my former bosses snotty kids followed by several years of hauling strange smelling medical supplies. I rejoiced at no longer having to drive that machine and figured that now would be the perfect time to rationalize a new motorcycle to my very wise, beautiful, and sort of practical wife. I related to her that until the house sells we should probably stick to inexpensive options and not try to purchase another CAR until our house sells. We should however, implement a economical strategy for me to get to work, and presented my motorcycle plan. Once the small cost of buying the bike is behind you, the savings on insurance and gas would be a financial windfall! Right!?

She bought my plan hook, line and ... stinker, she did not buy the sinker. She latched very tightly onto the "save money and don't buy another car" plan but she staunchly, as any wife would, balked at the buy a motorcycle part. Rats! She did not have a better plan at that time but she was determined not to buy another car, or motorcycle for that matter.

In a quickly converging universe there sat a baby blue Cadillac Sedan Deville in an aunts driveway that was left over from Andrea's grandfathers estate. The car had failed to sell in a KSL classified ad for 1000 dollars. While Bennett and I were driving the moving truck across the country I spent many a good hour daydreaming about the freedom of the open road on a nice little bike that did not require the GDP of a small country to fill its tank like the behemoth we were driving. Meanwhile, Andrea related the hook and line part of my plan to her parents. I'm sure she never mentioned the motorcycle part because my father-in-law, who is a very sensible man, also understands a man's need for a motorcycle having pushed his own marriage to the brink several times purchasing a long string of Harley-Davidson bikes over the years. Not knowing that he would deny a fellow biker a sweet opportunity to tuck a new bike into his quiver, my father-in-law offered The Caddy.

Andrea was thrilled like she was let loose in a calorie free candy store!!! She called me to tell me the great news!!! She could not figure out why I took this burst of sunshine onto our otherwise dismal financial picture like a stingray barb to the heart. It was pretty clear that my beloved bike that I had in my daydreams ridden across thousands of scenic desert mountain ranges with the sage scented wind blowing through my hair, was dead prior to arrival.

I have to admit that from the beginning I was more than a little skeptical. Not only was this an American car from the early '90s but it had every possible automatic device and convenience. In my experience if you had to drive an older car that might need some field repair it was much better to have fewer moving parts. With pliers and a little baling wire and a few scrounged parts from a demolition derby car or two I kept my '87 Sentra going places it never should have gone for nearly 300,000 miles. I had a sinking feeling and reluctantly agreed to fly to Utah to drive my boat of a surrogate motorcycle back home to Carson City. While Andrea was in Utah I joked all week with my co-workers about getting a teal blue suit with a big plastic orange daisy boutonniere, some gold sequined boots with a goldfish in one heel, tinting the windows real dark, and setting me up a bizniz down on south Roop street. Would a cane and cubic zirconia glued to an incisor be too much??

When I saw her for the first time my concerns were pretty much confirmed. The otherwise light blue car was covered with a thick green film of tree pollen with more than a few white and black bird poop highlights. ugggghhhh. This was not the shiny black and chrome ride I had longed for. It is about a million feet long and looked extremely cumbersome to drive. I was so over driving a big ugly box after all that time in Kentucky. The only bright spot was the fact that it came with some pretty cool looking golden keys. Wow, now that IS pimpin'.

Before we left The City of the Saints I stopped at a carwash and after about a billion dollars in quarters I must admit that the baby blue did look pretty good in the morning light. And the ride...not to bad either...if not for the screaming kids all the way across the desert the car would have been much quieter than my Honda Civic. Man could the AC keep that joint cool across the salt flats to Wendover! By the time we hit Battle Mountain I think I started to appreciate the plush blue leather seats. After I had Andrea read me the owners manual that was as thick as a Tolstoy novel I started to understand the obscure and mystical buttons and dials. By the time we hit Winneyucka I have to admit I was starting to get a little weak in the knees. Did we just luck into a dream road trip machine? I used to say in Kentucky that lake living is wasted on the elderly as all our geriatric neighbors thought we daft for actually getting into the lake. Were Cadillacs and other boats that usually seemed reserved for later in life the key to a better roadie? I was starting to get used to this thing! She handled like a dream on the one curve between the Utah line and Fallon. I grinned and gunned that big purring V8 up the Truckee river canyon to Reno. Somewhere in the Washoe Valley I started forming big plans to use that voluminous trunk to pack in all sorts of camping gear for a Sierra east side ramble.

One short week later...

We were loving our scenic drive to our camp spot that Friday night and reveled in the scenery where desert turns to alpine forests through a volcanic twist. We flew past laboring SUVs with the cruise control set and managed the corners like on rails as The Caddy effortlessly flowed up the last steep twisty canyon road to our campground. "Man this car is AWESOME!!, " I'm sure I giggled to Andrea several times while grinning like an idiot. Just as I backed her into our site the "SERVICE ENGINE SOON" light popped up its ugly orange head.

I did not waste too much time dwelling on the warning light and quickly set up the tent get a few hours sleep before hitting the trail at 3:00 AM for a nice little hike I had planned. I'll just let the pictures of South Bishop Creek serve as a little intermission...





After getting back to the campsite high in the South Fork of Bishop Creek around noon the next day, we loaded up our camp and headed out for a picnic and a little more kid friendly hiking. After a few miles up canyon the dash board array lit up like a Philly 4th of July. "COOLANT TEMP!" "STOP! ENGINE OVER HEATING" and a few less threatening messages started popping like paparazzi. Holy Moley! Where did this all come from! This is exactly what I expected a week ago but now I was crushed. Like a crying kid holding an empty cone while my rocky road melts on the sidewalk I popped the hood...like that was going to help...I was way out of my league on this thing. Wires and belts and pulleys went everywhere. It would take a real man to tinker with this baby.

But you all know that to save some macho face I checked a few liquids levels, banged on a few electric motors with a handy granite rock and tried not to look like I was way up a creek. South Bishop Creek to be exact. After an hour with Tolstoy's car ownership manual and plenty of time to cool the engine down we got back into The Caddy and coasted the 15 miles back into town in neutral and the heaters set on full blast. Things were just starting to look up as no lights came on all the way back to town. Smugly thinking ourselves pretty smart we limped into the only mechanic shop open in town with an hour to spare.


Four greasy guys poked around under the hood pontificating on all the causes and just how expensive they might be. I was impressed how sensitive and noble these mechanics were as they began to suggest possible charities we could consider donating The Caddy to... They stalled with their clock running right up until quitting time when they all ran off to the closest bar. I'm certain that there was more than one joke told about the young family in the granny car.

Now it's after 5 PM in the middle of nowhere on a weekend. The guys at the shop did say they could fix it, "should be able to getter done in bout a month or so..." The car rental place in town was not going to open up until Monday, there was no bus out of town, it was too far to call for family to come get us. We were busted! Triple A came through and sent a tow truck with an extended cab from two hours south of Bishop to haul us all home.

After 3 hours of languishing in the Chevron parking lot our tow truck arrived.

As the car was loaded we got settled into the crew cab and I was really hoping that I could nap as the 3:00 AM start and the stress of the last few hours started a crushing headache. Of course it was not to be.

"My name is John and I'll be your driver tonight..." This is were he started but certainly did not finish. Our driver was friendly enough but obviously starved for conversation. He was also a little short on eyesight. He used the rumble strips both on the edge of the road and in the median much like a poor bowler uses bumpers. He might have been blind as he seemed to use the auditory cues from the rumble strips more than actually watching the road. He insisted on maintaining eye contact with his captive audience rather than focus on keeping his truck, my family, and The Caddy out of Mono lake. I was never able to doze for more than 30 seconds before he jolted me from much needed sleep with that whamp!, whamp!, whamp! of the rumble strips that meant John needed to give me a few more hours of his insight onto just what might be the problem with that stupid car that was costing a huge portion of my motorcycle earmarked cash just to tow home.

Instead of zipping to work on a shining new pair of motorized wheels I pulled out my 'ole bike and slowly rode to work this morning. On the way home I stopped by the Cadillac dealer and asked the sales sharks where the service door was. They had a good laugh at the sweaty dude in a button down and slacks by telling me, "We don't fix bikes man!" I'm kinda thankful they had no clue what the damage would be yet. I'm still waiting for that call. At least I can dream one more night about my black streak of freedom before any cash that might have been left for it gets sucked into a long blue hole. A hole with a big motor and plush leather seats.

I really just wanted a motorcycle...

On The Road

Packing up and leaving our house was hard. And sad. HUGE thanks to Chuck, Mindy, Tyler, and Emily for helping us pack. We never could have done it without you guys!!!

Our family had to split up for the move. Driving across the country with a 5-week old baby is such a bad idea. So I flew to my parents house in Utah with Leah and Bryce while Keith (trucker name: Wingnut) and Bennett (Road Tripper), forever known as "trucker buddies", drove the moving truck. We were reunited 5 days later in Carson City.

Images from the road:

Our Life

As was noted by Stephanie in my last post, I definitely need more pictures. Well, the fact is, I can't find our camera since unpacking. :(

But I was lucky enough to have my sister come visit me after the baby was born. She so perfectly captured our life in Kentucky during our final days there.

Check it out....here.

The Pig Roast

Before we left Kentucky, we decided we needed to throw ourselves a going away party. The thing is, we had so many amazing friends and neighbors that we grew to love in our short 2 years that we wanted to find a way to say goodbye without all the awkward goodbye stuff.

Enter the pig.

One night Keith decided we needed to roast a pig. He got online and found recipes and instructions and even watched videos of people fixing their hogs (further proof that you can find anything online).

It took some creativity and a few phone calls but I found a place that would sell me a gutted, headless, amish pig. Perfect.

Keith picked up the pig on Friday night, on his way home from his LAST DAY OF WORK! That was an exciting day: No job and a pig in the fridge. Yesssss.

We had one of our neighbors drive his little bobcat over to dig a hole for roasting. Then, we raided our wood pile and prepared for a bonfire like none other. To kick things off, we started with this:

Keith's effigy. This comes from a tradition we learned when we were in Ecuador over New Years in 1999. Ecuadorians celebrate the new year by burning effigies in an attempt to rid themselves of their "old" selves and all their bad habits and start the year anew. Keith got some of his work clothes and made his likeness which he used to kick off the bonfire. Good bye Kentucky Dr. Card!!!

Keith kept the fire going all night long. He was waking up every couple of hours to throw new logs on the fire. We needed a lot of good coals to cook the pig.

On Saturday morning, we were up early seasoning and wrapping the pig in foil. Then we put it on the coals and buried it with dirt. That pig was roasting!!

Then we started moving. We picked up the moving truck and spent the rest of the day loading it. Funny to be moving and hosting a party on the same day....

People started arriving at around 5. We pulled the pig out of the ground and feasted on our pork and all kinds of lovely summer salads and desserts. What a blast! We had over 40 people at our house. When we were all so full we could hardly stand it, we jumped in the lake. When it got too dark to swim, we lit fireworks. When we ran out of fireworks, we laughed and talked some more. It was after 11 pm when the last of our friends left. What a night! We have such fantastic memories of that party and what great friends we had to share with. We miss our Kentucky friends!!!

Nose picking. Why???

I'm feeling like it's time to catch up with the old blogeddy blog since this is the only place I record the happenings in our life. It's been a busy summer with (super freaking cute) baby and settling into our groove in Carson City. So, I'm committing to a post every day this week to try to recap what we've been up to.

To kick it off, here's the quote of the day from Bennett:

Bennett: Mom, do you want to know why I pick my nose and scratch my bum?
Me: Yes. I would really like to know that.
Bennett: Because they ITCH!!! But....sometimes I do get boogers.

The latest

By request, here's a quick update. Hopefully I can fill in more details later:

We have moved. We've been in our new (rented) house for 2 weeks now. Moving is such a huge job. I could use another 2 weeks to recover.

We LOVE Carson City. It already feels like home to us. We've bought a year pass to the Nevada State Parks and have almost used it enough times to have it pay for itself. Lake Tahoe beckons us frequently. We are becoming fast friends. :)

Our house in Kentucky is still for sale. Any takers? Please?

Baby Bryce is stinking CUTE and is eight weeks old today. He started smiling last week. {heart melts}

Keith "starts work" on Monday. He's been to the office almost every day since we got here anyway for little training sessions or meeting different people. But he's seeing patients for the first time on Monday so I guess that will finally put him on the payroll? Either way, we are excited (and Keith might admit to a few nerves) about this new gig. They really seem to have their act together and have been cool so far. But as we learned the hard way last time, you can't really know until you roll up your sleeves and get to work. Hopefully it's all as good as it seems!

And as I write this, Keith is in charge of a medical aid station for the Tahoe 100 Endurance Run. He's hanging out at the lodge of a ski resort by the lake and is fixing blisters and taping feet for all the 50 and 100 mile runners tonight, hoping he doesn't have to use the defibrillators they gave him. Because really, do those things work better on the big toe or the heel? Let's hope he doesn't have to find out... :)

Hello....is this thing on?

So, wow. It's been quite a while since I've said anything here. We've had so much happen in the past 2 months that I don't even know where to begin. I guess I'll take the easy way out and have my sister say some of it for me...here.

I was lucky enough to have her come visit us in Kentucky when Bryce was only one week old. She took some amazing newborn photos and we had such a blast. And the great thing is, since those pics were taken, I moved a whole lot closer to her and we've already been able to hang out again. Lucky me!!!

{{Love ya sista.}}

One week

I can't believe it's been a week already. I'm not sure if I slept most of the week away or if I've been in a sleepless daze. Either way, it's so fun having a newborn! I hate that this stage ends so fast.

So before I forget any details, I'm writing out the birth story. Hope it doesn't gross anyone out.

I went to my weekly doctor appointment on Friday morning at 8:30. (I've already said how tedious I think those weekly checkups are...) I was having a few cramps but, really, one day before my due date, everything feels cramped. Otherwise, I felt fine. I was fully expecting (grudgingly) to be pregnant for a few more days. I'm skipping a few details here...but basically during my appointment, I discovered that my water was broken. It wasn't much to speak of, but it was definitely broken. It could have been that way for days and I had no idea. Hey, he was a big baby. He made a pretty good drain stopper. :)

So anyway, my doctor wanted me at the hospital right away. I protested but she convinced me that it was a bad idea to hang around without any antibiotics, especially since we didn't know how long I had already been that way. I at least needed to go get an IV for awhile. And she meant, I needed to go straight to the hospital. Not stop at home and grab a bag or kiss my kids one more time or wait for Keith to get home so he could drive me there. She meant GO NOW.

I was pretty bugged. But Keith convinced me that I didn't want to get the doctor annoyed with me before any of the hard stuff began. I was really really planning on a totally natural birth this time so it's true, I needed some cooperation with the doc. I had bought a hypnobabies kit and had been studying up on all the techniques and listening to the preparation CD's and getting all psyched up about it. (So what if that makes me a hippie?) I had an epidural with Bennett and had the WORST recovery, which I attribute to the 4 hours of pushing and zero sensation in my body to have any idea what I was doing. With Leah, I started out with meds but they wore off as I hit transition so I did the last part on my own and my recovery was cake compared to the first time. And I really didn't think I could possibly grow a baby bigger than 9 lb 12 oz Leah so I figured it could only get easier.

Anyway, I got to the hospital and they put me on the IV antibiotic. I kinda thought that I would get a bag of IV fluid and then maybe I could go walk around for a couple hours to get things going on my own. I didn't realize how long it was going to take to get the full course of meds. Sheesh. And so I started on the slippery slope away from my natural birth. I finally agreed to let them put me on pitocin at 1:00 pm. I was barely dialated--only a one. But since my water had been broken for who knows how long, I couldn't hang out forever. They were anxious to get the baby out!

Here's where the day gets really boring. I was on pitocin for the rest of the day and into the night. Contractions every 2 minutes. The nurses thought I had a really high pain tolerance because the pitocin was cranked up as high as they dared to go. It wasn't exactly comfortable but I was so in my zone and still determined to avoid an epidural. I thought I was doing AWESOME. They didn't check my progress all that often because of the risk for infection but they finally did again just before midnight. I was maybe, barely, not quite 3 centimeters. Nooooooooo.........!! They thought maybe I could use a break since I'd been working through the contractions all day long without significant progress. So they put a little something in my IV to take the edge off so I could relax for an hour and see if that made a difference. Whew! I relaxed all right. In fact, my contractions stopped altogether. Keith told them that I reliably turn into a pumpkin at midnight and that's probably just my normal body reaction to the clock. Sure enough, the nurse checked the monitor and my contractions went dead at 12:10.

That's when the doctor decided it was time for some change. Without getting into any details, the doctor did a very VERY painful exam to push things along. Oh. my. goodness. When she was done, she said, "ok, you are 5 centimeters now". Oh the agony!!! Immediately I was in very active labor. The baby realized it was getting evicted. And since it was now 2 am, I was TOAST. There was no way on earth I was going to be able to keep up with this labor through the night. I totally don't function without sleep and I realized that there was no way I was going to be able to make it on my own at that point. Maybe if I hadn't already been on pitocin for 12 stupid hours...

So I cried uncle. The anesthesiologist was there in record time (considering that he was at home in bed) and the epidural became my friend. Finally at 2:30 am, I could relax. I was able to sleep for a while which made all the difference in the world. They checked me again sometime in the middle of the night and I wasn't quite a 7. So good that I was progressing, but still, so slow!!! Finally I was wide awake at 6:25 and feeling so uncomfortable. My legs were like tree trunks (such a gross feeling of helplessness) but I felt like I needed to shift around. I had kept myself upright all night long in hopes that gravity would do it's thing and help the baby descend. So after basically being in a sitting position for hours, I just felt like I needed to get some circulation going. Keith was dead asleep on the couch and my nurse told me she was coming back at 6:30 to check on me at the end of her shift. Those 5 minutes of waiting for her to come in were awful. When she came in I made Keith and the nurse roll me around a bit (did I mention that I hate that helpless feeling?) but I still felt so uncomfortable. My nurse didn't want to check me at first because she knew the nurse coming in for the next shift would want to take all those stats again in only a few minutes. But as I started talking about no relief from the pressure, she changed her mind.

Whoa! I was complete and the baby was LOW. And my doctor was sound asleep in the call room (she was so sweet--not even her weekend on call but offered to come in for my delivery. I think she thought I would go really fast since it was my third baby...she probably regretted being so nice once the sun went down). The next few minutes sound so much like the last few minutes of Leah's birth since it all happened so fast. People came rushing in and getting everything ready to go. Over the next couple of minutes, I swear I had a freight train bearing down. The pressure was crazy. I was breathing through each contraction because I could really feel it. It was a weird feeling to have feeling, but at the same time no feeling. (Darn epidural...)

At 7 am I started pushing. At 7:04, I had a baby! I loved hearing "It's a BOY!" I had the entire hospital floor on edge since they say they almost NEVER have "surprises".

I just love that crazy rush of emotion that happens when the wiggling newborn is put in my arms for the first time. Words are totally inadequate.

We love little Bryce so much. He's a great sleeper and he's so loved by Bennett and Leah. I do fear that Leah might smother him with kisses. She is constantly loving on him. She is going to be a great big sister. And Bennett loves having a brother!

First smile?


Is there anything sweeter?


How does that look for comfy? Believe it or not, I heard a lot of snoring come from that couch throughout the night. Add the sleeping baby though, and you could call it bliss.


Big brother and big sister loving on Bryce.

The baby is here!

IT'S A BOY!!!!!

And, he wasn't late. Born yesterday morning, right on his due date. Never mind the fact that it took the entire previous day in the hospital to actually make that happen, but, hey at least he wasn't late!!! We are so glad he's here.

Here's a sneak peak...more photos and details to come. We are so in LOVE!

Bryce Eldon Card
9 lbs 3 oz

Dear Baby

Dear Baby,

I can't wait to kiss your chubby little cheeks and rock you to sleep all swaddled up tight like a baby burrito. I can't wait to find out if we need to open the pink box or the blue box (although, Grandma Card arrived this week and all she brought with her was pink!). I can't wait to see the looks on the faces of your big brother and sister as they meet you for the first time. And you won't believe what a softy your daddy is with a sweet new baby. Get ready to be spoiled!

But here's the thing: you are making me miserable. Holy smokes baby, come out! I am so big and uncomfortable. I just want to be able to bend over or tie my shoes or roll over in bed at night without needing help. I can promise you that you will be so loved and spoiled. Please, just come out. I realize that you are not actually "due" for two more days. But come on, if you are already 9 pounds, you don't need the old womb anymore. You will be able to take down any baby in the hospital nursery, guaranteed. Just come out!

Let's make a deal: you come out nice and easy and I'll totally give you mashed fruit BEFORE the peas and carrots. And, I'll even get you the baby cereal with fruit in it instead of the nasty plain stuff. Plus, milk is sooooooo good. You're gonna love it!! Come on out and see for yourself!!!

Please. Just. Please. (sigh)

Love and kisses,
Mommy

Dear Baby

Dear Baby,

If you are going to be big, please be a boy. I don't want my kid sisters to be bigger than me. That would be trouble.

Thanks,
Bennett
(our itty bitty 7-pounder)

P.S. Come out!

Dear Baby

Dear Baby,

Num out, nite now!

Kisses,
Leah


(Almost not the baby anymore!)

Baby

Not that we have one, mind you. Just the anticipation of one very soon.

Why are the last few days so stinkin hard? Why do all my babies insist on waiting until their due dates have passed before making their appearance? Why, for once, can't I have one just a couple days early??? And, why oh why are they getting so big??????????

I have 5 days until my due date. FIVE days. Five torturous days. The clock is on a serious countdown. It's worse than watching paint dry (which, incidentally, I have done a lot of lately).

I went to the doctor today and they did another thorough ultrasound to measure the baby just to see how scared I have to be for impending labor. Measurements are putting it at 9 pounds today. The ultrasound tech is guessing a margin of error will put it at 9 lbs 8 oz at birth.

I hurt already.

I did get some fun teaser pics though. This little stinker is gonna be CUTE!!!

Seriously, look at those cheeks already!!

Too much going on

Can life just slow down a bit? Or can I just have a few less major things happening at the same time? Sheesh.

I don't even know where to start....

We finally got our house up for sale. It's been a ridiculous ride over the last few weeks, since knowing that we were moving but having the house in shambles. We have been remodeling fools during the past month. We replaced all the moldings in the entire house, every wall in every room has been repainted (love you mom and dad for helping me so much!!!), new carpet, refinishing hardwood floors, laying tile, planting flowers, buying furniture, hanging pictures. For crying out loud, we finally moved in! Just in time to move out.

Of course, add to that the fact that I'm super pregnant. That has especially made all this work really, really fun. And, oh yeah, a few nights ago I broke my tooth (!!!) and have to get a freaking crown! Major dental work is especially awesome when you are 38 weeks pregnant.

So, we listed the house last week...I'm due to have a baby next week...we move at the end of next month...who knows if our house will be sold by then...no idea where we are going to live since there's a good chance we'll still be paying our mortgage....new job for Keith...new city....new baby...

My head hurts just thinking about it. And wow, I'm a complainer!

We will miss this house though. There's no way we'll live in such a cool place again. I mean, Lake Tahoe will no doubt be cool. But we'll never own a lake house again, that's for sure.

Anyone want to buy it?

Paaaartay!!!

Happy Birthday Keith! I love this guy....


Today probably won't rank as his best birthday ever (considering all the house fixing-selling-moving stress). So, here's Keith in happier times ('08), hanging out on the moon...uh, I mean Iceland.

Here's to many more adventures!!! Happy Birthday!!