8 years since we came home from the hospital from having Joey and Sonia.
In those 8 years they've made each other laugh and made each other cry.
They hear " you don't look like twins" nearly every time they share they're twins
They have their own personalities and strengths
They know how to irritate each other
They know how to make the other one feel better
And life wouldn't be the same without them.
Happy birthday Sonia
Happy birthday Joey
We love you
Of course I love you if I tried to make you a cake with fondant icing. Which you guys thought was fun. I thought it was a nightmare.
We love you enough to take you to lego land during school vacation week (should have re-thought that one)
And I love you enough to keep this brief until you go back to school :-)
Friday, April 22, 2011
Saturday, April 16, 2011
You might be a redneck
When you're driving down the highway and your trailer falls apart on the freeway, cartwheeling several times before coming to a rest.
And you might be a redneck when you go get another trailer to go get the remains of the destroyed trailer.
Just sayin'
Not that we're down a trailer right now or anything.
Or that someone was upset that an axle broke and became unusuable.
Nope.
At least I wasn't there.
And you'd be surprised how many rednecks that exist in the world who come to get the remains of the trailer when listed for free on craigslist. I wish I'd taken a picture of broken trailer coming home on the back of rented trailer and then in pieces in the driveway. But I went to soccer and by the time I got back one of the dozen or so people interested in it had come to get it.
No one was hurt in any events depicted on this blog.
And you might be a redneck when you go get another trailer to go get the remains of the destroyed trailer.
Just sayin'
Not that we're down a trailer right now or anything.
Or that someone was upset that an axle broke and became unusuable.
Nope.
At least I wasn't there.
And you'd be surprised how many rednecks that exist in the world who come to get the remains of the trailer when listed for free on craigslist. I wish I'd taken a picture of broken trailer coming home on the back of rented trailer and then in pieces in the driveway. But I went to soccer and by the time I got back one of the dozen or so people interested in it had come to get it.
No one was hurt in any events depicted on this blog.
Friday, April 15, 2011
The diy water park
Because it's unseasonably warm here right now and after looking at what happens to our electric bill when we use the AC during the day...
I picked up the kids all hot sweaty and sugared up from school (because the last day before spring vacation was all about parties and sugar. Despite the school's ban on sugar, there was jelly beans and jolly ranchers being graphed then eaten in Kayla's room and Joey's class had a school store where they hunted for easter eggs, then took the money from inside the eggs to buy stuff at the class store which included... candy. Although Joey's teacher said they couldn't eat it til they got home, and Kayla's teacher did offer to pack their jelly beans for them to take home, however few bean were packed.
Anyway.. we're home in a vacation sort of mood. And we're hot.
So.. this is what I came up with
Easier to tell from the video below.. but this is the poor man's water park. Put up swingset (ok.. so not poor man, since that in itself was an investment we couldn't afford in our med school days) turn on yard sprinklers.
Oh. One More thing.
You notice the lack of something?
Hint: It's the 15th. Of April
Right. Blogging about sweating about getting my books in order and filing my taxes. They were done months ago.
Granted I only clicked "file" last week, but they were done. Serious Progress, in most aspects.
I missed the "we'll double check your return free" deadline with H+R block by a day, but it got them done, so that in itself qualifies for something.
Patting myself on the back.
I picked up the kids all hot sweaty and sugared up from school (because the last day before spring vacation was all about parties and sugar. Despite the school's ban on sugar, there was jelly beans and jolly ranchers being graphed then eaten in Kayla's room and Joey's class had a school store where they hunted for easter eggs, then took the money from inside the eggs to buy stuff at the class store which included... candy. Although Joey's teacher said they couldn't eat it til they got home, and Kayla's teacher did offer to pack their jelly beans for them to take home, however few bean were packed.
Anyway.. we're home in a vacation sort of mood. And we're hot.
So.. this is what I came up with
Oh. One More thing.
You notice the lack of something?
Hint: It's the 15th. Of April
Right. Blogging about sweating about getting my books in order and filing my taxes. They were done months ago.
Granted I only clicked "file" last week, but they were done. Serious Progress, in most aspects.
I missed the "we'll double check your return free" deadline with H+R block by a day, but it got them done, so that in itself qualifies for something.
Patting myself on the back.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Growing pineapples
Because I know you're dying to know, right?
It's actually not that difficult. Even for my brown thumbs.
So this is how it goes
Buy a pineapple. With the top attatched. Generally that's how they come here, however in some countries, this isn't the case.
Once you've cut the top off and used the fruit you'll have something that looks like this
Cut off the remaining fruit and start pulling off the leaves. Pull them downward to get them off easiest
Once you've removed the lower leaves, it'll look like this
You may notice little white things that look like roots (they'll look like worms, don't panic) or, in this case, little brown nobby appearing things. These will become your roots.
Stick in a jar of water.I often add a tsp of sugar to the water. I don't know why. I probably read somewhere to do that. Leave in a windowsill until roots start growing. Change the water if it gets gross. I've been told you can go straight from above to dirt. I haven't tried it. I should. I'll let you know if I do.
Once it gets growing move to a pot with soil. They need to have the soil constantly moist. Ours lives in the kitchen window so it gets any water left over from glasses.
The one below here is about 8 months old. The pineapple will grow from the top. Then cut it and repeat. It takes about 18 months for you to get fruit from a plant.
Below are my dozens upon dozens of alstromaria. The reddish ones are occupying the vase my pinapple tops generally occupy. Larry was given them by the guy we found who makes bio diesel. They're pretty. And they smell nice. He grows flowers, too. Professionally. But since they are in my vases, my Pineapple top is in a jar left over from something. Oh, and did I mention we're thrilled to have found Biodiesel? Our truck will have a net zero carbon footprint. Ha! Better than a prius. I can drive a monster size truck AND not kill the environment. If you believe that humans actually are capable of changing climate and that the world isn't ending sometime soon. Like 2011. or 2012.
It's actually not that difficult. Even for my brown thumbs.
So this is how it goes
Buy a pineapple. With the top attatched. Generally that's how they come here, however in some countries, this isn't the case.
Once you've cut the top off and used the fruit you'll have something that looks like this
Cut off the remaining fruit and start pulling off the leaves. Pull them downward to get them off easiest
Once you've removed the lower leaves, it'll look like this
The one below here is about 8 months old. The pineapple will grow from the top. Then cut it and repeat. It takes about 18 months for you to get fruit from a plant.
Below are my dozens upon dozens of alstromaria. The reddish ones are occupying the vase my pinapple tops generally occupy. Larry was given them by the guy we found who makes bio diesel. They're pretty. And they smell nice. He grows flowers, too. Professionally. But since they are in my vases, my Pineapple top is in a jar left over from something. Oh, and did I mention we're thrilled to have found Biodiesel? Our truck will have a net zero carbon footprint. Ha! Better than a prius. I can drive a monster size truck AND not kill the environment. If you believe that humans actually are capable of changing climate and that the world isn't ending sometime soon. Like 2011. or 2012.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
So in an effort to actually blog more often
I am sitting here staring at the computer screen with little going on in my head. Which, frankly, surprises me since generally there are at least 6 voices in there competing with the 4 around me.
No. Don't call the psych hospital on me. I've been checked. They're ok. With my double vision, it's a regular party in my brain.
The little things that have been going on.. well.. not so little.. Soccer.
Soccer is the big monster that sucks up all things resembling free time. And who ever came up with the term "Soccer Mom"- was that you Pres Clinton? - thank you for that, so now when the word "soccer" comes out of my mouth I hear "oh, you're a soccer mom?"
Uh.. yeah. Whatever that means. Go ahead. Put me in a category. I rarely fit in any category. I'm a statistical anomaly.
But Soccer means that 3 days a week I sit at the side of the soccer field. This is actually a vast improvement from the 4-5 days a week we had this fall. I was actually really hoping they'd all be on the same team, Since it's the 6 and 7 year olds on the same team and Sonia/Joey are still 7 and Kayla's 6... but.. apparently people aren't supposed to have 3 kids in the age bracket consisting of 2 years, so they won't let you have more than 2 kids on a team. Guess if you decide not to show up, it might force them to forfeit?
Of course because they're the same age league, they played each other. So I'm was irritating Joey and Kayla's team fathers by cheering for Sonia. It wasn't like there was much competition. I was just cheering if she was paying attention to where the ball was and possibly even getting close enough to kick it. We're setting realistic goals here.
But really.. Sonia's team.. words don't describe.
Actually I think the best way to describe it is that at the end of last season, the coaches made a recommendation for the worst/weakest team player from their team. And then all of those kids were put on the same team.
It's really pathetic. We're 2/3 of the way through the season and I don't think they've scored a goal once.
No, I take that back. In game #2, they kicked it into and scored on their own goal for the other team.
Yeah. They're that bad.
We cheer if the loose by less than 8 goals. I guess youth sports made a rule that after 5 goals, they stop counting, so the most you're technically loosing by is 5. The kids, on the other hand realize that they lost by more than 5 - they can count. It's just the referees that can't count.
So.. since tonight's a soccer night which we'll leave early to try to make it to Awana in under 30 minutes while feeding them sandwiches and carrot sticks in the van... I need to get packing. I have 20 minutes to have kids, dinner, water bottles, cleats, shoes, jackets, Awana books and vests, homework and snack for after Awana when they accuse me of not feeding them dinner because they're starved.
So.. off to pack the van with enough stuff that when we get out tonight it will look like a cyclone went through it. And it will likely smell like week old gym shorts... yummm.. nothing like inhaling smelly cleat odor while trying to inhale your dinner sandwich.
No. Don't call the psych hospital on me. I've been checked. They're ok. With my double vision, it's a regular party in my brain.
The little things that have been going on.. well.. not so little.. Soccer.
Soccer is the big monster that sucks up all things resembling free time. And who ever came up with the term "Soccer Mom"- was that you Pres Clinton? - thank you for that, so now when the word "soccer" comes out of my mouth I hear "oh, you're a soccer mom?"
Uh.. yeah. Whatever that means. Go ahead. Put me in a category. I rarely fit in any category. I'm a statistical anomaly.
But Soccer means that 3 days a week I sit at the side of the soccer field. This is actually a vast improvement from the 4-5 days a week we had this fall. I was actually really hoping they'd all be on the same team, Since it's the 6 and 7 year olds on the same team and Sonia/Joey are still 7 and Kayla's 6... but.. apparently people aren't supposed to have 3 kids in the age bracket consisting of 2 years, so they won't let you have more than 2 kids on a team. Guess if you decide not to show up, it might force them to forfeit?
Of course because they're the same age league, they played each other. So I'm was irritating Joey and Kayla's team fathers by cheering for Sonia. It wasn't like there was much competition. I was just cheering if she was paying attention to where the ball was and possibly even getting close enough to kick it. We're setting realistic goals here.
But really.. Sonia's team.. words don't describe.
Actually I think the best way to describe it is that at the end of last season, the coaches made a recommendation for the worst/weakest team player from their team. And then all of those kids were put on the same team.
It's really pathetic. We're 2/3 of the way through the season and I don't think they've scored a goal once.
No, I take that back. In game #2, they kicked it into and scored on their own goal for the other team.
Yeah. They're that bad.
We cheer if the loose by less than 8 goals. I guess youth sports made a rule that after 5 goals, they stop counting, so the most you're technically loosing by is 5. The kids, on the other hand realize that they lost by more than 5 - they can count. It's just the referees that can't count.
So.. since tonight's a soccer night which we'll leave early to try to make it to Awana in under 30 minutes while feeding them sandwiches and carrot sticks in the van... I need to get packing. I have 20 minutes to have kids, dinner, water bottles, cleats, shoes, jackets, Awana books and vests, homework and snack for after Awana when they accuse me of not feeding them dinner because they're starved.
So.. off to pack the van with enough stuff that when we get out tonight it will look like a cyclone went through it. And it will likely smell like week old gym shorts... yummm.. nothing like inhaling smelly cleat odor while trying to inhale your dinner sandwich.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
So it turns out when you have a birthday party to plan on Easter week
It would have helped to have planned ahead of time.
Because as I was thinking "I have plenty of time" to plan a party suddenly I realize....
No. No. I don't.
So much like Kayla's party 2 weeks after the day because 4 days before her birthday I was having surgery, Sonia and Joey's party will be 2 weeks after the date because their mother was a day (or month) late in planning their party and really has no good reason.
The original thought was "we'll have 2 parties on 2 different days to celebrate 2 very different people" now it's boiled down to "we'll manage 1 party. Of sorts. I hope"
After the minor disaster of trying to plan and orchestrate Kayla's games, I'm thinking the $50 to rent a jump house thing might be a reasonable investment. Funny.. last year I choked at the thought of spending $100 for a chuck e cheese party. This year $100 seems like a bargain compared to all the incidental costs that go along with a party in the back yard.
You see... at parties now the entire family can and does come. And you feed them. And if you've seen my cake decorating skills, you know we're buying a cake or two... And party favors.. and a pinata (because I tried making Kayla's pinata. And the day before her party we went to partys r us to buy one. This year we're going to just buy them. Did you know they make them of super sturdy cardboard? They make it through the entire line up of kids several times)
*sigh* I tried talking them into a trip to legoland or Seaworld in lieu of a party. They want a party. I might have had a better chance of throwing disney land in the equation.. however.. that pushes the envelope a little too far. AND Sonia wants to invite every girl in her class. She better realize I love her to try to pull this off. Of course again I worry that Joey won't have anyone show up. Or if we invite all the boys in his class that the ones I really don't want to invite in the first place will be the only ones that show up.
So today, If I can pull it off, I'll be putting invitations together today. In addition to the rest of the chaos I'm trying to juggle.
Just another day in the life.
Because as I was thinking "I have plenty of time" to plan a party suddenly I realize....
No. No. I don't.
So much like Kayla's party 2 weeks after the day because 4 days before her birthday I was having surgery, Sonia and Joey's party will be 2 weeks after the date because their mother was a day (or month) late in planning their party and really has no good reason.
The original thought was "we'll have 2 parties on 2 different days to celebrate 2 very different people" now it's boiled down to "we'll manage 1 party. Of sorts. I hope"
After the minor disaster of trying to plan and orchestrate Kayla's games, I'm thinking the $50 to rent a jump house thing might be a reasonable investment. Funny.. last year I choked at the thought of spending $100 for a chuck e cheese party. This year $100 seems like a bargain compared to all the incidental costs that go along with a party in the back yard.
You see... at parties now the entire family can and does come. And you feed them. And if you've seen my cake decorating skills, you know we're buying a cake or two... And party favors.. and a pinata (because I tried making Kayla's pinata. And the day before her party we went to partys r us to buy one. This year we're going to just buy them. Did you know they make them of super sturdy cardboard? They make it through the entire line up of kids several times)
*sigh* I tried talking them into a trip to legoland or Seaworld in lieu of a party. They want a party. I might have had a better chance of throwing disney land in the equation.. however.. that pushes the envelope a little too far. AND Sonia wants to invite every girl in her class. She better realize I love her to try to pull this off. Of course again I worry that Joey won't have anyone show up. Or if we invite all the boys in his class that the ones I really don't want to invite in the first place will be the only ones that show up.
So today, If I can pull it off, I'll be putting invitations together today. In addition to the rest of the chaos I'm trying to juggle.
Just another day in the life.
Friday, April 8, 2011
Phonics
So seriously... where was the committe who decided ph said "f" because we already have a letter that says "F" why use 2 to make the same sound? And wouldn't phonics be pronounced "p-hon-ics?" So I volunteer on Fridays in Kayla's classroom.. and lately she'd had me working on reading with the kids. And since Kayla was the first in her class to read, I must know how to teach, right? lol. She didn't get my report card that my first grade boy wasn't really reading last year, so I actually don't know what I'm doing.... least I don't think I do.
Much like parenting, however. I thought I had the answers until I actually tried using them. And realized I don't have a clue.
And it struck me today as I'm trying to get some of the slower kids to understand "r" says rrrr.
Expect when they say run it sounds like 'wun' because they talk baby talk still.
hummm.. so the R says 'wuh' ?
Sure. Just like the PH says "F" must have had 5 year olds on the committee who decided.
Much like parenting, however. I thought I had the answers until I actually tried using them. And realized I don't have a clue.
And it struck me today as I'm trying to get some of the slower kids to understand "r" says rrrr.
Expect when they say run it sounds like 'wun' because they talk baby talk still.
hummm.. so the R says 'wuh' ?
Sure. Just like the PH says "F" must have had 5 year olds on the committee who decided.
So I was wrong.
On many things but specifically the bill in congress. Not passed and the president is vowing to block it.
Oh that's supurb.
Well at least I have 4 months of pasta and sauce stored away.
Good thing we like pasta.
Oh that's supurb.
Well at least I have 4 months of pasta and sauce stored away.
Good thing we like pasta.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
There's a roller coaster flume ride a Sea World
Kayla got me to go on it last year. You get on it, go up the hill and down the hill very flume-like and then float down the flume river.
And then it takes you into an elevator. It's dark. You have no where what's going to happen. Then the doors open and you can't see anything but sky.
And then you free fall down the track much like a roller coaster, up and down and around til you get back to the start.
That has been my mental analogy for the way our country is headed. You go through a big fall, you think the ride is calming down and all of a sudden you're in a tunnel and have no idea how bad the fall is on the other side.
I know alot of people have been worried about their jobs and the economy. And frankly, that hadn't really ever entered into my brain as something to worry about.. because we have a contract with Uncle Sam.
However... it seems Uncle Sam has been possessed with Ebenezer Scrouge or King George. Sorta. And if Congress doesn't pass a budget, they have decided they're going to shut down the government. Only while those who work at the Smithsonian get a vacation and will get back paid if things go as they did in 1995... The military is expected to continue to work. The guys over seas are still fighting and getting blown up and they're not going to be paid for it until a budget is passed.
Congress, on the other hand.. welll..... they'll be getting paid. They exclude themselves like fat kings from all the things all us peasants go through. Nice of them, isn't it?
And I've been stewing about our out of control government and debt for a while... the thing that's really annoying me is that they hadn't done anything about it until now.
And the enlisted, particularly the junior enlisted typically live hand to mouth. Even a few days delay in pay is going to be hard for them to get through. And it's not like they can go collect unemployment. Seriously, is there anywhere else other than slavery that they will force you to work and pay you at whim or not at all?
And consider this...
They're armed. They are trained to kill people. Do you really really want to have them that pissed off at you, dear congressman?
And all the entitlement senior Citizens? How do you think they'll vote when their check doesn't come next month?
And the nursing homes and hospitals who aren't paid for the patients on medicare?
Ya know what? Go ahead. Try it. Let's see what happens. I've been thinking nothing sort of something seriously drastic would change the course of our country.
Sadly, I don't think it will be our country when the dust settles, and that makes me sad. But really, Uncle Sam, we've been growing apart for some time now. It's not you, it's me. No.. wait. It is you.
ETA: They passed a bill to pay the military through December. Yeah. I'm a little relieved. I wish they'd fix our insolvency problem.
And then it takes you into an elevator. It's dark. You have no where what's going to happen. Then the doors open and you can't see anything but sky.
And then you free fall down the track much like a roller coaster, up and down and around til you get back to the start.
That has been my mental analogy for the way our country is headed. You go through a big fall, you think the ride is calming down and all of a sudden you're in a tunnel and have no idea how bad the fall is on the other side.
I know alot of people have been worried about their jobs and the economy. And frankly, that hadn't really ever entered into my brain as something to worry about.. because we have a contract with Uncle Sam.
However... it seems Uncle Sam has been possessed with Ebenezer Scrouge or King George. Sorta. And if Congress doesn't pass a budget, they have decided they're going to shut down the government. Only while those who work at the Smithsonian get a vacation and will get back paid if things go as they did in 1995... The military is expected to continue to work. The guys over seas are still fighting and getting blown up and they're not going to be paid for it until a budget is passed.
Congress, on the other hand.. welll..... they'll be getting paid. They exclude themselves like fat kings from all the things all us peasants go through. Nice of them, isn't it?
And I've been stewing about our out of control government and debt for a while... the thing that's really annoying me is that they hadn't done anything about it until now.
And the enlisted, particularly the junior enlisted typically live hand to mouth. Even a few days delay in pay is going to be hard for them to get through. And it's not like they can go collect unemployment. Seriously, is there anywhere else other than slavery that they will force you to work and pay you at whim or not at all?
And consider this...
They're armed. They are trained to kill people. Do you really really want to have them that pissed off at you, dear congressman?
And all the entitlement senior Citizens? How do you think they'll vote when their check doesn't come next month?
And the nursing homes and hospitals who aren't paid for the patients on medicare?
Ya know what? Go ahead. Try it. Let's see what happens. I've been thinking nothing sort of something seriously drastic would change the course of our country.
Sadly, I don't think it will be our country when the dust settles, and that makes me sad. But really, Uncle Sam, we've been growing apart for some time now. It's not you, it's me. No.. wait. It is you.
ETA: They passed a bill to pay the military through December. Yeah. I'm a little relieved. I wish they'd fix our insolvency problem.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Priceless
Or at least that's what I'm telling myself.
Because we bought plane tickets for the kids to visit their grandparents this summer. Boy I miss homeschooling sometimes, so I could go whenever. But then they wouldn't have been able to see their cousins who were in school....
Anyway...
I've been OCDing on finding the lowest ticket prices, I'd gone to the travel agent on base, signed up for email alerts to let me know when my airports were on sale... And the back of my head was having a temper tantrum about why is it US who have to travel to see them.. the planes, trains, and roads travel both directions. I know. I've been on them. (well, not the trains.....)
And here's a tid bit of knowledge I picked up:
universally airfares online are cheaper than if you pick up the phone and call the airline.
But I didn't know that.
So.. I look online find Continental had the cheapest tickets. By alot. AND they fly out of our rinky dink airport up here in north county, so instead of driving an hour to get to the airport, it's about 15 minutes. Cool.
HOWEVER.. not so cool is the fact to get the cheapest flights you had to leave at 8pm. And change planes 3 times. With kids.
Oh boy, this could be fun.
So I ask the kids "if the only way you get to see Grandma is that we get on a plane at night, you sleep a little, then I wake you up and we have to get on again, and do that again.. can you do it and not cry and complain?" and they cheer "YES!" then one of them says "you mean we're not going to Disney?' because part of the deliberations were we could get year long no black out date tickets to Disney, parking gas and food included or go to CT for the same price.
Priceless. That's what I'm telling myself. Priceless for my kids to have a relationship with their grandparents and cousins. Fun.. well.. I think Disney might give them a run for their money.. but... the tickets are non-refundable.
So.. our adventure includes our overnight flight and 3 plane changes.
But online said there were 3 tickets at the low price. Well.. ok. Give me those three and add 2 more on in the next highest price bracket.
Nope. No can do. If you want 5 tickets you need to jump 10 price brackets. If you get 10 people you can qualify for a 10% price reduction (I did the math for you. It's still alot more than the 3 cheapest tickets)
So.. I call Continental. I want a person to talk to to explain that I want the 3 available tickets plus 2 more. On the same plane, on adjacent rows if possible.
Continental uses my old friend voice recognition technology. So.. it asks me where I want to fly from, I tell it Carlsbad, it says " you want to fly from Minot?" I yell "no" and it says I'm sorry, let's try again.. repeat a dozen times until it has me flying from Copenhagen to Harlengen. I yell operator at it another 6 or 7 times until it says "you would like to speak to an agent? Before I can connect you, please speak the name of the airport you are flying from"
I think I used a few profanities that finally told the computer I was frustrated so it put me on hold to talk to a human. 25 minutes later I get a human. I think. I mean she sounded human but she was about as helpful as the computer. And she had a hard time finding the Carlsbad airport, also. *I* on the other hand let the control freak in me get out of control and I had in front of me before I called the airport codes an the flight numbers, dates and times I wanted. She couldn't find at least one of them.
So finally she says, ok, that'll be $633. And I said "a person?!!" she says, yes. I inform her the online prices are in the 300s. I want the $333 tickets and the next available and if she can do a military discount, that'd be terrific. She puts me on hold and comes back with "OK, with the discount, it'll be $597" I ask her how many open seats are on the plane. She can't tell me. I ask her "are there more than 5?" she says yes, except she can't find the last flight and flight number in her system. OK. whatever. I ask her, the absolute lowest price you can find is no where near $333 and she says, right, I don't know where you have that number, that must be an old number. I inform her yes, it was, because it was correct as I was calling her and getting put on hold 20 minutes ago... but 20 minutes ago it was accurate.
She tells me she can't match that. But she'd like to give me a good deal on a rental car.
You're joking. I can't find a way to get there yet and you're trying to rent me a car at a destination I might end up driving to?!!!!
So.. I decide to try lady luck and go back to the online system.
And I plug in the numbers, find the flights and I'll be.. there are still 3 tickets available at the price I wanted. hummmm...
OK.. so open a new window and plug in 5 people flying and get a ridiculous price but still not as bad as the computer chick was giving me... I think "oh, the heck with this, I'll buy 3 then 2" go back to the original window who gives me the 5 people tickets (ah ha. they use cookies) and then I get creative..
I break out Larry's computer and put them side by side. I plug in 3 flying on my computer, 2 flying on his and hit "buy" within seconds of each other.
And guess what.... I got the lowest price for all 5.
And now I'm sharing online so some computer nerd can write a patch job to fix it. (Hint to the guy: southwest software does this. You go to buy your tickets and it pops up in red that those are no longer available, but the new prices are below, please choose your flight.) (hint to Southwest: if you hadn't done that repeatedly and given Larry a lower price than I was getting at the same time, we might have been flying with you. However.. we are not. And I don't worry about the roof blowing off midair)
So.. this summer's journey might be the most blog worthy yet. Generally anytime we travel it's worthy enough to blog about - putting kids on luggage carts that say not to, falling down escalators carrying toddlers and having the paramedics called, multiple car sick kids and multiple flat tires, for examples...
OR.. God might smile down on us and things might go wonderfully smooth. Or it'll be funny when I look back and write about it. Either way you'll hear about it here. If you don't get an earful picking me up from an airport.
Because we bought plane tickets for the kids to visit their grandparents this summer. Boy I miss homeschooling sometimes, so I could go whenever. But then they wouldn't have been able to see their cousins who were in school....
Anyway...
I've been OCDing on finding the lowest ticket prices, I'd gone to the travel agent on base, signed up for email alerts to let me know when my airports were on sale... And the back of my head was having a temper tantrum about why is it US who have to travel to see them.. the planes, trains, and roads travel both directions. I know. I've been on them. (well, not the trains.....)
And here's a tid bit of knowledge I picked up:
universally airfares online are cheaper than if you pick up the phone and call the airline.
But I didn't know that.
So.. I look online find Continental had the cheapest tickets. By alot. AND they fly out of our rinky dink airport up here in north county, so instead of driving an hour to get to the airport, it's about 15 minutes. Cool.
HOWEVER.. not so cool is the fact to get the cheapest flights you had to leave at 8pm. And change planes 3 times. With kids.
Oh boy, this could be fun.
So I ask the kids "if the only way you get to see Grandma is that we get on a plane at night, you sleep a little, then I wake you up and we have to get on again, and do that again.. can you do it and not cry and complain?" and they cheer "YES!" then one of them says "you mean we're not going to Disney?' because part of the deliberations were we could get year long no black out date tickets to Disney, parking gas and food included or go to CT for the same price.
Priceless. That's what I'm telling myself. Priceless for my kids to have a relationship with their grandparents and cousins. Fun.. well.. I think Disney might give them a run for their money.. but... the tickets are non-refundable.
So.. our adventure includes our overnight flight and 3 plane changes.
But online said there were 3 tickets at the low price. Well.. ok. Give me those three and add 2 more on in the next highest price bracket.
Nope. No can do. If you want 5 tickets you need to jump 10 price brackets. If you get 10 people you can qualify for a 10% price reduction (I did the math for you. It's still alot more than the 3 cheapest tickets)
So.. I call Continental. I want a person to talk to to explain that I want the 3 available tickets plus 2 more. On the same plane, on adjacent rows if possible.
Continental uses my old friend voice recognition technology. So.. it asks me where I want to fly from, I tell it Carlsbad, it says " you want to fly from Minot?" I yell "no" and it says I'm sorry, let's try again.. repeat a dozen times until it has me flying from Copenhagen to Harlengen. I yell operator at it another 6 or 7 times until it says "you would like to speak to an agent? Before I can connect you, please speak the name of the airport you are flying from"
I think I used a few profanities that finally told the computer I was frustrated so it put me on hold to talk to a human. 25 minutes later I get a human. I think. I mean she sounded human but she was about as helpful as the computer. And she had a hard time finding the Carlsbad airport, also. *I* on the other hand let the control freak in me get out of control and I had in front of me before I called the airport codes an the flight numbers, dates and times I wanted. She couldn't find at least one of them.
So finally she says, ok, that'll be $633. And I said "a person?!!" she says, yes. I inform her the online prices are in the 300s. I want the $333 tickets and the next available and if she can do a military discount, that'd be terrific. She puts me on hold and comes back with "OK, with the discount, it'll be $597" I ask her how many open seats are on the plane. She can't tell me. I ask her "are there more than 5?" she says yes, except she can't find the last flight and flight number in her system. OK. whatever. I ask her, the absolute lowest price you can find is no where near $333 and she says, right, I don't know where you have that number, that must be an old number. I inform her yes, it was, because it was correct as I was calling her and getting put on hold 20 minutes ago... but 20 minutes ago it was accurate.
She tells me she can't match that. But she'd like to give me a good deal on a rental car.
You're joking. I can't find a way to get there yet and you're trying to rent me a car at a destination I might end up driving to?!!!!
So.. I decide to try lady luck and go back to the online system.
And I plug in the numbers, find the flights and I'll be.. there are still 3 tickets available at the price I wanted. hummmm...
OK.. so open a new window and plug in 5 people flying and get a ridiculous price but still not as bad as the computer chick was giving me... I think "oh, the heck with this, I'll buy 3 then 2" go back to the original window who gives me the 5 people tickets (ah ha. they use cookies) and then I get creative..
I break out Larry's computer and put them side by side. I plug in 3 flying on my computer, 2 flying on his and hit "buy" within seconds of each other.
And guess what.... I got the lowest price for all 5.
And now I'm sharing online so some computer nerd can write a patch job to fix it. (Hint to the guy: southwest software does this. You go to buy your tickets and it pops up in red that those are no longer available, but the new prices are below, please choose your flight.) (hint to Southwest: if you hadn't done that repeatedly and given Larry a lower price than I was getting at the same time, we might have been flying with you. However.. we are not. And I don't worry about the roof blowing off midair)
So.. this summer's journey might be the most blog worthy yet. Generally anytime we travel it's worthy enough to blog about - putting kids on luggage carts that say not to, falling down escalators carrying toddlers and having the paramedics called, multiple car sick kids and multiple flat tires, for examples...
OR.. God might smile down on us and things might go wonderfully smooth. Or it'll be funny when I look back and write about it. Either way you'll hear about it here. If you don't get an earful picking me up from an airport.
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