Bumper Cars

This week has been a very rainy week. It's rained all day for at least five days in a row. Luckily, the rain stopped so we could enjoy our weekend. I picked Joshua up at the sitter's house on Friday night. It was raining pretty heavy. Visibility was low and there was a good amount of water on the roads. We got into the car and started our trip home.

Nearing the highway, traffic started to slow. There were lots of people trying to get home and out of the rain. I was going down a slight hill and suddenly two cars in front of me stopped. This of course caused a chain reaction. I was about two houses away from the car immediately in front of me. I stepped on the break only to have them totally lock up. I slid... and slid... and slid. Realizing I only had about 10 more feet before I hit the car, I started looking for options- maybe I could swing into a driveway really quick - maybe I could find an opening on the other side of the road and avoid a collision. No chance, I was moving closer and closer. I laid on the horn when there were about eight feet between my car and her bumper.

SMASH! I watched my hood wrinkle up before my eyes. Both Josh and I were fine but it scared him of course. This is just what I need... Hands shaking, I rummaged through my glove compartment to frantically pull out my insurance cards.

I saw the woman get out of her car and take a look at her bumper. Scratches, only scratches. Ok, this won't be so bad... think again. After making sure everyone was ok, I turned to take a look at the damage. Since I had seen the hood of my car rise up in folds before my eyes, I knew it wouldn't be pretty. The front bumper is cracked in the middle making the sides stick out and hang as if I folded it in half. The hood wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. It's crinkled up and exposing part of the cars "guts" on the side, but still, not as bad. How could her car have sustained such a force coming at it while mine crinkled up like a piece of paper?

We went to the police station and made our statements. I got a ticket. The first time ever... I've never had any kind of traffic violation or anything. Now, I'm in the system. No longer off the grid... My insurance is pretty good. I knew that if I got into an accident I wouldn't have $500 to pay plus the ticket so I've been paying a little extra to keep my deductible down to $100. THANK GOD!

Luckily the woman whose car I hit was very nice. We took down eachother's information and called it a night. After she left, the policeman handed me that nasty pink piece of paper. Scribbled in carbon copy, the offense was marked "safe distance." In the eyes of the law, no matter what the circumstances, I was too close. I flipped it over to see what the damage would be to my checkbook. $200!!!

WHAT?! I can't pay that plus my deductible! I'm a 25 year old recent college grad with a house and a family. Holy crap! Then I learned that I could go to court. If I could prove the damages were taken care of and no one was badly injurred, I have a good shot. I'll take it! I'd rather go to court and try to reduce my out of pocket by being reduced to court costs only than not take the chance and be out the full $200.

I know it's just a little fender bender and lots of people go through this, but I feel like such a criminal. My name will be in the public database for the court system. I hate the thought of that! I can't believe I caused an accident before I even got a speeding ticket... 

*sigh* I'll fill you in after I make my first court appearance. Hopefully my defense attorney skills/grovelling are better than my driving skills.

Wordless Wednesday: Mommy's Little Helper

At 10 months old, he's such a good little helper already!

11 Month Recap

Josh is fast approaching the 11 month mark. Which means he's also fast approaching his first birthday!! I can't believe it. He's grown so fast. Everytime I look at him he's grown even more. This past weekend my husband's best friend got married. Josh was just starting to walk, 12 to maybe 14 steps in a row. He slept over my parents' house so Mommy and Daddy could have a few cocktails and not have to wake up at 6 am with a massive headache to mother/father a rambuncious baby. I picked him up from his overnight stay and he was full-blown walking. It's amazing how fast he learned that. He just turned 10 months when he decided it was time to take his first steps, now three weeks later, he's walking from room to room, sippy cup in hand.


He's getting his seventh tooth. That's really fun. He was just 4 months old when he started teething. Back then he was just crying his normal baby cry. Now that it's been a couple months since he cut a new tooth, this one's a doozy. He cries his little head off. Tears flowing, nose running. Poor guy. He whines when the pain isn't quite so severe. It's kinda cute actually.

His little teeth are doing their jobs. He is totally over baby food. (Thank God) He eats what the family eats for dinner which is SO much easier! I make sure he gets all of his fruits and veggies, grains and protiens. He actually wants to start using the spoon himself. He gets it, puts it in his mouth the right way, but just can't figure out how to get the food on there. Is there a tutorial or something for that??

He learns more and more everyday. It's so fun to watch. He's so smart. He puts all of his toys in their place. Blocks go in the dumptruck so he can dump them. He throws his stuffed animals from the crib into the laundry basket and all the other toys go on the floor. I think it's because whenever he has a diaper explosion, that's where Daddy and I toss them. So cute!

I love being his mommy. It's so weird to see my little baby turn into a toddler. He is looking more and more like a little boy and less like a baby. He walked into the dining room today carrying his sippy and crying for mama. Makes me smile :)