Pretty please with a chicken on top!

I just have to laugh. I wanted to post this before I forgot about it. This is Lincoln's new saying, "Pretty please, Mommy, with a chicken on top!" The first time I heard him say this I said, "What?" and then he said it again and I just laughed and laughed. I asked if he meant to say with sugar on top and he insists that it's with a "chicken on top". What a kid.

Peace.

The car did arrive. . .

Wow, I can't believe that I haven't written in here since we got the car! The car was about what we expected, yet it was a little worse than we expected. Jason (seller) told us that that interior was bad, but what's bad to some may not be bad to others, right? Well, it was BAD. Jason was right. We thought we'd be able to strip the paint. No, not a chance. Jon ended up buying the complete interior from another car at a junkyard in Jordan and Shakopee. This includes the things in the dash, and literally EVERYTHING. Ugh. When we got the car, you could not open the back doors with the remote. You could only open the one back door by putting your hand through the front and the other back door couldn't be opened at all. This wasn't told to us. UGH. The car has been stripped on the inside and that was done the night we got it. We drove it last Friday to Mkto to get ideas about the shaved door handles and boy did we get the looks! We loved it. The car kicks butt from the outside. :0)

Jon is completely re-wiring the car and has over 700' of wire in it already. He has over 80 hrs into the car between completely the wire diagram, talking on the phone, drive time, stripping the car, stripping the junk yard car, etc. Crazy. He still wants to get it done by my bday, but I told him it's fine if he doesn't. The car has soooo much work to get done, I think it's nearly impossible to get it done by then.

He was so excited - yesterday he called me and asked if I wanted a sun roof installed. He found someone who only does custom cars in the cities and said he could get it done for $1000. We decided to do it so the car will be hauled to the cities tomorrow and it should be done tomorrow night. We are so excited!

Peace.

THE CAR WILL BE HERE ** TONIGHT ** !!!!!!!!!!!!

HAMBURG PEDAL PULL!!!!!

Good lovely morning everyone!!!
There was a pedal pull in Hamburg yesterday and it was also Father's Day. I have to say that I think this was the best Father's Day we have EVER had!! It was in the 90's with extreme humidity, but the girls really wanted to go to the pull and so did I. Jon really didn't want to, but he said he would go. Lincoln was able to try it again as a 3 yr old and he had everyone laughing!! There was some "give" between the tractor and the trailer, so he was able to pedal a little ways, but then he would stop and pedal backwards and then forwards. Everyone was seriously laughing! lol. I bet he did this maybe 4 times and then that was enough. lol. It was really cute. He got his ribbon, can of pop and a ticket for an ice cream cone, so he was thrilled!

Next up was Mercedes. She was so excited and "pumped" to do it. Well, SHE GOT FIRST PLACE!!! Her trophy had a tractor on it and everything. She was so excited that she won 1st place. As we stood in line, there was a lady who said to me, "Oh, I remember you from last year and your daughter placed." I told her I didn't remember her at all, but apparently she did remember us. I believe Mercedes got 1st last year, too, but I'm not positive. I suppose she thought "Ugh, there's that tough girl again and my daughter won't have a chance!" lol, yep, the Suedbeck's are in the house!!

Next up was Sierra. She was so nervous and the last week she's been telling me how much she wants to go to State this year. Well, she had a rough year last year because this "big girl" is always there and we cringe when we see her because she's always beat Sierra. Now we're like the other mom who tells us that she remembered us. We remember this other girl! Sierra had her mind set that she was going to place at this one and she kept telling me, "Mom, I don't see that big girl!" I always tell her that even if she doesn't win against the big girl, she has her beat in looks! I shouldn't say that, but it's the truth! Anyway, there was one full pull and Sierra then also got a full pull!! No one else did, so Sierra was so excited that she knew she would get either 1st or 2nd and that meant she qualified for State! The look on her face was priceless. She really set her mind to it and put her heart into pulling. The girl got another full pull and Sierra was probably a few feet behind her, so SHE GOT 2ND PLACE!!!! She was sooooo excited. The girl who got first was absolutely adorable, and I don't think Sierra ever pulled against her before, so that was ok. lol. She was absolutely thrilled and I was so proud of her!

I told both girls how happy and proud of them I was. It was amazing!

Jon then grilled hamburgers for supper and made an awesome dishes for us. We ate on the deck upstairs and it was perfect! We all said this was the best Father's Day ever!!!!

PEACE.

Car frustration. . .

I am just so disgusted. I don't know any other word to use. I went home for dinner today and Jon happened to be home. He asked how my day was an I told him that I'm frustrated because I don't have my car, don't have a shipping date and I don't have the title for the car. In eBay's listing, the VIN number was there and it said it has a "clear" title. With that being said, I assumed everything was fine, right? It did give a place where you could pay to find out if it was legit. My thinking was, why would the seller list that if everything wasn't legit. All day today I've been bugging about this and Jon said I need to have more patience. Well, I'm frusterated. So, I get back to work and decide to run that check for $7.99. Everything came back other than IT HAS A FLIPPING LIEN AGAINST IT!!!!!!! Can you sense my feelings right now? I waited a few minutes and then emailed Jason and told him what was going on. I don't know how this works, but it also said the miles it had on it, etc. Did it mean that when current owner bought it, there was a lien? Maybe it doesn't show cleared until the next person buys it because it doesn't have Jason's miles on it either. For example, now that I'm buying it (hopefully!), when I transfer the title, then it will show there is no lien and the miles it had when I bought it? I don't know. I called Jon about 45 min ago and told him what was going on, too, and he said he'd call Jason about it.

I have to say, with everything not going as quickly as I'd like, I don't know if I'd buy another vehicle off of eBay. We have bought other big things and it's been done in a very short time and then we had the vehicle. This seems to be dragging on and on and on. I'm so upset, I could just scream. Literally, the only thing I can do is wait. I do have Jason's emails saying he's left a few messages for the owner, but he hasn't called him back. To me, that's sounding fishy now. Jason has perfect feedback and has come through on everything he said he would other than the title and supposedly he doesn't have it. Why wouldn't you have it if you are selling the car? I told him that if a shipper comes and the car isn't ready to ship, I still pay for it.

I'm NOT happy about this!!!!!

Peace.

Still no news on shipping the car. . .

Jason (eBay seller) put the car on www.uship.com and figured he would have bids within a few days. Well, that came and went so we got our own shipper on Saturday. We ended up doing a contract with www.redcarpetautotransport.com and she said it's generally 1-8 days before a carrier will pick up the vehicle. She said it takes longer when dealing with places out East just because there's not as many vehicles out there needing to be shipped. The total cost is $599 and there's no deposit owed until the car is officially on the carrier. That was totally different than the other quotes we received. Everyone wanted approx $200 before they even tried to find a carrier. I just really, really want my car NOW!!! Jason told me that I have to be patient and everything will be just fine. It's just after spending that much money and it's been a week today, I want the car!! Sorry, BUT I DON'T WANT TO WAIT ANYMORE!!! The funds cleared our bank account on Thursday and Jason still doesn't have the money. Ugh. I emailed paypal, but they haven't responded yet. UGH! We would like one set of keys, title, and all receipts shipped priority to us so we have the keys before the car gets here. Jason said he would do that for me, so that's no big deal. I just want the car on the carrier and moving it's way to me! Jon said last night that things have been so exciting around the house this last while because all we talk about is the car and when we'll get news that the carrier will pick it up, etc. I have to say he's totally right. The car is all I think about before falling asleep and the car is all I think about as soon as I wake up. I really think it won't be a big deal when I have it because it will be in my possession. Paying for something and not having it is something I don't like! lol. I WANT IT NOW!!! If I could kick and scream I certainly would! I'll keep you posted as to what we find out. I explained to Jason that my patience never was my strongest asset. lol. Did I tell you he is a Maryland State Trooper? I suppose he knows all about being patient. He insists that everything will be fine and I will be ecstatic about the car when I see it. I CAN'T WAIT!!!!

Peace.

Mercedes won 3rd place!!!

We went to the first tractor pull of the year in Glencoe on Saturday. It was wonderful!!! There was a good breeze and the kids were excited. Lincoln sat on the tractor and pedaled a few feet maybe. lol. Hey, he got a ribbon and a can of pop, though!! The kids have to be 4 yrs old for State, but they let the 3 yr olds try it.

Next up was Mercedes in the 5 yr old class. She pedaled her little heart out and there were 2 boys that went farther than her. So we were thrilled that she beat out all of the girls! She got 3rd place and we were so excited for her. There's a lady I work with who's grandson pedaled against Mercedes. He beat her in Glencoe and Winthrop last year and I just sooo wanted her to beat him in Glencoe and SHE DID!! She pedaled several feet farther than him on Saturday so I was so excited! It was music to my ears hearing Mercedes Suedbeck winning 3rd and 2 other boys getting 1st and 2nd. lol. What a great day!

Sierra was up next and she tried her hardest. You know, it's tough because the boys get bigger so it's big competition. She was literally inches short of a full pull, and there were 4 other full pulls, so I told her she got 4th place. There was one girl in the 4 and I told Sierra she easily beat the other girl in looks, so that was important, too. lol - yeah, I shouldn't be telling her that, but it was the truth! Sierra is absolutely adorable looking and the other girl just looks like a big brute or something.

I was very proud of all of my kids over the weekend. :0)

Peace.

WE BOUGHT A CAR OFF OF EBAY!!!

I am soooooooo incredibly thrilled!!!! We bought a 1998 Honda Civic that has been customized. It's silver, 4 door, but there aren't any door handles! HOW CRAZY IS THAT?! The doors must be opened via remote control on the key ring. lol. It's absolutely awesome! Jon and I have been looking for a car that gets good gas mileage because gas is so high and the Yukon only gets like 12/13mpg. I've been driving the '88 Honda for about the last month just to try saving money. We took it to Windom and it ended up saving us over $30 just because we didn't take the Yukon. Anyway, the '88 is the beater the guys use to drive around for work, so I'm actually taking it away from them. Ugh. Jon and I have been looking for a car on carsoup.com and haven't been able to find anything. Well, we've found some cars, but they aren't exactly what I want or either the cars were a stick and I want an automatic. The little cars are bringing so much money, too, and they have over 100,000 miles on them! Jon and I were looking on ebay together and we saw this car. We were in awe and we emailed the seller as soon as we saw it. The car was ending last night and we first saw it on Sunday night at 11pm! (Today is Tuesday.) We emailed the guy and yesterday Jon was in contact with the seller quite a bit with questions, etc. The seller is a State Trooper in Maryland. He had called Jon back and said he also works for the Narcotics division and the cell number he gave to Jon is the numer for work! He called Jon yesterday and apologized for not calling sooner, but he was just on a big drug bust. Yikes! Anyway, the car has 69,000 miles and the entire outside has been customized, but the inside and under the hood have not been touched. I think the trooper was selling it for a buddy, but this is his side business of selling weird cars/vehicles on ebay. Trooper said that the guy started it, but then the car ended up sitting for 3 years because the guy was burned out from working on it, so now decided to sell it. Trooper said that as soon as they put it out for sale, they got calls on it. The guy wanted it on ebay, though, and they told the locals who put in offers that if it didn't bring "so much" on ebay, that they would get the car. My heart was just pounding towards the end of the auction. The poor bidders kept going higher and higher as the end drew near, but little did they know that I was on the loose and would soon be putting a bid in. lol. Jon and I always put bids in literally within seconds from the auction end. We know that we have one chance to bid because if our bid is too low, there won't be time to put another one in. We have lost bids like this, but have also won auctions like this. This way, we decide up front and if we win, we win, if not - oh well. Anyway, the tension and adrenaline was running thick in the office last night and the last minute to go, Jon ended up leaving the office because it was just mind boggling. We both wanted the car so badly, but yet the price kept going up and up so we thought we'd end up being outbid. Anyway, there were 9 seconds left in the auction when I clicked "confirm bid" and by the time it went through, there were 6 seconds left, and we were the top bidder! Those few seconds it takes after you "confirm bid" were horrible because after it accepts the bid, you find out if you were outbid, high bidder, or you placed your bid to late. I had time to refresh it one time and WE GOT THE CAR!!! I was just ecstatic!! It looks like a car from the "Fast and Furious" movie with Vin Diesel and Paul Walker. It's an amazing car. There are some things that need to be done before the kids and I can drive it so pretty much once it's off the semi, it will be brought to Jim's to have some work done on it. Jon wants the timing belt fixed as they go out around 70,000 miles and if it goes out, the engine is shot. There's also a relay that's not working that affects the opening of the back doors via remote control. As the car is now, the back doors only open from the inside. There is a fog light that needs to be fixed and there is paint on the inside that needs to be removed, but seriously, all of this is minor. THE CAR KICKS BUTT!! The Trooper said that the draw back for a lot of kids is that the car is an automatic. Most kids who want cars like this need to have the stick transmission and they want a 2 door. This is a 4 door automatic - JUST WHAT I WANTED!!!! Since nothing has been done under the hood, it will run like any regular car. It's just that the outside looks AWESOME! Trooper said that when he was driving it, he turned heads everywhere. When he heard we lived in a town of 2000 people, he laughed and said that everyone will be talking about it. lmao. Everyone was looking when they saw me driving the '88 Honda instead of the Yukon. Just wait until they see me in this!! lmao. WHOOOOO HOOOOOOOOO!

I tried getting a pic of the car in here, but it just didn't work. Not sure how to add a pic. Oh well.

Jon asked Trooper if he thought the car would be here by the 4th (my bday!) and he thought that would be feasible. What a great present!!! Jon was laughing at me last night seeing how excited I was for the car. He said, "Becky, when we bought the Yukon with only 10,000 and it was only a year old and we spent over $30,000, you were happy. Now, we essentially buy a 'cheap car' and you are ECSTATIC!!" The kicker is, we've been looking for a car, and this is a regular '98 honda civic with only 69,000 miles on so it will last forever. The difference is, the outside kicks butt!!! I'M SO EXCITED!!!

Peace.