On the flip side of the Shenanigans winning at finding Reg a new AAU team: a true and laughable tale of how the Shenanigans have been losing.
We own 4 cars.
1. GW (the Great White - former airport shuttle, 12 seater Chevy Express) -The car seats have been removed for the summer though, so hop aboard. It guzzles gas. Reg doesn't drive it and Mini can drive it - but only if I LOOK AWAY.
2. Honda navy minivan - bought last summer after Mini totaled the red minivan that had no working radio and had a knocking sound in the inner wall in the backseat that could only be attributed to a lurking, angry elf.
3. Gray car- the kid car, a kia Sorrento
4. Tex- Ford Fusion bought from Uncle Marty
A month before we bought Tex, Mini had a loop scheduled at the golf course (caddy term for a bag to carry). I took 3 kids to a play area about 22 minutes from home. Meanwhile, two additional kids hopped off the preK bus at my house and were hanging out with Mini until I got home. I decided that I wasn't going to make it home in time for Mini to head to her loop (this was an oversight on my part. I had a toddler wet her pants before we left the house and it slowed me down). Mini was going to drop the two preK kids at my folks' house before her loop till I could get there.
At the last minute, she realized she had NO FOB for the minivan. It was in Coach's pocket at work. The other FOB needs a new battery. I ordered batteries before we left for Ireland and our house swallowed them whole apparently while we were gone. (I've ordered new batteries since drafting this post so we are back to being a 2 FOB family for the minivan). Dad drove Mini and two preschoolers to the golf course in his car. I met him at the golf course so he wasn't driving around with preschoolers needlessly. Mini was steamed. It was an unpleasant, panicky afternoon.
Last week, Coach drove GW to his prayer meeting, thinking it was the least 'needed' vehicle. Unfortunately, he drove away WITH the FOB to Tex. Tex only has one FOB until we get batteries for the other FOB. That evening, Tex was parked behind the Minivan, so no one could go ANYWHERE until Reg got home from b-ball in the Kia, which was the same time Coach got home with GW.
Tuesday Reg was in a panic before school. He couldn't find the gray car keys. Keys hang on hooks in the mudroom, OR kids drop them on the island. He woke up Tank asking where the keys were, but Tank had driven GW the night before when Coach got home. I deduced that Reg was the last one with the gray keys, think Mr. Plumb in the study with the candlestick. Reg had to drive the minivan to school. We were once again a 4 car family with 3 cars. This was a bad time to learn that somewhere along the way someone has misplaced (permanently?) the second set of Kia car keys. 
This was most of the shoes,
but not all. The
surface area of the mudroom
is about half of
the space the shoes are
covering here. WHY????
I emptied the mudroom, assuming someone knocked the key off the holder and they got kicked into a locker. This is NOT my first rodeo. Midway through emptying the lockers, I looked up. Reg's b-ball high tops were on his top shelf. I figured he dropped the keys in the shoe on his way into the house with all of his basketball gear the night before. Bingo.
Look at me, I found the keys, and while I didn't NEED to empty the mudroom, that apparently is not something my offspring are capable of doing on their own.
I'm about to launch into a series of posts focused on Mini. Get excited. This girl doesn't disappoint in the entertainment arena.
Who here, like me, thought that us owning 4 cars was going to simplify things?
24 comments:
Losing keys is my nightmare. That's why I prefer older cars with an actual key that I can get 4 copies made, rather than paying $$$ at dealer to code another one. And why can't the kids just put the keys in the key place??!? My sincerest sympathies.
My sympathy on the shoes as well- the piles inmy house are smaller but still unwieldy.
That's a lot of shoes BUT I have been prepping for the move and I have to say OH MY GOD WE HAVE A LOT OF SHOES. Most are mine but still. I think we could give you a run for your money and there are only four of us. And only one of us has a size twelve foot.
Losing keys - especially with those expensive FOBs - is an absolute nightmare. That makes my heart palpitate just thinking about it. We have five vehicles and there are only four of us, I am not sure about the math on that! (My husband has a heavy-duty truck and also a car for commuting, that's the math, but still).
Oh my goodness those shoes!! That would drive me crazy. We have 2 people in our house and 3 cars - my husband has a “mid-life’ summer sports car (and he is always looking for his keys! It drives me crazy when he drives my car and I have to go on the search for my keys - generally in the pocket of whatever he wore last.
Oh my goodness this is so stressful!! Too many cars, too many drivers, TOO FEW KEYS!
The best thing my husband and I did when we moved into this house was to install two tiny key hooks on the wall beside the garage door. That's where we hang our keys every time we come in from being in the car. Every. Time. And then that's where they are when we need them. It is such a tiny thing but it helps immensely.
The shoes -- well, it seems reasonable. Haha! My family owns TOO MANY shoes, so that pile seems about right. (Keep in mind that my family has only three members.) I think you're doing fine.
At one point here we had four cars, and our street allows no street parking. It was always a nightmare doing the car shuffle, especially when my husband was the one leaving early for work and was blocked in by the two boys.
Getting people to put keys (or ANYTHING) in their rightful place every time is a lost cause. I am highly organized, thanks to it being a Survival Skill of teaching. My husband is, in a word, terrible about it. Last year he lost three pairs of prescription eyeglasses. I have no idea how one does that.
We have too many cars too. Five cars, four drivers. Kid 3 can get her license in August. Kid 2 is moving across the country and her car won't be able to make that trip. Our fleet is The Truck- technically my husbands, but we only really use it to tow our trailer (oh yeah, the trailer also lives at our house). My jeep, Kid 2's jeep (the one that can't drive across the country), Kid 1's Kia, and the Spare (which my husband currently drives but Kid 3 has been promised, so his daily will become the kid jeep). We found a good locksmith who was able to make aftermarket key fobs for every vehicle. Yes, that day cost us about $1000, but we keep the extra fobs in our safe JUST IN CASE the other two sets disappear.
We began leaving our shoes in the garage during lockdown and that stuck, thankfully. So our shoe situation looks like yours, only it's in the garage. But, we don't have six kids. 🤣
Did anyone mention Air Tags? You need those on each key ring; that should help. Maybe. Hopefully.
I see Kari's idea above, but I've seen LARGE spiders in my garage, so my shoes will not be there. I always had my kids put their shoes in their closets. Can all of those shoes be claimed? Do you need to do a culling?
We have more cars than people, but I will only drive three that we have. Coach has 'collectors 'cars/trucks that I want to avoid bothering with. So, I can never complain about being car-less. One day, you'll not be car-less either. :)
mbmom11 - Why is it so much easier to misplace a key FOB? The battery running out is also problematic. Keys were working just fine and copies could be made. Sometimes improvements are not necessary.
The shoe situation is nuts over here. Half of those shoes are worn by NO ONE. Why can they not remove a pair of shoes from their locker (and let's be real, they don't keep the shoes IN the locker - they kick them off in the mudroom)? It is exhausting.
Nicole - Those shoes in that picture are only the kids' shoes. I keep mine in the front hall closet that is tiny. I keep special occasion shoes and opposite season shoes in my bedroom walk in closet. Tank wears a size 15, so his shoes take up a lot of real estate. There were 3 pairs of sperry's that no one wears. Plus there were single shoes that match nothing - those were all Lad's no surprise.
The key FOB thing is mind blowing. So irritating.
Pat - We also have cubbies in the garage where we keep men's work boots, cleats, etc. I remember the days when my kids had school shoes and running shoes and maybe sandals or something to wear when they dressed up. The girls shrug and claim they gave a pair to the other sister, who then shrugs and says she never wanted them to begin with. It's tiring.
Even with 4 cars for 6 drivers (Lad not counted - has his own car, and Curly doesn't drive yet), we are still juggling cars A TON.
Suzanne - We have THAT EXACT SAME SYSTEM. I have a little key hook thing that displays 3 photos on it. I hung it right inside the garage door, which is where we come and go. The keys sometimes fall off of there, or kids/husbands don't always hang them up. How hard is it? (says the mom who has occasionly left a key FOB in my purse)?
I don't feel like we have all them many shoes - especially the boys, but they don't always manage to eliminate a pair when they are no longer wearing it. Again - WHY?
Nance - I still have to share the most recent update on what happens when we block the sidewalk with our collection of cars. Chapter 8 in how our neighbors suck.
I can only imagine how organized one must be to teach. My house is in a constant state of messiness, but I almost always know where everything is. It has become a running joke, because I have started announcing things like SEE, ONLY I KNOW WHERE THINGS ARE and the people in the family are starting to notice my special talent.
Kara - I like the idea of keeping spare FOBs in a safe. We should do that. We do not have too many cars - we have 4 but it is not enough for the 6, soon to be 7 drivers. We also have a car that cannot travel out of our local area. Too.many.miles.
Kari - Our garage is gross. Overcrowded. Disorganized. I usually clean it out around this time of year, but I've been too busy and now the weather might be too hot. I hate the garage cleaning job. We used to keep all the kids' shoes in cubbies until we moved our laundry room upstairs and made the mudroom on the first floor. Solid idea, but that would lead to lots of lost shoes.
Suz - Air tags? Are those the things you put on things and then link it to your phone? We have something like that on a remote control. I do not misplace the remote, but I am in the minority here. Air tags are a very good idea.
We have mice in our garage at times. Not putting anything I care about out there. Our garage is a filthy disaster and it is begging to be emptied and addressed, but ME NO WANT TO. And yet, the job always falls to me.
I would settle for me having a car that only I drive. Me. I dream of not adjusting the seat or wondering where the bag is that I need to return to the store, etc. We are in a constant state of switching cars. Someday I will have my own set of wheels.
We have 5 cars, lol! We like older trucks - my truck is a 1993 F-150. Husband's truck is a 2000 Expedition. Since we like old trucks, we like to have a backup vehicle (or two), currently the backup is a Chevy Trailblazer, but the 16 year old will have his license soon, so he'll be driving the Trailblazer, and we picked up an Excursion for the new backup vehicle. The oldest girl is driving our Honda CRV. The oldest son just totaled his 2nd car within a 3 month period (he buys his own cars, he's our Lad). We have airtags on the keys that tend to get lost the most often.
I feel this post in my bones and we only have three licensed kids so far. We are always looking for lost keys (teens) or lost shoes (littles). Happy summer!
Amy - Yikes, two cars totaled in such a short time. I'm hung up on that. That is the worst. I do love my Chevy Express and it is like a truck, but I will not weep when I am done driving it. Older cars are a crap shoot, on a good day. Good luck with adding the new driver into the mix.
Colleen - I bet you do feel this in your bones. We've had one shoe lost SO MANY TIMES. Then we've also had one shoe eaten by Lad's dog. The keys are one thing. Kids leaving the house without checking to see who else needs a car is another. There may or may not have been a mommy-meltdown about that this morning. ;)
There is nothing simple about owning cars. Nothing. And you have to have so many of them for all your various adventures. I feel for you, but am glad you found the key.
Ally - You are so right. Which reminds me - I still have to get to the DMV to switch the title from Uncle's name to mine. Not enough hours, or free vehicles, in the day.
More cars? More problems!!!! I am one who would love to live somewhere where a car is not required to survive. OTOH, my husband would love to move out of the suburbs into a rural community (just kill me!)
Bijoux - It is true that the more we add to our fleet, the more we have to do to track oil changes, and apparently KEYS. Lad moved out - well, he still has a lot of stuff here, but he recently found the missing key to the kids' Kia in his stuff. He says it was in one of his shoes . . . a shoe that doesn't belong to him. Hmm. But he didn't return the shoe. Whatev.
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