Friday SHEnanigans (with kids in tow)

***Disclaimer: no children were harmed during the making of this blog post.***

Sometimes the simple matter of picking up an auction item turns into a regular, full-blown fiasco. Let me just start out by saying that with my recent car troubles, and the small size of the old girl in the first place, there was no way I was going to be able to pick up two 84" long louvred doors with my own car. In comes Sarah, the recruit for the job. Recruited because of her van, but the company wasn't so bad either. :)

We picked up a couple of old chairs... piece of cake. 2 pieces of vintage luggage... easy-peasy. Now, on to get the louvred doors.

Before I move on with the story, did I happen to mention that we had all 4 of our children in tow? If you are parents of young children, you understand that having 4 children in 1 vehicle for a road trip, short though it may be, can be adventure enough. If you do not have/have not had young children, well, let me just say, you really have no idea the fun that can be had! Now, back to the story...

We arrived at the auction house, I paid for the item, I waited in a semi-long line, and then I walked back to the van to await my new, used doors. I will say, I had it all worked out in my head. I had looked at the dimensions of the door. All was good. They would most certainly slide right under the seats in Sarah's van. No problem. No sweat. With the week I've had, I really should have known better!

Out come the doors. On a forklift. Hmmm, I'm thinking... they sure do look bigger than I thought. This may not be good. The young man took them off the forklift. I asked if they were heavy and he said they weren't. Well that's good, I thought. So we proceeded to slide them under the back seat. Yes. This was going to work out after all. Until, clunk! They were hitting something. Upon examination, they were hitting the middle seats. Oops... too wide. The monsterous auction doors were not going to fit after all. :(
Well, I'd be darned if they weren't gonna fit! Poor Sarah drove all the way out there to help me out and she'd be darned if they weren't gonna fit either! We rearranged some booster seats, the guy slid those puppies up over the seats (after numerous threats at children to sit down or get clunked in the head with said doors!), tilted them over a couple children's heads, and we made it work, gosh darn it!

Now, little Holly felt sure she was gonna get hit in the head with the doors. But, let me assure you, she had a good inch and a half clearance above her head. No worries. My own little man, Chris, who cannot sit still to save his life, did indeed clunk his head. If you know him at all, you know this head-clunking thing is an everyday happening with him. So no need to be alarmed. Hannah fretted about the doors falling on her sister. Of course, she's only 6 and doesn't know how expertly we had tilted them and secured them in the van. Keara, well she pinched her finger in between hers and her brother's car seat, which we scooted right next to hers in order to fit the doors in. But, hey, that kinda thing could've happened at anytime. It certainly cannot be blamed on the doors...

We are home now. We've eaten dinner. We're all good. I'm sure Sarah and her family are safe and sound at their house, too. And I have the doors tucked safely away in my garage. So, even though it was a regular "adventure," as Sarah so nicely put it, we all arrived home with only minor injuries to a few parties involved. And, most importantly, the mission to retrieve 2 louvred doors for repurposing was completely and utterly accomplished!