Hello Chevy? I Need Some Help!

Okay, so today hasn’t been the best of Mondays. First, the rain. Second, my 6yo fell in her chair at lunch today and cut her chin open. Third, Children’s Hospital ER (need I say more?). Fourth, my van broke down on the way home from the ER.

Yep. I was on my way to Walgreens to get a “do it yourself” kit for my 6yo since 2 hours later, the ER still had us as 6 people down on the list. I figured I could glue it back together just about as well. I planned to get the supplies to do that and then swing through someplace and get her a shake because she hadn’t actually eaten her lunch yet when it happened and by 3pm she was pretty hungry.

But as I got off I44, my car started sputtering and the check engine light came on. I had this vision of horror of getting stuck at Walgreens for the rest of the day so I drove straight to Mike Piazza’s. He’s an honest mechanic and he shoots straight. He usually tells us our car is worth the investment of repair. Tonight he told me if I had the chance to trade it in for a Chevy I should probably do so.

Fixing my van is going to cost $480. And it might not even do the job. In short, we’re a one-car family for a while.

Oh, Chevy…I could use another test drive promotion please. I promise I won’t even complain about the wrap this time. Really truly.

Life, Post-Traverse

Here we are, one day later. I didn’t think I would be back here, but I am. You know how some things you don’t really even notice until you don’t have them anymore? That’s what I experienced today. I didn’t really notice how smoothly the Traverse drove until I got back in my van today. I also didn’t notice how sensitive the brakes were until I stopped at a stop sign today and almost rolled right through it because I’d grown accustomed to the Traverse stopping so quickly. Yeah, little things like that.

But, to keep things fair, my van wanted me to tell you he got his feelings hurt when I kept announcing to the world he had 198,000 miles on it. In truth, he only has 197,700 miles on it. He was so put out by my exaggeration he went and grew mold all over the back floor boards. Mold. As in, green and fuzzy and stinky and oh-my-word-what-am-I-going-to-do-now MOLD.

If anyone knows what one should do to get rid of mold growth in the back of a van I would be most grateful. And if anyone tells me the solution is to buy a 2010 Chevy Traverse I just might burst into tears.

Oh yes, the Chevy Traverse. Back to that. We just found out they extended the date for you to go test drive one in exchange for a free one-hour massage. You now have until November 29. That means you can go over Thanksgiving break and take your whole family with you. That should make for a really fun story. You should do it.

Now then, I have some mold to deal with.

Hope you’re enjoying this fantastic Saturday in St. Louis!

Goodbye Chevy Traverse – We will miss you.

As a final task, in our final week of the Mommy Madness campaign – we return our cars today – we were asked to do a ‘commercial’ for Chevy.  These are our thoughts:

Chevy Mommy Madness Wrap Up – ExtraordinaryMommy from Extraordinary Mommy on Vimeo.

Thank you Chevy, thank you Mommy Madness Team – The Smiths definitely had some fun this past month!

Oh – and friends – you still have until November 29th to test drive an Equinox or Traverse and get a FREE MASSAGE from Massage Envy (why would you pass that up?)

Navigating in the Chevy Traverse

As I prepare to return my lovely Chevy Traverse, I have to confess – one of the things I will miss the most – the OnStar and Navigation systems – so, I wanted to leave you with two videos….

A preview of OnStar:

<object width=”400″ height=”300″><param name=”allowfullscreen” value=”true” /><param name=”allowscriptaccess” value=”always” /><param name=”movie” value=”http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=7595295&amp;server=vimeo.com&amp;show_title=1&amp;show_byline=1&amp;show_portrait=0&amp;color=&amp;fullscreen=1″ /><embed src=”http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=7595295&amp;server=vimeo.com&amp;show_title=1&amp;show_byline=1&amp;show_portrait=0&amp;color=&amp;fullscreen=1″ type=”application/x-shockwave-flash” allowfullscreen=”true” allowscriptaccess=”always” width=”400″ height=”300″></embed></object><p><a href=”http://vimeo.com/7595295″>Chevy Traverse OnStar- an ExtraordinaryMommy Favorite</a> from <a href=”http://vimeo.com/user1320608″>Extraordinary Mommy</a> on <a href=”http://vimeo.com”>Vimeo</a>.</p>

and

How (not) to use the manual Navigation System (User Error)

Navigating in the Chevy Traverse – ExtraordinaryMommy from Extraordinary Mommy on Vimeo.

Returning The Traverse

Today is the big day. I have to return the Traverse. It has been a fast month. I can’t believe how fast it has been. I have enjoyed being a part of this great promotion. I had Dave clean out the car and vacuum it last night. The good news is we found the remote for the TV. It has been missing for three weeks out of the four. I was afraid I would be buying a new remote. I can honestly say the Traverse is an awesome family car. It is the perfect size for us and we never had a problem with space, even with my big crazy family. Tomorrow it is back to reality. My van is in the shop getting new tires so it can be road ready when I leave in the morning for the state competition for cheerleading for my Shannon. Go Red Knights. I sure wish I was going in the Traverse, the gas mileage is almost double to my van:(

Mommy Mission #4 and a bit of Mommy Sadness

Goodnight, sweetheart,
Well, it’s time to go. (Sha-na-na-na-na)
Goodnight, sweetheart,
Well, it’s time to go. (Sha-na-na-na-na)
I hate to leave you, but I really must say
Goodnight, sweetheart, goodnight.

As it appears I never was able to talk the official Chevy people into giving me the 2010 Traverse, I have to return it later on tonight. Sniff, sniff. And with the return of the vehicle, so will I be returning to my own normal drivel on my own normal blog. If you want to watch me go through severe Traverse-withdrawal, you may do so over there from now on.

But before we part ways, I have one last video for you. This was my answer to Mommy Mission #4 in which the Mom Squad members were asked to make a commercial of the 2010 Chevy Traverse/Equinox. Before you watch it, I must confess that I tried to do the voiceover myself. About five times. After the 5th time, Craig took pity on me and offered his best Mr. Moviefone impersonation. He is currently taking offers for other voiceovers and wedding DJ gigs. (Okay, he’s really not and he’s going to be sooooo happy I just said this here.)

So, goodbye! It’s been a fun ride, but now it’s time to get off. Maybe the next time I see a Chevy Traverse it will be YOU riding around town in it. Let’s just hope it isn’t wrapped.

T-Minus 3 Days and Counting

Friday is the big day around here. Yep, the big, sad day. We have to give our cars back on Friday. Wah.

In all honesty? I’m not going to miss the wrap on the car. I will enjoy being able to sneak out for my Coke Zero fix incognito again. Yes ma’am, I will. But I will miss the 2010 Chevy Traverse.

Here’s my Top 10 list of reasons why I’m going to miss the 2010 Chevy Traverse:

10: The cup holders are stable. There is no chance that I can pull it out and spill my Coke Zero all over the radio dials and/or the floor mats. Ahem.

9: Opening the door to the gas cap is idiot proof. I’m the idiot who proved it.

8: This car holds a lot of stuff. And I do mean a lot.

7: I love driving the Traverse. I really do. It doesn’t feel like I’m navigating a school bus and I really appreciate that.

6: The back-up camera is super nice, as are the warning lights and beeps that appear when you get too close to the trees that line your driveway. Not that I’ve experienced either the lights or the beeps because I’ve gotten too close to the trees that line my driveway or anything… (Who was the genius who lined our driveway with trees anyway?)

5: The sound system in this ride is super fantastic. It’s better than what we’ve got inside our house. Which may or may not be the reason my family finds me hiding out in the car from time to time.

4: The car seats 8. 8 people. 8 regular sized people wearing regular sized seat belts. It seats 8 regular sized people comfortably. I like that. I will miss that.

3: There are two DVD screens in this car. My kids are going to miss those very much.

2: Believe it or not, I’m going to miss OnStar. Because sometimes even a gal with a Google map gets lost. Okay, it’s happened more than sometimes.

1: On Friday, I go back to my very thoroughly “mommed” ride. Note to self: grab the Lysol.

Mommy Madness at The Muny

We had family photos scheduled way before this Chevy Traverse/Equinox promotion came on our radar. So since we were having it done anyway…we thought we might as well get one with our funny ride here. Thanks, to Kelly Park, of Kelly Park Photography, for a fun photo shoot!

We live really close to Forest Park, so it’s pretty fun to sneak over there from time to time for some family fun. That’s what we were doing when put together this video of life in the backseat of the Chevy Traverse.

Hope you all are enjoying this super-fab weekend here in St. Louis! As for me, I’ve folded and put away six loads of laundry so far, with two more coming. But my family has been outside most of the day, so there’s that.

Have a great weekend!

Relax and Unwind

Finding the time to relax and unwind is hard.  Between the kids, their schedules, my work and all things family, even if I can locate a smidge of unspoken-for moments, it is unlikely I will use them to breathe deeply.

I think that is exactly what Chevy figured when they decided the six of us Mommy Madness gals should head to Massage Envy for an hour of uninterrupted massage-style bliss.

I honestly worried that I wouldn’t be able to shut my brain down enough to enjoy the solitude and spoiling.  But, friends, I did.

My new friend Rich worked on knots I didn’t even know I had.  He absolved me of the headache I have had for the last week.  He worked quietly and allowed me to drift and enjoy.

Thank you Chevy.

Thank you Massage Envy.

Thank you Rich.

Love, The Super-Relaxed Danielle

Mommy Mission #3 and Some Kiddie Madness

For Mommy Mission #3 we were asked to go to Massage Envy with a friend for a one-hour massage. Go ahead, twist my arm. It was really hard to say yes to this one. Okay, so it wasn’t so hard to say yes to it, but it was a bit trickier to convince my husband to go with me. You see, he’s the best friend I’ve got. Really truly. And he’s a high school teacher. And he’s the minority in our sorority (meaning, he’s one man who lives with five gals). If that doesn’t cause one to need a one-hour massage, I don’t know what does it.

But he was a little freaked out about it. And can I just tell you this? Craig doesn’t get freaked out. About anything. He pretty much has one facial expression and from it you really have to live with him for almost 13 years to know just exactly which emotion that expression is conveying. In short, you almost can’t. I can, though. That’s what makes me his best friend too.

Okay, do I have a point? I do. Craig went with me for the free massage. The video is here.

The short story is this: we would go again. Yes, even Craig. Because massages aren’t just for busy mamas anymore.

Now then, for some kiddie madness. My two younger daughters were playing with their Ello set the other day (and Oh. My. Word. Can I just pause here and say that I guess this stuff is hard to find right now because the prices on it are CRAZY. Back in the day you could get sets of it at Borders for $20 with a coupon. What happened, world?) Okay, rant over. Again, I have a point. Here it is: They had built themselves a little world with all kinds of fun people and everything. I heard one of them make a car sound with her mouth. I then heard the other say, “Come on! We’re on our way to the car place. We’re going to go get our new 2010 Chevy Traverse for FREE!!”

Yes she did. And I laughed. And laughed. And laughed.

And now I need another massage. You probably do too. There is still time. Go test drive one of these cars already and get your code! Go! Go, go, go!!

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