It's the biggest secret we've ever tried to pull off....

I've mentioned before what a good kid I have - especially considering he's a teen. (Yes, I am knocking on wood furiously over here because I know that could change with the blink of an eye).  I figure this is my repayment for the fact that he never, ever slept as a baby AND had colic.  Needless to say, for the first year or so of his life, I was insane.  Because I'm not kidding or exaggerating when I say - he NEVER SLEPT!!

You may also recall that Man-Child recently celebrated his 16th birthday and is going to take his driving test this coming Friday.

So, being the uber awesome mom that I am, a long while back I asked my car guy (the guy who works on my car) to keep his eye out for a really good, safe and cheap car for Man-Child.  And he came up with one.  When this guy tells me that a little old lady has been driving the car, I can believe it.  When he then tells me that he's been doing the maintenance on this car and knows the history then I know that it's a good car.  And, bonus points, it doesn't look too much like an old lady car.  When he told me the price, I almost fell over because it seemed to good to be true.

Hubby and I had actually shelved the idea of getting him a car since Hubby isn't working.  But between the price of the car, the fact that Man-Child is such a good kid and hasn't gotten into any trouble (that we know of, anyway), he's kept his grades WAY, WAY up this year,  and the fact that once Hubby either gets a job or this business takes off he will need a way to get around (did I mention the price of the car is a total steal?) we decided to at least go look at it and see what we thought.

The whole thing has been insane as we had decided to keep it a secret.  We went to go look at the car two Thursdays ago.  I figured I would take off from work an hour early - we'd go look at it and we'd be home before Man-Child.  Man-Child is NEVER home from football practice before 6:30 pm.  Never.  So we had plenty of time.

As we were standing there talking to our car guy (who is also a personal friend) my phone rings.  And who should it be?  Man-Child.  At 5:30 pm!  Apparently, school let out early (yes, I get bad mom of the year for not knowing his schedule) so practice had naturally ended early.  I lied and told him we'd gone to grab a bite to eat.  Luckily, he didn't pick up on the fact that I don't usually even get home until 5:30 pm.

After discussing it, in snatched whispers, we decided that we would do it.  So on that Saturday, we somehow ditched Man-Child long enough to meet up and pay for the car and pick up the title.  Hubby was to go to the DMV on that Monday to have the title switched.

Another snag in our plan.  That Monday after Halloween was a Holy Day of Obligation.  My son goes to a Catholic school.  School was closed (my God is this kid ever in school???) again.  So Hubby devised some way to ditch the kid again - at this point it's a miracle he didn't develop a complex and start wondering why we didn't want to spend any time with him.

Now, as we all know visiting the DMV is it's own special hell on earth.  Hubby forgot the cardinal rule at the DMV.  They only take checks or cash and you are not allowed to question that policy.  Guess what he did not have?  Cash or checks.  Guess what he got for questioning the policy?  Nasty looks and snotty remarks.  He had to give it up and go back the next day.

It was my thought that we keep the car secret until Man-Child actually got his license.  But Hubby knows me far too well and knew that there was no way I could keep my mouth shut - so he put his foot down.

It's been very hard - because I am one of those people who buys a gift and then gets so excited that I can't wait until Christmas to give it.

On Wednesday, Man-Child received his grades (all A's; remember?) and I was raving about what a great job he had done - when he pipes up with "Since I got all A's do I get a car?" (joking, of course).  After a quick beat, I made a joke back.

We had decided that today was the day.  This morning, Hubby and I woke up very early and crept out of the house to go pick up the car.  We wanted to get it back here before Man-Child woke up.  We were successful!

The plan was to have Hubby go outside to do something.  I was to follow and then call back into the house that we needed Man-Child's help and then viola there would be the car and I would get the perfect picture.

But as with life - things didn't go according to plan.  Hubby went outside and before I could get out there Man-Child had followed him.  His reasoning - Dad was going somewhere - maybe he could tag along and get breakfast - it's all about food with this boy.  So he got to see the car and I didn't get to see his initial reaction.  I almost cried.

But - he is overjoyed.  And totally surprised.  He keeps repeating over and over, "I had NO idea!" and walking around with the biggest smile on his face.

And now?  Now he has the biggest reason in the world to pass that test on the first try.