Monday Morning Blahg: Mechanically challenged

You know, it's hard enough to help my kids with their homework (especially math, in fact, I CAN'T help them with that anymore).  But then when the science teacher throws things in that you have to construct, that is normally beyond my capabilities.

Dioramas, I can do.  Charts, graphs, I can do.  Last night I had to help her with a balloon car.  First you have to construct the car, then you add a filled balloon to it to make it run.  My mind does not work that way.  So, one, I had to figure out what items were needed to construct a car.  We ended up using a plastic stick from the end of a helium balloon.  A crapload of tape, cardboard, dvds, and those thingies you drive into the wall to put a screw in (I have no idea what those are called.

Then I had to figure out how to put the car together without it falling apart.  This is where I'm mechanically inept.  My first try was pathetic at best.  I got the wheels on without falling off, but the didn't turn.  That car wasn't going anywhere (the teacher wants it to go five meters)

It was those screw thingies that brought it all together.  I used pieces of cardboard to kind of keep the wheels in place, then put those thingies on the ends of the sticks. 

We could not test it because I could not figure out how to get the balloon on.

Here's a pic of the end product.

I hope to god it moves at least a little bit. #mechanicalfail #crapihavetomakeformykids