The van, the tape deck and change, oh my!

Bea has a strange love of being in cars when they are not moving, like when they are just sitting in the driveway. So strange, in fact, that you could put her in there for about an hour while we hang out in the yard. She will just play and play and will get even more excited if you play peek-a-boo by hiding behind the door. Her excited screams make me roll on the floor laughing, and it was hard for me to believe that such a loud, joyous scream of delight could come from something so small.

About a week ago, Josh was doing yardwork and Bea wanted to be outside with him. He opened up the van and let her in so that he could get some stuff done. Some time had passed so I went out there to check on the two of them. Bea was in the front of the van, and the change holder was open. She was playing with the change. I immediately shut it because the thought of me taking her to the emergency room with a penny, nickel, dime or quarter lodged in her throat was not my idea of fun. She didn't put up a fuss or anything.

The same night, I go out to grab us dinner and I turn on the radio in the van. The screen is displaying the correct station, but no sound is coming out no matter how high I turn up the volume. As I look a little closer, I see about 5 or 6 pieces of change jammed in the tape deck portion of the stereo system. And this is what I can see! Who knows how many more there are in places I can't see! I have no idea how everything is tied in together, but I finally got the radio to work, the CD player now reads 'error' whenever I put a CD in, and the tape deck is definitely out of commish.

The thought of her putting the change in the tape deck is not surprising at all. I can imagine her just singing and playing while doing it. Now, how do we get the change out? Josh tried pliers and no luck. Next up is the shop vac...if that suction doesn't work, I might never be able to play CD's again.