And we got this "looong SUV," a gently used 2005 Nissan Quest:
Who am I kidding? This is a mini-van. I must own up to the fact that I have three children and I now drive a mini-van. I must kiss good-bye my last shreds of youth and coolness and say hello to soccer-momness. (And the answer is no, I cannot frame a picture without cutting off part of the vehicle I'm trying to photograph.)
I put this off as long as possible. We crammed the kiddos in the Corolla, three car seats across, for FAR too long. Kids would literally start to cry when I said we were going out. The girls are MUCH happier now that they have a little room to breathe.
(don't worry, these photos are for demonstration purposes only so it's okay that nobody is properly restrained in their seat!)
(This smile is almost worth the psychological pain!)
Sadie is probably the happiest of all because she went from the rear-facing infant carrier (yes, I was still shoving her in that thing!) between two sisters to a forward-facing "big-girl" car seat in a comfy captain's chair all to herself.
Buying a mini-van became pretty much inevitable when I found out I was pregnant with my third baby. Despite the fact that said baby is now 14 months old, I still don't think that was enough time to mentally prepare for this day. I'm sure I'll get over it (within the next ten years). Good-bye, Youth. Hello, Mini-Van Mama!
A suburban mother's role is to deliver children obstetrically once, and by car forever after. ~Peter De Vries
You are so grown up. The girls are living in the lap of luxury now. They do look a lot happier.
ReplyDeleteI would have to really get used to driving a big car around myself. I remember being a day camp counselor and we had vans that fit 12 kids age 6-12. Now THAT was a big car. I refused to drive it.
The girls are so happy! And remember, it so looooong SUV-ish that you're not a TOTAL mini-van mama yet. You still have SOME cool left.;) GREAT "playing" with you today.
ReplyDeleteHow fun! I think you got a cool minivan. Your girls look so thrilled to have all of that space.
ReplyDeleteSomeday, cooler cars will be in our future again. Until then... enjoy the vanness and the extra carting capacity! Happy you got a great van -- the type you were looking for! I agree, the Quest doesn't look as mini-van-ish.
ReplyDeleteSeriously more space makes life so much easier. Now you guys can ROAD TRIP!!!
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing how "coolness" so easily gets sacrificed for the smiles of our kids and most importantly our sanity! The van looks great. I totally agree with Wendi in the SUV-ish look of it. Thank goodness they aren't the large monstrosities that we were toted around in as kids!
ReplyDeleteI remember the day we bought our minivan. We had to sell our sporty Ford Explorer (which we LOVED) to get the minivan. Kevin joked that a part of his manhood was sold along with the Explorer, but I have loved the minivan. Now I'm ready for a grown up SUV that doesn't have Sprite on the floor, candy wrappers everywhere and years worth of Bear Lake sand completely ingrained into the upholstery! By the way, this is your cousin-in-law Monica speaking! Hope all is well.
ReplyDeleteHi! Just dropping by to let you know I saw your comment on Kiley's last post, and started "lurking." ;-) I loved your writing, so I thought I'd do my "get-to-know-them" ritual and read your first post. But I ended up on your Salinger post, and thought it was so convenient of you to link the actual stories, that I read them all! I decided to go backwards, so I'd end up with your favorite. At first I didn't "get" it. (Never read Catcher, can you believe it?!) But I kind of got into them by the end. I'm sure I'd enjoy them more on paper (holy screen headache!), with more free time, and with group discussion. I'm definitely going to go through them again within a few years. Anyway. (TMI, I know. ;-) Thanks for posting them! I love his style. I'm really curious what it was about them that you loved so much.
ReplyDeleteMy brother and sister in law have that van and they love it. As far as vans go, that one is actually really nice. We opted for an 8 seater SUV...for now anyway. We'll only have 2 car seats...it'll be a while before there are 3 so I'm going to enjoy my somewhat coolness until then!
ReplyDeleteI too, saw your comments on Kiley's page and started "lurking" as Summer so aptly put it. The funny thing is I have been "lurking" on Summer's page as well. Anyway, I'm Melissa, Matt's sister -- not that it matters, but your posts make me laugh. What a great writer. Salinger would be proud, in a dark, brooding, kind of way. Mini vans rock. I myself started out early driving a 1986 Astro van to and from school. Definitely a cool ride.
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