July

Ooops, didn't make it under the wire to enter in another "nice thing" post in June. Suffice to say, I'm looking forward to a quieter few weeks than the past ones. I'm currently in my nightsuit (a family word), drinking cuppa coffee #3, done with the paper, done with the dishes and doing laundry, and planning our next....

CAR PURCHASE.

Alas.

So we lost a car in the great ice storm of ought-two, then the replacement car we got for that was faulty and has died this week (or, rather, could be resusciatated to the tune of four grand), at some point our beloved 13 y.old Mazda went South, and now we have a used car with 60K and the aforementioned illin' minivan.

Bad car luck.

Shopping has been quick and dirty. Test driving with opinionated children is somewhat hilarious. "Mom, is this the V-6? I think the headroom is not that great, look at Daddy's hair sticking to the roof! Mommy, you want a black car, just like your first car after college!" Finding a car that has great MPG and is affordable is just plain dirty. But I will say car shopping has meant some soul-searching, and I've discovered some truths about our little clan.

First, my daughter will be driving in four years!! FOUR! That's not that far away! Secondly, we do have serious environmental concerns. I actually walked away from a car that would have suited us yesterday due to fuel economy. Third, my husband is a tightwad. Love you honey! Fourthly, we are social people. The car we all liked the best is probably not going to work - because it cannot do the jobs of: carting around my parents when they are in town, carrying our baby cousins + the big kids, carpooling to school and sports, or carrying our bikes if we want to ride the greenway.

We carpool enough that I think it warrants the bigger vehicle, and we also feel like for four years (until daughter is driving) we can justify another minivan/crossover or SUV (as long as it gets decent MPG). Our 2nd car is small and very fuel-efficient, and we will take it on long trips just as frequently as the new car.

Our latest idea is a car that is not a minvan but actually gets better gas mileage than "ole Bessy", and will be a great people hauler for me during the week and a great sports-activity transporter on the weekends. It's not a hybrid - we couldn't afford it - but I'm going to strive to drive as little as possible whilst raising these crazy kiddos and do what I can elsewhere to offset my carbon shoe size.

There, have I justified myself? I'm a suburban mom...it's time I admitted it. And that's a title I'm glad to have. Thoughts/comments welcome!