Refrigerator, van ... it's all the same

It's after 2 p.m. and I'm close to mainlining the cup of coffee I reheated ... again.

The again is in reference to reheating the coffee, not mainlining it. I've never actually done that, but taking my caffeine intravenously is definitely an idea that's been tossed around. *yawn*

The last two weeks have kind of been a blur of kids coming and going and things changing. My 10-year-old nephew came and spent a week with us and then I switched him out for his sister, who is 14. I think having them here was more exhausting than keeping up with the Mini Me Duo. If nothing else, it was more mentally exhausting.


Thankfully, while they were here I got a lot done. Future Home is shaping up to be in good shape thanks to having an extra set of hands to help with the kidlets and we were able to give Anna some babysitting experience. Anna is my niece, obviously ... I mean, I hope you wouldn't think my sister would amuse herself by naming a boy Anna. Just wanted to make sure that's clear and all.

Anyway, ah, babysitting. I get a little nostalgic thinking about all my years of being a kid-keeper. I use to do a lot of awesome things with "my kids" from going to the playground or spending the day in the pool to picnics in the park and hanging out at the lake. *sigh* The days of responsibility that mostly required being fun. Nostalgic.

Now that I have my own kids, though, I wonder if other couples are as strange as us and also if Boy Wonder and I should be allowed out of the house alone together during the day when stores are open. I always think about how other couples take date nights and go to the movies to spend time together or go out to eat dinner in a romantic restaurant. Doing something like that would be stellar. Really.

Apparently, things like that simply are not on our radar. For starters, our "date" day began at 10:30 a.m. Saturday and the plan was to look at area rugs for the new house, but we bought snack stuff for the kids and Bissell carpet shampoo. You know, because I feel obligated to replace what I used since my mom was so kind to give me her supply. We were also supposed to look at new refrigerators.

We went out and bought a minivan instead.

Seriously, we couldn't have just gone out to lunch? Isn't that what normal couples do? Next time I get a date out of my husband, though, I want to be taken out for a meal where we use silverware instead of eating Mike and Ike candies in the car. Not that we don't need a larger vehicle, but we weren't exactly planning on taking that leap last weekend and I had one hell of a sugar headache by the time the deal was settled.

Yes, we did have a car that fit us all comfortably, at least all of us who are human. I'd been borrowing my Nana's Buick for a year and a half because I can't fit both carseats in my truck. I have the girls rear facing still and have serious reservations about flipping them forward facing until they reach the maximum weight. They each have 10 pounds to go and I swear Josie will be the only kid in kindergarten still in a rear facing five-point harness. My kid's going to get picked on so badly ... but she'll ride safely.

The vehicle problem is the dog. Bad Bailey cannot be trusted to just lay in the backseat between the carseats on long trips. She's tried climbing into Beanie's lap in the past and when we added Charlie to the family there just wasn't any way we could safely transport all of us unless I crammed myself into the backseat with the kids. I've been doing that long enough that I was able to tell when I really started losing weight again because I could maneuver in and out of the backseat via the front seat and console without cussing like a truck driver.

It'll be so nice to switch with the dog and sit in the front seat again when we make the 100-mile trip to visit my parents next time.

Before making this decision, we went back and forth about getting something larger that wasn't typical soccer mom style. Would I have preferred an SUV or crossover vehicle instead of a minivan? Possibly. We test drove the Chevy Traverse and a Tahoe, and despite their shortcomings, I loved them both — the Traverse I had trouble with the rear window because of my already limited vision and the Tahoe would have cost more to feed than it was worth. But after driving the Grand Caravan and checking out all the gadgets, I'm so excited to get my van home tonight.

I may even pop in a DVD and camp out in the backseat with a bottle of wine while Boy does bathtime with the kids.