June 11, 2006

Here's a little story that will certainly make you laugh -- on many levels.

Before ZZ left for Kazakstan, I went over to her house to pick up the baby essentials that she has collected with her twins. Two car seats, four car seat bases, the double stroller, etc... She's an excellent resource. :)

I wanted to get all of these things from her before she left on her trip, as Grace may come home before ZZ gets back and I really need this paraphernalia.

Currently, all of this "stuff" is sitting in my formal living room and at the base of the staircase. It's not very pretty, but right now there is no other place to put it. As soon as the nursery is finished, we'll have more room (I hope...).

Todd went to the hospital yesterday afternoon and while he was gone, I decided I would try to get the car seat bases into the back seat of my Honda Accord.

An hour-and-a-half later I was completely defeated.

It seems that sedans are not built to have three car seats in the back. No matter how I arranged them (Devin's seat on the end with the babies' seats in the middle and on the other end; Devin's seat in the middle with the girls' seats on each end), I couldn't make them fit. At one point, I had them all in there, but couldn't manage to get the baby seats to pop into the bases. There just wasn't enough room. There would have been enough room if I didn't have to close the doors to the car, but I think the police department might frown upon me traveling down I-10 with the doors open and three kids in the car. Just a hunch.

Now you need to picture this as it really happened. It wasn't just me putting car seats into a car and rearranging them. There was a lot of swearing involved (although I tried to keep it to a minimum, as we have a lot of kids in our neighborhood), some crying, a few "tossings" of key pieces across the yard and a toddler who insisted on sitting in the front seat, honking the horn. It was hysterical -- in retrospect. It was less than funny at the time.

I finally gave up and called Todd at the NICU. The phone was handed to him and the first thing I said was, "We need to buy a new car now." No, "Hi," or, "How are you?"

So this week, Todd and I will make the trek to a car dealership and come home with a ... *gulp* ...

Minivan.

I'm not 100% thrilled about this idea. I mean, I realize I'm no longer the 20-year-old cutie driving the red Mustang around SMU's campus, but at least in my Honda, I had some elements of cool -- Satellite radio, navigation system, voice automation, etc. You know -- old people cool.

There is just nothing cool about a 30-year-old driving around a minivan with a DVD system playing, "Finding Nemo," or something equally as obnoxious (don't get me wrong -- I'm a huge Disney fan and love Nemo. But certainly you get my point). The last bit of coolness that I have managed to hold onto is now being taken away from me by a Kia Sedona minivan, or something of the like.

So there you have it. Erin Pruetz will soon be driving a minivan. It's laughable, I admit it.

I'm off to see my girls and then, this afternoon, Todd and I are taking Devin to see "Cars" in the theatre. It's his first in-theatre movie and he's very excited. He deserves a special treat, too. He's been so good and patient since everything turned upside down in his world. I am consistently impressed with how easy-going he is and how adaptable he's become. I think this afternoon will be some much-needed mommy and daddy time for him. I'm looking forward to it too.

I'll update on the girls later this afternoon or tomorrow.

Peace,
EDP