Our New Van

Well, we bought a new van.

We scouted the internet for a bit over the weekend and then took LuLu and one of YaYa's friends with us to a few dealerships on Monday. Other then a nice Caravan with a DVD system, we didn't see much that screamed 'buy me'.

But that night, while trying to find the DVD van on the dealer's site, I came across a vehicle that caught my eye. Tuesday after work I decided to go look at it and dragged YaYa along - Lisa bowed out of the process, citing her purchase of the lemon Voyager (a foolish thought, as she did all the right research and just hit some bad luck).

YaYa and I test drove the car, looked at all the features, debated price with the salesman for awhile, then took the plunge and bought it. The decision was simple, the actual purchase was not. We were at the dealership from just  5 p.m. until just shy of close at 9 a.m.

[note: aside from an initial bout of brattiness right at the outset, YaYa sat patiently for hours, coloring, reading and playing on my phone. She also walked right into the side mirror of a Mustang, cutting her lip open (!). All in all she rocked and I was proud of her.]

In the end we - or rather I, as Lisa's (superior) credit was not run - got the loan and we were good to go. With the downpament payments are only $15 more a month than we paid on Lisa's Ford Aspire back in '95.

Of course, we haven't had a car payment at all in years and years, so the whole thing is frightening and very adult-ish.

It's a white 2005 Ford Freestar. Please spare me any formulaic anti-Ford propaganda. During our time together Lisa and I have owned a 1994 Aspire (still running) a 1995 Aspire (totaled by a drunk driver, which paid for a lot of our wedding), a 1994 Ford Escort wagon we sold to my Dad when Smiley was born, and a 1998 Ford Windstar (totaled by a woman who sped through an intersection and sideswiped Lis and LuLu). All ran fine and were dependable and durable as you can hope for, especially Vi, our '94 Aspire.

The Plymouth however . . well, p**s on it.  

So I was gleeful to be back in a Ford. It reminds me a lot of our Windstar, with some upgrades. It has stow and go seating, dual sliding doors, a second row bench which gives us a crucial extra seat in the middle, remote keyless entry, a CD player (no small thing, as the Voyager's radio was on the fritz), and more.

What do I like best? Aside from the stow and go, the bench, and the 36,000 miles on the odometer,  I dig the little mirror located above the rearview mirror. It's sole purpose is to allow the driver to see the kids in the back row, which downright ROCKS.

Here's some pics right off the website.

Here's that second row bench:

Here's the stow and go before:

and after:

Some of the dealer perks: a $520 gas card, a year of roadside assistance, a 3 month/3000 mile comprehensive warranty, and free car washes for the life of the vehicle, which can come in handy with a white car.

I like it, and I hope/pray/wish it works out well for Lisa for many years to come.

It ain't always roses. .

I wrote this two or three weeks ago and didn't get a chance to post it

 

Well, it's been a sh**ty summer, and as you know it started early, with May approaching a mythically lousy standard that I hope is never duplicated.

 

Then, after a reasonably decent June, my Grandma and my wife's Grandpa died within two weeks of one another in July. The funeral for my in-law was fraught with family drama, and my wife had to bear the local brunt of a misplaced argument related to the events.

 

To boot, on Sunday the 23rd she and Middle Child were T-Boned at an unmarked intersection. No one was hurt, thank God, but it totaled our van and we spent a lousy two weeks in a rental until we received word that the other driver's insurance took 100% liability.

 

We replaced the van with a Plymouth Voyager. It's the first time I've owned anything but a Ford, and I feel like a dirty rotten traitor :)

 

At work I'm ready to scream as the stress behind the scenes continues to build . . and I've had to let a few people go lately to boot. . .

 

At home, while the kids are great 85% of the time, the remaining 15% of the day - mainly at nap and bedtime - they're devils.

 

1. Middle Child has a natural potty mouth. Now no doubt she's learned the verbiage from us, but it flows so smoothly off her tongue you'd think she was a sailor. And that girl can fight for a 3 yr old  - I saw her take down YaYa and jump on top of her faster than Hulk Hogan in the day.

 

2. YaYa is the most stubborn, strong-willed kid EVER, especially if it's something her Mom wants and she doesn't. She also has the God-given ability to manipulate and/or convince others to get her way. Yikes. My wife and her butt heads a lot, and it ain't pretty.

3. Parker is still the most cheerful, happy kid I've ever known, and causes no problems, but he doesn't know what 'no' means. In the words of the Mrs. "Parker thinks 'no' is another way of saying 'go faster'" when he's grabbed something he shouldn't.

To try to stem the tide we created a detailed expectations chart. There are two Disney princesses who move up and down a staircase depending on the girls actions. It works, but we are still working out the kinks. Right now I'd say it does the job 50-60% of the time.

One perk they get on a good day is a guaranteed story at bedtime. We've literally read every book in their bookcase so often the girls are bored, so we've moved on to chapter books. The Mrs. is currently reading them The Wizard of Oz and Henry and Ribsy. The latter was the first 'book' I ever read, back in 1st grade, and remains one of my 10 favorite books of all time. It's a joy to hear the girls enjoy the story.

* * * *

One day with the rental we took the kids down to the Jelly Belly factory down near Illinois. To my regret, I forgot the camera. Parker was very good during the tedious tour, but I'm afraid there's not much more to say. On the way home my niece, who'd gone with us, lost a baby tooth courtesy of one of the jelly beans.