Minivan talk

Now that I've got two kiddos I'm actually contemplating minivans. Yes...this anti-minivan Mommy is thinking about going to the dark side! Also, the possibility of my parents moving out here also prompts me to consider this option. I'm sure we'll be going out with them, so a minivan would be able to accomodate four adults and 2 carseats without any problems. Even if they don't move out (curse that thought!), I have to say that the draw of having three rows of seating is pretty appealing. I could put one carseat in the 2nd row and another carseat in the 3rd row! This way the two wouldn't need to see each other. You parents know what I'm talking about here, right?

Kia Sedona: (1) Sunroof (2) Interesting center console (3) DVD system & monitor (4) Remote Start!!! This would be fantastic in the summer where it takes the engine to warm up enough to get the AC blasting in the car (5) Sunroof (6) Dual zone air (7) Removeable seating for more interior room

Nissan Quest: (1) Has a fold flat 3rd row - this'll be great for hauling big items (2) The 2nd row can slide forward or back for more leg room (3) The 2nd row folds down "almost" completely (4) Side curtain airbags! (5) Overhead console for storage & 2 DVD monitors - anyone use this feature? Is it really nice? (6) It looks neat but is the middle console awkward to use? (7) The sunroofs are nice & you can close them when it's really hot!

Toyota Sienna: (1) Side curtain airbags! (2) DVD player with one monitor (3) 3-zone air system (4) Another one with seats you need to remove

Dodge Grand Caravan: (1) Stow-n-Go seats! I love the fact that you don't have to haul any seats out to get all that back exterior room. I like the fact that each side & each row can independently fold down. (2) Side curtain airbags! (3) It's supposed to have a much quieter interior (4) 3-zone air system (5) DVD player with one monitor

Honda Odyssey: (1) You can stow the 2nd row under the floor, right? or do you have to haul those things out still? (2) Sliding door windows can open! (3) Another 3-zone air system here! (4) DVD system with one monitor (5) Side curtain airbags! (6) Moonroof is available

With the two underfoot, I don't have the time right now to go out and go to the dealers to check these things out in person. I'd like to know YOUR views on specific minivans.

1. Which one is not even worth looking at?
2. Which one has the best pick-up (for passing)?
3. Which one has the biggest feel inside?
4. Which has the most comfortable 1st row seats?
5. Which has really comfortable 2nd row seats?
6. Which has the most comfortable 3rd row seats?
7. Which one has the brightest headlights? (where I live it's pretty dark)

Come on! Help me out people! Once I figure out which are the top 3 minivans then I'll have to convince my hubby to consider them (so we can plan on buying one next year). Going out to see them will be an entirely different project all together!

Sending some links to entries

I read lots of blogs but these two gals really got to me today. In a funny way....not in the oh-so-serious way.

Here's this entry from Suburban Bliss. Those darn non-traditional students who ask too many darn questions in class. We've all had one (or two) of these folks in our classes so check our her situation!

Then there's this issue that Daisy Head had about Wal-Mart. Oh how I avoid that store and she gets it just right on why I avoid it.

Then of course there's Dooce with a blurb about her romantic weekend with her hubby.

Halloween Candy

There are a great many opinions on Halloween Candy. Here's my take on it...

I give what I consider to be "good" candy. Go ahead & call me a candy snob. I can't stand those Candied Corn triangle things. Bit of Honey? Nope! Smarties? Nope again! Seems that any candy in a twisty wrapper isn't a part of my Halloween candy bowl.

I think my preferences have developed from what I experienced when I was a kid. We didn't have a lot of money so we always bought those twisty candies. I know that I couldn't wait to go out trick-or-treating so I'd get some (in my opinion) REAL candy.

Now that I'm adult I can appreciate the smell of real chocolate wafting out of stash of sweet stuff. Snickers. Kit-Kats. M&Ms. Hershey's Bars. Nestle Crunches. 100 Grands. Reese's. Milk Duds. Twix. Yummy!

There's also a joy of smelling the fake "fruitiness" from certain candy. Gummy Bears. Dots. Jujyfruits. Hot Tamales. Skittles. Starburst. What's good about these is that you can hold them in your hands and they don't melt (well not as fast as chocolate).

There are a few weird exceptions to my likes though. I can't stand the taste of Butterfingers (even though I like Reese's). I got sick after eating a Butterfingers bar when I was about 6 and have never been able to unwrap one since then. I don't like the taste of chocolate & mint, so Junior Mints are out of the question. Then there's another issue with coconut & chocolate, which makes the Almond Joy taste horrible in my mouth. Of course, there's the chocolate covered raisin. Either give me a raisin or give me a piece of chocolate. Don't combine them!

So you can bet that I'll be out buying my good candy sometime soon. I normally get about four of those 100 piece bags. This year though I'm not sure what to do. We're here in the townhouse & I don't know if we'll get any kids. Plus, I don't know if we'll spend the day up at my ILs since Halloween is on a Sunday this year. Hmmm....

What's your opinion on candy? Any favorites? Do you give each child one piece or a handful? Do you end up "oohing & aahing" at the little wee ones who are obviously out for their first time? Do you keep your pets away from the door? Do you scare the kids as they come up to your home?

Come on...give me a shout & tell me what your tradition is!

There's no school today

I've got both kids at home today...ALL day!

Why? For some odd reason, the school district has today listed as a day-off. I didn't even know about it until I overheard the preschool director mention it to one of the Moms. What the heck?

Anyway, both kids are playing here at the house. I had today designated as a cleaning day since we had my folks over for the weekend. I've got laundry washing and drying. The kids are now in the room with me. They've got the flat sheet of my bed and are using it as a tent/car. Alternately she's pulling the sheet over his head to "hide" him. Then the Princess is trying to pull the Bear when he's on top of it. He's got my hubby's gloves on - the ones he got for working out at the boxing gym (ah-hum...the ones my hubby has never used). They're also using the sheet for tug-of-war. Hey! Just was long as the two are playing nicely without arguing...I'm all for it!

I just wish the school had given us more notice on the day-off. I could have planned a play date for today with some of the Moms from the preschool! ARGH....

Shoes on or off?

I came across an interesting discussion on the HGTV message boards. People are debating about "Shoes on or off" rule in the house. I guess some lady is having problems having her parents (of all people) respecting her rule of having everyone take their shoes off before entering her home.

I grew up in a house where we had to take off our shoes before entering. That's the way we grew up. We lived on the west coast and it seemed like the norm. We took off our shoes when we went to our friends and to our families homes. No questions asked.

Was it the norm because most of our family friends were of Asian descent? Actually, I think it's a sign of respect to do what the homeowners are doing. So if they're shoeless than we go shoeless. Not a big deal. After all, we're guests. They've opened their home to us so we should respect their home (& their rules).

Some bring up the issue of their own comfort. It's not like you're going to be shoeless for 12 hours or something! It's for a couple hours right? You're just visiting, not living there. It's another thing all together if a person can't walk without shoes (this was brought up in the thread). Of course, I'd respect someone's need to wear orthodics to walk. But if you don't need shoes to walk then go without the shoes!

Then there's the issue of what shoes bring into the home. I'm sure we've all seen that carpet cleaning commercial where that gal is jogging over lots of yucky stuff. I'm really surprised that folks are willing to say that the shoe mats outside their home will get all that junk off their shoes. I don't think all the yucky stuff is off! Stuff gets tracked in no matter how much you rub your feet on those mats. Go ahead and vacuum with a Dyson! You'll see how much crud is packed into your carpet. A regular vacuum can't get into the fibers the way a Dyson can. There's dirt imbedded in the carpet and the padding. Ew! Gross! Plus, how often do folks get their carpets steam cleaned? Once a year? Twice a year? Never?

It was also brought up that this gal should "pick her battles" when it comes to her parents. Hmmm... I know that I'm an adult and my parents respect my opinion. They also know when they're visiting my house that it's MY house -- not theirs. If I ask them not to do something in my home than they won't. And yes...my Dad walks with a cane. Again, it's a sign of respect.

Now then, what do people in cold climates do when it's snowing outside? They wear boots, right? Well, what do these folks do when they go inside their home? Take off their boots and put on some shoes to walk around their house? Or do they walk around in socks/slippers once inside their home? I'm not being snippy about this...I'm seriously curious because I've never lived in a snowy climate. Anyone got input on this "snowy climate" question?

Okay...okay...I had to get all of this out. If I offended anyone, SORRY! It's just how I feel about the topic. I just can't believe some of the responses that were on that message thread. I got all frustrated with the stupidity of it all.

Again, if the homeowners are shoeless than go shoeless! It's not going to kill you! If you don't want to go shoeless (& you know they've got a no shoes rule) then bring some thick socks or your own slippers. Easy as that!

If you want to read the debate in its entirety here's the link

SIX days alone with my kiddos...

Should I have you strangle me now or what?

I just spoke with my hubby and he broke the news to me. His boss told him that the two of them are going up to Salt Lake City for a conference. No big deal, right? Well, the conference is next week! Talk about short notice! Then they'll be flying out Monday and not coming back until late Saturday. Umm... Excuse me?

Thank goodness that the Princess has preschool 3 mornings each week. But I'll be stuck with two kiddos by myself for six LONG days. This just means I'm going to have to stock up on nuggets, fish sticks, pasta noodles, tomato & alfredo sauce, Italian sausage, ready-made salad, bread, sliced cheese, chicken chunks, sandwich meat, & soup for some easy fixing dinners.

I'm sure I'll be needing my coffee intravenously throughout the day. Anyone qualified to hook my veins up so I can strap a container of coffee to my belt? Oy...the madness of it all!

But then again I can get some stuff done that I like to do. After dinner I can wash and sweep the kitchen up in 1/3 of the time it takes my hubby. I can hog the bed at night and not have to hang onto the covers (lest they be tugged off me in the middle of the night) for dear life. I can go to the library and read a bunch of books in the evenings (usually I try to cuddle with DH). I can rent a bunch of girlie DVDs and watch them without fear of any snide comments.

Alas...I'll let you know more as next week plods along...

They've left and it looks good...

I've got a good feeling about this! Don't get me wrong...I've had this feeling before when things haven't panned out but I do think my folks are going to move out here!

We headed out at 9:15am on Saturday since the first subdivision opened their doors at 9:30am. It took us at least 30 minutes to get out there. We headed in to the one single story model they had. My folks really liked the look of the place. We talked to the sales representative and she told us of a smaller home that was already built and available. The buyer backed out for some reason or another and all that the new buyer would be able to do was pick the flooring and the countertops. The sales rep gave us the key to the place, which was right across the street from the models. It was a nice home (about 1600 square feet) with a living/dining area and a kitchen/family room area. The only thing separating the two spaces was a small pony-wall. It was 3 bedrooms & a 3 car garage -- just what my parents had requested. The problem? They didn't get a good vibe from it. My Mom had already fallen in love with the single story model that she'd just viewed. We went back to the sales office to return the key and take another look at the single story model. Let me say that I knew that was the floorplan for the two of them. Granted, it was a 4 bedroom 2 bathroom house but it had a wonderful great room with an open study right off the entry.

You know what's funny about the situation? When my younger sister came out here months ago, this was the floorplan that she had fallen in love with. Even I was impressed by the layout and knew it would fit my parents needs. Yes, they said they only wanted 3 bedrooms but I knew they'd appreciate the layout of the place.

So now we're in the waiting game. They've got a call into the sales rep. They want to get a listing of all the options. They want to figure out what costs they can roll up into their mortgage. They want to find out what the premium on the released lots are. They also need to find out what the time frame this builder requires buyers to adhere to when selecting their options (specific floorplan changes, additional lighting, 2 or 3 car garage options, cabinetry, countertops, flooring). I know with our builder they gave us 4 weeks to get all this stuff selected and signed off after we put money down on the lot we wanted. Since my folks live in another city, they need to find out the timeline so they can plan their travel itinerary.

I know that the builder they selected is forecasting June delivery dates on any homes they sell within the next couple of weeks. If my folks do buy a home with this builder a June delivery date would fit their needs. They need to clear out their house of junk they've been saving for years. They want to get fresh paint on all the walls and change out the carpets (which are WAY old). Then they'll put their house on the market & you know how long that process can take!

We're just keeping our hopes on neutral for now (with my fingers crossed) until they really commit to buying a home here.

Delays on the house

We originally had a promise date of sometime in January. Looks like we won't be moving until February!

There's such a boom on building houses that all the builders are having difficulty keeping the best contractors. They still have these guys build the houses but getting the guys scheduled in to do the jobs is difficult.

We found out that the builder got a couple additional framing crews from other job sites that they've got. But then there's a problem with getting all the slabs done. Turns out that the cement shortage [Yes! That's what I said cement shortage] is really affecting builders. The cement contractor isn't going to be able to get all the slabs done even though the builder got additional framing crews. So our builder is going to have to talk to another cement contractor to find out if they can help out and finish the slabs.

Luckily we've got this townhouse rented until March! Fortunately, we'll only be delayed about 2 to 3 weeks. The folks who were given October as their delivery date are going to have to wait until December to move into their homes. Yes, it's delayed THAT much for them. Eee-gads!

The builder manager did elude to the fact that the builders might be comping all of us who aren't getting our homes at the original delivery date. He said maybe backyard landscaping or something like that was in the works, but we'd find out more later down the road. I'd LOVE it if they just threw in a pool!

So it's a waiting game. But that's to be expected when a home is being built.