First Time Honda Buyer, Comin' Through!

As our readers may know, I've driven a Prius since 2009. We bought it before the boys were born, before they were even thought of, and it was a great little car. It served us well. Until there were too many Wrights to travel comfortably in the 4-door hatchback of Prius goodness. Liz, Mike, Silas, Sage, and the two Girly dogs could no longer travel happily in the Prius. There was just not enough space. So Daddy and I started looking for a new ride.

After test driving a used Honda Pilot (2011) (among many other vehicles...many. other. vehicles. it was a long day), I felt I had found The One. It had enough seats for everybody and then some. It had third row seating, enough for three others besides us (and not uncomfortably I might add). The third row folded down and there was trunk space for bags and Girly dogs and groceries. The used model I looked at had a backup camera in the rear view mirror. I'm a very kinesthetic person, and to me, it just felt right. Good head space. Good space around the arms. Not cramped.

I needed Mike to drive one before I did anything because, well, he's 6'8" - if he doesn't fit in a car (comfortably), then I won't get it. Last Saturday evening we left the boys with some friends and I took Mike to drive everything on my (short) list of vehicles I liked. Rather than go back to the used dealership I had started at, I suggested we head to the source - an actual Honda dealership. They had to have more used Pilots than a random dealership right?

We pulled in to Gunn Honda and we were surprised - no salespeople were hawking us from the sidewalk. After days of looking at cars, I wondered what was up. We went inside. It was Saturday. 6 p.m. (they closed at 7). Bad us for looking so late (and if you've ever worked retail you're thinking, "I hate those people!"). Everyone was busy. Finally I grabbed an employee who was walking out the door and asked if there was a line or if we should sign in to see someone. He told me he could find me someone and if he couldn't, then he could show us a car. His name was Hugo, and he worked in Internet Sales (as in you indicate interest online and he can/will actually bring you the car to test drive at your work or wherever you need him to). We asked him about used Pilots and he showed us one they had - he also reminded us that the price of this new one was similar in price to a brand new base model. Brand new you say? It can't be.

But it was. Mike got to test drive a 2013 Honda Pilot LX (even newer than the one I did, grumble grumble). And he was pretty excited about it. It had good leg and knee room for him. He did not have to put the seat all the way back to drive - there was actually still some room to move it back (so it could be good for someone even taller). After Mike drove we left because we didn't want to be those people who were even there AFTER the store closed. Hugo asked us to fill out an online financing application and I went back on Monday to talk about financing and to get the Prius appraised. On Tuesday we were finally able to sit with financing and get papers signed.

Watch out now...

Mind you, we went in after Mike got off work and brought two kiddos with us. Hugo hung out with Silas in Gunn's kid-friendly room (NickJr playing, toys galore, lots of stuff to do...I wanted to stay there...) so that we could get everything done. I'm honestly not sure I've ever met a staff that would bend over backwards for us like the Honda staff did. Yes, I know, they're trying to sell cars, but you can tell that the folks at Gunn Honda are appreciative of your business and want to help you reach the goal you have of buying a car you want and can afford. They have the One Price feature where their price is there, displayed in the vehicle, and the staff is salary rather than commission-based. So really you get what you see, which is nice to see at a car dealership.

Our newest family member

So I'm excited to say we've added a 2013 Honday Pilot LX to our family. We're first time Honda buyers and super excited about it. Now comes the period where we learn how to turn off the AC and turn on the radio. That's the worst part of buying a new car isn't it? All your stuff's in a different spot. They explained it all to us, but I think you get so overwhelmed you just stop remembering. But I know how to fold down the seats, and if I fold down all the seats I can fit my bike in there. I could fit a gorilla in there. OK, maybe not, but you get the picture.


I'm excited to learn more about my new car and thankful for all the folks at Gunn Honda for helping us. Now I'm off to learn to park something that's about twice the size of my previous car. Wish me luck...

**And no, nobody paid me to write this. I'm sincerely appreciative and thankful for a good customer service experience. I'm a firm believer that you should always let people know when they're doing a fantastic job.**

#AnotherSaturdayOuting Without Me?

Another #AnotherSaturdayOuting! 

Last Saturday Silas went with Uncles Nic and Carlos to the duck pond. I told him the day before about the plan and he said, "Reawy!" He was very excited. He told me he wanted to "hold dem" and I said that probably he would have trouble catching a duckling to hold. He was sad. 

Nic and Carlos picked him up and took him to feed the ducks (I gave him a hoagie roll to break up for them). He enjoyed feeding them and actually got to hold some! Carlos sent me pics throughout their time and when I saw him holding them I smiled for him but became concerned about his...erm...grip. Carlos said the ducks were fine.

Feedin' the ducks

Holding a duck

No animals were hurt

They played on the playground for a bit, and then had Chic-fil-A for lunch and played in the play space. Silas was exhausted when he came home. But he had fun and that, my friends, is all that matters. The experience. The fun.

Sweaty lunch

Play!

Cool!

What fun things have you done this summer? What experiences did your children enjoy the most?

Exciting Things to Come

30 days...30 posts...just for fun and maybe prizes? Read some new blogs and get some Internet exposure? Sign me up!

Here's the funny part. I saw this (paid) advertisement on Facebook about the Simple Blogging Network 30 Day Challenge and so I clicked on it just to see what's up. Well. One thing I really liked about the idea was that you posted your daily link in a group on FB - there's some accountability for you. Plus there are prizes available. But you had to pay to sign up. Boo. But then I saw how much I had to pay. I paid $2.09. No joke. The price goes up though so it's better to get in early.

What do you get? Possible prizes, exposure, comments on your posts (and not just "good job"), and best of all, you get practice in writing every day. All of the "big" bloggers and people who write about blogging well will tell you this is important. There are also weekly seminars (that are recorded in case you're, you know, working) about blogging topics.

So I'm in. Are you? Learn more here.

Things I Learned This Week

Things I learned this week:

1) Buying a new car freaks me out. Daddy and I are looking into buying a new car. If everything goes well with financing we will have a new (larger) family member Monday evening. Filling out the financing application and talking to someone about handing the Prius over as a trade made me anxious. Does buying a new car make everyone anxious? I've always felt kind of uneasy about it. Maybe it's the idea that I'll buy this new car and then see another one I want (or the same car cheaper), like, two days later. If all goes well, photo to come this week...

2) Sending Silas out to do #anotherSaturdayouting without me makes me sad. Saturday he went to the duck pond, playground, and out for lunch with Uncles Nic and Carlos. He had a blast. I stayed home with Sage while Daddy worked. I think I have to learn that these outings are not about me and Silas (or me and Sage). They're about the kids having fun, no matter who is the adult along for the ride. I need to get over myself.

Silas feeding ducks

3) Running shoe inserts are more expensive than the sneakers. Well not really, but I spent $115 on shoes and $45 on the inserts. What the what?! Of course the inserts weren't marked. And of course I didn't ask. I got gotten by The Man.

4) These things are awesome. You need to make them. They're apple/croissant/sugar/cinnamon goodness. The recipe makes 8. They were gone in less than 45 minutes. I may have eaten 4.

Apple goodness. Make thiisssssss.

5) This little boy is learning crazy things. Sage is 1 (well 13 months, whatever). He has learned to "hop" his high chair. This thing started out in front of the table. This child needs heavy monitoring.

Look Mom, I hop!

What did you learn this week? Anything fun you want to share?

You Did What?!

While I haven't been writing about it, I've still been running. Once I got my heart shiz under control I went back to the C25K program because I really do enjoy it. Who wouldn't? You get to get out of the house, you get exercise, endorphins, whoo hoo! Sadly for me, some meds I take are the kind you're supposed to avoid sun exposure with, so running in the Texas heat + these meds = bright red skin that feels as if I have ants biting every square inch. That's if I don't get every square inch with SPF 70 active sun block. Yay. Thankfully I have another month and a half of these meds and I'm out. Oh wait, that's when summer ends. D'oh!

So wait, what did I do? Long story rather quick - I post running updates to Twitter. A friend who does 5ks plus other stuff that I would never sign up for in my life like Tough Mudder...mud...shudder. Anyway...she responded to a tweet that I should sign up for a 5k. I replied that I would look around for one. She said that signing up for one motivates you. D, don't take this the wrong way, but, *eye roll* Sure, I'll sign up for one (not). I really wasn't intending to.

I told my friend Robyn (who just had a baby and was super fit after Air Force training) that I had started running again and every once in a while she asks how it's going. It's going. I'm still running, and that's good right? I told her what D said about the 5k. She said she wanted to do one of those "color runs." Well. It just so happens that I did Google 5ks in San Antonio and there was a color-type run September 14. In a "I'll do it if you do it" moment of teen girl Truth or Dare weakness, we signed up.

Ahhhhhh!

Today is Sunday, July 21. We have 55 days (not counting the day of the race) to get ready. Suggestions?

You Don't ______ On Superman

Poop.

If that bothered you, you should skip this one.

A few months ago we tried cloth trainers rather than diapers for Silas. If you're a CD parent, I say "No wastea you money." Most can't catch a toddler poop if they tried. And the sizing is super weird - total lack of consistency across the "cloth trainer" area. Some (EcoPosh) fit his booty well, but were too loose around the legs (mess). Some (Blueberry) got too small super quick and we used the largest size they have. It's a total crap shoot (ha...ha ha OK I'm done).

And Pull-Ups? Fuggedaboutit, if your kid isn't ready to play the Let's Run to the Potty game, you are going to pay (and pay and pay) for those things...19 in a package, $7.99 ish per package...seriously? But we did them because school wouldn't do cloth trainers and Mason (Silas' BFF) was already wearing Pull-Ups so we can't be a baby and wear diapers can we? Noooooo (and thank god because the kid wore size 6 diapers for over a year and they ain't gonna fit for much longer and size 7s? Never seen 'em).

One day as Mommy shopped she saw Justice League underwear. 4T-5T. Hm. Silas had recently started asking about watching Superman and Batman (among other things) on TV, so I thought, "I wonder if this could work..." So I bought some Justice League undies for the Big Boy and stressed to him that we CAN NOT poop on Superman. We CAN NOT. He wore them around the house. He showed everyone who visited (which is just funny because the emblem [Superman, Batman, Green Lantnern, whomever] sits right by his penis...so here's my kid running up to our friends asking them essentially to...you got it...look at his crotch). We did OK at home. Not perfect, but what can you expect.

Super Undie Man running from water

Then one morning we were getting ready for school and I went to help him into a Pull Up. "No, unnerwear!" he cried. Uhhhhhh IIiiiiiii oooookkkkkkkk. So I told the nanny (Isella) the deal and suggested she put him in a Pull-Up as soon as possible. I picked him up and he was...wearing underwear. The same underwear. You've GOT to be kidding me. Isella told me he took off running to the potty whenever he needed to pee and he had not had a BM all day. Of course not. Because you don't poop in Superman until you get home apparently. Because as soon as we got home, there was Silas, apologizing to me and to Superman (come on, that was pretty funny). So he'll hold the pee, but still won't sit on the potty. *Sigh*

This has been a daily thing for almost a month. As long as he's in "unnerwear" he'll run to the potty to pee and hold everything else, I guess until he can't hold it anymore. And he doesn't want a Pull-Up. And he doesn't want to sit on the potty. Oye these children.

What foibles did you experience while potty training your kid(s)? C'mon, make me feel better...

This Little Boy Has Got to Go (to sleep)

Lack-o-sleeper

A few months back Sage was still waking two or three times at night. We did "sleep training" for a week and he slept through the night for a bit. It was awesome. Then he had an ear infection and woke up every night screaming, and that set us all back to waking up a few times a night. I was so tired I gave in to giving him milk when he woke up, and now we're back at square one (1 a.m.?).

This afternoon when I picked up the boys from school Silas was moody and told me as we climbed into the car, "I so tired Mommy I want to cry." Me too buddy. We both looked at Sage, our reason for being tired, and he was...already asleep in his car seat.

Sleep training starts again tonight. My 3 year old should not have bags under his eyes. He has many years to do that to himself.

**Update: Sage woke up only once last night and fell back asleep alone. He only woke up and stayed awake at 5:40 a.m. and I figured if he made it that long he could have some milk. Hopefully this will continue to a trend.**

"Dis my sad face Mommy."
 

Today We Swam

Silas has been swimming once, a little over a year ago while Daddy and I were hanging out in the NICU with Sage. I figured a fun #anothersaturdayouting would be to go swimming. Friends have a community pool so Silas, Sage, and I invaded this morning while Daddy nursed a hangover.

My big boy

The result? Super fun. Once we realized that Sage's "boat" needed to be blown up and Silas' borrowed vest wouldn't keep him from dunking himself, we were good.

           We splashed out in the kiddie pool, Silas freaked himself out by going under (only to learn...that he could touch bottom), and Silas pulled Sage and his boat around. It was very sweet.

Pushing brother's boat around

It's only 2 feet of water?

Then someone invited Silas into the big pool and he wanted to learn to swim. We floated, and dog paddled, he got out, he got back in (not at the steps - way to freak your mother out)...and finally he attempted to slip in at the far deep end and everyone got to hear my Mommy Voice as I was too far away (and carrying Brother) to jump in to 7 feet after him.

Sage in his boat and our friend Nic

Then we were done. It was almost nap time so the ability to listen dwindles then as parents know. We get in the car and he tells me, "I went under free time Mommy." I know dude. I was there. I pulled you sputtering from the depths of 2 feet of water!

What's the most fun family outing you've done? I need some more Saturday ideas!

Send Me Back to Work

It's summer. I'm a college professor. That means I either teach extra classes or...I have no idea what, I've always taught extra classes. I never knew what I'd do with myself.

Enter this summer.

Self-shaming (not the housewife type)

Two online classes and no "face-to-face" work makes Mommy cook, clean, and generally act like a housewife. I'm not sure how you feel about that, but it's so not me. I've been working on my dissertation and transcribing interviews, I've been working out (a lot it feels like - do you follow me on Fitocracy or on Twitter? If not, you should, I know you're creepy like that - see the sidebar), I've been planning weekend adventures for the boyz (see posts with #anothersaturdayouting tagged to see what all we do), and, like, hardcore cooking dinner. Meal planning with my laptop going hardcore, printing stuff out, making weekly schedules of food (no I'm not joking). It's kind of cray-cray.

I need to go back to work. Send me back to the land of the college students. Please.

The Phoenix

It's Time.

After a few months away of trying to right myself with the world, I'm back. And in case you can't tell, the blog's had a face lift. A "Face Off" or a...hold on...(Me: Honey, what's that movie with the guy in Mexico who pays some other guy to take his face, it's William Dafoe..." Daddy: "Once Upon A Time in Mexico?" Me: Uh...is it really? *Googles it* Me: Oh, yeah. Thanks.). Or like "Once Upon a Time In Mexico." Except I didn't pay anybody. And nobody died. And John Travolta and William Dafoe don't read my blog (that I know of).

Rambling aside, it's time for a rebranding of sorts. I think I divert from the blogaplan every once in a while because I get interested in something that just doesn't seem to fit with the theme here. But I forget that I make the freakin' theme, so yeah.

If you're a reader, what can you expect from me? Well, nothing I hope honestly. I mean come on, I disappear off the grid like your crazy uncle every once in a while and show up months later with a new wife and two adopted kids...wait what? Sorry. Moral of the story, keep expectations low and you won't be upset.

So you have been warned. Things will be different around here so help me...oh wait, that's what I told Daddy a few months ago. No worries, he's still here, he's still alive, it's all good. But things will be different. Some different topics to fill your noodle, and hopefully some shorter posts because MAN can that chick ramble, you know?

And there's Instagram - MamaAroundTheHouse if you play on IG. Don't forget the Twitter and the Facebook. Because we all know how important The Social Media is. But really, sometimes I can be funny. So it may entertain you. Note the "may."

Onward! *Neiiiiigghhhhh says the horse*