Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Am I "mom" enough?

I need some advice:

I have been thinking lately about maybe looking into a minivan. I have ALWAYS said that I would never, ever, ever in my life drive a minivan. But the more I think about getting one, the more I think I would love one.

Right now we have our Tahoe and our Malibu (classic). I LOOOVE my Tahoe. It is super roomy, and can fit 3 car seats in the back easy. Plus a stroller, groceries, coats, blankets, etc. without any problem. It's a little big to drive around town, but I really don't mind it that much. I love the 4-wheel drive and that we can go to the cabin or pull a trailer anytime we want without having to borrow a truck. Basically, our Tahoe is like a truck. And it gets super bad gas mileage, which is why Casey mostly drives it to and from work while I drive our car. So the whole point of our "family vehicle" is thrown out the window because anytime we go anywhere, we either pay a fortune for gas, or we have to drive the car and there goes any roominess or comfort we ever thought we might have.

The car is fine, but it's so squishy. I hate to take it to the grocery store because if I have the stroller in the back, which I usually do, I cannot fit many groceries. It gets cluttered so easily because with 2 car seats in the back, even just putting your coat in the back seat feels like claustrophobia (never mind 4 coats). Plus if I ever have to get in the back to referee or give Molly a bottle or anything, there is no way I can fit between the car seats, let alone ever thinking of putting another car seat or child in there.

But a minivan? Seems so mom-ish. I guess I am a mom, though, so maybe that's why I feel like I would love it. I think I would love that we could have enough room for all of us (and for future children), but we wouldn't be spending our live savings on gas. I need to know what you other moms think. Do you have a minivan? Do you love it? Which minivan do you have? What should I be looking for in a minivan?

Thanks for your help!

5 comments:

Chantel and Brian said...

Minivan's can be expensive to buy at first, but does cost less to fuel it than an SUV. There are a few good vans, but I would def. suggest the Honda Oddesey. Not just because we are Honda freaks, but because everyone that I know that has one, loves it! 4 of brian's 6 siblings have one, plus his mom and they all LOVE it! It has a good resale value, and they run forever. They are roomy and comfy and quite wonderful. We are currently saving for one ourselves.

Marzipan said...

So, I couldn't do the minivan thing either...not yet at least. It was too big for me with just two kids and I don't feel like a minivan mom.

We just recently bought a "crossover", ours is a Kia Rondo. Most crossovers have five seats and then a third row that can fold out with either 2 or 3 more seats. I have LOVED ours and it's provided the extra space we needed. There are some really awesome crossovers like the Subaru Tribeca (I loved this one!) and they get great gas mileage and some awesome perks.

Just an idea!! Good luck in your search!

Clint and Sheri said...

We have a dodge grand caravan. Love it. Once you have kids, your not really considered cool anymore anyways right? So who cares! We only have one child and already got one! I walk to the van and open the side door with the automatic button on my key, and Eva's car seat is right there. I don't have to get in the car at all to strap her in. Tons of room in the back (with the stroller). All the seats lay down. When we go camping, we fit a queen size air matress AND Eva's playpin in there. Me and Clint both love it.

Em Russ said...

GET A MINI VAN. seriously. LOVE mine. LOVE.... automatic doors = L.O.V.E.

Krystal said...

I used to think I would never ever ever ever drive a minivan. Then we started looking and the SUVs were too expensive, so we test drove minivans. We ended up with a 2004 Honda Odyssey van and I absolutely LOVE it!! I love the automatic doors that open and close with the push of my remote. I love the captain chairs on the second row so that there is enough space between my kids that they can't touch each other. I love that the back seat folds down so we could haul anything like an indoor truck (until we had three, now we can't all go together if we want to haul something). I love that I have room to manuver through all three of my children to get them all buckled into their carseats. And we still have a huge storage space in the back. In fact, we are taking the 5 of us and Aaron's brother and his wife on a 14 hour drive to WA in a couple weeks and there will be plenty of room for all of us and our luggage and our Christmas presents. I love being higher up off of the road than in a car. Pretty much I have not found one thing about my can that I do not like. It's great. You'll love it.