Car Seat Photos

I don't know why, but for some reason I cannot add the photos I wanted to add to the blog post about the new car seat. Annoying.

Here they are. Graco Snug Rides then....and now.

New Car Seat(s)

The boys have outgrown their little Graco infant car seats/carries. Remember these?

Well, they are now past both the height and weight limits. I can't believe they have grown so quickly. I mean, everyone says that "they grow so fast!" but you don't understand what that means until you see it for yourself.


So I did my research and found that this seat has an excellent safety rating, and also a good ease of use rating, yet falls in the mid-range of price. Believe me when I say that I was almost swayed by the pretty Brittax convertible car seat, even with it's $250 price tag. But I resisted and did my research using my trusty Consumer Reports Best Baby Products book (see link below), and found that this seat was indeed better and cheaper. Who would have guessed?



So we now have our two new car seats strapped tightly into our new minivan. We have to call the Greenwich Fire Department to find out when the certified car seat installers are on duty. There are only two of them in thr county and they are both stationed in Greenwich. We had them install the bases of our Graco seats when the boys were newborns and could not believe how tighly they were able to get them in. We have tried to replicate the results but to no avail.

I have crossed the line...

...and bought a minivan

Oh yeah...ain't she sweet?

Pretty bad-ass...no?

I am ordering an undercarriage neon lighting package from my local too-fast, too-furious dealer (oh yeah, that might actually be my dad - Specialty Automotive. If you don't know, don't ask...). Notice the hot after-market tinted windows? How about the slick Mopar fin at the top of the hatch door? So smokin'. Umm, umm, umm. Watch out.

So, I am a true suburban mom. So much for strolling through Union Square with my babies. Or walking around the Grand Army Plaza Farmer's Market on a Saturday morning buying fresh Fontina. Instead I will drive my babies in the minivan to the mall and change them in the changing room at Macy's. Just doesn't have the same ring to it.

But please don't get me wrong. I am not complaining. Yes, we are extremely fortunate to be able to live where we do in a house that is big enough for two boys, two cats and a dad who must have one bedroom serve as a recording and composition studio. Yes, I know. I also have three vehicles sitting in my driveway, even is one is a minivan and one is a Hyundai (and the other is a monster truck Ford f150). I do realize and appreciate all that we have. It is just that it is such a dichotomy. I mean, who am I? I really don't even recognize myself. I am stalking Craigslist for baby sitters instead of for apartments, concert tickets or whatever else that sounds cool.

Geesh. I guess maybe I am having some sort of mid-life crisis, though I'd like to think I am only at 1/3-life. Or whatever.

I think I am just a complainer. God, please don't ask my husband to confirm this because he will heartily go off for about 4 hours with examples of how this is true while he toasts you with the very expensive scotch he saves for special occasions, such as when he is right and I am proven incredibly wrong. But honestly, I see an injustice or imbalance in the world, whether mine or someone else's, and I feel I must point it out and share it with everyone around me. Regardless of how annoying that may be.

So, work has been great. I have a new boss who is very cool. A woman who is top of our field. I finally have a mentor. I went on my first business trip since entering motherhood. I spend the night in St Louis last week. It was supposed to be two nights but my original flight ended up being a free tour of the 5 Boroughs of Manhattan. We took off from Westchester County airport and never got above 5,000 feet. They could not get the cabin pressure to adjust. So we flew around in circles above Manhattan for two hours burning off fuel so we could land back at Westchester County airport. Did I mention that this was in a 40 seat plane? I mean it was tiny. I got to see Times Square from a $1,500 vantage point. I am serious when I say we were so low that I could read the signs.

So I ended up spending that night in my own bed and flying out very early the next morning. I went to meetings and to a grown up dinner. I even got to wear a suit. That night I slept like a dead person in a bed made of heavenly clouds and pillow of the finest down (it was the Ritz, afterall), not stirring until 6:30am, when I was awakened by the phone and a knock on my door offering me the morning paper and a carafe of coffee. Bliss.

But I did miss my boys and high-tailed it out of there to get home by 10pm that evening. I think it was a successful trip. My next one is planned for this week but will be out and back on the same day. Hard on mom but easy on the kids.

So you might infer from all of this that the whole "Being a mom to twins has made me an insane zombie" thing has grown old. And you would be correct. I can happily say that it has all become 1,000,000,000% easier than it was the first 4 months. I never, even want to relive those months. Really. We are all much happier now. The husband/wife thing is a bit strained, but the mom/dad/kid thing is soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much better. Wow. I never thought it would feel like such a turn around in what seems like such a short period of time. All of the suckiness is gone.

If you wonder why there have been little to no blog posts I will have to blame it on my work. Since going back to the office full time I have been transitioned onto our biggest account as the lead account manager. It has been hectic but rewarding.

I must now run off to the train station to pick up Ernie who was in the City playing with the Brooklyn Youth Chorus in the Museum of Natural History togniht. But don't worry, my mother in law is sleeping upstairs. I am not leaving the boys alone. She goes back to Vegas tomorrow - then we'll see if I still think things are so much easier.

Until then, keep on riding dirty my friends.