1. Why can’t someone make baby socks and shoes that actually stay on? I know this is not easy, when the baby wearing them inevitably grabs them and/or bites on them and tries to pull them off. But couldn’t they at least stay on otherwise? Some of Miss’s socks fall off if she just kicks her feet and they happen to hit each other. Oi. The person who could invent the true stay-on baby sock would (and should) be a bajillionaire.
2. I know babies are supposed to be ambidextrous, so I’m probably making something out of nothing. But I think Miss may be a southpaw. She seems to strongly prefer to use her left hand when picking up Cheerios, trying to hold her sippy cup (she hasn’t quite realized she needs both hands for this one yet), etc. Both of her grandmothers are lefties. I know it’s early, but I’m making a prediction anyway.
3. Ah, the dreaded minivan. Before becoming pregnant, my hubby used to tease me that someday I would be a minivan-driving mommy. I swore over and over again that I would never, ever drive such a vehicle. I drove my mom’s minivan in high school quite a bit, and while it was convenient to be able to pile lots of friends in the car, I still kind of felt like a dork driving a minivan, and really had no desire to ever do it again. Plus, I believed that there were many other vehicles out there that are large enough to handle kids, dogs, gear, etc. Some with even more room than a minivan, so why would anyone ever get one of those things?? Fast forward a few years to last fall. I was pregnant and realized that my good old Ford Escape would not be big enough to tote Baby and two dogs. So, we were car shopping. I gave in and actually test drove a minivan. Worse, I even liked it. *gasp* However, I managed to find a vehicle that I liked better, that was big enough for baby and dogs and future babies (so we thought), and would work perfectly all around. I got a Ford Flex, and I love it. It is big enough for Miss and our two pups and all the necessary gear for the many travels we have taken. It’s a tight squeeze, but we can make it all fit. I can even get from the back seat to the front while the car is in motion, which is a great thing on long road trips. Granted, this move entails quite a feat of flexibility as I have to go over the front seat when it is laid fully flat forward, but thanks to a lot of pilates, I am still flexible enough to make it happen. I have been extremely happy with my Flex, and have just tried really hard not to think about how we would fit another baby in it, should we be lucky enough to have one. Fast forward again to this past weekend. We went to New Jersey for the wedding of some of our great friends. We needed to rent a car and Ben said, “Why don’t you get a minivan and we can see how we like it?” I chuckled at this, but secretly loved the idea, so we did it. We got a Kia minivan to drive for one day in New Jersey. Here’s what amazed me about it: I could actually see Miss from the front seat (without the use of a mirror) and there was easily room for me to move back and forth from the front seat to the back seat if necessary without contorting myself. It rode smoothly and didn’t seem overly big but had tons of room. How is all that possible? We loved it, and we didn’t even have the one with all the bells and whistles. It seems I may end up joining the Minivan-Mommy Club after all. At least until my kids are old enough to climb in, get seated and buckle themselves in without needing a carseat. Which I think happens when they’re about ready to start driving themselves.
Okay, that last random thought could have been a long post by itself. It’s amazing how much the idea of a minivan can get me going! I’ll just stop there then.
