Friday, August 22, 2008

Advice

Okay folks, I am asking for your advice on two things!
1. I wanted to keep my car forever as it is so reliable but unfortunately it will be unable to have 2 car seats in the back due to Gary's 6'3" stature. I know my car is not `cool' but it has been so reliable and I will be sad to see it go. Okay, now to the advice. We want to buy a new vehicle. Well, not new. I want to buy a used vehicle. I'm thinking minivan and Gary wants to be cooler with an SUV or something:) Our priorities are; seats 5-7, safe, reliable, lotsa trunk space, and good on gas. Oh ya, I want to spend under $10,000. My question is; what vehicle (aka type of minivan) would you recommend or NOT recommend?

2. We need a new double stroller. We do not need a jogging one as we have our bike trailer/jogger. I need a stroller that I can use every single day when I take the kids for a walk. It needs to have good storage underneath. I need a front wheel(s) that rotates. I would like one that is not too heavy and that's easy to maneuver as I will be post C-section (likely). I don't want to spend big bucks so I will be buying second hand. I do like the idea of clipping in the baby car seat so that the sleeping baby can be easily transferred to the house. I am leaning towards a sit and stand and we currently have the opportunity to buy one. What do you think of the sit and stand? What would you recommend for a newborn and 2.5 year old?

Two other notes
1. Kai said, `I'm tired', walked upstairs, closed his door, and went to bed. What a big boy. He has had quite the injuries lately. He burnt his arm on a hot pot (don't ask) and fell down my dad's 3 backyard cement stairs twice yesterday (due to being exhausted). He didn't have a good enough nap and when that happens, he is not steady on his feet. He walks around like he is drunk.
2. My sister Jackie is getting married tomorrow. So far, I feel less stressed than I did for Jan's but who knows what the day will bring! I have only a few responsibilities for tomorrow; pictures, jackie's makeup, and breakfast for the bridal party. No decorating, no coordinating, no running around.

10 comments:

  1. Anonymous1:48 PM

    get the SUV...

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  2. Anonymous2:55 PM

    No advice, but I have a friend who had twins a long while ago and I can give her a call and see if she still has any of her double strollers that you may be able to take off her hands. There is no snap-in carseat, but its quite light. I'll give her a call sometime next week and get back to you!

    Lynn

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  3. yes, kai does get super tired and act drunk and (surprise surprise) it's SOO cute! :)
    I wish Reech would blog more so I could talk about how Annie and Isabelle are also SOOO cute!! !:)
    Well, we grew up on a fire engine-red mini van and it was very reliable and fun - remember those good times? How about you just take out a vertebrae from Gary's back to make him shorter so they can fit?

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  4. Anonymous8:52 PM

    Don't get the SUV. the environment is in a bad state. They have some hybrid SUVs but not for under 10 grand. Even if you get one that is good on gas it's not going to be as good as a more enviro-friendly mini-van or the sort.

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  5. I LOVELOVELOVE my van! We've been driving my Dad's Honda Ridgeline truck this summer and it's great but I do miss my sliding doors. They are particularly useful in inclement weather. Also because a van is lower you don't have to hoist a baby seat up so high.

    I love my Eddie Bauer Transit tandem stroller which I got new at Target for like $130. Unfortunately it doesn't have much storage space underneath, but otherwise it is awesome. I can't comment on the sit & stand... it probably depends on your 2.5 year old. Eva still likes to ride, and I think she would get cranky if she had to stand and hang on so don't think that kind is for us.

    Good luck with your shopping!

    Poor Kai with the burn and the tumbles! What a big boy deciding when it's time to hit the hay!

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  6. Well, whether you decide a minivan or SUV, my strongest suggestion is to go with a HOnda or Toyota. They hold their value SOOOO well. Of course, I LOVE our minivan, which is a 2001 Toyota Sienna, and we paid under $9000 for it. So part of it also depends how new you want the vehicle to be, but we were pleased with our 'find.' we considered a Honda CRV, but wasn't sure it would hold enough of our "stuff" on long trips and camping trips. That's my 2 cents.
    I've heard a lot of people love their sit-n-stand strollers, so I would vote for that. :)

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  7. My thoughts.....

    Minivan - I love our Toyota Sienna! I have driven my in-laws Hylander since getting the van and I couldn't wait to get my van back. There is not nearly as much room, it was way worse on gas and it was difficult to get the kids in and out....and I was one of those people who said they would never drive a van.

    Strollers: I have 4 strollers and only use 2 of them. We have a sit and stand but Shaylah won't stay in the back for more than 5 minutes. She hates it, so I never use it. We have a Phil and Teds stoller with toddler seat that I love, but it doesn't have the greatest storage underneath. It is the stroller that I use most often. I also use a double umbrella stoller for the mall, but it wouldn't be good for trails. Keep in mind that if you get a side-by-side stroller that they don't fit through doorways, but the kids like to be able to see each other. My greatest purchase recently was a wagon...I can't wait for the babies to be old enough to sit in it because Shaylah LOVES it!

    Those are my thoughts, but everyone has different needs/wants...which is why purchasing a stroller is such a hard task! Good luck!

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  8. NOT recommended: mazda, esp. MPV. Cheaper to buy, runs like a lemon and costs mad $ to fix.
    recommended: Toyota anything (Seinna is the van to have, apparantly), we have the Matrix for our family car and LOVE it--great on gas, surprisingly good interior space incl. trunk, and very reliable.
    We got rid of our van. We rarely used all 7 seats, no trunk space, and vans are not built to last.

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  9. What ever car you go for, my advice is stick with a Toyota or Honda. I personally love compact SUVs like the Toyota RAV. It has more room, it's pretty good on gas (better than an SUV), SUPER reliable and pretty much my dream car. I've already been mentioning it to Jon for when we need another car or a second car. I don't know how much they go for though.

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  10. When I had Sydney I was looking at getting the Sit and Stand stroller but then my mother-in-law found me a double stroller at a garage sale for $75 so I went for that instead! I loved it!!! Ethan would never have done very well in the Sit and Stand because you can't strap them in and he was (and is) always on the go! If you do go for a double the side by side is harder to maneuver in stores etc. because of the width.

    As far as a minivan versus an SUV I would go for the van. I am right now holding out for a van over another SUV as it is more practical, especially if you want something that sits more than 5, which I do. Most SUVs that have a third row you have to flip seats to get to the back seats and therefore you will be moving carseats, booster seats for a long time, especially since they have to be in a booster until 9 years old now!!

    Anyway, just my 2 cents worth! Good luck with whatever you decide and hope the rest of your pregnancy goes smoothly:)

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