BMB: My fickle friend

I am a lover of technology. In fact, marketers label my household "early adopters." We are often one of the first to have new gadgets. Sometimes it pays off, like the tivo. Sometimes, we pay way more than everyone else because we had it two years earlier and in a lesser model-- like our circa 2000 2 megapixel digital camera.


My newest challenge is the new car and it's oh-so-handy dvd system. It's not just your average pull-down dvd player. No, it's embedded in the headrests, so that both kids can watch their own movie on individual screens, or switch and watch the same movie. I know, it's amazing. They even have wireless headphones, so Mommy doesn't have to listen to Happy Feet ever again. I hope. It's a mommy dream world.

However, I have always felt very strongly that in-car dvd players are not for everyday use. They are for long trips, extended waiting, that type of thing. Not for 5 minute trips to Target. And based upon the current amount of time it takes to get each of them started and set to the correct audio, etc, the time-to-movie could be greater than the trip itself.

The temptation is the lovely silence that occurs when the kids are plugged in. They actually look forward to the trip to the babysitter because of the enticing images of Hermie or Tinkerbell on the screen. Mommy can listen to whatever I want to, and no one complains. No Radio Disney. No Mamma Mia.

But I look backwards, and see my two-year-old in a technology-induced coma, with her little headphones balanced precariously on her little head and feel like I've signed a pact with the devil himself. With the DVDs on, I lose my kids to their cartoon wonderland. I miss out on the sometimes difficult, sometimes informative recap of their day. I miss out on our prayer time on our way to Jo's. I miss out on the colors of the sunset and the constant barrage of questions about where we're going next and who's going to be there. (I don't miss that part as much). When are they going to learn to bicker over the seats or the radio? When are they going to learn to play I-spy?

Giving into this technology makes me miss out on my kids and their growing up. And, for now, I'm not willing to miss that. So, I'm prepared to be the bad guy who takes the DVDs out of the car and puts the headphones away. I'm sure I'll miss my uninterrupted sports talk, but I'll be all the better for it.

New No More

We've learned some lessons this week about our new car and its child-friendliness:

Lesson 1: Nothing christens a new mom car like vomit. At least that's what we've decided. Kate has been suffering from a high fever/stomach flu for the last 48 hours or so. Just when I thought she was past the worst of it, it flared up again yesterday afternoon, which I discovered only as we were on our way home from picking up Sam. In the new car. The good news is that all she'd really had was water, and it stayed mostly on her poor little body, equipped with a puffy winter coat (highly absorbent) and her car seat. Just one little spot in the middle of the mat on the floor board. So just after I'm thinking, "Poor girl! What am I going to do?" it occurs to me that we're in the NEW car. Then I'm thinking, "Poor me! What am I going to do?"

Lesson 2: Vomiting is one of those things that only parents of small children can think is funny. Once it was all cleaned up, it became kind of funny that here we are so excited about the new car—even Sam was concerned Wednesday when he spilled a little water in it—and here comes Kate! But when I tried to tell our salesman, Smokey (no kidding, that's his name), about it when we went to pick it up from its scheduled appointment today, he didn't laugh! In fact, he looked a little grossed out. Oh, that's not funny to you? Sorry. Must be a mom thing.

Lesson 3: People are not just more important than things, they are more important than very new, very expensive things. When I called to tell Stuart that Kate threw up, in the new car, and I tried to clean it with spot cleaner and was pretty sure I'd bleached out the floor mat, he had the gall to say, "That's okay. You did what you had to do. Don't even worry about the car. I'll look at it when I get home." What a trooper.

Kate is still on the mend. Today was the day where you think she's all good, and then she has a little relapse. She was doing great this morning, but like yesterday, her fever came back with a vengeance during naptime. The stomach part of the bug seems to be okay, but we're being really careful (and driving the Tahoe) today.

New Ride

We have 3 cars. I know that's not normal. We have a much-loved 2000 Tahoe with more than 150,000. We have two grandma cars that we use to keep from putting too many miles on the Tahoe. They are good cars. They are both 1997s. We haven't had a car payment in at least 2 years, which is great.

Last week, the Aurora (the actual grandma car-- it was my grandma's before she had surgery) became seriously ill. We'd been having little problems here and there, but a check engine light came on. To spare you the gory details, let's just say it cost more to repair than we thought it was worth. Fortunately, we have two cars, so I just drove the other one.

Friday, Stuart and I went car shopping. New, used, who knew? We weren't really prepared to go car shopping, but we'd both been doing research all week. We ended up (again to spare you long story) buying a new Acadia, which is my mommy dream car. It's beautiful and has all sorts of fancy 21st-century gadgets (and safety features). I love it.

The kids had to be with us at the dealer while we finished up the paper work. Fortunately, not the entire day. About 2 hours total. That was plenty. Suffice it to say, they love the new wheels. They are so excited about everything about the new car (just wait until the DVD player is installed!)

Since we got the new car, Sam has been including it in our prayers. My favorite version was, "And God, thank you for our new car. It is so nice and COOL!" He also said, "Thank you for our new car. It is so special." It's pretty nice to see my 5-year-old thankful for a blessing that a lot of people take for granted. We definitely feel like God blessed us with this car (we got a great deal!), so it's always nice to say thank you.

A blessing, not a curse

Wednesday was a day. I mean, really the whole week was, but Wednesday was particularly fun. Not fun, that is.

We got home from church and both kids were headed for bed. I was reading and rocking Kate in her rocking chair, and Sam brought in one of his books to share. So I had Kate on one side of my lap, Sam on the other. We read two books and sang Kate's songs. Afterwards, we said prayers in turn, and Sam and I tucked Kate into her bed. Sam gave her a kiss, and she had to give Sam a kiss.

I was sitting there listening to the three of us singing together "Jesus Loves Me" and "Away in the Manger" and was moved by the stage of life we're in. The idea that they would both want to sit on my lap and sing songs together is really unusual-- a moment in time that will pass as quickly as it came. How blessed am I to have that moment. It wasn't a moment for grandma or daddy or papaw. It was for me. And boy did I need it.

I wish I could say I will remember it forever, but in truth, it will probably fade into the back of my mind with all of the other good moments. Over time, it seems that the good moments blend together in a general warm happiness. I wish I had a picture or a video on youtube to cherish or show at a wedding or graduation party. The best moments never come with a camera around.