Moms Against Minivans

You will not find one here. If I could I would climb the highest mountain and scream, "I LOVE my Minivan." Maybe that is a little extreme, but I am a fan. I have been the proud owner of a Minivan for two years now. It has served as a portable house for my family's many trips, a place to change a screaming baby and sometimes a play-house for my energetic toddler. It has also kept us safe. We were side swiped by a crazy lady while we were on vacation last year, an accident that would have crushed my previous car - my Minivan prevailed and so did we. I love my Minivan and I say that with pride. This however, was not always the case.

I used to question the need. Why? Why? Why? They always looked so ridiculous. They are the antithesis of everything young and fresh. Once you got a Minivan you were well on your way to Mom jeans and a cropped short hair cut. Trading in everything beautiful and selfish for everything practical and selfless.

The plain fact is that once you resign yourself to wanting a large family, the Minivan becomes the obvious choice. While my husband and I only have two children now, it is our dream to have four. If he had his way, five. We decided if we are going to do this whole thing, lets go big or go home. We haven't looked back. I love everything about having the space.

I compare the transition to the Minivan, to my move from Manhattan to the suburbs. Do I miss my fast paced life in NYC? Yes, sometimes. What I don't miss is having to fold my clothes into tiny pocket sized squares so they could fit into my 1 foot wide closet. We moved out to the suburbs for space and stability and somehow as you get older those things become more and more important. In enters the Minivan; roomy, comfortable, easy to drive, easy to change a baby in, easy to keep a portable potty in the back, just easy. Those things have become more important to me than looking and feeling cool in my car.

Somehow though I still find enjoyment in driving my car. I turn up the radio loud, blast a little DMB, put my shades on and let my long hair blow out the window. No Mom jeans for this Mommy, no no no. At leasts that's what I'm saying today.

Mommy Mantra -Make your kids an incredible Part of your life, not your WHOLE life.

Tonight we made mini cheddar cheese sliders over a spinach and couscous salad. This was not a huge hit with the girls. Lily wiped her tongue after trying the couscous as if she was trying to wipe sand off of it. Ella poked the salad then drenched every bite with raspberry dressing to make it go down. I admit, this was a last minute attempt at a meal. Ah well, can't win them all.