My Hot Mini Soccer Mom Car.

Why are minivans called MINI vans? They are not mini what so ever. They are HUGE! The car we have been driving for the past 3 years is an Acura TSX(small and compact) the cars I had before then were compact also.

and recently we bought a second vehicle, the Toyota Sienna(huge and NOT compact). 

It is still growing on me and I'm liking it more and more each day. My main reason I like it is because it has so much space. I could drive around the neighborhood, pick up random kids and not have to worry about if I have enough room for them. Also whenever I pick up these random kids they will have 2 different TV's to keep them entertained one will be playing Barbie and the other will be playing power rangers. If they don't like one of those tv shows I guess we will have problems but so far the tvs have been pretty awesome! Also this thing drives SO SMOOTH! I mean I feel like we are flying instead of driving. The automatic
doors = AMAZING!! And I love that the middle row moves so easily so if I need to get to the back row I don't have to climb in the car to get there. Plus I have the option for the middle row to have captain seating or bench seating. The only thing I wish the car really had that it doesn't is a sunroof. How do you people without a sunroof survive(btw today was PERFECT sunroof weather).

 

A few reason I don't like it is because I am short which means I have short arms. Whenever I was in my small compact car if a kid talked back to me I could fling my arm around in the backseat without even looking and I would end up hitting a leg sooner or later. BUT in the minivan I cant reach anything! So I guess I'm going to end up going in the woods behind our house and finding a switch. I'll have to find 2 different lengths because if one of the kids are in the 3rd row I need to be able to reach them but if they are in the second row I don't want to use the same stick for fear that I'll end up poking them in the eye or something. Another short people problem is that the windshield is SO BIG which can make things like cleaning snow off the windshield a little difficult. Well last week it snowed a lot(well a lot for what I'm use to) and over night it rained a tiny bit so we had a layer of ice on top of the snow.

 

This is all I could reach to clean off my windshield. Then my husband had to come out and save the day. And clean the rest of the windshield off. Thankfully he was home because if not I would have just turned on the defrosters and waited until it all melted away :)

 

There is this really neat small mirror in the sunglass holder thing that it right above my rear view mirror.

 It is there so you can see your kids, I'm guessing. Does anyone else's minivan have this? Do you use this? Can you actually see the kids? I can see the kids in the middle row but if they're in the back row I can see their figure and that's about it..

 

Even though a few weeks ago I said I NEVER wanted a minivan we may be getting another one(trading this one in) in a year or two but this one will be fully loaded and I will keep it a lot longer. I am learning how to weave in and out of traffic and not be so scared. I promise I'm not driving the minivan like a race car driver or anything crazy. I am just trusting myself with it more. I am excited for our first vacation in the van it'll probably be much more spacious than our TSX was :)


*To make this post have something to do with the surrogacy journey.
Get ready for some AWESOME ultrasound pictures.. J&J thought the 3D ultrasounds looked so neat so we will be doing 2 of them. One around 23-24 weeks and another around 30 weeks!! GET EXCITED because I know I am :) I'm bummed they won't be here to see it on the screen like I will but they will get to see a live feed of it and can show it to anyone they'd like. Plus I'll mail them all the pictures and the cd that will also have pictures on it. I really wished I would have gotten one with Brett and Brynna but honestly I didn't even know about the 3D ultrasounds back then haha.

I Could Cry!!

So as most of y'all know Adam and I have been looking at getting a bigger car with a 3rd row. We REALLY wanted a cross over with 3 rows. Well we NEEDED the 3rd row. It wasn't an option that we could give up when looking for a car. It was either 3rd row or no vehicle. So we have been looking a lot for the past month. And I mean a LOT! I found vehicles I loved but were way out of our price range. Or vehicles I loved but had WAY too many miles on them. I really wanted this vehicle we got to be a long term vehicle. Not something we sold or traded in in a few years. So I asked around at who was good to deal with and who to stay away from. Living in a military town lots of people will try and screw you over. So I tried my best to stay away from those places. A few people were really competitive and others didn't really care for the sale. Well yesterday we went to a Toyota dealership and let me just say they were AMAZING(now that we got a vehicle I can say that) they really worked with us. I was NOT happy with the first car they showed us. It was a nice car but the blind spots were horrible. During the test drive I almost side swiped a mini van and almost hit a runner. I'm not a bad driving but test driving stresses me out first off and the company that creates those cars needs to fix the horrible blind spots! So they showed us a few more cars. Well the guy ended up coming over and explained that they had an option to help us. They just got a mini van in and asked if we were up to looking at that.. Those that are friends with me on facebook should know how I feel about mini vans... Those that don't just know that I am NOT a fan of mini vans. BUT a little bit before that Adam and I were talking and I told him if a minivan is in our price range and they can get it down to the price we need as LONG as it has a back up camera then I will do it.. BUT in a year or two whenever his credit is better if I still hate the minivan then we have to trade it in and get me a cross over and it will be FULLY FREAKING LOADED!! haha. So they brought the minivan up and Brynna loved it instantly. I didn't. BUT I compromised because my nerd of a husband was ready to move in haha. I didn't test drive it. I was terrified to so Adam did. They came down on the price a LOT to get it close to our price range but we said we would NOT get it unless they came down a little more and got it exactly at our price range. A few minutes later they brought the paper work over and it was right where we needed it. So yes now we are semi proud owners of a minivan. The car is nice I will say that. I like it and all but I just cannot see me driving a minivan. I drive small vehicles. I drive cars and crossovers not big Tahoe's, Suburban's, or minivans/busses hahaha. So its a big change. BUT it has a back up camera which was a MUST with a minivan and it actually has 2 headrest tvs. So that was a plus. It has TONS AND TONS of cup holders. And lots of storage room. Technically it has 8 seats but the middle row the middle seat is removable. So unless family is visiting or we NEED that 8th seat we keep it removed so its bucket seating and you can just walk through the back seat. Here are a few pictures of our new soccer mom/dad car(enjoy your laugh while I'm over here crying in my bowl of ice cream haha)


Here is a side shot of the minivan its a silverish blue color. Btw we need a name for it. Any ideas??



This is last night as soon as Adam got home with it the kids were SO excited about the new car haha. Thankfully they are still at that age where any vehicle would have made them happy.

So the van has 2 headrest TV's but its only for the middle row. Originally we wanted Brynna in one seat, Aliana in the other, and Brett in the back. Well Aliana doesn't watch tv so I'm considering putting Brett in the front and Aliana in the back. BUT that kind of makes it harder on us because Brett can buckle himself. Aliana cant.

This is my nerd of a husband who thinks he is the coolest dad ever! What he doesn't realize is he is driving a minivan not a Lamborghini..

 



 

Well now on to the surrogacy. I am now 17 weeks and 3 days pregnant and officially feel like I'm "showing". Cant believe in a little over a week we will know what surrobaby is!! For those of yall that haven't you still have time to go put in your vote if you think its a boy or a girl. I still think surrobaby will be a boy and Brett and Brynna both say J&J's baby is a girl. Click here to go vote what you think surrobaby will be. In between the avocado and snow pictures is where you vote. Things are really starting to change from a growing belly to CONSTANT peeing!!

17 weeks and 3 days

 

How far along: 17 weeks and 3 days

Total weight gain: I haven't been weighed since last week so not sure.
Maternity clothes: I gave in and bought 2 pairs of jeans. I ended up just buying 1 pair but they were too big and kept falling off so I had to go buy a size smaller. I kept the first pair though because I know sooner or later I will end up fitting in them.
Stretch Marks: no new ones.
Sleep: Last night was HORRIBLE! I woke up twice to pee. My bump is starting to get to the point where its sometimes uncomfortable to sleep on it so I have to sleep on my side/stomach. And last night I woke up with what was the start of leg cramps. I'm only 17 weeks! It shouldn't start THIS early!!
Best moment this week: Baby related- the baby is starting to flutter even more but I only notice it at night. Not baby related- we got a new car!
Miss anything: Sleep. A full night of undisturbed SLEEP!
Movement: A little. I have to really be paying attention and laying very still.
Food cravings: Nothing this week..
Anything make you sick: Not anymore thankfully
Have you started to show yet: Apparently now the bump is here to stay. It is officially out of hiding!
Gender: We will find out in a little over a week
Labor signs: none thankfully
Belly button in or out: in :).
What has your mood been: Yesterday I almost had a meltdown at the dealership! Buying a car is always stressful to me! It is something I HATE doing! If I had the money I would never go in I'd just buy a car cash and be done with it. BUT besides that I've been in a good mood :)
Looking forward to: J&J coming to visit again and finding out if surrobaby is a boy or a girl. Plus we are going to a hockey game tonight! We got free tickets and we are all so excited about it. Brett has been talking about it all week. ALSO my mom, gigi, and Corben will be visiting in a few weeks!!
Any issues: Waking up with a minor Charlie horse!! I am also doing light work outs.. Nothing too crazy but I have the energy again to clean and work out so I'm doing some light workouts :)
Baby is the size of a: Sweet potato