Tuesday, June 17, 2008

My Concession to Mommyhood

So, I think I can officially say I'm a member of the Mommy Club. Today, Spencer and I became the proud owners of a minivan. While not the coolest ride on the block, per se, it definitely has some mom-friendly perks to get me all excited about. With our recent car-snafu of a blown head gasket and our surprise third pregnancy, we decided it was time to become one of the legions of oh-so-cool minivan drivers. While I'm not quite ready to trade in my converses and pointy-toed slingbacks for sensible pumps and white tennis shoes nor am I running out to buy a pair of high-waisted, ankle-tapered mom jeans, the minivan was a concession to mommyhood I was more than ready to make.

After searching on more online used-car websites than I knew existed and calling at least 75 dealers personally (apparently import minivans are more than a little scarce in Oklahoma), we found our match out in Broken Arrow (about an hour and a half drive east). It's a 2003 Honda Odyssey with 90,000 miles on it. We got it for the fabulous price of $9,500 (I'm very proud of Spencer who stuck to his guns and got them down from $10,000). It has an automatic sliding door on both sides, rear air (which our Montero did not-our poor kiddies would end up with red faces and their hair so wet with sweat it'd be plastered to their foreheads), a fold-down option for the third row, and you can slide one of the middle captain's chair to the center, so that you can have the aisle on the side or in the center. It's in great condition and looks fabulous, especially considering it's five years old. Overall, we're quite pleased with our recent purchase. WooHoo for family-friendly features!

14 comments:

Katie Rod said...

Yay for finding a car (or van) that you like. I hate car shopping and salesmen for that matter. Props to you for working that long to find a good deal (i.e. calling that many dealerships!!).

Kristin Hanson said...

Congrats - you are now officially 'older' and more mommy-fied than me! Thanks for making me feel younger ;) ....We have yet to upgrade to a four door vehicle....

Jules said...

Wow Whitney, a van! Now you're making us feel younger too :) Congratulations on your big step. Your kids are sure growing fast. Love your pics that you post.

Zachary said...

Umm...it took you buying a mini-van to realize that you were a mom? I figured you would have caught on with the short people running around you begging for attention. Kind of slow on the up take there?

Congrats on your H.O.V.! (High Occupancy Vehicle)

Zachary said...

In response to your response to my comment:

LOVE YOU WHIT!!!

Mark Nott said...

I dread the day

Erica said...

I'm SOOOO jealous :)

Coty said...

yeah, we opted for a use highlander...just.couldn't.do.the.van. lol...you go girl.

Aubrey said...

Yay for getting a vehicle - and with a/c! And you will be the coolest, hippest, minivan Mom ever!

Jenni said...

Yay for a minivan!

Anonymous said...

Yay for super functional features, yay for air-conditioned babies, yay for relability, yay for a super-good deal (and stickin' to your guns), yay for *two* sliding doors, yay for sliding seats and yay for you being one of the hippest, coolest mini-van moms that I know!!

Unknown said...

how exciting! if anyone can make a mini van look good... it's you!

Nathan and Esther said...

sweet ride!

camille said...

YEAH,,,, I love the new van. WAIT,,, is that MY van you are looking at? NOPE,, mine now has a side swipe on the right hand side from backing into Donalds car,,, and a bump in the front from a bad parking job I did. LOL,,, nonetheless, that van has been wonderful to us and keeps going and going and going and going. Good buy girl, good buy!