A Problem of Apathy? (Part 2)

I really am not as apathetic as I sound about the environment. I just have my things that I focus on.

Yards and watering is one. It drives me bonkers when I see people watering in the heat of the day. Water at night or in the morning where you aren't losing so much to the air around. And don't get me started on the sprinklers that are on during the rain. I like drip systems and soaker hoses in my gardens. Also those big huge acre fully grassed yards. Sure, it's pretty I guess to have everything green and the same. But what a pain to mow. If someday I should have a large lot it won't be all grass, and if it is when my kids are older, it will be unlikely to have any grass. I look at those gardens in Sunset where the yard IS the garden... love that.

Paper products is another. The catalogs, the flyers, the ads, etc., that we get in the mail. I hesitate to actually stop them altogether through that website that eliminates junk mail, because they do have a place... right a few months before Christmas. Sure, inundate me then where I can sit down in the evening and scope out ideas for gifts from the comfort of my couch. And seasonal ones, because yes I am a sucker for cute Easter decorations and the like. The rest? Keep 'em.

We are trying to sell our old house right now by owner and a favorite tactic of local agents is to send postcards and flyers and "instructions" detailing how to sell your home (all the hard work it will take). They are just offering "tips"... they would never be trying to actually solicit from you the listing... never. One pair we get 5-6 pieces of mail from them every week. It is on my list to phone them and ask them to quit wasting resources because we are listing our home by owner because my mother in law is a licensed real estate agent AND if we did choose to go the agent route (and we might still) it won't be them! We would choose the agents/friends we bought this house with.

Ok, off my pulpit and back to the topic at hand. The sub-topic I have been avoiding and that got me thinking about formulating this post last week...

Cars.

We need a new one. It could be within a matter of weeks or a year. Whenever the Subaru decides to give up the ghost. It will happen.

Can I admit that I have never coveted a Prius? Never. I got semi-interested when the hybrid engine Highlander was introduced a few years ago. But the availability was slim at best.

A friend of mine from daycare commented the other day that he read on Facebook about the car dilemma. Then he commented, “well now you can get a smaller car!”

I think he was referring to replacing my 4Runner and so I reminded him that this is my husband’s car we are talking about… The Outback. Not MY 4 Runner.

I might as well get it over with… I LOVE my 4Runner. Love it. Yes, I am an evil capitalist gas-hogging SUV driving American. According to many out there, the source of all that is wrong in America.

While we were deciding the other day what to do with AB’s car (we ended up deciding to fix the transmission so it is drivable for some unknown period of time with a cracked head gasket while we figure out what kind of car we want), AB asked me, “if money was not an issue, what kind of car would you buy?”

We aren’t car people. I don’t have a specific car that I covet. I envision myself someday when kids are grown driving either a Volvo C-70 or a Benz. But frankly, I love my 4Runner.

AB’s idea is that he gets MY 4Runner and I get a minivan.

Oh joy.

Have I mentioned that I am NOT a minivan person? Just not. It is probably more practical to go that route, though not my chosen route. (I did remind him the other day that if he gets the new job he is applying for that HE can get a minivan and pick the kids up daily!)

One consideration is a truck. When I was a kid my mom had a car, my dad had a truck. It was just always that way. We are always needing to haul stuff and add to it that one component of our “when we sell the house” plan is to buy a travel trailer. With the 4Runner we are limited to a max weight of hauling 5000 lbs. Which then limits us to an “Ultralite” (which is fine) or a small travel trailer. We want hard sides because we aspire to use the travel trailer in different seasons (Olympics 2010, skiing, Yellowstone off season...). But if we were able to haul more the options become much better.

However, the question really becomes how “practical” is a truck really when you have two children and two dogs? I refuse to put my dogs in the back of a truck. And we really need space to seat 6 so that when we have visitors that we don’t always have to shuffle car seats and take two cars.

I mumbled under my breath to Hans what my ultimate choice would be… thankfully I don’t fear scorn from my husband.

A Sequoia.

Then I can take my gas guzzling, SUV driving to the extreme with the step up from my beloved 4Runner.

And maybe what the real option is to take the Subaru and the 4Runner to the dealership and ask for a deal on a Sequoia (for me) and a Prius (as a commuter car for AB). Then I can at least offset my carbon footprint. When I get scorns of disapproval I can nod at the Prius?

I know, I know... why the guilt? Someday I may have an answer for you.

This post is now open for flaming.

Weekend recap

This morning I grabbed my bill for Leif's preschool out of my mail envelope. I glanced at the total a little shocked. They usually don't make mistakes. In fact, I am usually shocked at how precise they get the bills.

Why then was my bill $400 more than I was anticipating?

I sat in the car going over it with a fine toothed comb until I came to the offending charge.

Nevermind I thought.

Skadi, June 16th-30th.

YAY! My daughter is really starting soon! They expect me to pay them!

Not only that but I revelled a little in the 10% sibling discount that each child received.

Last Friday I stopped by the director's office to remind her that we would only be at Skadi's current daycare for another two weeks.

"I know," she sighed, "though I don't think we are going to let this happen. [Her teacher] and I have agreed that we don't think you can take her away from us,"

The director is good at putting on a front. She is a super nice woman, but I am not kidding myself that they aren't counting the days as well. From the number of times I walk into her office complaining about little things, to Skadi screaming at the teachers most days. They aren't going to miss us. I don't expect there to be tears shed over our departure this time around.

Saturday we had the usual morning activities. Swimming and then a trip to Costco. Skadi loves her swimming class, far more than Leif did at this age. I can barely hold on to her when they release the balls all around her and her little body flails to grab balls and she climbs over the other babies to get to the basket to put them in. Her teacher did the ball routine four times as compared to the usual two only because Skadi was such a little riot to watch. She would be pleased to retrieve balls through the whole swim lesson.

We made a trip to Costco afterwards, pre-empting the planned trip to Farmer's Market when our friends told us it was a lot of fun if you want asparagus. We like asparagus... but there is only so much asparagus one family needs. Instead we went and spent way too much money at Costco.

After putting all the food away we decided on a new goal... aside from fresh fruits, veggies and milk, we are not buying anything at the grocery store. Our pantry and freezer have reached frightening stages. That stage where you just aren't even sure what is in there anymore so you just buy new. Yeah, that stage. The goal in the next three weeks is to empty it.

(Just glad I got two bags of my new favorite chips at Costco the other day!)

Saturday afternoon was a lot of playing in the backyard by Leif, a lot of cleaning and organizing the house by me, sleeping by Skadi, and working on stuff by AB. Then AB and Leif installed the new carseat in AB's car. That took a fair amount of time actually. The seat is a one size fits all type of thing that is substantially smaller than his Regent in my car. We bought it for AB's car so he can haul both kids on the rare occasion he does so, but mostly for travel because traveling with the Britax Regent might just be near impossible. We purchased a Graco Nautilus. I had intended to find and buy the seat a few months ago but apparently it is one of the hot new seats that everyone wants (goes from 30-100 lbs), and it was back ordered nearly everywhere.

Of course the installation of this seat prompted some lamenting from my husband that I have been fearing was coming.

"I need a new car, I cannot install these seats properly without LATCH," he said.

And no joke. We both worked on it with our little sidekick barking out commands on the side, "here let me sit in it and see if it works", "let's put a cup in the cup holder and see if it helps!" (You were right Pam, Leif loves the cup holder.)

We keep pushing back the actual purchase of a new car. We know what we want. My car is paid off this month. We can stick to our rule of not buying a new car until the other is paid off. But making that actual step is seeming painful right now.

I fear a minivan (Toyota Sienna) is in my future. I envision a love-hate relationship since I was one of those women who swore I would never own a minivan.

AB is looking over taking the reigns on my 4Runner. But I am not sure I am ready to surrender it. All over the news is talk about people scrambling to get rid of their SUVs thanks to high gas prices. I suppose maybe it's that I don't drive that much (I fill up every other week), or that I am lucky enough that while I don't like gas prices right now I can still afford them, or that I just plain like my 4Runner. More than like... I love my 4Runner.

Ah well... I am sure I will enjoy the amenities of a minivan as well.