Thursday, September 2, 2010

First a memory foam mattress and now a minivan. What's next?

My husband wants a minivan. He actually has for quite a while.

He has gone through phases in the past where he has decided we "need" a particular item, but they seem to have passed. The idea for a memory foam mattress ended up with us on a mailing list where we receive fliers showing couples sleeping happily... but I managed to talk him into buying one of the many nice mattress toppers that are available on the market instead.

He also talked in depth about putting a whirlpool tub into our master bathroom, which does sound nice, but is it all that practical? I suppose the girls would like to take a swim in there once in a while.

Then there is the reoccurring discussion over our "need" for a massage chair. Does he know how much those things cost? Not to mention how much space it would take up? And did I mention the cost? The mattress toppers weren't completely cheap either, but it's not exactly the same level of spending.

Most recently, we've been talking about minivans (again). I think I've been avoiding them solely based on my own preconceived notions of what a minivan represents: middle-aged parenthood. Our house is already filled with toys, our days are already planned around the kids, now we have to drive the vehicle that is the symbol of children?

There are huge pros to having a minivan, of course, namely the comfort, safety and increased space that we would have. I like the thought of the girls' car seats being far enough away from each other that any "She's touching me!" issues would be resolved. And having doors that open on their own would be handy... and being able to transport large items without calling on friends or family... and having all that legroom...

Hmm, suddenly a minivan doesn't sound all that bad. But am I ready for one?

Do you have a minivan? Do you love it?

12 comments:

The Tesdalls said...

We got one not long ago and I LOVE it and my husband does too!!!:)

Letherton said...

We don't have one but at least he is asking for a minivan and not a sports car all jazzed up like mine...lol

LeeAnn said...

I thought about a minivan when we were buying my current SUV. For like a minute. I just couldn't do it. My parents have one and there is so much room in it, but, like you said, it is all about the symbol. I'm just not ready for it yet. So I'll just keep barreling down the road in my big ole gas guzzling SUV for the time being. But I'm a "soccer mom" now, so who knows what will happen...

Mandee said...

We did the mini van thing a while back, but you know what, we grew out of it! ha ha! We now drive a 9 seat Suburban. Where we live it snows a lot, so I like to have 4 wheel drive. :)

Good luck and let us know which minivan you get b/c it sounds like you might be getting closer to being convinced. he he! :)

Lisa Noel said...

i'm totally a soccer mom with my minivan! i do miss my suv stylewise, but you can't be the auto sliding doors!!!

Rachel C said...

I've never had a thing against vans like some people do. I was so excited to get a Sienna when baby #3 came along! I love it - it's comfy, roomy. Of course I used to drive a little Mazda so pretty much anything would seem better than that :)

Mom2zqb said...

I had a minivan and replaced it with my Expedition. Some days I do miss the sliding doors but that is about it. When we got our Expedition we actually gained more room. Now I don't know that I could go for anything but another Expedition.

Randi said...

I fought the mini van as long as I could, literally. We didn't buy one until I was 8 mths pregnant with our 4th child. I refused to be "the mini van mom". After buying the van carseats were a piece of cake to install, and we loved all the extra room we had. Plus our insurance only went up $10/mth to add full coverage to the van. Eventually we "grew out" of our 7 seater mini van and we now own a 9 seater Suburban. We kept our van, and we still drive it. The van gets slightly better gas milage than the burban, and it comes in handy to have the extra large vehicle during times like camping or family trips with extra people. I would strongly recommend you having your windows tinted in the van, you get A LOT more sun with all the windows, especially if you live somewhere on the warmer side. Also get one with rear air if possible, it helps a lot, especially when you have one in a rear facing carseat. As a owner of both, I would say it's a personal choice really. Ask yourself:
How much room do you need?
Are you still expanding your family?
How much gas to you use?
How much will your insurance go up?
Do you need 4WD?
Good luck!

dannyscotland said...

I'm not into minivans. I understand the pros, but they're just not for me. Me, I looooove my Toyota Corolla!

Anonymous said...

We purchased a mini van when I got pregnant with Zoe, hmmm....I was 26! I always said I will NEVER EVER be that mini van mom, no way. But after riding in my husbands grandfathers Honda Odyssey, I had to have one. The room, comfort, and all that was what our family needed. At least your husband is talking about mini vans. Mine is still talking about a super duper fast motorcycle and another fast sports car....no thanks!

Liz Mays said...

I don't like minivans because I drove a station wagon growing up. SICK! And I HATE memory foam. I like pillow toppers too!

Sarah VM said...

I couldn't love my Honda Odyssey more! Automatic doors make loading and unloading kids a breeze! We have a sunroof and leather seats but it's not the top of the line model. We didn't get the DVD players or GPS package but we are kinda wishing we did. We only have 2 kids but my son always has at least 2 friends with him. It's so spacious for vacations as well. We just love it!