Mommin' It Up!

February 19, 2009February 19, 2009

Things I Love Thursday – My Car

It’s Things I Love Thursday over at the Diaper Diaries, and today I am playing along with an ode to my car. My wheels. My vehicle. My transportation. I DO love it so!

My car is a 1994 Lexus LS 400. (I like to call him Mr. Miyagi as he is old and Japanese.) That’s right, I drive the finest luxury money could buy in 1994. JEALOUS? Well, you should be! It’s a sweet ride. We bought it in 2003 when I was pregnant with Joshua and at that time it had 242,000 miles on it. Why would we buy a car that old and with that many miles on it? Because my hubby is an auto technician at our local Lexus dealership and he knew it would run forever if we took care of it. Six years later it now has 296,000 miles on it and it still runs great! We have had very minimal repairs on it over the years. Hubby just replaced the springs in the back and my car is only the SECOND car in the nineteen-year history of his dealership to have those replaced. Because, they are made so well that they just don’t break!

Now I have to give credit where credit is due. Lexus is made by TOYOTA, so if you buy a nice old or new Toyota and take great care of it, it will also last you forever. My high school & college car was a 1987 Toyota Camry station wagon which made it to 304,000 miles. My hubby these days drives a 1992 Toyota Camry station wagon(I *heart* station wagons!) that has over 200,000 miles on it to date. These vehicles rock!!

Emily & hubby also own two Toyotas. Though hers were both actually made in this PRESENT decade, they should also last her family FOREVER.

So: to sum up, my car rocks, will run FOREVER, and is completely paid for. Big party this summer when it hits 300K, and you are ALL invited!

And also, if Lexus or Toyota wants to give me a new one to see how many miles I can put on IT, that would be totally cool!

I love my old car! To see what makes other people’s hearts go pitter-patter, go visit the Diaper Diaries.

February 18, 2009February 18, 2009

The Strands that Bind

My little Sophie was born with a lot of hair. Until she was five months old, it stuck up like this:

And now that she’s two, it’s long and glorious:

Her hair is almost always what people comment on when they meet her for the first time. Her hair is her “thing”.

Ever since she was able to grab it in her chubby baby fists, Sophie has loved playing with my hair. On our long car ride home from vacation this summer, when she’d get fussy, I’d take my hair out of its ponytail and let her play with it. Every time I buckle her in her car seat to go anywhere, she plays with it while I fasten her buckles.

Lately, she has begun to play with her own hair quite a bit, especially when she’s tired. She’s a twirler, and every morning wakes up with a huge rat’s nest in her hair from where she’s twirled it to get herself to sleep. Which is A LOT of fun for both of us later in the day. But she must think it’s worth it, because she keeps twirlin’ no matter how much it hurts when I brush it out.

This morning after I picked her up out of her crib, we sat down on the couch for our morning snuggle. She cuddled me for a few moments and then sat up and began twirling her hair. Then, with a “lightbulb” smile, she reached for my hair and began twirling it also, mixing my dark brown and her light blonde strands together in honey-hued spiral.

As we sat there, our heads close together, attached for the moment, a real ache came over me. An ache for things to stay like this forever, for her to want to be close to me, for her to find joy in the things we share, even if it’s just long hair.

I was once a blonde little girl. So I know she won’t stay this way forever. And even though I know there’s joy in our relationship ahead, my heart dropped a little when she let go of our hair. As the spiral untwisted, so did a little bit of her babyhood. And the ache, it got a little bit stronger.

February 16, 2009February 15, 2009

Cupid Out, Easter Bunny In

Yesterday, the day after Valentine’s Day, my hubby and son ran a quick errand to the grocery store. When they got home, they had a special surprise for me. This:

Ladies and gentleman, Cupid has left the building.

Forget Valentine’s Day, the Easter season has arrived. And let me tell you friends, nothing says “let’s celebrate the death and resurrection of our Savior” like a milk chocolate egg with liquid sugar in the middle.

Mmmmm. I am fairly certain these are going to be readily available in heaven.

Cadbury Creme Eggs were one of my favorite treats as a kid, and apparently I haven’t grown up! The milk chocolate mixing with the gooey sugar creme is just divine (and therefore permissible to be a part of this sacred holiday). It just doesn’t seem like Easter season without them. I can do without Peeps or jelly beans, but I gotta have my Cadbury Creme!!

What treats take you back to your childhood?