The Mom-Mobile

One of my goals for the year was to pay off both of our cars and I'm happy to report we have finally paid off the Passat that we bought back in January! Exciting, right? No car payments? Yeah....about that.

Recently, we took a weekend trip to visit family and we realized that between our stuff and C's stuff (pack and play, stroller, bag of diapers/wipes, toys, etc.) there was NO way we'd be able to really travel when #2 arrives. We'll have more kid stuff and a bigger stroller. The Passat wasn't going to cut it anymore.

Within 48 hours of pay our final payment, we were signing papers to buy a new car! Its exciting and nerve wracking all at the same time. We'd been looking for crossovers and mini vans for the past few weeks and, in general, found that we would be able to get way more bang for our budget in the mini van department. Sure, crossovers are nice, but they are noticeably more expensive, features are huge buy ups, and worse on gas.

We found exactly what we were looking for at a dealership nearby and to make matters even more awesome, they were excited to take the Passat (even with a burned out headlight) for exactly what I paid for it 9 months ago!

Here she is! The Mom-mobile in all her glory. Its a 2010 Dodge Grand Caravan SXT. It has lots of fun features like power doors and lift gate, stow and go seats, voice commands, and Bluetooth.

Mood lighting!

What makes me happy: There is a ton of room between the rows, so C's seat can stay rear facing without impacting the front seats. I also LOVE the stow and go seats. Even the captains chairs go into the floor! Growing up, we hauled seats in and out of my Mom's van and I never wanted to do that again.

What makes J happy: He loves the smooth ride, big windows, and general space we now have. With kids its easy to over pack because you never know what will happen and now we can.

What makes C happy: His seat sits high enough that he can easily look out the huge side windows that also roll 3/4 of the way down. He was yelling, "weeeeeee!!!" the whole way home!

What makes my car-savvy Dad happy: Its a Dodge, meaning its going to be way easier to fix than my VW and certified used, so it has an awesome bumper to bumper warranty for the next 5 years or 60K miles. Can't beat it.


Having pretty much grown up in my Mom's 1989 sky blue Astro van, I'm excited to own a van. I have the most wonderful memories of traveling with my family and can't help but wonder what adventures my little family will have traveling around together. :-)