To van or not to van...that is the question

When I found out I was pregnant with our 3rd baby it had crossed my mind whether or not we would be able to 'fit' all of our children in our current car with them all being in car seats. And with the new laws in place (which I have no problem with as the previous laws were very unsafe!) our children were going to be in car seats a lot longer than some others who decided to have bigger age gaps between their children!

One day (before bubs arrived) I decided to test my theory and nope our car could not fit 3 seats. I also drove to work in my hubbys car one day with the older 2 sitting next to each other in their seats. What a disaster! All I heard was "he's kicking me", "stop touching", "leave me alone" - I rang hubby from work and said "we are getting a van!"

It was then we went mini van shopping and we couldnt afford much either. We found a bargain (needed a bit of work) had an armrest missing, and some other things missing - I'm really not sure what people do to their cars - but it worked for us! Similar to the one below.

The kids each had space around them and it was much quieter too as they seemed a lot further away from my seat.

I love my van - its easy to get the kids into, i have sliding doors so dont have to bump other cars. However, the car is not running great now and its costing more to keep it on the road most of the time, especially the parts needed (am scared to service it because of what they might find wrong!) So time to upgrade! Yay!

Dilemma - do we get another van? I am leaning towards a station wagon or 4wd type vehicle rather than a van again as am thinking that the kids are getting older now and the use for a van may not be required. Plus I KNOW that other mums with 3 kids have them and they seem to have no issues - right? Charlotte is at school 5 days a week, Mitchell will start kindy soon then school and then its just me and Ella. I would feel funny driving around this huge car with just one little girl inside :( Hubby loves the van - its easy to get the kids in, no probs with seats or even taking extra people (like grandparents) so am reallynot sure. If we are going to spend the money I want something to last and that can grow with us too.

Am torn between 2 worlds - to van or not to van - that is the question... stay tuned!

I've had the time of my life....

Well... in just one short week my big baby girl Charlotte will start her first day of school. I cannot believe that it was 5 years ago that my life changed forever with the birth of my first child (and I was so excited when I found out it was a girl!) Where has time gone?

I look at her face sometimes and think about her innocence... her wonder of life and how such a little person is going to grow up to be... well whatever she will be! She still needs help to do things - cant tie her shoelaces, fix her breakfast, she still has a bath (not a shower) - and I really don't want these things to change some days as I know that it means she is growing up. I know that they all do (and some days I wish they would faster), but it means that the more she grows up, the less she will need me...

Now to head to the "big" school where she will learn new and exciting things, and probably come home with some new words she has learnt from friends (probably worse than the bum and wee words she thinks are rude words now!) and that is a scary thought! She cried the other day as she was scared that she wouldn't "fit in" with her class as she couldn't read a book... bless! She can write many words, read a few, count to 100, knows all her animals, colours, letters, numbers and has started to learn addition and subtraction too and has always had this thirst for knowledge.

I can only teach her so many things and as her mother I hope that I have done my best and raised her the way I thought would bring out the best in my child, while nurturing her creative, intelligent and sensitive side as well. I have been lucky enough to have been at home with her since she was born and spent everyday with her. As she approaches school life I have some trepidation - along with nerves, excitement, relief and love for who she has become.

I've had the time of my life... being your mum... now and forever

xx

Have become a sheep...

I have offically become a sheep and followed the masses in the world of blogging. Now only 2 years ago I had no idea what Facebook was let alone a blog! I seem to have caught up a bit with technology (still waiting for that damn iphone though!) and I plan to use this blog to share with my family and friends some of the daily parts of my family's life...especially my 3 peas in a pod!

I will share photos, laughs, new adventures, things that make us smile, laugh, and even cry. The things we do together as a family the things that get me through the day, new milestones, achievements and anything that tickles my fancy!

I look forward to sharing a little bit of our world with you.

Nicole
The Peas in a Pod Mummy