Three's A Crowd

About a month ago, we took our little Corolla to get inspected. Secretly we had been hoping for the past year that somehow it could get totaled by someone in such a way that A) none of us were injured and B) we could get more money out of it than it would sell for. In fact, Tom would frequently be driving around waiting for someone to cut him off in just the right way so that it would clearly be their fault. Every time Tom discussed the perfect car accident or appeared to be orchestrating it, I would fear. For my life. For the lives of my children and Tom. Maybe it's the ER nurse in me, but I don't really believe that people can create the perfect car accident - it's just not that easy to control.

But no need to fear. The nice car inspector man let us know that the Corolla needed more repairs than the poor thing was worth to pass inspection. And that was more than the excuse we were looking for to get rid of it. [I was actually ready to get rid of it after a gallon of motor oil exploded in the trunk this summer and made it impossible to store anything in the trunk. I was also ready to get rid of it after I shut the passenger door two months ago and the entire arm rest came off in my hand. And then there was the way the rain would drip onto the driver's lap if it rained since the sealing around the windshield was no longer functional. What can I say, it was a special car.] It definitely felt good to get rid of it, knowing we had exhausted it of anything it had to offer us.

So we set out to find a minivan. We only had a few days to find something since the Corolla didn't pass inspection and apparently wasn't safe to be driving anyway. So after some prayer, some test driving, and some serious divine intervention...we found one! And Tom even haggled the guy way lower than I even thought possible. The best part of the deal is that they agreed to take the Corolla as trade-in! They are crazy, I don't know what ghetto they are going to sell that car in but someone would need to be totally desperate to pay money for that car.

Anyway, we got the car checked out the next Monday and the mechanic said that whoever owned it took really good care of it and there were no major problems, just a few minor maintenance things. Three days later we drove it to Maine for a dental conference and it was a beautiful ride. Driving the Corolla into the ground made us grateful for things like:

• room to sit up straight while driving
• the ability to put your seat back or recline it without knocking your children out of their car seats
• a trunk that actually fits a stroller and groceries and whatever-else-I-feel-like-without-taking-anything-out-to-fit-it-all-in.

Here she is:

Anyway, for now there are three whole extra seats in the car! I say for now because one of them will be claimed by Draper No. 3 in May. And as excited as we are about being minivan people, we are even more excited about that! Here are all the things you would probably ask me if you were actually talking to me:

When are you due? Technically May 10. Which means May 18-20.

Have you been sick? YES. Yes. Yes. I had two weeks of puking before I got Zofran and I lost 3 pounds and thought I was going to die. OK, death was not imminent, but let's just say that I.Love.Zofran. Even with it, I still toss my cookies sometimes and have lost a few more pounds, but now that I am 13 weeks along things are getting much better.

Are you hoping to have a boy or a girl? Either would be lovely. I love boys. I love girls. I seriously have no preference. This pregnancy is more similar to my pregnancy with Braden but that doesn't mean anything.

Will you find out what you are having? Yes. By the time I can find out, I will already have had 5 months of suspense, and that is enough surprise for me!

Anyway, I actually love being pregnant. You might think that the only people who say that are the people who have those dream pregnancies where they don't get sick and have beautiful ankles the whole 9 months and lose their baby weight 4 minutes after they give birth. That is not me, by the way. But I do love pregnancy because of the end result. I don't think it is supposed to be easy. I don't think anyone would appreciate human life as we should if pregnancy and childbirth were a cakewalk. So you might hear me complain on occasion (especially after May 10 passes and I am still without-baby-in-arms), but I will try to remain upbeat.

As the saying goes: One is lonely, two is company, and three's a crowd!