The Wheels on the Car Go Round and Round...

So finally at the age of 37, I got a brand spanking new car.

Up to this point I have happily driven "used" cars and loved them. I have had a VW GTI (it was the car that my husband pushed when it broke down, the first time we met-ah my knight in shining armour...well actually cowboy boots, tight jeans and a baseball jersey...but hey it was the 90s!), Honda Accord (I gotta say I LOVE driving standard), Honda Civic (we sold it when we moved to Bermuda), Mazda 323 (it POURED water out of the passenger's side/glove box when we took corners to fast...oddly it was not an option we were looking for) and Subaru Impreza ( a GREAT car that we sadly sold when we left de island). Since returning to Canada we have had a Honda Accord that belonged to Rob's mum and an Acura MDX that his sista lent us for 6 months 'til the lease was up. Looking back at my list, WOW that adds up to 28 wheels plus the 2 scooters we had over the 10 years...making it 32!

After test driving many a brand and style we settled on a 2009 Hyundai Santa Fe AWD, it was the one with the most leg room within our price range. We figure we will have it for a while, or as I put to Rob "We will have it until you at least 50 years old!"...that didn't go over so well.

The next question was colour, and that discussion went like this:

"So what colour do you think Dev?"

"Pink!" exclaims Devin.

"I don't think they make it in pink Dev..."

"Why? All pretty things are pink...butterflies, bubblegum, flowers, babies..." Good point, but no luck.

"How about red and white?" suggests Devin.

"Hmmmm...red and pink....why?"

"Well it is Santa's sleigh? Red and white would be just right."

.......?????..........huh?

"Santa's sleigh....?" I ask.

"Yeah, you said we were getting a 'Santa Sleigh' and his is red and white..."

I sooooooo have to work on my pronunciation, " Sorry Devin I said a 'Santa Fe' not a 'Santa Sleigh'........."

Man the look of disappointment on her face.

Anyhow, we decided...well actually we didn't "decide" as much as we were limited to black or "maybe willow blue (who names these colours???) if it is available but we won't know for 4-6 weeks" explains the saleswoman....ok, so black it is!

The car was delivered to the house after dinner last Wednesday. After a quick cruise around, getting all the bells and whistles pointed out and demonstrated (I LOVE satellite radio!!) the keys were passed over and the Bakers headed out for a quick cruise.

"It is so shiny!"

"Ohhhhhhh look at all the buttons!"

"Can I drive?"

"Can we sleep in it and look at the stars all night long through the hole in the ceiling (aka sunroof)."

No these were not Devin's comments....they were mine.

I never really got all the fuss over that "new car smell" but gotta admit, when that smell is your car...it stinks good. I enjoyed cruising around the next day and was thankful that it was warm enough to even have the windows open...yup, a good purchase indeed.

Being Thursday, it was my afternoon to pick Devin up from school since Rob has his afterschool shift. I collected my folks to bring then on a little drive and surprise Devin.

Arriving at school I was greeted with a sleepy little girl who wanted a cuddle, not the usual "MMMUUUMMMMMMYYYY!!!" followed with a NFL knee hit. Hmmmm...maybe she is still a little tired...she is kinda pale now that I look at her....oh I should really trust that maternal instinct.

I buckled Devin in and started the journey home. I had to take the QEW since the new 407 transponder has not arrived yet. No biggie, it wasn't rush hour yet, so we may only need to tack about 10 extra minutes on our commute.

"Grandma isn't our new car nice?"

"Look at the hole in the top Grandpa."

"Mummy I love our new car."

"Mummy I am thirsty."

"Mummy I have a tummy ache."

Oh oh. Once before on this same commute, Devin had a "Mummy I have a tummy ache" moment that quickly changed to a VERY messy issue within minutes.

Crap. I am in the fast lane at the exact spot where the QEW and 403 meet...could I be in a worse location?


"Hey Mum," I casually ask Grandma as I try to get over to the far shoulder, "Do you see a plastic bag in the back anywhere?" Meanwhile my hands are starting to sweat...please don't throw up, please don't throw up.....

"No, nothing back here," oh oh, not the response I wanted to hear.

"But here Devin, you can use my purse..." You gotta love my Mum, nothing phases her. Absolutely nothing.

My Mum did her best to quickly empty her purse of its contents but sadly Devin's little tummy decided to do the same thing....all over her carseat, pink poncho that she made in school and of course....the new car.

Oy vey.

I gotta say, for a three year old, she is a trooper. She sat in traffic for 35 minutes soaking wet.

"I frewup in the new car."

"Its ok Devidoo as long as you feel a little better."

"I frewup all over my pretty pink poncho."

"Don't worry Devin, we will clean it all up."

Now, I know I may seem like a heartless mother making her sit like that until we get home but let me plead my case...this is the child who changes her outfit if she gets a little splash of water on it when washing her hands, or some mulch gets stuck to her dress when she is playing outside. If I made ANY attempt to change her, there would be no earthly way I would be able to get her back into "that" carseat to get her home. So it was either sit in the carseat covered in you know what or sit in the car, clean but with out a carseat.....you see I am actually a very loving mum concerned about her well-being.

When we finally arrive home, I helped pull the soggy little noodle from her seat while trying to assess the damage.

"Ok, let's get you inside to change and for a quick bath..." I turn around to find my bashful three year old buck nude in our driveway...man that was fast!

"Um...Dev...let's get inside....." before the neighbours start to wonder about the nudist colony across the street!

"Look Mummy an ant...do you think he would like to see the mess I made?"

"Um....no I don't think so." I scoop her up and carry her inside while my mum (God bless her!) collects the soggy poncho, shoes, shirt and pants.

After a quick bath and some warm clothes I venture out to see the damage.

Hmmmm...not too bad. My Mum (once again, God bless her) cleaned up most of it leaving me just to get the little "bits" and the carseat.

At this point I realized all the excitement over a new car was silly. I mean it is just metal and rubber, it doesn't provide life, it doesn't laugh at silly jokes, and even those seat heater aren't all that exciting. No, a car is just a means from getting from A to B.....leather seats on the other hand are the GREATEST creation. Ever. All hail the inventor of wipeable, easy to clean leather seats. Yup, sliced bread ain't got nothing on seats that are forgiving to frowup.

I stood back and took one final look. Yup looks pretty good. So what if the car is only 22 hours old, as long as Devin is ok.

The next day after making sure tummies were feeling ok, Devin,Daddy and Deirann headed to school. A few minutes later, I headed out to work and jumped into the car. Hmmmm....I am sure this is NOT the new car smell I was expecting! Nothing a few bottles of Febreeze won't cure...and open windows....and maybe a nose plug.

Anyhow, off I go to start my day... singing at the top of my lungs in a Jerry Maguire kinda way.

I do love my new car...stink and all.