Get With It GM

About a week ago I decided it was time to purchase Lillie's new car seat to replace her infant carrier. I don't take her out in that thing much anymore, and when I do I nearly give myself a hernia...so it was time. Now, being that I hate switching car seats back and forth I have a car seat for each car. So I needed to buy 2 car seats, and instead of buying 2 new ones for Lillie. I decided to buy the kids new car seats for my car, and put the old ones in my husband's pick-up. I set my sights on the Britax Marathon, because it has such good ratings for both safety and user friendly features. My sister assured me that they take only minutes to install. "How wonderful would that be?" I thought to myself.



So yesterday afternoon I set out to install those puppies in my car. All excited that this should only take a few minutes, and my children would be forever safe and secure. I put my daughters in, rear-facing on the passengers side, and moved around to the driver's side to put in my son's. Little did I know that the people that design car LATCH systems like to play "Russian Roulette" with the placement of the anchors. They put anchors in the passenger's side, and the center, but not in the driver's side. Why? Why not just put them in every seat to give people flexibility? My Toyota had them in every seat, AND it had removable headrests, another awesome feature for car seat installation.

I just sat there considering my options. I could either A) put my kids right next to each other, but I couldn't even consider that one without breaking out into maniacal laughter. I mean really? Put my kids in poking distance of each other? I'd never have a peaceful drive again! B) put my son in the 3rd row, but then I would have to climb back there to buckle him in, give him snacks on long drives, wipe his nose, etc. And finally, C) install the car seat with the lap/shoulder belt, which makes you feel like you love one kid less. Guess which one I picked?

You got it GM! I chose to love my 3 year old, first-born son, less than his baby sister. I hope you're happy with yourself. It's totally understandable. I mean those little metal loops probably cost an arm and a leg. Oh, and then you'd have to hire someone to install the extra set, so that's an annual salary of $80,000, which would raise the price of the Denali to $100,000. Ya, you're right, we don't need those loops. It's better if my son flies out of the car, because he only has a flimsy lap belt holding him in.

We cool GM! You gotz the justifikashun heer.

Quick One

Before I leave I have to tell this little story. Last night I went to a movie with some friends, and when I got in my car it smelled really bad. So I threw all the trash away and figured it would dissipate by the time I got done. But it didn't. So I started thinking about what it could be, and I had a little "aha!" moment.

The car seat...

Anyone who has a toddler knows that there is lots of tiny pieces of goldfish, graham crackers, fruit snacks, etc. that fall down in the cracks of those seats. Well, my son had just spilled a bunch of water in his seat, and it made contact with those crumbs and created some sort of molding situation. So I drug the car seat out of the car and ripped the cover off...(okay not ripped...it is a complex process of taking the whole car seat apart) and threw it in the wash.

It took me a while to get the car seat put back together once everything was dry. I put the little buckles upside down, and another one backwards. I had to take it apart 3 times. Anyway, now the headrest is stuck! It's in this cock-eyed position and I cannot get it straight. I'm sitting there wrestling with the damn car seat and making no progress. I have one leg up on it, then I tried a knee, then I tried getting it in a scissor lock, and STILL I cannot get the thing straight. I need help! Who makes these things? They need a Geek Squad for car seat troubleshooting.

Hey now there is an idea! *COPYRIGHT PATENT!* You cannot steal my idea to start a car seat geek squad.

Okay now back to packing!