Warning: Hodge Podge Post :)

Welp, I have a quiet night, so I thought I would do some decluttering of our online photos...NOT! My eyes are getting blurry, so I decided to procrastinate further and write a blog entry or two. :) Hehe! I will write about our move in another post but here are some updates on things I had written about previously:

-I've gotten a lot of comments on the post re: Aidan's ptosis. I've come to realize that there's barely any laypeople's info on this topic. If would be nice to have a site where people can discuss what procedures they've tried, the results, which doctor they've seen, etc.. Maybe something to tackle later....after baby #3. :) But, I do want to say that it's been 6 months after Aidan had his surgery and the results have been great! The eyelid remains raised to the point where his field of view is not obstructed and no more comments from strangers about what happened to his eye! :) We are now searching for a new pediatric ophthalmologist since we just moved to the new area - but once we find a good one, we will also know how his vision is doing in the affected eye. [If anyone knows of one, please email me!] Although his eyelid is open a bit while he's sleeping, it hasn't caused him any discomfort, which was one of our concerns. So, praise the Lord for such a great result!

Due to popular demand: Before surgery pic and after surgery pic (his affected eye is closer to the camera). Feel free to poke around our online albums 1 & 2 for more. :)

-We had written about the dilemma with our car since we will be having #3 this winter - should we get a bigger car or get narrower caresats?! So, this is what ended up happening. We were going to keep our '01 Camry for now since Kev might be needing a newer car soon and try to fit 3 in the back. So we purchased 2 Sunshine Kids Radian 65s from Target. We thought we were set. But after moving to PA, we realized that we had to deal with my 'check engine' light problem AGAIN (for the 5th or 6th time) or else we won't pass inspection. Long story short, we had a friend working at a Honda dealership who could get us a great deal on a CR-V or a Odyssey. (Kev had narrowed it down to those 2 for now - we wanted decent gas mileage and stability control for all our hilly roads. And we wanted to take a break from Toyotas after all we had been thru with the Camry.) Anyhow, after much discussion, we ended up with a new CR-V because it is a 4WD with all-season tires (meaning no need to change to snow tires and get charged extra for recalibration of some system - didn't quite catch the explanation from the car guys) and with all the snow the neighbors say we get and all the hills we have, we felt it was the safest option. Plus, it gets great mileage for an SUV - something like 26 MPG! :) And, yes, I can stow my double stroller (Joovy Caboose Ultralight) in the back with room to spare for groceries and such. It even comes with a shelf for double the storage space, if needed. Anyhow, we'll see what happens. With more room in the back, I'm hoping that the 3 in a row will not be too much of a problem. ;) Updates to come...

-We have a new favorite toothpaste and mouthwash! I know I had raved about Tom's of Maine but now I have a better tasting option with no SLS! It's Jason's Sea Fresh Toothpaste and Mouthwash! I really feels like it cleans my teeth well and leaves my mouth feeling very fresh. And the fact the the mouthwash is concentrated and needs to be diluted by equal parts water makes it a great value! There's no burning sensation like Listerine but a super minty feeling. So, yep, I really like it! Even Kev likes it (he didn't love my Tom's stuff - hehe)! :)

-Aidan got a train table for his 4th birthday that we absolutely loves! We researched for a while and picked a barebones one that can withstand lots of play, takes a minimal amount of time to set up and matches the kiddies' play kitchen. :) We highly recommend the Kidkraft Train Table. We ended up ordering it from Walmart and got free shipping with the Site to Store option, which made it a great bargain because it's really heavy and might be costly to ship! [And because we got it from Walmart, we could return it to the store, as well.] Anyhow, the assembly took all of maybe 10 minutes - it took more time to break down the box for recycling and put the rest of the trash in the garbage! Hehe! Anyways, Aidan can also play his Melissa & Doug puzzles (love those super sturdy puzzles for preschoolers) on it, which is really key...that way, I can reclaim my kitchen floor! :)

Anyhow, I'll end the post here, so I can talk more about our move. Thanks for reading!

A minivan that's NOT a gas guzzler?

So, with the impending arrival of #3, we need to think about a bigger car. Doh! I've been dreading this because I really disliked driving (and parking, esp) big cars. [My dream car is the Prius with a bigger rear window!] But we need a car that can accomodate a family of five and can afford us some type of trunk space. So, we're thinking the minivans are it because most of the SUVs that we've looked at have barely any trunk space and I'll definitely need some room to tote my double stroller around. Anyhow, after doing some research on the matter, it seems like the minivans are gas guzzlers for the most part. And with gas prices creeping (or rapid climbing, really) towards the $4 mark this summer here in FL, this is disheartening. Filling up my Camry already makes me sad, so we're looking for a fuel efficient model. Kev is investigating the Mazda 5 right now because it seems to be a bit more wallet-friendly at the pump. But does anyone have any suggestions for a minivan (or even an SUV) that is NOT a gas guzzler? Maybe we overlooked some? (A vehicle that also has great safety ratings would be great!)

[We are also reading up on if we can get 3 carseats in a row in the back of my Camry, so stay tuned!]