BIG weekend!

We had a great, BIG weekend this past weekend. Let me begin with Thursday evening...

Thursday night we went to the Quad Cities in search of the vehicle that would replace our wonderful Murano that has been acting up in very random, expensive ways lately. To be honest, at this point I'm pretty sure that was the night that we looked at the Pathfinder again but I can't recall. We were there late. Oh yes, we also stopped at Highland Toyota and a few other lots before getting to LuJack's (big dealer in the QCs). Nothing really caught our eye or the salesman that we talked to at the other places didn't make us feel quite right (Adam's great at this btw), so we ended up at LuJack's and left trying to choose between the Toyota Highlander in Muscatine, Nissan Pathfinder at LuJacks, or Trailblazer at LuJacks. Sigh. Long process even though Adam was a trooper about this car purchase and sped up the process since the Murano made me nervous to drive.

Friday. We have finally ruled out the Trailblazer by mid/late in the day. So now all we have to do is choose between the Highlander or Pathfinder. I was all for the Pathfinder since it was just like the Murano and I would buy Nissan every time if it worked out that way. Adam's voice of reason (which it didn't feel like at the time) said we need to go home and decide tonight b/c there were some equal concerns/pros/cons with either one. I was pretty sad when it was time to realize that I was likely NOT going to be getting the Pathfinder. I understood and agreed why it wasn't our best option (higher miles, among other things), but I wasn't convinced I wanted the mediocre (in my mind) Highlander from Muscatine. Besides, Adam didn't particularly like the sales guy either, which always puts an interesting spin on things b/c he's in sales and knows how it goes for the most part.

SO, Saturday morning I wake up and lay there thinking about what we SHOULD do and what we were going to do. The thing is, I wanted this done asap and I wanted something that would work for us through the next two babies at least, maybe even with a 3rd on the way (if we get that far with number of babies, that is). So I finally wake him up and say listen, let's just go to Toyota in Musc and get the Highlander. It makes the most sense and I want this all-consuming car shopping over. So just before he starts to get ready, Adam goes online to look around again. If I had known he was doing this, I would have been frustrated b/c that would have meant potential MORE cars to look at which was NOT an option I was considering at this point. Anyway, all of a sudden he calls me in the office and asks what I think of this red Highlander at Highland Toyota in Moline, where we had been less than 48 hours earlier but not seen anything we liked (and had a TERRIBLE salesman who we found out is thisclose to being fired for being terrible). I start looking at the features which included LOW mileage (25, almost 26K), 2005 (which means only ~6K miles/year), and then all the good stuff that I was fully convinced I would be giving up after we traded in the Murano (which was the top end of its year, leather, stereo, etc) - it had leather seats, 3rd row seating, control buttons on the steering wheel, SEAT HEAT!!, among other such great features. I told him let's shower, get everything together that we needed for our trip to Milwaukee and the Brewer game, you call the guy to have it set aside, and then we're outta here to go drive and likely buy that car if the test drive goes well. So we hustle and hustle and...the salesman was awesome. He had hidden the car around back so it was ready for us as Adam told him we were in a hurry to get out of town to head to Milwaukee so we traded keys (so they could determine a trade-in value on the Murano) and went for a test drive. Needless to say, I could have turned around within 45 seconds b/c I knew this was the one. Not only did it have all the things about it that we wanted in a long-term vehicle, but all the bells and whistles that I wanted but thought I'd have to give up. Adam wanted to drive it all over the place to make sure, which we did, but the whole time I knew I wanted this vehicle. So after some LONG paperwork, discussions, etc., we drove away my new (to me) RED 2005 Toyota Highlander, Limited Edition on our way to Milwaukee. It was such a great feeling knowing that it wouldn't act up in start/stop traffic and that I could rely on this vehicle for quite some time to come. Good things for peace of mind with a baby on the way. :) Happy mommy!

Then we went to the Brewer game (albeit a little later than we had hoped) to tailgate for a bit before heading in to the game with my Dad & Sue, Adam's parents, and my brother Ross and his fiance Kristen. It was a great time, I got cotten candy (which I've been craving lately), and the Brewers won. Like I said, GREAT day. :) We stayed overnight in Milwaukee and then headed home to the puppies to get started on some seriously neglected house duties...like cleaning out the lawnmower (Adam's job) while I worked on taking things out of the garage so Adam could go through it, I could sweep, and we could get it all put back together in some sort of order, and then went in to relax and have a really great dinner - roasted chicken, fresh green beans, and baked potatoes. It was really a great weekend and I couldn't ask for a better one. Also, the baby was super cooperative at the game and kicked every one of our family members there. :) The next morning when I was lying awake (sore hips again, go figure), Adam had draped his arm across my huge belly bump...and Baby went crazy! She did NOT like the extra weight on her space and proceeded to royally kick his arm for a good 5-10 minutes until he finally moved it out of her way. Sure made us laugh though. Little stinker...

The only bad thing that came out of the weekend was that these "allergies" I felt like I had most of last week is really a cold that makes my upper lung region really hurt...and a slightly runny nose. Since I've gotten up this morning, it's been better and doesn't sting as much, but I think I'm still going to take it easy and do easy productive things today instead of housework that requires me to be up and around a lot. Baby doesn't like it and is kicking me a LOT this morning, but that's just because me being up and around lulls her to sleep so she's probably just confused about what's going on out in the real world. :) Sorry for the long post, but there was a lot to catch up on since my last exciting post. Now that the car thing is taken care of, on to taking care of buying furniture and getting our registries going. Well, they're going, but not added to yet! For those of you that want to know, we are (going to be) registered at Target, Babies 'R Us, Walmart, and then a place in Neenah, WI (Mom & Pop Place) and Davenport, IA (Green bottoms) for our BumGenius diapers (cloth) that we are really excited about. Ok, on to other things for the day besides sitting on the computer...and to find a reason to take the Highlander for a spin. :)