Before I found out I was pregnant, my car ended up dying on me so Brett and I were on the hunt for a new car with more space. Traveling with two car seats and all of the accessories that come along with having twins can make a car very claustrophobic (especially in our Prius). We started looking at smaller SUVs that had five seats and pretty much narrowed down our choices to the point where we were going to make a final decision by New Year's Eve at the latest. Now with the news that we would be adding an additional car seat and newborn accessories into the car, we had to scrap our plans for a small SUV and start looking at cars with three rows of seats! Most of the cars we looked at that had the third row, lacked any adequate trunk space which was a must for the two strollers we would be storing. Not to mention, all of the cars really did not have an easy way of getting in and out of that third row. Since the second row of seats could not fold down due to the car seats, the only option was to put one kid in through the trunk to get them to the third row. No thank you! Brett and I came to the realization that we would have to consider the mini-van. Personally, I did not really care what I drove, just as long as it was practical and affordable. Brett on the other hand, shuddered at the thought of owning a mini-van so soon in his lifetime. I knew that if we had to get a mini-van, we needed to get one that had some nice features to help convince Brett that it wasn't all that bad.
The Honda Odyssey ended up being the car we chose and all of a sudden we became a family with a mini-van. Things were happening so quickly with finding out we were already more than 3 months pregnant and then all of sudden we were driving the ultimate mom-mobile. With this news, Brett and I knew that we would need to make a lot of changes to be able to fit this new baby into our lifestyle. The next step of course was to figure out how this baby would be fitting into our housing situation. We have been living in a 2 bedroom apartment for over 6 years and it was getting a little cramped with the twins but it met all of our needs and allowed us to be able to wait to buy a home until the time was right. Now we were then having to consider our home purchase to be sped up tremendously or else this new baby was going to be sleeping in the dining room. Considering that the timing was not the best in the market since it is most favorable for the seller, we had to also consider just renting a little longer but at least upgrading to an actual house as opposed to an apartment. So many choices to be made, in so little time.
It's interesting because when I was in the hospital during my first pregnancy, my mantra was "we plan, God laughs" due to the abruptness of being kidnapped from my life. Now the mantra repeating in my head is "God only gives you what you can handle." I am not an overly religious person but I do believe in God and I trust that what was happening to me and my family was always part of God's plan. After all, regardless of all the change and craziness we are about to endure, this baby will be a complete blessing. To think that I was not even considering having any more children since it was not certain my body could even get pregnant again, and now I was not only pregnant but so far having a normal gestation with no complications! My thoughts about having more children were so wrapped up with fear after enduring the four months of bed rest and true fear that came with living through a high risk pregnancy. Assuming I would be doing the whole fertility treatment game for years, be back in the hospital if I got pregnant again, not being able to see Ella and Ethan, etc. made me think that it was okay if we stayed a two kid household. I already felt so lucky to have Ella and Ethan so why push it? Luckily, God made the decision for us and fate has brought us this new addition in the most perfect of circumstances. No fertility treatments, no bed rest, and a chance to actually enjoy pregnancy and get to do all of things I missed out on the first time. Maybe God knew that one complicated pregnancy was all I could handle and I was given a free pass this time. Who knows...but in the end, regardless of the new car and the new house which is just pointless stuff, we are blessed with bringing a new baby into this world and having the love of our family grow stronger. We can definitely handle that!
*The song "Wheels of a Dream" is from the 1998 Broadway musical Ragtime which is based on the classic E.L. Doctorow novel of the same name. In the show, the characters Coalhouse and Sarah sing about the dreams and endless possibilities they have for their new baby boy. This story takes place in the early 20th century where owning a car was considered a huge luxury. Coalhouse is very proud because he just bought a car and in the song, he and Sarah sing about being able to drive their son all over the country and build a new life together. Ironically, when I went to pick up my new Honda Odyssey for the first time, I turned on the Broadway satellite radio channel and this song started to play. As I drove away with this song playing, I could not help but think about what getting this car meant and how it was the first step in truly preparing for this new baby to join our lives. What a dream come true indeed!
Starting a new "odyssey" as a family of 5