RIP Jeep. Welcome to the Family Toyota

So... I know I have been a little quiet these past few weeks. It's not that I haven't wanted to write; in fact all I really would prefer to do right now is to write.  Writing would help me process so much of what is going on in this crazy brain of mine.    A LOT has happened since I've turned 29, but I'll ease you into it slowly.

Thank you all for the warm wishes on turning 29.  It was a good birthday.  Very good birthday!  My birthday girl's night out was a success.  (as you can see from this post)  Then my husband got his sister to take the boys over night the next day and we had a great evening together.

My husband and I are huge movie buffs so we did a double feature and saw "Planet of the Apes" and then saw "The Help" right after that.  Both movies were amazing.  Believe it or not, I think Planet of the Apes was my favorite.  It was such a phenomenal movie.  Cried a bunch and CAN NOT wait to see what they do with the next one.  The Help was pretty awesome too.  My BFF came with us to that one.  I was so excited she could come out with us.  I cried a lot in that movie as well, and really would recommend both those movies to anyone.  Jesse and I then went out to get a bite to eat and then went back home to a quiet house.  It was a fantastic week to say the least. 

However my birthday DAY was uneventful besides the visit from my Bestie and SIL with some pretty flowers and a really yummy chocolate cake.  Oh yea.... and the call from my father saying that he had just gotten into a car accident with my car.

Thankfully he was not hurt and in no way was I mad at all that it happened.  Accidents happen, right?!  He was so upset with himself, I felt more bad for him then my car because he thought he had ruined my birthday.  Far from it!  He was safe, no one was hurt... a car is a car, it can be fixed or replaced.

When he got home all you could see was damage to my back passenger side door.  It really didn't look terrible.  The worst I thought it would be was replacing both doors.

After a week of not knowing what was happening with my car and getting no answers, the place supposedly fixing my car finally called me to tell me that they were up to $7500 of damages and the insurance company was going to call it a loss.  This was a shot out of left field.  Didn't expect that to be the case at all.  I learned a lot of lessons that week.  1.  Don't have a $1000 deductible.  2. ALWAYS have car rental on your policy because it SUCKS being stuck at home with no car.  3.  Losing and finding a replacement car in a matter of weeks takes a lot of time and hard work.  I can feel the stress building up in my back.   

Thankfully a few months back Jesse and I threw around the option of trading in my Jeep for a minivan, so I had already done a lot of research on minivans and I knew what I wanted.  I just needed to find the best deal for our pocket.  We got some money back from the insurance company (more than I expected to get) and my parents paid for the deductible so we could put a good amount down.  After all the searching and looking I found a great deal on a 2004 Toyota Sienna. Everything I wanted!  Perfect for a growing family.

I have to say that I'm pretty darn proud of myself  ~ Last week my husband was SWAMPED with work.  Crazier than normal with work issues so most of the time I was on my own to find us a car.  I did all the work, even test drove cars all by myself.  When I found the one we wanted, I even negotiated by myself and get this.... I got him to come down $2000!!!!  I learned a lot through this process.  I learned I am smarter and tougher than I look.  I knew what I was talking about when I went in there and most of the car guys were impressed with the questions I asked.  I didn't just find a pretty car and say "I want this."  I looked at a lot of cars, a lot of deals and I feel that I got a great one.

And on Saturday, we finally had a car!  We bought the best car for our family and I'm thrilled that I put so much work into finding it.  It makes driving it that much better, knowing all the hard work I put into getting it.  To some a car is just a car, but for me it's something more.  I plan on having this car for a long time. It's the car I will take my kids to school in and pick them up in.  It's the car we will take many memorable family vacations in.  This car is something that will keep my family safe when driving... and I feel safe in it.

What do you think?!

So that is where I have been for the past two weeks.  I have hardly had time to even process all of this, but wanted to let you all know where I have been.  Forgive me for being so behind.  I even missed blog posts two of my friends wrote about me on my birthday and didn't see them until a week later.  FAIL! I will make some time today to catch up on all your blogs.  Miss reading all of them and excited to have a little more time in my day now.  Hope you all have been doing well!