Friday, October 06, 2006

Surprising the husband

My husband's grandpa probably won't make it through the week, so we'll be taking that 8-hr car trip sooner than we anticipated. I decided to surprise him with a freshly cleaned car. I've been driving his car over the summer because the air works more evenly than in the wagon. However, the kids and I have junked it up royally. I removed all the diapers, library tapes and debris; vacuumed, wiped and washed; took out the car seats for laundering. Whew! It was a great treat to see his face this afternoon.
You'll see from the picture we bought a new Britax car seat for the little one. I do think these are the most comfortable seats, if you can find one within your price range. The author of Freakonomics says the brand of seat doesn't matter for safety (or even a seat at all, provided the child isn't in the front). Britax is the only brand we've used that doesn't ever shift or wobble, though, and that has to count for something. We compromised by not buying an infant car seat. Instead, we saved our money toward the convertible Marathon, which can be used much longer. Target drops the price twice a year to $169. I pulled out my stockpile of pharmacy transfer gift cards and my coupon from the Entertainment Book. Andrew's Britax Husky was reimbursed by the insurance company when we were hit by a car last year.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I agree with you Meredith. We love our Marathon too...and we've had three (for one child!! it's a long story) other seats to compare to, so despite the Freakonomics analysis, still recommend the Britax to any family or friends asking for advice.

Stephanie said...

We have Britax for both the girls, although Natalie isn't in her's yet. My Mom, a fabulous consignment sale shopper, one time found 4 Britax, all in great condition for $40 each! She bought three! One for Natalie, one for my nephew, and one for the grandparent's vehicle. :)

Anonymous said...

Don't buy used car seats! Our neighbor is a paramedic and you never know if the car seat you bought was in a terrible accident. It can stress the plastic and while it may have protected their child the statistics show your child have a much smaller chance! NEVER EVER buy a used one unless you know EXACTLY where it came from!

Someone Beautiful said...

I wanted a Britax too, but it was after we already had a convertible. So we never had one. I wish I'd known before - both for safety and comfort reasons. I don't get used car seats either. Cribs and carseats are the 2 baby items I only buy new. We were adviced during all the baby safety classes. My cousin slept in a used crib that broke apart in his sleep, and he fell through to the floor. He was ok.

Mom2fur said...

Beautiful carseat, but I sure hope that person at Freakanomics wasn't advocating not using one, even if the kid is in the backseat!
You were so sweet to clean out the car. I'm sorry to hear about your husband's grandpa. I hope his last days are peaceful ones.

Someone Beautiful said...

I forgot to say I prayed for your husband's grandpa and the whole family. We recently lost a great-granny, and it was hard. I pray all ends in peace and that he knows the Lord. :)