3 Car Seats in the PRIUS- IT CAN BE DONE!!!!!

IF YOU DRIVE A SMALLER CAR PLEASE READ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I don't have a real good picture but as you can see, there isnt much room between the boys (Britax Marathon- a great car seat!)

My public math, I am sure I will regret this later

View from the trunk...and cause she is cute

Noah loves having his sister next to him...maybe he isnt showing it in this pic

3 Car seats in a PRIUS- IT CAN BE DONE!!!

Oh this has been a journey, first having the children was an adventure in it self but then realizing I dont have to turn-in my '07 Toyota Prius for a larger, harder to park, and obviously less fuel efficient car - relief!!!!

I think it was either the May or June issue of "Parents" magazine that said you can fit three car seats in the Prius. I almost fell out of my chair (as if I get to sit down) pissed-off that anyone much less a relatively credible magazine would publish something like that. As you can see from the first picture, there isn't much room between the boys.

After driving Sean's '08 Toyota Tundra for a week, I can see why he rides his bike to work, but I also felt like it was my duty to explore this three car seats in a Prius thing. I hated parking the truck and it was NO fun at the pump. I also missed having a trunk. It does have a cap, but hangin' my tush out of the back chasing beers after the groceries spill is something my neighbors run in the house to avoid.

My first step, internet research. I 'surfed' a Prius Chat Forum only to realize the vocal Prius owners are actual jerks. (It was a family decision to have children NOT the us wanting to burden the earths resources). I came across one link to a blog that pointed me in the right direction.

Family STATS

Noah: 4yrs old, 35 lbs

Zane: 20 months, 23 lbs

NEW BABY: Not born (at the time)- the beers weren't for me

Noah isn't legal for a no back booster just yet and because of the small size of the car I felt for his safety to keep him in a high back, 5 pt harness seat for as long as possible. Zane is in the same boat. Than an infant carrier for the new baby.

Just as I suspected...For the boys the Sunshine Radian for has the narrowest seat (and has some nice features). A very nice man at a local baby store tried just about every combo and the Radians on the outside would work the best. Next FIND an INFANT seat that fits between them. The Chicco Keyfit 30 works too (according to the other blog I have seen) but also, the Graco Snugride 30 fits good. Only the Snugride 30, the base is different than the other Gracos.

For Da Hall FAM this meant THREE NEW CAR SEATS- ARRRRGGGGGHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!! After the engineer in me got down to business I found my dusty old calculator (actually I found that mine is broken and new batteries wont fix it :( I have had that for almost 15 yrs). I figured out that Prius vs Tundra, new car seats would pay off in about 4,480 miles. You can check my math up top. I am actually getting 46mpg.

I found the Sunshine Radian on sale at Diapers.com. I decided on the Graco because it fits in my jogging strollers. I got it off the Bed Bath and Beyond website and was able to take a 20% off coupon to the store and get some money back!!!! That was a sweet deal.

When it is all said and done, I didnt like having to purchase three new car seats but it is well worth it. We are almost a quarter of the way done paying them off (in gas milage savings not in credit card bills) and she is only 5 weeks old. It is also very nice having car seats in the truck.

If you have a small car I hope this helps.

Sean not driving a minivan=priceless.

Smelling PINE...

OK so she is "out" as in she is asleep here

Playing in the water on mount lemon

Out on her first outing in the mountains

Ziggy removed his hat for the pic...what a cute little guy

Noah and Daddy on top of a rock...So much fun

After Church on Sunday we took the drive up the mountain for a picnic. We had a really good time. The boys played in a creek and Sean and I just tried to keep all the children alive. Sierra slept most of the time. I would like to think she enjoyed the fresh air...maybe the sweet smell of pine. It was good to get out of the house and good to get some energy out.

Mommy and Zane Hit the ZOO

Shortly before having Sierra, Zane and I were able to sneak away to the ZOO. Noah was at school and with a name like Noah one would think he is into animals, not the case. So, we knew he wouldn't be too sad to miss the zoo. The Tucson Zoo has great prices and parking spots for fuel efficient cars. I personally wish I had sweeter things to say about the zoo. Zoo's in general freak me out...I just fell sad for the animals but then again I am not going to Africa anytime soon to check out the animals. A double edge sword for certain. Zane did enjoy the zoo for a good hour....did I mention it was 100 degrees at 9 am. Needless to say the 21 month old and the freakishly pregnant woman melted almost instantly. Enjoy the pictures.

So There Is A New Kid In Town

As I am sure most of you know we welcomed baby Sierra Marie Hall to the family. She was born August 28th, at 6:17pm. She weighed in at 7 lbs 4 oz and was 19 in long and she was a very healthy pink. I wouldn't say labor and delivery were a breeze but somethings are best left out of blogs. Brothers are both very in love with their new sister. We thank the Lord she is healthy.

Belated B-Day POST

Daddy running along side to make sure he 'gets' the hand-breaks
Sweet new wheels
A very nice spin
Ziggy and Nae (the stinky monkey) checking out Noah's new bike
Noah on a Southwest Jet actually getting to push buttons and talk to the pilot

Noah the BIG BIG BIG 4, it seems like I already wrote about this. So i am going back to check right now. Ah so I did but I only put pictures he took on the post. So here are some from my camera...a different point of view. So he grew so he got a new bike. It is a sweet little bike that has made him a ton faster...just what we needed. He has been on a real bike no training-wheels now for a full year. He is pretty good but looses some steam in the heat (who doesnt). SO here are some pics of the hot red bike. He also had a blast sitting in the jet.

Hope all is well, we are waiting for number three. So excited.

My LIttle Boy in a BIG School

Zane is so sad after dropping Noah off for his first day

Still very sad

Noah outside his new school

WOW really folks, he is 4 yrs old and in pre school. He loves school so much we decided to put him in a 5 day a week half day pre school. He loves it. It starts really early (730) so it has taken a little bit to get the family adjusted to rushing through breakfast. My boys tend to eat slowly and eat a lot so trust me, it is a feat to get them going. He has some great teachers. I am looking forward to hearing more stories about school.

Zane and I have been running errands and today we went to the zoo. He misses his brother but we are finding ways to drown our sorrow. I think Zane secretly likes having all the toys to himself and no one bugging him in the cart. We will see when the new baby arrives how much he likes it.

LET THE COUNT DOWN BEGIN

So many of you are thinking..."oh for the new baby"....NO for the start of school!!!!! Noah starts his real pre-school this friday. It is going to be an intense year. He has a cute little uniform. 2 more days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!