We got a Mini Cooper and I love riding in it cause I can change the colour of the interior lights.

He said

After patiently waiting what seemed like an eternity (which was really only five days), Tuesday night this week, we were back to Stratford to pick up our new (to us) Chilli Red 2011 Mini Cooper. The second Danielle was done the daycare day and Emelia was fed, we were on our way. And, unlike the trip down to look at, test drive and ultimately buy it, this trip was much quicker! I think we were a total forty minutes before we were back on the road and heading back to London in our convoy which included me in the Cooper.

Emelia of course chose to ride with me and loved that from her seat in the back she had a perfect view to the centre-mounted speedometer and instrument panel. At one point on the way home Emelia said it didn’t seem like we were going too fast and I tromped on the gas to zippily get us up over a hundred on one of the back country roads. She realized in a hurry how much fun the car was to drive. But then, immediately and not surprisingly fretted aloud about how we were going to caught and arrested by the police.

She pleaded with me to slow down which I obliged. But the flashing lights we saw off in the distance (on a tractor) didn’t do much to dissuade the idea she had that were going to be locked up in the clink for my egregious driving. When I finally got close enough for her to see it was indeed a tractor she relented. However the second we arrived at Poppa & Grandma’s with the Mini, Emelia bounded out of the car and blurted out to Poppa – who was standing out on their front porch – that “Daddy was going 100!”

Thursday this week, I was down to Toronto to our store at the Eaton Centre for a meeting and I used that opportunity to test out the Mini’s gas mileage and driving on the big highways. I am happy to say it is a thoroughly entertaining car to drive and totally helped navigating the tight, traffic burdened confines of Toronto’s downtown core. But, the highlight of the trip was when I gassed up in Burlington on the way home to find that even with using premium fuel it was still under fifty dollars to fill the tank, and the projected distance a full tank of gas gave me was a walloping 775kms! That’s getting close to double the amount of fuel economy we get from the Pilot and it is pretty great on gas with it’s Eco Mode.

Friday was another day of work—a closing shift for me. But Saturday on the other hand was my third Saturday in a row that I was off and able to be part of the usual Saturday errands and fun. Of course that started with swim lessons and then gymnastics, but it also included picking up our friend Maria’s daughter Emma so she and Emelia who get along great could hang out. And of course with it being so close to Halloween, the girls wanted to go to the Halloween Costume store to check out all the ghoulish items. They had a blast trying on masks and pretty much explored every corner of the store with laughter and smiles as their soundtrack. Danielle and Maria even got a little bit of visiting time when Maria came to collect Emma for their dinner plans.

With nothing left for us but to enjoy the evening at home and in light of the snow in the forecasted over the next couple of days, Danielle suggested we make a big batch of chilli for the evening which we did and then retired to the couch for an evening of watching the Blue Jays playoff game (they lost) and then an Amy Schumer comedy special on HBO. After much laughter, we retired to bed exhausted and content from a fantastic day together.

Today was another work day, but the first one where it didn’t involve having to rush Danielle and Emelia to get ready just so they could drop me off at work and have the car. And Sundays were the one day that really became the conversation starter to a second car. I have to say it was nice to not feel guilty for once about the way my work schedule in the retail world impacts the rest of this household.

Tomorrow is a very big day on a couple of counts. For starters, it is election day in Canada as we hopefully usher out our Prime Minister who has been at it too long and way out of touch with his agenda. And secondarily the night will end with Danielle and I going to see one of our all-time favourite bands, Stars. So, Emelia will head over to Poppa & Grandmas for a sleepover and Mummy & Daddy will go out for a grownup evening. And hopefully celebrate a new Prime Minister!

She said

It was certainly a fun-filled and exciting week indeed. As John mentioned this week was the week we got to finally end the world of being a one car family. We picked up the mini Tuesday night and it has been love at first sight for all of us. Emelia absolutely adores the new car, she loves everything about it and at every turn wants to have rides in the new car.

The first real small luxury for having a second care came the next day, I was able to book an appointment right after the daycare day was done and not have to worry about when John was home so I would have access to the car. We have lived with one car for so long that just these little luxuries of not having to plan weeks ahead for a simple meeting because I don’t have access to a car is just amazing.

The rest of the week was more about getting Emelia ready for her cross country finals next week and our normal weekly activities. By the weekend we were all ready for some much needed family time and a break from the day to day.

Saturday morning we started our typical Saturday of one activity to another. Emelia has swim in the morning and then gymnastics in the early afternoon but this Saturday was a nice break from the normal errand day. Earlier in the week I got a text from one of my best friends Maria asking if Emelia would like to have a play date with Emma. It took less than 10 seconds for me to respond back saying we would love to have Emma for the afternoon. So while Emelia was at gymnastics we picked Emma up and brought her to see the last of Emelia’s gymnastics and spent the rest of the afternoon letting the girls played, we got treats from our local coffee shop and headed over to Halloween Alley for an hour of fun. The girls tried on just about every mask, hat, accessory you could and had an absolute blast. The afternoon flew by and before we knew it Emma was on her way with her mom and we were off to get a bit of shopping done.

We stopped after at Old Navy so I could try and find some fall clothes for myself. I am still in search for the perfect jean that is not only flattering but will work in my day to day of working with small children. I found a few things at Old Navy and then we headed home to enjoy the slow cooked pot of homemade chilli and watch the Blue Jays game.

This morning I got to do something I have not been able to do in over 3 years on a Sunday that John and to work. I got to sleep in, stay in my pjs and not rush out the door in the morning to bring him to work. I got to enjoy a few extra minutes of quiet before having to go into mom mode and take on the day. We had a very early snow this morning so John took the car and I had the truck as we were doing a fair bit of errands and activities today.

After getting up we did a few small errands and then Emelia and I headed over to Fanshawe Park so she and I could do a walk through for her race on Tuesday. They had the race path all marked out and we could walk the whole thing so she could see what obstacles and terrain she would be facing on race day. It was a beautiful and sunny day and it was great for her and I to be out there in nature walking together and just chatting.

Once we had the race path mapped out we got back in the truck and headed over to our friend’s place so she could have a play date with one of my former daycare boys Reece. I have Reece’s little sister in care now but I had Reece in care for over 3 years. Their family has become an extension of ours and we have become good friends with their parents over the years. Emelia and Reece are very close and they adore playing together. Norma had sent me a text earlier in the week to see if we wanted to have a play date today and again we were happy to oblige.

We chose to head outside in the shine and go to Kushman’s Berry Farm. Like many of the local farms in the area they have transformed the area to a full fun zone for the kids. There are tractor rides, mazes, bouncy pillows, horse rides, a small petting zoo and so much more. We spent the better part of 3 hours in the chilly air watching the kids run from one activity to another. Emelia and an incredible time and it was a great afternoon.

So as you can see it was a full week and I am spent and ready to just relax before taking on another week.