A car we fit... well acctually a van!

When we moved to Las Vegas 2 years ago we bought a Hyndai Elantra under the assumtion we were done having babies with Rori and Liam in utero. Flash ahead to 2 years later and upside down in a car that certainly was not made for three carseats. My Suzuki Grand Vitara (my baby) which I have had since 2001 and was at almost 105,000 miles finally had a problem that was worth more than the car. It also has seen 2 hit and runs in parking lots of stores here in Vegas and some interior problems, Kelly blue book said my trade in value was about 750 bucks! We needed to register the Elantra and pay the hefty price of the next level of carseat for Pierce (the only kind to fit) so we decided to try to get a van. I was not holding my breath with the economy the way it is and our not so outstanding combined credit score. My dad called us from Colorado and found one on a small car lot here. My dad really should do this for a living he is great at finding the right car no matter how car away and he made us a great deal with the manager! So they took both of our cars and sold us their for what they were asking with no negative equity. We will own this car in a little over three years unless we pay more on it which we probley will be able to do with a 159 payment. So we have a red 2000 GMC Safari that seats 8 and only had 45,000 miles on it with one owner who kept imaculate care of it. I am so grateful! This helps us so much, even with having to scarifice having one car only. I'll take some outside photos when Lance gets home. Here are some of the kids inside see how far back Liam is. Rori keeps saying Liam is far away. She also tells us how much she loves the van because it is her favorite color red!

American with three kids a novelty?? Celebrity for 3 minutes! LOL

One of my BFF's Ali and her son Hayden is visiting from Utah so last night we went to the Bellagio to see the fall display and watch the fountains. I am a spectacle on the daily basis when I go out and people make comments to me all the time or I hear comments from people as they stare at me and pass by. I don't think it is so odd to have three small children but I guess it is still a novelty. When I go out without Lance I have a double stroller and a backpack. Las night I was walking around the fall display (which was beautiful as usual) and stopped to take a photo of some pumpkins. All of a sudden I was semi swarmed by 6 Chinese business men dressed in suits and name tags for whatever convention they were attending and they were first making all these gestures at me and the kids and saying awww and ohhh and hahaha and a lot of things I couldn't understand and they really thought Rori was a cutey, they wanted to take pictures which always makes me uncomfortable to some degree but I know when I was in Asia I took lots of pictures of them and their cute kids. There is just some kind of cultural differences that make you want to take pictures of random strangers, so after they tried to take pictures of Rori who was scowling and not wanting to look at them they all wanted to pose for pictures with all of us, It was really bizarre. Ali came back around the corner to see what happened to me as I was in the celebrity frenzy of them and then other tourists tried to crowd in to see "who the celebrity was LOL" Sorry to disappoint but I am just an American mom with a cute kid on my back and 2 cute kids in the stroller, what a novelty!! :)

My favorite captures this week

Good Customer Service

A few weeks ago while trying to save money we switched from our usual Electrasol power dishwasher gel pacs to trying Palmolive eco+ dishwasher soap (lavender scent) I immediately noticed a difference in my dishes (and not in a good way). Food was stuck on the dishes even when I mostly prewash, a white film coated all the dishes and really stuck on the plates and glasses, so much so that I had to rewash after I washed. The only thing that seemed clean at all was the silverware. I started to think my dishwasher was breaking but decided to get my regular Electrasol. It really helped that Smith's my grocery store had given me a coupon for a free box too! Anyway the difference is amazing, Electrasol is by far the best dishwasher soap on the market. So I was not happy about having wasted my money and a lot of time on the Palmolive. I love my Palmolive regular dish soap, so it was surprising to me that this product A. made it to the market, and B had Palmolive's name on the bottle, they aren't exactly known for bad products. I don't generally write letter to companies to tell them when their products suck but I decided to in this case, because I really felt they should know how bad of a product it it. I felt alot of people especially those maybe choosing greener products would be feeling bad for buying it. The company impressed me. I had a reply email within 24 hours but only really saying "Thank you for your comment blah blah blah, your email warranted a response by mail" Today I received a letter from them apologizing for me feeling the way I did, talking about their product testing and then enclosed a check for the amount of my dishwasher soap (which I did not ask for) as well as a stack of coupons for other products. I will continue to buy Colgate/Palmolive products (dishwasher soap aside) and really appreciate the customer service!

My thoughts on AIG's stupidity.

Did this bit of news bother anyone else?

AIG execs' retreat after bailout angers lawmakers
By ANDREW TAYLOR – 55 minutes ago
WASHINGTON (AP) — Days after it got a federal bailout, American International Group Inc. spent $440,000 on a posh California retreat for its executives, complete with spa treatments, banquets and golf outings, according to lawmakers investigating the company's meltdown.
AIG sent its executives to the coastal St. Regis resort south of Los Angeles even as the company tapped into an $85 billion loan from the government it needed to stave off bankruptcy. The resort tab included $23,380 worth of spa treatments for AIG employees, according to invoices the resort turned over to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
The retreat didn't include anyone from the financial products division that nearly drove AIG under, but lawmakers still were enraged over thousands of dollars spent on outing for executives of AIG's main U.S. life insurance subsidiary.

I think that the company needs to pay this all back. I think all those execs should have to pay it back not just the company. I am already angry about the bailout and alot of the provisions that were included in it that didn't make sense to me, that I who made decisions not to get into a risky mortgage when I could have and now have to pay for all these slimy companies who misled people along with racetrack tax breaks that I do not even watch NASCAR. I am not paying for company execs to go play golf and get massages and pedicures. AIG should have to pay a hefty penalty as well, does no one regulate the money given to these companies to make sure these things don't happen. This is like you or I filing for bankruptcy and then once the debts are erased going out and taking a posh trip and getting a new sports car with no remorse of just putting my debt onto someone else. I have spent 10 years getting out of 20,000 in debt I had for myself and am down to my last 1,500 of it along with 1,200 of extra debt that was accumulated the last few years on some furniture items. I have paid a LOT of interest! I have probably paid back double the 20,000. I do not understand the mentality in AIG even thinking this was acceptable. I hope that the government does the right thing and makes sure we are paid back this money and then some, I think some of the decision makers need to be let go even for poor judgement.

My favorite capture this week