I know, you are all tired of me writing about the great car hunt. But it is over and I don’t want to leave you hanging….

Not exactly a thing of beauty in my eyes. It is one of those car styles that you either love or hate. I happen to not be super crazy about the boxy style but I am super crazy about how well this fits a wheelchair user with little to no modifications. We will be installing a flip down transfer seat like this just to make it as safe as possible. We don’t have a cost yet on the transfer board but I am pretty confident it will fit in the $1200 budget Ford gives for after market mobility aids.

Available from http://www.accessunlimited.com/ In CO ADAPTIVE AUTOMOBILITY can install

I was completely in love with the Buick Enclave but after talking with after market mobility specialists found that it would be impossible to convert to a drop out, swivel seat which Carter would need due to seat height.  One person thought they might be able to but it would be more than the typical $8,000 cost to modify a seat to turn and come out of the car.

The Flex seating is 6 inches lower than the Buick. It doesn’t sound like much to non wheelchair users but when you are transferring you really want to not have any height difference. There is only an 1 1/2 inch difference from his wheelchair.

What the Flex lacks in outer beauty, it more than makes up for inside.

Not exactly roughing it

I am really liking the Ford My Touch Navigation with Sync. It is similar to the Yukon we already own On-Star system. There are things I like about both. I think On Star makes me feel safer with the installed satellite phone but the My Touch has some pretty nifty features, like the ability to recognize up to 5 phones through Bluetooth and sync them all with the car.

I think I will miss driving my Yukon but it is still in the family here with a teenage driver about to hit the roads (dear lord help us all) and I do wish that the Enclave would have worked because it really is a sexy beast of a car. But this car is all about making life easier and safer for Carter and the Flex does that in amazing comfort at a great price.

If you are in CO and looking for a car, both MedVed in Castle Rock and Groove on Arapahoe were extremely helpful to us. GM was more than generous in offering us special pricing but ultimately the Flex and Groove won out because they were just better fits for us personally. I would recommend dealing with Keith or Kyle at MedVed and Jon at Groove.

I am grateful this is done. I did a ton of research online to make this decision and talked to lots of owners which is why I want to share our choice.  I have never found anyone that actually owns one that doesn’t love either the Flex, the Traverse, or the Enclave. A lot of people in the disability community are looking more to the Flex for good reason. It is a good option for people that have the ability to level transfer. It has huge doors and low seats but doesn’t have that ‘adapted’ feel.

The word CONSUMPTION is often used as an old fashioned way of describing someone with Tuberculosis.

In the past, tuberculosis has been called consumption, because it seemed to consume people from within, with a bloody cough, fever, pallor, and long relentless wasting.-wikipedia

and while most of us think of images of Little House on the Prairie or Deadwood when the word consumption is used, I would like to suggest that it is alive and well and sadly, taking its toll in a new form with special needs parents everywhere.

I know I have this new form of consumption.

Carter has been on and off bed rest for close to a year fighting a wound in his leg that appears to have super bugs attached to it because nothing is killing them. This past year our whole family has been consumed by this.

Special Needs Consumption is easy to contract and difficult, if not impossible, to cure. You are often first struck with it the first time you hold your babies hand through something horrific. The first time you whisper ‘it’s ok’ when you know it might not be.

Sometimes SNC (Special Needs Consumption) goes into remission. Yes, there are those brief times that you don’t think about your childs condition, their needs, their appointments, their schedules, their equipment….but these remission times rarely last long. Consumption is a powerful thing and will bring you back to reality quickly.

But what can parents suffering with SNC do to bolster their own strength? That is personal to each afflicted member, my friend Tammy takes long walks around the grocery store alone, my friend Laura took a huge leap of faith and decided to go on a professional writing retreat, and me, I am going to meet a giant mouse in FL this weekend to work and play.

I’m feeling guilty about taking off two weeks after Carters surgery. But yet, his 1 week check up yesterday went amazingly well. There is nothing I can do for him other than entertain him while he is on bed rest and quite frankly, after a year of that, I am not that entertaining. But through the guilt I see that if I don’t put my SNC into remission for a few days, I might drive off a cliff soon. I know everyone here will be fine without me, they always are and I would never go if I thought anything might be even slightly wrong. So, I need to kick this Consumptions butt for a little bit and let myself heal!

Last week I posted about the great new car hunt being on. With Carters surgery less than 2 weeks away, the decision needs to be made pronto.

I have received some really great advice and suggestions and here is what I have learned:

1. Car dealerships are not open on Sunday in Denver. WHAT is up with that?
2. VW has some of the best, responsive social media reps out there.
3. I may be better off with a *gulp* MINIVAN. Oh, it creeps me out to even type it. I am a truck/SUV type girl.

While a mini-van makes a ton of sense I am just not sure that  I can do it. The big players in the market are the Sienna, Odyssey and Town & Country. Sienna is the ONLY one that offers AWD and that is pretty high on my list. Plus the 2011 has these wicked cool reclining seats that may look gimicky but for long car rides I can totally see how they could help with Carters leg circulation issues. Topping the reason for a mini-van? They can be converted with wheelchair ramps pretty easily. I just don’t know if I can do it though. Toyota’s have had a lot of issues lately although I was happy to see they are mostly manufactured at a plant in Indiana. But, I may have mentioned, it is a minivan!

Topping the list of mid-size SUV’s I need to look at are in no particular order:

• Chevy’s Traverse
• VW Touareg
• Subaru Forester
• Acura MDX
• Ford Flex

Can I just say that I am loving the Consumer Reports videos for helping to make this easier? It $5 for the online version for a month and I just may keep it when I am done with this. It has saved me so much leg work!

I only have two more Saturdays to look, and this one is pretty filled with basketball. Wish me luck.

*Nothing in this post is sponsored or compensated in any way. Promise.

In the next month I plan to buy a car. Whether or not it is new will depend on pricing and other details but the main gist of my car hunt is to find something for Carter and I. Let me repeat that—for the first time I am looking for a car that fits just Carter and I. That feels so good to say! Finally! Bob will take the older SUV and pass that to Con next year when he starts driving.  So, this car is really about making life easier for the two of us to get around-wheelchair and all.

I’m wondering how I can bring social media and blogging into this hunt??? Cause the deal is, I AM buying the car. I have no illusions that by being a blogger I should get any sort of deal, let’s face it, I am not that popular of a blogger~LOL! What I am hoping is that the social media departments of some car companies may help to make sure I find the RIGHT car for us. I am going to be blogging my way through this both here and on Spina Bifida Connection because in the disability world, the right car makes all the difference in your level of independence-whether you are the driver or not. AND for a mom with a wheelchair using kid, it makes all the difference in how much work is involved getting the kiddo out and about. Ideally, as part of this hunt, I would be able to try out several different cars in more than a 20 min test drive.

I would like to really examine some of the options out there. Right now I am pretty open but I have narrowed a few things down.

What I want:

• Super easy access for Carter to transfer into the front, passenger seat. It should have as little of a difference in height from his wheelchair seat as possible. Our current car is too low and the SUV is too high.
• Probably looking for a ‘cross over’-a mix of a car and an SUV. I rented a cross over Kia Sorrento this past summer and liked the overall feel of this style of car.
• Decent leg room all around. While Bob and Connor won’t be the main riders of this car, they are 6’2 and 6’8. They should be comfortable if we need to use it as a family.
• Something with an easy lift up SUV type trunk that I can throw the wheelchair in without having to do any breakdown.
• All wheel drive for those CO roads.
• High crash and safety ratings
• Easy, fold down seats

Somethings that will weigh into the decision if I find a few models with the above criteria:

• Gas mileage. Would love to explore alternative fuel options-not big on the corn fed alternatives though
• Socio-economic and ecological impact of the manufacture
• Cup holders-big ones, in the middle of the passenger and driver–yeah, silly I know but it’s the little things
• navigation system
• ipod jack and satellite radio (we are passed the days of needing dvd entertainment systems for the kids)
• LOVE the safety of ONSTAR in the SUV I have now….would like a system like that again
• High reviews from current owners and places like Consumer Reports
• Thinking I want a silver color-seems like it would blend road sludge the best
• Would like to look at ramp/lift systems but we are not ready to go there yet. Carter can still transfer safely given the right environment.
• Heated seats

SO, who has suggestions on what I need to add to my list or a car they love I should check out? He is having surgery in 2 weeks and I would like to spend this last bit of time we have before the major recoup visiting lots and having him try them out.

Bob’s parents are here this week and while our schedule is hectic, we have had some time to talk, laugh and stroll down memory lane. Tonight over a quick and early dinner they told stories of the times they would ski with their young kids and how those were some of the happiest family times they had. They had some great stories to tell of kids skiing off into tree areas, lift ‘incidents’ and a hysterical one about someone (who shall remain nameless) tried to stop someone else from losing control by sticking a poll between their skis. Think on that one for a minute…

That conversation left me thinking about our family trips and how I have always held them as sacred. We have had some real ups and downs on family trips, from panic attacks on the plane (me! Stupid stewardess burned the pilots dinner and I was SURE the plane was on fire) to memories that will, hopefully, last a life time (Carter taking his first steps right down the middle of Main Street, USA). Family trips have bonded us all with common experiences that we have all learned from.

Will my kids someday sit around the dinner table and laugh about when Dad fell off the ski lift, or commiserate over the day I drug them through NASA instead of taking them to Disneyworld????

I hope so….

*Sony’s Open Season 3 will be released on DVD Jan. 25. I able to review the movie early for this TravelingMom.com-sponsored post. We’ll be talking about sweet family travel memories and giving away prizes during our Jan. 24 TravelingMom Monday Twitter party. If you’d like a chance to win, please click here to get the details on how to enter. And, if you’ve still got little ones, they can get a taste of the Open Season characters Boog and his friends with online games Cannonball and Jamboree.

Oh, help me…..

It’s coming to my attention that they way I like things might be a little weird.Maybe a little diva-y?

I guess I have a weird quirk. When traveling I like having my own hotel room. Not when we are traveling with family, but I will get to that in a minute, but traveling on what I would term ‘business’. I really won’t ever explore sharing, even if it means me paying more.

I’m planning on attending a conference in a few weeks with lots of work and personal friends and everyone sort of wants to have a big sleepover during the conference. Sharing rooms and even beds. This is how people typically afford and enjoy blogger conferences. It’s kind of the sleep over type of fun that most girls enjoy.

So, this is where I think I may be a diva.  I LOVE the parties, will stay up late, have a ball but when it comes to sleeping I just NEED my personal space. Even if it is only to catch 3 hours of sleep a night.

This really has bugged me the last few days. It seems like absolutely no one I talk to feels the same way. Everyone seems to be perfectly comfortable finding another blogger, even if they have never met in real life, and sharing a room. So, what the hell is wrong with me???

In my pondering I started thinking about this. In my whole life I can count the number of sleep overs I attended on my hand. Would love to go and hangout but would rather go home and sleep in my own bed. Even as a little kid.

In college I lasted about a week with 4 roommates. I moved out so fast it wasn’t funny to my own dorm. I did move my cat in though. Oh, God, does that mean I am going to become a creepy old lady who dies alone with 80 cats?

Loved being in a sorority and visiting the house rooms. Never in a million years could I have lived there.

So, I guess it isn’t a money thing cause lord knows I am still paying my college loans and living on my own was sure a part of that.

Is it then sort of a spoiled only child thing (all brothers and sisters moved out by the time I was born)???? I don’t know because my oldest is the exact same way. I remember the night we were all on vacation and he was maybe 8 and we were ‘camping’ in a really nice hotel but staying all in the same room. He woke me up with a psychotic look in his eyes and said “I am going to kill someone if I ever have to sleep in the same room with you all again”. From that day on, we have never booked a family vacation where he had to share a room. He just can’t deal without having a little place to escape to and I totally get that. Yeah, we have never really CAMPED as a family either. That idea sends me into little panic attacks.

So, yes. People will tell you that have known me for years that I have these little odd quirks. I do other things when traveling that are weird…I travel and/or stop for two things….my favorite coffee cream and diet coke with lime. I’m just cranky with out it.

Most people would describe me as pretty social I think. So, what is it about the sleeping that makes me so uncomfortable?

Does being un-adaptable make me a diva? I hope not. Does it make me weird? I don’t know….what do you think?

11 days ago, 14 days of family time sounded glorious. Yeah, I’m over it. We all are. But we did have a really nice holiday. Christmas was quiet after our return from Park City. Here are the trip diaries posted on the Snowmamas site if you would like to read about the trip:

• Park City Day 1
• Park City Day 2
• Park City Day 3
• Park City Day 4
• Park City Day 5

Below is video of Carter trying out the new Kart-ski if you missed it on Facebook. He really liked this new ski and I am thinking he will want to stick with this.

I’m happy to report because of our experience at Gorgoza Park, Park City Mountain Resort has taken steps to make the area wheelchair accessible. YAY!

It was a techie Christmas around here and among the presents under the tree were the XBOX Kinect, a new laptop, cell phones, Nook, and plenty of video games. Lots of money spent and it didn’t amount to a whole lot of ‘stuff’ under the tree. I actually miss the days when we could spend $100 on big plastic toys that made the house look like it was going to explode.

I decided not to send Christmas cards this year and I am not feeling guilty about it.

Disclaimer: I am compensated in a variety of ways to participate in the Park City Mountain Resorts Snowmamas program. Yay me!

I just sat down to tell you all about my crappy day and I coughed. It happened so fast I forgot to cover my mouth. I just coughed a loogie all over my computer screen. Not kidding! Maybe I shouldn’t have shared that….

Last night as we were supposed to sit down to enjoy the turkey for the second attempt (the first was unsuccessful do to the bleeding turkey that greeted us out of the oven) we hear an ominous beep. Remember the $60,000 bed? It was beeping—-AGAIN—-for the fourth time in less than 2 weeks. And I do mean RIGHT when we were finally sitting down!

When it beeps it shuts down and you have to call for service. I picked up the phone dreading that I would be ruining the sweet older gentleman who has to come out everytime I call no matter what the time or day. I didn’t have the heart to make him come out last night so Carter slept on the couch until the am.

This morning out servicemen came. They were here for 5 hours. Essentially ruining any plans we had for the day but it was worth it if this bed was going to stop beeping. Off they finally went and we let the bed warm up. At 7 we got Carter all ready to go get back in the bed (now 24 hours out of it) and watch a movie. He gets in the bed and what happens?

That, my dear friends, is what the sand that is supposed to be in the bed looks like as it leaks out slowly onto my floor. There are piles like this all around the bed.

So Carter goes back to the couch and the poor serviceman is on his way back out to my house. He will be here around 9pm.

I am NOT a happy person.

Well, the turkey is brining thanks to Bob, the fridge is stocked, the fireplace is on and yet I don’t feel very festive. I am having a hard time getting into the holiday mood here. I wish it would snow *yes, I hear your collective gasps*, I wish my dad was here, and I wish we didn’t have surgery hanging over our heads.

I want to be thankful for the thousands of blessings in my life yet I find myself thinking how ridiculous all this fan-fare is. I have been that way for years. While I love the family time of Christmas and Thanksgiving, I can never really buy into them knowing that history has been altered so tragically to fit neatly into our calendars. Why do we have one day of the year that we are reminded to be thankful? Shouldn’t we always be? Shouldn’t every day be a day of thanks for the bounty we have? Shouldn’t every day be a day of peace and love and celebrations of the miracles of this world?And if we are going to teach our children about traditions and history, shouldn’t we at least do it in the right season?

Maybe its the little rebel in me that just hates to be told “today is the day you should be thankful” and “this is the season of giving” or maybe it is because I come from a family that tended to work most holidays that it seems so anti-climatic to pull out the pomp and circumstance just because Congress deemed the 4th Thursday of Nov to be the big day. In my family, our feast of thanks was when everyone had the day off-usually the Sunday before.

I actually teach my children to not give at the holidays. I know this seems odd but when I taught at a school for homeless children in my much younger days, the kids would get SO much at the holidays and then nothing all year. We give quietly in the months when it isn’t expected to give. It helps me be true to my beliefs that every day should be a day of thanks and giving.

SORRY! I know I promised you all a room update this weekend. The time just slipped away…OK, so without further ado here is the part 2 of the Toy Story themed room. There will absolutely be more parts because I am just getting rolling here!

Here is a picture of the infamous $60,000.00 bed that prompted this redecoration. It is a Clinitron Air Fluidized hospital bed that is essential for Carter right now. It is gosh awful ugly but working like a charm. Next to it is what I have done to make it more kid friendly and less hospital like. I added the headboard which is actually a folded down pop up tent in the shape of a rocket and some simple Toy Story bedding from Target.

It is supposed to be all fluffy like that. When you lay on it you get the feeling of being in a warm jacuzzi. It feels wonderful. Carter hates it because it feels bubbly all the time. Kids, I swear…

Next I added a sheriffs badge which I had custom done super cheap on eBay and we hung parachute men from the ceiling (idea from this Toy Story YouTube)

Still to come…

• Giant Etch A Sketch wall calendar
• Pictures of all the glow in the dark stickies
• Entertainment Station- Command Central

Have some good ideas for me to add? PLEASE share…