Y’all.  It is here.  My conversion van.  My dream vehicle.  Yes, that’s right, my dream vehicle, because when you have 6 kids ages 8 or under, you dream about an oversized, high roof van with aisle down the middle so that you can buckle each child in without contorting yourself into a pretzel.  You dream about convenience and making the drudgery of loading and unloading six little people easier.  You dream about a vehicle where you’re not packed in there like sardines and loading your big girls through the rear hatch.  You dream about not standing in the rain stretching yourself to the limits while trying to strap in the middle baby, who’s suddenly displayed super human strength.  You dream….BIG.

And so, I am happy to share that my dreams have come true and I have my new big van!  Meet our as-yet-to-be-named van!  It’s a high roof Ford Transit van that’s been converted to have nine seats with an aisle down the middle.  It drives easily and has already made my life easier.  And that, my friends, in the name of the game for me these days: making my life easier.  My days are filled with schlepping, carseat buckling and unbuckling, and loading and unloading kids, backpacks, groceries, etc.  The new van is easing those hassles already.  As a bonus, the big girls are beyond excited about cruising in their “limo bus.”  They love the tv, the overhead limo lights, and the sun shades.  They’re actually ready to head to Disneyworld this weekend.  Seth is not, so we’ll hold off for now.    

You know there are things you imagine for your life, and then things that you could never in your wildest dreams imagine happening.  This—wanting and buying an oversized conversion van—falls in the latter category, along with having six kids in six years, including triplets.  It is funny that one of the top questions I got when I was pregnant with the triplets was what I would drive.  That always struck me as kind of funny, because our mini van could hold eight people, so why go bigger?  At that time, I was in no hurry to get rid of my minivan, who was a steady, reliable workhorse who put up with lots of abuse at the hands of my messy biggies.  But now that we’re going places with all six girls more frequently, there’s just not enough room, and loading through the hatch is no longer working.  The big girls were constantly stumbling and stretching over the wagon and other things while trying to ferret their way to their seats.  In addition, with three carseats in the middle row, the third row was virtually inaccessible for me, and it quickly became a black hole where things went to die.  As of this week, those things are slowly seeing the light of day, since Seth has taken on the task of cleaning the entire van.   I’ve been praying for his safety and sanity.  So far, so good.  I mean, the sanity part has been a little touch-and-go but I think he’s ok.  He’s been letting it air out for days and stale milk smell is almost gone.  He’s found too many treasures to count.  The highlights include thousands of markers, lots of empty Starbucks cups (sorry-I’m-not-sorry, Seth), a delicious mélange of graham crackers, sour milk, Cheez-its, and goldfish, which formed a nice crust on the whole back seat, lots of school sweatshirts, and lots of random toy pieces. 

I am determined to keep this new van cleaner.  I may have let the kids eat in the van on day 2, but I am generally feeling lots of resolve, for now anyway.  Of course, tomorrow is another day so let’s take it day by day, ok?  Til then, look for me cruising around town with the six pack in tow!  After all, dreams do come true, even if they're not the dreams you've ever envisioned for yourself.        

Emily and I picking up our van.  Yes, it's that big.

Three rows in the back!  Woo hoo!  Happy big girls in their first ride, right after we picked them up from school!