What have I done?

So with the pending arrival of Blub, Truong and I have been fooling around with car seat arrangements in the Expedition, trying to find the perfect layout. The problem is we have Britax seats which, for those who are kidless, are probably the largest seats in the market.

Kael has the Regent, which Erin calls the Lazy Boy of car seats. And she's right: the seat is massive. Huge. Ginormous. It's a pain in the ass to move so wherever we stick him, he's there to stay. Because of its colossal size, it's very comfortable and roomy (it is, after all, a Lazy Boy). It's made for kids up to 80 pounds so he'll be in there for a while.

Malia has the Marathon, which while isn't as big as the Regent, it's no small fry itself. Because she's so small, Malia is very cozy and I can see her in the Marathon for a while.

That brings us to Blub. "She" will be riding in the SnugRide - a standard sized infant carrier. The problem is getting all three in the car.

Plan A
We stick Kael in the 3rd row bench. He really liked this because he got to sit in the middle and see everything (only the middle seat in the 3rd row had a top tether anchor). Unfortunately, that left the left side as empty space. I suppose a passenger (like Grandma) could climb back there and sit with him but I don't think she'd like climbing over a folded seat to squeeze in next to Kael in the "cattle section." Also I'd lose trunk space. Between the stroller and my emergency bag that could sustain a family of four for approximately 3 months should they need to live out of my car, I had room for about 2 grocery bags. Never mind hauling the bike, the scooters, the Razor, the helmets, and the sand toys for the park. I learned this the hard way after a trip to Costco. And you all know how much I love shopping at Costco.

On to Plan B
Kael on one side and Malia on the other, leaving the middle empty for Blub. This seemed to work as there looked like there would be enough room for Blub's seat. The problem was mostly logistical: I have 3 kids, who gets to go in the car first?

Do I stick Kael in first and trust Malia to sit in the stroller/shopping cart while trying to keep Blub close by so his stroller wouldn't roll down into the parking lot? No way. She can wiggle her way out of any standard lap belt unless it's a 5 point harness.

Do I put Malia in first, trusting Kael will actually listen to me and not dance around in the parking lot, while keeping Blub close by? Again, no dice. The kid can't sit still for 2 seconds and we're still not convinced he doesn't have a hearing problem.

Or do I stick Blub in first, trusting Kael to keep Malia in the stroller/cart then stick Kid1 in on one side and then run around and stick Kid2 in the other? Uh, no. That would be a lot of running around for me and I'm not a runner. What if it rained?! I'm not running laps around my car in the rain! Besides, knowing me, I'd end up locking my car keys in the car during one of the laps.

I actually tried both ways. In the end, sticking both kids in one side worked well because Malia liked having a "job" to do. Meaning it was her job to walk to her seat, climb in it, and I'd buckle her in. The problem was once the novelty wore off, she started wandering around, goofing off, not getting in her seat. I actually lost her in the bowels of the car, running back and forth from one side to the other trying to get her in her seat. Me being almost 6 months pregnant gives me the grace of a hippo, which doesn't make a pretty picture when I have to haul my butt up into the back of the car, in-between car seats trying to chase down and buckle up a squirmy 2 year old.

Besides, Blub's car seat didn't fit in the middle. We tried this weekend so Plan B is scrapped.

Plan C (we're running out of ideas and Truong keeps mentioning the minivan)
Kael and Malia right next to each other, leaving the side open for Blub. Given that I really need the trunk space and room for Blub's car seat (duh) I think Plan C is the one. I just hope that at 2 years and 4 months, Malia will have some self control to not bother Blub since she will be right next to him and that by that age perhaps she'll start listening to me as the voice of authority.

The older kids loved being next to each other. They played well and giggled and laughed and thought it was the coolest thing ever.

However, once again the novelty wore off. On the way to San Diego, Kael started yelling at Malia to stop. I could tell he was really pissed and when I looked in the kid mirror.... it was all I could do to not laugh. She had taken off her shoes and had her leg swung up and over her seat to touch Kael. He kept throwing her leg off him, yelling at her to stop. And because she was getting such a rise out of him, she of course did it even more, trying her dead set best to get even higher up his leg. I'm surprised she didn't get a leg cramp. It was the funniest thing ever. I told her to stop bothering her brother and of course it fell on deaf ears.

She apparently had forgotten the sibling motto of Payback is a Bitch. On the ride home, she started screaming "Kael! Stop it! Stop it, Kael!" Again, I look back and had to choke back my laughter. Kael had his hand touching her car seat. When she started screaming for him to stop, he took it away and with an evil chuckle, laid 3 fingers on her car seat. When in a fit of rage she tried to throw his fingers off, he laid 2 fingers on another part of her seat. On and on it went until she was beside herself and I had to step in. Kael knew he had her and gleefully sat back, satisfied with his work.

In the meantime, I drove on, going faster so we'd get home sooner, wondering just what the heck have I gotten myself into, having 2 kids with 1 on the way.