Family Vacations in the Family Truckster

Here’s the first installment of our “long term” updates of the 2011 Honda Odyssey.  For our first trip, we ventured from Chicago to Louisville, KY, with a stop in Urbana, Illinois, for the Memorial Day weekend.  We got to eat at my favorite college restaurant in Urbana, the Courier Cafe.  Dagwood sandwich (no may0) and a Green River [...]

Upcoming Reviews and Honda Odyssey Q&A

We’ve got a lot of things in our queue for the next month or two.  Please stay tuned for carseat reviews of the Britax B-Safe, Bubble Bum, Cybex Aton, Graco Snugride 30, Safety 1st Comfy Carry Elite Plus, Safety 1st Go Hybrid and updates on the Britax Frontier 85 SICT.  We also hope to have auto reviews [...]

The Joy of Hybrids: Part II

…Continued from Part I No, you don’t need a fancy new super-high-mileage car to protect the planet for your kids and grandkids.  You don’t even need a new car at all.  Like I said in Part I, just accelerating very gradually and coasting when possible, especially as you approach a stop, can do a lot.  [...]

Bubble Bum Unwrapping

Sitting on my doorstep this morning was a bright shiny purple package. The cable guy actually pointed it out to me and I said, “Oh! It must be my Bubble Bum!” and he laughed and said, “Yep,” looking at me like the crazy woman just out of the shower that I was (OK, when was [...]

The Joy of Hybrids: Part I

I’ve been driving a minivan for about a decade.  I’ve eyed those sports and luxury cars at auto shows or as they whiz past me on the road.  I’d love to have a Dodge Challenger R/T, an Audi A4 Quattro or perhaps a BMW 650i convertible.  With limitations due to kids and budget, they just [...]

Without a Sound

A couple weeks ago I wrote a post about water safety and how important it is to get kids in swimming lessons. Today I learned why I should heed my own advice. Today I learned just how easy it must be for children to drown without a sound. See, in that last post I mentioned [...]