The Child Divider

Since my car went kaput nearly 3 weeks ago, I have been driving my brood around in my husband’s car- a Volvo S80 sedan. He just got a Prius, is trying to sell the Volvo, which I am driving around until I get my car fixed. So- the seating arrangement in my SUV was tight with our 3 kids all in carseats, but in the Volvo it is so tight you can barely shut the door. This, in itself, would not be such a big issue for me, if I did not also have to deal with the loss of our CHILD DIVIDER.

Let me explain.

This Summer, after our son Adam arrived, we went from having two carseats in the backseat of my Acura MDX to three. The order in the backseat was: Adam (baby) on one side, Samantha (4) in middle, Sacha (2) on other side. We thought this seating order would work well because Samantha could take care of Adam (insert binky in mouth, let me know if he is sleeping or not…) and it would prevent Sacha from sticking his fingers in the baby’s mouth/nose, etc. The arrangement actually did work for maybe a week or so. They thought it was super fun to have so many people in the backseat, and to be able to sit right next to each other. It wasn’t long, however, before Samantha and Sacha began to bicker over every single toy/juice/snack the other one had (even if they had the same one: “He has MORE THAN ME!!!!”) and the out-and-out backseat wars began.

I am not talking about just screaming, screeching, crying wars…. I am talking pinching, hitting, throwing and shoving wars. There were days when, driving them from preschool to their swim class, and back home again, I would have to drive while simultaneously holding on to Sacha’s arm to prevent him from pinching Samantha, or try to hold his arm and leg at once (quite difficult, I might add) in order to prevent pinching and kicking at the same time. This was not fun. But I didn’t have much of a choice- I had to drive them around, and didn’t want to get another car with a better seat layout just yet. My car had a lot of miles on it, it was already messed up from the kids, and I wanted to “drive it into the ground”.

However, the backseat debauchery reached a boiling point one weekend in August when my little sister, Christy, offered to come with me to take the 3 kids to the beach. Adam was only a month old, and I was a little nervous about hauling him and the other two, all the way out to Capitola, a 2 hour drive each way, and spending the day there with them by myself- without anyone drowning. She was a gem for coming, and I know she had absolutely no idea what she was getting herself into.

I went prepared- I had those yummy Madeline cookies from Starbucks, 2 sippys full of milk, another 2 full of juice. We had more snacks than Costco, wipes, towels, and good music- the perfect recipe for a painless trip.

But of course, after about 40 minutes on the road, the pinching began- “Don’t put your ARM ON MY SEAT!!”- “He’s pinching MEEEEEE!!!”- “SAAAAAACHAAAAAA!!!”------Christy and I, for the remainder of the trip to the beach, had to each hold one child’s arm and leg to prevent them from attacking each other like ferocious kitties. I am not exaggerating even a little bit. We actually held onto them for a good hour+.

We finally made it to Capitola. Somehow. We spent the day there- a stressful, awesome, fun, hot and crazy day at the beach. All 3 kids survived, I will spare you the details of what it took to make that happen. Suffice to say, that by the end of the day, Sacha was SO tired that we placed him on the top of a 4-foot pile of beach towels/bags/equipment, which we were hauling on a wagon, and he slept like a zombie, with no idea where he was. (Sam and Sach looking like ideal siblings that never bicker....trickers!) (too bad I didn’t have a picture of the wagon scene, it was something else)

Unfortunately, as soon as we got to the car, Sacha woke up. The ride home was one of the longest drives I’ve ever endured. Instead of driving home, I nearly drove to a car dealership to buy another car that seated my kids as far away from each other as possible. After 2.5 hours of being stuck in traffic, stop and go, stop and go, kids clawing/screaming/throwing/kicking….I turned around quickly to see whose leg was kicking the seat, and when I turned back around, I was inches from the car in front of me: BRAAAAAKE!!!!!! My heart jumped out of my chest, and the stress that had been building up from the previous 2+ hour, painful drive, all came out- I started crying. I cannot do this anymore!! So- I called Ed, told him I was heading to a car dealership, and he told me- “Give me an hour tomorrow, and I’ll try to solve the problem”.

Fast forward to the next morning. (We all managed to survive the rest of the drive home, by the way.) Ed holes himself up in the garage while I keep the kids out of the garage. I hear sawing. He asks me for a couple of baby blankets. He silently works away on the solution to the most frustrating problem of our life at that time. “MarIIIIssssaaaa……come take a loooook!” I come out- and he has constructed the solution: THE CHILD DIVIDER!!!! It is a “divider” -intended to go between the kids' carseats- made out of 2 pieces of plywood, glued together, about 2.5 feet tall and wide, rounded edges on all the sides, with baby blankets wrapped and glued/stapled around the entire thing to make it soft and childproof. And it is brilliant.

Ed put Samantha and Sacha into their car seats, inserted the Child Divider, and took a test drive. He came back-“They don’t even know the other one is there!!” Amazing. Worked better than we ever could have wished or imagined. And until my car decided to kick the bucket on Dec. 28th, it was my life vest in the Bermuda Triangle better known as: DRIVING WITH 3 KIDS. So now, for the past 3 weeks, I have been missing my child divider terribly -to say the last-and appreciating it very much.

Tomorrow, I get my car back, and I get the Child Divider back too. And hopefully, my sanity will return with it. ;)

I did want to write one other note on the Real Estate side of my life….I went out with a great couple this weekend- looking for their first home. We saw a few decent ones and then one really great one that they loved. What I find funny is that- at the house that they liked- there was an Open House. The Realtor holding it Open was super friendly, talking to baby Adam, asking us how we were, pointing out the backyard, etc. My clients were pretty openly saying how much they liked it, what they liked, etc. And at the very end, before we are going to leave: the Realtor tells me it is her own house! Just thought it was kinda funny because it was like she just wanted to be sure not to tell us up front so that we could be candid about our feelings about the house. Usually people don’t hold their own houses open, or if they do- they tell you so that you can ask them any questions about their house. Sneaky lady!

At any rate- they did not find their dream house on this outing, but they have plenty of time. They were total troopers too- got a flat tire in the rain- fixed it- and kept on with the house search. That’s first time buyer excitement for you! Love it!