March to HDTV/First look at Cars

As an update to the previous post, we've gotten the toddler bed situation going (I mentioned that today), and safely grounded the outlet in the living room. Only 52 more steps to getting a big-ass TV.

On another note, we're starting to look at new cars in case the current one is on the way out (sadly we think it is). Our main criteria (other than wanting a car that is safe, reliable, doesn't get terrible gas mileage and is not gigantic) is that we want three rows of seating. Not that either of us really want to be carpooling kids around (because seriously, who wants extra children around, your own are plenty), but it just make sense to get the extra flexibility. Yesterday I test drove the Hyundai Veracruz and the Kia Sorento. I liked both of them, but I think we're probably going to eliminate the Veracruz b/c it is a little bigger (and we'd like something not too big) and it is also about 5K more expensive. It's a very nice car though, but we want to keep costs down and the Sorento felt slightly more car-like to me, and we don't want something that feels too much like a truck. Those third row seats are not exactly something I'd want to sit in for a 200-mile drive, but them seem serviceable for giving rides to kids, or just for extra flexibility. Next up, the RAV4 (which is absolutely ubiquitous) and the Mazda5 (which is kind of a mini-mini-van), both of which we are expecting to like.