I have no plan for today's blog. We'll see what comes out.

I have an irrational fear of putting Liam to bed with socks. I just can't do it. I have visions of him taking off a sock and swallowing it. I have a friend whose puppy died that way, and with that knowledge, I have never been able to put socks on him at night. I had him in a Onesie the other night and was contemplating sticking a pair on him. I thoroughly analyzed the tightness and the size of various pairs (yes, I even stuck one in my own mouth) before ditching the idea and putting him to bed with cold feet. I think as moms we all have our little neuroses.

I was on a road trip today and was deeply annoyed by a car with 2 bumper stickers that were put on probably at 45-degree angles. I just can't understand putting a sticker on your bumper without at least taking the care to TRY to get it on there straight. I would be annoyed if I had one on there that looked even slightly off-kilter, much less just haphazardly thrown on there.

I started listening to Clark Howard at work last year or so. The reason I started was because I didn't think I would enjoy it, and it would be background noise that wouldn't distract me. Unfortunately I started liking it. I love the advice, and just listening to him talk every day about being smart with our money has just kind of changed my thinking in general.

Anyways, yesterday he had a caller talk about how she took her car in for a repair, and they offered to trade her 1-or-2-year-old vehicle for a brand new, 2009 vehicle with 0 miles on it. She wanted to know if this was too good to be true.

Basically what's going on right now is that the demand for slightly-used vehicles (1 or 2 years old) is so great, and the demand for new vehicles so low, that car dealerships are moving and making much more off of the used cars. They want to increase their used car inventory and decrease their new car inventory, so they are putting these offers out.

Sure enough, we got a letter in the mail from Honda today saying that they are putting out this offer and that '07 CRV's are wanted for these buyback deals (with an upgrade to an '09). I mean, I have no idea what the fine print would be, and we're only willing to do it if it truly would not cost us anything. They gave me a code for their website where you tell them your email address, monthly payment, and payments remaining, and they'll contact you with an offer. We figured it couldn't hurt to ask. Why do I have this feeling that I am fixing to be harassed here?

Speaking of my CRV, I LOVE it. I know everyone tends to increase the size of their vehicles with the size of their families, but I have always just been a small-but-sturdy vehicle kind of girl. I knew this from the moment I started driving my first car, which was a '95 Ford Ranger. I just wanted a car (not that I wasn't eternally grateful for having a vehicle period). I think I surprised myself by wanting something even as big as my CRV back when I was driving the Accord coupe (which, by the way, I LOVED and would absolutely still have if only it had 4 doors). Ironically, the best part of my CRV to me is NOT having a whole lot of space. It makes you ask yourself "do I REALLY need to take this?" I tend to be a heavy packer, so it forces me to be pickier.

We're going to look at a few more houses tomorrow. It's been interesting how, considering the process is taking so long and we've had plenty of time to browse the Internet and go look at homes, what we're looking for has just completely changed. Originally we wanted something very new, but over time we've come to realize that the best option for us would probably be something a little more established, as older neighborhoods (early-90's), at least in this area, tend to have a more neighborly, family feel. Sacrificing some of the physical qualities that we would want in a house would be worth it to be in a neighborhood that would be a good place to raise kids.

The house that we really, really like is in a neighborhood that's very ethnically diverse. This is how our current neighborhood is, and the reality of it is at that there isn't a whole lot of socialization. Everyone keeps to themselves, and we don't know anyone.

I am glad that we have had all this time should we sell this house. It's given us plenty of time to think and weigh the pros and cons of different houses, neighborhoods and areas so that we can make the best decision possible. Unless it becomes a moot point, of course!