Sunday, March 10, 2013

THE DAILY MUTTERING HAS CHANGED

 
The Daily Muttering has been relaunched as Mama Dynamite.
 
Thanks for all your support over the last year. I hope you continue to follow Mama Dynamite.
 
If you are not redirected in 5 seconds click here
 
 

 

 

Monday, March 04, 2013

REVIEW: FAMILY CAR CITROEN C4 GRAND PICASSO

#REVIEW##REVIEW##REVIEW##REVIEW##REVIEW#

For those expanding their families and wondering how to fit all the baby seats in the car, here's the lowdown on the best-value 7-seater family car on the market.

We had to upgrade cars after we had our third child. Because our estate car just wasn't big enough.

Since we bought the car last year, two of my friends have also bought the same car. We're like car triplets!

It took us a full year of reseach into 7-seaters before we finally took the plunge and bought our Citroen C4 Grand Picasso. We're a bit slow thorough like that.

Some days my mama wagon is often filled with a kid in every seat.
Apart from the driver, of course.





We settled on the Citroen over the Ford S-Max, which were our two favourites, because of price, safety, reliability and comfort. It ticked all the boxes.

Citroen is loads cheaper than the S-Max and in Ireland, the tax is about half the price. By importing from the UK, we saved a couple of thousand Euro off the Irish price, probably the most expensive car prices in Europe.

So here's the good, the bad, the ugly on this car...

THE GOOD

So much space. We thought our old Volvo estate was big before we a) had kids b) got this. Oh. My. God. The difference. This makes the Volvo seem tiny inside. It's like a tardis, because it doesn't look that big from the outside but inside it's lovely and roomy. There's no gearstick in mine so the whole middle column is a massive storage space for bags and the hubby has even customised a basket for the space so I can store hats and drinks: all those little things that normally end up scattered on the floor of a family car (if you don't have a handy basket like this).


 
 
 
 
It fits 3 child seats comfortably in the back - we used to have 2 toddler seats before we moved onto the next stage seat and they all had plenty of space. We use rigid seat belt extenders for fastening the seat belts between the seats. They save my sanity every time I'm fastening them all in.
 
There's plenty of leg room too for the times when we have 4 adults and 3 kids in the car (which happens when we take my parents out for day trips). It's lovely for us to all fit in one car.
 
 
 
 
Plenty of space in the boot for buggies and luggage. Love the fact that there's space under the boot seat for wellies and shoes (see stuffed Ikea bag under back flap).
 
 
 

It's great to drive too. Very smooth. I never thought I'd be a fan of automatic cars, but when you're a mum with 3 kids in the back, anything to make your life easier is a massive bonus. Suddenly not having to use the left side of my body for changing gear was a revelation - my left leg and left arm were suddenly free of having to make cumbersome gear changes, so I could pass biscuits back to my kids in the back to stop their screaming at junctions. Houray for labour saving devices like automatic cars!


THE BAD

The boot latch is half-automatic and half-manual, which means it's often man-mandled and gets stuck - it's a known weak point of the car. Two of my friends have had their boot latch replaced at E80 a pop. One of my friend's husbands now compares the sensitive latch to a women's special bits - it should be approached with care and a delicate, light touch!


THE UGLY

It was only after a few months and noticing a self-imposed scratch on the back bumper that we realised it was made of plastic! Some of the more rounded parts of the car are fashioned from plastic, rather than metal.

Closing the boot can feel a bit tinny and the back of the seats  (also hardened plastic) is getting scratch far too easily (but then I do have 3 kids that refuse to look after anything nicely).


OVERALL

I love it. It's changed my life. I just throw in loads of kids and off we go. The kids love sitting in the boot best. I love not having to drive very hard, just foot down, steer and go.

The best thing is that because it's only 1.6c and low emissions, the tax is among the lowest you'll get for a family car. However, I still pay E390 a year.






Friday, March 01, 2013

BLOGBLESSSING: PRECIOUS HANDS

Today's post is brought to you via the Irish Parenting Bloggers Group, a group I am honoured to be involved in. 

It's spring and we're celebrating new life, the cherry blossoms are turning pink, the daffs are singing in the wind and new buds are bursting from every plant. And two of our members are having precious baby girls.


Trees turn pink to celebrate baby girls being born

There has been a series of 18 posts in 18 days: a Virtual Mother Blessing for two of our members with 2013 babies. 

I am the last to post. Last but not least, I hope. 

My gift is a poem written in the dead of night, when trying to get my baby back to sleep (at least night wakings are useful for something ;-)


*****
Precious Hands

You'll never have hands so small again
Perfectly formed, so full of flesh
Grasping mine tightly, pure innocence

You'll never have a body so small again
Pudgy limbs, cuddled in my arms
Surrendered entirely, a warm woozy trust




You'll never have skin so soft again
Thrilling my senses, my favourite cushion
Nuzzling and rubbing, orgasmic flesh

You'll never have hair so fine again
Smoother than silk, who needs scissors
Blowing in the breeze, like dandelion seeds




You'll never need me as much again
Disturbed from sleep, in pain or fear
Clinging for dear life, adrift in time

You'll never want me so much again
I'm freezing time HERE, holding you longer
Saving this snapshot, precious hands holding mine








*****

Irish Parenting Bloggers can be followed on Twitter using the hash tags #ParentBlogsIE or on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/IrishParentingBlogs

Here's all the other bloggers taking part:
The Nest 
Mind the Baby
Wonderful Wagon
That Curious Love of Green
Debalicious
My Internal World
Awfully Chipper
Go Dad Go
The Dare Project
The Clothesline
Dreaming Aloud
Kate Takes 5
Ouch My Fanny Hurts
Pomp
Musings of a Hostage-Mother
Wholesome Ireland


My post cryptically carries the letter M.