I was a little misty-eyed when I had to give the keys to the Ford Focus back to the Ford representative after five days of fun. But my sadness quickly dissipated when he handed me the keys to the Ford Fusion hybrid waiting in my driveway.

Shiny!

I've only had the chance to drive a hybrid once before, and that was for about 5 minutes back in 2006. Hybrid vehicles have come a long way since then, and the Fusion is nothing like the ultra-small original hybrid cars.

My first impression of the car was that it felt so...grown up. I don't mean it looks old by any means, but it presents an image of professionalism, success and distinguished style. It reminded me a lot of the Ford Taurus with a fresh twist on the trustworthy mid-size family sedan.

Inside the car was certainly nothing old or predictable. Sitting in the driver's seat, I was immediately impressed by the enormous amount of space. Lots of leg room, lots of head room, and plenty of width, too. My husband and I could sit in the front seats without bumping elbows, and the girls had plenty of room for each of their booster seats in the backseat, far enough apart that they couldn't easily annoy each other. If needed, there was enough room in the backseat to squeeze an average sized adult between the two booster seats.

In the center of the dash was the Ford SYNC touch screen computer, with many of the same features as the Ford Focus. The menus were designed to look a little more subdued than the same menus on the Focus, but were still just as easy to navigate. The steering wheel also contained the same controls for music selection, volume, and the voice-activated command system.

But the real test was driving the Fusion. Would a hybrid be able to deliver as much power as a traditional gas engine? I turned the key...and heard nothing. My first thought was that the car had somehow died in my driveway, and panic set in as I wondered how I was going to get them to come fix it. Sure, the radio came on and everything on the console had come to life, but there was no sound from the engine.

Then I noticed the air conditioning was working. Hmmm, I thought, the air conditioning usually doesn't work unless the engine is on. So I slowly placed the car into reverse and attempted to back out of the driveway. And there was power! I did not expect that the Fusion would make NO NOISE AT ALL when I started it. Amazing!

(Side note: parents, don't buy hybrids for your teens. You'll never hear them sneaking out of the driveway in the car.)

After recovering from the shock of the whisper-quiet start, I then noticed the rear-view camera display on the touch screen. It gave me a clear view of everything behind the car when it's in reverse, and even beeps if it thinks I'm getting too close to anything. This could be a very useful feature for parents of small children, or anyone who lives anywhere near small children and animals. When I shifted back into drive, the camera display vanished again.

But how does it drive, you ask? Well, it drives just like any other car. I didn't notice any lack of power and I didn't really notice when the car was using the battery versus the gas engine power. In fact, the Fusion hybrid has an impressive acceleration. There are displays on the dash that show you when you're using battery power and when you're recycling braking energy back into power for the battery. It was difficult to not watch the little meter going up and down at first - watching where I was driving was more important!

On the right side of the display is a fun little graphic of a vine with leaves. The more responsible you drive (driving in such a way as to use the battery more than the gas engine and be eco-friendly) the more leaves appear on the vine. It's like a game to see how many leaves you can get on that vine, and you find yourself competing against...well...yourself, trying to get more leaves with each trip.

Lots of leaves - I win!

What I really like:
- the display told me I had 580 miles to go until empty when I first got the car...580 MILES on one tank of gas! And by driving the car responsibly, I kept that number fairly high.
- the amount of room in the Fusion is incredible, making it very comfortable to drive
- the hybrid's battery usage display is fun to monitor, challenging you to drive better to preserve gas
- such a smooth, easy car to drive with no noticeable shifting from battery to gas and plenty of power

What I don't like so much:
- this hybrid is not for you if you make a lot of stops close together. Stopping and starting means you rely less on the battery and more on the gas. If you run lots of short errands, a traditional Fusion might be a better choice for you.
- the backup camera can be distracting at first. Backing out of a parking space or my driveway, it always caught my eye, but I still felt like I needed to look behind me as well. If you're as easy to distract as me, that camera could do more harm than good.

Overall, the Ford Fusion hybrid was a gorgeous car that I enjoyed driving. I received a few compliments on it from strangers at the grocery store and the mall, and I felt rather proud of driving such a stylish and eco-friendly vehicle.

If I had to choose from the Fusion or the Focus, which would I pick? Tough call. I think at this point in my life I'd probably pick the Focus. It has a slightly younger, zippy feel to it, and while it is smaller I actually like the cozy feel for a sedan, especially since we also have an SUV if we need a larger vehicle.

But at the same time, I can see myself preferring the Fusion when my daughters are a little older, have more stuff to carry around, and need even more space apart from each other.

(Full disclosure: Ford let me borrow these two cars for five days each. No other compensation was provided, and I still had to buy my own gas.)

Cordy and Mira demonstrate proper head and eye protection in the sun.  Too bad Cordy already scorched her shoulders in a sunscreen mishap earlier last week.

(Yes, this is totally a shameless photo filler post. But hey, look at the cute kids!)

(No, really, my review of the Ford Fusion is coming soon. Although I nearly typed Ford Fission when I wrote that, which would be an ENTIRELY DIFFERENT kind of car, wouldn't it?)

(And did I mention the cute kids on this little mommyblog?)

Going out in public with my children can sometimes be a challenge. Especially if going out involves eating, and that eating is taking place either in someone else's home or at a restaurant my girls aren't familiar with. Far too often I deal with someone looking at my children at one point and sighing, "So what WILL they eat?"

I have picky eaters.

I'm well aware that my kids have a small list of foods they will eat, and I've probably already heard every criticism and judgment someone could think to throw at me. I didn't expose them to a wide enough variety of foods when they were younger. I didn't expect them to eat a bite of everything placed in front of them. I gave in to their demands for the same meals over and over. I'm raising children who will have a limited experience with food and force others to bow to their whims.

Yep, I've heard it all, and honestly? I don't care. I know I'm doing the best I can to give them healthy foods to eat. I still make the effort to have them try new foods, even while I give them the foods they like most of the time. And if anyone claims to know anything about dealing with a picky eater, it should be me - I was one of the worst picky eaters as a child, and now I love trying new foods.

Mira is the more adventurous one when it comes to food, but even she can be picky. Occasionally, she'll try something new, but only if we make it seem like we want it all and really don't want to share it with her. If we're asking her to try a bite, then clearly it's poison and must be avoided at all costs.

(Although it's hilarious when she does beg to try something and doesn't like it. She'll take one tiny bite, force a smile and say "Yum! I like it!" just because she doesn't want to admit that she begged for something yucky. Ask her if she wants a second bite, though, and she'll suddenly become generous and say, "No, I just wanted one bite." Sure you did, kid. Wish you only ever wanted ONE bite of my garlic bread.)

Cordy is far more cautious with food. Her autism and sensory issues make food a very touchy subject. She likes mac and cheese, but at home it has to be in an easy mac bowl. (And she really likes it to be neon yellow, which she can't have due to her sensitivity to dyes. It's been a long journey to get her to eat the white cheddar mac and cheese.) Milk has to be white - no flavored milks for her! Applesauce must be unflavored.

She refuses to drink water and will let herself get dehydrated rather than drink it - a splash of 100% juice makes it acceptable to drink. Any foods she normally eats that are presented in an unfamiliar way (like potato wedges vs. french fries) are usually rejected.

But even with her picky eating, Cordy's short list of acceptable foods includes several healthy options. She loves salad, as long as it is lettuce and dressing only. She'll eat apple slices and sometimes bananas, although all other fruit is unacceptable. And while she certainly likes cookies, crackers and gummy treats, I try to only buy organic and dye-free varieties for her.

It took some effort to convince her the cheese wasn't carrots because carrots cannot exist in salad. 

I know it frustrates my family that Cordy and Mira often refuse the foods they made for all of us to share. My mom has commented on more than one occasion that they'll never eat healthy by being this picky. However, I think that the years have clouded her recollection of my youth.

Here's what I remember from my childhood. For main dishes, I ate only a handful of foods: mac and cheese, spaghetti, pizza, ham sandwiches, or fast food. I gagged at the very sight of rice. (Thanks a lot, Lost Boys - it took me years to overcome that aversion to rice.) The only vegetables I would even allow on my plate were green beans and occasionally carrots. My mom would beg me to try new foods and I'd turn my nose up at everything. She never forced the issue, though, and more often than not she would give in to my demands for a familiar food.

From that history, you might assume I grew up to have a limited palate. But instead, my tastes matured as I moved into my twenties, and I sought out new foods. I ate new vegetables. I actively tried new foods at parties. Chinese food became a favorite - yes, even the rice! As I matured, my food interests matured with me.

Now? I love food. There are only a handful of foods that I'd politely refuse to taste. And most of those are due to being forced to eat them at some point as a child, creating an aversion so strong that I don't even like the smell of those foods.

I have faith that no matter how picky my daughters are now, they will not remain this way forever. I refuse to start a negative relationship with food by forcing strange foods on them. So we are short order cooks in our house. Aaron and I have our dinner, we invite the kids to join in on those foods, and if they don't want to, we make them something else. Occasionally they eat the same thing we do, and we heap praise on them for trying something new.

Out in public, both Mira and Cordy understand that if there's nothing they're willing to eat, they may go hungry. I usually have snacks available if I know we'll be gone for more than one meal, but otherwise I leave them at the mercy of their picky natures. If they're really hungry, they'll eat something, even if it is just a hamburger bun.

Someday they'll be ready to try new foods, but it will happen at their own pace. And when they're ready, I'll be waiting to introduce them to all of the delicious foods I've discovered after my days of picky eating.

So far this summer, the old car has been holding up well. With an odometer closing in on the 200K mark, I'm amazed that it's still going, yet still cautious enough to never put the kids in that car for any long trips. I know it has little life left to it, but I'm hoping it'll give us some time to decide what its replacement will be.

I've already been scouting the different auto websites looking for our next great family car. While I love looking at the photos, it's so hard to get a good idea of how the car will be without actually driving it. Even worse, most dealers will only let you test drive it for a short drive - who can know from that short of a trial that this car won't leave them with a stiff neck or sore butt two hours into a trip to Chicago?

After the brakes fiasco with NTB (still ongoing, by the way), I received an e-mail from Ford asking if I wanted to give any of their family cars a try. And they made me laugh by referencing my brakes post and apologizing if their outreach was "too soon" after dealing with such auto woe.

I explained to Ford what I was looking for, and they offered to loan me two vehicles for five days each: the Ford Focus Hatchback and the Ford Fusion Hybrid. These two vehicles have been on my replacement car short list, so I was excited to try them out. Also, it's been years since I owned an American car - I was curious to see how the quality has changed since the spirit of my Dodge Spirit left this earth and moved on to the great highway in the sky in 2000.

Short answer: I was totally blown away by both of these Ford cars.

(Not into cars? You can stop here and just take my word for it. Otherwise, keep reading for the long answer.)

The Ford Focus
The first car that arrived in my driveway was the Ford Focus hatchback. I test drove a Ford Focus the first year it was produced, and at the time I wasn't impressed. The new Focus, however, is nothing like the one I tried all those years ago.

well hello there, my precious

Sitting in the driver's seat for the first time, I could only think, OMG, how will I figure out all of these controls? Then when I turned on the car and saw the touch screen come to life, I was momentarily trasformed into a cave person, staring in wonder at the shiny, magical technology in front of me.

Then the blogger in me snapped back to life and I began playing with all of the controls. Actually, most of the car is pretty intuitive. The touch screen computer controls nearly everything: music, climate control, navigation. Below the touch screen are the manual controls for the audio system and climate control, in case touch screens are intimidating to you. The steering wheel also has controls on it for the audio system, bluetooth phone capabilities, and voice-activated SYNC.

the steering wheel controls all

I must stop at this point to declare I LOVE the voice-activated SYNC feature. It may just be the coolest feature ever. Say you're listening to your iPod (plugged in using your USB sync cable) and decide that you really want to hear the song Mama Mia? Just activate the voice command system by touching the control on the steering wheel, then tell it "Play song Mama Mia." It repeats the command back to you, and then? It finds and plays the flippin' song!

close up of the touch screen

You can also use voice commands to find songs by an artist, album, or playlist, as well as using it for assistance with the navigation system. I've heard others complain that the system doesn't work as well if you have an accent, but this accent-less midwesterner wouldn't know.

On the road, the Focus is a great car to drive. The steering is sensitive and responsive, it can accelerate quickly in most situations and despite being a "small" sedan, there's plenty of leg room, even in the backseat. The hatchback is also a welcome addition to this car. It's easy to open, and provides a variety of options for hauling big things. Going to IKEA? You'll want the hatchback. With the back seats down, you can fit a lot of Swedish modern design in there.

What I liked:
- SYNC is a tech-lover's dream come true in a car
- small in size, yet plenty of room for adults or car seats in the back seat
- up to 40 miles to the gallon on the highway!!
- ultra comfortable driver's seat that can be adjusted a million different ways
- fun to drive: with the onboard technology and the responsiveness of the transmission, I really enjoyed driving this zippy little car
- USB ports in the center console allow you to plug in media devices and keep them concealed so you don't have to unplug and hide them at each stop

center console USB & media ports

What I didn't like:
- while acceleration is great, it does hesitate a little on a really hot day when the A/C is on full blast (of course, I hesitate a little on really hot days, too)
- not a tremendous amount of headroom if you're a tall person or like to sit up high in the driver's seat
- the trunk space feels a little small when the back seats are in use: lots of height in the space, but not a lot of width or depth

could still hide a body, though...

Overall, I was very happy with this car, and by the end of my five day test drive it already felt like mine. I had learned the systems and controls so quickly that I was using the voice system to request songs without even thinking about it. It felt comfortable and very similar to my current old car. Well, aside from the fact that it makes my old car look like a Model T, technology-wise.

Stay tuned for my report on the Ford Fusion Hybrid.

(Full disclosure: Ford let me borrow these two cars for five days each. No other compensation was provided, and I still had to buy my own gas.)

When Cordy was enrolled in soccer this spring, Mira started asking when she could sign up for an activity. I offered her several options and she chose ballet. I found a nearby class that was designed for three and four year olds and was only eight weeks long. Even if she hated it, we wouldn't be out a lot of money for the experience. Perfect.

Mira did well in the class, although we ran into the same problems in class that we see at home. When she hasn't had a chance to get to know someone, she's generally shy and charming. But once she feels comfortable, Mira's full personality bursts through, and this kid has a LOT of personality.

It took about three weeks for Mira to show her true colors to her ballet teacher. She became bossy, demanding that she didn't want to dance to "princess" music and had to do things in the order they did them the week before. (Sigh...) She told other little girls they were doing things wrong. (Gah!!) Her bossy personality got worse when they had a substitute teacher one week. I nearly died from embarrassment as she ordered the poor young sub around on how to do her job. (Nooooo!)

Thankfully her teacher was amazingly patient with her and wouldn't let me yank my kid out of class for being disrespectful. (Oh, how I wanted to, though!) Instead, she gave in to some of her demands, letting Mira feel in control, and in doing so Mira did pay better attention and didn't do too bad as a dancer.

On the final day they performed a "recital" for the parents, using the music that Mira found acceptable: Peter Pan - no princess music for her!

Did I record it? Why yes, I did.

Am I going to post it here? Why yes, I am.

(Was I a dummy and didn't understand that I needed to turn my new iPhone 4 sideways to get the best video shot? Why yes, I was. Sorry for the narrow video clip - you might need to enlarge to see it better.)

Mira's not hard to spot. She's the biggest kid with the mop of curly hair on her head.


Mira's Ballet Recital from Christina M on Vimeo.


Gotta admit, she's cute. I'm so proud of her for being brave enough to perform.

Now if only she wasn't so stubborn.

I came home from work yesterday morning to find a small swarm of ants had invaded our kitchen floor, conquering the chunk of bread crust they had found. As I wiped out the enemy forces, I made a mental note to give the kitchen floor a good scrub down as soon as possible to dissuade the little trespassers from coming back.

As I drifted off to sleep, I continued to worry about the ants coming back and how I needed to clean the floor soon.

Next thing I know, it's late afternoon. I looked at the floor and decided that I had time to get it done before the rest of the family got home. I grabbed a bucket with soapy water, pulled out a sponge, and got to work cleaning the floor on my hands and knees. It felt like it took forever, but every nook and corner were cleaned and I felt satisfied that the ants would have to look elsewhere for any food.

And then I woke up.

I dreamed the entire thing.

Coming downstairs, I walked past the kitchen and thought, no way am I cleaning that floor. I'm already exhausted from scrubbing it in my dream!

If only I could have been sleepwalking (sleepcleaning?) while dreaming it.

(I posted a similar conversation with Mira on Facebook, but this needs to be recorded for posterity. Or when I need to embarrass her as a teen.)

Me: So Mira, what do the elephants eat?
Mira: Peanuts!

Me: And what do monkeys eat?
Mira: Monkeys eat bananas, of course!

Me: And what do the manatees eat?
Mira: Mermaids!
Me: WHAT? Manatees don't eat mermaids! They eat lettuce!
Mira: Well, I've never seen them eat lettuce.

Me: OK...uh...so what do butterflies eat?
Mira: Nectar!

Me: That's right! And what do polar bears eat?
Mira: Polar bears eat fish! Yum, yum, yum!

Me: What about brown bears? Do they eat fish, too?
Mira: Noooooo, that's silly. Bears eat humans!
Me: Mira, bears do not eat humans.
Mira: Yes, they doooo!
Me: Bears eat fish and plants and berries...
Mira: But sometimes they eat humans too.
Me: No, they don't!
Mira: Well, I saw bears eating humans at the zoo.
Me: There's no way you saw that, Mira.
Mira: That's what I saw.

Me: [sigh] Fine, so what do zombies eat?
Mira: BRAINS!

I've gotta get this kid signed up for a Zoo Camp. She's learned a lot about animals, but I think the bears and manatees are getting a bad reputation. (I mean, I know bears CAN eat people, but I'm pretty sure they're not feeding humans to the bears at the zoo.)

 Go on, just TRY to convince her they don't feed humans to the bears at the zoo.