A Few More Things About the Accident + Searching!

HONDA ODYSSEY!! I loved my odyssey!! With 2 kids the mini van is the way to go. Having an SUV with the 2 benches is super hard. The last row is so tiny and tight.
Glad everyone is great!!

I am excited for the special episode of This is Us at the end of the superbowl! So glad you are both well. Also glad you are turning this into a positive thing by looking for a new car that will be better for the entire family.

Janae, this is the first I’m seeing about your accident. I’m so thankful you both (and everyone else) are ok! Very scary and it’s always worse afterwards when you think about how bad it could have been. Thank goodness for seat belts and car seats and well-built cars!
When my kids were little, I had a Toyota Sienna that I still have! It’s a 2004 and has 234,000 miles on it. My mechanic thinks I can keep it until at least 300,000 miles! I don’t know what kind of “kid-friendly” cars are out there now, but the Sienna was awesome for me. Lots of space and very reliable. Now it’s my Albus-mobile (that’s my dog, who is a Bernese Mountain dog and at 115 pounds, needs a lot of space!)
Again, so thankful everyone is safe. Take it easy until you start feeling less achy!

So glad everyone is okay, Janae! Yes, I was in a pretty bad accident several years ago where I flipped my car and basically crawled out the window. By the grace of someone up above, I was okay and only left with a bruised head and some cuts on my leg. Your body definitely feels sore for awhile though…there is something strange that happens internally I think when we go through things like this. You WILL gain back all of your confidence and MORE with driving. I remember it took me a little while..but forcing myself a bit and knowing that keeping focus would help.

Probably won’t watch much of the Super Bowl…well..maybe the commercials :o)

Happy to hear there are no ill effects from the car accident, sometimes it is the next day before you really feel it! Smart decision not to run – it may have hurt you more than it would have helped at that point. Monday you can use the run to “work” it all out.
I am from Canada and had an accident driving through Salt Lake City on Christmas Day almost 10 years ago. Everyone was ok in our case as well, thank goodness, and I have to say, all involved were very nice and helpful, including your police who responded. The other driver actually told them we saved his life by “allowing him” to hit us and stop his spinning out of control. And I have had a few others as well, none that I was hurt in and none that were my fault actually. Driving is scary for awhile afterwards, but I would encourage you to make some short drives right away, and let the fear pass! Take care. You have a beautiful family!

So glad that you are all ok! Go for a bigger Honda! They are such reliable vehicles. I was in a car accident in California on vacation when I was 12. Both my parents were in the hospital. It was scary! Thankfully everyone recovered and the employees at the hospital were so kind to me and my younger sister.
Unrelated, but I saw on your Instagram that Andrea Barber follows you. How cool is that! How about a guest post / Q&A etc?
Hope you are back to running soon!

So glad everyone involved is safe! How scary.
I am beyond excited for the Super Bowl!!!! I am an NFL super fan (I’ve been to 15 of the 31 stadiums so dar) and this year my team is playing!! I’m a nervous wreck (pretty ridiculous, I know). Then I will follow up the game with This Is Us. My husband has some Xanax on hand because I’m not sure I can handle all of the emotions. FLY EAGLES FLY!!!
Honda Pilots are a good option if you’re trying to avoid the minivan thing.

So glad everyone is ok!!! My Facebook memory from today was sitting in the hospital for 4 hours getting fetal monitoring done after I got rear ended while 36 weeks pregnant with my 3rd. It was a minor hit and my car was basically untouched while his front bumper got mangled (score for the Honda Odyssey!) and I only got a tiny bit of whiplash. But I knew I would stress about it all night long if I didn’t get the baby checked out. Everything was fine and outside of some annoying insurance issues, it all worked out ok. As for cars, we have both a Honda Odyssey and a Chevy Traverse (with captains seats in the 2nd row). We do a LOT of roadtripping and nothing beats the odyssey for storage room. Seriously. The only car with as much trunk space is a Suburban. Plus kids being able to climb in by themselves and having automatic sliding doors so kids don’t hit parked cars on our sides are amazing features. And I clearly found the accident protection was great. We live in Colorado where snow driving is an issue, but consumer reports did a study on whether 4-wheel/AWD was better than snow tires…and snow tires won all the categories (stopping in ice, traction in a turn, etc) except for something like starting on an icy incline. After that, we went and got real snow tires for both our cars and have never had any issues in winter driving and I few totally safe without AWD. Anyway, I like our Traverse for mountain and ski driving, when we need higher clearance and that AWD for icy inclines, and it still fits everyone (4 kids) but it can’t match the convenience of our odyssey.

That is so scary! It’s amazing how life can change in just a moment. I’m so glad you two are okay!

I also have a CRV. It works super well for me- no kids- but I totally get what you’re saying. Three kids would be tough in it! ;) The Pilot is roomier, and still has the reliability of the Honda brand. Though, I don’t disagree with the tank idea…

And, yeah I have been in an accident. Not something I talk about much. But, I was 16. I still really don’t know what happened, but I blacked out and ran a red light. Thankfully everyone involved is okay, but it’s definitely something that stays with you.

Glad you both are ok!!

I was involved in a multi-car crash on an expressway last year – one car clipped a dump truck and went spinning into another car which then hit another car that spun out and then a whole pile of us had no where to go and drove into each other. Luckily I had time to react and put my head back so I was totally fine – but my car wasn’t. I hit someone and two people hit me – all that equaled no more car for me. It was definitely scary and I’m glad that my kid wasn’t in the car. Of course all of this happened while we were in the process of buying a new home/selling ours so car shopping had to happen really quickly.

haha this is the one time I will sit down to watch Football – although it is mostly to make sure I tune into This is Us tonight

Oh wow, the accident sounds so scary! I’m so happy bothbyou an Skye are okay. What a crazy thing to go through! Rest up and take care of yourself.

The exact same thing happened to me when I was 14 weeks pregnant – people really need to put their phones down. I cried for what felt like hours but my son was fine in there! We drive a GMC Acadia that barely got a scratch on it. Also it has a third row – we looked into a Ford Explorer but prefer the 2nd row have Captains chairs for easier access to the back row. Glad y’all are safe.

Oh my goodness, Janae—so thankful you and Skye (and everyone involved) are alright!!! I just caught up on your post yesterday after I saw your Instagram post. So scary!! But also so thankful for people like the man in the parking lot and your friend Candice who have such big hearts. My friend and I were driving somewhere yesterday and were at a light, and a woman in a wheelchair at the corner of the intersection fell out of her wheelchair, and multiple people immediately put their cars in park to get out and help her. You’re right about people being the best.

Hope y’all are all able to relax and rest today and enjoy the Super Bowl! Love you, sweet friend!!

Go Eagles! My hubby has been a philly fan forever even though we’re from CA. We are much more into baseball but excited that our team is there nonetheless.

Yes, been in an accident just over 4 years ago. Probably close to same scenario as you I was on a highway that has stop lights in the country. I came to a complete stop and the large SUV behind me never hit his breaks. So he hit me going about 60 mph. That slammed me into a kuckenbecker tractor work truck with one of those steel bumpers. My air bags did go off, but like you I think I blacked out because I don’t remember hitting it. Just waking up to the smoke that comes out. I didn’t know that airbags use gun powder so I though the car was on fire. Thankfully I was driving a Jeep Garnd Cherokee and it held up so well. I couldn’t imagine that scenario in a little car. I was just made because I had just laid it off 2 mi the prior, so that was crappy. I had 2 boys (not with me) in booster seats at the time and would have definitely went back to the Jeep but wanted something with a 3rd row. In now have a Dodge Durango and I love it. It has the 3rd row and seats 7. I highly recommend it.

PS glad ya’ll are ok and that fear of driving thing is normal and lasts for a while. I still quickly check my mirrors every time and am very cautious when I have to hit my breaks suddenly.

So glad you’re okay! I’ve been in a couple of car accidents – the worst was when I was 14. We were broadsided and I wasn’t wearing a seat belt. My skull left quite an indentation on the window and I required about 50 stitches. I didn’t get my driver’s license until I was 19 because I was so afraid of driving. I also can’t imagine not wearing a seat belt now.

We rented a Buick Enclave once and loved it – it’s seats 7.

When adrenaline hits, your body numbs itself to the pain to stay calm–it’s an evolutionary perspective on the instincts of human survival :) And the care you showed towards Skye further proves this.

Now, off to eat my own salad after seeing how delicious yours look! I’m jealous.

I’m excited for This Is Us after the Super Bowl.

I’m so glad to hear that everyone involved in the collision is alright. Thankfully I’ve only ever been in fender benders – rear ended a few times and then a friend backed into my car as we were leaving to go to another friend’s wedding.

I had a crv for 11 years and I LOVED it, but we also had a baby last year and 3 kids in the same row is a pain haha. We upgraded to a Town and Country Minivan and I LOVE it so very much. Automatic sliding doors (no more worrying about dinging cars), automatic back door from the keychain (the best for groceries), tv for long drives, air conditioning all over the back, room for their legs, stow and go seats, I could go on and on. I know you live in snow and have heard the toyota sienna is (or can be) all wheel drive. If we could’ve afforded it I would’ve gone with the Sienna or the Odyssey, but they weren’t in our budget.

I have an interesting “accident”- when I was younger we were visiting Utah (staying in the dorms at BYU) and my parents decided to go drop off a letter to my cousin at the MTC. My mom went in and while we were waiting my dad decided to drive around the parking lot. Well, there was a chain across a section of the parking lot and my dad didn’t see it and drove into it/over it. I was in the front seat and didn’t have my seat belt on (because we were driving slowly in the parking lot and I was just up there while we were waiting for my mom). My head smashed into the windshield and made a huge spiderweb in the front windshield. Two missionaries saw it and came over to help. I was the only one hurt but thankfully it wasn’t bad, just a really bad headache. Who would’ve thought the MTC could be dangerous LOL. Lesson learned- never take your seatbelt off.

So glad you are o.k.! I was rear-ended about 3 years ago…My girls were 8 and 10 at the time, and fortunately other than a sore neck on my part, none of us were hurt. Once the initial shock wore off I had to laugh a little, because my girls were watching Harry Potter at the time, and our travel DVD player was knocked out of position at the moment of impact. After a “Woah, what happened?” my youngest asked if she could start the movie back up about 10 seconds after the crash. Kids are nothing if not resilient! I will say it took me several weeks to feel comfortable driving after that…Any time someone was too close to my bumper, my pulse would go sky high. It gets better with time, like most things in life!

More blessings! Everyone’s ok!!

Challenge: get back on the horse. There is nothing you can do about a rear-end collision except clamp down on the brakes and pad the steering wheel. Thinking about your drivers ed teaching days (for better or worse) weren’t there more good teenage drivers than bad? I bet Google has some good insights for prepping at stops.

Love the crumble message from Candice! Way to rock the Costco trip!! I check out Consumer Reports too, BUT, consider the sample groups. If they didn’t sample a certain vehicle – I don’t know, like Subaru in the class you’re shopping – the article won’t show the results you desire.

I can’t imagine how scary that must have been, I’m so glad you’re both okay. I have only been in very minor accidents, never any injuries. The worst was when we were up at the Grand Canyon for a wedding and we got hit by a tourist from Italy, driving a rental car that he didn’t have insurance for. He spoke very little English, so it was hard to communicate with him, he just wanted us to call Hertz. We had no cell phone service, and we didn’t think to try and flag down a ranger, and without a “police report” the car rental company said we were 50% responsible. The guy hit us when we were in a parking spot, we weren’t moving, and the angle he hit us tore off my front bumper and grill. So while no one was hurt, the experience was AWFUL because of the people from Hertz. It was a fight to get it taken care of.

Anyway, we have been looking at Toyota Highlanders. I really want one with captain’s seats in the second row to make it easier to get into the back row. I’ve had a Pilot for 10 years and it has been awesome but I’m ready to trade it and its issues in for something newer. The list of what we want to look at keeps growing though. This will be a well-researched purchase.

Janae, so sorry about your experience, but gladly everyone is ok. I recently traded my beloved CR-V for a Pilot and I love it. A smother ride and lots more room!

I’m so glad to hear that you continue to feel good today. I think it was a smart move to skip your run and get some rest. How nice was Southwest to get Andrew back home so quickly!

I have a Ford Explorer with captain’s chairs instead of a bench and it is so much easier to get the kids in and out. Third rows are a waste if you have car seats because it’s a pain to fold them down but captain’s chairs totally solve that problem!

You would never regret a minivan! When my husband and I were dating we vowed to never get two things — a cat or a minivan. We are 1 for 2 in keeping those promises, haha. We’ve had our Odyssey for about 4 years and I love it more than ever. Definitely a time when I’m okay with eating my words. ;)

So glad you and Skye are both okay!

Hi Janae,
I was so sorry to hear about your accident. So scary and so relieved you are all ok. Hug your kids and take it easy! There is plenty of time to get back on the horse with everything.
I was in 2 scary accidents and 1 near miss in my late teens more than 2 decades ago. One of the times, I was driving and skidded on a puddle and veered into the other lane so it was a head on collision. We were fortunately not going fast, but the air-bag deployed and I was very shaken up. One week later, my brother was driving us to my grandparents for thanksgiving. We did a 720 on the high way in the snow, but didn’t hit anything by some miracle. Needless to say, I was terrified to drive in bad weather and am apprehensive to this day. So I drive very cautiously in bad weather.
The last scary one, a friend of mine was driving us from Vail to the Denver airport. We hit some ice and flipped over and landed on the roof. Again, by some miracle, no one was hurt.
But it is hard and very normal to feel nervous about driving again. Just take your time!
And BTW, my parents were the same way about cars. My dad always wanted us in very big cars. Now I drive a mini-van. It’s so easy with 3 kids and has so much room. I don’t love vans, but they are certainly big and safe. We have the Toyota Sienna and love it.
Good luck with everything! Thinking of yoU!
Mary

I’m just getting caught up on the blog! Wow, this timing is uncanny. My husband was just in an accident last Wednesday–not his fault either. He had a green light, and a young girl made a left hand turn in front of him. To get a text at 6:30 am that says “I was in an accident. My car is totaled. I”m okay” made my heart fall to the ground. Thank God he was okay—like you though, quite sore for a few days. His dad is a retired teacher, so that reallllly helped us to find a replacement vehicle at a good price over the weekend. He’s always wanted a station wagon, and I finally came around to it, too (bigger! safer!) so he got a Subaru Outback.
The same thing had happened to us when Caroline was about 3 months old–a man made a left in front of us and totaled our car. I know that scary scary scary feeling of having an infant in a car accident. You totally go into mama bear overdrive at the time, and then looking back, it’s all a blur. I’m so so so glad you are all okay. Car accidents are incredibly scary and kind of stick with you after a while mentally, too.

AND, GOOD NEWS! PHILLY WON THE SUPER BOWL!!!!!! WOOT! I’m a bit of a bandwagon Eagles fan right now, but I live an hour outside of Philly, and I love the city of Philadelphia. I am so happy for the die-hard fans. They deserve this. :)

Glad that you are both okay!!

I’ve been in three “fender benders” but I’ve always been the one that has been hit not the one that has done the hitting. The first one was many years ago and the lady it me so hard that her car was latched onto mine. She then became annoyed with me that I wouldn’t just let bygones be bygones and not call the police. Ummm…ma’am your car is STUCK to mine! Then two years ago, I could tell that I was going to get hit. The stoplight had turned red and I was breaking but the kid behind me (I could tell in my rearview mirror) was NOT slowing down. Thankfully it wasn’t too bad; damage was minimal. A Driver’s Ed lesson learned long ago, you should always be able to see the tires of the car in front of you touching the road then (more than likely) you will not hit the person in front of you if you get hit from behind. Even now when I’m at a stop light and the person behind me looks like they are practically IN MY BACKSEAT, all I can think of is “if YOU get hit, you are going to hit ME!”

With regard to that most recent accident, I was on my way out of town for a half marathon! I almost missed the packet pick up time frame because of all of it. I was able to do the race the next morning thankfully.

We didn’t watch the Super Bowl. I’m superstitious and really wanted the Eagles to win which meant I couldn’t watch the game. We did tune in to see the Halftime which – in my opinion – was average at best. I work in the Sports and Entertainment business so I’m probably a little more difficult to please but there was no “WOW” factor. Wish they had chosen a different song for the Prince tribute. Again, it was “okay” but it was no Lady Gaga or Bruno Mars halftime show. :)

I’m so glad you’re both okay! Car accidents are so scary!

I don’t have children but Toyota Forerunners are great cars – large and super safe. :)

So glad you’re all ok! Your blog always makes me hungry! haha Now I want a chocolate chip cookie!

So glad you guys are okay!!! I was in an accident 34 weeks preggo! Everyone was okay thank goodness. I was rear-ended at a RED stoplight by a cargo van and hit the car in front of me who hit the car in front of them. Scariest moment of my life. I called 911 sobbing to the operator. I had to be monitored at the hospital for 4 hours. I am so thankful I was alone in the car. Our two older girls starting sitting in their booster seats in the 3rd row to practice for when the baby came. When I saw my car the next day I realized how lucky we all were because my girls could have seriously been injured!