No minivans! Go hybrid if you want the practical/enviromentally friendly thing, but make it sporty looking and in a pretty color.

Thank you everyone for your concern & well wishes. We made it home and everyone experienced a dose of "Dad is madder at himself than you so ignore his mood." Once he was over his 'emotional state' we all began laughing about it and the kids gave him a big hug before bed. Today we are taking it moment by moment and trying not to think about last weeks $500 maintenance we had done to the same car.
On the bright side I might get a new car out of this seen as how the car was mine ... we traded for the week. Hmmm ... let's see shall I go practical or midlife crisis?!

Silver so glad to hear hubby is ok.

Lets see--my 13 year old daughter wants to be a beautician. My 9 year old boy wants to be a farmer or a baseball player, My 7 yr old boy wants to drive monster trucks(hubby took the boys to watch monster jam last week--so thats what he wants to be now LOL until something else comes along) and my 3 yr old son wants to be a daddy.

Silver, glad to hear hubby is okay. Don't spoil him too much while you're being grateful for his good outcome!!

CC, don't put those shoes away yet. He was probably just trying to suck up so he could safely buy a new tool!

Isn't it sometimes hilarious to hear what children plan as their careers? My daughter has never strayed from her desire to be a teacher, so unless something profound happens, I see her continuing with that path. She'll be really great at it too. She's only in 7th grade, but I have hinted that she could start doing some tutoring in math and language arts(her strong suits). Thought it would give her a taste of the "teaching" profession.

My son hasn't really nailed down his career path. Sometimes he wants to be a professional baseball player, but then his love of science and animals kicks in and there is talk of being a veterinarian. His 3rd grade teacher taught Jim Kelly the astronaut and she always told me he reminded her of Jim and she knows he is going to be something really great. I don't know how I feel about my child going into space.

The post accident stress is worse, sometimes, than the accident. As long as everyone is fine, you take a deep breath, thank God and plan to move on. Then, the "what if's" set in and that's what sets the tears flowing. Hubby had a bad crash (it was all my fault even though I wasn't there...) and he reenacted it in his mind forever wondering how it happened and how much worse it could've been - and, of course, how it never would have happened if he wasn't rushing home to stay with the baby so I could get to a dentist appointment on time. The good thing about a really good crash story is all of the "You think that's something, well once I..." It's a fun party game. Start out my saying, "Oooo, I almost hit a deer on the way home last night!" And for the rest of the night you'll hear deer stories like nothing you've ever heard before.

So, hubby is fully redeemed of all past transgressions. I read Shorty's paper to him and he said, "Not courageous?!?! NOT courageous!!!???!!!!" and then set about listing all of the ways he thinks I am. He's a smart man. Now he has a clean slate, which will last about 2 days....

Silver-my prayers are with you. My husband totalled his car a few years ago and after everything was calm and quiet, I sobbed for 2 solid hours. Speaking of car accidents, my mother isn't Catholic (I am) and she has taken to my habit of having a rosary in the car and swears she is more accident and ticket prone without it!
My father in law is a contractor and said he NEVER asks for keys but a set work schedule. He calls when he will not be there at the agreed upon time. He also said you should ask them to either give you a better crew or ask for a bill for services provided so you can find someone more professional. (Say those 2 items in one breath so they know you are serious and will not stand for the current treatment.)
CC-Your son and my oldest sound a lot alike. Earlier this year, mine had to write a paper on his hero and he chose me. He wasn't even going to show it to me, his teacher had to call so I would know to look for it. He said something to the effect of never wanting to be a hero because they have to sacrifice so much to make things better for other people. It made me cry. He said, "See, I knew you would cry, that's why I wasn't going to show you." The oldest wants to be a gym teacher so kids can learn fun games and be more active, a baseball player, or an accountant. (Strange choices) The middle child is going to be a doctor or scientist, but he is definately going to cure cancer. The youngest is too young to care but he is completely fascinated when I do pastries or cake decorating so I see that as an option. When I made my mom's wedding cake he pulled up his "helper" stepstool and watched completely fascinated for long periods of time.