honda odyssey | Robin's Chicks

This post is sponsored by Patty Peck Honda in Ridgeland, MS. They are currently rated #1 on my Favorite People on the Planet List. Pretty sure they are going to be there for awhile. All opinions expressed are my own.

On Tuesday of this week I drove to Ridgeland, MS to meet with the general manager and the internet sales director of Patty Peck Honda to talk about finding the minivan of my dreams. Y’all know I’m not one for being shady– so I’ll just tell ya– I went down there hoping to make a deal to exchange some PR and Internet Marketing for a sweet deal on a used minivan.

I ended up leaving in a 2014 Patty Peck Honda Odyssey and one of the best jobs in the world– telling you about it.

This is the girls finding out that we were driving the van back home:

They were happy. (Sadie got happy, too, once she realized Aubrey wasn’t being murdered.)

We were ALL happy.

Very happy.

After my early morning meeting we spent the day in Jackson doing things that people in civilization do: eating at Chic-Fil-A, going to Target and going to a movie. We went back that afternoon where I spent over an hour with Ted. Ted has forgotten more about the Patty Peck Honda Odyssey than I may ever learn. But I was willing to try.

Everytime Ted explained a new feature, my mind was blown. I kept saying over and over, “I feel like a Jetson.”

The 2014 Patty Peck Honda Odyssey has a smart key– as in it only has to be in my purse and as I approach it, the van unlocks. In addition– there is NO KEY IN THE IGNITION. I feel like I was driving a horse drawn carriage last week. I put my foot on the brake and press this button to start the car.

My phone syncs to the van’s hard drive. YOU HEARD ME. All of my iPhone contacts?? They live in my car now.

There are so many features: a ridiculous dvd player, being able to listen to Pandora WHILE my kids watch a movie with wireless headphones. I’m getting emotional. The cool box– to keep all of my beverages chilled. All of the cupholders a girl could want… A BUILT IN VACUUM CLEANER.

I know it’s too much for your brain to take in at once. It was too much for me too.

Sigh.

Seriously? The only thing this car doesn’t do, is fly. And that’s why I’ve named her Judy… as in, “Jetson.”

I mean, Y’ALL, you push a button to start the car– if that’s not one step away from being sucked into a tube at your house and teleported to the mall THEN I DON’T KNOW WHAT IS.

I am in love with my Patty Peck Honda Odyssey. In. Love.

This post is sponsored by Patty Peck Honda. All opinions are my own. (And those of anyone who has ever sat in a Patty Peck Honda Odyssey.) Contact Donna at Patty Peck at 888-902-1166.

This is a sponsored post. Honda was AWESOME enough to let me borrow an Odyssey from their Alabama plant to lug around all my extra kids last week. I was not paid for this post but recieved the use of the van at no charge to myself. Which obviously– was awesome.

It’s time for a new car. I have loved, loved, LOVED my Toyota Highlander. So much so, that I was planning on getting a newer one with a third row of seats so I could haul all of my kids, run carpool, go to the grocery store and all that other glamorous stuff that I normally do.

That was my plan– before I met Honda’s Social Media Director, Alicia, at Mom 2.0. I missed the session she was teaching because my session ran simultaneously but I introduced myself to her later and mentioned that I was looking for a new car. She said if I was ever in a large city and wanted to test drive an Odyssey or a Pilot to let her know.

Only a few weeks later, I found myself in Birmingham, surrounded by my nieces and nephews and I realized that my mother and I were going to have to take two cars everywhere we went, so I emailed Alicia. There wasn’t a fleet of cars nearby but the Honda Odyssey plant just happens to be located in Lincoln, AL, only 40 minutes away. Ted, Manager of Corporate Affairs, brought me an Odyssey a few days later and spent about 20 minutes with me showing me all the bells and whistles: all FIFTEEN cupholders(!!!), how to fold the third row into the floor (you can do it with one hand and a baby on your hip, by simply pulling on a strap),the navigation system, the FOUR different ways to open and close the doors. I was impressed.

But I didn’t fall in love with the Odyssey until I loaded five kids into the car. They were all comfortable and magically– not touching each other, AND everybody’s sippy cup or water bottle had its own little home. The girls in the way back could easily flip the second row seat forward to get in and out. I was twitterpated.

How I Fell In Love With a Honda Odyssey

REAL TALK

When I initially got the van I knew it would be a great car, but I wanted to stick with what I knew. I loved my Highlander, it just wasn’t big enough anymore, and also… (confession time) I DIDN’T WANT TO DRIVE A MINIVAN!!

Why??

1) Um. Well… When I was teenager, ya know– back before I HAD kids? I swore I would never drive a minivan. So there’s that.

2) Also? Uhhhhh, it was a minivan and obviously I am so much cooler than that. (It is sad to say that this really is the breakdown of my thought process.)

3) IN ADDITION, it was a MINIVAN and I am Robin O’Bryant and I don’t “DO” minivans because apparently my teenager street cred was more important to me than my mommy street cred.

WHAT I REALIZED

It’s sort of like my yoga pants… (Am I about to make a yoga pants/life/minivan analogy?? Yes. Yes,I am.)

I want to wear my yoga pants all of the time. They are comfortable, versatile and get the job done. If I see you at the girls’ school and you are dressed up all cute, I’ll notice. I may even say, “Hey! Lookin’ good Momma!”

But don’t you think, for ONE FLIPPING SECOND, that I wish I was wearing underwire and makeup– ‘cuz that took some work and I know you aren’t as comfortable as I am.

In fact, I know that as soon as you get home, the first thing you are going to do is slide your bra out the sleeve of your shirt then go put on your yoga pants– but here’s the thing: I’M ALREADY WEARING MINE!

I want to wear my yoga pants all the time.
Physically and metaphysically.

And in the same manner, I want to drive a Honda Odyssey. It is the perfect car, and I may have cried a little when I drove away from it.

Then I may have put some pics in a music montage…

How do you feel about “minivans”? Why? What’s your perfect “Mommy Ride”?

Meet the Newest Member of My Family: Judy Jetson

How I Fell In Love With A Honda Odyssey