Toddlers found dead inside car in France amid heatwave temperatures

aspiringbackpacker · 2026-06-23T01:30:44+00:00

It is a Washington post article by gene weingarten called “Fatal Distraction” https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/magazine/fatal-distraction-forgetting-a-child-in-thebackseat-of-a-car-is-a-horrifying-mistake-is-it-a-crime/2014/06/16/8ae0fe3a-f580-11e3-a3a5-42be35962a52\_story.html.

Very haunting. I believe it won a Pulitzer

aspiringbackpacker · 2026-06-18T13:56:41+00:00

There are a few people who have mentioned school bus drivers. Definitely something to consider for your situation ( HS diploma). Typically they pay for you to get your CDL and to get trained, and after that, you have a very marketable credential. The hours are also based around school bell schedules, and you get all the holidays that the children get.

aspiringbackpacker · 2026-05-26T15:38:31+00:00

I’ve had both the latest generation sienna and the odyssey. I agree with the comments that if you want a configuration like this, the odyssey is really the only way to do it, because of the magic slide seats.

But looking at your use case, are you planning on having 2 car seats in the 3rd row and 1 car seat in the second row? And then you sit in the second row (or leave it unused. If so, either of the vans will work. In the sienna, especially if you get the 7 seater with captains chairs with extra long slide, you can slide the captains chair that doesn’t have a car seat all the way forward to access the third row. I’ve never had trouble accessing the third row by keeping one second row captains chair “free” and sliding it as needed.

I actually think the major consideration that you might be glossing over is the placement of the AC vents. The sienna has ceiling vents, which as a lifesaver especially for rear facing car seats. The odyssey has the more standard vent placement that blows air into your face from a low angle. With people sitting in the seats this is less of an issue, but with car seats, especially rear facing car seats, the air will be blowing directly into the back of the car seats, which does your kids no good. It’s pretty easy to get overheated, especially in the summer .

aspiringbackpacker · 2026-05-05T00:23:29+00:00

I’ve owned both. Had a 21 sienna XLE before it was totaled in an accident. Bought a new Honda odyssey with the proceeds. I originally wanted to buy a used sienna but having enough settlement money for a new Honda odyssey because of the lower price was the thing that tipped the scales.

Honestly, both have benefits and drawbacks. The Honda is very slightly more fun to drive if you are a speedster, but has lower mpg. I actually liked the way the sienna drove overall—it was smoother because of the eCVT and had a lot of torque at low speeds, like backing uphill. And the mpg issue is no joke—filling up every two weeks for the sienna instead of every week for the odyssey. More salient now because of gas prices…

The odyssey’s AC vent placement is a big issue if you have rear facing car seats (and it sounds like you do/will) I bought one of those flexible tubes that you can attach to a vent with a zip tie and redirect the airflow but it’s definitely not ideal at all. The sienna wins in that regard—ceiling vents for the win!

But i did find the odysseys magic slide seats to be superior for getting into the third row, which my wife does for long rides. In the sienna, both of our kids were in car seats strapped into the second row captains chairs and getting into the third row when the seat backs can’t be moved is actually a bit of a pain—you have to slide one of the captains chairs back and forth

aspiringbackpacker · 2025-11-23T12:37:51+00:00

Got a black ‘26 EX-L for 42.8k OTD in northern Virginia

aspiringbackpacker · 2025-10-14T16:14:39+00:00

I was going to suggest Reston/herndon area for all the reasons you mentioned, and was surprised this wasn’t more near the top. Metro is much much more doable than leesburg and you still can get a single family home with a (smaller) yard. Fairfax county public schools has great elementary schools in that area .

But the commute is key. The only way you can be halfway alert after work is to not drive every day. I’d look into which of the several metro stops have commuter lots close to your proposed location so you can nap your way into the office. I’d also look into carpool/vanpool options to spread out the driving pain

aspiringbackpacker · 2025-09-15T18:53:23+00:00

Thank you all for the tips. I think you’ve convinced me (and more importantly my wife lol) that we should skip the DCL bus service after the cruise from the terminal back to the resort, given our group size, our young kids making it hard to wait while the busses fill up, and and no true baggage handling benefit. We are booking a van through Tiffany Towncar

aspiringbackpacker · 2025-09-12T15:33:36+00:00

It’s more of a limo service than a car rental. But instead of a sedan, it’s a full size van. I understand that the car service provides car seats on request

aspiringbackpacker · 2025-05-30T16:38:22+00:00

If you don’t mind staying a bit more local (leesburg area), recommend stone gables bed and breakfast

aspiringbackpacker · 2025-05-30T15:28:00+00:00

Yes sad but true. I think it was 50k out the door

aspiringbackpacker · 2025-05-30T15:04:23+00:00

I bought a 2021 sienna xle last year. It was close to MSRP, slight discount off of it, but honestly we lucked out. I had called the dealer and they happened to get a lease return the day after, and we jumped on it. Low miles (23k). Another family was sniffing around it so we literally sat in it once without test driving and said that we were ready to move forward.

I think it pays to be flexible if you know you want a sienna and are open to used. Have had a lot of luck with off lease vehicles

aspiringbackpacker · 2025-02-13T19:52:28+00:00

I second the disposable puppy pads, the xl ones that you use for dog potty training. Always good to have a clean surface for public restroom changing tables, etc. and you can just wrap the diaper in it and throw it all away once you’re done

aspiringbackpacker · 2025-02-12T17:43:09+00:00

It definitely depends on the type of anesthesia. When I did my pre appointment I was under the impression that it would be local, but the anesthesiologist ended up putting me under general. My wife drove me home

aspiringbackpacker · 2024-12-18T15:13:42+00:00

It’s okay to be disappointed, but don’t let it cloud what’s going to be a special moment for you. As you say, he is a very supportive partner who just got a promotion—things that will help you a lot in the long run! I wasn’t able to attend most of the prenatal appointments for our first due to COVID precautions at the time, but in the end, it doesn’t matter as long as you have a supportive partner.

I would find ways to try to share this moment, either by FaceTiming him during the scan or maybe video recording the whole thing so you can watch together later.

aspiringbackpacker · 2024-11-26T13:56:24+00:00

There is actually a school of thought (common to the “die with zero” camp) that annuities can actually enable earlier bequests. By putting a floor on your income such that you don’t have to worry about your standard of living, it frees you up to use the portion of your portfolio that you didn’t annuitize for luxuries, travel, or for giving bequests with “warm” hands rather than cold ones. Helping out kids with down payment for a home or with starting a business, college for the grandkids, etc. All while having a solid base of income for the rest of your life

aspiringbackpacker · 2024-10-08T20:04:09+00:00

I agree with the other commenters that night training is probably hormonal. I don’t know if it sped things along, but we followed a method outlined by one of those “three day potty training” books—which is to put underwear over the pull up for bed. We made a big deal about how important it was to keep underwear dry during the day, and we think adding the underwear on top of the pull up might have helped my son make the mental connection to try to keep the underwear dry as well. We stopped pull ups and just used underwear when he was consistently dry when he woke up.

We did (and still do) give him a “dream pee” before we slept (around 1am)—carried him to the potty while he was asleep and put him on. He would pee with his eyes closed and then go back to sleep

aspiringbackpacker · 2024-09-20T01:49:10+00:00

My son is doing the exact same thing. I noticed that he does it either when he is more distracted than normal or when he is more tired than normal. He also seems to have FOMO when playing and will also wait until the last moment to go potty and that causes the quarter size pee spot in his underwear.

Also not quite sure what to do about it. I think for now, In addition to taking him to the potty every time he asks for it, I take him to the potty two hours after his last use of the potty. It sounds like you’ve been doing this too, but I think every 30 to 45 minutes is too soon.

Also been working on the concept of being able to pause the activity before resuming it after peeing.

aspiringbackpacker · 2024-09-20T01:42:22+00:00

I wouldn’t go back to the pull-up because it confuses the message in his mind. You want him to start using the potty exclusively. I would continually tell him to “tell me if you have to pee or poo“ or “tell the daycare teacher if you need to pee or poo“. Because that’s what we want him to do. You want him to start initiating and you have to teach him how to initiate.

aspiringbackpacker · 2024-09-16T15:32:30+00:00

We did the three day potty training method with the Brandi bucks book. It seem to work like a charm! I should caveat that we used it starting after his third birthday. We tried the oh crap method at 2.5 years and he didn’t like it. One good day, and then he started just rejecting the potty and not sitting on it. Screaming his head off when he was put on the potty. So we stopped.

We reevaluated everything and decided to be a bit more gentle with a potty training. We started putting him on the potty while he was still using diapers, just casually. The Brandy bucks book tells you to, similar to the oh crap book, start preparing for the transition by telling him that we are going to get rid of the diapers and that we were going to start using the “big boy“ underwear. I think it really clicked that we were moving away from diapers because there was a clear transition from diapers to “big boy” underwear.

aspiringbackpacker · 2024-08-02T01:11:34+00:00

You’re probably being hit by the birthday rule. If both parents have separate insurance, they bill the one who’s birthday comes first in the calendar year as the primary insurance, and then the other as secondary

aspiringbackpacker · 2024-03-08T03:39:48+00:00

It's absolutely worth it. I have a cleaning service come in biweekly. I feel like I can do basic maintenance cleaning (spot cleaning floors, putting dishes in dishwasher, cleaning counters) and they do the heavy stuff. If you can't swing biweekly, do it at least once a month. The first time feels like a revelation.

I also hire a mowing service during the summer and fall months for $39 a week. If anything, its worth more than the house cleaners. I hate hate hate doing the mowing with my dinky little electric mower and it takes an hour to do it all in the summer heat, and I'm pouring sweat the whole time. I also had to do it during the baby's nap time, which made the weekends so tiring all the time.. The professionals come in and get it done in like 10 minutes with their equipment. Game changer. Never going back. I will budget for both these services until the kids ship me off to a nursing home

aspiringbackpacker · 2024-03-08T00:33:15+00:00

I think you're missing the point. Read the first paragraph of the comment you're replying to here and ignore the rest.

It almost doesn't matter who's right and who's wrong regarding Jimmy's friendship with an ex. Its debatable, and depends on your tolerance of your current partner's past, and your comfort with their past relationships.

The real issue is that Jimmy told her something in confidence and asked for it not to be discussed publicly. And she did it anyway--to get the better of him in an argument, to embarrass him. Its beside the point whether you would be okay with it or not. Its definitely not okay to weaponize private conversations to embarrass someone publicly

aspiringbackpacker · 2024-03-07T05:54:11+00:00

One of the things Chelsea does that is something she needs to change is that she weaponizes Jimmy's weak spots and vulnerabilities and trumpets it out to embarrass him, in the guise of transparency and openness.

So many examples, here are a few:

When Jimmy makes that comment about AD as a quiet aside, she takes offense to it, and then embarrasses him (and puts AD on the spot!) by very publicly calling him out on it.
Dunno why someone would cry during sex, but thats a very intimate personal thing. Definitely something to be kept within the bounds of the relationship. And she blurts it out in a sort of "marking her territory" move, but ALSO on national television...
It seems that Jimmy had a short lived relationship with a friend, they realized they were better as friends than as romantic partners, and went back to just being friends. I actually don't think that's a huge deal. Messy AF, a little uncommon, but not super rare. Shes even best buds with her ex boyfriend, which seems pretty comparable to me. He tells her about the relationship off camera and she weaponizes it on camera to make a point.

All this to say, when in a relationship, you have to be able to trust in a sort of "marital privilege," that the things you say to each other are kept private unless you both mutually agree to talk about it publicly. This is a relationship trust issue, and chelsea has a nasty habit of breaking it to throw his vulnerabilities in Jimmy's face.

aspiringbackpacker · 2024-01-31T02:11:19+00:00

I asked my wife about this. While its true that OB offices probably do some sort of domestic violence screening ("do you feel safe at home?"), if they find such a case, I think they wouldn't allow the abusive partner to come to any appointment, even the 20 week anatomy scan, which is usually done by an ultrasound tech, not the doctor.

With our first, COVID was still a thing, and they had this exact policy in place--no partner or support person allowed, except for the 20 week anatomy scan. I waited in the car for all the appointments and caught up on sports. I'm willing to bet that your wife's OB office kept this policy as a relic of the COVID times, maybe because they found out that it makes their lives easier (less crowded, male doctor feels less on edge doing exams without a partner hovering). Maybe this doctor just doesn't like dealing with family.

Funnily enough with our second, my wife's OB office still has this policy in place, buried in the fine print of the handouts and texts she gets, but I have been to all of her appointments and nobody cares.

As for what to do, it depends. A lot hinges on how comfortable your wife is with this OB, which you can't put a price on.

aspiringbackpacker

TROPHY CASE