If my six year old son and I are watching TV together, it is a good bet that we are watching TLC.

With TLC’s family friendly shows, like Little People, Big World, that appeal to both kids and moms, Jackson and I can both curl up and enjoy the same program. Considering most of my son’s other interests involve animated battles between good and evil, I am very grateful for TLC!

As I said in Part 1 of my interview with Amy Roloff, I believe The Roloffs are doing an incredible job advocating not only for little people, but for every person who struggles with physical, emotional or mental challenges, just by letting us peek into their very ordinary, yet extraordinary, days.

And the reason I watch Little People, Big World with my son is because it increases his compassion for people who may appear different and broadens his worldview.

I had a GREAT time interviewing Amy!

Amy was so open and friendly that our interview went way longer than I expected. I actually had to break down our interview into SIX segments!

(As I mentioned in Part 1, Amy is one of the nicest, most down to earth people I have ever met. She is completely the kind of woman you would want in your inner circle of friends!)

In December, I published the first three segments in Part 1 and now here are the final three segments in Part 2. (So sorry for the delay between posts. I had intended on publishing Part 2 just a few days later, but with the Christmas rush, I ran out of time. Thank you so much for your patience and understanding.)

In Part 1, Amy introduced us to her family, and answered questions including:

• “With your work, four kids and a hit TV show that tapes in your home do you get any down time?”
• “Was the show one of Matt’s creative ideas?”
• “What was your reaction to having a show about your family’s life?”
• And my son Jackson’s question: “What does it feel like to be a little person?”

Now, in Part 2, Amy answers some of our readers’ questions, including:

• “How many days and weeks of the month do you have the cameras in your home?” from Colleen of Teaching Heart Mom
• “How do you keep patient with Matt’s ‘crazy’ ideas?” from Janine of Life UnScripted

Also here in Part 2, I asked Amy how she deals with the criticism and controversy that comes with media attention.

Amy went into great depth answering this question about how she deals with the negative side of fame, sharing about her feelings, her faith and her parenting.

Personally, I cringe when people criticize The Roloffs. We are all human beings, broken and in need of grace.

I can only imagine how my family would stand up to the scrutiny of cameras following us around. Oh, what people would say about me! I am a flawed human just doing the best I can to parent, work and be a child of God. If my many mistakes were captured on camera and dissected by the masses, I am sure I would come out looking terrible!

So, I was incredibly excited to have the opportunity to affirm Amy and thank her for allowing us viewers into her home. The Roloffs have done so much good through their show and I am grateful that they have been brave enough to do it all!

If you also want to let Amy know you appreciate her and her family, make sure you let her know in the comments! Let’s show The Roloffs some cyber LOVE and let them know that we are grateful for them.

To listen to the first three segments of my interview with Amy, click here to get to Part 1.

For the final three segments of my Podcast with Amy Roloff, including how she deals with criticism and controversy, click on the players below, (the little brown arrows.)

This week our new resident tackler, Jena, is posting tackling a huge project by breaking it down into one hour segments.

Jena, also known as the organizing mommy, blogs at Organized Everyday.

How do you feel about tackling the messiest, most disorderly part of your house?!?

Yeah, just like that! Overwhelmed!!!

Well, I do too sometimes. Every year, when the New Year rolls around, I get this compulsion to organize the bowels of my home, the part I affectionately refer to as: the dungeon.

Combined with the confusion of homeschooling, fitness teaching, mommying, and blogging, I tend to put and shove things in dungeon.

Hey look! There’s the screens from the fall cleanup, and look there a few little sacks of flour along with some crockpots. In other words: complete chaos.

At this point, it is tempting to just walk away, shut out the lights and quit. Don’t!! Let me show you what you can do in just ONE HOUR. That’s all you have to commit to is ONE hour. You can do that, can’t you? Need motivation to get going for just one hour? Read my post on: doing the blitz!

Here’s how you start.

1. Clear a path, sorting trash from treasure. You can even divide two sides of the room into keepers and non-keepers.
2. Make a list of everything that needs to be done.
3. Group like things together.
4. Remove trash.
5. Formulate questions.

This will be a very intense hour. When you make a list of everything that needs to be done (#2) above, make lists of the bigger and smaller projects and how much time you think each will take.
You also have to formulate questions (#5) Such as: Why are we saving that extra water softener? and What are THESE for?

Incidentally, a lot of people get side-tracked at this time. Stay focused. Write the question down; don’t try to solve it. I had 8 questions for my husband when I was done with my first session. I had 3 big projects (taking 6 hours each) and several small projects (taking 1 hour each). Some of the big and small projects will fall by the wayside, depending on whether or not you actually need or want to do them.

From here, you can schedule those little work sessions around your busy life. If you can work in one hour sessions, you can get the job done! This picture is taken after the initial sweep was done. I still have many other projects to conquer, but it felt good to get this far.

If you would like some encouragement on organizing (with your dose of daily humor), you can visit my blog: organized everyday.
The picture of the funny lady at the top of the post, is actually a relative of mine. I’ll give you some information of her there also. Happy tackling.

What are you tackling this week? Link up and show off!

If you tackled a project this week, just add a comment and add your link below.

Happy tackling ladies…

I have no scientific data to prove it, but I’d bet that in a list of most popular New Year’s Resolutions, “Getting Organized” would rank pretty close to “Losing Weight”. It certainly did on my list.

Is getting more organized one of your goals for 2009?

A huge goal of mine this year is to more effectively manage my projects and keep my task list more organized. And I’m excited because I’m already well on my way.

As a work-at-home mom with two online stores, a network of blogs, and two new exciting websites in the works, it’s clear that I need some effective software to organize and manage my business, my family and my life.

But in my previous life as a software developer in the business consulting world, I spent far too much time updating Microsoft Project schedules. And I miss MS Project about as much as I miss the inhumane overcrowding of the morning commuter trains.

I’m an entrepreneur. I like to see new opportunities and create exciting projects. Sure, those projects need to be ‘managed’, but I don’t want my whole day spent dirty in the depths of MS Project.

It’s been six years since I rode a commuter train and I haven’t opened an MS Project file since.

No, I need a mobile, quick and easy, Web 2.0 app that I and my ever-growing team of work-at-home moms can launch on whatever desktop, laptop or iPhone we have with us at the moment.

As a work-at-home mom, I’m constantly juggling between my desktop, laptop and iPhone, so I need my tasks stored online.

And I can’t force my team members to struggle with the complexities of MS Project or another similar monster application.

So when I heard of an iPhone compatible application called Task2Gather, I was intrigued. It’s a free online service for task and project management that requires no training.

I soon discovered Task2Gather is perfect for me as a mom as well as a business woman.

With Task2Gather I can manage work projects as well as create personal tasks for my shopping lists, household chores and family responsibilities. I can share and assign tasks to teammates and to my dear hubby — those who don’t have iPhones simply use the web-based version.

After I hopped over to the iPhone app store and for 99 cents downloaded it, I started adding tasks.

It is dead easy to use.

On my iPhone, I immediately began creating projects with tasks and subtasks. I then went to the website and signed in to the full online version. I easily invited new participants to my projects, and assigned them to tasks.

My team and I are thrilled and thankful to have discovered Task2Gather. It’s simple, yet powerful. And, it’s basically free.

The iPhone download is currently only $0.99 and the basic online application is free to use. I believe they will soon also offer a paid subscription with advanced features such as reporting, attaching files and more.

Since Task2Gather is a new application that is perfect for moms and business women, the developers asked us to get your feedback. So, for a chance to win $200 cash, you can sign up for FREE at Task2Gather and test it out.

Then come back here and leave us a comment telling us what you like and what improvements you’d suggest.

If you have an iPhone, you’ll love that you can download the iPhone app for only $0.99 and manage your tasks on the go. (Testing the iPhone application is not required to enter the contest. The only requirement for entering the contest is that you test out the free online version.)

I think after your test run, you’ll agree that whatever your business, if you’re a mom, your life can be simplified with Task2Gather.

Remember, to enter to win, test out Task2Gather and leave your feedback in a comment below.

If you already subscribe to our newsletter and/or our RSS feed and/or have our button on your site, you qualify for additional entries. Also, if you tweet or spread the word via facebook, your blog, etc., just leave additional comments letting us know and you will have additional entries. (Your comments are your entries.)

This giveaway is open for entry until Friday January 30th, 2009. The winner will be announced on Saturday January 31st, 2009. This giveaway is open to US and Canadian addresses.

Please see our site’s Terms and Conditions of Use for a complete list of our Contest and Giveaway Rules. This promotion is void where prohibited.

I count myself among the many women out there who have gained significantly more techie knowledge over the last couple of years than I ever thought I would have. Through blogging I’ve learned about HTML coding, uploads, feeds and things I never thought I’d know about (or even care to know). My husband gave me a Logitech Squeezebox Boom Network Music Player for Christmas, which involved several steps of installation that allowed this innovative music player to access internet radio and my music library as stored on my harddrive. Instead of pleading ignorance and letting “the man” do it, I figured it out myself. I’ve also set up wireless printers and video game systems, not to mention tried (tried, I say) to diagnose and repair problems on my computer. Being a housewife isn’t what it used to be.

Even five years ago, a woman could consider herself a domestic goddess if she kept the laundry done and managed to get a hot meal on the table a few days a week while also keeping up with social schedules and homework. But now we all need a rudimentary technical knowledge to keep our homes in good working order, and if we have more than basic skills, we can really add value to our family.

No Starch Press offers “the finest in geek entertainment” with books about Lego Robot kits, networking and more. How to Be a Geek Goddess: Practical Advice for Using Computers with Smarts and Style by Christina Tynan-Wood provides the best in technical information written by a woman, for women. She doesn’t dumb it down, but she doesn’t try to show off her expertise with confusing terms and acronyms. This book gave me practical information about

• Buying a computer
• Making the most of your home WIFI network
• Tips to keep your computer running quickly (and notice I didn’t use that confusing power word optimization, nor did she)
• Customizing your own start page and using free scheduling tools

For those less familiar with some of the basics, this book also covers

• Getting online
• Social networking: blogs, facebook etc
• Internet shopping (with sites and tips that were helpful to me, a veteran shopper as well

This informative and highly readable book would make a great gift for your mom or grandmother who has just gotten online or perhaps wants to go beyond just using the computer for email. Because of the more advanced information, it also makes a great reference for any home library.

You can check out the chapter on shopping yourself right now. For the latest information, check out author Christina Tynan-Wood’s blog Geek Girlfriends.

We have two copies of How to Be a Geek Goddess to give away. Leave a comment if you’d like to win, and check this column next week to see if you won.

Due to legal restrictions, this promotion is not available in Arizona or Quebec. Please see our site’s Terms and Conditions of Use for a complete list of our Contest and Giveaway Rules.

The winner of last week’s book, The Centurion’s Wife, is #97 Anita. You should have received an email from me. If not, please send your address to 5minutesforbooks (at) gmail DOT com.

I am excited to announce the following LUCKY winners:

The 10 winners of the MiriyaLOK Diaper bag are:

• #88 onemotherslove
• #302 Jennifer McCullar
• #64 Cheryl F.
• #10 Jill H.
• #105 Elizabeth
• #205 Cheryl F.
• #324 Kimberly
• #73 Susan
• #239 stampedwithgrace
• #117Stacey @ tree, root and twig

The winner of a Nintendo DS from Ciao is

• #120 Mom on the Run

The winners of the $100.00 VISA Gift Card from Clorox:

• #198- brandy w
• #46 Julie Neff
• #346 Pamb Wesley
• #692 Kelly Ann T.
• #21 AmyG

Hot Ice, Cool Sounds winners include:

• #46 Cat
• #189 Mike
• #78 Susan
• #21 Linda
• #207 Mary

Wow! Now that’s a lot of winners!

The holiday season has come to a close and we are all slowly starting to get back into the groove of things.

For us, this means we need to sit down and find ourselves a new editor for Around the Blogosphere. For those that have expressed interest, please be patient a tad longer. We will be narrowing the applicants down soon.

In the meantime, we wanted to be sure that our lovely readers didn’t miss out on the fun around the blogoshpere.

ANNOUNCEMENTS
CONTESTS & SWEEPSTAKES

• Geezeo wants to help the 50 million Americans between the ages of 18-44 that will make money-related New Year’s resolutions. They offer tools that help people better understand their money, set up easy-to-use budgets, and achieve their financial goals.

  In the days between January 2, 2009 and March 31, 2009, Geezeo users can win a very grand prize in the Great Geezeo Bailout: Geezeo will pay someone $6k in cash to pay off their bills!!

• The Top 50 Mom Blogs of 2008 have been announced at MomDot. We are honored to have made the list. Be sure to check out which of your favorite Mommy Bloggers made the cut.

BLOG GIVEAWAYS

For Everyone

• Red Sox Mommy Zenses games for DS (1/6 US Only)
• Red Sox Mommy Vaseline Clinical Therapy Lotion (1/16 US only)
• Sassy Fraz 1 Box of Personalized Fruit Roll-Ups (1/6 US Only)
• Northwest Mom Finds Made By Moxie felted flower pin kit (1/13 US/Canada)
• Northwest Mom Finds Plum Creek Mercantile reusable snack bags or bulk food bags (1/14 US/Canada)
• Quiverfull Family a print version of Dining on a Dime, a frugal recipe book that features money saving tips as well. (1/9 US Only)
• Jolly Mom Skin MD Skincare (1/11 US Only)
• From Cribs to Car Keys Hooray for the Underdog journal and notepad (1/5 US Only)
• Nurse Mommy Words to Live By Tee (1/6 US Only)
• just a mom’s take on things Three coupons for free bottles of Clorox 2 (1/7 US Only)
• just a mom’s take on things Matisse & Jack’s Bake-at-Home Snacks (4 boxes to one winner) (1/8 US Only)
• Design Baby 6.8fl oz bottles of Vaseline Clinical Therapy Lotion (4 winners) (1/9 US/Canada)
• Becoming Me is having a Birthday Bash with a prize a day (and one to grow on) (Begins 1/5 ends 1/12)
• SAHM Reviews Pledge Natural Beauty Furniture Polish (1/7 US Only)
• SAHM Reviews Zenses Ocean AND Zenses Rainforest for the DS (1/7 US Only)

Just for Women

• Nurse Mommy a Pashmina Shawl from Nimli (1/8)

Just for Kids

• Thrifty & Chic Mom Itsy Bitsy Bracelets children’s bracelet (1/9 US Only)
• Sassy Frazz Zaki (story telling) Chameleon Plush, 6 reader books, and 6 activity books (1/12 US Only)
• A Frog In My Soup Sinupret gift packs that include a bottle of Sinupret (1/5 US Only)
• Northwest Mom Finds Custom item from Oola Children’s Clothing (1/12, US/Canada)
• Glimpse $20.00 Little Treehouse Gift Certificate (1/5 US/Canada)

Baby Essentials

• Thrifty & Chic Mom O Yikes slingback diaper bag (1/9 US Only)
• Design Baby Wee Gallery Art Cards for Baby (1/16 US/Canada)

Books for Grown-Ups

• Sassy Frazz A book from Candlewick Press (1/6 US Only)

COOL WEBSITES

• “A Mother’s Promise” is a Facebook community supported by Evenflo, and it’s focused on bringing moms together in a quest to keep children safe while on the road. With so many people traveling for the holidays, it seems like the perfect time to raise awareness. Supporting “A Mother’s Promise” is free, super simple, and only takes a moment.

  If you already have a Facebook account, just visit “A Mother’s Promise,” and post on the Wall, pledging to your children to do everything within your power to protect them. (There’s also a really cool video of other moms making their individual promises – it definitely made me a little teary!) If you don’t have a Facebook account yet, now’s the time! Once you’re a member, just search for “A Mother’s Promise” and post your promise.

  If you would like to have a post on your blog featured in 5 Minutes Around The Blogosphere, please send us an email with the actual link to your post at features5minutesformom at gmail dot com and we’ll see if it can be arranged.

*** Monthly Feature Column ***

Positively Speaking
Building Assets in your Kids

by Kelly Curtis, M.S., author of Empowering Youth: How to Encourage Young Leaders to Do Great Things.

‘Tis the season to set resolutions. I have a few and you probably do as well. Your kids might even get in on the goal-setting.

But have you considered marking January 1 as the date you systematically encourage your kids to increase responsibility? Just like we are reminded to change the smoke detector batteries, the first of the year is an easy-to-remember date for ratcheting the responsibilities in your household.

We know that giving children responsibility is important. It makes them contributing members of the family and it boosts self-esteem by providing tangible evidence that they can accomplish a goal, even if it means a broken dish now and then. Each January 1, our kids are one year older, and potentially one year better capable of pitching in.

Search Institute has identified Responsibility as one of the 40 Developmental Assets. Research shows these are characteristics of healthy, caring, resilient kids. The more assets youth have, the more likely they’ll resist risky behaviors in the future.

Our family has done this for several years now, but our kids’ responsibilities increase on their birthdates, rather than the first of the year. (My son’s birthday is today,in fact.) As the date approaches, we begin the discussion about what chore they’ll plan to add. For several weeks, the kids consider the responsibilities they might enjoy for the coming year, and negotiate with each other in case the siblings want to trade each other. Sometimes they trade-in a chore they didn’t like or trade-up to a daily chore from a weekly one, rather than simply adding another.

Although it’s more of an art than a science, we are able to work it out, and our daughter (who is two years older) claims two more jobs than our son, earning $2 more than him weekly as well. Each year when their chores increase, their allowances follow suit.

Our kids are always responsible for their own stuff, rooms, and personal hygiene. Together we also do a weekly clean-sweep through the house, and we regularly ask them to pitch in with other household needs as well. The “chore” discussion is above and beyond this basic expectation. What I mention here might be more or less than you expect from your kids, but what’s probably most important is that we promote responsibility, and that it grows with age.

For us, this year’s chore change-up looked something like this:

12-year-old daughter
Last year: empty dishwasher (daily), bring in the mail (daily), and clean the litter box (weekly)
This year: added switching the laundry to and from the dryer, relieving me from the endless dinging of the dryer chime.

10-year-old son
Last year: round up the garbage from throughout the house and get it to the curb on garbage day (this chore was assigned to him after I fired him from the toilet cleaning job he chose last year.)
This year: add snow-shoveling, where he’ll work hard for his allowance for four months, and then take it easy the rest of the year.

You’ll notice that none of these chores require the white glove test. They’re simply done, or not done. And since the kids choose them, they can’t complain much — they’re fair, if not necessarily equal. For more tips on how we deal with chores, read this post from last year — it was a part of Don’t Try This at Home’s Chore Carnival, (where Melanie told me my kids could be cleaning the cat box;)

This month, please share one or two responsibilities your children have mastered, or a chore you’d like to add. Be sure to indicate the ages of your children.

Perhaps we can help each other and challenge our children to New Year’s responsibilities. Believe it or not, your child may appreciate the fact you have enough confidence in him or her to turn over the task.

Thanks for joining in to build assets in your kids! I look forward to seeing you again next month for Positively Speaking.

Kelly Curtis is a Wisconsin school counselor and author of Empowering Youth: How to Encourage Young Leaders to Do Great Things. To read more about Kelly, please visit her Weblog, Pass the Torch or follow her on Twitter.

What are your 2009 New Year’s Resolutions?

A few of my resolutions (or goals as I like to think of them) are:

1. Enjoy each day and savor each moment with my girls.
2. Lose a few holiday pounds and get in shape. (Although I lost all of my baby weight last year, I’m still hopelessly out of shape. Must. Exercise.)
3. Organize and manage my projects more effectively. (Psst… I’ve got a fantastic solution for this… check back Monday.)
4. Take more video of my girls. (They’re growing up too fast… I need to capture more.)
5. Read and comment on more blogs. (I’m so busy that I don’t spend enough time enjoying the blogosphere and commenting.)

Now it’s your turn… what do you resolve to do this year?

It’s Resolution Time Ladies…

Did “losing weight” make your 2009 New Years Resolution list?

I’m betting most women have either losing weight or getting in better shape somewhere on their lists.

Yes, losing a few holiday pounds and getting in shape are right at the top of my 2009 list.

Last year, my big resolution was to get rid of all my baby weight. My second baby, Sophia, was born on Oct 12th, 2007, and I still had weight to lose from my first pregnancy!

Gradually by summer 2008, I met my goal and was back to my pre-pre-pregnancy weight.

Since I loathe having my photo taken, I don’t have much documentation of my weight loss. All I can find at the moment is a photo of Janice and me when we were 37 weeks pregnant in September 2007 (we were due 4 days apart) and a photo of us in July 2008.

Visual Motivation

I have to admit, I had a rather unique motivating tool that helped me reach my goal. I had the visual motivation of…

My twin sister, Janice — A skinnier version of me!!!

You can see in our 37 week pregnancy photo how Janice (who had been extremely disciplined with her diet during her pregnancy) was still very tiny at 37 weeks. She had her baby at 38 weeks and quickly was back into her old clothes. But my weight took longer to shed.

Seeing what I could look like if I cut back on the banana bread definitely motivated me.

Okay, so we can’t give you a skinny twin sister to motivate you to be thinner… BUT we have found something even better!!!

What we found to help you lose weight is a site called www.weightview.com and it’s all about Visual Motivation.

The idea is simple. And it is FREE! You send in a photo of yourself and tell them your weight loss goal. They modify the photo to show you what you could look like after you reach your goal.

You use that “after” photo to motivate you to lose weight.

And, since support from friends is key to your success, the weightview site has a great community where you can share your journey and have fun while getting healthy.

Testing WeightView.com

We’ve had a few of our readers sign up at www.weightview.com and submit their photos. We’re going to follow these ladies and, at the end of the month, we’ll check in to see how much closer they are to their goals.

WeightView.com Will Give One of You A Wii Fit

So now… what about you?

Do you want to lose weight?

Would you like to win a Wii Fit or a cash prize of $160?

Okay, here’s what you need to do:

• FIRST: Sign up at www.weightview.com and submit your photo. It is FREE.
• THEN: Leave a comment here telling us you’ve signed up.

  If you want extra chances to win, you may earn additional entries for the following:

  1. Subscribe to our Feed
  2. Sign up for our Newsletter
  3. Add our 5M4M button in your sidebar. Click here for banner codes.
  4. Write a post and link back to this contest on your blog
  5. Spread the word to your friends via facebook, twitter, etc.

  Simply leave your additional comments for each of the extra qualifying steps. Your comment telling us you signed up at weightview.com is your first entry, so if you qualify for the additional five entries, make sure you leave six comments in total.

This giveaway is open for entry until Friday Jan 16th. We’ll announce the winner on Saturday, Jan 17th.

Please make sure to check our site and your email address to see if you have won the prize. We must receive your reply within 5 business days.

(And… heads up… we’ll be running a second giveaway for another Wii Fit in the last week of January. The second giveaway will be limited to participants of this current giveaway. To be eligible for the second giveaway you must first enter this giveaway by leaving a comment and signing up with weightview.com.)

This contest is open to US and Canadian addresses but the Wii Fit prize option is only available to US shipping addresses. A Canadian winner will only be eligible for the cash prize.

If the winner selects the Wii Fit prize, the Wii Fit will be purchased by weightview.com and shipped to the winner’s mailing address. (Shipping charges will be covered by weightview.com.) If the winner chooses the cash prize, the winner can choose to receive $160 USD by check or by paypal.

Please see our site’s Terms and Conditions of Use for a complete list of our Contest and Giveaway Rules. This promotion is void where prohibited.

All clear? So this giveaway is open for entry until Friday Jan 16th and we’ll announce the winner on Saturday, Jan 17th.

Then, for the rest of January, stay motivated with your “after” photo and the weightview.com supportive community.

And in the last week of January, come back here and tell us your opinion of the weightview.com system for another chance to win a Wii Fit.

In the case of an emergency how prepared would you be?

Did you know that upwards of 15 states have had a significant portion of their population lose power for a day, and in many cases, more? Much more.

How about those who have had to grab their bug out bags and flee fires and hurricanes?

What about the families who have lost jobs? Their homes? The shirts off their backs in the stock market?

It’s been a rough year. And not just in the USA. Worldwide riots, floods, earthquakes have left their marks.

If you found yourself in one of these situations how prepared would you be?

Tammy has started this great discussion over at 5 Minutes for Special Needs. Families with special needs have extra work to get prepared, but all families need to take preparation seriously.

Jump over and join the discussion…

Next month, I will have the pleasure of driving around town in a shiny Volkswagen Routan.

Unfortunately, I will only have it for a week. I am sure that giving it back will be very tough. There may even be tears. No, not really, I hope.

I don’t currently drive a minivan. Instead, I drive a blazer that my family of five crams into. The two car seats and booster don’t leave even an inch of extra space in the back seat. But that’s alright, I don’t mind. I have never seen myself as much of a minivan person, BUT I have a feeling that the Routan will convert me.

Next month, I will post all about my week long experience with the Volkswagen Routan. We are even planning on taking a weekend road trip to test out some of its great features like the touch screen navigation system, heatable seats, power-folding third row seats, keyless entry with remote start and rearview camera.

I hear there is a Routan boom. Parents everywhere are having children just to purchase a Volkswagen Routan. With its sleek design and wonderful features, I can see why.

For fun, you can even use the Routan BabyMaker3000, like I did. Using an image of myself and my hubby, here is our Routan Baby.