Luckily, as accidents go, we got off easy. We were in a very safe vehicle, with the kids and myself fully strapped in properly, and we were not going fast. In this picture, you can see that the dirt on the rims helped bounce the other car off ours.

We had a protected green arrow and light. I looked right to make sure traffic stopped. I looked left to check that traffic stopped also. Three lanes did from where I could see. The fourth and closest to our car did not. I didn't even see him in his lane, so when I looked at the white line to make sure the cars stopped, he was coming up on it but not in my field of vision. I was looking at oncoming traffic to make sure no one ran the red there when he hit on the driver's side front fender.

In pressing on the brakes and shouting "OH. MY. GOD!", our car scraped along his front end, which was completely smooshed in, fluids leaking. His car was positioned in his lane and half of one of the middle ones, our car blocked the other two and a half lanes, when they both came to a stop after impact. I turned to make sure the kids were okay, and promptly started crying. The guy who hit us knocked on the window, but I wasn't ready to talk to anyone until I knew the kids were conscious and okay. Bubba said I scared her when I yelled, and it took a couple moments to make sure they were okay, no bleeding, no pain. I turned off the engine, but left the radio on, and Bubba started singing to a calming Laurie Berkner song, "Moon, moon, moon."

Above picture is the front driver's side wheel. The picture below is the rear driver's side wheel. We slid along his car like a 45-year-old pervert on an 18-year-old drunk girl at a club.

I called Mower and my dad, called the kid's school, and called the police. I could see the damage to the other car in the rearview. I never did see the damage to our car while on the highway. I stayed in the car so the kids wouldn't get upset and want out. My dad brought his video camera, but he's still getting used to it. He ended up recording nothing. I'm very glad for that. If I saw the video of me crying my eyes out worried about the kids, I would start crying all over again.

The ambulance arrived, and we had to decide what was best for the kids. I insisted that they go to the hospital before me. The EMT's said they look fine, no cuts, no bruises, no range of motion problems, no loss of consciousness, not even a tear and they were smiling, talking, singing and recognized everyone without being upset, so to take them in the ambulance would probably freak them out more than the accident because of the neck braces and back boards. I agreed that they could be taken in Dad's new Beemer, in brand new carseats, but they had to go first and not see me get onto the board. My neck felt funny, which was probably just from the seatbelt coming up so tight against it, but what concerned me was the feeling that I wanted to just go to sleep. Better to be safe than sorry, although I hated not having the kids with me and that didn't know if I would pass out or not.

The other guy apologized to Mower, and said the sun was in his eyes and he didn't see the red. Mower and I agree, it was just an accident, and there was no need for anger. The guy was very nice and offered to go get me a bottle of water, but I just wanted to sit in the car until I knew the kids were okay and on their way to the hospital.

Once there, the kids were checked out in a matter of minutes, but for me they took some x-rays, so the wait was a little longer. Turns out I am fine bone-wise, and they sent us all home with a prescription to take it easy and take Darvocet for the soreness for me. I cannot tell you how hearing the words, "The kids are just fine, totally healthy and uninjured" healed my soul.

We went today to get our personal effects out of the car. I am not pleased that when I opened the door, the CD player was on. After they unloaded it from the wrecker, they left the key in the ignition and the battery running for 24 hours. They're going to have to replace the battery, because I am not getting the car back and having the battery die on me and the kids on the highway because of them.

We're going to have to replace both of the carseats, which I was already planning on because I'd rather be safe than sorry. But I saw that Bubba's seat was moved, probably by the force of the accident. The Goldfish on the floor flocked into a school behind a reef of Premium crackers and were not harmed in the accident, thankfully.

Handsome's carseat did not move at all. The insurance company better pay for them to be replaced, or they will be finding them in a tight orifice with the LATCH system secured to their nipples. I would like to take them home and frame them for keeping my kids safe, but the insurance company needs to take possession of them to reimburse us our $400. They don't have any outward signs of being damaged, but on the chance that the plastic has a hairline crack where I can't see it that would cause it to fail in another accident, I will badger them to reimburse us for them and hope they destroy them so someone else won't use them and put their child at risk.

While our car is being repaired, I get to play with this: