BROWSE CAR REVIEWS BY:

MAKE & MODEL TYPE LIFESTAGE
Image
MAKE
MODEL
Emily's bio

Emily Hansen: bio

MP: What’s your family situation?
The only thing that’s constant about my family is that it’s in a state of flux. I’m married, but my husband is a National Guard soldier who also has a normal 9-to-5 corporate gig. The frequency of his deployments, however, has made me a single parent a little more often than I expected. We have three children, which occasionally feels like a herd, but most days just feels like a medium-sized clan.

MP: What is your current mom-mobile?
A 2005 Ford Freestyle that I love. I’ve been a Volvo driver, a Yukon XL mom and a Honda Odyssey owner, and this Ford crossover rivals any of those fine mom-mobiles. The mom-feature I use most is the split-folding rear seats. As a mom of three kids with a lot of gear, I love being able to reconfigure the car to fit more kids or more gear, as needed. I also really appreciate the entertainment system (even though I’m one of the meanest moms on the planet and only let my kids watch DVDs if we’re traveling for an hour or more). I’m trying to score myself a different vehicle in the near future, though, because my teenager is now driving and rarely rides in my car anymore. I’m dreaming of a small sport sedan, so I’ll keep you posted.

MP: Do you have a favorite test-car feature?
I’m a sucker for technology. Sometimes I just sit in test cars setting up my phone, programming the nav system and setting the audio controls just the way I like them. It’s a sickness, I know. So I’d say my three most-loved features in a car are a navigation system, an auxiliary input jack (bonus if it’s a USB jack) and -- the only non-techie feature to make the list -- heated seats in the winter.

MP: When you’re not driving your family around, what are you doing?
You seriously don’t want to know. I’m on the school board in my county, which happens to be one of the largest districts in our state, so that keeps me busier than I ever imagined it would when I ran for office. I, of course, also do work for MotherProof.com and occasionally tend to my house.

MP: If you were auditioning for a TV show, what show and role would you try out for?
This might go down as the most obscure choice by any MotherProof-er ever: I would audition for "Chuck" on NBC. I’d love to play a cool chick-spy with true geek skills that rival the show’s namesake. If you’ve never watched it, go look it up now and prepare to love its quirkiness.

MP: What’s your favorite indulgence?
I’m allowed indulgences? In my dream world, I’d take regular trips to the spa, go skiing on the weekends and have a personal chef -- and a lawn boy named Jacques.

MP: What do your kids love about your job?
My kids get a kick out of their role as backseat testers. I have a set of questions I like to ask them about each car, and they’ve become great analysts of things like seat belt receptors and door heaviness. I’m amazed by some of the simplest things that make them happy, like a cupholder in a unique location or even the ability to control their own temperature. Gone are the days when they only looked for an entertainment system.

MP: What beverage lives in your cupholder?
Seltzer water and coffee; they’re both serious addictions for me. I’ve been drinking seltzer for years, as it’s helped me avoid sodas. As far as coffee, I live on coffee and swear it sometimes calms me down and makes me saner.

MP: Where was your favorite family vacation?
Vacation? What’s that? Between my husband’s deployments and my responsibilities, I don’t think we’ve taken any sort of vacation, other than to my parents’ ranch for Thanksgiving or an occasional ski weekend close to home. Anyone want to volunteer some ideas for me? Offer any planning skills? Have a pile of money laying around to donate to my cause? Yeah, I didn’t think so.


resources: Emily loves

more: By Emily

December 18 2008

2009 Chevrolet Traverse LT
See more by Emily

Sign up here to receive our newsletter.