I just returned from 2 weeks in Florida with 4 kids (no hubby)...and I drove from Indiana. (Yup, always been a risk taker) I have often joked that at times I feel like I live out of my car. Well, now that is literally true. One could live for a solid week off of the food remains in my car at this very moment. Lift a booster and put together a smorgasboard. Cheerios, goldfish, swedish fish, trail mix...an occaisional Mcdonald's fry. If you have a few moments you may find a nugget or two...a half-finished drink box (is there any other kind?)...or maybe a wad of gum. Today I gave my 8 year old chopsticks to fish out tater tots from between the back seats. Tater Tots are one of the hardest things to remove, but with chopsticks..sometimes you can just spear them before they fall apart. If you leave them there a few days..a light crust forms and the chopstick will penetrate the shell but pulverize the insides. This shreading of course makes them more difficult to remove. The key is to get them out quik...but not too quik..(otherwise there is no crisp shell to cling to the stick and you just mush them all around, not a pretty sight...)and chopsticks work great. They also work great on those 30.00 each Nintendo DS games that are the size of a postage stamp. You know the ones that the kids get and then immediately drop between the seats/out the window/down the toilet? They are surp hard to remove but seem to suck up great with the car wash vacuums. Swoooosh...oops there goes another 30 bucks...I keep putting in quarters and loosing 30.00. Especially with the economy the way it is..I am thinking this is not such a great past time. I could do better at the "claw" in the local Red Robin. Of course, there is the sadistic man that wedges those stuffies as deep as possible so that they manage to climb by their toenails to their comrades while you scream "Ohhhhh, ohhhhhhh, come on!!" Seriously, what kind of person do you look for to do THAT job...that disappoint children (and childish mommies) everywhere job. But ah, I digress again...
Growing up in upstate NY, and attending college in VT, I am well aware these vehicular provisions could come in handy in the coming winter months. Summer vacation started two days ago...but my kiddos, like their mom...were being proactive.
The trip to Florida, the state of the car, etc. are contributing to the state of Mommy's Mind today...
