So David took Brinley and Jade to Las Vegas for our niece, Alexis's baptism. Taylor went to soccer so Mylee and I took advantage of our time together by getting a hamburger and going to the car wash (which actually scares her to death, but it's easier to clean out the car with less bodies in it. It had to be done.) Let's just say it had been a while. In the 30 minutes I spent there, I learned a few things, and had time to create a blog post in my head since there was only one little 2 year old voice to fill my head with chatter, instead of the usual 4.


I learned the following things:

1. The vacuum will pick up whole pretzels, M&M's, wrappers, and spare change.

2. It will NOT pick up socks, candy stuck to the carpet, markers, and children. Well, socks it will actually pick up, but then the vacuum will clog, stop working, and you will have to move stations quickly and hope no one sees you. And then remind yourself to throw away the mismatched sock later when you find it.

3. If I don't see the mess, it really is still there. I speak of the back of the van, yes. Haven't been back there in a while. Thought the van was "decent". Spent a lot of time back there today. Discovered a lot. See #'s 4, 5, & 6.

4. My adorable children know how to improvise. If there is no paper, something else can be found to color on. The back consoles and cubbies, for example. Tic-tac-toe with X's only, X's always the winner of course, the word "Brinley" written in a pre-schooler's handwriting, several pictures and a little scribbling. It will require a trip to buy a magic eraser at Target to get it off. And I won't be the one doing the scrubbing. But I may take a picture before it comes off. Secretly. Not to be revealed until much, much later in life.

5. The back cubby has been used as a discard bucket for unwanted, chewed up gum for some time now. Better than the carpet. Still not okay. Gross. The culprit will be discovered when they return from Las Vegas. Thankfully it was discovered before summer hit.

6. The little nooks where the seats attach to the floor are the perfect size for crayons. I think I found an entire box today.

7. The thing that is the most fun to vacuum is large piles of small crumbs. And items that "thump" when they get picked up.

8. I had a wee taddy bit of envy come into my mind as I watched the younger couple next to me with their very nice Mercedes, detailing the tires and doing a "quick clean", that probably happened once a week faithfully. And there I was, butt in the air, hair in my face, trying to reach the vacuum to the deepest darkest corners of my mini-van, the most difficult of vehicles to maneuver in. Then I looked at Mylee, and thought about the kids who weren't with me, and who had left fingerprints all over the windows to remind me of them, and gum in the cubbies (still not okay), and writing in the back (also still not okay), and realized I was the lucky one. I left with a smile and a clean van. Yes, van.

Somehow I can hear my parents laughing loudly while reading this, and not because of my witty sense of humor. :)