Life really does get in the way sometimes even when you try to be organized, and on top of things. It was a busy week here. It always is. That’s the story of our lives with kids, isn’t it??
Those that know me, in real-life, have most likely walked up to my mom van, and been told to walk away, or close their eyes. While my house isn’t spotless, it’s pretty clean. I cannot say the same for my van- it’s downright embarrassing. When we bought it a couple of years ago, I swore we would keep it clean. It may not have been a brand-new car, but at just 3 years old, it was the newest car we had ever purchased, and I was very happy to have it. Obviously, I was kidding myself. Between the rush of day-to-day life, and traveling for sports, the things that can be found in my van on any given day are ridiculous.
60+ random things in my mom
taxi
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- shriveled, dried up baby carrots
- random, matchless shoes that no longer fit anyone in our family
- crayons
- puzzle pieces
- sippy cups filled with mold
- garbage, so much garbage
- dog hair
- remnants of art projects that never made it in the house
- dried-out, open markers
- marker lids
- permission slips, physical forms, doctor’s excuses– important papers that I spent hours searching for in the house and book bags.
- rocks
- sticks
- legos— how are they EVERYWHERE??!
- naked cabbage patch kids
- socks
- soccer balls
- shin guards
- more socks
- no less than 12 boxes worth of empty juice pouches without the straws
- the straws to said juice pouches
- hockey sticks
- hockey tape
- hockey pucks
- water bottles— gross, that’s as far as I’m going to go
- nintendo ds games
- puzzle pieces– Who does a puzzle in the car?
- bouquets of dried up “flowers”
- matchbox cars– my kids don’t even really play with matchbox cars. I have no idea how so many make their way into our van.
- $394 in pennies (ok, so maybe not that much, but a lot)
- fossilized french fries
- single, loose batteries
- completely unidentifiable objects
- m&ms
- keys that I have never seen and serve no purpose, yet are attached to key chains
- more garbage
- crumbs for days
- dirty silverware (this may be the reason we only ever have 5 forks in the house)
- stickers
- apple cores (My children are apparently animals)
- stuffed animals
- ninja turtles
- McDonald’s toys
- Burger King toys
- Burger King crowns (I swear we don’t even eat that much fast food)
- more garbage
- more crayons
- more socks (my children clearly loathe socks)
- bank lollipop wrappers
- bank lollipop sticks with more garbage stuck to the ends of them
- empty gatorade bottles
- hundreds of dollars in play money (if only it were real)
- mini hockey sticks
- board game pieces
- books
- goldfish crackers
- book bags, drawstring bags, lunch boxes filled with completely unrelated objects that I haven’t been able to find for months, that do not belong to my children.
- sand
- an entire cantaloupe
- every flashlight we have ever owned
- MY earbuds (NO, I was not the one who put them there)
- more crumbs
- more garbage
- more pennies
- more juice pouch straws (these all deserve several mentions)
I love my children dearly, but they’re gross. What are the odds they will grow out of this stage??!! If you’ve got any tips for my van, leave them in the comments. I can’t imagine I’m the only one with a messy van- although, I’m pretty sure we can all agree, mine is the grossest.xoxo,
lorrin
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Danielle says
This is too funny! I’ve found some pretty crazy things in just the 4 years I’ve been a mom and I’m sure there’s more to come. My latest has been about 3-4 of my sons hats. They make it to the car and get pushed under the seat, to later be found by mom.
andrea says
LOL so true! I found a month old PB&J the other day. YUMMMM
Jessa says
This is hilarious! Let’s just say that I’m afraid of the 3rd row in my SUV. Lord only knows what’s back there!
Andrea says
So funny and so true!! My car is a mess and my baby is only 3 months old
lorrin sell | photographer of wild things says
andrea, just wait… lol!!
lorrin sell | photographer of wild things says
jessa, the back of my van is the worst!!!
lorrin sell | photographer of wild things says
andrea, that sounds delicious!! 😉
lorrin sell | photographer of wild things says
danielle, i bet you wondered where they were!! haha!
Aileen (Aileen Cooks Blog) says
This made me laugh out loud! My kids are filthy animals, too. My husband always gives me a hard time about the state of my car (especially the food mess), but he never has kids in his care and really doesn’t understand the amount of food they Constantly Eat!
CAROL J. BRANNAN says
Haha, that’s very funny! You must have a hard time to clean up with these things.You can bring some paper bags along in case your children eat something and they don’t know where to throw them away. Well, you know kids love playing around and always to be messy. We can’t control them. Anyway, you can let them clean up the minivan together on the weekend so that you won’t be annoyed when seeing your van in a dirty state!
Jennifer says
How funny! We would never know what have we put in the car until we have spare time to check it out. How busy a mom is! Thanks for sharing such a funny post. It makes me laugh so hard.
lorrin sell | photographer of wild things says
Right, Jennifer??? I never know what’s hidden in the back of my van until I have the time to crawl back there and clean it!!
Rosie M. Jordan says
So funny the post is! Even though I clean the car twice a month, there are tons of crazy things can be found. It’s a hard time when I clean, but it is also the funniest time I spend with my kids. Thanks for the share! It brings me a lot of laughs.
lorrin sell | photographer of wild things says
ha! rosie, i wish i could clean the car twice a month. you go, girl!! i’m glad this made you laugh! 🙂
Gabrielle says
My mom had a strict policy of “you bring it in,you take it out.” She hates dirty cars, so we were trained to clean up our messes or we’d get in trouble. Now I keep my own car relatively clean and empty. Lead by example. If you leave stuff in the car, they will too:P
(my dad’s truck on the other hand smells of “man funk” and is a bottomless pit of waterbottles)