The Muffin Mash

I spent some time yesterday re-arranging my piles. I started in the laundry room and got the counter cleared off. Of course those piles just got moved to become piles in other rooms. Then I decided to do a thorough cleaning inside the van. Well, I didn't really decide that. One thing just led to another. All the toys and junk that were piled in the van got piled onto the counter in the laundry room. I couldn't let that nice clean space just go to waste!

Every time I clean the van out I make a new rule that the kids will not be allowed to eat in it. This lasts for about two days. Then we will be in a hurry to get to the club and I'll have them eat a sandwich in the van on the way there. Or I'll make muffins to eat while we're shopping garage sales. Why do four year olds think muffins taste better when they're broken into a thousand pieces? The kids are definately not allowed to have soda or drinks other than water in the van. So why did it take me a half hour to clean the spills out of the carpet?

After spending two hours scrubbing the carpet, the floor mats, the walls, the seats, the ceiling (how did that red stuff get up there?) and the windows, I got the van put back together and it looks pretty good. There is now a plastic tub in there for the kids' coloring, one for garbage and one for my travel supplies. I also put a big storage tub in the back for groceries so they're not flying all over the place on the way home. I had a gallon of milk leak back there a month ago and I about burst into tears. There is nothing worse than the smell of spoiled milk inside a car in July. If you ever get a drop of milk spilled in your car, you will never be able to get the smell out. I think auto manufacturers are starting to make the spoiled milk smell a standard feature in family vans now. Luckily the milk only got on the mat so I was able to take it out and wash it.. I won't have that problem again now that I have something in the trunk to put the groceries in. It should also be great for wet winter boots, swimming towels and my six year old's rock and stick collection. (Grandpa, do you like rocks?)