I Love a Clean Car! March 30, 2009

I love having a clean car.  I’m really picky about it… to the point that I usually get the full car wash (interior and exterior) at least once a month.  Sadly the cost keeps going up for this car wash.  When I had my Altima, it was simple: Get the Special Wash for only $15.  Then we had the Element, which was classified as an SUV, so that incurred the $1 SUV upcharge.

Now we have the Mazda 5…  It is probably the same size as my Altima in length.  (Yes, it may have a little more space inside, but not much.)  But because it has sliding doors,  I have to incur the $2 upcharge for a minivan.   Ridiculous!  If you look at our car compared to an Odyssey or Sienna, it is much smaller.  True minivans are cavernous!   Ours is a Mini Minivan.  But the sliding doors are all they look at.  I’ve complained a couple of times, telling them I’ll accept the SUV upcharge, but not the minivan.  I usually hope that I am there the same time as a true minivan to be able to do a side-by-side comparison.  You may wonder why I’m such a stickler about that $1, but when you go as often as I do, you have to save where you can.

After our rainy and muddy drive through West Virginia on Saturday for the Green Home Tour (put on by the Potomac Audobon Society and some great homeowners willing to let dozens of people tour their homes), our car needed a thorough cleaning.  The car had mud everywhere.  Think of a trip to the beach when you get sand in every crevice, but just replace the sand with mud.  I tried to be good money-wise, so I went to one of the gas station car washes just to get the exterior cleaned (Note that there are no more discounts for car washes when you buy a full tank of gas.  What happened to that?)  It was ok.  Not really worth the $7.  When I got home, I had to do more, and since I had already spent the $7, I couldn’t go spend more to get the full car wash.  So I cleaned…  And I cleaned…  And I cleaned…

And now…  I have a very clean car!  AND I felt awesome about it.  I get such satisfaction from cleaning.  I hate it in the process, but when I’m done, I love it.  It’s the same with cleaning my house.  If only I had the time to do thorough cleanings every week, I’d be good to go.  This whole event may have convinced me to wash my car myself during the warm season, though.  (I’ll definitely be back fighting the minivan upcharge in the winter!)

I’m still not convinced that our hard work cleaning our house and the satisfaction we get from it is better than paying someone else to clean it, but for now, that’s all we’ve got.   The quick dustings, the daily quick vaccuming and the serious vaccuming on the weekends, the “whenever I have 10 extra minutes in the morning” bathroom cleanings (that should happen more often!)….  It’s good enough for now, but certainly not ideal considering what a neat freak I am.  My dream in life is to be able to afford a cleaning service.   Is it sad that that is one of my big dreams?  Forget a European vacation or a new deck… I just want to come home from work and see a sparkling clean house without having to do more than write a check.  That’s luxury to me.

Spring is Here! March 23, 2009

With Spring comes new growth, right?  Well, according to Mason she has been growing every day since she’s been eating her fruits and vegetables.  Unfortunately she only eats fruits, and only apples or applesauce at that, but still, if you ask her, she is growing! 

Cooper is also growing.  The kid is almost in 2T at 15 months!  I wish I had tracked when Mason was wearing different sizes.  For our family, the clothes sizes have never corresponded to the age they are when they wear them.  We have big babies, what can I say?  I love the rolls, the protruding belly, the chubby cheeks…  They are perfect in my eyes.

Here are some images of how we rang in Spring’s first weekend…

Didn't our coaches tell us never to sit on the ball? Oh well.

 

Cooper got into the soccer action too.

 

A new hiding place! (thank goodness for the flash or else you wouldn't have even seen them)

What Have I Done? March 13, 2009

“See Mommy. My voice is as pretty as Gabriella’s.”  This is what Mason said to me as we sung along to “Do Re Mi” from the Sound of Music.  Maria used to be Mason’s hero.  I guess she still is, along with Mary Poppins.   But there is a new girl in her life that is getting just as much attention.  Gabriella from the High School Musical series.  Yes, I did it.  I let her watch it.  Honestly, I am a fan of the HSM series.  I have bought a few songs from the movies on iTunes, and Mason and I dance and sing to them together.  (Jeremy, the truth is finally out.  I can’t hide it any longer!  I’m sorry if this embarrasses you.)

She’s barely seen them (bits and pieces of HSM1 and 2, and HSM 3 only once), but they resonated with her for some reason.  After 2 years of drinking Danimals yogurt every single morning, she finally clued in to the fact that the High School Musical stars are on the boxes – not the actual yogurt containers, just the boxes.  Now we have to get the Gabriella yogurt.  I was made aware of this fact when I bought strawberry the other day and was told, “Mommy, these have Troy on them.  I want the girl yogurt.”  I said, “Mason, they are all the same.  It’s just on the box.”  But that did not cut it.  She’s been counting down the days of finishing up the “Troy yogurt” so that Mommy can go to the store and buy the “Gabriella yogurt.”

Honestly, I don’t mind her love of HSM.  Kids love what they love, and if it allows me to sing and dance along with her to songs I enjoy, that’s good by me.  What bugs me the most is how affected she already is by advertising.  Disney does an amazing job of advertising, and it is very clear that kids are greatly mesmerized by it.  We try to not get sucked in as well, but it is hard.  Princess soup, Cars crackers, Madagascar stickers, etc.  It’s amazing how much of this stuff is out there.  Yesterday, I decided to buy Noodle-O’s soup rather than Princess soup in hopes that she gets more excited about the amount of noodles in the soup than the shape of the noodles.  We’ll see how that goes.

I’ll also be curious to see how Cooper is affected by it all.  Right now, he has no idea what he’s watching, and he doesn’t seem to clue in to the advertising (at least I don’t think so!).  With a girl, we’re dealing with all the princess stuff and musicals.  What will it be with him?  Will he get into Star Wars to make his Daddy happy?  Will it be dinosaurs?  Or will it be Cars and Buzz Lightyear?  Right now, he loves carrying a princess around more than a car or truck, so….

Words to Mason and Cooper March 5, 2009

Last year for Mother’s Day, Jeremy got me a beautiful frame that has a quote written on it.  Since the frame sits in our bedroom, I get to look at it every night.  I feel like I have almost memorized it from how much I read it over and over.  While they are not my words, it is the best description of what I want my kids to know as they grow into their own.  The words echo the same principals that were ingrained in me as I grew up.  They represent a simplicity of life that I constantly strive for.

“Remember when you go into the world to keep your eyes and ears wide open.  And be kind.  Love one another.  Take care of each other.  Tell the truth.  Always do your best.  Listen to the big people and the little people.  Explore new paths and have fun.  Know that you are loved like crazy.  Give thanks for all your blessings.  Above all else, love and you will do wonderful things in this world.”