The Car Seat
Ok so it has been a while...I know and I could go into all the excuses I have, but none of you want to know why I haven't been writing, all you really want to know is what it is that has caused me to come out of my sub-comatose state and re-enter my blogging world. Well, even though I have had many different thoughts about what I should blog about, many of them coming from topics of...lets say delicate natures. Those topics that ruffle some people feathers and we all get worked up about. But, no, I have stayed away from the political and opinionated side to bring you this post about....Car seats!
In the spring my husband and I usually try to give our vehicles a thorough cleaning, vacuum, scrub and shine. This year was no exception; however, it is happening in stages rather then one fail swoop, and today as I was moping about my husband leaving for Ft. Nelson for work I grabbed the vacuum (my mom vacuum just to clarify because she has a Rainbow) and headed out to the car to keep working on my project. When I got to the back seat I knew that it was time to give my kids car seats a good cleaning as I read the other day that a friend of mine had cleaned her kids...and of course I had to do as the other mothers do. And although the car seats usually get a good shake and bang as they are being transfer from one vehicle to the other, I do not think that I have actually take them apart and gave them a good cleaning.
So here I go. I started with Zach's as his is the oldest car seat and as I soon found out was in the most desperate need of cleaning. After getting all the snap and latched undone, which didn't take too long, I realized my mistake of not taking care of this cleaning project sooner. YUCK! it was icky. I didn't realize all the gooey, sticky, smelly mess that could combine itself under that seat cover and in the grooves of the plastic base. It was at this moment that I also realized that one of the grossest things I have done yet as a mother is clean the car seat of a potty training toddler :( Yes, I know this sounds terrible and I probably should have done something sooner, but I just didn't realize...yes, I know, I know! There have only been a few accidents in the car seat and it was usually only damp and in my mommy brain I just never thought "Boy, Ashley you really should take that cover off and wash it seems your son has peed on it." Yup, somehow just sticking a towel in there and removing the excess...moisture...seemed good enough...opps! Yeah, so there we have it a desperate need of a clean car seat, which is now on its way to the laundry.
As I was addressing this issue and cleaning up crumbs and leftovers from french fries, donuts and juice boxes that had seeped to the bottom of the car seat, I was once again reminded of a thought I had during my innocent pre-child years, what when I had kids I would never let them eat in the car and make a mess, like I had seen other mothers do. But, as we all soon discover, letting kids it in the car is not only inevitable it is a necessity! (Don't worry if you don't have kids yet, you can maintain that line of thought a little longer, but one day you will see and you will understand)
A happy, fed kid is worth more then a clean car. Especially when you are in a hurry and well, there is this funny thing about kids, they have to eat!?! Yeah, so you just do it. So you pack a snack of cheese and crackers or you grab some fries and let them munch as you squeeze in that last stop in your errands or are trying to rush out the door to an appointment right around lunch time. Peace once again descends on the chaos (sometimes anyway) but the price you pay for that peace is french fries and nuggets jammed in a car seat, juice spills on your seat and an overflowing garbage bag on your floor (if you manage to actually get a bag in the car).
I am also convinced that this is also the reason the car seats expire and need to be replaced. It is not because of government regulation or money hungry companies, it was simply a mom who realized that if left for long enough I car seat would simply disintegrate due to the food and bits of cheese hiding in the crevices of that sorely neglected car seat.
So today I took a step of pro action. I took a moment to clean out all the garbage and donut frosting and forgotten potty accidents. Today I clean a car seat!
In the spring my husband and I usually try to give our vehicles a thorough cleaning, vacuum, scrub and shine. This year was no exception; however, it is happening in stages rather then one fail swoop, and today as I was moping about my husband leaving for Ft. Nelson for work I grabbed the vacuum (my mom vacuum just to clarify because she has a Rainbow) and headed out to the car to keep working on my project. When I got to the back seat I knew that it was time to give my kids car seats a good cleaning as I read the other day that a friend of mine had cleaned her kids...and of course I had to do as the other mothers do. And although the car seats usually get a good shake and bang as they are being transfer from one vehicle to the other, I do not think that I have actually take them apart and gave them a good cleaning.
So here I go. I started with Zach's as his is the oldest car seat and as I soon found out was in the most desperate need of cleaning. After getting all the snap and latched undone, which didn't take too long, I realized my mistake of not taking care of this cleaning project sooner. YUCK! it was icky. I didn't realize all the gooey, sticky, smelly mess that could combine itself under that seat cover and in the grooves of the plastic base. It was at this moment that I also realized that one of the grossest things I have done yet as a mother is clean the car seat of a potty training toddler :( Yes, I know this sounds terrible and I probably should have done something sooner, but I just didn't realize...yes, I know, I know! There have only been a few accidents in the car seat and it was usually only damp and in my mommy brain I just never thought "Boy, Ashley you really should take that cover off and wash it seems your son has peed on it." Yup, somehow just sticking a towel in there and removing the excess...moisture...seemed good enough...opps! Yeah, so there we have it a desperate need of a clean car seat, which is now on its way to the laundry.
As I was addressing this issue and cleaning up crumbs and leftovers from french fries, donuts and juice boxes that had seeped to the bottom of the car seat, I was once again reminded of a thought I had during my innocent pre-child years, what when I had kids I would never let them eat in the car and make a mess, like I had seen other mothers do. But, as we all soon discover, letting kids it in the car is not only inevitable it is a necessity! (Don't worry if you don't have kids yet, you can maintain that line of thought a little longer, but one day you will see and you will understand)
A happy, fed kid is worth more then a clean car. Especially when you are in a hurry and well, there is this funny thing about kids, they have to eat!?! Yeah, so you just do it. So you pack a snack of cheese and crackers or you grab some fries and let them munch as you squeeze in that last stop in your errands or are trying to rush out the door to an appointment right around lunch time. Peace once again descends on the chaos (sometimes anyway) but the price you pay for that peace is french fries and nuggets jammed in a car seat, juice spills on your seat and an overflowing garbage bag on your floor (if you manage to actually get a bag in the car).
I am also convinced that this is also the reason the car seats expire and need to be replaced. It is not because of government regulation or money hungry companies, it was simply a mom who realized that if left for long enough I car seat would simply disintegrate due to the food and bits of cheese hiding in the crevices of that sorely neglected car seat.
So today I took a step of pro action. I took a moment to clean out all the garbage and donut frosting and forgotten potty accidents. Today I clean a car seat!
I hear ya! It's like going on a treasure hunt. You just never know what you'll find :)
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