Stone Soup by Jan Eliot for March 26, 2012

If the thing runs all right, that means more to me than a few strewn Skittles and ketchup stains. I’ve seen car cockpits that were dirty, but the cars themselves were well-maintained.

Cars and small children are not a good mix. There have been a few times where I got into a car and felt like I needed a hazmat suit.

How about walking?

You go to the coin car wash and use the wand on the seats. Don’t forget a towel to wipe the windows – and pick a hot sunny day to let it dry.

I’m a mechanic, and I hate getting into a minivan…they either smell like a wet dog (BLECH!!!) or a full diaper (YUUUUCK!!!) or both at the same time (Please shoot me now…)

Well, the other alternative is to walk!

Ew. Even when I had babies and toddlers, I had rules. Food and drink was only allowed for long trips or emergencies, and even then the drink was water and the food was not messy. My car may be cluttered at times, but never stinky or stained.

One kid put stickers on whatever window was within reach . . .

@lightenup – That is exactly what my rules are (and were when we had small children). We were taking my adult daughter’s friend on a 4-hour car trip recently, and my daughter had advised her that she could take water in the car “as long as it was self-contained when not in use”. They can be taught…

I do not think we had drinks or food when traveling. We had electronic games for our two kids to play with or some type of game. But then some cars do not last forever from long driving wear and tear.

Another rerun week, starting with a rerun of an April 2008 episode.

When your kids are all grown and your car has no more ketchup stains, or toys scattered everywhere-that’s when you miss them.

Our friends moved from Detroit to NH in a small microvan with 2 small kids and no AC in july. Enroute both kids barfed more than once and they spilled a gallon of milk. Peeyew. They said it wasn’t bad but we offered to torch it on the spot.