My vehicle used to be clean then, then I had children!

Don’t get me wrong, I love a clean car, but I had to prioritize. It was a bit easier when I only had one small child  because everything was usually contained to the diaper bag.

Now a busy mom of five we are always on the go. We hardly reach the van, racing from the house to leave on time, only to rush off to the next location. During multiple trips I am throwing snacks over head or hitting the drive thru at Chick fila for waffles fries to tide them over until dinner. Not to mention all the trips to the Starbucks to keep me fueled and ready to take on the rest of the day.

As much as I like to blame my kids for the mess, plenty of it, is mine. If you were to peek into my Honda Odyssey you would see Starbucks cups filling all 6 cup holders. I have, on more than one occasion had to hold up the Starbucks line to shuffle and stack all the empty coffee cups, playing my own version of speed cups!

I feel like if you pull up to a Starbucks, with a van full of kids shouting for the cake pops you refuse to buy while rearranging all the Starbucks containers to make room for the luscious liquid the barista is holding out of the window you should get a free one.

Shouldn’t Starbucks have a mom reward card?

I guess you are right, if they had a reward card for moms then they would need to offer them to everyone. Starbucks would essentially be giving away coffee for free and soon there would be no more Starbucks.

Whether you drink Starbucks or not your mom vehicle might be a mess, may its clean, good for you mama!

I asked some of my friends to take photos of their vehicles in their current state so I could share with you, enjoy the show.

“A view from the 3^rd row of my van. Bags in case of a barf emergency”

Genius mama!!! I am dying over the emergency barf bags but this is so smart.

“Muddy footprints on the seat because who has time to wipe them down? Bottles of water because it is the only time, I have to stay hydrated. Coupons because I like to pretend that I’m that mom who is awesome at saving money”

I am right there with you mama about the coupons!

An air freshener because it often smells like a wet dog and tree of life because it brings me peace while the herd fights over whose elbow goes where.”

Way to stay centered mama!

She also went on to say that her messy van is also full of adventure, laughter, joy, thankfulness and gratitude.

I love this mama’s spirit!

She states that her car is full packed full of stuff to keep a 2 year old busy if they stop at a restaurant or a friend’s house, Chapstick, pens, snacks, toothpicks, a bag of stuff for donation, a blanket, toys, and so much more although you cannot see most of it this in the picture.

She also mentioned when she came back into the house from taking this picture her husband asked why the interior lights were on. She says that she did not tell him what she was doing because her messy car drives him nuts.She almost ended up with a dead battery.

Just a basic photo of the back seat, whose car eat actually stays clean?

This mom is a friend of mine and while she was at my house over the summer I popped my head into her vehicle and took this photo. She was embarrassed until I told her what I was going to do with it but I assured her it would be anonymous. As you can see she is a lover of Starbucks as well not sure what is going on with the toothbrush on the floor though!

There were no Starbucks cups in my van on this day but there were a few bottles of water, swim goggles, library books and other assorted items.

Next week…

Will start the introduction of the guest blogging series #momwisdomwednsdays

Do you have a story to share?

A tip?

A trick?

Some advice?
I understand how mom life can be hard and at times isolating.So, I am starting a weekly blog post featuring stories from moms like YOU every Wednesdays morning. I will link back to your website, products, services and and social media accounts. Reach out to me on one of my social media platforms or email me at betsyharloff@gmail.com