Rubi

I am sure this will not be anything new for parents especially of kids under 7 years old.  No matter how OC you were when you were single, your children are bound to change your house, car and everything you own for the worse.

Case and point is our car.  Months after we got Rubi (our Getz), I would alternately bring her to the car wash shop and clean her myself in the garage to make sure she's spic and span.  I don't know what is worse between these pet peeves - clutter inside the car or dusty windshield/windows.  

Now it may seem like we have given up.  The windshield has a big spiderweb crack; the car has clutter that makes all the rest of the clutter look like an understatement.  A couple of years ago, we invest on the "new car scent" air freshener.  Now our car smells like overly fermented Yakult drink - that was spilled during one of our road trips with the kids.  

That's Portia with Rubi on the soon to be changed deep red color

All these seem to bother us less now, maybe because there are more important things to prioritize than the car's cleanliness (Ugh, can't believe I am saying this!).

The wake-up call was when we saw a neighbor waiting for transportation outside of the village.  We offered her a ride.  I apologized for the toys lying around the back seat and for the filth.  She mumbled that it was okay, that it happens even to her kids who were already in her teens.  But heck, halfway through the ride, it sounded like she was stiffling her need to cough, like something was bothering her.  About half a kilometer before we reach the City Hall (where public rides were more accessible), she thanked us and announced that she will just walk from there.  We said our goodbyes and she sped right off.  Was that really how bad it smelled?  Hahaha!

As a written promise to Rubi, we will work on having these done to you.  Treat them as  a way of pampering you for all the things you've done and all the things you went through:

• A much needed interior detailing
• Windshield and tint change
• Seat covers! (my office friend had faux leather seats made here in BGC for a good price)
• New audio installation (we only have one speaker working and the radio rarely works)
• New carpet
• New paint color to get rid of the bad luck?

I am sure there are still more that needs to be done.  The ultimate goal is to have all the bad vibes out of the car since I am not sure if we can sell it.  Once this is done, I wish our little girls have magically grown to behave better while in transit.