The most expensive big mess thus far…

Asher had a little accident this morning….

It was a true accident, but man! The kids were out front playing, and Cambria climbed on Derk’s car (he parks it on the driveway because he doesn’t like pulling into the 3rd car spot in the garage). The kids all know better, so Asher decided to climb up there and get Cambria down. Well, the fact that it was pretty early in the morning combined with all the rain we’ve had lately made for a very slippery car. Asher slipped, and his bum slammed right into the windshield. The crack goes ALL the way though, so I am just beyond grateful that he somehow managed to escape being hurt!! Not a scratch or bruise on him, only a sore bum. We were able to pull it into the garage without any problem (I was really worried we wouldn’t be able to move it at all!), and now comes the scary part of calling around to get quotes….yikes. We’re not laughing about this big mess just yet, but I figured I’d better document it for the day when it will (hopefully) be nothing but a funny memory.

OFF! Not just for mosquitos!

This is a little tip I want to pass along! Cambria got this beautiful dress from my mom for Christmas and promptly ruined it with bright purple nail polish. Yes, I keep it up high, but this monkey literally climbed up 3 shelves to get to it. Yes, I have since moved it to another (top secret!) location.

Anyway, as I nearly cried, I decided to look online to see if there was a remedy for removing nail polish from clothing. This did take a bit of elbow grease, but it worked like a charm!

Many thanks to the makers of OFF! mosquito repellent for saving Bri's dress!

Here are a couple of the befores. I actually didn't think to take pictures until I was mostly done getting the stain out, so this isn't even close to the worst of the stains.

And here are the shots after I'd done only the first application. You can see from the picture on the right that there was still a bit of nail polish left, but after another scrubbing session, it was totally gone. Yay!

What you do is saturate the stain in OFF! and let it sit for a few minutes. Then I took a clean wash cloth (an old one I didn't mind ruining) and scrubbed and scrubbed (and scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed.....). Do this on both sides of the fabric. I found that rubbing from the under side worked the best at getting the stain out (it seemed like rubbing it from the front was only pushing the stain in deeper most of the time). Then I'd run it through the washer. While it was still wet (do NOT run it through the dryer because that will set the stain), I did another application. It took 2-3 times of this before I got it all out, but it's totally worth it! Now just pray you never have to use this little tip. ;-)

Lesson learned

Have you ever wondered, "What would happen if I gave my kids free reign of the house, completely neglecting everything because I was in a mad rush to complete an assignment I so stupidly procrastinated?" Well, luckily for you I can put an end to your curiosity! Observe!

And that's just the kitchen, family room, and dining room. Trust me, the rest of the house was even worse. *shudder*

I had a paper due for my philosophy class today, and I procrastinated big time. By that I mean that I didn't even look at the handout to see what was required until last night! It was then that I realized the paper was supposed to be 6 pages in length and that I had less than 24 hours to get it done. Oops! I did as much as I could last night, staying up until 2am working. The hardest/longest part was sorting through all the info and deciding what I wanted to write about and which sources to use. Once I got all that figured out, the actual writing part went pretty fast. But even so, at 2am I was still only less than halfway finished with the paper. I knew I had to call it a night and get some rest.

I had errands to run this morning and wasn't able to get home to work on my paper until after I'd picked Asher up from school. So the mess was a result of having to leave 2 kids pretty much to their own devices (with a few exceptions, of course) while I frantically typed my paper. I'm happy to report that I did finish with about 8 hours to spare and was able to spend the evening relaxing with the fam (after I spent about 3 hours cleaning, that is!).

So yeah, lesson learned! I guess that means I'd better get started on the English essay I have due a week from now, eh?

Cambria gives herself a haircut!

I was busy making dinner yesterday and realized I hadn't heard from Bri in a while. I started calling for her, but she didn't answer. Then I noticed the door to the laundry room was shut, which worried me (we keep it open because the cats need to get into the pantry, which is through the laundry room, to get to their litter box and food). So I opened it, and there was Bri. With scissors to her head. Sitting on a PILE of hair. She didn't just snip a little off. She butchered her head. I nearly died. I don't even remember what happened, but I'm pretty sure I screamed. I kept telling myself it was just hair, only hair, but the site of her destroyed head was too much for me.

Luckily the salon was able to get her in today. There honestly wasn't much the stylist could do. Bri has very thin hair, so she had to be very careful not to take too much off, otherwise we'd have a bald child. And I didn't want her hair cut boy-short. So the stylist just blended it a bit and made the "bangs" more even. I did make a fabulous discovery, though. I decided to see if my mousse would help. And it does!! It doesn't hide the goofy, too-short bangs, but it does hide everything else. I just scrunch up her hair with the mousse while it's wet, and it makes it stay curly, which hides the choppy "layers." I don't have a picture of that, but I do have pictures of her at the salon. The first picture is before, the other two pictures are after.

Little stinker!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mary Kay mess

I guess this is the week for Big Messes, because today they were at it yet again. This time, I was quite a bit more upset, because they decided to get into my make-up (which is all Mary Kay!) while I was doing the dishes. I thought they were just playing in Asher's room having a good time, so I kept doing my cleaning. Well, I was right, they were having a good time, just not the kind of good time I'd want them to be having. I walked into Asher's room and saw this:

Asher's bed

My Mary Kay compact, which used to be full

Yeah, I'm more than a bit miffed.

Cornstarch

As if the nail polish incident from a few days weren't enough, today Cambria got into the cornstarch. We finally found her a white bookshelf for her bedroom, so as I was occupied putting that together and rearranging her room, she was busy as well. Very busy!

I got the kitchen all cleaned up (which was a huge pain!) and then went to fold laundry or something. Then Bri says, "In the pantry, too!" She ran in, all excited to show me what she'd done in the pantry, and then she proceeded to start playing in it.

The kitchen

The pantry
(forgot to turn the flash on, sorry!)

I've said it before, and I'll say it again -- I don't know how they can be SO cute and SO naughty at the same time!

Nail polish

I keep my nail polish zipped up in an old make-up bag and put it up on one of the top shelves in our hall closet. And I haven't told a soul where that bag is located, for obvious reasons. But being the smarty she is, Bri somehow knew there was a random bottle of nail polish in the medicine cabinet in our bathroom. How she knew it was there, I have no clue, because *I* didn't even know it was there. As a result, I had 2 very pink children, as well as some pink carpet in Asher's room (hopefully I can get it out with my carpet shampooer?!). I was admittedly very frustrated at first and didn't even think to get a picture until after I'd gotten Asher cleaned up, but rest assured he was just as pink as Cambria!

Every time I snap a picture, she immediately gets a huge grin on her face, proud as can be. Little stinker.

Our little hairdresser

The kids were having a blast playing in Kyrie's room today, so I just left them to it and decided to get some work done around the house. I was folding laundry on my bed when Kyrie suddenly rushed in holding something in her fingers. It took me a second before I realized it was hair. A clump of hair. Cambria found some scissors in Kyrie's room and decided to do some snipping. I prepared myself for the worst before I went to investigate. Luckily, the damage wasn't too bad, and I was able to fix it for the most part.

You can see that she gave herself bangs on the left side of her head. And if you look really closely at the picture, you can see that she snipped some chunks from the top, middle-right part of her head as well. Those I wasn't able to cut into the bangs (too far back on her head), but if I comb her hair over to the side and put a clip in, you can't really see it. She's fighting naps all this week and didn't nap today at all, so she was not happy with me about having to make her hold still and fix her hair. She was still in fairly good spirits when I took the "before" picture....

.....but by the end, she was in hysterics and gave me a pretty cute, tired-eyed glare as I took her "after" picture. :)

If Only I Had A Green Nose

When we were at Drew and Rebecca's last week, all the kids were being a little rowdy. So I decided to read them some stories. They all ran to the bookshelf to pick a story, and then we cuddled on the couch to read. Abbie brought over her newest library book, If Only I Had A Green Nose by Max Lucado.

Well, Bri got into some mischief tonight (one of Kyrie's ink pads that got left out). Her creativity reminded me of the story I read to little Abbie just last week......

How could I possibly be upset at that face?

All in a day's work

Is this not the face of an angel?

With a face like that, would you think her capable of messes such as these?

I'll elaborate on the messes, in case it's hard to tell what they are. The top left is an entire container of ground black pepper, 2 packets of ranch dip seasoning and about half a container of marjoram. The top right is an entire box of Cascade. The bottom left is an entire roll of toilet paper with the cat food suspiciously sitting on the toilet. Which brings us to the bottom right, which is cat food and kitty litter, mixed together IN the litter box with the toilet bowl scrubber. Oh, and litter all over the floor. Used litter.

And yes, these 3 messes were all made in the same day, as per my title. All I can say is, it's a dang good thing she's so stinking cute.

We should have gone to church

Asher hasn't been feeling well the past few days, and I woke up this morning not feeling well myself. So we decided we should stay home today. I think we were punished. :)

Derk and I were just laying in bed, minding our own business, when I realized it was quiet. Quiet is a baaaaaad thing in this house. So I turned to Derk and told him he'd better come with me to locate the monsters, because, chances are, they're doing something very awful that will require his help.

Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner, folks!

What did we discover? Eggs. Two dozen, to be exact. Brand new cartons. All smashed on the kitchen floor. Silver lining? They were on the kitchen floor, not the carpet. That's a huge blessing. I know. Because when Kyrie was about 3, she cracked a dozen eggs on the carpet. Huge pain. But still. Two dozen eggs.

So we walk in, Derk starts to laugh, I grab the camera and start snapping away. I don't have pictures to post of the actual mess because Asher wasn't totally dressed in the pictures, but I do have some that I was able to crop.

If you know Derk, you know he's pretty spontaneous. I don't know how I didn't see this coming! Derk begins to clean up the mess. Derk notices there is one egg left! What does Derk do with remaining intact egg?

The fate of the lone egg

Asher doesn't appreciate Dad's sense of humor.

The rest of us thought it was hysterical -- it was well worth $4 worth of smashed eggs, just for the laugh! I laughed myself silly for hours afterward. I already have the scrapbook page for this all worked out in my head. It's going to be great.

How long before he tries it again? Any guesses?

Good intentions gone bad

That Kyrie, bless her heart. She decided to let us sleep in this morning by preparing breakfast herself. What a sweet gesture! Now I just need to teach her how to clean as she cooks! :)

Caught in action

This little one sure gives me a run for my money! This is what happens when I leave her downstairs to go fold a load of laundry. The best part was that she had just finished her lunch. Apparently she still wanted hot dogs, cheese, yogurt and applesauce to round out her meal. :)

I thought for sure she'd hear me sneaking up behind her to take a picture, but she had no clue until she heard me laughing. I don't think she was even looking for anyting in particular, either. I just stood there watching her for a few minutes, and she'd just grab something, throw it on the floor, reach in to grab something else, throw it on the floor, etc. Funny kid.

Another Classic Cambria moment this picture captures is the dress she's wearing. She's still in the change-my-clothes-a-bajillion-times-per-day phase, and this purple number is on the top of her favorites list. She wore it for 3 straight days this week. I had to peel it off of her to wash it, with the promise that I'd give it right back to her the second it came out of the dryer. And let me tell you, when she heard that dryer beep signaling it was done, she flew up those stairs as fast as she could and tore through every article of clothing in there until she found her dress. :)

Even though she's Trouble (with a capital T!), we sure love this girl. Our lives would be quite boring without her! :)

I spy.....

A black mouth, a painted head and a destroyed camera lens!

Thank goodness for baths and warranties!!

A note to Derk:

When you put a soda can (or two) into the freezer to quickly cool them down, don't forget about them. They explode. What was his response when I went upstairs to tell him that? "Oh, yeah! Oops!" Oops is right. :) The kids sure enjoyed eating slushies, though!

Raspberries

I've been feeling pretty lucky the past few days in the Big Mess department -- there was quite the temporary lull, for which I am eternally grateful. Temporary being the operative word, Bri got sick of giving me peace and decided it was high time to strike again.

Of course she decides to get into the frozen raspberries
on a day when she's wearing a white shirt. . .

Soda

Here's the latest in the Big Mess category. I went out shopping alone (!!) the other day and decided to treat myself to a soda. I came home, set my soda on the counter and took my stuff upstairs. When I got back downstairs, Disaster had struck.

Someone please tell me why kids are so much cuter when they're getting into trouble?

I love how she changes the subject. Enough about me, where's the gum?! :)

Baking Soda

Today was a rough day in the Big Mess department. Asher and Cambria decided to pick every single petal off every single one of Kyrie's flowers from Derk. As I was vacuuming that up, Cambria decided to take advantage of being unsupervised. I went into the kitchen to dump the dirt out of the vacuum, turned around, and this is what I saw.

First, I noticed the mess. It's baking soda. An entire box of baking soda. All over my counter and my electric griddle. I felt myself starting to get a little frustrated, and then I noticed the little head peeking up from behind the breakfast bar. I guess she'd heard me coming and tried to hide, but still wanted to see my reaction. :)

So then I called out her name, and she popped right up.

She started telling me all about how there was a BIG mess on the counter. Gee, really?! Then she says, "Clean. It. Up. Mommy." in this very matter-of-fact tone. I had to laugh (after I had to cry from having yet another disaster to clean up within a 5 minute time frame). :)

Seriously, are ANY of your children as mischievous as mine?

An update

I regret to inform you that I don't have any pictures to share. Don't mistake that as me telling you that my kids haven't been their devilish selves, because they've gotten into plenty of mischief the past few days. The messes have just been too crazy and needed immediate attention. So just telling you about them will have to suffice.

--Cambria got into the box of bread crumbs Derk forgot to put back into the cupboard after making dinner. We don't have bread crumbs any more. And I'm not entirely sure I ever want to buy them again.

--Asher dumped out an entire bottle of conditioner while he was in the tub the other night. Of course it was brand new (as in, I'd just bought it that day). He has the softest hair ever. And I think he still smells like strawberries, 3 days later.

--Cambria decided to help Mommy clean the litter box the other day. She was trying to surprise me, I think, because she didn't ask for permission and didn't tell me what she was going to do either. Instead of using the scooper thing and the trash can, though, she used the cup to pick up the litter and then deposited the (used) litter into my master bathtub.

--Cambria also decided to paint herself and the kids' bathroom with Vick's Baby Rub. Just for your information, you can get that slime off of skin if you wash with Johnson and Johnson's baby soap no less than 100 times. But if they also paint their head like my little darling did, you won't get it out for at least 4 days, not even if you try dish soap.


In other news, our poor little Isis got really hurt over the weekend. Some random dog started chasing her, so she climbed up the stucco on the outside of the condos. She got up about 15-20 feet and then fell. She's not *seriously* hurt. She's walking extremely slowly, but she can move all 4 of her limbs, and it's obvious that she hasn't broken anything important. It seems to be just her back right leg that's hurting her. I sat down and started petting her trying to figure out where she was hurt, and that was the only place she'd get upset when I touched. She's eating and drinking and using the litter box fine, so that's a good sign. But she's just laying around all the time and is doing nothing cat-like. Poor little thing. She's been up and around a lot more today than she was over the weekend, so I think she's on the mend.

As for the weather, it's been just beautiful! We've been in the low 70's for about 2 weeks now and have been able to open the windows and turn off the thermostat! Now I can totally see why people live here. I'm not sure I'll ever miss snow.....

Maybelline!

This is what happens when you send the kids upstairs to play so you can sweep the kitchen. It's mascara. Asher was in on it, too. And he didn't stop at painting his sister. And it took me 3 times washing her hair to get it all out. He'd used both my brand new tubes of mascara. And in case you're wondering, mascara doesn't like to come off of walls, doors, carpeting or kids. Not even with make-up remover.

I didn't have any cool left to snap more pictures by the time I realized the entirety of what had happened, so this one picture is all you get. :)