They WERE playing nicely together...

My five year old and three year old WERE playing nicely together this morning.
My toddler was toddling around, playing independently.

Last night/early this morning, I had labeled, stamped, and inserted Christmas cards into 150 envelopes. (Believe it or not, that was just the "in-state" Christmas card list!) And, since it is Christmas Eve, my goal was to have them postmarked today.

My husband was home (he had a 9:30 meeting, so wasn't leaving the house quite yet, and he offered to stay home so I could run out and be back shortly.

So, my six year old offered to help me on the 8:45 am errand to the post office. The trip went smoothly, and that was the ONLY errand this whole week that took about ten minutes total!

Unfortunately, when we returned home, we were greeted by a strong whiff of VINEGAR. "What? Why? What happened?"

IT turns out, my five year old, remembered once upon a time that Mommy had used vinegar to clean something, so, the idea was hatched to dump 2 cups of Apple Cider Vinegar on the floor, and dry the floor.

The smell does dissapate slightly when washed with hot soapy water, but Guess what? Apple Cider Vinegar STRIPS hardwood floors.

I really hope some lessons were learned by the kids.

This fiasco pushed 'refinish floors' to a more urgent task!

This is how Christmas Eve Began

Just another ER trip..

Today started with my three year old being "sick". (Long story short, potty-woes. someone is reluctant to use "the potty".. so holds it.. and feels a little sick until getting the gumption to actually confront that this is a fact of life that can't be avoided...)

After taking my 3 year old to the Dr's... (he said the right thing, and we are much better.. I dread the bill though)... My 5 year old started fighting on the way out of the Dr's.

Of course, this brought about a time-out when we arrived at home. (Manners are important, and not having good manners merits a few minutes to reflect. Isn't that fair?)

Of course, no one wants to stay in time out.

So, My five year old repeatedly pressed the boundaries, getting out of time-out...
And, in the process... got more rambunctious and angry...

This led to a "push" (I'd use the euphemism of a 'bump' but it really was a push) against older sibling 'cause the 6 year old was tattle-tailing that the 5 year old got out of time out (again).

BUT....
This didn't happen without consequences.

My six year old was standing next to a closet door which was left ajar.
The "bump" caused a head collision with the edge of a door. "MOM, IT HURTS" oh, yeah, and blood splatter.. and then blood-soaked paper towel.

Then the debate: where to go? I tried to get phone and get ahold of the dr who we had JUST SEEN. (Ironically, if it had been for the SAME kid, the receptionist implied that we could get in, but, we were told to go to the ER).

We chose the Not closest ER (1 1/2 miles away -- That one has terrible wait times), and when to the one 21/2 miles away.

Turns out we made a wise decision -- from triage time until exit time was about 2 hours. (Not bad! last ER visit was over four hours if memory serves me correctly). Although the Adult ER was swamped, the pediactric ER had empty beds, and we got great service.

So, at the end of the day, One Dr Visit, one ER visit, 3 staples in one kid.

All stories have happy endings (eventually). Drum roll...

I have four kiddies in bed. And, I even have a few spare minutes to post a blog entry!

What do Whole Wheat Flour and Bathroom Sink have to do with each other?

We have creative children.

Who knows where they get their ideas?

Perhaps it's the Mr. Roger's tune "Let's think of something to do while we're waiting, while were waiting..."?

Well, I wish Mr. Roger's song included "never make a mess, while you're waiting", THAT would be a helpful tune to have in my kids' heads!

So, this evening, I was on the phone with a college friend.

I returned her call immediately after dinner.

I assumed my children went to the bathroom to wash their hands.

Perhaps, that was the original idea?

Someone (I think it was the 5 year old) brought the 5 pound container of whole wheat flour into the bathroom.

When I checked in on them (It's amazing how it only takes a few minutes for a mess to develop!) The sink was full with a Brown Liquid. Oh, goodness!

Time Outs, to each and every one.

"You know that mom paid money for that flour, and that flour was reserved for baking?"

"Oh, we didn't know that"!!!!!


Rather than risk a clogged drain, I emptied the sink out into the pail.

But, as I write this, there is a small area of paste on the bathroom floor that I need to remove, before it hardens...


At least my life isn't boring!

Just a little Cup of Apple Juice?

As parents, we've encouraged our children to do things for themselves that they can do.

In some ways, it's paid dividends: our oldest learned to tie his shoes at five years old, our next in line learned at three.

And our current three year old likes to do things too!

But, the other day, it started with a simple desire of a little cup of Apple Juice.

Now, I had just opened a full Costco-purchased 2 gallon jug of apple juice.

Of course, a three year old, can't pour that.

So, The FULL juice container (minus the one cup that had been poured previously, and the few ounces that remained) got spilled onto the kitchen counter and kitchen floor.
This, of course, included getting into the toaster oven, on cutting boards, etc.

Do you know how much a mess sticky apple juice is to clean up - when it's just a cup spilled?

Now, imagine volumes that should satisfy thirst for this family of six for at least a week...

Yup, you guessed it: A mess.

But, the adventure didn't end there. Realizing that it needed to be cleaned up, this three year old, grabbed the kitchen sink hose, and tried to spray it off. (Which, was an admirable idea, but, you guessed it -- wet. We don't want to let juice leak into the basement too!

Thankfully, I happened by the kitchen as the spill was expanding. And, we did have clean towels accessible.

It took a few days to get rid of the sticky residue from the floor and the counter. But, it got done.

Adventure concluded.

Of course, that means another one is around the corner!

History Repeats itself TWICE in the past 2 days...

The advantage of having a super-sized washer machine, is that one can actually do decent sized loads (A big plus considering how much laundry this family of six goes through).

THE DISADVANTAGE of having a super-sized washer-machine, is that IT USES A LOT OF WATER. And, when do we realize this? WHEN IT OVERFLOWS.

Case 1: laundry scoop gets bumped into utility sink (causing overflow, water on the floor): slight flood.

Case 2: laundry hose gets jostled out of the utility sink - CAUSING MAJOR HAVOC, ruining storage items,etc.

Lessons 1: Never get lazy and skip the "check the utility sink" step before leaving the laundry area.

Lesson 2: Don't leave clean laundry on the floor by the dryer, when water overflows, it stops being clean. There's nothing frustrating like rewashing laundry before it ever gets worn!

Lesson 3: Don't leave cardboard storage boxes on the floor (assemble shelves and get off the floor!)

Lesson 4: Don't put off cleaning the basement area.

Lesson 5: Water is tough enough to clean up, but SUDSY water is even worse...

Lesson 6: Next time you buy a wet/dry vac, don't try to be cute and cheap and get the smallest (apartment-sized) unit. Small unit needs to be emptied almost as fast as it gets filled up.

Lesson 7: Don't let kids go into basement unsupervised when there are puddles in the basement. (How can a kid resist jumping in puddles--- making MORE laundry dirty??

Lesson 8: Buy a laundry line for outside: it would be nice for all drying to not rely on the dryer.

Lesson 9: It's better to have a "flood" in spring weather, when you can open windows and air everything out.

Lesson 10: Beware of tax time, something always happens!

It only takes a sock

IT ONLY TAKES ONE SOCK TO CLOG THE WASHER (or utility sink).

Thursday morning, I did my typical routine of "toss a load in the washer".

Earlier in the morning, while getting clean school clothes for my kindergartner, I had earlier emptied the dryer, and sorted the clothes into nice, neat piles on the laundry-area floor.

A little less than an hour later, I went into the basement to do my "cycle the laundry": put wash in the dryer. (If clothes are in the dryer, take them out; If clean clothes are in the basket/ on the floor in front of the dryer fold-if needed- and put away...).

To my dismay, my socked feed got soggy as I entered the laundry-area: A FLOOD not of Biblical proportions, but water was all over the floor, covering about a third of the basement. I waded (not quite, but my feet were indeed wet) through the pathway and discovered a stopped-up utility sink.

I discovered an innocent toddler sock which had stopped up the drain.

After a phone call, the wetvac was found and put to good use.
After some good exercise, the floor no longer had puddles of water in it.
After a couple MORE loads of laundry, there were only a handful of ruined articles of clothing.
After a headache, I determined to ALWAYS CHECK THE UTILITY SINK BEFORE TURNING ON THE WASHER!
After this lesson, maybe I'll NOT leave clean clothes on the floor either?
After a full morning, things that I had planned to get to in the morning, got done in the afternoon.

C'est la vie.