Mess of the Day #31: Oh, Rats!

Sorry I don't have a pic for you, but you'll have fun imagining this one. We have been staying with a friend, helping her recover from knee replacement surgery. Pete came to me, saying that Screech was using Windex on the family's rat cage. It was actually worse; she had sprayed the Windex on the poor rats! Their fur was blue and soaked. I asked her why she did that, and she replied earnestly, "I was trying to make them go to sleep!"

Mess of the Day # 30: Crib Sheet Art

Mess of the Day # 28: Cat Door

The cat door is just too tempting not to play with.

Mess of the Day # 27: A Sad Day

I have dreaded this day.

I knew it was coming.

Drama Queen never did this.

Pete never did this.

But of course, we knew Screech would do this eventually.

Here's a "before" picture. Note the length. See the beautiful, golden curls.


Okay, enough suspense.

It really could have been worse.

There's enough length left in the back to put it in ponytails and no one will notice the difference.

If I leave it down, though, she definitely has that redneck look. Sort of a modified mullet:

Next thing you know, she'll be wearing nothing but a diaper everywhere we go, and I'll start calling her "Sissy" and her brother "Bubba" . . .

Mullet Girl was really proud of herself . . .

. . . until she realized I wasn't.



You just keep talkin', Mamma! I'll get into something bigger! Bigger than Wite-Out! Bigger than cereal! You just wait!!!!!

Mess of the Day # 26: Just Guess!

What is Screech into now? (To get a better look, click on the pic to see it full size!)

Three guesses . . .

. . . and the first two don't count . . .

You're right. Wite-Out. Again. Emptied the entire bottle into her hands.

Big sigh. At least I don't have expensive furniture.

By the way, I have decided that Oops! brand remover is the way to go. It was very quick to clean up and didn't have strong fumes.

And my little trick for using baby oil to get Wite-Out off skin? Doesn't work for this amount. (It was crusted on THICKLY.) I used plain old soap and water (Dove unscented to be easier on her skin), and it all with flaked off a little scrubbing.

All clean and back to her sweet self!

Mess of the Day # 25 Artificial Sweetener

While we were chatting with friends at a fine restaurant, Screech did this. (For the record, Daddy was watching her!)




Kinda gives fresh meaning to the old Def Leppard song: "Poooour some suuugar on meeeee . . . "

Mess of the Day # 23 & # 24: Peaches and Underwear

Our model is sporting the newest line from Fruit of the Loom. I hear that Spiderman will be red hot this fall . . .


I would have had # 25 to post as well, but the evidence was gone before I could get the camera. She had stuck Band-Aids all over her legs and around each toe. I couldn't believe I missed the photo op, because she has always been good about keeping Band-Aids on!

Peach update: The one in the picture isn't the only one she nibbled on! I have just found 2 peach pits under the table (her favorite hideout when she's sneaking food!). What a little toot!

Mess of the Day # 21 and #22 : Art Supplies

I am so sorry that I haven't posted since I got back from my vacation. I have been having some health issues that started while I was on vacation, and it has been incredibly hard for me to get caught up on everything. (To give you an inkling of how it's been going, I still have not completely unpacked and cleaned out the van and we've been home since July 15!) I'd rather not go into detail on what's been going on with me, but I promise, it's nothing serious! The issues are not resolved 100%, but I'm feeling MUCH better. Actually, the side effects of some medications I was on were worse than anything, and thankfully I'm done with all of those!

I will post about my vacation - which was WONDERFUL, BTW! - another time, because I haven't felt like uploading all the pictures, etc. (I have so many that I need to find a website where I can share entire photo albums.) In the meantime, I want to share some sweet and funny things that the kids have done and said recently.

At one point, while I was on several medications and felt SO bad because I had been unable to sleep for several nights in a row, I got really depressed. (This was also partly due to a side effect of one of the medications.) Everything was getting to me: I was laying around all day and watching the house get trashed while I did nothing about it; the laundry was piling higher and higher; I didn't feel like playing with the kids; and everything was falling further and further behind. I was also bummed because I had huge plans to complete several projects around the house after we got back and before we started school, and of course they haven't been touched. I felt like I had been robbed of my summer. I told myself that I was a horrible mother because my kids were stuck at home all day with a slug of a mom who laid in bed 24/7. I commented to Drama Queen, "Honey, I'm so sorry that I haven't felt like playing. I wish I could do something special with you, but I just don't feel like it. I will as soon as I'm feeling better." She replied, "Oh, Mommy, we're already doing something special. We're together everyday!"

I bawled my eyes out. What a blessing she is!

Pete has been so helpful. When I was feeling my worst, I tried not to rely too much on Drama Queen. It would be so easy to do that because she is so responsible, but I have to remind myself that she got that way partly because she has been given so much responsibility. So, I try hard to give Pete the same opportunities. He felt like such a big shot the day I let him fix lunch all by himself! He has also been great about entertaining Screech.

Screech was actually pretty good on my worst days. It was simply a matter of slogging through until lunchtime, after which I could put her to bed and enjoy a 2-3 hour respite. (God has showered me with blessings in this regard; all of my kids have been excellent sleepers and nappers!) She did manage to get into a few things, though. There was more to get into because Drama Queen and Pete weren't putting things away (and I wasn't up to making sure that they did). Here is her latest handiwork:



I would like to personally thank the people who invented Magic Erasers, as well as the people who invented washable paint, crayons and markers! I don't even allow non-washable art supplies in the house anymore. I have a few Sharpies and permanent markers, but they are well hidden. Even Hubby, Drama Queen and Pete don't know where they are!

I'm going to try to get back into the blogging groove this week. Talk to you again soon!

Mess of the Day #20: Anthony Wiggle

I always leave the door to the laundry room closed to keep Screech out. I opened it and left it for 30 seconds while I went to get a basket of laundry, because, of course, I can't open the door when my hands are full.

When I returned, Screech was making Anthony Wiggle "dance" in a washbasin, in which a pair of her shorts were soaking in an effort to remove massive amounts of, um, diaper leakage.

Ewww.

Because his body is not washable, I am so thankful that only Anthony's shoes bore the brunt of this unfortunate incident. By the way, we don't know where his shirt is. At least the body isn't made to be really lifelike. Did you know that, according to Wikipedia, Anthony has large tattoos on both arms?

I couldn't bear to take a picture of Anthony's makeshift swimming pool.

You're welcome.

Mess of the Day #19: Splenda

Sigh. When will I learn?

Mess of the Day #18: Marker

Screech is quite the opportunist. She got into this while I was on the phone with Daddy. I had just checked on her 30 seconds before!

Mess of the Day #17: Yogurt

Guess who's tall enough to reach WAY back on the countertops now? Nothing is safe anymore!



And guess who was busy watching Star Trek when this happened? (Hint: Mommy was at the neighbor's house at the time.)

Any time Screech gets food on the sly, she shovels it in as fast as her little hands will go. She knows that she'll be caught!

Mess of the Day #15 & #16: Messy Mouths

Okay, so this isn't that bad, but I thought the pic was cute. You've got to give her credit for matching the crayon to the outfit! These are the washable crayons. Somewhere I have a pic of a 2-year-old Drama Queen after she chewed on a black washable crayon. What a mess!

Screech eating her favorite thing: a "hopsicle."

No Mess Yet!

Just letting you all know that I put all the cereal away after breakfast this morning!

I have a sponsor for my first "Mess of the Month" giveaway! Gather your pictures of your kids' worst disasters, and watch my blog for your chance to win a Motsenbocker's Lift Off Stain Removal Kit! This is the same awesome product that cleaned up the floor and clothing in the famed Wite-Out catastrophe at my house.

Mess of the Day #14: Magic Stars Cereal

Y'all, I KNOW I'm supposed to put the cereal away after breakfast, but I was late to Jazzercise. This is what I get! (Notice that there are no marshmallows in the cereal.)

By the way, I'm having so much fun with these "Mess of the Day" pics that soon I plan to launch a "Mess of the Month" meme and giveaway. Watch for this soon! I will post a Mr. Linky, and you all can publish pics of the messes that YOUR little darlings have made. I am working on finding a company who will donate something for me to give away. Since all this linky/giveaway stuff is new to me, I'd sure appreciate any advice from you experienced bloggers!

Mess of the Day #13: Desitin

While I cooked dinner tonight, I had Pete watch Screech. He is usually really good with her and can entertain her for quite awhile while I am doing something.

I heard water running in the bathroom and went to investigate. Pete was attempting to clean her up after "not noticing" her getting into the Desitin.









He tries really hard to be helpful. Another time he watched her, he changed her diaper - complete with duct tape belt! (At least it wasn't a poopy!)