Kid's Room Clean-Up vs. Parent's Sanity

 

If you are like me, there is a ever present battle being waged against the condition of your child's room. 

 

If you don't have kids then you must think that I'm joking.  I'm not kidding...it's a BATTLE!  Dirty clothes strewn across the floor. Clean clothes strewn across the floor. Toys strategically placed to destroy a parent's feet in the night.  Stuffed animals seem to mock you from all sides.

 

The Destruction Zone: The Dreaded Permanent Marker

Your child has their little hand wrapped around a permanent marker..and they are standing near your very white wall...

Is this the time that panic sets in?
Do you dread looking at the surface of said wall?

Oh I have to say that I responded "YES" to those questions.  There is an inerrant fear that grips and holds tight when a marker and child connect.  Especially if you know that they have a permanent one in their hands. 

And why is it that when there is a box full of washable markers, it's Daddy's permanent marker from the office desk that is so coveted?

Well, thank God for my hubby!  He saved my sanity on this particular day.  Yes, my anti-housework husband knew exactly what to tell me.  As I stood there with tears welling up in my eyes (it had been a toll-taking day), staring at the blue mural that now adorned my wall, a voice with a simple solution came from down the hall.

Are you ready for this solution?

Really?

Here it is!

RUBBING ALCOHOL destroys the stronghold of permanent markers!

Yep, it's as simple as using plain old rubbing alcohol to conquer the fear of permanent markers!  And how did he know this wonderful piece of information?  He (and I) have the Navy to thank for it. 

With this new-found knowledge I quickly raided my bathroom cabinet and grabbed a paper towel.  That mural was going DOWN!  Was it a scrubfest? Nope. In less than 5 minutes I had rid my wall of all of the blue that had defiled it.

Thank you U.S. Navy for saving the sanity of this housewife and any other that taps into this piece of prized information!

The Destruction Zone ~ I Am Learning A Valueable Lesson

This morning I woke to find that my main blog site had vanished.

Yes, vanished.

This is definitely a DESTRUCTION ZONE. And this one will take far more time to fix than any other that I've had to deal with.

That means that all of the links that say "View Complete Posting" are not working...because my content on the main site had disapeared into the abyss of cyberdom.

"That's alright, you made backups right?"

Uh, nope...I may be able to write, but when I read WordPress' articles on backing up your blog, it's like reading a foreign language to me. So I am left without a backup of my postings...and right now that REALLY stinks.

SO, unless my server can magically go back to a time before they did their maintenance yesterday, I'll have to try to put on my "Fix-It" cap and get into the mood for RE-blogging.

Say a few prayers for me, PLEASE! I'm not wanting to put on that cap...and I honestly just don't have the time now.

*fingers crossed*

Why Isn’t There Bold Printed Warning For Parents?

Today I am dealing with two little darlings who have sick tummies. This is probably the thing that I hate to deal with the most. Diving with a large bowl to catch anything that might come out of my little one’s mouths is definitely not on the top 10 of my favorite things to do.

My little Rose started off yesterday with intestinal cramping and diarrhea. Also not my favorite thing to deal with, but I can manage it pretty well. At least she wasn’t spewing anything all over the place.

Then, at about 1:30a I was awakened by my Grace with a call for water. As I come back into the room with a glass of water, I hear (because it was too dark to really see) the sound of liquid flowing onto everything around her. Her jammies, the sheets, comforter and her brand new purple unicorn Pillow Pet…they all felt the wrath of her tummy.

View complete posting: Why Isn’t There Bold Printed Warning For Parents?

Destruction Zone 5: Kiddle DYI Haircut

First, I apologize for the grainy cell phone shot, but that's all I could grab at the time.

Alright, I know that this was bound to happen at some point in time...but I was really hoping to be one of the few moms in America who bypassed this episode. While I was on the phone with my Momma (a.k.a. Nana) during the kiddles' nap time, there was something deep, dark and sneaky afoot in the bathroom.

View complete posting: Destruction Zone 5: Kiddle DYI Haircut

The Destruction Zone 4 ~ Gum Meets Hair

This past weekend I happened to be hit with food poisoning which means that I ended completely incapacitated Sunday afternoon. Which no one would think is a bad thing for the kiddles since there are three other adults in the house to watch them. What could possibly go wrong?

We managed to get the family to church for our morning service, after which I fulfilled my promise to Grace & Rose of handing over half a piece of gum to each of them. This is always done reluctantly because I know that Grace is going to end up pulling hers out of her mouth and stringing it across her face, hands, shirts, etc. She just can't keep herself from playing with gum.

View complete posting: The Destruction Zone 4 ~ Gum Meets Hair

Destruction Zone 3 ~ When FLARP! Attacks

I remember getting this ooey-gooey, slimy substance out of one of those quarter machines when I was about 8 years old. It didn't go by the name FLARP! back then, but it smells the same, has the same texture and is strangely amusing to play with. When Charming & I did our shopping for just a couple trinkets for the kiddles for Valentine's Day, he came across this little cup of FLARP! and just had to get it for the girls. It says for ages 3+, so that meant that Rose was in the clear to play with it....so we thought.

View complete posting: Destruction Zone 3 ~ When FLARP! Attacks

Destructoin Zone 2 ~ The Peaks of Mt. Countertop

Just when I think that things are running smoothly and my day is going to be a little less crazy than the day before, my girls prove my thoughts to be completely wrong. Yesterday it was an exploding neck pillow...I'm still finding those little Styrofoam balls under mattresses, under dressers, in toys...it just goes on and on.

Today there was a new Destruction Zone...this time it moved to the kitchen. I had pulled out a package of confectioner's sugar to use on some of the Kiddie Veggie Brownies I had made. Silly me, I thought that I could just leave that package on the counter for literally 2 minutes without something happening. Boy was I wrong.

View complete posting: Destruction Zone 2 ~ The Peaks of Mt. Countertop

Destruction Zone 1 ~ Styrofoam Ball Slide

This particular day I was completely exhausted and looked forward to the 1-2 hours I would get as relief when my kiddles’ nap time came around. Oh if that were only the case…how sweet that would have been. But not this day. Oh no, this day nap time would bring a whole new surprise…and project.

As I settle in to write my Prosciutto Wrapped Hot Dogs, I hear Rose gasp which is immediately followed with, ”Oh No!”, over the monitor. This does not bode well.

View complete posting: Destruction Zone 1 ~ Styrofoam Ball Slide