Well, my girls have been back at it. Last week, Greg was in San Antonio, and the girls decided it was a prime time to watch Mom have a slight breakdown. They started the week by taking a Costco sized container of Tang and making themselves a drink/wading pool in the kitchen drawer. (I'm starting to wonder if Costco really is such a great thing for our family).
On another morning, the girls searched through the cupboards until they found a big bag of unshelled peanuts. They thought that playing elephant would be a delightful game, and turned the nuts into peanut butter on my kitchen floor. When I discovered the mess, I told them to go up to their rooms until I got it cleaned up, but instead they went into Becca's room and found some vinyl window paint that I had tucked away on the top shelf of her closet. The beauty of the vinyl paint is that if it is used on a non-absorbent surface it will simply peel off when it is dry. However, Becca's windows did not provide a broad enough canvas, and they instead decorated the walls, carpet and bedding. This picture was taken after my first attempt to clean it all up!
I did come up with a great punishment, though. I went through Wendy's drive-thru and ordered myself a kids meal, and ate it in front of the girls while making comments like "Oh, this is delicious. Too bad you guys made such a mess or you could have one, too."
Well, Greg got home Friday afternoon, and his parents invited us to come over for dinner. I fear I was feeling a little complacent since our child to adult ratio was 1:1, but after dinner while we were in the basement my girls found the ONLY messy item in a VERY kid-friendly room. That messy item being bright yellow marbling ink. It was everywhere. All over their clothes, the carpet, the toys and the walls. Fortunately, it cleaned up pretty well thanks to my favorite cleaner in the world, "L.A.'s Totally Awesome Cleaner."
I don't know if I have posted about this wonderful product, but I buy it at Dollar Tree, and I had a great experience with a door to door salesman who came one day and asked, "What would you use to clean up Sharpie from clothes? Would you use a stain remover, or just consider it a lost cause?"
I told him that I would use LA's Totally Awesome cleaner, and he asked me if I would show him. I brought it out to the front door, and he used it on the Sharpie and watched as the stain disappeared. He then looked at the back of the bottle, saw that it did the exact same things his product claimed to, and asked where I got it. I said I bought it at the dollar store for one dollar, and he shook my hand, asked me not to tell my neighbors about it, and said I had found a bargain he couldn't compete with.
So, thanks to "Totally Awesome," the signs that my children are incredibly mischievous are not quite as obvious as they could have been.