Brown Sugar, Sesame Oil, and Toothpaste

Your kids sure do teach you things. Two things I have learned which are now big red flags if they ever happen: If it is too quiet or there is hysterical laughter check it out immediately!!!!!

Here is how I learned my lessons...By the way, there are not many pictures, I was too mad at the time to snap any of the messes!!!

What would you do with a 3 pound bag of brown sugar at your disposal? Me ? I like to put a couple of teaspoons on my oatmeal and then put the bag away.

Now if you are two and one half years old, you have other uses for brown sugar, especially if your mom is nursing your baby sister.

Oh yes, this was just the case not long ago. The morning had gone oh so well with our little crew. I was just finishing nursing our baby butterfly when I hear hysterical laughing coming from the pantry area.

Sweet pea & little sprout had been playing so well together for ten to fifteen minutes, "wow" I thought, "they are really having fun together"! The laughter only became louder and more gleeful with each passing moment. HMMM, better check this out......

Well, good thing but I was a little too late. There the whole bag of brown sugar was, removed from the pantry drawer and dumped out on the floor.

That would not have been too bad. The thing is, these two little munchkins had taken the brown sugar and had been throwing it and eating it by the handfuls!!

It was EVERYWHERE. In hair, stuck on hands, clothes, down the air vent, all over the floor....... I had them stand in the end of the mud hall while I broomed it all up. Then marched them outside to the hose and sprayed them off. One sticky mess!!

Sesame seed oil, hmmm I use it to cook with for special recipes, it is after all SUPER EXPENSIVE!!

Well now if you are two and one half years old you have other ideas. Never mind that it is set up high on the counter top and unopened, just get a chair out and access that pretty amber liquid. Mrs. Busy bee was gone for three minutes tops setting up toys for individual play time on blankets.

When I came back in the kitchen, I was perplexed. What was that puddle on my kitchen table? Why was it dripping on the floor? Wait, are you kidding me??? There are puddles all over my floor!! Oh, no the toasted sesame seed oil, the bottle is EMPTY!! Arrrghhhh!!!!!

Two smiling,giggling, little lambs looked up at me as I stood there in utter disbelief. I need this oil to make scarecrows birthday dinner! He is due home in thirty minutes! I still have to make the salad, salmon and broiled asparagus. My hair is in a pony tail and I have yoga pants on, I still need to change my clothes and freshen up my makeup!!!

That is when the fury kicked in. How can I accomplish all of this in the time I have left? I had just spent thirty minutes before this comforting little sprout who came down from his two hour nap crying.

Finally I had detected , as he would not tell me with words what the problem was, a diaper half on his tushie and soaking wet pajamas. I had changed him, rocked him, sang him songs and now THIS.!!

Oh I don't ever recall being so furious in my life. They were going to get it! At this point I realized I needed to chill. So, one was sent to sit on the time out bench and one sent to sit on top of their potty chair in the bathroom. I cleaned up the mess amid many tears and expletives. Blanket time ensued and I was off making the birthday dinner.

O.K. good, five minutes to spare, the asparagus was broiling. I am off to change and freshen up (with sweet pea and little sprout in tow as I cannot trust them as far as I can throw them!!). I take my time applying eyeliner, mascara, perfume....is that SMOKE I smell? What in the heck??

Oh no, the asparagus in the broiler!!!! I rush downstairs to find my kitchen filled with smoke and one minute later all of the fire alarms go off! The noise is deafening. Sweet pea and little sprout are scarred spitless, covering their ears, crying, cowering... Can this get any worse? I was about to laugh at the craziness of it all when sweet pea slips on the kitchen floor she helped oil. Much crying ensued. Just at that time, scarecrow walked in the door to his smoke filled house, fire alarms blaring, slippery kitchen floor, crying children.... At least I got the hair, makeup, clothes change done and his dinner ready!!

Now for the toothpaste. Yes, this just happened yesterday, great timing for this post I guess, that is the positive spin on it!

Sweet pea and little sprout woke from their nap as I was nursing their little sister. I heard their door open and some talking, laughing. I expected them to come downstairs where I was as is the usual fashion.

It got quiet after two minutes. UH OH! I took off upstairs to find out where they were, probably playing in their room for a little bit? Oh how wrong I was. They had headed to our room.

As I walked into the master bath I found them. A little too late mind you. In just under two minutes they had emptied a tube of toothpaste and spread it all over the floor, their hair, faces, hands, pajamas, vanity (including into the grooves cut out in the wood), and vacuum that happened to be in the bathroom.

Oh, did I mention it is WHITENING toothpaste, yeah, bleaching out the wood on our NEW cherry vanity was a grave concern!!!!!! I grabbed for the nearest towel, wet it down and got to work scrubbing toothpaste off everything. The two culprits had to sit with their hands full of toothpaste folded in their lap and watch. Thirty minutes later, job done. No bleach marks on the floor or vanity. Boy were they lucky!!

So remember if it is too quiet or there is hysterical laughter take off running, something is likely amiss!!