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Baby Powder, The mess one child can make
Last night I really wanted breakfast for dinner.
I wanted pancakes with maple syrup, eggs scrambled with cheese, and turkey sausages. It all sounded so delicious, so perfectly right, and then it was all gone. I didn’t get my breakfast for dinner, what did I get?
I got a huge mess, an unspeakably, you can’t believe you eyes mess, that blew me right out of the water. While I was in the kitchen getting my supplies out for dinner, and feeling all joyous that I was going to have some breakfast for dinner my three year old son had other plans for me.
Kids make messes any parent knows that. The second you turn your back there are a thousand things they can get into, a thousand things you never thought you were going to have to worry about.
I am in the kitchen, and my son is in the living room. He calls it “his room” because my living room is basically another play room since we don’t have much space in this house. All of the sudden half way through getting the turkey sausages out, and the eggs on the counter, I start to smell something. I can’t put my finger on it right away because I am so blissfully excited about the food I am getting ready to prepare. Then the smell grows stronger and in an instant I realize what it is. I do a mental OH (insert bad word,) and run into the living room.
There he is, in all his glory smiling at me, while my face goes from happy to ohhhh myyyy god. Instantly my breakfast wishes are dashed because my son, my glorious, wonderful, amazing toddler has decided to paint my living room with baby powder. It is every where. The couch, the floor, all over the tables, and all over his toys. Not to mention himself.
I had to take a deep breath because already I felt the anger rising and I knew that wasn’t the way to deal with the situation. Sure I was mad, but yelling at him wasn’t going to do me any good, or him.
I took the baby powder away, I sat him down on the floor and I explained in my best I am the parent voice that this was wrong, and that he had done a bad thing. I also quickly explained to him that he was going to help me clean every bit of it up. On very good days I can get my son to clean up his messes, and on very bad days the most I can get is a fit thrown about how this isn’t fair, and cleaning is too hard mom.
My dreams of breakfast for dinner trashed I had a huge mess to clean and no time to cook, I settled for ordering Chinese take out, which was a huge far cry from
breakfast for dinner, but I settled. Then we began the long, sneeze inducing clean up. After all that, dinner, a bath, and then sending him to bed I had just enough time to make the dough for my next dessert.
I hope to be finishing that dessert today and posting it tonight, but I do have a toddler so I can make no promises on that.
I think any parent has probably gone through something similar to what I have just experienced. You can’t blame yourself because no matter how hard you try to baby proof a house, or make sure everything is up, once they start walking and start developing their own curiosity, all the rules go out the window. The best you can ever hope for after dealing with something like this is that they learn a lesson, and they don’t repeat it. You of course also learn to put the baby powder up higher.
That was my night in a nutshell, and let me tell you something I still smell like baby powder and so does my house, the carpet will have to be vacuumed several times over before all of the traces of baby powder are gone. I am sure I did something like this to my mom, and when my son is older and all grown and has kids of his own. He will call me up someday and tell me what they just did, and the mess they just made, and then, and only then will justice have come full circle.
Let me know what is the worse mess you have had to deal with, as a parent, a teacher, or even a mess you made when you were a kid. I bet there are some great stories out there just waiting to be heard so leave a comment and lets all laugh. 
Filed under: Rants & Raves, bakedblog, children, family, funny, life
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I have a story for you. My two year old loves chocolate pudding and his big sister (13) gave him one without telling me. By the time I saw him covered in chocolate I couldn’t help but laugh at him. He looked so cute. I stopped laughing when I saw his chocolate covered hand prints all over my white drapes. I some how managed to get most of the chocolate out of the drapes, but chocolate pudding is now banned from my house.
LOL, I don’t think I can come up with a story that even comes close to yours. LOL
I know it’s not so funny at the time, having to clean up all the baby powder everywhere, but I bet your home is smelling nice and clean and fresh.
I have to give your son some recognition for trying to help invent a new air freshener that actually does smell good.
Thanks Lin, the house smells super clean lol and I didn’t even have to do anything!
Tammy great story chocolate pudding at its worst lol
Oh man. That sucks! But yup, been there.
My story isn’t so much a mess, but a waste of money, and humiliation.
I had gone shopping at Sam’s club, buy everything in bulk to save money. I was still a single mom then too, so I needed to save as many pennies as I could.
I bought huge boxes of cereal, snacks, ginormous boxes of tampons and pantyliners, and like 50 rolls of toilet paper.
I was proud of my money saving skills.
I had taken all the newly bought in bulk bathroom items upstairs along with my oldest son who is 16 now, but was just 3 then, and we set to “helping” mommy put away all the items of shampoo, soap, tampons, toilet paper, and pantyliners.
Then the phone rang, so I walked to my bedroom right across the hall to answer it.
It wasn’t a cordless phone, but I was trying to keep my eye on him.
He put the huge package of toilet paper in the closet, the same with the box of tampons and soap. He placed the shampoo bottle on the side of the tub, so I turned my back for just 1 split second to hang up the phone.
When I walked back to the bathroom, I almost threw a tantrum myself.
I cried, I know I did.
That huge box of 500 pantyliners that only cost me $3, were now all IN the toilet and he had flushed it.
It had started to overflow and he backed up giggling like clogging the toilet with mommies vagina cloths was the most hysterical thing ever done.
Till he saw my face and the tears.
Then he started crying, said he was “sowwy mwommy, *sniffle sniffle*”
I grabbed as many pantyliners out of the toilet as I could get, threw them in the tub, tried to reach in the hole and pull out the clogged ones, all while crying as loud as my son was.
Then I grabbed a few towels to clean up the water on the floor, and plunged the toilet to try and dislodge the ones that had gone beyond my reach, but to no avail.
I had to shut off the water and call maintenance to come help me.
When I explained to the crew as they arrived and I showed them to the bathroom, they looked in the tub at some 400 water logged pantyliners, and explained how I tried to plunge the other 100 back out but may have made it worse, they started to snicker, then giggle, then it was all out laughter.
Both my son and I were still crying, but they were laughing at the idea of my kid trying to flush 500 pantyliners down the toilet.
It was humiliating, but they used a toilet snake, a super strong air compressor plunger, and the other 100 came out and they tossed them in the tub.
I apologized, red in the face, I mean, just what did those guys think?
This woman must bleed like a slaughtered pig during her period, just look at all these pantyliners, just look at the giant box of 500 tampax tampons in the closet.
I was dying of embarrassment, and they were laughing.
The next day, one crew guy came back over and said he had something just perfect for me.
He led me upstairs to the bathroom, and installed a toilet lid lock that could only be opened by an adult squeezing on two buttons at the same time.
He said just in case my son ever felt like flushing his blankie down, this was definitely going to stop him.
I thanked him, he was still laughing, and I finally just blurted out;
“I don’t have heavy periods! I wanted to save money buying in bulk! The tampax and pantyliners would have lasted me a whole year! I was just trying to save money! I swear I don’t bleed like a chicken with my head cut off!”
That’s when he busted out in the loudest laugh ever, and I was even more embarrassed than I was the day before.
At least you had a good story to tell! I’m glad you didn’t yell at him.
On Monday, my friend’s 4 year old decided he wanted to see if his preschools sprinkler system worked. He pulled the fire alarm (It was suppose to be child safe.). My friend is still upset, whereas I just die laughing every time it is mentioned.
Kat that is one heck of a story, I would be in tears. I was almost in tears last night i couldn’t believe he had done this. Still your story better then mine lol, that one had me laughing. I bet you like to tell that story to any potential girlfriend LOL, you can date him just so you don’t let him near any of your personal products LOL
Wow that must have been a mess Rachel, good job talking to your son and getting him to help clean up. Unfortunately, I can’t think of any “big” messes my kids make. Does everday just making a mess with their toys and stuff count? And they never help clean it up either! I also loved Kat’s story I know that wasn’t funny to her at the time, but reading it I was cracking up!
I can relate, our little one’s always gives us something to share with our girlfriends LOL, They did it because not because they are naughty but because they are exploring, experimenting. I agree with your bakedblog we probably have done the same thing with our mom (I often asked my mom if i am the same with my kids!) my mom responded, what you are when you where like their age is doubled and i said ok then i have to double my effort then to be the best mother i can. I like what you did though you hold your anger and dealt the situation in good way. Kids cannot understand why we yell at them, they can understand more if we let them part of the cleaning etc..I love reading kats story aswell, thanks for sharing it sure is mixed emotion (I am gigling aswell while reading it).
My grandchildren (ages 4 and 2 at the time) decided they wanted to bake (well it was probably the 4 year olds’ idea), so they got a gallon of milk, a dozen eggs, a quart bottle of oil and proceeded to try to dump it all into a bowl too small.
Well, I’m sure I don’t need to tell you about THAT mess! It only took 1/2 a day with the shop vac to get it all out of the carpet
We bought them a kitchen set for Christmas that year.
Hi Rachel! First I want to say thanks for visiting and commenting on my blog!
Luckily my 1 year old hasn’t made that big of a mess!
His biggest messes to date have been with the dog bowls. He loves to splash the dog’s water and tip it over. Then he shovels as much dog food into his mouth as humanly possible. The most I have “extracted” from his mouth at one time is 9 pieces. I think he is part squirrel… 
When my son was about two he marched into the kitchen one evening and announced triumphantly: “WOOK at my toes!” He’d decorated his feet with spider web patterns of white glue.
Go Cards!
I feel your pain. I’ve gone up against a baby powder storm a couple times before. Very, very frustrating.
On a side note, I think we have the same couch. Ours looks like it’s the very same color as yours. Nice taste in furniture!
I haven’t experienced the baby powder. My little one is only 19 months, and possibly the worst thing I’ve had to clean is goldfish crackers she decided to throw on the carpet - which she practiced her stomping on.
OH MY!!! We’ve got plenty of experiences with that and even vasaline, it seems both the girls love to make a mess with both..and WHY oh WHY must everything they make a mess with, not only get over EVERYTHING but also all over them, my girls favorite is to get it in their hair…. Drives me nuts….
Thanks for stopping by
ok, I’m laughing too hard from Kat’s story!
my 2 yr old decided to put lotion all over himself, his baby brother, and the sofa all while I was out and my hubby was “watching” them! There are still lotion stains on the couch to remind me.
I can only imagine all that baby powder! My hubby was a bit too liberal w/ the Carpet Fresh this weekend and I can still smell the powder every time I go in our living room.
The worst mess my son has ever made was when he was about 2 yrs old. I was taking a nap on the couch and he got into the fridge and got the Hershey’s syrup. When I woke up, I discovered that he had poured syrup all over me, all over the couch, all over the floor, in his shoes and all over his favorite toy at the time, this musical bear (never did sound the same after that!).
At least they’re making messes w/ “pleasant” materials. You know you hear about these kids who smear their um, “diaper contents” all over the walls. Yikes!
Thanks for participating in this week’s Carnival of Family Life hosted at Vanilla Joy. The Carnival will be live tomorrow, Monday, April 21, 2008, so stop by and check out all of the other wonderful submissions!
[…] for families to survive the economic recession from Zork, the UFO alien.” Rachel presents Baby Powder, The mess one child can make posted at Bakedblog.com - a Mothers blog about baking, cooking, parenting, and enjoying all things […]
I soo feel your pain. I’m a single mom and I’ve had lots of these experiences since I really can’t be everywhere at once and my now 7 year old was able to escape out of my sight from time to time.