Morning Drama

Welcome to a day in the life of a mother of five 8 and under! Though this is not a typical day, it shows some of the drama that can and often does happen in our house!

Being a summer morning, I got up to close some doors / windows after feeding the baby some where around 6:30am. All four older children were awake. I went back to bed to be interupted several times about random, meaningless things. Then, I was kept from going back to sleep because I got to listen to Bob and Peter in a morning "hug trap" routine. Off goes Peter and so Bob and I begin a simple discussion of life - you know, kids, morning, life...

Enter Beth and Jeremy as fast as little feet can run yelling "EMERGENCY! EMERGENCY!" Full attention is turned to the two and we learn that Peter has thrown the milk and it's busted and spilling out all over the carpet. Yes, that would be one type of emergency and so I sprang out of bed - none too happily I'll admit - and raced out to see just what the problem was. Sure enough, there's the milk jug, upside down, pouring and spurting milk out as fast as anything. I grab it and run to the kitchen sink, where I discover the hole is on the bottom, the lid fastened tight - keeping it upside down, I then leave it settled in the sink to address the real problem - a milk soaked carpet! AND IT'S NOT EVEN 8AM YET!

Where the milk had been, the carpet was now bright white instead of the medium tan it should be. Towel after towel is being saturated and still the carpet is very white. I look around and notice there is milk splattered all over the entire dining room. (And yes, the dining room has carpet in it... not our choice, but we're currently renting) Despair is now setting in - I'm imagining the horrid stench we will soon be smelling - and never be able to get rid of and trying to figure out what would possess a three year old to throw a full gallon of milk!

By this time, Bob has come out to help me. He wasn't there before because he was beginning to discipline Peter - who was, I was told, sitting on our bed in time out. A very quick assessment and some water and it was decided we needed to deep clean the carpets - oh what a way to spend the day! But, the alternative was not pleasant in any form, so renting a cleaner was the only real option. Clean up quickly shifted from the milk soaked carpet to clearing out that room (and several others - hey, if you're going to rent a carpet cleaner, you might as well do everything, right?).

Why did Peter throw the milk? Well, according to Beth and Jeremy, it was because the cap was on too tight (it was a brand new gallon jug of milk which Beth and Jeremy had tried to uncap - but they broke off the ring thing that keeps the cap sealed tight). When Peter was asked, he said "I wanted to show Beth and Jeremy how strong I am."