children momday

Have a laugh (“mom”-day Monday)

Posted on February 14, 2011

There are moments as a mother when you’re pretty upset. Times when you’re not sure how to handle the situation at hand without blowing a fuse and doing something you’ll regret. But in those moments, sometimes we get a glimpse of understanding that even though right this minute it’s not even a little bit funny, there will come a day when you’ll get a good laugh.
Take for instance the time my daughter got hold of a large jar of petroleum jelly. {she was being babysat with her brother- and yes we fired the babysitter} She put it in her hair, her brother’s hair, her stuffed elephant’s hair, on the walls, the carpet, pretty much everywhere. My husband called me at work when he got home and he was pretty upset. {as was I, but I wasn’t on hand} He managed to get it cleaned off all the hard surfaces, most of the soft surfaces, but was at a loss as to how to get it off the children. He shampooed and shampooed, but it still ended up looking like the picture above. Her hair is completely dry- it’s just shellacked with Vaseline. 🙂 I happened to have a well baby visit for my little boy the next day, so I thought maybe someone in the pediatrician’s office might have some tips on how to get it out. Really all they did was laugh and ask if they could touch it. {they also thought it was wet}
I turned to the Internet to see if I could find some help for our situation. I found a post by a hairdresser who said that people sometimes used Vaseline as a cure for lice, but they quickly discovered that the cure was almost worse than the disease. Her suggestion? Cornstarch.

Luckily I had a big box.
I sprinkled it on, shampooed and basically made gravy with their hair. It came out of the baby’s hair in one shot- it was pretty short. But lil miss here had to undergo the treatment 4 times before everything was returned to normal.
It was a huge mess. And aggravating to no end. But I’m glad in that moment of time I had the foresight to take these pictures, cause now I have proof of what an imp she really was, and I really can look back and laugh at all the things we’ve been through as parents. And having a good story to tell is always a plus in my book. 🙂
I’d love to hear other stories about children and their messes! Leave me the story in the comments, or if you post about it, send me the link- I think we’d all like to know we’re not in this alone. {and I wouldn’t mind if someone one-upped me in the messy kid department, but this one was pretty brutal 🙂 }
XOXO,
Amy

Creator, sewist and mom of 6. Making and sewing keeps me sane and happy. I'm here to share my love of creating with you. Free patterns, tips and tricks and videos to help you discover your own creative passions.

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  • Amy @ Increasingly Domestic
    February 14, 2011 at 4:58 am

    My niece Maddie did this same thing, but she did it more than once! My poor sister had no idea where she was even finding the stuff! I think she ended up doing it 3 or 4 times. No joke!
    She also learned the cornstarch trick and it was the only thing that worked.
    Those pictures are sure hilarious and I am so glad that you shared them:)

  • Dacia
    February 14, 2011 at 5:38 am

    Oh my gosh, LOL! Those pictures are adorable & they go great with the story. Gotta love parenting stories!

  • Gwen @ Gwenny Penny
    February 14, 2011 at 7:54 pm

    I love this story, Amy! The pictures are hilarious:) Luckily my girls have yet to do anything that crazy (and I stress YET). The worst my oldest has done is smear cheese all over the windows:)

  • Amy C
    February 15, 2011 at 12:06 am

    Wow, I think I would have come unglued if my kids did that…those are some fun pictures. I'm glad you got a fix for the hair!
    One day while I thought my son was napping, he had gone into my bedroom and emptied a bottle of body cream/lotion. He massaged it into my comforter and the carpet. My husband stopped on his way home and got a Rug Doctor, and thankfully we were able to get it all out with it.

  • Brande J.
    February 15, 2011 at 6:01 pm

    hahaha…that picture of H is awesome! I was laughing so hard. Yeah…I don't think I have one that beats yours…so you win 🙂

  • Jana
    February 15, 2011 at 7:45 pm

    That picture of Miss H is to die for!! How adorable! After all the frustration of course!!

  • Spunky Junky
    February 16, 2011 at 4:37 am

    This is hill-arious!!! Punk did a big no-no today but his involved paint!

    Halsey

  • Liz Davis
    February 16, 2011 at 6:18 am

    My little girl decided she didn't want to take naps any more and turned all hulk like and pulled her framed cork board off the wall, turned over her little desk and chair, took all the covers off of her new big girl bed and she alerted me of her no nap attitude while standing on her window ledge/frame, naked, between the glass and the blinds of her two story bedroom window yelling to a cat in the neighbors yard.

    Later she decided to make a potion and got out all of the sprinkles for our cupcake making and poured them all into a huge bowl. She then got into the fridge and got a new bottle of ranch dressing and smeared it all over out microfiber couches, in between the slats of our hard wood floors, on the tv, and all over her. When I caught her I noticed the hershey syrup sitting there waiting to be spread…

    She cut her brand new baby brothers hair and possibly the saddest to me of all, she cut off one of her very long pony tails! She is seven now and it is just finally growing back past her shoulder blades.

    I think the saddest thing about sharing this is that she was in my care during all three occasions. Sad.

  • Nicole
    May 5, 2011 at 3:20 am

    I really needed a laugh. Thanks so much! They're adorable and I'm so glad it wasn't my kids!