Tuesday, January 29, 2008

I Can Laugh...Now

I can laugh at these now because they happened a long time ago.


This is why you ALWAYS keep concentrated icing color under lock and key.


They seem pretty happy about their accomplishment, no?


The couch and floor covered in black


The chair and the table covered in black. Nice hand print on the chair, huh?


The wall surrounding the tub covered in black. Note the color of the water. See the black goo dripping from my daughter's nose.


After two baths, the black disappeared and the red pigment was left. For many, many, many, many, many days.

69 comments:

Kim VanDerHoek said...

Oh man! I can't imagine how long you were cleaning up after this!

Now I am off to put locks on my pantry doors....

Anonymous said...

OMG! I would have gone mad!! I bet that took forever to get off (or did you have to replace the chair)? Lol!

Dawn said...

It never came off and the furniture was eventually replaced. You know - so they had fresh new furniture to destroy.

Anonymous said...

WOW. Just WOW. I'm thinking "what am I gonna do when my 1 yo does something like that?!" You just gotta laugh, huh? And then get out the Clorox.

Anonymous said...

Wow! I am amazed daily at the messy terror of my 2 yr old boy, it just never ends!!
Just this weekend- I came in from doing paperwork in our attached garage turned office, found him sitting on the counter, cupboard door open, he had poured a bit of oil, rice vinegar, almost a whole jar of cinnamon, a jar of ground cloves, small baggie full of dried basil, not sure what else, on my carpeted kitchen floor! Then this morning, I was out shovelling, shoulda knownbetter than to leave him alone in the house again, I came in to find him sitting on the couch, sugar bowl in hand, cooking spray beside him! I think I learned my lesson, I hope! I'mjust glad we have leather couches, it just wiped off!

Rick said...

Me thinks that taking photos of the aftermath may not be detering further such infractions. The photographic record from your blog would seem to suggest that it has only encourage further pigment pandemonium.

http://organizeddoodles.blogspot.com/

Stephanie said...

Oh, I'm sorry. After all these years, I'm still sorry. I feel your pain.

Anonymous said...

The last picture reminds me of my first Halloween party: I dressed up as a vampire, complete with fake blood around my mouth. Who would have thought it would be so hard to wash out? The next day I still a reddish shadow around my lips - and it was a school day.
On second thought, watch out for your eldest children's teenage years: that's when the fake blood will come out. I suggest you keep it under lock and key and administer personally ;-)

Mim said...

Haha! What a fantastic lot of photos. I'm one of six kids and we had a blast growing up. SO much fun being part of a big family. Now I'm a mum to Alexander (9months) and hoping to have lots of kids too. You stories definately do not turn me off - only make me want lots of kids. Thanks for the daily laughs.
From Mim in Sydney, Australia

Anonymous said...

Dawn, everyday you become more of a hero to me. I found your blog when I was about 6 months pregnant. I'm ready to pull my hair out because by the time my 6 week old goes to bed I've hit my 2nd (or 3rd, 4th, or 5th) wind. Hey, it's 4am, why bother sleeping by then?! I'd crawl under my bed & hide if I had pictures like this to share...of course I'm sure I will eventually. And I doubt I'll really crawl under my bed because then I'd feel bad for never cleaning under it.

Any tips for a first time mom who never sleeps & still has to cook dinner at night because her husband is just far too messy for his own good? Or know any way to fit under the bed with all of our crap without having to clean under it? Whichever works best.

Rach said...

I think I understand now. It's been going on for a very long time. It must be genetic. I guess that means it will continue for quite a bit longer;-)

Michelle Kemper Brownlow said...

Isn't it amazing what kids can do in almost a split second? Before having children, I would have looked at these pictures and thought, "What the heck? Did this mom leave these kids alone for HOURS?!" Now, having 3 of my own (one being the rascaliest child ever born) I look at these and think, "Oh, poor Dawn...I can't imagine living through that day!" Because you KNOW that couldn't have been the ONLY thing they got into that day. That's not a low blow to YOUR kids specifically, just ALL kids in general...once the ice is broken and trouble has been found...WATCH THE HECK OUT!!!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the reminder. I have a jar of orange frosting coloring in the cabinet. I need to put it back with the cake decorating supplies.

I know it takes several days for the dye to wear off. I'm not a very good cake decorator. I made an Elmo cake for my son's 2nd birthday. I used so much red dye that whoever ate the cake looked like the joker from Batman. Big, red lips!!! Maybe we should market it as a lip coloring that will last for days!!!

Anonymous said...

Yikes!

Mommy to those Special Ks said...

well, I'm glad you're able to laugh now... I don't think I would be able to! LOL

Nicki said...

Ha Ha. They look like little loch ness monsters!

Kate said...

Thanking my lucky stars my kids never found mine at that age....although my ds got into the red liquid kind as a TEENAGER, and yes, it's now locked up, LOL~!

Anonymous said...

Do they get punished for antics like that? Maybe I'm too uptight, but my kids would have felt my wrath for (1) getting into stuff w/o my permission, and (2) making the mess on the furniture.

Lucille said...

Oh my goodness! I never had anything even close to that. But hey - new furniture? Nice trick Dawn...nice trick!

LOL!


Lucille
whosgoingtotellyou.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

Oh Lordy....I would have just cried. More over the fact that their hands stayed red than anything else, I think. If it happens again, though, I've found that nailpolish remover gets that kind of food coloring off of skin...doubt you'd want to use it over such a large area, though.

Anonymous said...

Holy mess-makers!! I thought they had on black work gloves and just painted their faces. My friend told me that her mother claimed women (mothers) invented the five o'clock cocktail hour. Now we know why.

C-Rah said...

Ho-lee-cow. I'm not sure WHAT I wouldda done if I had walked in on that scene. Probably cried, then laughed, then cried some more. You're a Supermom!

KC said...

Reminds me of my tub after we used "bathtime crayons." Biggest marketing con of all time - took forever to get off the bathtub tiles!! I only buy them now for people I don't like..... hahahaha

Sherry said...

My eyes would have popped all the vessels in them if my kids did that. How do you take pictures of them without conveying that it is okay to make messes or did the wrath of mom make it clear that it is not okay? ;-)

MaryLu said...

I think that would have put me over the edge, padded room and straightjacket! Wow!

Tricia said...

Wow. Just wow. Mine stick mostly to Elmer's glue. On the carpet. Sticking things to the walls. But Elmer's I can handle. A little water, and all is good.

And I love how we all immediately grab a camera when our children have done something naughty. I can't even count the number of pictures I have of naughtiness.

Eternal Sunshine said...

Oh my goodness! I thought the day mine painted their walls, the hardwood floors AND themselves with whiteout was a bad day.

Actually, it was a bad day - LOL!
Melody

Brenda said...

I was going to ask if it came off the furniture. Thanks for answering. I bet it was a long time before you could laugh about that one! The kids look so sorry though. lol!

Calfkeeper said...

Note to self:

As the mother of an 11 month old daughter, I will never have food dye in the house, ever...not even on the property!

Thank you for the warning! And the laugh!

CK

Josephine Milkweed said...

Wow. I mean, wow. That has to be that Wilton coloring. Such tiny jars for such big trouble. Is it just the picture, or did they actually wear gloves? And it had to be the black coloring, too! (Hard to get white icing to turn black, not a problem for the bathwater...) Good for you for being able to laugh- even if it is some time later!

Amie said...

I made the mistake of reading today's blog with my four year old on my lap. Eeek! He promises he'll never to anything like that. "Until tomorrow."

Do they make a red food coloring like that? I've been hoping for something that would actually make white frosting into red frosting ever since the Pink Spiderman Birthday Cake Incident of 2005.

Anonymous said...

They were definitely caught red-handed! So was that Austin and Savannah? Jackson and Lexington?

I'm now planning to corner my husband when he gets home, and persuade him to put the rest of the childproof latches on the cabinets... Yikes! We're trying to sell the house right now and I can't imagine what the poor realtor would say if she showed up with a prospective buyer and saw something like that!

You have the patience of a saint.

Anonymous said...

Hi Dawn, Oh My gosh...What a mess! Were there faces red for along time too? Was this in the summer months? It could have looked like a really bad sunburn. Or did the kids have to go to school that way? LOL..Oh and I think I saw that chair at the goodwill store. Kristine in Michigan.

Chelsea said...

Ah hahahahaha!!! That sucks but is so funny!!

Anonymous said...

I can only imagine the look on your face when you first seen them! :/ YIKES!

Christine said...

Hillarious. I love it. Good that you can laugh about it now.

AutoSysGene said...

OMG! Dawn you are truly a saint!!

Joanna said...

Wow! You must have kept your cool pretty well to have them actually STILL smiling about it in the bathtub. I'm afraid I would have yelled and screamed so much that they would have ALL been in tears! Way to go, SUPERMOM!

Unknown said...

LMBO! Too funny Dawn!

Anonymous said...

If you ever wanted new furniture, just "accidently" leave food coloring out....hahaha!

Anonymous said...

Wow. They sure did it right, though. Which two was this?

MaNiC MoMMy™ said...

I wish you could hear me crying for you for way back then. But now I laugh with you.

UGH!

But hey, those will make fab photos for their wedding day slide show!

Unknown said...

Oh my...that was bad.
Popped in to let you know there is now a variety of tags for your website that announce that you are a Magnificent Mama of the Universe, please pop in and get one.
The Mama Bear

I_Am_Who_I_Am said...

I was hyperventilating as I was reading that!! That is my nightmare... I'm afraid I would have had to get rid of my kids if they ever did that. ;) The mess alone would put me over the OCD edge, but the kids... *cringe* the kids would have done me in!

*shutter*

Elisabet said...

When they graduate from h.s., hopefully there will be a slide show of pics that parents choose of their kids...I think these pics would be perfect payback!

Anonymous said...

OH MY! I think I would've been hospitalized in the mental ward if it was me.

You are a good woman!

ummmhello said...

I'd have sold them to the highest bidder after that stunt!

justmylife said...

And yet they still live? I would have blown a gasket! You must be a saint.

Anonymous said...

Funny pictures. ;)

Anonymous said...

I think I might really consider finding a better place for all my decorating supplies now. :) wow.

Don Mills Diva said...

And I can laugh at them because they're not my kids...:)

OMG5kidsunder4 said...

Dawn, you make me believe that I will get through each day with a little grace and maybe a cocktail as well. The first time I had heard your story was when you posted the Pokemon cards on ebay with your hilarious story to go with it. I was peeing in my pants. When I saw it I just had my second set of twins (I have five children ages 4 and under with 2 sets of twins only 13 months apart) and I wasn't sure if I was going to survive the beginning of this journey. But it's 7 months later and I am still surviving and I feel real solace in knowing that you have days very similar to my own. So thank you so making me laugh and realize it's much better to laugh about the crazy stuff that happens rather than stress over it. P.S. I agree with you on the baby wipes. They are great for EVERYTHING!

ANYWAY, just wondering if you ever did sell those cards on ebay?

Anonymous said...

Thank you for sharing this. . . .I have five children of my own and I LOVE stories like these, especially the ones that I have never encountered to make me thankful for what LITTLE my kids actually do! I had a glitter mess once. . .that's not a pretty site (in my eyes anyway!).

Ariel said...

Oh my goodness! Too funny! I did something like that myself when I was little. Only mine was with make-up, in the back of my parent's Bronco. =\

Anonymous said...

do your children mind you posting bath pictures of them? i always hated it when my parents showed people those kind of pictures of me... so embarrassing

Anonymous said...

HOLY SH*T!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I guess you had to invest in some new furniture or a few slipcovers....OR....never invited anyone over to your house ever again:)

Stephanie Marie said...

All I can say is "wow!"

Valarie said...

The last pictures where they are reddish purple is what I think it would look like if a human being decided to breed with Barney.....

Anonymous said...

Holy cow!!!

What will they think of next???

Anonymous said...

Well.... at least it wasn't poo poo. I left my then almost one year old in his crib long enough for me to take a shower. That was when he became Poo Poo Picasso. All over the crib, wall, and he even painted himself with it. That was the nastiest mess I ever had to clean up. Love the foot and hand prints Dawn!! LOL!!!!

FLmom7 said...

Oh My. Just...Oh My. LOL! And I thought I'd seen it all;-)

Anonymous said...

And yet.... you still have six kids.

That's just pure mother's love!!

(you do still have 6 kids, right?)

Anonymous said...

OH. MY. GOODNESS! There is NO WAY I would have survived that...I would have had an apoplexy right there on the spot!! You're a good one!!

Six-Pack Momma said...

That reminds me of the Sharpie incident my son had in kindergarten. He thought it would be a good idea to tattoo his arm with a Sharpie. It didn't come off until the skin wore off!

Anonymous said...

Excellent!
KR

thesixburghmom said...

Wonderful! Just great...lol.

Having five kids, I totally didn't coil at these photos. I just had the "Dude, that sucks" reaction...lol.

And I had to laugh at this comment:

Pink Spiderman Birthday Cake Incident of 2005
I've sooooooo been there...with Elmo, the US Flag, a pink train. Just plain horror.

Becky said...

LOL! I love that you patiently took (and take) pictures of such fiascos.

My kid's worst incidents I usually don't have pictoral record of because I was so livid, cleaning up after them, wondering how such devistation happened in such short periods of time.

My toddler recently Christened our furniture with Balmex. I'm hoping my Hubby will decide it's time to finally get some new furniture, too!

Unknown said...

I can only imagine how fun that was! It was a tradition for each one of my children to have a 3D panda bear cake for their first birthday - the black frosting, yeah fun! Now my daughter is going to do it for her son next month. I told her to put him in trash clothes as she'll never get the blak frosting out of them.

Looks like yours kids had WAY too much fun with that!

Tammy said...

http://meview.metro.co.uk/Video.aspx?id=55312

Food coloring video that might make you laugh. It has been several years now. I hope you're laughing. :0)

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