The above happened a while ago now…
That yellow ‘snow’ all over my living room was once a couch cushion. My poor, harrassed, neglected, wee’ed on couch.
And what was I doing when the snow storm hit? I was cooking dinner.
You see the problem is that our house is not set up to supervise children very easily. The kitchen is out the back and while I leave the door open to the lounge and the girls can’t get out of the lounge to wreak havoc anywhere else I still can’t SEE them. I can hear them… but when I am cooking and something is sizzling on the stove or the over head fan is on… well I can’t hear as well I need to. Plus my girls have a habit of being very quiet when they want to. I know I know… I should have learnt by now that quiet is NEVER a good thing.
So there I was cooking, the chicken sizzling away… On this occasion I did in fact realise it was quiet and called out to ask what they were doing. In trotted Zoe to tell me they were cooking. Ah a cooking, for Rabbity and Casti… no probs, something constructive that should keep them out trouble for the next little while. Silly me I didn’t ask WHAT they were cooking. Later, when I wondered why the foam snow was stuck to everything in the lounge and why I hadn’t noticed it stuck to either of the girls clothes when they had come in and out of the kitchen looking for spoons and bowls I realised…. they are cunning and had stripped off naked (as they do) so as not to bring the evidence into the kitchen with them!
When I finally had dinner at a point where I could walk away, I swear a mere 15 minutes later, and went in to really see what they were doing, the above photo is what greeted me with a ‘Look Mamma, snow!’
I didn’t know if I should laugh or cry… I did yell, but only a little and I tried not to let the screaming monster get the better of me. I did have to send them both to their room to play though… not as ‘punishment’ (that is not the way we parent) but simply because I couldn’t face cleaning up the mess with their help. I knew I’d yell at them more and really that doesn’t help anything and just makes us all upset.
The problem with these occasions (and if you read my blog you will know this isn’t the first such occasion) is that it isn’t really anyone’s fault. The girls are just doing what they do, finding cool stuff to play with. They had cooked up a lot of ‘snow’ for their toys for dinner. I was doing what I do, cooking dinner. The problem is mostly that those two things often simply don’t work together. If I’d be able to see them I could have suggested a different option to cook with, rather than shredding our cushions and I am pretty sure they would have happily gone with that.
So the moral of the story is…. we need to renovate so that the house is better set out to supervise the twinadoes while I am cooking dinner or doing other stuff. I need to magic about 30 grand into our mortgage by the end of the year so that can happen, even if that means giving up thoughts of a new car…
Oh and yes I scrapped that with my new kit ‘Every Day Moments’ which you can see up there on the left side bar and is in the pop shop now! :)
Wow, you have the patience of a saint and then some! I would have just hit the roof without question.
We are very blessed that our kitchen overlooks the living area/main play area so I can see exactly what they are doing but even so they still manage to find trouble at other points during the day..ie hanging out washing, going to the loo etc
LOL!! Love the snow :) There was a similar incident (luckily at my mum’s place) with cotton balls and tissues. The thing is, that was initiated by the queen of the 3 year olds and that is my mother… ~~sigh~~ at least it was her house… I hope the girls had lots of fun with their snow and helped you clean up :)
lol, sorry Kate, but it is funny ;).. I LOVE the fact that they stripped off to hide the evidence too!!
Oh and while your magicing your 30 grand.. you mind doing some for me too please ;)….
love love the caption :)
oh my! *giggle*
OMG Kate, I definitely would have been yelling about it. Glad you had the presence of mind to capture it before you cleaned it up lol. Great LO too.
I know I really shouldn’t be laughing … but I confess that I am! :)
Wow! We’ve had “snow” but not from a couch thank god! Yes, you need a kitchen where you can see what they’re up to!
Your girls are such smart cookies. They knew there was a possibility mama might not be thrilled about the snow storm in the family room and hid the evidence. Wonderful philosophy of parenting in understanding children’s need to explore and play. Poor kids don’t always get why we adults are such fuddy duddy’s about making messes.
You know I will definitely live to regret saying this…but I can’t WAIT for Harry to be a little adventurous like this and create disasters around the house! :o) Your girls are just priceless, I love the story and would have been just like you, a little annoyed but more amused by the ‘snow’. Glad to see they were cooking some up too, they’re busy little beavers. ;o)
Cheers, Cass