I just read Ashley’s latest post over at Make It and Love It and had to laugh. Oh, I remember messes like that. Oh do I remember.
I, too, forgot to read the rule book once.
You see I stupidly thought that having the paints in a box in the closet was enough.
No, no, no, no, no.
Two little kids who are supposed to be napping + a box full of Halloween and Easter tole paints =
This …
… and this …
Sure, I was going to repaint the ugly bed frame I got for free … but NOT LIKE THIS!
The curtains, bedspread, pillows– everything – were a complete loss. And for some unknown reason they had all the couch cushions in the room and they were trashed too. And the carpet … yeah. Don’t get me started.
The perversely funny thing is apparently the little punks had fun destroying the room.
See?
I’m just glad we hadn’t started the remodel yet.
Total cost:
$186 for new carpet for the room and hallway
$46 for new sheet rock, tape and mud to replace one of the walls
$56 for new baseboard trim and chair rail
$41 for new paint
$35 for new bedding (on clearance, thankfully)
… oh yeah …
$14 for new paints that are now kept locked up in storage.
(The little punks got rinsed off in COLD showers, thank you very much.)
Even though this little episode goes down as a total PARENT FAIL on my part, I’m happy to share so that all of you look better.
You’re welcome.
38 Comments
Oh. My. Gosh……….I just about passed out. Can I link this? I can't even imagine the horror you felt. If you'd rather me not link to this and have lots of people coming and looking at your personal blog, I won't. But my word, that made my laugh, gasp, laugh, gasp, and then almost passed out looking at the cost to replace things. Wow!
Ashley
makeitandloveit@gmail.com
Bless you!
Wow. Holy freaking cow. Never have I EVER seen destruction as sad as this! You sound like you had a pretty positive attitude still…I think I just would have sat down and cried (maybe laughed somewhere in there) but man! I saw your link on makeitandloveit.
Heidi
honeybearlane.blogspot.com
That is crazy. I can't even imagine. And at that point, what else can you do but grab the camera, right?
katie@ www.hipposanddinosaurs.blogspot.com
Wow! I can't even imagine. I have paint bottles all over my house…I'm going to lock them all up right now:o) I hope the munckins survived…mine would have been given away!
WOW!!! and i thought my lil picaso's ""art" was bad…girl…i literally gasped!! Bless your heart!!
Oh, golly… one of those "you have to laugh so you don't start crying" moments. Makes me want to go make sure my kids really ARE napping right now…
Oh my! I think my husband would quit right then and there. I just can't get over it! And here, all this time, I thought my kids were good mess makers. Turns out they're just rookies!
Bless you for sharing this. My own mess in my house suddenly looks less daunting. (I dropped in from makeitandloveit.)
Oh no!! That is unbelievable!
And how great that you can laugh about it looking bacK!!
Oh-My-Word… LMFAOOOOO!!!!! I'm sorry, but I'm actually laughing so hard that I've formed tears!
What in the world were they thinking & how old were they??
PeaceLoveApplesauce,
What were they thinking ….?
I truly have no idea. Seriously. None.
When I first came downstairs to check on them and saw the mess, I was so stunned that I just stood there for several minutes in total silence. All I managed to get out was, "Hmmm."
Then I went upstairs, grabbed a bunch of big garbage sacks for all the bedding and got to work.
How old were they?
They were 3 and 4 at the time. I count it no small miracle that they are still alive and that I find this whole thing funny now.
Oh my! I'm speechless!!
You are not going to believe this, but when I actually did go up and check on my kids, they were pouring water by the cupful onto the hallway carpet (right where they flooded it before) and in their bedroom. I think you're right — our kids must know each other secretly and be plotting behind our backs. Seriously — who raises these people?
I'm here from Make it and Love it. I cannot believe the disaster they created! My paints are in a room with a child lock on the outside. I will have to remember to lock them up once the kiddos can open the door. And I hope my paints aren't the first thing to be found once they can open the child lock :-). Thanks for posting this :-).
Found you from Make It and Love It. That is CRAZY!!!! My kids once painted on my new couch with nail polish and I really thought I was going to die. (if you could die from something like that) I can't even imagine this mess. I also read your other post about your sons birthday. Even though it sounded like a crazy day, you have such a great attitude and perspective. Your kids are lucky to have a mom like you! You inspire me.
Krystal
found you via "make it and love it". Ooohhhh NNNOOOOooo. That totally makes even the worst of my kids wall art look respectable.
Our worst one involved hubby scrubbing the wall with everything we could think of to little success, when the 3yo culprit walked in and was loudly expressive about the removal of her chicken. I quickly intervened to remove said 3yo so she could make it to 4… she's now 18.
I also found you via Make it and love it, and oh my gosh I can't believe the mess your little monkey's made! When I saw that you spelled your name Nike, I was really intrigued as I knew a Nike once from Utah. I wondered if it could be you? It would be a crazy small world if it was. She dated my ex husbands brother Paul and was a total sweetheart, I was just wondering about her the other day.
OMG! I would have cried. I thought it was bad when a 2 and a 3 year old 'painted' a bedroom with a large jar of vaseline and a large canister of baby powder (while on dad's babysitting watch!). But seeing this, that was nothing! Good luck with your re-do!
oh my! I found your link from Make it and Love it and all I can say is OH MY GOSH! I thought it was bad when my son poured an entire brand new box of cheerios all over my family with his little brother and they played in them like a sand-box and then I thought it was bad when he left the sink on and clogged in my guest bathroom and it flooded the basement, and I really exploded when he dumped an entire costco sized laundry detergent on the floor, and spread his poop on the wall many a times, but all of those could not add up to YOURS! oh my you poor thing I dont know what I would have done! came unglued? cried? screamed? laughed maybe a little, I dont know, but I know I would have LOST it for sure…could luck with the remodel!
smart to take pictures, that way when their kids do it to them you can take it out and say… your just getting what's coming to you, now go enjoy a cold shower!… thanks for sharing 🙂
Wow… that's all I can say. Wow.
There would have been some serious blood loss if I'd walked into that in my kids rooms.
Geesh, don't you watch those kids! That's what my sister would say to me everytime I told her about my oldest sons latest destruction project when he was younger. Nope, apparantly I didn't! We had paint on the carpet too, not quite this much, but alot. We had ink on the carpet, we had a dozen eggs mushed up on the carpet. The list goes on and on of the many other things my son destroyed as a toddler, so I feel your pain. Luckily he is now 8, and I don't think he's destroyed anything all year. It's a miracle.
I am in shock. I don't even know what I would do if the kids made such a mess. I was really upset when my daughter made a huge puking mess last night (not at her, just at the mess ~ I am really a loving mommy).
I think I'd move to my mother's for a week to calm down if they did that though! And also from the sure-to-be husband comment of "weren't you watching them?!". Yep … that's just what I would need to hear right then.
Wow. I'm hiding my paints now.
Also here from Make it and love it. A-Maz-ing. My paints are in my craft room, AKA the garage, so if the door opens I am there…usually and hopefully. This is just unimaginable. I can't believe what that room looked like and that you had the wherewithall to grab a camera. Between my tears and yelling while dialing my husband, I don't know if I could see straight. Thank you for sharing, but loss for words doesn't even cover it.
P.S. Bookmarking this so I can show hubby what happens during a mother's day.
I love this. My twins are super destructive but this makes them look like an angels. I guess it is a good thing I only have boys and I don't have any type of paints. We just barely invested in a lighter again at our house which is locked up and hidden because we were afraid of our house being burnt down.
Wow!!!! I never thought kids could cause such damage!!! Oh my… and all they got was a cold shower?? God bless your patience! Your place in heaven is granted, just for this!
Much love, Cris
PS:Also here from Make it and love it
Horrible! I totally feel your pain! I have a section on my blog titled "Little Miss Trouble" because I have a 2 year old that LOVES to get into things too. I linked to a few.
http://lubirdbaby.blogspot.com/2009/10/terrible-twos.html
http://lubirdbaby.blogspot.com/search/label/Little%20Miss%20Trouble
http://lubirdbaby.blogspot.com/2009/10/finger-paintingmackenzie-style.html
My friend shared this with me. How long were they left alone? I'm guessing it only takes minutes for this kind of destruction. Oh. My. God.
Oh my lord…I am impressed that they lived to commit new crimes!
please you must let me link this. my youngest did something similar to our leather couch. not to this extreme. i am so sorry.
Oh my Goodness! I cried for you when I saw that! I knew there was a reason I have locked tool boxes for my paints! My daughter did something like that but it was in our unfinished basement aka my craft room. At least the damage there was only fabric! Your self control is formidable, my dear…I would have been a blubbering mess on the floor!
This is what my kids would do. I could totally see this happening in my home. So sorry that it cost so much to fix the damage! 🙁 AND all the time that it probably took to get it back to "normal." My kids, though would have also found a pair of scissors and added to the beautiful masterpiece.
No way girl. Way back when, before I had a blog, I read this post, came across it from another blog. It was like my first experience with blogs, and fell in love. I laughed so hard when I read this, man I could relate, have so been there, just not to this magnitude, thank goodness. I am so happy I found you again, when I first read this, I had no idea about following, or leaving comments, or anything, lol. Dang, how far I've come in a few months. I would sooo LOVE if you checked out my little blog, I could use all the support, and just know I am your very happy NEWEST follower. Can't beleive I found you, lol. Thanks so much, Bella 🙂
NO WAY! I can not believe this is for real! I saw this on another post and I assumed it was some kind of hoax. I would have passed out! Bless your heart, I'm so glad you were able to put things back in order!!!
oh my i think i would have died! Glad it is all fixed and you hadnt just repainted:)
This made me laugh so hard I cried. So sorry it happened to you, but thanks for sharing!
OMG… that is really … I can't even name it…
I guess, everybody has a story to share… especially those little kids are sooooo fast…
Here is mine…
my daughter got somehow a green pen… and covered her mouth, her tongue and her face with green… I had the choice between screaming or get the camera… I grapped the camera…
but the worst thing she did was…
I was sick… laying in bed… my husband was taking care of our baby boy… while he changed the diapers… our daughter got an pig stamp and covered everything with that little pig… the whole kitchen, carpet, floor, switches, curtains, walls… you name it… I just heard him shouting in disbelieve…
somehow I managed to get up and see what was going on… unbelievable she did it maybe in 10 minutes…
Things like that just can happen…
But good pictures to blackmail her when she is a teenager … ha ha ha…
Warmest regards from Germany
Andrea