In the Red

I was polishing my Mother of the Year trophy, while Ace was tending to the  money tree we have growing, and this happened:

Okay.  So I wasn't polishing my trophy.

Here's what really happened:

Ace and Co were working on the tile in the unfinished bathroom downstairs.  We're in the process of finishing the bathroom and the final bedroom down there.  Co brought over the RedGard to put on the sheet rock in the shower portion of the bathroom, so that we could then start the tiling.

Bogey and Double Bogey must have been taking notes.

When Co left to go home, Ace and I noticed that we needed to shovel our driveway.  We first put a movie on for our children who were half asleep, but a little too nervous to go to bed without mom and dad inside.

Once we got the movie going, we hustled outside and got the driveway and sidewalk shoveled.  At that point, I was ready for a drink, and Ace was ready for a treat.  I headed to Maverik and Ace headed inside.

When I got to Mav, I realized I forgot my wallet, so I turned around and drove home.  I left the car on and ran inside to get my wallet, only to find the twins standing naked in bathtub covered head to toe in bright red.  The three older children were in the bedroom sobbing.

When I walked through the door, they came running to me and told me that dad was so mad.  Everything downstairs was ruined.  There was red everywhere--EVERYWHERE!!

Apparently, the movie was distracting enough for the older kids. They said they didn't notice anything awry. They didn't even hear the boys slopping red goop all over everything.  Or, or the little devils really did do it while tip-toeing,  silently sloshing it everywhere.  I don't know.  I wasn't down there--obviously.

Nonetheless, I dashed out to the car, turned it off, and then ran downstairs with a hot, wet, towel.  I started scrubbing.   I prayed, and scrubbed, and then prayed harder.   Ace was trying to salvage the work he had just done.

I started shouting orders.  Mulligan was to watch the boys as they soaked in the tub.  Gimme and Birdie were bringing buckets and pots filled with hot water down the stairs.  I was pouring it everywhere.  On the couch.  On the treadmill.  On the carpet.  On the ping pong table.  On the stairs.  I was scrubbing walls until my arms turned to jelly.  I was sweating like no other.  Ace was dripping as he scraped, and scrubbed.

It wasn't until we started seeing the red fade, that we could laugh about our misfortune.

So, we're probably out a ping pong table and some clothes.  Ace's tool box is red now--with a little hint of the black it once was (and it's even more waterproof than before!!).  We've got a little extra sanding to do before we repaint the walls and doors.   Our carpet has a sweet shade of pink every few feet, but it will serve as a great reminder of that crazy night, where we all worked together as a family--as a team.

For anyone who reads this and is wondering, PRAYER IS REAL.

I have seen medical miracles through the power of prayer.  I have had my heart softened through the power of prayer, so I am not at all surprised that through the power of prayer, the red, waterproof substance, came off the treadmill and our couch.  It came out of our carpet enough that we won't have to replace it.  That's a big deal.  The goop even washed off of our boy's faces, arms, and feet.   I'm just as thankful for this miracle as I was the others.

I love that these boys are really getting along now, but it would sure be nice if at least one of them was a tattle-tell every once in a while.  ;)