Dog Gon-it

Lige had an overnight retreat this past Friday with several men from our church. One of the other wives, who also happens to have four kids, invited all of us over for a Mommy and Kids Slumber Party! We all had a great time! They have 2 daughters and then 2 boys just like us, and their ages match up really well. It's a blast to see the kids play so well together. Plus, my friend and I had fun talking and eating together too! We had dinner, ate several yummy snacks, played, watched movies, had more snacks, and stayed up super late (really, it was ridiculous how late the kids were up, but they were so good and had so much fun, we just had to let them!) We all slept well then got up for more playing and movies and talking and eating. After our 12 o'clock "brunch", the kids played another couple hours and by 2 this afternoon, the kids were ready for nap time. So we loaded up for home. To be honest, I was looking forward to the kids all laying down for rest time so that I would be able to dig into some scrapbooking. I should have known better...

My first sign that something was wrong was the back door. We have mini blinds hanging in the window of the back door, and they were all banged up and several appeared broken. I was a little hesitant to bring all the kids into the house. I carefully opened the door and was nearly knocked down by MAX. Why was Max loose in the house? We always have him kenneled when we're not home. The kids made their way into the house and Max jumped up onto Amana. He hurt her nose, so I told her to go hang her coat while I put Max outside, and then I would check on her nose. As I was chaining Max, I heard Amana and Anlynn screaming. I thought maybe Amana's nose was bleeding or bruised. But then the kids came running and yelling, "Max pooped in our room!"

Oh, if only that were the least of it. Max had indeed pooped in the girls' room. And peed in there. And tore up diapers in there. Ever try cleaning up those gel pellets from the inside of diapers? Not fun. Of course the girls' room wasn't in tip top shape, so that meant all this mess was on blankets, a robe, and Amana's toy tackle box. Good times.

Next up, the parents' room. The bed was dissheveled. Several hundred pieces of our memory foam pillows were strewn about the bed and on the floor. An empty food can was chewed on and left like a mint on the remaining pillow. The stench of dog urine filled the air as well as half our sponge-like memory foam mattres pad.

There were pieces of diapers and pull-ups all over the kitchen and living room. No one in our house wears pull-ups yet, so these were clean, unused ones. Downstairs I found the remains of more never-before-used diapers and half a package of baby wipes. Oh, Life!

Where do you start with something like this? Did I mention Harrison had a diarhea diaper needing to be changed and that Isaac was screaming in his carseat? And Max was twisted up by now and barking because he was stuck on a now-short chain. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. So that's what I did. Now the bedding is in the washing maching, the memory foam mattress pad has been cleaned and is air drying under the fan, the boys are taking a much needed nap (after a much needed diaper change!), and the girls are playing quietly in their room. And I am taking time to blog this adventure while it's still fresh. :) Lige, my love, you can come home any time!