There are moments during motherhood where you feel you are striving, really providing, and teaching your children well. Like, when they use manners and share their toys with others. I smile, yes, I am doing something right.
Then there are moments when you feel like you have completely, utterly failed.
Today I am writing about that moment.
I was busily inside doing god knows what when I heard that eerie sound some mothers call SILENCE. Your stomach drops a bit and you think, oh gosh, what is happening.
I rush outside and call for the boys, and they don’t answer. I run around looking for them and then I see 2 little bodies on top of DT’s truck, covered, and I mean covered, with grease an inch thick at least! I wish I would have gotten a before picture of the boys. I couldn’t talk, I was shocked, their clothes were ruined, 1 inch thick grease on their hands and feet, grease all over DT’s truck where they were standing. But it wasn’t until I turned my head and saw the back of DT’s sleeper that I really freaked out.
Those stinking hand prints! So perfectly placed.
The greasy culprit and source of all that thick nasty grease, otherwise known as the 5th wheel.
The thought kept swirling in my mind, how am I going to tell DT, will he kill them and me for that matter?
This truck is his pride and joy. When I say kill I am completely joking, in no way did I fear for our lives, but sometimes looks can kill, you know.
So I grabbed the boys, stripped them down, and tried to rub off as much grease as I could.
Then carried them to my bathtub. I got out the goo gone, because I have found this to be the best grease remover from human skin. I’ve had a bit of experience with grease removal, here and here. I probably used a whole bottle, and grease was coming off, and then promptly sticking to my bathtub, me, the shower curtain, literally everywhere.
After the immediate threat of removing the grease was over, I calmly called DT. I told him what happened, and he said no problem he would clean it with the truck stop degreasers when he got home. He made it sound like it was no big deal. Though I warned him it was everywhere, he took it easy and I could breath a sigh of relief.
But I still had a dirty tub and slightly grease layered children to deal with. So thanks to all my great facebook friends that said dawn dish soap works great. I busted it out with a great scrubbing sponge and got to scrubbing and scrubbing and scrubbing.
See the nice layer of grease all over the bathtub and the boys?
So please tell me you’ve had your own mothering fails? Stories Please?
Aww LOL I’m sorry to laugh at your plight, but its adorable in its own way.
Its not MY mothering fail, but my Mom’s mothering fail which I think I will blog about since you gave me a great idea for a blog post today! (Let’s just say it involved 3 layers of OIL-BASED paint to cover what I did. I swear I am not evil.) Thanks!!
Where is the picture of the boys covered in grease? I want to see that!
I didn’t think to take pictures until after the fact I was too shocked!!
That is AWESOME. You’re a nice mom. I would have set up a bucket in the yard and hosed them down out there and just let them shiver, the little (grease) monkeys!
I can imagine how this was for you, but it makes a great blog post and pictures! I bet your hubs didn’t picture the extent of the handprints….but it is kinda cute! (I can say that since I didn’t have to clean it)
However, I have a 3 y/o…and you know those stickers you can put on the wall that are NOT supposed to take the paint off when removed?! Well, he decided to rip his off the wall – and it took the paint and all. Now we have to putty, sand and repaint the stupid wall!! He was supposed to be sleeping during this destruction.
Oh my goodness! That is too funny but I can understand the panic!!! They are too cute though!!!!
Honey: This isn’t a mothering fail.
It is just another moment and memory to cherish and hand down.
Treasure it!
They are only small once (more’s the shame).
You sound like a great Mom! :~))
Aww, but the hand prints are cute!
My first child is not quite six months old so the biggest mothering fail so far is forgetting to take the diaper bag shopping with us. Won’t happen again! lol
I laughed (sorry!) when I read this on facebook and I am cracking up now. Do you know how many mothers (including me) would love to get perfect handprints on all the craft projects we do? Their’s are so little and perfect. I am so glad DT did not get upset. Gotta love having boys!
I just ran across your blog and I love it- your boys are so cute! And oh my gosh….what a mess they got themselves into 🙂
My 2 kiddos, back in the day, smeared butter flavored crisco all over my sofa, entertainment center & t.v.(the crisco was even in the speaker cracks), all in the record time of under 5 min! The tub was one of the big ones and it was new, but when I got it back there was only a 1/4 remaining. I had no clue what to do & called my hubby (a plumber) who after I told him my dilema, informed me he was in the middle of a grease trap. I simply said you think you are & hung up. Mother failures?…nah. It’s more like “mother successes” when we and our kids survive those moments 🙂
9 years later, we want to know…..Did you get a print made to put back on the truck?
You know I never have, but I totally will now!!!