Kitchen Craziness

So, last Sunday, I had one of those days that you know will be funny later but at the time it just stinks. In fact, I remember thinking, "I'm sure glad you don't have to pass a competency exam to become a homemaker because I would FAIL right now!" Here is the story:

It all started with a delicious spaghetti dinner (with meat in the sauce! I went all out since it was Sunday.). As I was carrying over the sauce, I had the thought, "I hope the spoon doesn't fall out of this pan." As soon as I finished the thought, the spoon tipped out of the pan (Why do they make the handle so much heavier than the ladle part?) and sprayed spaghetti sauce all over me on its way down to the floor. Gratefully, I followed the little prompting to wear an apron, so my clothes came out unscathed. I grabbed a paper towel and quickly cleaned up the floor so we could eat dinner.

[Dinner: no out of the ordinary mishaps]

After dinner: I had made yummy chocolate cookies to take to Bear Lake to share. When we got back, we realized that since we didn't eat very many on the trip, it might be nice to make another batch. This all went quite smoothly because Emmy sat in her high chair and ate spaghetti the entire time. (We had had an early Sunday dinner and she never can get enough of spaghetti!) I was feeling quite good about myself being so efficient and getting things done and keeping Emmy happy at the same time. Then I looked around myself. The kitchen was a bit unruly with dinner and cookie dishes. Emmy had thrown a couple handfuls of spaghetti on the floor when she decided she was done. And my daughter was an absolute mess of spaghetti - hands, mouth, nose, eyes, ears, chest (We'd stripped her before giving her spaghetti; we've learned.). It was a bit daunting to look around and know that the whole mess was mine to clean up with a now tired baby. Yikes!



So, I dug in and started to clean up the Spaghetti Monster. Being careful to not step in the goo on the floor, I carefully took off the high chair tray and started to unbuckle her. In this time, she managed to tickle her toes with her red hands. I carried her over to the sink and started to wash off her hands and feet. As I looked her over, I decided it would be much easier to just stick her whole body in the sink. So, off came the diaper, and in went the baby. She loved her new bathtub with the "wadah"! And the move-able spout on my kitchen faucet made it quite easy to get her all clean. (It's one of those things I'd have never thought of to put in myself, but I'm awfully glad some previous houseowner did!)

Counting her kitchen sink time as her bath, I wrapped her in a kitchen towel and headed upstairs for jammies, book, prayer, and ni-night.

With the baby all tucked in I rested on the couch for a few minutes and then headed up to conquer the chaos in the kitchen (after asking for help from Brett - there are some nights when I just can't quite muster up the courage to do it by myself, especially on weekends for some reason.). I started by putting the cookie ingredients away. I grabbed the Tupperware cylinder that holds the flour by the lid rim as I leaned down to put it in the cupboard. Thunk. The lid came off, the bin fell to the floor, and the flour poofed up onto EVERYTHING! I looked over at Brett, and told him that was his job. I just couldn't do it. Not after the preceding two hours. It was too much for my already frazzled mind.

As Brett tried the vacuum and then the broom, he asked me with a bit of a laugh in his voice if I was going to put this on my blog. "No," I replied. "This is too awful. I don't want to have to relive it. I know it will be funny at some point, but it sure isn't now!"

But I guess the funny time has come now. Maybe it's because my baby is clean and in bed. Or perhaps because my kitchen is clean. Or I guess there is the slight chance that I'm learning that the world doesn't end with a few messes - no matter how big and overwhelming they may seem at the time.