Monday, October 17, 2011

What is THAT Splattered on the Floor?


You know the saying, "What do you do when life throws you lemons? You make lemonade."
Today has been one of those days.

Except I wasn't given lemons.
Try Splattered Nutella.
Yep, that yummy chocolate hazelnut spread.

I walked into the kitchen and splattered everywhere was a dark brown gooey like substance.
I took a couple of sniffs for fear of the worst.
Quickly assessed the situation and found:

Jie Jie jumping with joy with the brown goop spread up both arms to her elbows spraying it even closer to the ceiling above her.
Then she turned and I saw it caked across her face and nose, smudged into her shirt and splattered on her pants.
Another sniff to be sure, and then I saw the brand new opened jar of Nutella.
The 750g jar from Costco.
Half empty.

I started to take a step. The floor was a minefield of dark brown goo.

How in the world am I going to get to her?
How am I going to clean this up?
Where do I even start?
Plus a whole lot of other thoughts that I won't write.

Jie Jie showed me her hands and smiled. I cleaned off her arms at the sink while she giggled with delight. I sighed and debated on scolding her or laughing with her.

I remembered this post from a few years back. I ran out and grabbed the camera and took pictures. I remembered that although at this moment I was between tears and pulling my hair out, that in a few hours I would want to be showing my husband and laughing about it.

Oh, and by the way I forgot to mention that this all happened within a few minutes of having to leave for physical therapy.
We called and canceled.
The minefield. 
My cabinets...

I think she enjoyed herself.
We ate Nutella sandwiches instead.
I used some of the large globs near the jar. I just could
NOT waste it. It made for a nice snack.
My new saying? When life splatters Nutella at you, grab some bread and make a sandwich.

Any Nutella splattered at you lately? How did you make a "sandwich" out of it? 

8 comments:

A.L. Sonnichsen said...

Oh, MaDonna! I saw this on facebook, but it's fun to read the whole story! What a mess! I'm so glad you could laugh at it, though. And good for you canceling physical therapy. :)

I posted a poop story today on my blog. Parenting at its finest!

Amy

MaDonna Maurer said...

Thanks, Amy. As I was cleaning a Flash Fiction piece developed, so at least some sort of writing was gotten out of it as well. HA
I read your piece...right there with you.

Jackee said...

LOL! Oh wow, what a mess! You handled it so well that it makes me feel bad how mad I got at my four year old for throwing puzzle pieces everywhere this morning.

Such perfect keepsake pictures, MaDonna! Treasure them. :o)

Marcia said...

How technology has changed us. Thanks to our digitized world, we now think to take a step back from such events, photograph them, and post them online where our friends can comiserate. Really, it's got to help develop our broader view and save our sanity, doesn't it? Cooler heads and all that. Thanks for sharing!

Sharon K. Mayhew said...

Your story reminds me of a time that I came home to a house sprinkled with sugar. Someone left the lid off the sugar canister and the cats had dug it all out and had a sugar party in it. There were sugary footprints everywhere. So funny...and messy

MaDonna Maurer said...

Jackee- seriously, there are days when I'm not so good at being the mom...it's a daily learning process for me.
Marcia - I so agree with you. Had I not had a blog or FB, I think I would have lost my sanity years ago. This child tests all boundaries, but it keeps me from getting bored AND keeps me closer to my relationship with Jesus.
Sharon - I can only imagine tiny footprints...that made me laugh. Really...

Sharon K. Mayhew said...

Lol... WHEN THE PEOPLE ARE AWAY THE CATS WILL PLAY was one of my first stories.

I think having the opportunity to "post" the stuff that is going on in our lives allows us to see what is really going on. :D All the "stuff" ( nice word) that goes on in our lives makes us stronger...

MaDonna Maurer said...

Sharon, that is a great title and sounds like a fun read. I'm sure it was inspired by your precious ones, right? ;)