When it Rains, It Pours (on your baby)

The Tale of the Sippy Cup


...and other stories of a 2-year-old mischievous child.

I have been feeling sick for almost a week and yesterday was Day Two of Mike being back at work. When the children got up yesterday I carried them into my room and put them in bed with me to watch cartoons. I got Clay set up with his sippy cup of juice in it but Miss Carolina kept sneaking it away from him and chewing on the soft spout.

The kids were doing a pretty good job of watching cartoons with me but at one point I took the sippy cup away from Carolina and she had spit up all over the lid (gross!). I got up, cleaned the lid and got her a clean (empty) one just like Clay's.

After a while, Mike called and I got up to go in the kitchen to talk to him (without the noise of the kids and cartoons). I talked to him briefly and popped my head back in to check on the kids. They were as I had left them and so I took advantage of the time to put away some towels in the kitchen. I had barely started when I heard the toilet flush. The next thing I heard was a sound like someone slipping and then Clay whining.

I went back to see what it was all about and found a mess. A big mess. The bathroom floor was covered in water, Clay was covered in water, Carolina's sippy cup was on the floor with the top OFF and the TOILET SEAT was covered in water. You guessed it. Clay was going to give her a drink. Blech.

I took Clay to the guest bath and washed him down (and thought I was done). About then I heard Carolina fussing and went to check on her. When I originally left she was sitting up and now she was lying down. If only that were the only reason she was crying. When I went to help her back up, I realized that Carolina and the whole bed were wet. With toilet water. She had it from her head to her toes (soaked pajamas and all). Apparently, Clay had been successful in giving her a drink.



After I got Carolina bathed, I set her up in the kitchen to feed her breakfast. I noticed that the refrigerator door was opening and shutting behind me but for some (really stupid) reason I didn't really think about it. I turned around and caught Clay with his hand in the refrigerator. Did you know that when you chase a 2-year-old holding an egg carton they drop it on your living room rug and break the eggs? Hmm, me neither. I tied the refrigerator door shut with some spare ribbon after Clay went for another round. Obviously my kid isn't going for the Good Citizenship Award this six weeks...

Finally, I gave up. I felt like crap, my head was pounding, I was running to the little girls' room every few minutes and leaving my children unattended (clearly NOT a good idea). I called Mike at work and told him I needed back up (yes, in police terms). I was trying to describe the situation here at home as Clay stood behind me and turned the box of Honey Nut Cheerios upside down all over the living room floor. Talk about the straw that broke the camel's back.

Fortunately, Mike came home and saved the day. Thank God. Who knows what would have happened next?