Oh NO not THE DRAWER again...

Ever notice how tape gets legs and wanders into your kids bedroom and then manages to loose half of itself in big rolls of messy taped stuff everywhere.  Earlier today I was looking for the tape. Little Miss Sunshine said well mom maybe its in Little M's drawer.   (It's her special drawer.)  I open the treasure trove and find... a Super Secret project Little Miss Sunshine is doing for me.  I'm doing my best to pretend doesn't exists so she can surprise me later with it. The book Little Miss Sunshine has been looking for for the last 2 days, and a purple princess shirt that no longer fits her.  None of these things are Little M's stuff...

Little M suffered an immediate loss of a grace token, and a repetition of the Why We Don't Steal talk. An amusing side note when I asked her why she took this stuff. She told me she covenanted it...  Oh Man I'm still smiling over that one... I said in a happy voice "Ooo  you made a special promise to your sister? Wow great what did you promise her."  She wasn't amused But LMS was. No Mom covenanted  it!! I wanted it so I took it. Ohhh you stole it because you coveted it??  Yes I want nice things too. Now she has plenty of things that start out nice, but degrade rapidly in her presence. She's one fantastic catalyst.  After some discussion she got to keep the out grown purple princess shirt since she was saying it made her feel safe. Everything else had to be returned to owner.

This evening I was not surprised when she was having a hissy fit that her sister stole her Water Bottle.  That whole imputing on others, the feeling we ourselves feel, coming into play. So Mom says "Hey look at the time!!! Your 10 min late to bed scoot! scoot! I will look for the missing water bottle."

I think the Holy spirit works over time in my house. I really do, It's not really mommy radar it's God tapping me on the shoulder saying Hey look at that... go look in here. Check on the kids. I think they are alive today because God has assigned us extra guardian angels to watch over us.  One just changed my ENT appointment from the morning where I was double booked, to the one spot in the afternoon I had open that day. It was on my list of things to do this morning and I wasn't able to do any of that list today.

I went and  looked for water bottle in the last place she had hidden it. Yup you guessed it -THE DRAWER.  Nope it wasn't there... I'm thinking I should take pictures of The Infamous DRAWER. She's at it again. *sigh* A handy wall got a few head bangs for good measure. Can you guess what I found in the drawer this time?  Well it looks like she took a really wet soap and rubbed the insides. Shall we give her the benefit of the doubt and assume she was trying to clean it... Ahh don't bother  she already confessed... but... because on top of the big mess of dried soap scum is half a tube of sunscreen. I don't think I'll be assuming anything. It's bad to assume, facts are so much more factual.

The Infamous Drawer

So I go to get her up out of bed yet again so I can do the whole quiet parenting thing and just make her look at it. Behold!!!! before I get to the door, a crying child comes flying out of the bed room. Oh my Little Miss Sunshine Crying? it happens really. Mom shes being so mean and Shushing me whaaaaaaa... Wait let me get this straight your in bed the light is off your supposed to be trying to go to sleep and YOUR talking??? (Weeeeeee some misbehavior woo hoo oh wait will non-adoptive parents understand that it is a reason for rejoicing.) But since I can only handle once crises at a time I say Go sleep on the couch.  Huge smile child runs off happy problem momentarily solved, and yes I can deal with it tomorrow.

Little M come here... Not even dealing with the whole meanness to sister, I point her head in the direction of THE DRAWER. "I didn't Do IT!" she yells...  So I took her to the grace tokens and pulled one for tomorrow.  For wreaking stuff and then lying about it.  Now I took a peek in that drawer yesterday and last night at 1AM I heard her open this drawer and then close it. Earlier today they had 2 soaps on the bathroom sink, girls girls you can share a soap and tooth paste it's not hard, just no sharing of the tooth brushes. I moved soap to the shower which had none, when I picked up the soap I noticed it had bits of particle board stuck to it.. Really I should have been a CSI investigator.

We had yet another talk about heart issues, and she started crying that her heart hurts. Oh thank Heaven, praise the Lord, Grief!!! Yeah Grief!!! true Honest Grief! She cried  for an hour clinging to me like I was a rock in a storm. What??? A hug! Seeking comfort From Big Bad Meal ol Mommy??? Whoa Nellie!!!  I of course wept as well when did I turn into such a watering pot? She needs to cry all the rocks out of her heart. We don't listen to pop music and she certainly doesn't read twaddle. So when she tearfully said "Mom I think my heart is broken." She didn't mean she lost her non existent boyfriend, but rather she sees such messy ugly sadness in her heart and it is truly broken, that it doesn't work right. Loss of a birth family will do that. This child's grief is profound and bound up to much in her heart. I told her to cry it all out and when it gets full again she needs to cry it all out some more, but it will heal if she chooses to let it. It may not stop hurting forever but it will heal.

I'm wondering if  the stealing, the lying, and the destruction is a direct result of the praise I lavished on her yesterday. I did say I was ready for it. Ahh the 2 steps forward and 1 and a half back life I lead.

Who knew a 6$ lotion could cost over $500.00

My Mommy radar has been pinging all week because I have a missing water bottle.  Where is said full water bottle.. slowly dripping in a corner on the laminate floor? Did it end up in the wash? Is it in her under her pillow causing the mattress to rot.  These questions and more have made me go hunting for the water bottle.  Now you must think I'm perfectly paranoid. ha ha ha ha  Before you think the following description of leaks were accidental, think again.. once is an accident, twice is a coincidence, more than three times is deliberate. 

I found the water bottle this morning... in THE DRAWER.... Ok why all caps and bold you ask?? Well some day I want to sell my house and before I can do that I have to replace the Bathroom vanity.  THE DRAWER is in that bathroom vanity.  In fact I have already bought the new vanity but hesitate to install it. The wet things leaking in THE DRAWER  has been an on going issue... She puts wet things in the drawer so they leak all over everything.  Most of the time the drawer barely moves... the bottom is no longer flat and is now shaped like a U.  But since we have had such a dry summer its actually working again.  

I had noticed her using the drawer a few weeks ago but since it was hair ties etc. I was letting it slide. But today... Just guess where I found that water bottle!!! Yup you got it...  on its side in THE DRAWER. (thankfully NOT leaking) I also found a ripped open package of wet wipes that leaked into the drawer.  

Why does this happen first thing in the morning?  Arrggghhhh is it to late to run into the closet?  I of course had to evict all the junk out of the damp drawer again... the mixture of residue in that drawer is just scary.  I would not put my tooth brush in there... cinnamon tooth gel, mint tooth paste, cucumber/ bubble gum/ pink hand lotion, various hand sanitizer, and facial wash. Yes it has been wiped out each and every time, but each and every spill  has been hidden so successfully that I can't imagine what kind of toxic radioactive stuff has been created but the mixing/layering of these different ingredients. 

In fact My DD's Aunti use to send her nice smelling lotions. When I requested the practice stop for an indefinite period of time.  I got the puzzled look of why can't I give your kid things that make her smell nice?   In fact the lotion gifts did not cease until she actually stopped by for a visit. When given a look into THE DRAWER! and its rather nasty condition (no matter how much you clean it, its still gross). She was Oh MY! That is where all these lotions I send her end up? Yup except when I get to be big bad mean Mommy. Then I confiscate them.   Thanks... no really...  thanks!  You get all DD's gratification for giving her things  I get the bill.  She is going to abuse this junk and I get to clean up the mess all the while being the big bad mean mommy, and you get to be the great and awesome Aunti.  Way to go! woo hoo!!   Himm maybe this is why I'm never really excited about her visits. I love her to pieces but she has NO Idea I get cast the the roll of big bad wolf when she comes around.

Of course the thought  that a $6 lotion you bought her costs me a couple hundred dollars seems preposterous.  Lets see a new vanity, not to mention the cost of tearing out the old and installing the new... which will lead to having to replace the wall paper behind the toilet (oh joy that will be fun!)  and or re-mud and skim the walls and paint, and the floor will need replacing cause the new vanities do not have the same foot print as the old ones.   Really... buy my kid more lotion too destroy my stuff with... Wait can you send me a check for $500.00 that should help with the clean up the money pit DD triggered.