Did I mention earlier how much fun a two year old boy is? As I was attempting to pack our bags and get some things in order, the house was strangely quiet. If I hadn't been so engrossed in my project, I probably would have stopped and asked myself why is it so quiet? Then I would have checked on the kids. But no, I just assumed (big mistake) that Isaac and Ainsley were actually playing nicely along side each other.
After a few minutes Isaac comes and finds me and says Mom I found a marker. No worries, his coloring markers are all color wonder markers. (For those who don't know what they are, they are white and only show up on special paper. . . ingenious really!) Then Isaac pulls from behind his back a BIG BLACK MARKER. Yes my sweet son had been busy creating a masterpiece throughout the kitchen and hallway with a permanent marker. All the while Ainsley was by his side so deeply interested in what he was doing. The great art master teaching his young young apprentice to explore and create. I could see her mind scheming. What a scene!!
A fellow blogger recently wrote on her blog:
"Cleaning house while the kids are young is like shoveling snow while it's snowing."
How perfect this quote is for me. Picking up one mess while another is in the works.
I did luckily keep my cool and Isaac sat with his nose in the corner for 10 minutes while I found home remedies to undo his, "artistic" mess. After I found a few ideas, Isaac was kind enough to help and put in some elbow grease. Well he was forced, but didn't complain.
I asked him why he colored on the walls when he knows it is a naughty thing to do. He said, looking down and shuffling his feet "I don't know mom, I just did it. I didn't know." How do you get mad at such a sweet child?
Here's what I found:
1. Eraser (just a regular pink eraser). . . absolutely no difference
2. Rubbing alcohol. . . didn't work, but did spread it around
3. Hand sanitizer. . . nothing
4. WD-40. . . softened the lines, but still very noticeable
5. Toothpaste. . .working the best so far.
6. Magic eraser. . . I don't have one and is my last resort on a Sunday (going to buy one)!
I will say another reason I am not too upset about the whole situation is I have been debating about painting my kitchen table and chairs. They are lost against our mustard colored walls. This has pushed me into the affirmative of spicing up my furniture. But until that happens we will now have some interesting artwork to look at while eating our meals together!
8 comments:
I'm so sorry! Magic Eraser is definately the way to go. I'm hooked on magic erasers- they work on everything. Just don't scrub too hard because they'll remove your paint and varnish. Good luck.
Oh my word!!!! That looks lovely!! I think I would freak. But I guess you can always paint it. But oh my what a sight.
The Magic Eraser will get it off the walls no problem. I've gotten it off a similarly colored table before, too, but it's a bit harder. Love Magic Erasers. :)
And don't worry. Sophie has already colored on the wall several times. Usually with washable markers since that's what I get (Crayola only. Rose art washable markers LIE. They are not washable.) but she managed to find a permanent marker and color on the linoleum with it. I got to it while it was still wet and rubbing alcohol worked fine. :)
FUN STUFF, raising kids! :)
Holy crap!!! I think that would've been one of those go to your room and do not ask to come out, I will come and get you moments. Some things just push me over the edge to the point where I have to have the child out of my sight before I lose it. Only 10 minutes!!! Wow, I'm impressed. This would also end with a talk about how expensive things are--she gets that talk a lot and how we need to treat our things with respect and would she like it if I colored on her favorite things? You know, the usual talk. She's never tried this and I hope she never does!
Brooke I have been wondering how your day was getting ready, and this is what I find you have been up to. I AM SO SORRY!! I do agree with everyone...magic eraser is the way to go if you have the right paint. Our dear Carter did a similar act of art and it worked on some paint surfaces and not others. Who knows now what was what. Sorry no help on that one! :) And...I think we may share the same table. *The same coloring on them and the same one!* I guess I will have to tell you later if that is the case! :) Good luck and I'll talk to you later. Hope your doing okay tonight! And one more thing...I am glad this happened NOT on IM time! :)
Holy Cow!! I can't believe you can laugh about this! Espacially in your brand new house! I would have flipped out! Thankfully it sounds like you are going to get it out okay so for that I guess you can find a little humor in this situation....one helpful tip...HIDE THE PERMENANT MARKERS!!!
Nice! Thank goodness for the invention of the magic eraser!!! Love that thing, gets a little to much use at our house. Hope you guys have a fun trip!!! and Have a Happy Thanksgiving!!!
Oh my gosh! I am impressed you kept your cool! What a little stinker... a cute one though! His work is beautiful! :)
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