As a stay at home mom, we need lots of activities to keep busy and away from the television. This usually includes an art project or 10 per day. I try to let them use all the things I despise cleaning up. Glitter, glue, and paint hitting the top of the list. Generally, it takes a lot of persuasion and many promises that they will clean it all up themselves (yeah, that always happens). I tend to eventually let them do it. They seems so darn sincere! So I tend to let them foster their artistic abilities in a variety of ways. Am I annoyed that our new kitchen set has permanent paint stains on the leather? YES. Am I annoyed that there is permanent glitter on my kitchen floor? YES. Am I still disgusted by the paint that is never coming off our driveway and outdoor steps despite my best efforts and the power washer? YES. Am I annoyed that the door to door salesman that tried to sell me a $60 bottle of cleaning product was able to scrub off a strip of that paint in a matter of seconds but I refused to buy a cleaner that expensive? YES. I guess I only have myself to blame.

Here is where I draw the line...lip gloss slathered all over the really ugly mirrored closet doors in the girls room! There were plenty of lip imprints as well. I can just see Grace smooching herself in the mirror over and over again! She thought it was ART! She thought it was a GOOD DECORATION! Naturally with entire tubes of lip gloss emptied, there had to be some on the carpeting too. A nice ruby red color. After about an entire roll of paper towels, I still was getting a glitter and pink tinted residue. Thank goodness my first round of dish soap lifted most of the stains from the carpet.

Everyday it is some kind of mess. Every. Single. Day. I often wonder if this will change once she is in school full time. She keeps me on my toes. She is one in a million. It is funny. A lot of the time her "messes" frustrate me, but on days like today when she has been laying in bed all day because she is sick...I actually miss her antics:) Oh wait, I brought her a go-gurt to have in bed. I later went up to check on her and I found a bunch of dixie cups filled with yogurt. I guess even having a fever can't stop her from making some kind of mess:)