that's it. no more washing hands.

At least not unsupervised, that is.

I began writing this post to update you on Obi-1. Yesterday, he went up to wash his hands while I cleared the breakfast dishes. This is perfectly common in our house. Hand-washing, followed by eating, followed by hand-washing. Both boys have become very self-sufficient in this practice; so much so, in fact, that I have become comfortable sending them upstairs (or downstairs) to wash their hands before or after a meal.

But yesterday, Obi-1 tipped the stool a bit after finishing at the sink, and hit his mouth on the counter, knocking his front top tooth loose. I ran upstairs, of course, to find him crying, and his mouth bleeding. Mom-o-the-year award #250.

A quick call to the dentist set us up to find out the extent of the damage. However, this all happened at 8:15 AM, and the soonest we could be seen was 11:45. He calmed down and the tooth seemed relatively okay - just barely wiggled when I touched it. So, I let him go to VBS camp for the morning, and I even wrote a note so his teachers would know what happened and help him remember not to chew on any snacks.

At the dentist, x-rays were taken and a quick exam completed, and Dr. Dentist assured us both that his tooth was not broken at the root (our initial concern). He thinks it will probably tighten back into place within a few days.

So... good news. Obi-1 is more careful on the stool, and we're back to normal.

This evening, the boys were instructed to go downstairs to wash their hands before dinner. They complied, and we enjoyed a wonderful steak, potato, and mixed salad dinner together as a family. I think it was the first real sit-down meal we've enjoyed all week, since we've been working so hard on the church nursery facility lately.

After dinner, the boys had Mama's highly efficient bath time, followed by generous stories and songs with Daddy. While he handled bedtime, I set in to finish the curriculum I've been working on. I then remembered that I have laundry to do (always), and decided not to put it off over night. So, I headed down to throw in that Bob-the-Tomato shirt and other favorite clothes so they'd be ready to wear tomorrow.

That's when I discovered that we had water on our (basement) laundry room floor.

Water of, well... sizable proportions. Let's just say I'm expecting pairs of animals to show up at my door any time.

Turns out the boys had left the water running in the downstairs sink, with the drain pulled closed. For the entire time (hours) since they had washed their hands before dinner, water had been running full-speed into, and out of, the bathroom sink. A bathroom which is conveniently located next to our laundry and storage areas. Laundry and storage areas, which in my house, are rarely well-organized spaces with clear floors.

This, from the house where Mama says, "turn off the water while you scrub your hands" and "turn off the water while you brush your teeth" and "save some water for the fishes!" because I'm just that OCD about water conservation.

Yes, this same water-conserving nutcase had over two hours worth of water running in a bathroom sink. I had a couple of inches of water covering my basement laundry room. Soaking the rugs. Drenching the pile of laundry on the floor. Endangering the camera. (Why was the camera in danger, you ask? What's that - you don't keep your camera case sitting beside your ironing board? Oh. Well, um, neither do I... anymore.)

We have now spent nearly all of our fun, boys-are-in-bed-now-we-can-finally-relax-together time wet vacuuming the basement floor, clearing soggy items, and generally getting frustrated beyond our exhaustion with the whole situation.

And now, I'm writing about it. To share. To decompress. To let you in on the little chaotic mess that my life can be some days. And, I hope, to have this recorded so I can laugh about it someday... way, way, way, into the future.