Go with the Flow

I get the saying, "There is no use crying over spilled milk." But after having someone spill something somewhere in the house every single day for the past week, I'm kind of tired of cleaning up messes and doing laundry. We stopped using sippy cups months ago when the health inspector came into Ada's daycare and said two-year olds didn't need them anymore. That was a good decision since Ada was good with an open cup. Unfortunately, accidents happen and open cups spill.

Earlier today, Iain knocked over Ada's cup of water from lunch and it went all over my pants. Yesterday it was grape juice and water with her breakfast at the table. Before that was juice on the dining room table she dumped on her cousin sitting next to her. And before that was a cup in the kitchen next to the sink that landed on the opened mail. Friday night Ada knocked Rick's beer over while he went to get ice cream. And if it isn't caused by her complete lack of attention to what she is doing, it happens because she is just being a three-year-old. She frequently moves her placemat out from underneath her cup while trying to get down from the table and causes her beverage to come with her, albeit unintentionally. At least she doesn't yell timber and giggle right afterwards.

And it isn't always Ada spilling. My mom set her mug of tea at the base of the rocking chair this past weekend and one of the girls knocked it over. Maybe it was physically Ada's fault, but I still give the credit to my mom for putting it on the floor in the first place.  And I'm not much better since I constantly have a water cup with me and frequently overturn it while distracted trying to do too many things at once. Or I over fill it at the refrigerator door and create a puddle on the kitchen floor. I downplay my clumsiness with the fact that it is typically only water that I spill and that doesn't tend to be as destructive, but still.

I think it's time we make some new policies on beverages around here to mitigate our messes and conserve some water and energy cleaning up all the time. It might help to avoid leaving cups of anything unattended, limit all beverages to the kitchen or dining room table, and make my bedside cup of water a sippy cup since I tend to spill that one the most.

Moral of the story: Accidents happen. They happen a lot more often when you have small children. On the bright side, you get really good at cleaning them up so learn to just go with the flow.