Which might not be such a gross thing, but I spotted him down in the overflow tank, where the fancy infinity edge drops, and that's not an area of the yard I walk around much. So I'm not sure how long Mr. Puffypants was a-floatin', but it was a sad, sorry sight.
Made even sadder by the visual of our long-handled pool net lying in a watery grave right below.
Uh oh.
Being a girlie-girl, I freaked out a little and once the kids got wind of it (or down wind of it, however you look at it), there was much debate about how to proceed.
Turns out, big sister was feeling fearless, and pulled Mr. Puffy out with a big short-handled net that we first purchased to rescue a live snake out of the same overflow tank (don't ask). There was continual shrieking and the critter was dropped a few times and actually brought up to the back door at one point, but was finally disposed of after much dripping dead squirrel being carried to and fro. Puffy was taken to his final resting ground outside of our yard fence, where daddy thought he might secure a more final-final resting ground when the bigger critters found him.
All of which to say that after this strange incident, we were trembling a little and felt the overwhelming need for some massive household sterilization. Of pretty much anything.
In big family logic, a dead squirrel in the pool led directly to a thorough cleanout of the refrigerator. By thorough, I mean that every single item, shelf, and drawer was removed, scrubbed down, reorganized, and replaced. It was a six-person job, I tell you.
Although I have a personal rule to wipe the shelves whenever I come home with a new load from Publix, it was quite alarming how nasty our fridge was in the far back behind the old salsa and crusty hummus. I also think a Coke exploded on the top shelf and trickled down not too long ago. Remember how I told you that none of us are Type A here? Well, you could probably guess that from this project. I am embarrassed to report that the kids found 3 bottles of A-1 sauce, 6 or 7 salsas, 3 canisters of Kraft Parmesan, and 3 bottles of the exact same salad dressing.
In my defense, I buy it when I need it because going back to the store for one item with five kids is NOT. FUN.
Madeleine decided to up the ante and make some handy labels.
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| You know your husband has been on a heart-healthy diet for a long, long time when his daughter makes a label for "Butter" and "Butter Alternatives." |
I hope you can appreciate M's hard work with the little labels. The idea pictured below with the pink bin (in spite of the unacceptable grammar, which I totally deserve after this prideful post) is worth sharing. I would give credit to some magazine, but I can't recall the actual source and suspect is from one of the myriad of clippings my mom thoughtfully mails to me.
The idea is to put all the refrigerated things your kids need to pack their lunches right into one basket that can be pulled onto the counter at 6am when you haven't had enough coffee to find the doggone Mickey Mouse go-gurts.
So I'd like to pay tribute to dear Mr. Puffy, who unwittingly helped me get my fridge sparkly spic 'n span and nicely organized for the week ahead.
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| The littles also cleaned the kitchen baseboards with hot water and Q-Tips after we finished the fridge. Really. |
In a bizarre twist, the kids turned on an episode of Duck Dynasty later that day (I do believe some TV time was merited) and the plot involved Jace and Jep carrying a truckload of rancid, stinking raw meat around West Monroe. It seemed like an appropriately ironic closing to the weekend, one that found me thinking once again that you never know what a day in this family will bring.
Butter alternatives - I love it!
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