Last week I really wanted to cry over spilled milk.
Actually I went through plenty of emotions. I wanted to cry, I wanted to yell, I wanted to throw things, I wanted to just give up the thought of ever having nice things.
Recently, Madison has gotten into a habit of trying to cover up her mistakes. I'm not sure where this perfectionist streak came from, but it's a phase we're trying to rush her through. We can solve a problem when it happens, or I can discover a five year old's attempt to hide a problem later, when it's had time to really marinate and grow.
Let me be more specific. Last week, Madison took her leftover milk from lunch into the car. We'd been to Panera, and Madison had a Horizon milk box. She didn't finish, so she brought it into the car and put in in her cupholder. I knew this. I was fine with this. We went on with our day and multiple ins and outs of the car, and I can honestly say that I didn't give the milk a second thought.
The next day I realized that the majority of her school stuff was missing. I remembered that we'd put it in her backpack, and that her backpack was still in the car. When I went out to get it, I was greeted with a very...unpleasant odor. A jacket had been arranged over the backpack, but it was clearly there. I picked up her backpack and saw that it, along with the floor under her seat, was soaked with milk.
Apparently, when she was climbing into her seat, she'd knocked the milk onto the floor. Rather than tell me, she threw her coat over the mess and kept her mouth shut. I'm not sure what her plan was for to do when we needed her backpack again, but whatever was in her head, her secret was discovered, her books were wet and sticky, and the car smelled like sour milk.
So now we had a threefold problem.
First, address the cover up. (We did. She's getting better, but it's a work in progress).
Second, clean up the bag. (Mostly done. We washed the backpack and salvaged the books, although some are still a little mangled and sticky).
Third, deodorize the car.
This last one is tricky. Fortunately, I had experience with this from previous stinky situations and I knew that a basic clean up and a vent clip weren't going to cut it. I gathered up some tips, and managed to get my car back to its normal state within a day.
These tips definitely keep me from losing my mind when confronted with spills. Because I can't get too mad at Madison when I know I've had to spend time cleaning up spilled coffee...with milk.
