Don't Cry Over Spilled Bean Soup

On Sunday while Brandon was at his early meetings I made a special effort to get us all ready so that we could be there on time. Things went especially well and I congratulated myself, which was my first mistake. Then I let Rocky out of my sight for 10 seconds which turned out to be my second mistake because I heard a splat. Any toddler mom knows that a splat is bad news and this was no exception. The bean soup that was supposed to be our dinner after church was not just on the floor, but was plastered on every inch of surface space in our kitchen.
I tried to stay cool and look at the bright side of things. Ever since General Conference I've been giving myself a pep-talk every morning and trying to stay patient and loving. I took a deep breath and tried to survey the damages. By some miracle, with the exception of her boots, Rocky was completely clean.
Feel free to go ahead and judge me on the next thing that I'm going to say. I grabbed a spoon and scooped the soup back into the bowl . I knew that Brandon isn't the kind of guy that likes to eat off the floor but I figured that I wouldn't say anything and what he didn't know (probably) wouldn't hurt him.
I could hear Rocky sniffling in the other room like a puppy who knows he has done something wrong so I called to her so that she would see that everything was going to be okay. She came running around the corner, slipped on the sludge and completely doused herself in beans. She grabbed onto me, ruining my outfit too (which was especially traumatic because I only have about 2 things that fit me right now and one of them was already dirty.) Of course by then she was bawling and Daisy started screaming along.
I am ashamed to admit it but I threw out my new resolve and lost it too. But, after we all had a good scream we changed our clothes and packed ourselves into the car in time to make it for the second hour.
This story is by no means exceptional because things like this happen on a daily basis to moms. The reason that I chose to share it at this particular moment is because of what happened after church.
We got home and everything was okay.

We've all heard it a million times that hard times pass and things work out. I'm saying it again because I need to remember.

Since I never keep anyone up on what is going on with us, I'll quickly share some of the things I've learned in the last couple of weeks.

When newborns spit up blood it isn't nearly as unhealthy as it looks.
It is better to have a lot of dirty diapers than none at all.
Rashes aren't always allergic reactions, despite the fact that the dude at Urgent Care says so.
The people at the pharmacy will laugh at you if you return a breast pump rental and then come back the next day to re-rent it again.
If you've never had an abscess, don't get one.
Soup that has been scooped off the floor tastes just as good.

We also found out that Brandon was not accepted into the PhD program.

But, on the bright side....
I swear there was a bright side around here somewhere.

This is where the lesson of Sunday's adventure comes into play. When the first outfit gets dirty, just search in the deepest part of your closet and find something else to wear.

Brandon is actually applying to a special one-year program to earn a certificate in non-profit management at the U of O. He is really excited to learn about community organizing and to take a year deciding if he wants to continue next year with the PhD or go to work. Either way, it looks like Eugene is probably going to be stuck with us for at least one more year.

And, of course, once we get a few hours to take a deep breath and relax it will be obvious that everything really is okay.