Red Stains Bane of My Existence

It feels so good to have pretty carpets again! It took 4 hours to get it all done, but it was so worth it. Not only did I accomplish a lot, it was a great workout. My hip and thigh muscles are sore this morning. I guess I was literally working my tushy off!

I can't quite let the carpet thing go. That (thankfully easy to remove) red carpet stain I found yesterday brought back some BAD memories! The stain of all stains. Red Kool-Aid! The most evil stain on the planet. Okay, bleach stains are worse, but we'll get to that.

I'll never forget the day I discovered it -- the stain that became the bane of my existence. My cute little 3-year-old daughter was going through a sneaky phase. I didn't see it happen. I didn't see her sneak her drink into the bedroom.

If I had discovered it right away, maybe I would have stood a fighting chance. But the stain sat there for a week before I found it. How did I not see it? A cleverly placed blanket and pillow, that's how. That was her favorite place to take a nap, or so she said. Little did I know she was hiding the evidence.

I immediately attacked the offender with my steam-vac. Nothing. I ran to the store and bought three different carpet stain removers. It wasn't even phased. The thing began to mock me. Not only did I spend $30 on useless cleaners, I knew this evil stain would eventually make me lose my security deposit.

When expensive stain removers didn't work, I turned to alternative methods. I became a crazy woman. I tried hydrogen peroxide and baking soda, I tried dish soap, lemon juice, fingernail polish remover. I even got so desperate as to try WD-40! Now don't panic, I hadn't completely lost my noodle. I did a spot test before each attempt.

After a frenzied week of failed attempts, I gave up. It was over. I fought the stain, and the stain won. Every time I passed it, I cringed in disgust.

For two years I suffered its unrelenting taunts. Then came the day I had to face the music. We were moving. Panic set in. What was I going to do? I scoured the internet for any obscure remedy I might have missed. I dove head first into the murky depths of YouTube tutorials and nearly drowned in a cesspool of useless information. But alas, I found something I hadn't tried. And how much would it cost me for this remedy? . . . A dollar!

What was this so-called miracle remedy? Ammonia and a hot iron. I did a spot test to make sure it wouldn't hurt the carpet, then I carefully followed the directions.

Step 1: I opened a window! (actually I forgot. NEVER do that!! You definitely need airflow.)

Step 2: I filled a bottle half way with ammonia, then filled the rest with warm water.

Step 3: I heated my iron and got it nice and hot.

Step 4: I sprayed the offending stain with the ammonia and water mix. I made sure the carpet was wet, but not overly saturated.

Step 5: I got a rag wet with hot water, rang it out, folded it in half, and laid it over as much of the stain as I could cover.

Step 6: I UNPLUGGED the iron. This is very important! Burn holes are worse than stains. Then I set it carefully on the rag.

Step 7: I let it sit there for about 5 minutes -- guarding the area with my life. I didn't want the kids to get anywhere near it.

Then came the moment of truth. I held my breath, a feeling of desperation catching in my throat. Would it work? A red stain that had been setting in for two years?

I couldn't believe my eyes. The stain had jumped off the carpet and right onto my rag!

All that was left by the time I was done was a faded memory.

A month later, just before we left, I went over it again and got even more out. The best solution was also the cheapest solution. Who knew?

So what is the lesson I learned from this? Enforce the sippy cup. Oh yeah, and stop letting your kids drink Kool-Aid! . . . And that is going to be our first dietary change.

Getting a Foothold

Okay . . . It's been 2 days since I made my first post. On Tuesday, I had a meltdown. I did so much research on so many topics that I gave myself information overload. Instead of feeling better, I threw myself into a migraine.

And that is how I spent yesterday. Running errands in the morning, and sleeping it off in the afternoon. We had sandwiches for dinner. Yum. Ugh.

I woke up this morning determined to get off the pity pot and do something I know how to do. Clean the house. Well, guess what? My house is a disaster! Not just your regular disaster, but the disaster that comes from having a bored, sick man in your domain for the past 2 months. I'm not saying I didn't clean during that time, but I had to do it on someone else's schedule and at someone else's pace.

Everyone knows that mom's way of cleaning is different than dad's. Mom cleans things Dad and the kids have never even seen before. Did you know that a lot of stove tops lift up and have a kickstand like the hood of a car? They had no idea!

All I can say about my mess is "Well, at least it's fresh!" My house regularly gets hit by a 'torhurriquake!" For anyone who has no children that is a tornado (toddler), hurricane (teenagers), and earthquake (daddy!) all rolled into one.) Okay, so I'm responsible for all the half empty coffee cups scattered throughout the house by the end of each day. Blush!

Anyway, the one thing I know how do to, is clean up a disaster area. The first thing I like to do is clean the floors. Once that is done, I know that everything else will fall into place.

My carpets were a mess this morning! I vacuum nearly every day, but life is sticky. Our dining room is carpeted, so every little piece of food that drops, sticks to the floor. Under the highchair is the worst! Don't believe me? Here is a picture of what it looked like this morning AFTER vacuuming. Twice. Normally, it would never get this bad, but I've only been able to do the bare minimums to keep my house from looking like hoarders live here.

Now this is where experience comes in handy. Like the name of my blog, we have a big family and live on a baby budget. When I was younger with a sticky mess like this (yes it's sticky!) I would have pulled out the steam vac. Now I know better. All  that will accomplish is mud. Plus, you will have wasted money on expensive soap that you really need for toilet paper.

So how does one clean this mess on a budget. A fork. Yep, a fork. When I vacuum I always have a little salad fork on hand. If you lay it flat and skim the top of the carpet, you can get a lot of the surface gunk loosened so it will vacuum easily. If you have a shag carpet, you have to adjust your method. Kind of poke at the sticky spot with the fork to loosen it, then use your fingers to gently pry it out.

Here is what the miracle a fork (and a vacuum) can perform. For how much? If you don't have a fork, you can get one at a store like Walmart or Target for a dollar.

It looks way better, but now the snags in the carpet left by the cats from the previous tenant really stand out. That's why I also keep scissors handy. Don't just pull the snags out. You will eventually end up with bald spots in your carpet. Just get the snag to stand up and snip.

Looking so much better. But, I'm worried about that red spot. Please let it be washable marker.

I took a damp rag and spot mopped all the spots on the floor. I don't let it get it too wet. Trust me, you'll make mud.

Good news . . . the stain came right out! That's not always the case. But don't fret, you can get those out too. I'll write about it later. Yes, even red kool-aid stains can be removed - for a dollar!

My whole dining room, all the way up to the living room couches was like the first picture. Oh there where some good spots too, but 2 months of just vacuuming (no fork, no scissors, no rag) really messed my carpets up!

I feel so much better! Now I have a clean place to stand. Maybe now I can start coming up with a plan to get my life back on track.

Cheeseburger in Paradise

This morning I sit here and want to cry. Life has knocked my family a blow and I am reeling with all the emotions that naturally go with change.

I'm a photographer/graphic designer and I work from home so I can be a full-time stay-at-home mom. I'm not raising a little brood, mind you. My husband and I just celebrated 22 years of marriage. We are the proud parents of 6 children from ages 21 to 1-year. They are all boys, except for one precious little girl we refer to as the 'mud princess'. (She says she's a dirt princess, but whatever!)

Last week was overwhelming, My husband started a new job after not being able to find decent work for the past year. Next, my oldest son suddenly flew the coop and severed family ties. We are all dealing with the emptiness as he takes time to get his life straightened out. Then to top it all off, just three days after he left we found out my husband has 2 kinds of cancer growing in his colon. They caught one early and it should be easily manageable. The other kind is more tricky.

Something the doctor said made me want to sit down and write my feelings out. I don't know where our life it headed, but I know we've got to make some changes. The doctor told us that normally he would recommend avoiding red meats, but since his condition is hereditary, it wouldn't make much difference. We were psyching ourselves up for dietary changes, but what he said threw our plans out the window in an instant.

I've had a hard time accepting this 'advice'. This morning I felt like I was drowning in quicksand, so I reached out to a friend as I tried to regain my footing. She made a point that I thought was interesting. 'Hereditary? Yes. But here's the question: Is it the cancer that is hereditary? Or the diet?'

In a perfect world, it would be simple. Change your diet. Problem solved! In the real world, it feels like a nightmare. There are so many hurdles to get over. Like I mentioned before, we have a large family. One, two, three, four plus ... so, um, that would be . . . 9 people. Don't forget grandma and grandpa! Have you ever searched online for large family recipes, healthy or not? I'm sorry, but 3 to 6 people does not a large family make!

Did I also mention that my husband is starting a new job? He has been home dealing with health problems for the past 2 months and has been home 24/7. We will be losing our state food benefits and we also have to come up with money for health insurance....

LOL! As I sit here feeling sad and serious, my teen son decided to lighten the mood with some music. "Cheeseburger in Paradise!"  Funny!!!

So that's what it comes down to. Can our family make big dietary changes and get our household running smoothly on a baby budget? We're about to find out!