The Glue Ban

This is why glue is now banned in our home.

Yesterday was busy. Busier than I've had in a very long time. The morning was full of errands: drugstore, gas station, car wash, grocery store, general store (looking for a dog kennel and chandelier crystal), the vet, another vet (trying to figure out when or who gave Cookie her last shots) and then home for lunch. After lunch, Jesse and Simeon got to go to North Platte with me for our bi-monthly trip to Walmart. This also included a trip to Menards to get a few home improvement things, and score! I found the dog kennel. Walmart was, as usual, exhausting and crowded and I had a bum cart that tended to drive itself to the right and crash into the shelves, or people, or displays. This didn't help that Simeon chose to either ride on that side, walk RIGHT IN FRONT of the cart, or pull it somewhere I didn't want to go. I shouldn't complain. Simeon was pretty good for all those errands. I don't know what is wrong with Menards, but the minute I walk in there, I get an instant migraine. Home again, put groceries away, take some Motrin and lay down to chat with Shiloah for a bit. Ammon brings me an open bottle of glue he was taste testing and I put it on the night stand behind the lamp.
Curtis orders pizza bcause I can't do one more thing. We eat pizza, get some kids ready for bed and I start cleaning up the kitchen. Jesse was sent down to switch loads of laundry. He comes back.

"Mom. The drain is overflowing downstairs."

"Mom. The drain is getting deeper."

"Mom. The drain is spreading to the rest of the basement."

"Mom. The drain is full of water and the cats can't get by."

"Mom. THE BASEMENT IS FLOODED."

Me: ALRIGHT!!! THANKS FOR THE UPDATES. (All of which happened in 1 minute).

Curtis goes down to inspect. The floor drain in the middle of the floor is filling up with water. We're not sure what caused it, there weren't any other back ups in the house or plumbing issues. I try the old fashioned treatments first: baking soda and vinegar. That did nothing but make a huge, foamy mess. Then we tried boiling water. That added more water to the problem. Curtis plunges the drain, that brings up more water. I get a squeegee and start squeegeeing the water to the drain, but with the indention in the floor for the drain, it pushes the water up and over the opposite side of the indention. We find the snake. That does nothing and we can't find anything stoppping up the drain. Finally, Curtis finds some Draino and pours that down. *glub, glub* Nothing.

In the middle of this, Joshua, who just potty trained in the past week, poops his pants. He takes them off, and brings them to Curtis. I don't know if Curtis threw them away or put them in the wash, but he yells for one of the boys to help clean up Joshua and Jesse reports that there is poop on the carpet, and that Isaac stepped in it. AAAHHH!!!! Curtis goes upstairs to clean up Joshua and the carpet. I stay downstairs folding laundry, watching the drain. All of sudden, the water is gone!! Woo-hoo!!!! Draino worked for once! Problem solved and no plumber needed! I finish cleaning that up and then discuss with the boys about going to see Ice Age, since it was the last day it was going to be here in the theater. Exhausted as I was, we decide to go. I was barely able to move any more, so after the final squeegee (we're good friends now...I think he has a life of his own going on under that sink upstairs) I collapse in the chair, and look at the carpet. 5 brown stains now grace the carpet. I blow up, but not really...more like a balloon loosing its air, and so Curtis once again gets the cleaner and washcloths and him and Isaac elbow grease the stains out of the carpet.

We go to the movie. I wasn't real thrilled about it, but the boys had earned it with their hard work on our paper route, so I grinned and bore it. We get home and everyone is in bed, including Joshua, that has been the most difficult baby to get to sleep. I admire him. How sweet he looks in his sleep, how cute and small, and how proud I am of him potty training. As I pick him up, I turn and see my night stand.

Covered in glue.

It was dripping off the lamp, the edge of the stand and almost oozing onto my bed. It was poured all over Hannah's painting (of Monticello, no less..and it was really good), and my book. And he used my favorite socks to "clean" it up. As I leave with him in my arms (I didn't want to loose it at that point...he was asleep, Praise the Good Lord!), I trip on the phone cord the baby pulled down and all the tape in the house is gone, so I haven't been able to get it put back up, then almost ram my head into the cupboard door Isaac left open looking for mouthwash, and then stumble into Joshua's room to place him in bed, and here, in all its glory, in the middle of the floor, sits an open bottle of glue. I about lost it.

Glue is now banned from our house.

That was the last straw after a horrendously long and busy day. Glue sticks are debateable. I have cleaned glue sticks off furniture, carpet, refrigerators, and walls. Glue is evil. I cleaned up the glue. I cleaned up what I could with what little strength I had left. I took a shower and then climbed into bed. I think I read 2 paragraphs in my book and then fell asleep. And today is catch up. Too sore to do much, too tired to barely function, it's been a morning of left over pizza for breakfast and movie watching. And no glue in sight.