… because a giant pile of topsoil is just as much fun to play in as giant pile of sand…
… but with 20,000 times the dirtying power!
Clara’s couch
It’s not apparent in these pictures, because this was the beginning of the fun, but by the end of the day the kids had to be dunked in the lake before they were allowed in the house!
…is because Jane likes to dress herself.
Jane contemplates how many clothes she can put on and still move.
On a random Monday I peeled layer after layer off her and found…
a green swimming suit,
a pink swimming suit,
a long sleeved shirt,
a short sleeved dress,
a long sleeved pajama top,
a ballerina skirt,
a pair of leggings,
her pajama pants
and, finally, a single pair of underwear.
It might be reason #578 we do a lot of laundry but she sure knows how to layer for cold weather!
Two weeks ago John completed another Tough Mudder race. He loved it. However, I feel it is my duty, as his wife, to warn any potential Tough Mudders of some of the after effects of the challenge.
Inevitably, it has been one of the reasons we do a lot of laundry…
It was also the entire reason his foot was swollen up black and blue and he couldn’t walk normal for a week (it wasn’t broken he had it checked)…
And most recently, it has turned into the reason Jane refuses to let me cut her hair…
“But, I no wanna mohawk!” she cries, 
So, if you are thinking about entering a Tough Mudder, get a bucket ready for those muddy clothes, try to avoid kicking walls and please, for the sake of their vision, trim your kids bangs before the big day!
… is because the first warm, rainy day of spring goes like this:
1) The kids refuse to go outside because they might get wet.
2) They see a puddle and run outside to splash in it.
3) All the clothes they are wearing get wet and muddy so the kids them off and throw them on the ground.
4) Then they play naked until they get cold.
5)Next they jump shivering into the shower until they are warmed up and ready to dry off with a new towel.
6) The new, wet towel gets dropped in one of the dirty puddles of water that they created on their way into the shower.
7) And then – they take clean laundry out of the basket and put it on.
8) Finally, no matter how I suggest, shout or cajole in an attempt to convince them that perhaps this progression could be slightly altered to allow for less laundry, they ignore, sneak and giggle their way through it again, and again until it’s time for bed.
So, tonight my plans are, you guessed it, laundry!
What do you get when an unattended two year old wanders into a bathroom and finds a large bottle of conditioner with a pump top and a cat litter box?
Nothing that looks like this. Well, the two year old was the same but other than that it was a much less angelic scene.
A mess.
One that is too disgusting to describe but gets the two year old the extra shower she had been begging for all night.
You also get…
Reason #65 the girl takes more showers than I do.
Reason #42 that once again our new bar of soap is down to a sliver.
Reason #12 I’m very glad I clean the cat litter box every day.
Reason #22 Jane has silky smooth hair.
Reason #1 that I mopped my bathroom floor today!
And, of course –
Reason #49 we do a lot of laundry.
… two words…
…Tough… 
…Mudder.
Photos courtesy of Jess Dingee
…because the sand box sand didn’t move with us and Jane, apparently, misses it.
Fortunately(?) ashes seem to make a reasonable substitution.
And before you worry (Because I know you worriers are out there!): Yes, they were cold. No, I don’t let her throw ashes in her eyes everyday. No! I’m joking, nobody got ashes in their eyes! No, there were no nasty objects in the pile. No, I didn’t watch as she started this fun. I came upon it too late and grabbed a camera before I extracted her (at arms length). And yes…
…yes, she did take a bath!
… because the kids “help.”
Jane has got the right idea.
When your shirt gets dirty in the mud puddle you take it off because it needs washing. 
It’s a good first step.
She’s also onto the fact that washing involves scrubbing in water.
Even though she seems to take after me, (laundry does not make her smile) I think she’s well on her way to being an expert clothes washer.
Her drying technique on the other hand…
…now that’s a problem!
… because the chocolate left on her face was nothing compared to what the rest of her looked like.
Which is also reason #34 you shouldn’t let a one year old help you dip pretzels in chocolate…
… now I know.
…because my floors are not always what one would call clean…
…and Jane’s preferred mode of locomotion is scooting on her belly.
Good for cleaning the floor. Bad for the laundry situation.
As I was taking these photos Jane got up on her knees and crawled a few feet for the first time!
Theoretically better for the laundry…
… but only theoretically. A little more practice and she’ll be able to dump the dog water twice as fast as before which as everyone knows is Reason #9 We Do A Lot of Laundry.
Behind the Willows 