Crayons

Even after I've heard "Mommy" for the thirty-millionth time during a day, I almost can't believe that's me. Thomas is calling me. I really am thirty-two years old with two kids and a mortgage. As they say, time flies. However, today, rather unexpectantly, I've reached a rite of passage of motherhood. Up to now, this event seemed to be something only real mothers have gone through and lived to tell about it. What is it, you may ask? A complete load of the children's clothing dried with blue, red, yellow and green crayons! Streaks of all the primary colors covering the inside of the dryer and the clothing! We've had rocks and coins in pockets, but never crayons. All of the crayons had completely melted with the exception of the yellow. (I did find the blue paper crayon wrapper.) I have found several suggestions online to remedy this situation so hopefully I'll have a positive update in a few days.

Shortly after discovering the mess, I went to speak to Thomas about it. I asked him if he remembered putting some crayons in his pockets. I asked if he could recall what color he was wearing so I could be sure to get all the remnants out of the pockets. I explained to him that the crayons had melted and that he wasn't in trouble. He had just made a mistake and we can learn from mistakes. A little later I heard him crying so I asked him what was wrong. He said he was sad because his crayons had turned into ice. He had connected melted crayons with ice that melts. Don't you just love it! I have a pretty big clean-up ahead of me. Never-the-less, I thank God that I get to be here for moments like that...

UPDATE:
After 4 washes in hot water, a lot of detergent and oxywash powder, the clothing is about 98% crayon free. There are a few pieces that just won't release the crayon and I'm going to try to bleach them. The dryer drum is a totally different story. I tried all the regular household cleaners -- Windex, Soft Scrub, Simply Green. Then I moved on to Oops which I guess is like Goo Gone. While it helped a little, you'll never guess what really did the trick....toothpaste! Now all of our clothes will smell minty-fresh :) Again, I haven't been able to get it all, and I'm just hoping that what remains will not melt onto future loads of clothing...