It's Coming From the Bathroom

As parents, there is no way to think of all the many instructions about what not to do that we should maybe be giving to our children...just in case. There is just no way to anticipate the crazy things that they will come up with.

Last night, while I was cooking dinner, the kids were upstairs playing very nicely...and quietly. (Yes, that should have tipped me off because, that is, of course, usually when the trouble occurs. It's always the calm before the storm.) I began to smell something burning and couldn't figure out where it was coming from. I checked the oven and the stove and didn't see anything unusual and just figured that there must be something on the bottom of the oven that was burning. Later, after the oven had been turned off and dinner eaten, I still smelled it. I started looking all over the house and was really talking to myself, but said aloud, "Where is that smell coming from?" To which Jake replied, "Oh, it's coming from the bathroom."

WHAT?!!

Come to find out, Jake and Addi had been playing some game in the bathroom. They wanted it dark, but not too dark. Naturally, the bathroom light was too bright, but with the light off, it was too dark. So, they located some old lamp in their closet that didn't have a lampshade and brought it into the bathroom and plugged it in. This was still too bright for the mood they were trying to create. So, they started taking strips of toilet paper and placing them over the light bulb to create the desired effect. Apparently, the toilet paper started sparking and the light bulb started burning. They turned on the faucet and tossed the burning toilet paper into the water, unplugged the lamp and put it away, and hoped that nobody would notice the burning smell throughout the house. I'm still just so incredibly grateful that they did not hurt themselves or burn the house down!

So, if you have not yet thought to tell your children never to place strips of toilet paper (or anything else for that matter) over a hot light bulb, take my advice and do it now!