Spice Bath, Anyone?

This morning I went upstairs to give Matthew his nap. Meg was not very happy about me leaving her alone downstairs, so I guess she went looking for consolation in the pantry. And apparently, lacking the warmth of the maternal bosom, she found another kind of heat.

As I padded down the stairs after Matthew was down, I heard scrambling noises from the kitchen--usually a sign that Meg has been up to something and knows she has just seconds to distance herself from the evidence. Here's what I found when I rounded the corner.

That's chili powder and red pepper flakes, in case you couldn't tell.

I'm afraid this is not Meg's first venture into the spice cabinet; she once emptied massive quantities of oregano onto the linoleum as well. But oregano doesn't stain hands and clothes.

She tracked the fine, red grains of chili powder into every corner of my kitchen. Fortunately, they're easily picked up with a vacuum cleaner. Also fortunately, this happened before the floor mopping that I have scheduled for today!

To top it all off, my little stinker ate my breakfast of strawberries, which I had carefully placed "out of her reach" on a counter before going upstairs. This was after she had a healthy portion of strawberries for her own breakfast! And here's the proof of her nerve:

(Meg likes this picture. Every time she sees it, she gets a big smile on her face and says, "Traaaaawbees" [strawberries]! WHAT a naughty thing she is!)

In closing, I'd like to note that I am so grateful to have this blog as an outlet! In moments of mischief, where I otherwise might be tempted, I can't tell you how many times the thought, "Well, at least this will make a good blog entry" has saved me from an angry or irritated reaction with Meg. It gets me reaching for my camera instead of the neck of one small girlie. So praise the Lord for blogs! And more than that, praise Him for curious children, who do such a good job of keeping life... spicy.