Cleaning + Unsupervised Two Year Old = Disaster

         I'm challenged daily to let go of my notions of who my kids are and watch who they are developing into. I've had lots of practice relaxing about how my kids dress or comb their hair; although honestly, there are days that I long to stick a bow or braid into my current two year old's hair (her natural curls minus hair accessories cause her to resemble Kramer from Seinfeld more than Shirley Temple). Our children fill my heart with joy at their creativity, but sometimes their ideas can get them into trouble. Our third oldest seems to have an affinity for trouble. If you went to "Girls Night Out" last year for the Hearts at Home National Conference, you may remember a cut up pack 'n play used for the survivor skit...that was our pack 'n play.
        Tomorrow our daughter turns five; and in honor of that, I'd like to share about the incident that will forever live on in our memories as "the day she almost didn't live to see three". My hubby had purchased a lovely large LCD TV during an "after New Year's blowout" sale. I was really tired that day; so when our baby laid down for a nap, I put on a movie for our two year old to watch. When I came downstairs, my heart sank as I saw water on the TV and half of the screen no longer showed a picture, just rainbow colored lines. I asked my two year old why there was water on the TV, and she happily replied that she had lined up her "Lightning McQueen", "Sally", and "Mater" cars to clean them. They were sitting on the entertainment center directly in front of our new TV when she had sprayed them off. I was puzzled why she had "her" cleaning bottle out in the first place, but it quickly made sense when my sock got soaked from an "accident" on the carpet. She knew I was sleeping and wanted to clean up the potty on the carpet. However, I had made it very clear before this that she wasn't allowed to use the spray bottle without me. Apparently, she'd forgotten this or thought that this situation didn't apply. She had no idea that her cleaning project had just cost us well over a thousand dollars. This all happened just a few weeks before my hubby left his good paying (but very unfulfilling) job for a job with a start up company that had great potential but cut his salary nearly in half. I knew a replacement was out of the question.
        I felt sick as I rushed to dry off the TV. I tried turning it off and letting it set; but after picking up our older two from school, it was still the same. I had no idea how my hubby would take the news; and understandably, he was very upset when he came home and heard the news. Our two year old was napping at the time, so he had about thirty minutes to decide how to handle it. He handled it wonderfully and decided that since the destruction was unintentional the only thing she was really in trouble for was using a spray bottle without me. When she came down later, she was given a consequence if she ever broke that rule again. She was pretty upset when she realized she'd broken our new TV. My hubby asked us all take turns talking about mistakes we'd made before, so she'd know she wasn't the only one.
        Clearly, she lived past that day. She never got that spray bottle out again without me, and we have since then replaced the TV. A TV is replaceable, but a child's delicate heart is not. Looking at I Cor. 13 can give us an accurate picture of what our love as Christians is supposed to look like. "Love is patient. Love is kind...Love is not easily angered." May I add to that "even when a brand new TV is ruined".

Have your kids "cleaned" anything and ruined it? I'd love to hear your story below.