Baby Ink

We moved. To a large house with a basement (tornado watch) and a Pippa play room (parent approved). Our new house came right out of the 80s, but was actually built in the 60s and wouldn't you know it already feels like home among our many piles of boxes. And yes, mothers, our 5 month old has not transitioned well. Do you know how well you sleep with three people in a double bed?

With the move I misplaced our cameras. I wanted to show off our new place, more specifically the large tropical flowers in our yard. Remember this because later, when I find the cameras and post the pictures, I will let you all believe I live in paradise.

So here we are with our boxes, completely disheveled new mom stressed about a life-altering test coming her way this September and Skip decides to give our couch and towels a makeover. Plus Pippa gets her first tattoo. This is not a joke people. I have scrubbed her good, with a variety of baby-safe techniques and she's sporting three black ink marks. Maybe it's a good thing I can't find the cameras (all four!) because there are some things a child should not be privy to.

It went down something like this:

Skip to me: "What did YOU do to our beautiful daughter?! What is that black streak on her leg?"

Me: "........huh?.....what?.....was I snoring?.... what did you do?...."

Skip: "Look at this. What is it?"

Me (totally concerned): "It's too dark. What did YOU do to our daughter?"

Skip completely offended that I would ever blame him for anything so ridiculous. "No really what is that? When did she get it?"

Me: "What are you talking about?"

I left the comfort of my green chair knowing full well that this must be a ploy for Skip to steal the prized seat. Nope. Pippa had a black streak on her thigh. And her arm, her calf and many a scuff on her white outfit. Any mother's nightmare. It didn't come off easily, and two hours and a bath later it had only faded.

Somehow Skip's black shirt worn for motorcycle purposes had evolved to permanent marker. A mixture of deodorant, sun, fumes and sweat created an ink pool on his side, leaked onto his backpack and marked up anything he came in contact with. If I can prove it's non-toxic and safe, we may have stumbled onto a henna-like substance. Otherwise I just proved child endangerment.