Summer is coming.

We are all very excited here and are looking forward to it. Only 9 more days of school!!!!!

I love summer. I enjoy having my children home. And we are more than ready for the change in schedule.

However, there is one thing that I absolutely can not stand about summer. 

Feet.

Dirty. Stinky. Feet.

We're coming out of a carpet conundrum this week, which is fueling my fire against feet.

Using traditional wooden blocks as his medium, my son has been on a building binge in his bedroom. Building is his thing.  So what's the problem? Some of his structures were moats. Yes. I. Said. Moat. And into these moats he poured water. These moats that were built on top of his CARPET. Maybe you aren't getting it. Moats constructed out of toy wooden blocks do NOT hold moisture. Somehow, by stepping around and over his creations every day, I managed to avoid the wet spots. For how long? Weeks, maybe? We have a rule when cleaning his room that the items he has built can remain in tact as long as he cleans up around them. So, I didn't have a clue that the carpet was wet. I had no idea that his moats were being "filled" with small quantities of water each time he sat down to play. I honestly didn't know.

Until the smell started. 

You know that smell.

Mildew. Straight up mildew. Can't hide it, mildew. Nothing else smells like that, mildew. The carpet is ruined, mildew.

My husband was in Haiti when I noticed the stench. So I phoned a friend and googled what steps to take, knowing deep down, that this wasn't merely a surface problem. There was no doubt in my mind that the water had already penetrated the pad. It was toast. I scrubbed anyway and sprinkled a generous amount of baking soda on the affected area.

My labor was useless. It was too late. We had no other choice but to rip out the wet section. Bless my husband's heart, for once home, he got quite creative and laid an area rug to fit inside the the section he had to remove. And since we're planning in the next year to redo all the carpet upstairs, we figured, oh well.

Carpet issue resolved.

But summer is coming.

And with it. Feet.

Dirty feet.

Our carpets are already pretty worn and gross. And the rainy, muddy "spring", (and having a dog that has to be walked in the rain) has only served to add to the mess on my floors and my carpet.

And it's not over with summer coming.

Believe me. I try to get the kids to take off their shoes when they enter - but it doesn't matter unless I also have a bucket of soapy water and a towel at the front door to give their tootsies a scrub down before stepping any further.

Anyone have tips for combating summer feet????

 

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Joline Pinto Atkins is a former actress who now uses the web as her world-wide stage and can also be founding writing at The Cuppa Jo, Fit With Jo, and is a contributor at Daily Fast Fuel. Joline is wife to one (phew - that's good to know) and mother of two amazing children, aged 10 and 6, who are both named after authors. Addicted to fitness, she sweats out any daily angst by running (not with sharp objects) and P90X'ing, and longs for good books, vats of coffee, and an endless supply of buffalo wings - which she will not share with you. So, please, do not ask.