How Sham Wow Saved My Daughter's Rug

A Little Orange Towel Cleans Up a Big Orange Spill

One night I sat next to my husband as we blearily watched television, and a commercial for the Sham Wow came on. Hubby perked up, delighted and bemused. He jokingly pondered how a small towel could possibly absorb as much as promised. I made a mental note and bought him a set for Christmas, partly as a joke but mostly because I figured they would be handy to have around a house with three kids and a klutsy mom. In fact, the four of us knock things over and spill stuff so often that my husband teases us with the label "circus people." Maybe we'll actually learn to juggle one day, but for now everything seems to slip through our butterfingers.

One day when Beloved Offspring #3 was fighting off a cold we gave him a cup of orange juice with breakfast. Thrilled with this new treat and a "big boy" cup without a lid, he toted it from the breakfast table to the living room to savor it while he watched tv. No drinks on the couch, of course - he dutifully placed it on the coffee table. Beloved Offspring #1 was not to be outdone, so he also had a cup of orange juice outside of the eating zone. Keep that in mind as the story continues.

Meanwhile, Beloved Offspring #2 needed help getting dressed, Well, she didn't need help as much as want help. So there I was in her room, sitting on the floor, dutifully holding out pant legs and pulling on socks. The hardwood floor in her room is covered by an enchanting rug with a cream background and large flowers. Just as her ensemble was complete her Big Brother stumbled - literally - into her room. Then he was down among the carpet flowers, and the orange liquid poured from his cup into every little petal and fiber. I wondered how I was every going to incorporate that color into the room's pink and lavender décor.