We Stink

So, normally my house doesn't actually smell bad. We occasionally have the weird odor emanating from the trash can or your random dead mouse stuck in the door jam, but that is the exception not the rule. :) (the dead mouse story is for another entry.)

However, about a month ago, we had a period of days where every single room in our house and our minivan stunk to high heaven. I felt dirty all the time because I couldn't escape the terrible odors anywhere I went.

It really is our kids fault. And our cat. And the grocery store...but I'm getting ahead of myself.

It started when we left for Labor Day weekend to go to Ohio, and unknown to Doug or I, Danika had dropped a full sippy cup of milk down next to her car seat on the floor of the van. We took the truck to Ohio, so all weekend, for 4 days, it seeped sour milk onto the rug, and the sun baked the whole concoction as the van sat in the driveway in Erie. When we got home there was actual mold growing on the rug and the whole van smelled like a science experiment. So we took the rug out of the van and hosed it off and left it on the porch to dry. Then the cat barfed a half-eaten rodent on the rug. That did NOT improve the smell. Then it rained for days and the rug couldn't dry out, so it started to REALLY stink.

Then the smells IN the house began - John had a fierce spit-up episode that drenched our living room rug. The living room's new scent decor - Ode de Milk-barf. Then Danika threw a fit so badly that she made herself throw up - on her bed and bedroom carpet - an entire cup of half-digested chocolate milk...more sour milk smells. Yay. Then the cat barfed on Doug & I's bedroom carpet - and the kitchen carpet - and the rug outside AGAIN. Half-digested rodent smells. Aaaahhhh...what a lovely bouquet. And to top it off, while I was driving around in the van without the rug in (because it was still outside stinking & drying out), I bought some frozen seafood mix and it started to thaw and leaked on the actual carpeting in the back of the van - and I didn't find it until it started stinking the next day...LIKE ROTTING FISH.

It was an ugly 2 weeks at the Bierer home. A LOT of sour milk, barf, and bad, bad smells emanating from every room in our house EXCEPT the bathroom (ironic, don't you think?).

We were finally rescued by our good friends the Zajac-Woodie's and thier trusty "Little Green Machine." Diane let me borrow her tried and true appliance, and you will be happy to know that our house is now pretty much odor-free...until the next episode, I am sure. But I am very grateful that all the old smells have been eliminated, and hopefully next time it won't manage to happen to every room and vehicle at the same time!