The Day My Kid Became “That Kid” and Why Messes Don’t Matter

This post is sponsored by the maker of OxiClean™ Max Force™ Laundry Stain Remover Spray. As always, all ideas and opinions are entirely my own. The OxiClean™ brand provided free product for this post.

The Day My Kid Became “That Kid”

You know “that” kid? The one who picks his nose and eats it or runs through the grocery store pulling boxes and bags off the shelf?

It’s easy to look at that kid and criticize his parents. How could someone let their child do that? Well, last summer, my kid became “that kid” and I have a whole new appreciation for parents and an entirely new outlook on messy kids.

We’ve collaborated with the maker of OxiClean™Max Force™ Laundry Stain Remover Spray to show that the messes are no big deal—it’s those fun family moments that matter most. Watch the video below to see how my little Ezra became “that kid” at my brother’s wedding.

Imperfections Are Okay

Sometimes we stress so much about being perfect. That day at my brother’s wedding, I realized it’s all the imperfections that make life interesting!

I had spent weeks picking out the perfect outfits for my four children. And since we’d all be looking great for the wedding, I figured, why not schedule our family photo—the one that will be going on our Christmas cards and displayed on our mantel— for the same day? This will be great, I thought. We’ll already be in our best clothes, everyone’s hair will be done, and the setting will be gorgeous. It will be perfect.

After the ceremony, there was a lovely luncheon with a colorful cupcake bar and bright red punch. My four kids ages 2, 4, 6, and 8 sprinted for the goodies and I spent a large portion of the luncheon chasing them around, wiping blue frosting off their faces and clothes—the only clothes I’d brought them for the family photo later.

In all the shuffle, I lost track of Ezra, my youngest. Just then, I heard laughter coming from the direction of the punch cooler. I turned around and to my mortification, there was Ezra, drinking straight from the punch cooler, red punch coursing down his shirt!

My hopes for the perfect family photo were dashed.

{Photo by Cheyanne Schultz}

Why Messes Don’t Matter

Luckily, the wedding was held in my uncle’s back yard. I ran into their house and used some OxiClean™ MaxForce™ Spray to treat the red stain on Ezra’s shirt. After washing and drying it, the shirt came out good as new! I realized that messes don’t matter nearly as much as we think they do. For me, OxiClean™ MaxForce™ Spray takes the stress out of the mess and I love that.
Our family photo from that day turned out great.

As you can see, there’s not even a trace of that red stain on Ezra’s shirt. I’m a complete believer in OxiClean™ MaxForce™ Spray.

For my little family of six, perfect just doesn’t exist, especially when taking a family photo. Even now, we still have plenty of fails—see the attempts from this year’s photo shoot below:

No one is ever looking at the camera at the same time. Someone’s got a goofy look on his or her face, and Ezra somehow found a rock to put in his mouth and a pine needle to stick in my ear.

If we’re lucky, around 100 clicks into the photographer’s reel we’ll get a good one.

With OxiClean™Max Force™ Spray, you don’t have to sweat the small stuff like imperfect photos or stains on clothes. I always keep a bottle of OxiClean™ Max Force™ Spray in my laundry room. With four active kids, I use it constantly and it gets the stain out every single time.

As for Ezra and his stained wedding shirt…it wasn’t the first time and it definitely won’t be the last.

Head to the OxiClean Website Savings page where you can score some great coupons!

Behind the Scenes of the Video

We had so much fun shooting this video. I hope you enjoy it! Here’s a little behind-the-scenes peek into the hours and hours that went into creating a 60-second clip of our lives.

Our director Bill (above) was awesome! He flew in from New York City and it was his first time in Idaho. I think he wants to move here.

A local production team came in and their equipment was everywhere! You wouldn’t believe how many lights, cameras, and thingamajigs are necessary for filming one video!

For every single scene they had to move everything around. (And when they moved my couches, they found lots of snacks there.) No wonder these guys are pros.

I got my own makeup artist whom I begged to move into my guest room.

Everyone’s favorite part was the cupcake scene.

We decorated cupcakes and the kids were even encouraged to make a mess. Believe me, they had no problem doing that.

If you can’t tell, we’re big fans of OxiClean™ around here. OxiClean™ Max Force™ Spray can tackle even the bluest frosting and the reddest punch.

Learn more about  OxiClean™ Max Force™ Spray here!

I hope you enjoy the video and a little glimpse into our very real and very messy life. Feel free to share on social media and remember that the messes can always be cleaned. Go out there and treat life like a punch cooler and drink straight from the spigot!

Lots of love,

Photography by Kara Jo Eaton

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by Nicolette via Home And Garden