Should I laugh or cry

James likes lotion. He likes having it rubbed onto his skin and he especially likes getting a dab of lotion on his own hands to rub together. He likes it so much that I have to keep all the lotion bottles as high up as I possibly can because if he does get his hands on a bottle he immediately twists off the top and starts pouring the lotion into his hands and onto the floor.

Today, when I went to get James up from his nap I noticed a very strong smell coming from his bedroom. Opening the door I found this:

That white substance is not lotion nor is it powder...it is Desitin (diaper rash ointment) which has a very strong odor. James apparently thought was lotion. I don't want to know how he got it so thoroughly all over himself .

Now Desitin's main purpose is to keep moisture away from the skin which means it does not wash off easily. In fact this stuff is near IMPOSSIBLE to remove. After TWO baths, washing his hair SIX times, and scrubbing his face and body with a wet washcloth and a dry one several times I finally got most of the Desitin off him. However, there is still a white film on his face and a residue in his hair making it very stiff.

Then there is the matter of his clothes. The jeans, thankfully, were Desitin-free after one wash. But his shirt, his cute new hoodie that his Aunt Lizzie gave him for Christmas and wore for the first time today, was still permeated with the ointment after three washes. It is now soaking in the sink overnight but I fear the hoodie is irretrievably ruined. The skin and clothes were not the only things that got lathered in Desitin. He also got it all over his sheets, several stuffed animals, and this...

Yup, that's right the carpet. Do you know how long I scrubbed at that carpet!? Did I mention that this stuff is IMPOSSIBLE to remove? I scrubbed and scrubbed and still it remains. Oh, and the primary ingredient is zinc oxide which apparently bleaches. We are definitely not getting our deposit back. But the worst part is that entire house still smells like Desitin.

On the bright side, Anna is still absolutely adorable

And James tried hard to make me feel better.
I do have to admit, when I first saw James walk out of the bedroom covered in white I had to laugh.