Dirty Dirty Kids

So I was thinking the other day.... I know it's a dangerous thing- because it happens so rarely. Anyway my sister in law always gives me hand me down clothes for my daughter (which I love-love-love) and some of these clothes have been handed down two or three times. They are always in perfect shape! Now, I get them for Cole and I can't keep them clean. So I have tried every kind of cleaner to get these stains out and nothing works. Even the stuff that is guaranteed to remove set in stains. Nothing works for us! So I was trying to figure out what I'm doing wrong. I end up throwing a set of clothes out at least once a week. It's driving me insane, that and the fact that anytime I go somewhere my kids look like ragamuffins compared to the other kids around here. So what do I do?? I do have play clothes for them. They do wear them when we are playing, but when we are going out somewhere I like to dress them nice. It doesn't help when you have a pile of sand or dirt to draw their attention on the way to the car. I don't know how many times they have gotten dirty before we have even made it there. Ugh! Thank God for the wipes and the tide pen we keep in the car as well at the change of clothing. How do I change this? How do I keep my kids clean? Do I keep them lock in the house? Wrap them in plastic wrap- that would just suffocate them!

I love my little explorers! I love that they like to feel the sand and the dirt. I love the fact that they think nothing of picking up a cricket and holding it in there hands. I love that they will stomp in the river to feel the water and mud squish between there toes.(I just wish they would take their shoes off first) I've decided that I won't be embarrassed anymore by my dirty little kids. Let people look at me strangely and think I don't take care of my kids. I'm going to let them wear their stains proudly like a badge or an award. I have one shirt that Cole wore that I was going to throw away. It has cement on it from helping daddy last weekend at Uncle Rays. It has glue from helping seal the duct work in our house. It has mud stains from playing in a mud puddle. Yeah, the only thing I'm going to change is me. I'm going to stop worrying about what people think of me and my parenting skills. So what if my kids clothes are stained and they have dirt under their nails, I know my kids are happy and that's all that matters to me.