Excuse me - Do you do miracles?

So today I performed a very classic "ME" move. There were lots of children at the christening and I have a well documented love of small people. These people are my other family. I have known them all forever - their Gram is my Gram - and I could attend without my friend and feel perfectly comfortable.

As food was served, I corraled a small child who belongs to my friend's sister. She has two and is currently separated and trying to manage them on her own. I figured the least I could do was get Dean some lunch. He was so cute in his tie and white shirt but Mom suggested we change into play clothes before his spaghetti lunch! I changed him and we headed to the buffet. I was wearing a brand new off white skirt, bought on sale at Ann Taylor. It was originally marked $108, marked down, and by the time I bought it - it was $29.99. Unfortunately, I did not change myself.

I successfully scooped a meatball onto a plate with a small child on my right arm and the plate in my right hand. I moved to the spaghetti dish, still balancing - and you guessed it - somehow managed to lose my grip on the large spaghetti sauce covered spoon so that it hit the counter and bounced in a lovely red pattern down my skirt to the floor. Thank goodness my dear friend (the child's aunt and mother of the christened baby) scooped him out of my arms and directed me to her car where she happened to have a spare pair of khakis that I could change into. I was so angry with myself.

Grandmothers, aunts, mothers and other older women were all offering me advice on how to remove the stains. I would show you a photo if I hadn't been so devastated at the moment that it occurred. I handed the skirt to one woman while telling her that I only wanted cold water on it. I've been reprimanded more than once by my dry cleaners. DO NOT PUT ANYTHING ON A STAIN. BRING IT TO US AND LET US WORK ON IT. I have ignored this advice and it did not work out well for me. The woman began soaking the stains with cold water in the kitchen sink - until I noticed that same EVIL spaghetti spoon in the sink - and told her that I thought we should stop before it got worse.

I alternate between a chain dry cleaner (open more hours and have better coupons) and a local dry cleaners (love the people, great service but I can't always get there during work hours). Tomorrow morning at 7am I will be at my local dry cleaners asking for a miracle.