We did this at the end of August. I wanted to have one last bit of crazy messiness before public school started for the older girls. As usual, we were a bit late, but in my defense, school is starting earlier and earlier around here.
I'm thinking this needs to become a family tradition because even though the girls are in high school, they show no signs of being too old for it.
The Ingredients…
big bags of flour, boxes of cornstarch, whipped cream, mud, water and washable paint.
The Tools…
cupcake tins, paint brushes and lots of bowls and old tupperware containers.
The Photographer…
Jenny (The rest of the pictures can be found here.)
Cornstarch and water becomes oobleck, which is really fascinating stuff.
Whipped cream is good for both eating and decorating.
I even got involved.
I think the girls did a fantastic job.
Tips (aka Things We Learned)...
-Hook up the hose to an indoor faucet so you can use warm water to wash off. (We learned this one the hard way last time. Those poor kids were shivering like little chihuahuas.)
-Do not put flour or cornstarch in the hair (just trust us on this one. It's almost as bad as combing out lice.)
-Using washable paint does not guarantee that it will come out of everything. Wear your grungy clothes.
-Whipped cream begins to smell like sour milk after about an hour or so.
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Sun Salutation Update- I'm holding off on these for a few days because I've pulled a muscle in my leg (not yoga related). I'm still keeping track, though, and will catch up when I'm feeling better.
7 comments:
Looks like fun! We had a similar experience here, though not as "colorful". You know the "dirt road" down the street? The boys were here a couple of weeks ago, and there had been a heavy rain, and the dirt road became "mud road". I took the boys down, and David followed, and I let them go hog wild in the mud. Literally. They were rolling around, jumping, throwing mud at each other, rubbing mud in each other's hair, etc. I did have the presence of mind to get their shoes off first! They had THE.BEST.TIME.!!! We walked home with them covered in mud, and David took the COLD hose to them in the driveway to get all the mud off. But what a blast! There just are so many times when I have to say "no" for some of these things because of time constraints or places to go/things to do or "just because", and here was a chance to just say "go for it". Garrett (age 5) said afterwards, "Mawmaw, thank you for letting us play in the mud. I had the best time ever in my life".
Awwe :) that's so awesome! I wish I had the space to do something like that with my children (with moving to a townhouse in 8 days, oh yes, yes we will have the space! yay! no more 2bedroom apartment for 5 of us! lol) But then, I'm the kinda mom that will forever let her children splash to their hearts content in the puddles from the rain.. and join in with them of course :D
That looks fabulous! We've still got a few more weeks of scorching hot here before the weather starts to cool off, but at not-quite-two we don't have to worry about school just yet, so that's not a problem. When it does cool off though, me and the boy are totally doing this. Thanks for the tips.
P.S. Hope your leg heals quickly.
Now that looks like a whole lot of fun. What joyful freedom for your kids... well, you too.
Darla
Linda, that is so much fun. Obviously spontaneous stuff like this is way more fun. But I find that if it doesn't get planned, it doesn't get done. I still love to play in the mud and probably would have been splashing around with the boys myself.
Jen, we lived in a two bedroom apartment for awhile and while it was cozy sometimes, I really appreciate the space here (and the ability to play in the yard).
Amy S, personally, I would have rather done this when it was warmer because being caked in gunk can get surprisingly cold.
Darla, it was fun, lots of fun and I'd do it all the time if that wouldn't make it lose it's specialness.
That looks like a ton of fun. I cracked up when you said that combing cornstarch out of the hair was like combing out lice. A friend of mines daughter recently had a bout with Lice and they were told to use cornstarch to help strip out the nits. She said it was terrible to comb out, just terrible!
You all look hot!
I would have liked the whole painting the bottom of my feet and making footprints bit, I imagine.
:)
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