Pinterest play

So there are two main things that make me very uncomfortable in parenting toddlers - allowing them the freedom to get a few bumps and bruises, and anything that requires major clean up.  I'm working on extending my comfort zone in those two categories.

I'm proud to say that the girls were playing outside and far enough away from me during this last week of sunshine that Middie Biddie is sporting a couple of lightly skinned knees that she hasn't even noticed.  Yay!  I let her fall down!  Yeah, yeah, I'm pathetic, but I'm working on it.  Hopefully by the time they start forming memories, those memories will be of doing fun stuff rather than of Mommy trying to wrap them in bubble wrap.

Today I worked on my discomfort with major messes.  I found a recipe on Pinterest for "moon sand" and mixed some up last night.  1/2 cup baby oil and 4 cups of flour.  Makes for a soft sand that can be packed and shaped a little bit for sandcastles.  The girls aren't old enough yet to understand the concept of sand castles, but I thought they'd enjoy playing with it anyway.

We got ourselves an activity table last week partially so we could do messy play stuff and keep it somewhat contained.  I set them both on the table, gave them the bowl of sand and some dixie cups and let them go at it!  They had a grand time.  It was mostly just scooping and pouring and trying to catch what I would sprinkle out of my fingers, but they certainly enjoyed it.


Teeny Tiny had to make sure that a good pile ended up on the floor to see how committed I really was to letting them just play without stopping them from making a mess.

As far as Pinterest projects go, I think this was a good one.  There was some clean up of course, but it wasn't as bad as you might expect.  I was able to clean it up with just a broom and dustpan and it didn't take very long.  This project kept them entertained for about a half hour and then it was nap time.

I'm not very active on Pinterest, but if you'd like to follow me, here I am!