this is the way we make a mess.
Foot painting has long been a favourite inside activity of ours. The squishiness of paint oozing between your toes, the twist and slide as you hit a bit where the paint is thicker than you thought, the giggles of small boys watching their feet change colour and the paper become covered in foot prints. So when the glorious spring days gave way to the cool of not-far-past-winter evenings, and play moved inside, I found myself in desperate need of a holiday activity, that didn’t require a great deal of fiddly preparation, or mummy building stuff while children watched. I pulled out our awesome roll of newsprint (also known as the worlds best bargain), rolled it out down our brilliantly long hallway, added paint and four pairs of feet, and we were set. Well, until Butterfly got bored and decided to do a runner. Into her carpeted bedroom. Oops. On the upside, paint covered feet and hands are best dealt with in a shower, so the small people were clean and just required the application of pyjamas to be ready for bed after dinner, giving us time to squeeze in a round of our new favourite game – Jenga.
That very same Butterfly babe is unwell today, in the way of not moving off mama’s lap and dozing all day. Whatever horrid bug has her, it’s knocked her flat, poor wee lass. So we are snuggling and watching more ABC Kids than I ever thought my brain could handle. Boy2 is running around outside. Bear isn’t 100% either, so he’s happily playing lego on the loungeroom floor. I’m just rolling with the punches. Some ripple when I can move my arm enough. More Facebook and Twitter than is healthy (sorry friends, for spamming your news feed and notifications). Planning some little retreat gifts. Daydreaming of new crafty endeavours, and a studio makeover. Sickness sucks, snuggles don’t. Always a silver lining. It’s Thursday, it’s holidays, the sun is shining and I have a legitimate reason to ignore the housework. Get well soon baby girl, and until then, housework, sorry, but I’m just not that into you.
Tee-hee. I saw the picture and wondered how you could get them to do that without running off into other rooms of the house.
Normally they are so engrossed they are happy to stay on the paper until I herd them into the bathroom, but Butterfly slipped over and wouldn’t join in after that!
Given we’re renting all painting is done outside at the moment…
Wise choice!