I closed the shop early last evening when the roads looked slick and a bit intimidating. I arrived home and David had a cozy fire going. It was nice to be home earlier in the evening. Plenty of time to do dishes and squeeze in a load or two of laundry. :)
As I was finishing up at the kitchen sink, Izzy ran by with a spoon and an armful of cotton balls. Now, as a parent, you like to give your kids room to grow and be creative. We love to see them use their imaginations like attaching string to empty coffee cans to try talking from room to room. And the silk place mats that became puppy loin cloths for the first ever shih tzu sumo wrestling match? Oh well they weren't my favorite anyway. Yeah, creativity is great. Just don't let your guard down. I have learned over the years that there is creative and then there are curious combinations of things that deserve questioning.
As I watched the cotton ball ~ spoon liaison, I was reminded of past curious combinations that ended badly. I have compiled a list to help educate those who may not be as well versed in this area of parenting. Combinations on this list should make the hair on the back of your neck stand at attention:
1. Food paired with non-edible objects. Example: Peanut Butter + Comb = someone, somewhere in your house has bubble gum stuck in their hair.
2. Household storage items spending time in non-household places. Say you find your favorite tupperware container in the garage. Kitchen items in the basement or the garage are an immediate red flag. Holes in the lid? A trail of grass cuttings? A missing piece of tupperware has just become the least of your problems. Lift the lid and pray its only a caterpillar staring back at you.
3. Frozen food and sharp, pointy implements missing in action. When you can not find that jumbo bag of frozen broccoli and at the same time you are missing the really sharp sewing needle, get to the store and stock up on hydrogen peroxide. Those piercings - the one where you said absolutely not - well, there are some really cool close-ups of them already posted on Facebook.
These things I know to be true. So, when I see unusual pairings such as a large, shiny spoon and a bunch of triple size cotton balls, I investigate.
I followed Isabelle as she climbed the stairs two at time up to her room.
First, she pulled off her bed covers and tossed the pillow to the floor. She placed the spoon at the head of the bed, covered it in cotton balls and gently placed her pillow on top. Then she reached for her PJs. She turned them inside out and put them on.
Me: "Izzy, what are you doing?"
Izzy: "Just getting ready for bed."
Me: "Well, why did you bring a spoon and cotton balls up to your room?"
Izzy: "Oh, that. My teacher told us if we want a snow day tomorrow, we should put a spoon with cotton balls under our pillow. Then we wear our pajamas to bed inside out."
Me: "Why?"
Izzy: "The spoon is supposed to be a shovel and the cotton balls are the snow."
Me:" Why do you wear your PJ's inside out?"
Izzy: "I have NOOOO idea!" But I WANT a snow day so inside out it is!"
And like most curious combinations, this one worked out better for the kids than it did me:
It's a Snow Day.
