My husband and I are creative people so it really shouldn't surprise me that all three of our kids are creative beings as well. Sometimes the things they can come up with flabbergasts me. A lot of the time, their creativity leads to bigger messes. On a recent summer day, the kids painted canvases. When they were done, my kids picked up the remaining paint cups and asked in unison "can we use the rest of this paint?" "Sure!" I replied, happy that we wouldn't be wasting paint. I should have asked more questions or wondered why they were taking the paint outdoors.
I didn't hear fighting or screaming, instead I heard them laughing. In truth I was more scared of asking questions and causing the next war. I didn't have to wait long to find out what they did with the metallic paint.
As I called them in for dinner, I was greeted with the sight of a new metallic swing set (and yes, I am THAT parent that takes pictures of my kids before anything else. That way I'm sure to have proof some day).
They took the washable metallic paint and painted the swing set, the super spinner, and rocks because they wanted to make our backyard brighter since the grass is dead (thanks to all of our summer daycare projects, like feet painting).
Yes, they painted AFV (America's Funniest Home Videos) on the swing set. I have no idea if they were planning something after they were done painting, but thankfully they didn't get a chance to do anything. They claim their new goal this year is to get on that show. I'm not on board with this goal.
The best part about all of this mess? Like I mentioned before that it was washable paint. More so, it's suppose to be washable paint. I laughed a bit when I saw what they were doing, told them that they did actually waste paint because it's all going to wash off. That night rain came. When we awoke in the morning we were greeted with a STILL metallic swing set. The paint became embedded in the wood grain and will not come off. Now whenever a child climbs the ladder to the tree house, they get gross, sticky, metallic paint on them. I did not notice that on the label of the paint.
I can never claim my children can't think outside the box. They always find a solution to any problem in their own special, messy way. I'm just hopeful that next time they won't use metallic paint for any of their ideas.