Play Dough Should be Banned

Every parent has had this thought after a run in with play dough. We have buyer's remorse in spite of how much our little beasties seem to enjoy this sticky mess. Really, not much separates play dough from chewing gum when you are a. trying to get it out of your carpet or b. scraping it off your shoes.
Our three year old got a ginormous play dough set for Christmas. We're talking ice scream maker, refrigerator with stuff to make little dough broccoli, Popsicle maker (thanks again, Santa). A day doesn't go by that she hasn't asked to play with her new play dough. I have taken to hiding it on the top shelf of the closet, but she spies it up there. I would honestly rather let her crack eggs in the kitchen than clean up after those dried bits of day-glo colored dough. It is right up there with glitter as the most annoying clean up project. You'll be finding pieces of dough in every room and on the bottom of every shoe and ground into every kid's socks and pants.
I move to make play dough an outdoor activity along with virtually all games played with a ball and nearly all meals. These other kid related activities should also be reserved for outdoors (or the neighbor's house):

• Popsicles
• juice pouches (just another word for squirt gun)
• glitter and paint projects (we're talking outdoor easel, folks)
• birthday parties
• tackle football (though we did play it indoors when I was a kid)
• any game that involves 100 pieces
• pogo stick (also not recommended for Christmas gift in December)

In case you can't tell, Spring cannot come soon enough around here. We're on our second snow day today!! Yippee! I've hidden the play-dough!

The Christmas Gifts that Do Not Keep on Giving

Now that I'm a few weeks out from the wrapping paper frenzy of Christmas morning, I can soundly reflect on some of Santa's more questionable choices for gifts this year in the Dressing household. Quite frankly, I'm appalled that Santa would even consider a few of these noxious toys.

1. The Kung Zhu Battle Arena. Really Santa? The Kung Zhu is basically a boy version of a Zhu Zhu Pet, but with plastic battle armour and a little hamster sized sword. The "battle arena" (picture a velodrome shaped plastic battle ground with about 30 flags that are strategically placed all around it). The flags are actually just placed all over my living room floor, and the battle only works if both Kung Zhus are wearing the armour. In other words, little sister's hamster doesn't quite work in the arena of death. Santa, please be a little more discriminating next year with that wish list.
2. The Fisher Price Sing-a-Ma-Jig Plush Doll. Apparently they harmonize if you get two of them together. Listen, if there were two of these dolls at my house, I'd be in a drink induced coma. This doll sounds like you have a stuck organ key playing over and over. Then just when you think it is finally going to stop talking, it announces, "Night, night." It makes Chucky look kinda sweet.
3. The Fisher Price Little Einstein Singing Annie Doll. Santa, are you seeing a Fisher Price pattern here? Put these guys on your naughty list. The singing Annie doll is a little like listening to the Sound of Music for 12 straight days. She even looks like the smallest Von Trappe kid. And the worst part is that you barely have to graze her before she starts screeching, "Sing my song with me, sing loudly, forte!" Well, there's another "f" word I can think of for Annie, but this is a family blog.
4. The 100 million piece Lego set. Honestly, I know they are supposed to be fantastic for kids, but anything with that many pieces is never going to be the same in our house after the first opening of the box. We can barely handle a 24 piece puzzle around here. I have found Lego pieces in my shoes, in my purse, coat pockets, in the mouth of the singing Annie doll (okay I was trying to quiet her down). And I won't even tell you how loud I sing when I step on one of those suckers.
5. The 2011 calendar chap sticks or any chap stick or lip gloss for that matter. Stuff that smells good and looks like a glue stick is going to wreak all kinds of havoc when a three year old is around. We've tried to convince our youngest that you cannot eat chap stick or use it to stick paper together, but she still keeps trying. And really, who can read those tiny little months on the tube? Is it leap year this year? I don't know, I can't tell if February has an extra day!!!
6. The 3-D drawing pad complete with 3-D glasses. Okay Santa, I know you were trying to be creative with the whole stocking stuffer thing, but that kept my son's attention for about 2 seconds. "Oooh, I drew a box. Oooh, it looks like a box that is slightly lifting away from the page. Huh? Where's that one million piece Lego set??"

So hopefully Santa will exercise a little more caution next year in making some selections for my little ones. I am making a mental note right now to write him my own letter this year....hope he has some 3-D glasses to read on this cool paper.

Happy New Year, 2011!

I was never so happy to say goodbye to 2010. It's weird how you need something tangible like new numbers at the end of the year to feel like you can really let go of the past and forge a little stronger and more clear minded into the future. Last year was just plain sucky. John's company closed in March, the economy seemed gloom and doom, and it felt like a series of broken appliances and car parts had come to plague our home. There were blessings, of course. I was offered a great full time job at my college, the kids are all growing strong and healthy, and for the first time in years, John has been able to spend a lot more quality time with our children (I hope this would also go onto his "blessings" list).
Still, it was a year that I wanted to put behind me. In many ways, I haven't handled the transition from part time worker/full time mom as graciously as my husband has handled sliding overnight into the role of carpool driver, after school parent and meal planner. It has been confusing to me and disorienting to let go of some of the "responsibilities" I felt belonged to me, namely taking children to the doctor, being home with them after school, taking them sledding on a snow day. I muddled along at work feeling a little grouchy that I was in the office so much and resenting the big shift from part time worker to full time faculty. So entering a new year for me is about changing my attitude. I am usually not one for new year's resolutions because I tend to fail miserably at them, but here are a few I intend to start and keep:

1. Write everyday. It may be on the back of a napkin or while I'm waiting for a kid at gymnastics, but I want to daily get my thoughts and ideas on paper. Who knows, it might just turn into something.
2. Be on time. Okay, stop laughing. This involves better planning, so maybe my resolution should really be about planning, but I hope the end result is that I arrive on time more often and get my children to their destinations on time.
3. Move every day. Could be running or walking or maybe just taking all 7 flights of stairs from the parking garage to my office. It beats medication by a long shot.
4. Be less critical, be more thankful. Less critical of my co-workers, my husband, my children, and most importantly, myself. More thankful of my gifts: good health, beautiful children, a loving husband, a charming old home, and plenty of fabulous books to read.

So Happy New Year to all my readers (all three of you!). I plan to keep you better posted in 2011, on time, and with plenty of thankfulness.