Play doh

Do you have one kid toy that is the bane of your existence? For me it is Play doh. Nothing drives me crazier than Play doh and I loved, loved, loved it as a kid. I even remember having the hair salon where the Play doh came out the head of a figurine when you pushed a handle somehow. And yet as a parent nothing makes me give a big "ugh" than when Aimee asks for her Play doh. It's a wonderful dexterity builder and enhances the fine motor skills I am sure. But come one, why is mixing of colors a necessity?

I didn't really think of myself as a perfectionist, in fact anyone who has been to my house knows that my housecleaning skills are quite half-arsed. But still, Play doh mixed colors just bugged me. But I think I have finally gotten over that. But the next issue I can't seem to get over....dog hair in the Play doh. Our huge, lovable husky/malamute mix of a dog has never ending hair. It's everywhere, even if he isn't there. And one drop of the Play doh onto the floor and it's covered in hair despite a recent vacuuming because the Play doh apparently picks it up better than my Windtunnel bagless vacuum that costs almost as much as one car payment.

So mixed colors and dog hair aside, I can't stand Play doh because Nicole, who won't eat anything for me on a regular basis loves to stick the colored stuff into her mouth. Maybe it's the salty taste (come on, you all remember it tastes salty from your early days of life) or the colors that drives her to at least put it in her mouth. But inevitably when the Play doh is out, I see a bluish stain around her mouth from at least a quick lick of the stuff. At first I thought something was horribly wrong with her when Aimee was playing with her Play doh stash one day and Nicole snagged a lump of blue that fell under the dining room table and put it to her lips.

Another reason this stuff drives me batty is because it makes tons of crumbs. Maybe that isn't quite the right word but little specks of this stuff always winds up on my table and then on the floor and Play doh left out does what people? It hardens. So we have little crumbs of Play doh all over the floor. And I look like such a doting mother from the dirty fingernails it produces in my children from it getting under their nails.

And it never stays at the table. Aimee is always putting it somewhere she isn't supposed to. I even found some in a window screen recently. Yes, she can reach ONE window screen in the porch when she stands on the loveseat that is out there. Where is my mother of the year award again?