COLOR ME MINE - Spring Break Day 5

Okay, this really isn't a theme day, just an activity. The original plan was rollerskating, but the last thing I wanted to do was take the girls somewhere they could fall and get hurt. So rollerskating was out and painting was in.

The girls were happy to accommodate the change of plans. They are always asking if we can go to Color Me Mine and the answer is always, "no" for two reasons: 1)It's expensive 2)It brings out the worst in their mother, as you will soon see.

Color Me Mine is an art studio you go to, pick a ceramic piece to paint, pay an exhorbitant price, leave your finished product to be fired in the kiln, and then pick up a few days later.

The girls have actually done this a couple of times before. Once they decorated plates that we actually use and the other times they have picked random decorative statues that are pretty much useless. This time, I asked them to do plates again, so at least we can add to our eclectic collection. They agreed, so when we arrived they picked out some cute dinner plates to paint.

Going into this activity, I kept telling myself that I was going to "be good." You see when you paint at Color Me Mine the "paints" aren't what my girls are used to using. You have to put a good solid coating on and paint the whole piece otherwise you have a bunch of unpainted white spots and very faintly colored finished products. For the most part, what the girls expect is not usually what they get.

So we sit down to paint and Paige immediately becomes fussy and obtuse. She pretty much dips her paint brush in the paint and uses it to scribble all over the plate, putting about three dry strokes on it. Right then and there, I knew it wasn't going to be possible for me to "be good." I really did want to be the mom, that just sits back with a smile on her face, calmly watching her child paint, without worrying about the finished product or whether it's worth the money. But seriously, here is Paige who has begged to be here sitting down and absolutely putting no effort into her $25 plate.

So, here I go telling Paige, "to slow down, use more paint on your brush, make sure you paint the edges, don't leave any white spots, stop being so grumpy, do you really want to be here?, would you rather go home?, don't rub paint in your hair, etc. etc." Now I am not taking total responsibility for this, Paige was being a big pain but still I didn't really notice any other parents "directing" their children. Fortunately, about half way into it, Paige seemed to get over her little temper tantrum and was able to finish up with little interference from her mom. I didn't tell her what colors or designs to use, but I just couldn't help myself when it came to quality control---oh well.

After we finished up at the studio, we went right next door for ice cream, mom needed some sugar, bigtime!