Sparkles

I was just trying to be a really cool Mom.

I had seen a couple of craft projects that I thought would be a great addition to my collection of travel/wait time toys. They would be easy to make with my oldest child, and would keep her busy in the car or waiting rooms. The projects were to take small soda bottles, and fill them with various things. In one, you filled it with birdseed and inserted buttons and beeds to create a "seek and find" bottle. In the other, you put in glitter, jewels, and sequins with karo syrup and food coloring. You could then tilt the bottle back and forth and watch the sparkles flow from one end of the bottle to the other.

We had a great time making the bottles. A real bonding moment between mother and toddler. I sealed the lids with hot glue, and gave them to her to play with. They worked like a charm- keeping her busy and interested. She loved them, and kept them in her room, pulling them out to play with frequently.

Shortly after that, I found some sequins on the floor. A search found that the sequins had come from a stocking my mother had made for the baby. I was storing it in the hall closet until Christmastime. It was decorated with sequins, and the sequins had been cut off, along with some fabric. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out who had done it. I asked my oldest about it, and she said, "Well, see, I collect sparkles." I had to explain that while it was FINE to collect sparkles, you couldn't just cut them off of someone else's things.

I got suspicious. What ELSE was in this sparkle collection of hers? I found the small metal box on her shelf, dripping with a sticky green liquid that was oozing down the side of her white shelves. Inside the box was the entire poured-out contents of the karo-syrup bottle. She had worked off the lid, and poured all the lovely sparkles into her collection box. She had also cut off shiny pieces off of some beanie babies her grandmother had given her, off of Barbie dresses, and one of her own dresses that had some beads attached. She'd also stolen pieces of jewelry out of the Pretty Pretty Princess game to add to the viscous sparkle soup.

I freaked out. I made her wipe up the shelves, and threw the whole mess into the garbage, giving loud lectures on how to have a collection that didn't involve stealing or cutting up things. Later I felt bad and we started a REAL sparkle collection of gems and beads and sequins that now fill a jar lamp on her nightstand. I did not replace the karo syrup bottle.

So much for just trying to be a cool Mom.