It's not sweet......but I really must vent.......Please?!

[Priscilla]

okay....so EVERY year my MIL informs me that I am "going to regret buying that" in a mocking voice.

Last year it was this:




It's a blast. I play with it, Will plays with it, the older kids play with it. It's not very loud but it's enough to let him explore music.

This year it was this:



Why on EARTH would anyone not let their child do art/crafts and think that other's will regret doing so......it's not as if I bought him permanant paint or if I am going to hand him all 32 colors OPEN and leave the room.

I matter of factly told her that I certainly WOULD NOT regret it....we've painted before. And if she must know she was wrong last year about the drum and she would be wrong again.

I can't WAIT for DH to go back to work so we can dig into the paints.....he doesn't have the patience for stuff like that and will go bonkers if all the paint doesn't go on the paper or if he mixes colors or puts a wet paper on a dry paper he is working on, etc......IT'S ART...LET HIM DO IT HIS WAY......

i wonder where DH gets that from :shuffle:

[Alinalitas]

oooh you are going to HAVE to take some pics of the finger painting sessions and scrap them for us!

[joelsgirl]

lol, sorry, but I have to laugh at your dh! I'm the one in our family that hates to see playdoh mixed; dh encourages him to do it (mostly just to annoy me).

Sorry she thinks she knows better than you; that's annoying, I know.

[Tracyfish]

Sounds like my MIL

I'm with Kellie though, I'm the one who likes to let DS have one color at a time so they don't get messed up. hahaha

[Alinalitas]

Ah not not me: I encourage the total mess hehe

like this

[BrattyMeg]

aww alina hehe how cute!!

Priscilla..my kids got an easel for Christmas this year it's the BEST thing I think we've ever gotten. My youngest two LOVE it (3 and 1) I put it on the kitchen floor and with washable paint it comes right up

[lauren grier]

lol I encourage it... and then growl for days aftewards. I have a layout somewhere in the gallery with ce covered in some home made finger paints we made..... That was fine, not so terrible to clean up... BUT a month or so ago I had the brilliant idea of letting him use some of my ACRYLIC paint, I figured, hey, this kid is a NEAT freak now he's not going to do anything horrid.....







I need a lil of your mil in my life He painted my WHITE kitchen walls PURPLE I tried and tried to get it all off but there's still a nice purple smear on there.

[Priscilla]

Lauren

Thanks ladies and I will takes pics and JOYFULLY scrap it and definitly posting it on my family blog and my scrap blog

[Paula]

Honey, you need to do what I do with my MIL - let it go in one ear and out the other. This is coming from a woman that got a FLASHLIGHT from her for Christmas! lol

[iJenny]

I know what you mean, Priscilla. At least about the DH not having patience for messes. Jeff is so hyperactive about things like playdoh color mixing, etc. I'm like, "oh, let them be! They're kids!!". My youngest son (just turned two) is OBSESSED with taking the paper wrappers off of crayons. He'll sit there for as long as it takes to peel the papers off and it drives my hubby NUTS! My theory is... "hey, he's quiet, busy, safe, and happy."
Men...
________
Extreme Q

[Traci Reed]

omg I hate the mixing of paint, play dough, I'm totally OCD about it! And crayon wrappers! UGH gives me the heebie jeebies when I find broken crayons or crayons without wrappers..I'm terrible! LOL

Tell your mother in law to sit and spin! LOL I finally had to put my foot down with mine and we're all much happier now! :P

[Hom74]

We have that music set too. They should fingerpaint her a card I think

[Amber1279]

my kids got an easel and paints and brushes, crayons & markers from my Mom. I can't wait for them to get home so we can set up a "studio" in the garage!! They are gonna have a blast!!

I rarely talk to my MIL - luckily I divorced her son so I don't have to be nice LOL.

[duckie]

hi girls well... this is what happened to us after hubby was "watching" the kids with their art lol i was like OMG!!!




Guess they wanted to decorate the stairway going up to their room... lets not mention their room.. I am too scared to go up there and take pictures, they decorated up there too! lol

but i still bring them home art stuff lol hubby is like WHY?!!?!?! lol I'm like.. cuz its fun

I don't have a MIL.. well I do but we don't talk to her but I would just tell her to mind her own business lol She had her chance to raise kids now its your turn to do it anyway you want hehe I hope the kids have a BLAST!

[meganmecrazy]

UGH! Sounds all too familiar! We try to let all words from the in-laws go in one ear and out the other!

They should fingerpaint her a card I think

I totally agree and make sure you put somewhere on that card about it being the best gift this year! LOLOLOL!

[ColleenSwerb]

Thank goodness I know my fiancee's mom will NOT be like that, lol. She's too laid back to stress about that stuff.

I LOVE the idea of a homemade finger painted card. "Dear Grandma, We love our finger paints soooooo much we made you this beautiful card!"

[Sue Setiadji]

Originally Posted by Hom74

We have that music set too. They should fingerpaint her a card I think

You can get the kids to hand deliver it with the music set in tote - a little performance might go down fiine too!
Personally, I have a neat freak streak when it comes to paint and crayons - working at a preschool is helping me overcome my inhibitions rapidly! Maybe she could volunteer for a day at the local preschool for a little modern therapy!

PS - love all the modern art by the knee-hi's in this thread - budding little artists lurking here for sure!

[Emmy]

My mom is kind of funny about stuff like that too. As a child we never carved pumpkins or dyed easter eggs. Waaaay too messy in her book. Now she sees me doing all sorts of crafts with the kids and I think she thinks I'm crazy.

[Priscilla]

Lemme clarify. I won't let him MIX paint within itself but mixed/smeared on the page....you know overlapping colors

Now playdoh......that's free reign

[mum2mykiddos]

i havent braved painting with the boys. Arianna and I do all the time but when the boys are sleepin usually. I might have to go and buy this set and let them have at it. after ayden's casts come off that is.

[kscwgirl]

I'm freaky about Abby mixing her playdoh too, but now she plays with it in her room to prevent JJ from getting into it, so I don't see her mix. LOL Priscilla, I would tell your MIL to shove it.

[anotherjenny]

I wish I could be more relaxed about stuff like finger paint, but it totally stresses me out! Playdough mixing drives me bonkers, too...I think it's the engineer in me, LOL.

[Stacey42]

I let the boys paint. I don't really mind the mess. Paint & crayon on the walls just make a house look lived in IMO. I grew up in in a home where every room seemed to be waiting for the photographers from House Beautiful to show up. No messes or clutter allowed.
The thing about painting that drives me bonkers is DS2 will take an 8.5 by 11 sheet of paper, swipe the brush across it and say "all done! new paper!" He can go through an entire pad of art paper in 15 minutes. All I can think is 'ack! waste of paper!" and "Where am I going to hang all this?"

[mizamigo]

For the moms whose artists use the walls instead of the paper... primer and a fresh coat of wall paint work well to hide the unwanted art.