The Missing Play-doh
Catherine and Teresa played with hot pink Play-Doh Sunday afternoon. They had a great time forming into shapes – dog bones, bugs, and squirting it out the “mouth” of the shape maker.
After they were done, I told them to clean up and put it where it goes. Then, I was pulled away from the children to run an errand for an hour or so, and they all went to play downstairs.
When I returned, Teresa had peacefully fallen asleep on John’s chest. I heard a muffled, “Mom, M-O-M! Help! Teresa’s on me and I can’t get her off without waking her up!” So, I took her upstairs with me to work on some things. She was taking an especially long nap today…hmmm…I wondered if she wasn’t feeling well.
It was then that I realized that half the can of play-doh she and Catherine played with earlier had gone AWOL. As the kids came in and out of the kitchen I asked them if they knew what happened to it. The answer was a resounding, “Nope, sorry, Mom”.
I then realized that Teresa could have eaten it! But she was still sleeping so I couldn’t ask her about it…
Shortly thereafter, she woke up. Sleepily, she climbed into my arms to view the world from their safety. Kids flew past, kids laughed and cried, kids fought, my husband entered to get food, everybody left. Teresa stayed there and watched from her perch.
Suddenly and spontaneously, she wanted to get down and take part in the action. I’m always tickled when this happens, as it’s an abrupt change, like night and day. So much so that I almost don’t recognize her from what she was a moment earlier. She starts dancing around with the girls, talking about everything under the sun, playing with Gianna. Then suddenly she stops, stands still stiffens herself, and looks me straight in the eye, then looks down at the floor.
After being a mom for almost twelve years, I know this look. “It’s potty time!” I think to myself. And I am right.
“Teresa, do you have to go to the bathroom?” “M-hmmm,” she replies, and proceeds to the restroom.
Clare was there with me and all of a sudden we both start laughing hysterically! As the pants went off, a blob of play-doh falls to the floor! I breathe a sigh of relief that she didn’t eat it for lunch! What I didn’t realize was that there was more… She insists on doing everything “herself” these days. So, when she removed the velcro-y strap on one side of her diaper, simultaneously stating, “Mommy, I pooped!” out falls the other huge glob of hot pink play-doh onto the floor! Clare and I couldn’t stop laughing as we realized it had been stuck in her diaper for five hours!!!! Through her nap and all! How could she stand it?!? Upon closer observation, we also realized that it was indeed, “butt-shaped” which meant this one had to go into the garbage can for sure.
My day is filled with such silly events.
