Fun With Squishies and a Tennessee Wedding

We had a very interesting day today. It began when Kevin woke up and realized it was raining. The first thing he said was, "My day is ruined." He said it so glumly and pitifully. I almost laughed hearing that phrase come out of his 5 year old mouth. But I asked him why (even though I already knew why. He had gotten a new toy while in Tennessee over Easter weekend and wanted to play with it outside. His new Spiderman mask came complete with a web squirter glove which has a built-in contratption that shoots this sillly string stuff and I won't let him use it inside. I told him yesterday that if it warmed up he could do it outside. So that's why his day was ruined. He couldn't go outside with his web squirter toy). He told me to guess. I guessed right. He said it again. "My day is ruined." I told him that we needed the rain and that it was a good thing. I tried to help him understand that the plants and animals relied on the rain for their health and well-being. I told him that the rain was a good thing for the grass and trees, flowers and birds. Everything needed the rain. He just said, "I guess so." I told him that he would live without using it today and that we would find something else fun to do. And we did...

...FUN WITH SQUISHIES

My mom had gotten some little, inexpensive toys from Big Lots to go in Kevin's Easter basket. Kevin and I were with her when she snuck them into the shopping cart so I wasn't exactly sure what all she'd gotten. These little guys were among them. Don't know exactly what they are called, but we now call them 'squishies'. They are a lot of fun. You can pull 'em, push 'em, squeeze 'em, stretch 'em, squish 'em, and shape 'em. They're cute. They're a lot of fun...and just a little weird!

These little squishies have a rubber-like outer skin and on the inside there is a fine powdery substance that is not unlike Moonsand in the way it packs together and holds a shape. The rubbery outer skin stretches like a rubber band and the face gets all distorted, which Kevin thought was funny. They made faces at him on top of being all smiles to begin with.

So there we were, playing away with the squishy buddies when Kevin handed me one and said, "look, mommy, he's bleeding." I thought, "huh?" I took the little orange guy and checked him over. Upon inspection with my strongest readers I finally noticed that he had somehow been punctured and the inner powdery stuff was coming out. Each time he got squished he made a little puff of powder all over your fingers. I thought "this can't be good. What is the stuff inside there anyway? Is it toxic?" I thought perhaps this little guy should be 'retired.'

I proceeded to show Kevin the little hole in the orange dude and explained that I wasn't sure what the white stuff was or if it was harmful. I let him hold it and squish it to prove to him that it was indeed punctured and he saw the powder come out for himself. Then I said, "I think we better let this guy go in the trash, sweet pea. He's not gonna make it." Well, I shouldn't have put it like that. BIG mistake.

I gave the orange guy back to Kevin and told him to go put it in the trash since it was torn up. He did. Then he came back with tears in his eyes! I said, "You still have these other guys. They're still your friends and can play with you." His lip started quivering and the tears welled up in his eyes and he started crying. Oh, I felt sooooo bad. I made him throw one of his squishies away! Now his other friends were lonely. I tried to console him and reitterated that the stuff inside might be toxic. "Kevin, he's torn up. He can't be fixed. I don't know how to fix it." He just boo-hoo'd. "Kevin, don't cry." After a few minutes of holding him while he cried, then watching his lip quiver as he tried to catch his breath between sobs, I gave in. "Tell ya' what, go get him and we'll see what we can do." Now I had to perform a miracle...surgery for the orange dude so Kevin could keep him with all his other squishy friends! You don't turn your back on your friends!

I racked my brain as to how I could salvage this little squishy guy so he could still be Kevin's friend. Glue? No. Tape? Nah. That wouldn't withstand squishing which is how he became wounded in the first place! Aha! Saran wrap! I wrapped the little guy up in a clear stretchy bandage like a walking cast for the little guy, and twisted each end together like a twist tie. I then tied a knot with the saran wrap ends and cut the loose ends off. Voila! Kevin had his buddy back! I showed him to Kevin and actually got a smile! It had worked! Orange squishy was wounded but in Kevin's hand and with the other squishies in no time!

I did have to explain that he would never be the same again and that on the inside of the saran wrap the powder might still come out. As long as the saran wrap wasn't punctured he could still play with it. He said, "Okay, mommy. I love you." He gave me a big hug. I almost cried.

So we went back to playing with our squishies. The wounded orange guy got lots of hugs from the other squishies. Kevin made up dialogue between them all as he played with them on the windowsill looking out at the rain and fog. He even made them an M&M picnic and gave each their own M&M (which he then proceeded to eat!).

We had fun with the squishies. I'll never forget it.

***

An Easter Weekend Wedding

Over the Easter weekend we traveled to Pigeon Forge, TN, where my only nephew, Andy, married a beautiful and very funny girl, April. Fun was had by all!

Andy and April chose a beautiful wedding chapel in which to get married. It sat atop a ridge with a wonderful view of the Smokey Mountains. Breathtaking. They performed a ceremony called the "sand ceremony" where the two sands unite as one. It was unique and moving. What a memory they made for each other and all their friends and family.

My family stayed in a 3 level cabin on another ridge above the chapel. We had 11 people in it without running over each other! It came complete with a game room, outdoor hot tub and indoor jacuzzi tub. The view was awesome but the temperature was COLD. AS. CRAP. No one used the hot tub! I really wished it had been warmer for April's sake. She had a strapless gown in which I know she was freezing her tail off.

Congratulations to the happy couple! I hope you have a lifetime full of happiness, dreams, and laughter.

Here is a slideshow of some of the pictures I took at the adventure: