Cloud Dough is Messy, Mumma

Madeline has been stuck inside with the sicks since last Wednesday, which makes for one serious case of cabin fever.  (P.S. We're pretty sure she has sixth disease since her temperature vanished as quickly as it came and left a lovely rash all over her body in its wake.  At least she's finally on the mend.)  On Friday afternoon, I was feeling sad for my bored baby who couldn't even enjoy playing out in the snow, so my brain started searching for a fun inside project for us to do.

Luckily, I came across the blog Tinkerlab last week, which is an amazing resource of fun projects to do with your kids.

So while Madeline napped, I whipped up a batch of cloud dough.  It's very easy to make.  You mix flour and baby oil together.  (I used two cups flour and 1/4 cup baby oil.)  The mixture has an interesting texture that I can best sum up as a blend of cotton balls, flour, and sand.  It really does look like a bowl full of clouds.  Plus, it smells really good and left my hands moisturized.  Bonus!

 I was really excited to wake Madeline up from her nap and let her dig around in a bowl of clouds for the afternoon.

Madeline, however, was not as enthusiastic.  She dumped the bowl on the floor right off the bat, poked at it a few times, looked at me like I was crazy sauce, and declared, "Mess!  Mess!" while shaking her head.

She humoured me for a few minutes, but she did not enjoy getting her hands dirty.  This is proof that although Madeline has inherited many of my qualities, she's got a healthy dose of Eric in her as well.  Mumma couldn't give a hootenanny about messes.  In fact, I really enjoy making a good mess.   Dada on the other hand?  Dada does not like messes, and apparently, neither does Madeline.

I was a little bummed that Madeline did not want to get creative with me, but oh well, there's no arguing with Maddie Bears.

I have not quite given up on cloud dough yet in spite of Madeline's reluctance.  It's just too fun.  I scooped what I could salvage into a freezer bag and I'll reintroduce it to Madeline in a few months.  Maybe she's just still too young.

 What kid could resist playing with a bowl full of clouds?!?