I *heart* Moon Sand

No, I don't. Perhaps *heart* would be more appropriately replaced with any (or many) of the following: dislike, detest, loathe, hate, abhor, and/or despise. Moon Sand was clearly invented by someone who is not a parent and may possibly have been invented by someone who hates parents or by someone with a sick sense of humor who sees parents as fools who desire children or by someone who is a grandparent and wants to see current generation parents suffer for real or supposed misdeeds toward their own parents or by someone who is just plain mean. I am SURE that Moon Sand was not invented by a mom.

Kailin asked for Moon Sand for her birthday and being the cool mom that I am I passed along the request to several relatives and friends. (You KNOW who you are and if you know about Moon Sand and didn't question my judgement in having requested it as a gift, then you will PAY dearly!) Kailin got Moon Sand. LOTS of Moon Sand. I got a lesson in carefully researching birthday requests before passing them along.

I brought the Moon Sand out today since it's been in the upper 80's/lower 90's and HUMID (read 80% or better most days) all week. We went outside one day and wilted after only half an hour. So we've been cooped up and the kids were getting ornery and I thought that a new diversion might be just the thing. Little did I know....

In fairness, it DID occupy the kids for over 2 hours. However, it is literally the biggest mess I've ever cleaned up (that didn't involve bodily fluids). The Moon Sand is exactly like sand until you compress it at which point it becomes somewhat dough-like until you mash it a little too hard at which point it re-dissolves into sand again. Sounds like fun, right? Every child's dream, right? Indeed, it is - and every mother's nightmare!! I gave the kids baking dishes to contain the sand in and STILL it ended up everywhere! ....Mashed into their hands and feet all over the floor and table, the chairs, their clothes....everything! It did sweep up rather nicely, I must admit, but it was still a mess. A giant mess. A mess which henceforth we will be conducting OUTSIDE!

At least eventually it will all dry up and I can throw it out... oh right, it NEVER DRIES OUT!