Exhibit A: Hebs' cast
When Gee had his casts as a baby, I used them as a canvas. I wanted to do the same for Hebs' cast. Of course, his cast is fiberglass, not plaster, which makes drawing on it far more difficult.
But, lo and behold, I had bought glitter glue sticks a week before, intending to have the children use them for Christmas cards. Figuring it was worth a try, I cajoled Hebs into sitting still, and began drawing snowflakes, stars, Christmas trees, and bells on his cast. They looked great!
Unfortunately, glitter glue is, well, just glorified Elmer's glue. Which, as any kindergarten teacher can tell you, takes a LONG time to dry. Especially since I drew with thick-ish lines.
So...experiment semi-fail. Most of the designs got smudged, because there is only so long a two-year-old will sit still. (And that amount of time is not long enough for glue to completely dry.) But his dark blue cast is now sparkly! And some of the snowflakes turned out okay-ish.
However, I think this could really work, if your 12-year-old, say, broke a limb. Someone with the attention span greater than that of a gnat.
Exhibit B: Loving Children
We've been pretty sick around here, lately, and Mimi hasn't escaped it. She is so pathetic, with her sad crying, her imploring looks, her general discomfort. Poor, poor baby. She's done a lot of crying, and I can't always hold and comfort her the entire time.
Take tonight: While Bradley was at the ward Christmas party (he was part of the program, so he had to go), I gave the three older kids baths. As I was washing Gee's hair, Mimi's whimpers escalated into full force cries. The other three kids all gathered around her, singing snippets of "Twinkle Twinkle", patting her head, and telling me (every three seconds) that "The baby is SAD!" Awed by this attention, Mimi stopped screaming and cooed and laughed at her siblings.
When I brought Gee out of the bath into the hallway where she was laying, I discovered that Hebs had given his most prized possession, his beloved blue blanket "Naps", to the baby to comfort her. He was sitting on the ground next to her, gently patting the blanket, which was snuggled up against the baby. It was one of sweetest things ever.
And right now, in his darkened bedroom, Hebs is calling out to me, "I wuv you, Mom! I wuv you!" His call gains in volume if I don't respond in kind. Repeatedly. It is a trifle annoying, but COMPLETELY adorable.
Hebs' and his beloved "Naps" blankieSo, life is good. Nay, it is GREAT!
I don't know a single 12-year old, male or female, who would let you anywhere near their cast with glitter glue. They would run or crawl or hobble as quickly as possible away. However, a 9-year old girl would love to have her cast glittered. So, just as a side note, if Em would like to break her arm in a few years you could then try again.
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