My kids have been in a creative funk recently. The newest past time is creating signature desserts. Z was the first inventive chef. Last night, J took a stab at it. The only problem is that J's was so close to Z's that Z was claiming copyright fraud. I told her he was merely taking off on a good idea with a few tweaks of his own. I explained that this happened all of the time in the world of business and told them that they were both free to do their own thing. We talked about what different customers might desire. Some might go for better tasting, even if it was more expensive. Some might prefer a little less glitz if it is more affordable.

A little while later, they came to me with a shopping list of items they would need to get their "businesses" under way. We allow our kids to sell and purchase things from each other with a charging cap of no more than a dime, unless cleared through the CEO (Daddy D). These are great life teaching moments.

Today, we ventured to the store and collected the needed items- strawberries, bananas, "white" Koolaid, whipped cream, and marshmallows. Along with these items, several things from the cupboards were also used. This afternoon was creation time.

While Z was intently forming her masterpiece, she had out the food coloring. One of the bwins was watching. Z warned him not to touch the blue coloring she had open. Well, all of you know what came next... he reached up and squeezed it. This caused the blue to run out all over his fingers. He tried to hide, but luckily Z brought him to me (wouldn't want it on the carpet, walls, or furniture). I went over the fact that Z had warned him and he had not listened. Then I proceeded to tell him to go wash his hands.

He went in to scrub down. A few minutes later, the crying ensued. I went to see what was wrong. He was hopelessly scouring his fingers, only to get more on his chin and other arm. He was fighting a losing battle. Then I realized what he thought... he would be blue for life! I did not tell him about the food coloring's non-permanency right away. I felt it was a good natural consequence for his behavior.

However, after quite a while of fit throwing, he finally calmed down. I explained that it would come off in a few days, but until then it might help him to remember to listen to what he is told.

Even now, I catch him scrubbing vigorously and picking at his fingers, hoping to remedy the stain. Thus is the legend of Ole' Blue Fingers.