9.28.2007

FYI

Silly Putty and its not-really-liquid-not-really-solid property is really cool. In theory.

Silly Putty and its not-really-liquid-not-really-solid property is evil when it is left accidentally lodged between a baby blanket and the couch cushion.

Silly Putty and its stretch-it-infinitely-or-break-it-in-a-snap property is also really cool. In theory.

Silly Putty and its stretch-it-infinitely-or-break-it-in-a-snap property is evil when it is left in sinewy, nearly invisible stretched threads in the shag carpet.

Silly Putty is really cool. It thrills my boys and keeps them happy for lengths of time that would otherwise be unfathomable. Unfortunately, it is also discreetly portable - making it more difficult to enforce the "only at the table" rule that I can with less diabolical things like Play-doh - and it begs to be molded around household items, stuck to a variety of surfaces to see what imprint it makes, etc.

And Silly Putty - for lack of a better word - melts into whatever surface it spends any time on.

Therefore, without the plastic egg that is conveniently packaged with the Silly Putty, it is a very bad choice for a game of hide-and-find. (The three-year-old's activity of choice recently.)

BUT - and here's what you really need to know, if you have or ever will have small children - rubbing alcohol gets Silly Putty out of favorite baby blankets, upholstery and carpet. Without a trace. Awesome. Truly.

Rubbing alcohol would probably get Silly Putty out of the back shoulder of Mom's shirt, too.

It would have been super awesome if Mom would have noticed the Silly Putty before wearing it, in all of it's green, globular (and only slightly glittering) glory. All day.

And of course, this does call into serious question the value of Silly Putty as a bribe reward for being reverent in Primary.

I mean, it's a good one, since the 4-year-old does behave in order to earn a go at the prize box, and he thinks his teacher is the best thing since Silly Putty for including it in the loot options, but it makes Mom have to make rules about what bribes rewards he can choose for being sooooo good during class.

And how can I in good conscience expect him to resist the little plastic egg when I know I have an icey Sunday coke in the fridge waiting for me if I can just make it through three hours without a total meltdown?

9 comments:

Real said...

One time our family spent a summer in Belgium. We could only bring the toys I could pack in a carry on bag and I thought Silly Putty would be a great toy offering lots of variety but taking up little space. Except that on our first night there, my 4yo fell asleep with it between her legs! What a disaster. I wish I had known about the rubbing alcohol back then. Not that I would have known where to find rubbing alcohol in Belgium anyway...

S said...

I do not like silly putty on the ceiling, I do not like it in the wash, I do not like silly putty here nor there. I do not like silly putty.

Michelle said...

I loved silly putty as a kid, not so much as a mommy tho. I taught my son how to rub it on the cartoons in the newspaper once and well lets just say, we won't be trying that again.

Ice works too, it comes right off things, but I like the sounds of the alcohol better.

Super Happy Girl said...

Silly putty and play-doh are evil.
I wish I had known those removing tips years ago.

Ice Cream said...

Have you taught them how to make "tooting" noises by pushing silly putty into a very little cup yet? Ah, just one of the many wonderful things about silly putty.

Sketchy said...

Somehow as a mom to 3 boys I have skirted the whole silly putty debate. I don't know how, so don't ask me.

I hope I didn't just jinx myself.

NOBODY said...

That's keeping perspective and that's what makes you a good mom. Any good mom would know silly putty and Sunday cokes ain't so different after all.

Jennifer B. said...

Rubbing alcohol! Thanks for the tip.

Gina Conroy said...

Great to know! I have a favorite blanket sitting on my dryer with yellow silly puddy on it. I haven't known what to do with it. Now I do!