toothpaste terror

For some reason, the little girls in this family have a fascination with toothpaste. Most of the time, the fascination leads to fastidious focus on brushing teeth, or at least eating toothpaste. Some of the time, however, it turns into a fatal attraction, with my house bearing the brunt of the assault.

When my now 4 y.o. Elli was not quite 2, we hosted a couple of Japanese exchange students for an American home experience. The two unsuspecting students joined us in the late afternoon on a Friday, accompanying us to a college meeting that evening, on a grand adventure of southern Idaho (where we were living) the next day to see "Balanced Rock," and wrapping it all up with their first ever visit to an American church. As part of their assignment following their visit, they were suppose to record their favorite memory. It included toothpaste and a toddler who wasn't quite 2.

Just a couple of days ago, my youngest, who is just over 2, discovered the joy of toothpaste. It's texture is just perfect for smearing all over everything. Then, it dries! Now, while cleaning dried toothpaste off of toothbrushes, counters, or sinks isn't too bad, cleaning it off of carpet and upholstery is completely different. Trying to get it out of very fine blond hair is a new challenge all together. Let's just say it left a bad taste in the mouth of my youngest daughter!

Finally, though, I think the toothpaste terrorists in our house have all reformed. Now, the only use for toothpaste is brushing teeth.