Pumpkin decoratin'

Since we are just a few days from Halloween, this morning I told the boys that they would paint the pumpkins that we bought at the farmer's market this past weekend.

The catch: They had to clean up their playroom.
Someone very wise said that cleaning your house while the kids are still growing up is like shoveling the walk while it is still snowing. However if you do not shovel, you will have a couple of feet of snow before you know it. Not that wise after all.
So they very reluctantly proceeded. Unfortunately cleaning up has different meanings depending on how old you are.
At two, it means picking up your toys (blocks, cars, trains...), throwing them up in the air, laughing uncontrollably while you are watching them fall down all over the room.
At four, the meaning of cleaning up changes to picking up the toys that your little brother just spread all over the playroom's floor and hiding them under your Thomas the train table.
At thirty eight, you just watch the scene unfold, take a deep breath and tell them how lucky they are to be the cutest things you have ever seen.
Since cleaning up was pretty quick, we had plenty of time for our paintings.
When using paint with young kids I have learned to be extremely careful. As a piece of advice, unless you are ready to appear on "Extreme makeover-House edition", cover and protect as much of your house as you can. From the floor to the furniture, without forgetting the kids. I used old tee-shirts of mine, old table clothes or plastic can do the trick too. And if you are not planning to display the pumpkins outside, use some washable paint.