Whipped Topping

Yesterday my three-year old, Mia, brings me a can of whipped topping and ask for a bowl of it. A bowl of whipped topping?!?! Come on Mia, what are you thinking?!?! Okay, so you’re three; maybe you’re not thinking. Some of you parents out there better take a deep breath and perhaps sit down. I not only squirted some whipped topping in a small bowl for her but I got out the sprinkles and put some on top.

Okay, before someone calls Child Protective Services, is this something that I would let her have every day? Of course not and let the record show that you will normally only find the fat free, sugar free, calorie free whipped topping in our house!

But sometimes you just have to break the rules. Sometime you just have to relax and have a random, fun moment or two. Over the years we have played hockey in the house, jumped on beds together (in motels, of course!), and ran outside just to play in the pouring down rain. We have laid out tarps and done splatter paint and organized crazy scavenger hunts with our friends.

The morning after one of our birthdays, we allow the kids to have left-over cake for breakfast. Who am I kidding? I have cake for breakfast that morning too! Don't even be judgmental. Have you ever had a donut and coffee for breakfast, huh?

There are days that we have dessert before dinner, some nights we throw mattresses on the living room floor and camp out, and we will not hesitate to turn a boring field trip into a photo shoot of ridiculous poses.

Last summer in the Webb home you would have found fashion shows with models sporting home-made newspaper clothes, creations made with shaving cream, photo shoots with a little man made out of aluminum foil and girls with feather dusters. One of my favorite photo-shoots included shots of random household appliances; like the doll-house people in the mixer bowl labeled “blended family.”

This summer, remember to take time to relax, break the rules a few times, and surprise your kids with some out of the ordinary fun. Better yet, ask them for some suggestions. If you run out of ideas, feel free to stop over – there is rarely a dull moment here!