The Painted Penguin

I am notorious for purchasing Groupons and then forgetting about them. I had just a few days to spare when I remembered to use this one for The Painted Penguin at Fox Valley Mall.

Both boys chose to paint racecars, and I wasn't in the least bit surprised. The kids got to choose their own colors for the paint tray, and they spent a good 15 minutes painting. Not too bad for young children with short attention spans.

I'm not sure if you could hear it clearly, but Henry did say "car" and "painting car," though his speech is kind of hard to understand. He spent longer on his car than Nick did, and probably would've gone even longer if I would have let him. 

Henry copied me when painting the car, and I was impressed by his dexterity. Most of the paint ended up on the car, and he smoothed it down well with the brush. Henry kept saying "car" excitedly while he painted, and he even labeled his car as "blue." 

Nick decided, at a certain point, that painting his hand and the table would be more fun than finishing his car. He loved the big paintbrushes and wouldn't even touch the little ones. 

The joy of painting and picking your own colors got the kids really excited. This isn't like the ceramics-painting places. Instead of having your creations fired, they just spray them and let them sit in front of fans for awhile; we brought home our creations the same day. Nick loved watching the cashier spray his car with sparkly stuff. 

But Mommy, I want to spray the stuff! Can't I please go in there?

Henry was triumphant when his project was finished!

Look what I did! If you don't grab it quick, I'm going to throw it!

Since the cars needed to dry a bit, I took the kids around the mall while we waited. I can always kill time in a mall. Greg, however, had not given me the stroller, so I had to purchase one of the super-expensive joy-inducing ones that they rent. 

It is my turn now, and it shall be my turn forever. Do not try to get me out of here.

This worked out well when Henry was in the stroller, but Nick wanted a turn, too, so they had to trade off. Henry's too little to hold hands and walk well, so this was challenging. Whichever boy wasn't currently "driving" the stroller asked every twelve seconds, "Is it my turn now." Well, that was Nick. Henry just cried and pointed and tried to crawl on top of Nick. I've heard they have these strollers in double, but I couldn't find any. This one cost $5. I can't imagine what a larger one would've been. 

The times when Nick was in the stroller were the hardest. I went in to Victoria's Secret because I had a birthday coupon, and Henry became delighted with the glitter on the floor. He would randomly stop, drop, and roll around in the sparkly glitter. Thank goodness all of the lithe, nineteen-year-old clerks thought he was the cutest thing ever.

He kept trying to "catch" the sparkles. 

This is what the final projects looked like. Classy, I know. Henry's is the blue one, and Nick's was a greenish gray.