I haven't always been the best at letting Aspen get messy. I know it's an important part of childhood, but it's a hard part of motherhood as far as I'm concerned. And since there's so little I can control in my life right now, having a clean house is very important to me.
One day I realized that if I just put in a little bit of effort, Aspen would play for a long time and it would pay off in the long run. That's when I discovered the sheet method. I just throw a sheet on the kitchen floor and let Aspen be as creative as she wants. Then I just pick up the sheet and throw it in the washer. I'm sure many of you have discovered this strategy already, but to me it came a little late :) The other day I gave Aspen some flour, oats, water, salt and sugar and let her make her own muffins. We even cooked them and she ate a couple (I however never mustered up the courage to try one).
p.s. Oakley's eyebrow muscles are shaped like perfect semi-circles. His actual eyebrows aren't, but whenever he raises them he looks like this. Haha.
Another day I warmed up some cream cheese and used food coloring to make different shades of "paint" which Aspen then used to beautify her mid-day toast. She loves this! By the way, this was not my idea but I found it on a brilliant website, which unfortunately I'm not able to source. Anyway it's been fun trying new activities to keep Aspen busy, and seeing her creative mind work.