Deliciously Messy

I'm not a fan of mess making, especially when I'm on clean up duty. Today I made an exception. The kids and I had a "messy" playdate with our neighbor and her 17 month old son. We had four different flavors of pudding that we let the kids use for finger paints. My kids were confused that I was actually allowing them to play with their food and encouraging them to make a mess. Once it sunk in that they could make a mess without getting in trouble, they both jumped in and started smearing pudding everywhere. The kids were kind enough to include me in the messy fun by "painting" my legs and feet. At one point, all three kids attacked my neighbor leaving her with sweet, sticky handprints from head to toe. All the kids had a great time being messy and even enjoyed getting cleaned up (kiddie pool and water hose) afterwards. It was a lot of fun, but now I'm wondering if I'll ever be able to let the kids eat pudding in the house.