Monkey Painting with the Grandkids

I spent last week with my daughter Tami and my grandchildren Jacy and Logan.  I kept the kids entertained while Tami studied for her finals. Tami is going to college on line, to obtain her degree in "Business Management".  My stay was a success because Tami made A's on both her  classes.


One of the major things we did was to paint a mural on the kids bathroom wall. For months we have planned to do this. Tami found a shower curtain covered in monkeys, this would be our "inspiration".  All we had to do was create the same effect on one blue wall.  Sounds easy.  It was far from it.

When anyone draws or paints for children, be ready to hear the brutal truth!!!  Children usually say exactly what they are thinking. I sketched the scene on the wall before we started to paint, just to make sure the scene suited the kids.  It did.  Except for one tiny, minor flaw in the wall.  There were 2 holes where a shelf had hung.  In my mind, I could fill the holes with paint or tape and it would somehow magically disappear. Wrong!!!!

Not only did it not disappear, it stood out like a carrot stuck in the middle of a bowl of gravy!!!  There was no blending at all.  Next I had the bright idea to stuff the holes with toilet paper and then paint over it.  In theory, it should work----In reality not by a long shot. The toilet paper fell into the hole when it got wet. 

I know how to fix walls with putty, mud and tape.  However, that takes time and I wanted it to be done that day, so we could paint.....so did Jacy and Logan. Instant gratification gets me every time!

When I picked the kids up from school they wanted to know if their part was ready to paint.  I told them about the holes and that we could fix it fast if we put band aids on them. We would just pretend the monkey fell and had a boo boo.  They had no problem with that. So off to Dollar General we go. We were on a mission.  A two dollar trip turned into a $40 dollar field day. We had to have the "perfect" band aid. Finally they settled on "Charlie Brown" band aids. Then we had to have chips, gum, drinks, cookies, and a plastic gun.....I have no clue what the gun was for or where it went.  It did not make the ride home with us.  We also stopped at McDonald's ---that might be where we lost the gun!

At last we are home and ready to paint. The kids put on their grubby clothes--we were set.  They painted all the grass. Logan painted a banana in the last monkey's hand. We decided that "monkey" was Tami. Logan was the monkey hanging from the tree with the band aids on his mouth and knees. Jacy would be the little monkey sitting on top of the tree.  She wanted a ribbon in her hair. Wallla!!!  The little monkey has a bow.


While this painting is far from perfect, we had a great time creating our "work of art".  We made some memories, that I hope last a lifetime.  Someday when Jacy and Logan are grown, perhaps one of their children will want a mural painted on a wall in their house.  They can then tell the story of how they painted monkeys on their bathroom wall with their Nonnie.  Maybe that will lead to more stories of Tommy and me. I hope so. When push comes to shove life is really and truly about our memories.  Never pass up a chance to make a memory with someone you love.  You never know who will hear that story.