What a mess!

Earlier this year I discovered the Wonder Box. Basically, it works like a cordless crockpot. You sew up these weird shaped "bean bags", fill them with polystyrene beads, and presto! You have a cordless crockpot. Check out Kathryn Pratt's Wonder Box site for further details. Google "heat retention cooking" and you will hit the jackpot of info. I used the polystyrene for the insulation, but in other parts of the world they accomplish the same thing with rice or hay. Yes, this is my Earth Mother coming out. If you are rolling your eyes right about now, then you are having the same reaction as DoJo and most of my male family members. Nolan is at least nice about it. He doesn't roll his eyes in front of me.

Filling the bags with the polystyrene beads is a pain in the behind. The beads are like packing peanuts, only smaller. Static electricity...need I say more? One additional problem is getting polystyrene beads in the far reaches of civilization (like Farmington, New Mexico). I used walmart.com, but my mom-in-law found a polystyrene wholesaler in Utah...where else?...and bought me a couple of bags. They were only $20 a piece and will each fill 5 Wonder Boxes! Like I need 5 or 10 more Wonder Boxes. I made 4 already! So...long story short, I've got these two huge bags of micro polystyrene beads in the 1st bedroom Wesley vacated. I have plans to convert this room into a food storage room, but in the mean time, it is very cluttered.

The grandkids and their parents usually come over on Sunday evenings. After some very noisy play, it suddenly seemed very quiet. Too quiet. Then, the informer, aka Lexi, announced "You should SEE what the babies are in to!" (Lex is so mature. Everyone is a baby in her world.) The moms all went running to the back room and I heard "Oh no. Mom? Do you want to see this BEFORE or AFTER we clean it up?" That's bad. I decided to look at the Before.

It was like a snowdrift. The babies were covered with micro polystyrene beads and they were stuck to everything. Jared inhaled several beads during the cleanup and Amanda swears that she has one imbedded in her ear. Somehow, they worked their way into Megan's underwear! Seriously, they were everywhere! Jace, my 3-year-old grandson found the bags in the back room and decided that it would be fun to jump on them. He did, they all did, and COOL! A snowstorm! The babies were momentarily in Winter Wonderland. Thank goodness for the informer. However, I wish she had informed a little sooner. Still, it was a family bonding moment. Jared even helped clean up. That's unusual...he's DoJo's real son. I also believe that is how Meg got them in her underwear! The really cool thing about the whole episode is that I didn't get all bent out of shape. Jared would still be in time out if he had done something like that when he was Jace's age! Being a Grandma gives you a whole different perspective. Plus, I'm thinking that those beads are still hiding in all the nooks and crannies of the room. If I play my cards right, I can get the babies parents to come back and clean up that room properly and help me convert it to the food storage room.