Gum and Peanut Butter

I hate gum. I didn't used to, but when you have to spend 2 agonizing hours trying to remove the stickiest gum you have ever seen from your 4 year old son's hair, you learn to hate it.

During the afternoons, I babysit for 2 children, a boy who is 7, and his sister who is 2. Today, the 2 year old had gum in her mouth, unbeknownced to me, and only because she is a sneaky snake. I guess since I make her spit it out every time I catch her with it, she has decided to hide it in the roof of her mouth, so I won't know she has it. I make a point of watching her for a few minutes when she arrives, just to see if she's chewing on something, but today, there was no evidence of chewing.

The kids were happily playing in Dawson's room, so I left them alone, and went on to work on some things around the house, and catch up on some orders. About 10 minutes later, Dawson comes out of his room, and yells down the hallway that Sissy (that's what they call her) put something in his hair. So, I go in to see what it is, thinking it is most likely a toy of some kind, only to discover to my horror that the little sneaky snake took a gigantic wad of gum and decided to use my son's hair as a trash can. Poor Dawson is all I can say at this point. The poor little guy grabbed it, and pulled, and when he did, it went everywhere. It started out as a wad on the top of his head, and ended up a stringy mess that covered the left side of his head; hair, ear, skin, and shirt. It even ended up on the door, wall, trim board, and floor of his room. Did I mention that it was the stickiest gum I have ever seen?

So, I sat him down, and asked my daughter, who was laughing hysterically at this point, to bring me a glass of ice, and a wet wash cloth, which made her laugh even more as she thought I has lost my mind. As soon as the requested items arrived, I began the painstaking process of icing my poor son's head and skin to freeze the gum. I think I forgot to tell you that this gum was STICKY, and refused to freeze. So I started pulling. I do not recommend that remedy at all, and neither does Dawson. In fact, he is adamant that it should be avoided at all cost! So, not thinking too clearly, I call Dave, hoping for some words of wisdom, and he gives me the wackiest solution I have ever heard of in my life. Are you ready for this... Peanut butter. Yep, the same stuff my son loves to eat for lunch. Really, are you serious? Peanut butter? Convinced he was completely off his rocker, I went to my trusty friend Google, and asked him what he thought. Would you believe he agreed with Dave? Peanut butter?! I was shocked. So I grabbed the jar, smeared it on, and couldn't resist this hilarious shot. The peanut butter worked on his skin, but nothing could remove it from his hair except my trusty scissors. So, he now has a little bald spot on the top of his head, and is missing a small patch of hair at the base of his neck, but at least it's all off of his skin now.
So, my poor sticky mess of a son is missing some hair, my daughter thinks we've all lost our marbles, and we found a new use for a yummy sandwich filling. Not a bad day after all.