Don't Touch The Iron!

Last night was another successful Activity Days. In case you are keeping score at home, I judge these successes by how well the girls pay attention and keep themselves (and their hyperactive wiggles and giggles) under control. Once again they acted pretty much like angels on a cloud. The evening would have been perfect had I not had to repeatedly remind the girls that irons in fact do have a strong tendency to get reallyreallyreally hot when they're turned on. As far as I'm aware, no one went home with any burned fingers, but we came thisclose to just that more than a few times.

So yes, in an effort to produce a Father's Day Gift & Skill Set, we taught the girls how to iron both a shirt and a handkerchief. First, though, we had to teach them some ironing safety. Ironing safety includes, but is probably not limited to: NOT TOUCHING THE IRON, and, in the event that you do have to touch the iron (for whatever reason), don't do so until you've checked to see if it's on or releasing heat (which of course made them all want to place their hands two inches from iron). Ironing safety also includes not leaning on the ironing board, not doing dances you learned in school around the ironing board, and not touching the iron. (Have I already mentioned this? Because I feel like I've already mentioned this.) Also, we learned that it's important to not iron over your fingers even though you might think it will help get rid of that one pesky wrinkle. No, ironing fingers is generally not a good idea.

We also discussed the importance of not burning holes in clothes. We learned that it's a good idea to look at the label to find out what kind of fabric the wrinkled clothing is so that you can adjust the heat accordingly. The girls seemed to understand this concept a lot better than the "don't touch the iron" rule.

After watching a demonstration on "How to Iron a Shirt," we learned "How to Iron a Handkerchief/Napkin." Ironing a handkerchief or napkin is a piece of cake, they decided, because all you have to do is 1. press, 2. fold, 3. press, 4. fold, 5. press, 6. fold, 7. press. We got each girl a cheap white handkerchief which they all ironed themselves and then wrapped up in a cute (cute, in a manly, fatherly sort of way, of course) little box. They have also vowed to iron one of their father's white shirts so he can wear it, all pressed, to church on Father's Day. Here's hoping that no fingers get burned in the process of that endeavor.

The main attraction of the evening was my hi-tech iron that not only has a button that squirts water, but also has a button that presses steam. Yeah, they really liked that feature. Oh, and the refreshments were a big hit as well. Sister Batman made one of those frozen oreo/caramel/chocolatey/whipped cream desserts. It was delicious.

So there you have it, folks. Ironing can be fun -- so long as you don't touch the iron!