Cause and Effect

I enjoy the beach, and I don't even particularly mind the sand. Sure, it's hot, gritty and no matter how many times you shake out your towel, you still lay in sand, but I am okay with that. However, I HATE sandboxes.... or should I say, I HATE what happens to my children when they are playing in the sand box. The problem: My kids LOVE playing in the sand. Some child inevitably ends up throwing it--(which drives me absolutely crazy) and it ends up in his/her hair, ears, shorts, diapers, etc.

So, Memorial Day we went to a friend's house out in the country for a cook out. They have a large yard and lots of fun kid stuff to play with--including, you guessed it, a sandbox. The picture below is of Silas after he decided to EAT the sand. He came to me, crying, spitting and wiping his mouth out, all the while crunching away on sand-GROSS!! So, I did what any "sand-loving" mom would do, I rinsed his mouth out with water, and while doing so I repeatedly told him "we don't eat sand!" Okay, so maybe rinsing is putting it mildly--more like splashed or maybe even threw water in his mouth/face, but I didn't know how else to rinse it. It's not like the kid knows how to swish and spit! After all of that it was STILL stuck in his teeth. So now I am just wondering if there are any other moms out there who have the same sentiments towards sand. . . or perhaps I am in a league of my own.