Rocks and More in my Dryer….

I have always intended to take a picture of the things I collect out of the washer and dryer each week.
Here is my running list of things that I have pulled out of the washer or dryer over the last several years of having boys:

1. part of a bungee strap with hinge.
2. miscellaneous scrap metal pieces from who knows where. This week I found a small copper pipe?
3. crayons – several times this has happened. Most of the time I catch them before the dryer, once I did not and if you are wondering if it ruined the clothes…yes, it did and the dryer as well.
4. candles – i caught this one before the dryer.
5. rocks
6. springs, nails, screws, nuts and bolts, staples and various other tools and tool parts.
7. pocket knives – this is a regular
8. compasses and tape measures – also another regular
9. wallets and money
10. legos, lincoln logs, toy cars and various other toy parts
11. and last week a large real looking and feeling fake plastic snake that I think stopped my heart as I screamed and nearly fell back over my pile of clothes. To make the story more interesting, when I bought this life-like snake for my 4 year old, the young guy said, “Now, you need to remember you bought this because it is liable to scare you real bad late one night!”  Imagine putting your hands (working in very dim light in the unfinished basement which made it worse)  in the washer to scoop out wet clothes and feel a slimy, wiggly thing that wraps around your hand and all you can see is a black snake like thing amongst the clothes that you can’t get away from fast enough.  I think I took 3 years off my life with that experience!
12. once living real red worms that son #4 put in his pockets last spring
13. a once living real blue belly skink lizard that son #2 put in his pocket and forgot about. Afterwards, I called upon the guilty son to retrieve the dead lizard out of my washer and he tried to convince me that his lizard was only half-choked because of swallowing too much water. I assured him that his lizard was fully choked.

I threaten to charge a nickel for everything I find in their pockets and a $1 for all living or once living creatures, but in all my spare time I haven’t managed to put together a tally chart with each boy’s name on it and items I need payment for.