Extended Bathtime

One thing my girls love is to play in the bathtub--what kid doesn't? Water is one plaything that has endless possibilities! Most nights during the week, we are pressed by the clock to get through three baths in time for bed! So, occasionally we enjoy an extended bath time during the morning--today was one such day! Because I know my readers are always looking for a time consuming way to keep their kids out of their hair for a few cotton pickin' minutes fun, educational way for their children to spend their time, I thought I'd share some insight (and some cute bath photos)!

Let me first start with my favorite benefit: I get an extended shower and time to leisurely get ready for the day. Our master bath, like many, has a garden tub and a stand up shower; the girls get the tub and mom gets the shower. Today I spent 30 minutes in the shower and 30 minutes getting ready--almost like a spa day--okay,yes, you're right--that's a bit of a stretch! But, the girls were in the bathtub during that entire hour and never once asked to get out.

What did I do to keep them busy? So glad you asked! Most moms out there know that this list should not be introduced all at one time--spacing these time occupiers carefully planned educational materials will make bath time last longer:

~Mom's kitchen toys: the girls like playing with measuring cups, spoons, whisks, plastic bowls, cups, ladles, colanders, etc. from the kitchen. They also bring along a few pieces of plastic food from their play kitchen to "cook" with.

~Spray bottles: these can be found at the $ store--just label them, or like ours, they will be overtaken by bug spray, weed killer, and other various garage-worthy hazards.

~A dripping faucet: I don't know the appeal of this one; I just know that a little water running from the faucet is a lot of fun to my 2 and 4 year old.

~Ice cubes: When we were in Michigan the girls played with real snow while bathing. Since real snow is rare here, we improved with ice cubes.

~Shaving cream: my mom used to do this one! Squirt a little on the wall of the tub and let them paint with their fingers. Obviously, they need to be old enough to know that it will burn their eyes and shouldn't go in their mouths. Mine usually paint for a few minutes and then "clean" the tub.
The end result is a fairly clean (at least clean smelling, thanks to the shaving cream) bathtub; a fairly well put together momma; and squeaky clean, but wrinkled kiddos!

Don't be fooled. Despite your best efforts, the question to follow this well spent hour, will surely be: What can we do now? My answer? TV time!