Day 830 - Bubble Trouble

When we give the kids their daily bath, it is a routine that is enjoyed by all. Emma and Andrew love taking a bath together. It's practically the only time of the day when they can be next to each other for more than five minutes without a fight breaking out. Lisa and I love it when the kids take a bath because we can leave them alone in the tub for a good fifteen minutes while we catch up on Tivo. But don't worry about them drowning -- we're better parents than that. We always duct tape sheets of styrofoam around their necks before we put the kids in the tub.

It was my turn to give the kids a bath today, and I thought it would be a fantastic idea to fill the tub up with a lot of bubbles. So I poured in extra bubble bath solution into the tub and waited for the bubble bonanza. As an aside, it is always a good idea to make sure you are pouring bubble bath solution into the tub and not another liquid like bleach or Windex -- although Windex will create some bubbles, but our doctor said it's not the good kind of bubbles.

I unveiled my bubble creation to Emma and Andrew, and they went crazy for it. I put them into the tub and they started to throw the bubbles all over the place.


But like any of my blog entries in which I boast about my great ideas, this idea also went into the proverbial Diaper Champ. The problem with bath bubbles is that they quickly lose their form and begin to drip. So what were once terrific bubble bouffants that the kids created on each others heads slowly became eye, nose, ears, and mouth irritants.



All of the laughter in the tub soon turned into whines and tears (and a hint of baby urine). I tried to fix the situation by draining some of the water and replenishing it, but this just caused the kids to bemoan the fact that they didn't have enough bubbles. Similar to my arguments over the benefits of a 60" LCD television, it became a no-win situation.

I decided that them playing with bubbles was slightly better than them complaining through the rest of their bath, so I put a little bit more bubble bath solution into the tub. And it worked! The kids stopped their complaining and became happy little two year olds again. We were all laughing and playing and washing...until once again the bubbles burst again. Literally...



I'm beginning to rationalize that when you have a pair of two year olds, there are just going to situations that you can't make better. It doesn't mean you shouldn't try, but I guess you have to hope for the best and expect the worst. I think that's a good way to look at things. After all, that motto is what has kept Lisa from divorcing me for the past nine years.