Picasso in the Tub

You know how it is:  you're reading blogs or magazine articles and you come across creative ideas that would have never crossed your mind, otherwise.  Well, I was reading about great ideas to use with toddlers and was thrilled to shake up our routine a little bit.  One idea was to strip the kids down to their diaper/undies, put them in the bath, squirt some finger paint on the ledge, and let them have at it. 

The idea was particularly appealing since we've been trying to ready our home to put on the market and I was in need of some uninterrupted time to clean out my bathroom and closet.  

She didn't stop giggling the entire time she painted.

Once she was done painting (actually it was me who was done) then I filled the tub with water and and let her play in the disgusting colored paint soup.  I then drained the tub and let her take a real bath - to actually get clean.  It gave me an hour and a half to do what I needed to do.  That was entirely worth the little bit of mess it made.  I was smart enough to flip the shower curtain over the rod to keep it safe, but didn't account for the fact that my daughter would find such joy in clapping her paint filled hands and watching paint splatter to kingdom come. I still had to wash my shower curtain and Iain evfound paint splatters across the bathroom yesterday.  It still was totally worth it.

The way she mixed the colors, made it look like she was covered in blood.  These photos would be completely disturbing - if she wasn't smiling in them. :)