Painting in the bath tub

Florida has been extremely soggy lately. (Thanks, Tropical Storm Debby!) It has been hard trying to come up with ways to break up our days without breaking our bank account. Even though it's ridiculous hot outside, I'm a big fan of going for walks or to the park or to the pool with Elle - all things that are impossible to do when it rains for hours on end. When it is too hot to be outside, we typically hit the pet store and the bookstore for cheap/free entertainment, but with the winds and storms this weekend, I didn't really want to venture out except for essential trips (like to get groceries).

Enter the need for some new activities. I pulled out the cloud dough after lunch, and Elle went to town, sifting and digging and making it "snow." Before her bath, though, I tried something new - bath paint.

I had read a few blog posts about bath paint, and many of them used shaving cream. I wasn't sure if that would cause stinging if it got in Elle's eyes, and although most of the bloggers said the "paint" came right off their tub and tile, I didn't want to take any chances. I had a small bottle of clear body wash and bought the food coloring when we braved the elements and hit the grocery store. I didn't really have containers to store the paints in, so I only made a quarter of the recipe so Elle could use it all in one sitting.

I gave her neon green and purple paint and a foam brush. I plopped her in the tub and showed her what to do, and little girl turned in to a bath tub Picasso. She was very serious, painting for 20-30 minutes, including her legs and hands. She used the foam brush for a while but also utilized her fingers to mix the colors and paint. The clean up was super easy although smelled quite soapy :)