Friday, March 31, 2006

Bath Time

I have bits and pieces of material floating around in my head (good to know there is SOMETHING in there….) but I can’t pull together a post. See, usually I scratch out posts in the morning after the boys leave and post from work where I have real internet. Yeah, well, Hot Stuff has PT at 6:30 AM every day so he is NO HELP taking Sweet Boy to daycare. So I’ve been doing the mama-scramble every day just to make it to work for 8 hours. Hence & thence…. The lack of posts, but thank you for inquiring. (Ok, nobody inquired…. Except my brother who said, “Hey why don’t you reply to my anonymous comments anymore??” It’s not all about you, dirtbag.)

So, anyway, I have a question.

What do you do while your child is in the bathtub? Sweet Boy has decided he LOVES BUBBLES. So every night is pretty much a bath-marathon these days. He will also get in the shower with me in the morning if he is awake…. The kid is a fish. So he’s splashing and playing away in the tub while I???? What? What do you DO with that time? It only takes 15 seconds to weigh and convince myself the scale must be broken. (Hey, it might not have been broken BEFORE I put my 2-ton-heifer self on there….) Then I brush my teeth & wash my face. (Shut it already. I can see Sweet Boy in the giant mirror over the sink.) Then I sort the laundry. By this point Sweet Boy is barely pruney and the water isn’t even starting to cool off and I’m bored. I sit on the uncomfortable floor and read magazines. I clean the toilet (even though I’ve decided that should be Hot Stuff’s job….. I don’t poop and, therefore, am not responsible for making it dirty.)

What? PLAY with my child? I do. But he would rather I didn’t. He has very complicated projects involving wind-up frogs, dumping tubs of water on his head, playing with plastic deer playing & fighting & making up, pulling on his penis & playing with the crotch cream applicators (fear not: unused) that we acquired after a particularly horrible bout of diaper rash.

He will stay in the tub until the water is icy, his lips are blue & the bubbles are gone. (And those green watermelon Elmo bubbles last a long time.) The up-side being my bathroom floor is spotless and all the drawers are very organized.

You know what this really is??? Just another reason I need a laptop.

5 comments:

irreverentmama said...

I read. (Well, I used to when my kids were young enough to need/want my company.) Brought a pillow in, set it on the toilet lid, or on the floor, and read. It was one of the few lengthy reading opportunities available in my days back then - what a luxury. As long as I kept the pages away from the tidal waves.

Susan said...

Funny you should mention the laptop: I put mine on the counter and I sit on the toilet lid and I read e-mail and write while the boys are in the tub. In fact, if you go here you can see an actual photo of what I like to think of as my 'home office,' with the essay about My So-Called Writing Life.

My sons, between them, can spend over an hour in the tub nearly EVERY NIGHT, scrubbbing and entertaining themselves--while I write. The laptop, it (virtually) pays for itself.

And good lord, you're pregnant, don't clean that toilet!

Anonymous said...

I usually stitch. I'd never thought of taking a pillow to the bathroom. I sit my butt on that uncomfortable toilet lid and stitch until the boychild becomes unruly or my butt begins to feel like it's breaking and I declare bathtime over.

PSUMommy said...

I sit in the living room to try to recuperate from the day. Or do the dishes. While my husband gives the baths. *grin*

(I found your site through...ok, I don't rememer now, Ladybug maybe? Or possibly Self-Portrait Tuesday? Anyway, I've been reading for a bit, hope you don't mind!)

Homestead said...

irreverentmama- I've actually managed to go through the "stack-o-mags" during bath time... you know.... those ones I MEAN to read....

susan- The problem with our bathroom? It's really big.... and poorly laid out. I can't see the tub from the toilet so I end up plopping my pregnant ass (really... the baby is in my ASS) on the floor (no rug... please don't ask why we can't have a rug in the bathroom) and then I can't get up.

m&co.- My sweet husband actually suggested I move the sewing machine in the bathroom. I'm not sure if he just thinks it is in the way where it is or he's giving me a not-so-subtle hint to patch his old jeans. (NOT my job.... my mom patches all his jeans for him.)

psumommy- Welcome! I love that ANYONE reads this stuff.... the last few months have been pretty piss-poor on the posts with any substance. Hot Stuff USED to help and/or do baths... now he has to "ice his leg" all the time. I think he's faking it.