a lesson in camouflage

One of Marc's favorite places in our house is the bathtub.  Jarrod and I have to spell the word if we talk about it and are not ready to act on the consequences of saying it... Marc running into the bathroom striping off his clothes and repeating, "bathtub! bathtub!" :) He LOVES the bath.

Recently, he had discovered a love of finger-painting, as well, which always lands him in the bathtub (bonus!).  But in an effort to expose my kid to a variety of educational and fun experiences, we took the opportunity during Spring Break to make another attempt at finger painting - with Daddy at home to take care of Emma while Mommy monitors Marc's mischief. And after painting four pieces of paper - and the table - with our home-made finger paint, Jarrod suggested that he finish using the paint in the bathtub (seeing as though he needed a bath anyway).  Marc was delighted.. he got to finger paint. In the bathtub. Double bonus!  So much so that every time I tried to turn on the water to start cleaning up, he would say, "no", until all the paint was gone.  It really was a brilliant idea - a way to contain the mess and let it explode at the same time... and during this experience, I discovered that Marc has an innate talent for camouflage. :)

camouflage |ˈkaməˌflä zh; -ˌfläj|nounthe disguising of military personnel, equipment, and installations by painting or covering them to make them blend in with their surroundings : on the trenches were pieces of turf, which served for camouflage |[as adj. ] camouflage nets.verb [ trans. ] (often be camouflaged)hide or disguise the presence of (a person, animal, or object) by means of camouflage : the war area had to be camouflaged with mud | figurativegrievances should be discussed, not camouflaged.

First: Survey your surroundings and apply a base coat. If you can't blend in with the surroundings, make the surroundings match you! 

Next: Make sure to cover your entire face. This may or may not involve the inside of your mouth. In which case, make sure that your camouflaging material is made out of flour, sugar, and water.Finally: Ensure that all articles of clothing are also well disguised to blend in with the surroundings. 

Since this is clearly only an exercise - with limited time and materials - Marc had to stop before completely camouflaging the tub and himself.   That's okay. You get the picture.

Obviously, cleaning up after yourself is a HUGE incentive for future such experiences. Good work.

And that, my friends, is a well-earned bubble bath.