Adventures in Mermaidia

This morning I walked upstairs to check on the twins, who had been missing too long for comfort's sake, to find them stripped down to skin and bones playing in the bathroom. Camden was holding a bottle of soap upside down, squeezing it into the toilet, while Cadi flushed. When I asked them what they were doing, they said they were going potty (hint, hint, mom). I took the soap away and let them have a go at it. After a while of nothing I decided it was time to get them dressed and find a new way to direct their water loving curiosity. Especially after one of them grabbed an older sister's tooth brush and sloshed it around in the toilet! Shhh! I won't tell if you won't (I have a sanitize setting on my dishwasher. They'll never know).

I actually had this idea yesterday, but in retaliation for their naughtiness I decided to keep it to myself. I covered the kitchen table in towels and put a couple inches of water in a large, flat, storage bin for them to play in. We have these cute little mermaid dolls that have been able to secure their interest for short bits of time lately. We could only find three of the four (alas the purple mermaid is nowhere to be found. Hopefully the dog hasn't kidnapped her away to some dreadful hide-a-way), which concerned me. Having an odd number of toys to play with is not the easiest with toddlers. In spite of the missing doll, I thought it would be fun if they could take them for a swim. They were very excited!

They couldn't stop jabbering as they anxiously awaited the "pool" to be filled with water.

In an effort to keep the twins dry I pulled out some ponchos that have been sitting in the back of the coat closet since our trip to Sea World four years ago. I knew they'd come in handy eventually! They were HUGE, but propperly rigged, they worked (in theory anyway).

So far so good. There was some argument over who got two mermaids. Technically it should have been Cadi, since she found them all. However, Camden won out because, let's face it, she's a bully.


In the beginning, just mermaids wasn't too exciting for them. I looked around for something that could be a slide, or a boat, or something that would turn it into a water park. Finding nothing I gave them some measuring cups and bowls. This is the part where all the smart moms start thinking, "Oh, no."

While I was getting lunch ready for the baby the twins were making good use of me looking away. Ponchos from Sea World may work against Shamu, but they don't do much against two year-olds climbing into a vat of water.

Or dunking their heads in. Camden felt it neccessary to make sure Cadence was covered from all angles by spitting water out onto her back. Thanks?

I pulled them out of the water and made a number of threats. They sat back on dry land and let the mermaids have a chance to swim. Cadence managed to wrestle a second mermaid away from Camden for a time.

Apparently threat don't mean much to little girls. The next thing I knew I turned around just in time to see Camden throwing water at Cadence via her measuring cup. An indoor pool is one thing, but I was not prepared to handle a full on water fight. Did I really think this was a good idea? Ignoring the barage of protests I picked the indoor aquatic center and quickly drained it. Let's just say I was not a popular mom at this point.

Cadence was especially distraught that our mermaid adventures had been abruptly cut off. She made a point of letting me know that my ratings were at an all time low. Poor little mermaids.