Instant Karma

Sometimes you just can't help but laugh at the antics your kids get up to, and tonight, my eldest son (the two year old) had me in stitches at bath time.

It was half time of the Superbowl and definitely time to get the kids rallied for bed. The first step of our bedtime routine is bubble bath - nearly always a huge hit with both kids. As soon as the words 'bubble' and 'bath' are uttered in the same breath, my almost 1 year old makes his own way up to the bathroom, toddling most of the way and repeating over and over "ba.. ba .... ba" - one of his first words following 'Mama' and Dadda'.

Tonight, as per usual, I turned on the tap full blast and 'squoze' enough juice out of the bumper Batman bottle to generate more depth in bubbles than actual water, then I got to work pummeling both hands back and forth until bubbles covered the entire surface of the bath water.

Tonight as I splashed away, my littlest stood beside me yelling impatiently to be put into the frothy bubble pit, his arms intermittently stretching out for me, then bashing the side of the tub. It didn't take my eldest long - once he heard the rush of water - to come running from his toys.

"Bubble bath!" he squealed in excitement, his feet pitter-pattering on the cork flooring.

Without hesitation he leaned over and gleefully scooped a handful of bubbles into the palm of his hand. I must have missed the mischievous glint in his eye, for without warning, he smeared the bubbles over baby's face. I'm not sure who was taken most off guard, me or Baby. And for a moment there it looked like the little fella was going to take it pretty well. The moment passed, however, and instead he started to wail.

Often I have to pause and think for a second before I decide which way I want to handle it. If baby had thought the game was hilarious I may have let it slide a little, but it wasn't a mutual game of bubbles in the face.

The trouble was I'd already swallowed the first inadvertent blurt of laughter that had very nearly come spilling out. As I attempted to hand wipe the bubbles off of Baby's face (unsuccessfully) I told my big kid that it wasn't nice to do that to his little bro and how would he like it. etc

Oh, but it was pretty funny (I of course did not say that though) and so very hard for me to keep a straight face for this bit of required 'solemn parenting'. Baby was still pretty unimpressed with the bubbles masking his vision, so while holding the unhappy guy on my hip, I stood up and turned to reach for the hand towel hanging up beside the sink.

As soon as my back was turned I heard,

...SPLASH! Followed by... "hen!"... "hen!" (That's as close as my two and a half year old can get to the word "Help!")

I turned back just in time to catch the little guy teeter-tottering on the side of the tub before tumbling head first - and still fully clothed - into the mass of bubbles. Now it was his turn to be unimpressed, but this time it was just too hard to stifle my amusement. The look on his face when he surfaced was priceless!

Now that's what Daddy calls "Instant Karma".