Kids' leaves

With three boys taking a bath together, this is what the tub usually looks like after all the water has drained. 

Scary to think of all the dirt that made it down the drain.  Eww. 
But it feels good when there's actually dirt in the bottom of the tub.  Like we really earned our bath that day.  We played so hard outside that we got a good solid layer of dirt on our skin.  It's an accomplishment, as a mom.

Reminds me of the book I had when I was a kid called No Bath Tonight by Jane Yolen (I still have it and read it to the boys, see right.)  It's about a little boy who gets hurt every day of the week, and at the end of each day he says, "No bath tonight," because he doesn't want to hurt his boo-boo.  (I have to say, as a mom, this would drive me crazy.  I love the feeling of rinsing the dirt and food and poop off my kids- most days, that is.)   Finally his grandmother visits at the end of the week, and she talks him into taking a bath because she says she'll be able to read his kids' leaves (think tea leaves.)  She reads the dirt that's in the bathtub while she cleans him and tells him a story of what she sees:  a boy sliding into first base, a fortress in the sand, some painting, picking berries, and a bee sting.  Then she drains the water to read his "kid leaves" and tells him the story of his future:  "I see clean clothes.  I see a walk in the park.  I see an ice cream soda.  I see a long, long story at bedtime."
It's a neat book.  Hope I don't get in trouble for plagiarism. 

Speaking of good apps, Sara and Rachel (now that I know you're there), Henry's favorites are Toca Doctor and Toca Hair Salon.  He also loves the Birthday Party one.  Do you all have those?  They are really fun.