Ice Fishing, Bath-Style

The last week has been a torrent of tears at bathtime. My husband’s mostly…just kidding…kind of.

But seriously, for some reason, the kiddo just keeps FREAKING OUT when it’s time to splash around. And we need to do it–with the hotter Seattle days, sweat and sunscreen and general toddler messiness require daily hair washing. Or at least rinsing. Anyway, we took a nice long walk this weekend and stopped in an adorable gift shop to browse. I saw these fish ice cube trays and it hit me: I could make colored ice fish for the bath! Thunder struck, the heavens opened, and I was overjoyed at the prospect of a peaceful bath that night.

I got right to work when we got home. I had no idea how much color, if the color would turn the bath color, if the bathwater would color my child. I didn’t care. I was on a mission. (But just in case, I went light on the coloring. A happy orange child is still a happy child, but still. What would the neighbors think?)

I stirred a few drops of color (about 10-12 total) into a 2-cup Pyrex measuring cup. I poured messily. I blotted daintily. I froze carefully.

I’m glad I filled these completely, because unlike regular rigid ice cube trays, the silicone expands with the ice. Normally, I’d say don’t fill them full, but FILL THEM FULL. You want the full shape to pop out. And how awesome and intricate is the shape?!?

See? Enough color to tell what it is, but hopefully not enough to turn my kid orange. Hopefully.

And let me tell you…she was ECSTATIC! I mean, not only no tears, but excited and happy to have these little melty friends join her in the tub! It was a fun lesson in melting and temperature, how ice turns to water, blah blah. Really, I was just relieved she was able to enjoy herself.

Sorry the photos are so blurry, but I promise this was a success. I thought she might get upset at her new friends disappearing before her eyes, but she thought it was the coolest thing. Oh, and she did NOT turn orange. All told, each fish had about 1/2 drop of color in it, so you do the math.

This has been our saving grace for 4 baths now. Oh, and remember these silicone molds I used to make crayons?

Guess what? I made blue froggy ice cubes for the next night! Equal success! Anyway, I’m kind of proud and excited about how easy this was and how well it worked.

Tell me, friends, what are some of your favorite bath time pastimes?