Stinky Potion

My sons are big fans of the self-created potion. That explains why we go through an enormous amount of shampoo and bar soap. They spent long bathtimes in the tub, mixing and stirring and gouging out lumps of soap. Voila! A potion! And tub potions inevitably equal clean kids, so I never complain. Well, hardly ever.

Today, twin boys came over to play with my twin boys and YoungestBoy. These twins are 8 years old, YoungestBoy is almost 6 and my twins are 10. Per their usual routine, they all went outside in the backyard to play. Our snow has melted in our new 45 degree weather. The kids went coatless.

They played wild games, running past the patio door, kicking balls, swinging sticks, yelling. I'd peer outside and see them all red-cheeked with soggy pant legs and muddy shoes. Babygirl stood at the patio door and begged to go outside, but I vetoed her plans. She'd just get run over by a big boy. I took her for a walk in her stroller instead, but it was too chilly to go far. She resumed her post at the sliding glass door, whining.

Eventually, the afternoon light faded and it was time for the twins to go home. Everyone was wet and muddy, so my husband ran bathwater and called YoungestBoy inside for the first bath. When YoungestBoy was immersed in the tub, my husband came downstairs and said, "Kids are so funny. YoungestBoy just said to me, 'We were making a stinky potion outside. (Pause.) Would you care if we peed into a bucket?'"

We just laughed because really, what can you do?

When TwinboyA and TwinboyB came inside a short time later, I caught them off-guard and said, "So, who peed in the bucket?" TwinboyA said, "We all did."

"Why?" I said.

"Because we wanted to make a really stinky potion."

Well, that explains that. They claim that it was their friends' idea. Yeah, sure it was. Nothing cures the winter blues like peeing in a backyard bucket to make a smelly potion. Funny, though. I've never seen this idea in Family Fun.