When we were in the states traveling and speaking at churches people often asked us more questions about how we do life overseas with kids than they did about ministry and our "work". I kept that in mind and have decided that I really want to blog more about everyday life here and what makes living here so unique but how we make it work. Keane and Gracie LOVE baths! In America it was SO easy...just walk to the tub turn on the hot water, fill the tub, drop in some toys and let the fun begin! In Nepal we still do bath night every night but there are just a few more steps involved.
1. We don't have a bath tub (most people only have showers here) so we bought an inflatable pool and use that as our tub for Keane and Gracie. We have to move it in and out of our main bathroom each evening at bath time because we only have hot water in one bathroom (it is heated through a portable gas tank, most people here do not have hot water in their home at all. Many people don't even have running water in their home!) and we need to take showers in the same bathroom in the morning. After we put the pool in we fill it with water from the hot water shower.
2. Water that comes out of our taps is not clean though so we have to put iodine in the water in case Keane and Gracie decide to drink some of the water (which they LOVE to do). The iodine kills any bacteria that would be in the water and would make them sick. I have to wait a few minutes for the iodine to work. In the below pictures the water looks a little brown. When it comes out of our taps it is clear but the iodine gives it the brown tint.
3. This picture is out of order but this is Keane smiling for the camera after his bath! He loved it. While I am doing all of this I have another pot of boiling water on the stove that I add right before the babies get in the water because by now the water has cooled off a bit (not cold but too cool for a bath). I add the water and then they are ready to get in and play!
4. To them a bath is a bath and they sure love them. They really are troopers.
5. Once the bath is done and we get Keane and Gracie dressed in their pj's and ready for bed, we dump the bath water down the drain in the floor and store the pool in our laundry room until tomorrow! It really doesn't take as long as it might sound and it is worth it to keep them healthy and happy! Happy bath time!
2 comments:
Fun! I love seeing how everyone does different things :) I never thought about the iodine thing before. Aashini drinks some water sometimes when she takes a bath, but it hasn't seem to affect her so far. They look like they have a lot of fun in the bath! too cute :)
been forever since i checked out blogs, and it was great to catch up with you guys. loved the blog about baths - tubs are a rarity in the Philippines too. Thankfully our kids are bigger so they learned how to shower early on - Ben started at 18 months when we arrived. :) thinking of u guys as u adjust to life back on that side of the world!
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