Water play in time of drought

We had a lovely post-daycare play in the back yard yesterday. Zoe was less obsessed than usual with Harry's food and water bowls, playing instead with containers of water I put out and going for a trot around the perimeter every couple of minutes. I decided to water the small amount of new turf with the hose - yes, we continue to cultivate grass, which is very naughty, but better than bare dirt - and Zoe ended up running through the spray, which was very funny for her and me. This was after her tea, so I literally hosed her down in the backyard, thinking that would suffice for a wash. It bought back lots of memories of playing with the hose and under the sprinkler with my sisters and other neighbourhood kids for hours at a time on hot summer days.

What a shame that we can't behave quite so irresponsibly with water anymore. This morning, boffins from the local water authority were on the radio, talking up their water restriction challenge. Oops. Felt guilty yesterday but feel guiltier now. It's very hard to stick to the environmental program with a baby. Not only the extra water, but the disposable nappies [we still use cloth at home] and wipes add immensely to the amount of garbage we bin. I think we've doubled out output, which was very low to begin with.

After the outdoor shower, I let Zoe run around inside sans nappy [trying to deal with a little but of nasty nappy rash]. Just as I was contemplating putting a nappy on, I looked down to see her in a squat, with a nugget of poo at her mouth. Aargh! I scared her so much by yelling with surprise that she stumbled forward, through the offending pile of, well, you-know-what, smearing it all over the carpet. Oh my goodness, what a mess. Thankfully, Daddy pulled up from work at just the right time, so I gave him the job of cleaning the carpet, while I washed Zoe down in the bath. For the second time. At what age do they handle the toileting on their own?