Lately my girls have been obsessed with mermaids. Especially Abby. I'm not sure what started it—but I know it was these mermaid fins that fueled it:

They were originally spotted in the Chasing Fireflies catalog that always comes in the mail just to tempt us (good for drooling, not so good for buying, although I did buy a dress from them once when I could NOT resist the cuteness. I don't regret the splurge, especially now that I have another baby girl that will wear it someday!)

Abby started asking for these mermaid fins, but we were concerned about their safety for someone who was just beginning to swim. Didn't God give us two legs for a reason? But Abby persisted and tried to make her own. First she cut the fins from cardboard and covered them with tape. When I told her they would not actually work in the water, she was devastated. Then she tried again using cloth and a hanger as a frame, duct taping flip flops to the hanger to attach her feet to. She was determined to try to swim with them, but of course I was quite concerned about how it would look if my daughter actually brought those things to the pool with her . . . (Why, oh why did I not get a picture of her creations?)

I compromised and bought little snorkel sets for the girls (with separate, normal fins.) They got our money's worth out of them during our trip to California last month.

Back to the mermaids. They have also long admired these towels (sold by Chasing Fireflies too):

But this mom is mean and cheap and I would not buy towels at $48/pop. Never fear—when you have an ultra creative and talented auntie Amy, you might just get exactly what you want in the form of a beautifully handmade belated birthday gift! Aren't they absolutely amazing? The girls are tickled pink (and orange and green and blue.)

Thanks a million times, Amy!