Full of Poop!

Braxton has started really enjoying looking back and reading some of my older blog posts about when he was young. It inspires me to write more and to let myself loose in my posts like I used to. It's easy to calendar and post pictures about our daily happenings but it's soothing and rejuvenating to me when I am able to express my true feelings and focus in on specific areas of life at this specific time.

Wednesdays are a busy day right now. I get up at 4:30am with Jeff which, although I prefer to get up early, is just a tad earlier than I would prefer. He is commuting a bit for work right now so he get's ready while I make breakfast and lunch for him. When he leaves I am left alone for an hour and a half or so before the boys wake up. I sometimes use that morning time to blog, like I am now, or read scriptures, do homework, yoga if I am feeling really ambitious... I really love this time and it never lasts long enough. And to be honest, I really need this time to mentally prepare myself for the rest of the day.

Once the kids wake up, it's go time. Breakfast, dishes, making lunches, braiding hair, homework, preschool, playdate, volunteer at school, eye therapy, basketball, dinner, scouts... that gives you an idea of our Wednesday. It's a lot.

The kids and I hang out in Bellingham traffic in the early evening driving home from Emmett's eye therapy. Last week there was an accident so we sat, for what seemed like way longer than it actually was. Gage lead us in a few Seahawks chants which distracted us for a while and caused me to almost loose my voice. When we drove past the Birth Center Adelle pointed it out and reminded everyone that that's where she was born. Emmett's wheels started to turn then and without any place for me to go he asks, "So how do babies come out?" I am stuck in traffic, I have all of the kids in the car, and I have a curious 5 year old. So I answer him, just enough to get us through the drive and he immediately is grossed out and another question is asked, "so are babies covered in poop when they come out?" I need someplace to go but I can't move. The car ahead of us is stopped and so are the 500 cars in front of it. I decide to take the conversation in a different direction so I digress and tell the kids that no, babies are not covered in poop, but guess what, daddy actually swallowed poop when he was in his mommies tummy!

Now, I realize that this swallowing poop in the womb is serious business and not a joking matter, but at the same time, imagine 4 kids finding out that their dad swallowed poop. They were completely distracted with that for the rest of the ride home. Laughing, and joking and stinky this and that....

Oh yeah, and an important detail. Jeff is also driving home from work at this same time and he actually has the nerve to call me and say, "This sucks!" to which I reply, "What? Sitting in traffic with 4 kids while they ask about how babies come out?" That shut him up pretty fast. I told him to suck it up and enjoy his own space, time, radio station, whatever.

So fast forward 2 weeks or so to this last Monday night. We are sitting in our front room as a family, have Family Home Evening, and we are talking to the kids about how we are all different and how even though we all think differently, act differently, like differently... we need to cooperate with each other so that our home can be happy, and on and on. I was explaining to them that mommy and daddy are different too and we come from different homes, different families, we do things different ways, and we love each other but we often have to work out our differences to be happy. Emmett interrupts me and simply says, "Yes mom! You and dad are different because you didn't ever swallow poop!"

And that's what I want this blog to become again. A place where I keep a record of our little ones. Their logic and innocence. The steps they take to learn and grow. Their conceptions of life and everything around them. Document the simple facts like which parent is full of poop!