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I usually try to refrain from posting too many stories involving bodily fluids purging from my kids’ bodies. However, tonight you must forgive me a therapeutic moment as I recall a few choice memories. It’s not that I revel in all products of the bowels; instead, sometimes it helps to laugh at the perils of parenthood. However, be ye warned! We are swabbin’ the poop deck here! Chris and I ranked our favorite three tales: 3. Reverent Regurgitation: We were slightly late to church one morning and the only open seats in our Charlottesville ward were on the front row opposite the bishopric. Davin, nearly one at the time, was content to sit on my lap during the meeting. The high councilman was in the middle of his talk when Davin’s pancakes decided they could not stay still. Out they came, all over me, Davin, and the floor in front of us. The high councilman stumbled a moment, but continued bravely onward, though the first councilor looked a little green. Chris sprang from his seat and das...

Before I had kids, I was determined to be a progressive parent, one who would not shy away from being open and honest with my kids about all matters of life. I wanted my kids to have a healthy understanding of their bodies and feel comfortable discussing their concerns with me. However, I’m sad to admit that when the subject came up, I tucked my tail between my legs and ran. Speaking of tails, this is how the morning began: Davin: Rowan has a tail! Me: Really? Let me see! (I picked up Rowan and pulled back his diaper slightly to see his back side.) Nope, no tail here. Do you have a tail Davin? Davin: Noooo. I have a fladder. Me: A fladder? (I pause for a moment trying to deduce this one.) Oh, you mean a bladder. Davin: I have a bladder. Rowan has one too. All of the sudden I realized what Davin thought his “bladder” was and the significance that he recognized that Rowan had one too. Here was my teaching moment! A chance to set things right, to talk about “bladders” and what that al...

Last Saturday, Chris celebrated his last night as a twenty-nine year old. He had a bunch of guys come over. They set up five televisions, four x-boxes, and one wii. They played video games until 2:30am. I think Chris had a good time. I’m not complaining about having a thirty year old husband. He weighs less than he did when we got married, he has more hair, and he makes more money. Not too bad, eh?

Rowan earned a few of his first stripes on the battlefield of childhood this week. He took a spill on the driveway and hit the pavement face first, resulting in a scratched face and bruised forehead. The cut is in a nasty place, the zenith of germdom on a baby’s face where goo flows from the nose above and the lips below. It is the most wiped spot and the spot least likely to be clean, especially during cold season. The second boo-boo happened when Rowan tried to intercept Davin’s golf ball mid-swing, causing a black eye. I’m afraid I scolded Davin too harshly about this one as he didn’t do it on purpose. He was pretty upset and still talks about how he hit Rowan. Rowan is healing well, though he looks like a tough kid from the wrong side of town. Rowan has a new game lately. He gathers a toy from our upstairs play room, moves it down the hall to the top of the stairs, and releases it down the stairs, ceremoniously watching it as it makes its noisy descent. Rowan then returns to the to...

Last Thursday, my friend Maile called to see if they could stop by for the weekend. This was a delightful surprise as our friends live in the New York City area and we don't often get to see them. Though I wish I could say that it was our charm that lured them here, Maile's husband Peter had emergency family business in Atlanta. Maile and her two kids, Kaia and Asher, stayed the weekend with us while Peter journeyed on to Atlanta. Despite the unfortunate nature of their trip, we enjoyed the excuse to see our friends and had a great time with them. For some reason, the only pictures I took during the weekend were shots of Rowan and Kaia in the backyard, something I regret. I guess we were too busy having fun together.

Glow sticks are a favorite at our house. The boys think that they are fascinating and are occupied by them for awhile. We made good use of them on a long car ride to Orlando that lagged into the evening. Just as the natives were getting restless in the back seat, I whipped the glow sticks out and kept the boys happy until they fell asleep. Last week we played with glow sticks in the snow and then brought them in for bath time. Who would have thought that getting clean could be so much fun?

The boys woke up to a fun surprise last week. Snow fell overnight, covering the ground in a perfect soft layer. Snow doesn't often happen here, usually only once or twice a year. It is more likely that the cold weather will produce ice storms instead which are not nearly as picturesque. This storm was perfect because the boys were able to have a fun snow experience and by the time we were tired of it, the snow was gone. The boys had a great time taking advantage of our big hill in the front with our make-shift cardboard sled. This is the silly face that Davin made when he threw a snowball at me. Boys! Rowan thought it was pretty tasty!