A good friend who is also the father of Alan, the boy in our youth group that David and I took food to while his parents were out of town, linked to the David Strikes Again post in his blog. When he told me he was going to link to my blog, I told him that people might not think so much of his choice of links because I have a lot of bathroom posts involving poop.
Well, as good friends do, he linked to my blog anyway (poop and all), and I couldn't help but be reminded of the best poopy diaper story of all time. It is an old story, but it is a classic in our family and is worth sharing.
Nathan, who was probably 1 at the time, was sitting next to me on the couch, and he was holding a yellow, craft foam smiley face that was part of an Oriental Trading Company craft. Before I could even stop him, he popped the smiley face in his mouth. I tried to dig it out of his mouth, but unfortunately the smiley face had already begun the great journey into Nathan's digestive system.
As a parent, I faced the great dilemma of wondering if craft foam is toxic or dangerous in any way. So, being the amateur parent that I was, I called the company to ask them if their craft foam was toxic. (And yes, I am sure that they still talk about and laugh at the crazy lady that called to find out if craft foam would injure her toddler!)
Needless to say, Nathan had a little bit of a stomach ache that night. The next day, it came time for the first diaper change of the day. Imagine my surprise when I opened up the diaper and there sat the smiley face. (Brian is still jealous because he never had a diaper smile at him!)
David, who had just turned three, was quite curious as to why I was laughing so hard and came over to investigate. He looked at the diaper and saw the smiley face in it. With a look of utter awe on his face, he asked, "HOW DID HE DO THAT?!"
Monday, June 12, 2006
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
A Good Day for the Soul
The past few days have been very chaotic at our house. A friend of mine from college and her two kids came to stay for 5 days, and our house has been a flurry of activity with kids playing and other friends stopping by for a visits. At one point, we had 9 kids between the ages of 3 and 8 at our house. I never realized how 9 kids could have such different personalities or how much the energy level could increase with that many kids in one house!
It is always good to see old friends; however, I tend to get a little stressed with how my kids act. They are good kids, but I will be the first to say that they are not perfect and that those imperfections seem to shine through more often when they are out of their routine and not getting much sleep. David tends to get whinier, which can grate on anyone's nerves, and Nathan just gets a little naughtier.
This past weekend, Nathan used the "shock and awe" approach with our guests, although it might be better to use the term "shock and horror" for his antics. Soon after our guests arrived, I think he realized that they weren't comfortable with a naked child meandering through the house, so EVERY time he went into the bathroom, he would come out of the bathroom short a pair of pants and underwear. Thriving on the looks of horror, it continued the whole time our guests were here. Since they left, the fun of horrifying people is gone, and he has returned to his clothed self (most of the time!)
Our company left yesterday and we headed to the Petit Jean state park with some of the youth group. We had so much fun. We climbed rocks and walked some of the trails. We had a picnic lunch with all the big kids. The group then hiked down the mountain to see the waterfalls. It was supposed to be a 2 hour hike and I wasn't sure if it would be easy enough for the boys to do, so we stayed at the picnic area and hung out while the rest of the group went to the falls.
I must say that days like this are good for my soul. The boys and I had so much fun together. They played on the playground. We walked by the lake and talked about how lily pads float and looked for fish. We tried feeding the fish Fritos, but I guess fish aren't big on corn chips because we did not have any takers. We found a little toad and the boys watched it until Nathan tried to encourage the toad to jump by poking it with a stick and accidentally gored it. (Not a pretty moment or an easy one to explain to a 3 year old and 5 year old!) Except for the frog incident and some minor scratches and a splinter, the boys had a blast.
For me, it was fun seeing all the good in my kids come out. Sometimes I forget to see all those good characteristics in my kids, especially during times that are a little more stressful or when we are not in our normal routine. I loved seeing Nathan hug and kiss the little girl at the playground after she got hurt even though he had no clue who she was. I loved hearing David tell me everything he knows about frogs and listen to his stories about how everything in the world works. Most of all, I enjoyed seeing my kids be kids and play their little hearts out. They were so tired that they were both asleep pretty quick once we got back onto the bus to go home. And just to be totally honest, I will admit that I also enjoyed the fact that they slept on the way home! :-)
It is always good to see old friends; however, I tend to get a little stressed with how my kids act. They are good kids, but I will be the first to say that they are not perfect and that those imperfections seem to shine through more often when they are out of their routine and not getting much sleep. David tends to get whinier, which can grate on anyone's nerves, and Nathan just gets a little naughtier.
This past weekend, Nathan used the "shock and awe" approach with our guests, although it might be better to use the term "shock and horror" for his antics. Soon after our guests arrived, I think he realized that they weren't comfortable with a naked child meandering through the house, so EVERY time he went into the bathroom, he would come out of the bathroom short a pair of pants and underwear. Thriving on the looks of horror, it continued the whole time our guests were here. Since they left, the fun of horrifying people is gone, and he has returned to his clothed self (most of the time!)
Our company left yesterday and we headed to the Petit Jean state park with some of the youth group. We had so much fun. We climbed rocks and walked some of the trails. We had a picnic lunch with all the big kids. The group then hiked down the mountain to see the waterfalls. It was supposed to be a 2 hour hike and I wasn't sure if it would be easy enough for the boys to do, so we stayed at the picnic area and hung out while the rest of the group went to the falls.
I must say that days like this are good for my soul. The boys and I had so much fun together. They played on the playground. We walked by the lake and talked about how lily pads float and looked for fish. We tried feeding the fish Fritos, but I guess fish aren't big on corn chips because we did not have any takers. We found a little toad and the boys watched it until Nathan tried to encourage the toad to jump by poking it with a stick and accidentally gored it. (Not a pretty moment or an easy one to explain to a 3 year old and 5 year old!) Except for the frog incident and some minor scratches and a splinter, the boys had a blast.
For me, it was fun seeing all the good in my kids come out. Sometimes I forget to see all those good characteristics in my kids, especially during times that are a little more stressful or when we are not in our normal routine. I loved seeing Nathan hug and kiss the little girl at the playground after she got hurt even though he had no clue who she was. I loved hearing David tell me everything he knows about frogs and listen to his stories about how everything in the world works. Most of all, I enjoyed seeing my kids be kids and play their little hearts out. They were so tired that they were both asleep pretty quick once we got back onto the bus to go home. And just to be totally honest, I will admit that I also enjoyed the fact that they slept on the way home! :-)
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