poopocalypse

lest ye think that everything is peaches and cream around here all the time, let me tell you about my night. dean and i were on our way back to the car after piano lessons. i called troy to find out how things were going at home, to gauge whether we could afford a little trip to mcd's. troy said, roughly, "there's been a disaster. max exploded. and i don't have the constitution to clean it up. i need your help." he had stayed home from work today because his constitution was compromised.

our trip to mcdonald's became a drive-thru visit, and we got home as quickly as we could. i told dean to stay outside with his ice cream so his brothers wouldn't be jealous, said hi to troy, and then headed upstairs to assess the damage. i don't have pictures to post of this event (you're welcome), but it was a doozy. as my pile of wipes began to grow, i re-vowed to myself that i will never, EVER have a dog in the house.

max was in the bathtub, directing my efforts, and making observations like, "mom, when i make a toot in the bathtub, it makes a bubble!" and, "i made a poop trail." how i love raising boys.

strength training

since giving birth for the fourth time, my body has shown signs of weakness (go figure). my back goes out with the slightest provocation. one morning i had to ask for assistance putting my pants on--too much bending and twisting, i guess. anyway, the pain finally prompted troy to find me some back exercises. they have helped tremendously even in the short time since that morning i couldn't get dressed by myself.

well i don't have them all memorized yet, so i needed someone to read through them for me the other day. troy was gone, so dean was my only choice if i didn't want to read them myself. i got the website i wanted and handed my laptop to dean. max was on the floor with me--he wanted to do them too.

watching max attempt to pull his legs onto his chest was quite hilarious. he kept grunting, and had a hard time reaching under his legs for some reason. by the time we were pulling both legs up, we were both laughing so hard that i could hardly do it myself.

then we came to the exercise where you lift up your backside to make a straight line from your knees to you shoulders. i had to hold the position for three deep breaths, then relax and do it again. well it was just too tempting: before i knew it, i had two boys dive rolling under me while i tried to take three deep breaths. so relaxing. i counted my breaths aloud so they knew when the drawbridge was closing. it was the source of much drama. ("max! hurry! the bridge is coming down!" "dean! i can't make it!")

then dean got creative with his reading. he started editorializing on the descriptions of the cat stretch: "Position yourself on your hands and knees. Very slowly, act like a baby." dean and max were overcome with giggles. max ended up under me as i did the "cat stretch," which involves sagging one's back and then arching it like a cat's. i sagged enough that my tummy touched him every time. another wave of giggles ensued.

it was quite the event. i don't know how much actual stretching or strengthening went on, but we sure had fun. it's refreshing to just be silly with my boys sometimes.