Neck Deep and Sinking ...

This past year, Brigham attended preschool sponsored by the church of a different denomination one day a week. We have been very pleased throughout the year with the school, the teachers, and the great experience Brig seemed to have every time he went to school. That being said, sometimes he came home from school saying some shocking things--not shocking in a bad way but shocking in a "we don't say things quite like that" way. Welcome Adam and Michelle to the reality that we are not the only ones who are going to influence and teach our children throughout their lives. It makes me wonder sometimes what some of my parents thought about some of the things my students went home from school and repeated from my mouth ("Mom, Mrs. Bradbury said that the clue train was leaving the station and that I was not on board and she said I probably did not even have a ticket. But I really want to ride the train. Please.")

So today is our 6 year anniversary!!! Happy 6 years of total bliss and happiness to us! Actually, many of our family and close friends are pretty shocked that this day even came with both of us still speaking to each other--and truth be told, we are pretty shocked as well. One more year and we enter the "marriage numb" as my brother Matt so eloquently put it when we were in a huge fight in front of my family on our 2nd anniversary. 7 has been our goal ever since and we are almost there. We might actually make it, maybe.

A few months ago I thought it was funny to say that I was knee deep in toddlerhood. Two very assertive and very willful and very smart and very busy toddlers run up and down me all of the time, and that was back then. I think that I am sinking in the quicksand of blond craziness and am now in up to my neck. This afternoon was the craziest of crazies with my boys and all I wanted to do was go back to 6 years ago and put on a pretty dress and be treated like a princess for a few moments again.

But as I looked at my "married" pictures (as Brig calls them) I realized tonight that all of the tell tale signs were there. All of the warnings of what we were getting into on that day were all around us and we were so excited and scared and shell shocked that we didn't even see/hear them. We had toddler age nieces and nephews all over the place at our wedding--screaming, hiding, throwing fits, pouting, fighting, running around, not listening, screaming, hiding, throwing fits, pouting, fighting, running around, not listening ...

Does that sound familiar to any of the rest of you moms and dads out there because for me it sounds like the record that is on repeat about every 30 seconds of the waking moments of my day. I am not saying that my nieces and nephews were ill-behaved at our wedding, I am just saying that there were some toddlers there and that is all that needs to be said.

Look for some of the following funny things in this slideshow: kids looking not thrilled to be there and be all dressed up, boys walking through the dirt and flowers at the temple, older siblings pulling on younger siblings arms, my mom trying to convince a resistant Tyler to join the rest of the family in the picture, some boys not paying attention while other boys are screaming, all of the cutie and crying nieces and nephews, sad babies, toddlers with attitudes, dancing girls, and wide eyed newlyweds.

So after dinner tonight the boys and I were out playing in the sandbox. Brigham and Calvin were loading up sand into dump trucks and cars and driving them around the back yard. Calvin did something to make Brigham mad and Brig hit his little brother. Brigham was immediately taken to timeout. A few minutes into timeout but short of his release time, he decided to scoot his little fanny across the driveway and start playing again because mom was on the phone and because he is three and he wanted to do it. He was brought back over to timeout and held there by his very tired mother.

In the meantime, Calvin Mackay decided to take advantage of the opportunity and start playing with the dump truck his older brother had claimed. Brigham was pretty upset about that and did not think his mom was giving him enough sympathy by just saying, "That's too bad." every time he yelled in protest. Brigham then fussed for a little bit, calmed down and said the following little prayer:

"Jesus, please come down and take Mackay back to heaven so he won't play with my dump truck any more."

While I was trying to explain to Brigham that Jesus really wanted him to learn how to share with his brother he said:

"Mackay, you need to go back to heaven now."

Like I said, neck deep and sinking ...

Happy 6 years, bgb!!!