Family

The kids and I made a trip to visit my parents this weekend (Jason has to work- BOOOO!) because my cousin and her husband and children, who all live in North Carolina, are also here this weekend. We haven't seen them in 4 years. Since that time, she's had another baby (her 4th) and I had another baby (my 3rd). The "babies" are 2 and 19 months, respectively. It's hilarious and wonderful to see all the children enjoying one another.

We went to my aunt's house to eat dinner on Thursday night. I noticed that of the 3 generations present, the children of the 3rd generation almost outnumbered the other 2 generations added together. There were 9 in the older 2 generations and 7 in the youngest (my 3, her 4). Lord willing, we will NOT be outnumbered! At least not with any help from me.

My other aunt (I have a large extended family) always sets up some small inflatable pools at her house for the children to play in. Unfortuntately, I forgot to pack swim diapers for Missy. I bummed one off of my cousin the first day, but yesterday Missy was out of luck. "It's OK, "I said. "She already [had a muddy diaper today]," I said. "She'll be fine to go swimming," I said. Does the phrase "famous last words" seem appropriate here? So, into the pool she went. With only a thin panel of nylon separating her un-potty-trained bum from the water. Do you see where this is going?

I set myself to the task of watching the babies in the smallest pool. They had a grand time playing and splashing. Before too long, though, I saw Missy trying to hand something to her cousin, Lauren. Lauren was vehemently denying that she wanted anything to do with whatever it was Missy was trying to hand off. "No, no, no, no, no," Lauren was saying while backing as far away as she could and vigorously shaking her head. With my curiosity peaked, I moved closer to get a better look... was it a rock? What had Missy found in the water? Oh, crap. Literally.

I hate the phrase "Murphy's Law." Who is Murphy anyway? And more than the phrase, I really hate the fact that the law even exists. But somehow, it does. And it did in this situation. Or rather, Missy did. In the pool. The little girls had to be evacuated from the water, stripped down and bathed. Of course, the pool had to be empited, sanitized, and re-filled. Strangely enough, although the pool was clean and had fresh water, it remained empty of children the rest of the evening. I don't really blame them. I wouldn't have wanted to go in it again either.

All in all, I was so glad it was only family. They have to forgive you and let it go. I would have been really mortified if the other people involved had not been relatives. I guess we'll just always be known as the "Party Poopers."