Twosies

 **WARNING-Graphic content!! Stop reading if you are easily nauseated.

Can we just talk about my two littlest loves and how they are causing me to age at a rapid pace? Carter has become Mr. Do-it-Himself, and I am constantly taking him off counters, out of bathrooms and out of trouble. He is so busy! Whether he's filling the toilet with toilet paper or pouring baby powder all over my dresser, he is always doing something. And the only reason I keep him around is because he is so dang cute. He constantly tells me "thank you mom" for everything I do for him. Including putting him to bed. It's my favorite thing in the whole world right now.

McKay thinks he is a big boy. He crawled halfway up the stairs the other night to prove it. He wants to eat everything the big kids eat and is great at making messes. The two boys combined are trouble. Cute trouble, but trouble just the same. I found a safe place for him while I'm getting ready. Although the second time I tried this, he turned the water on and soaked his pants. Sigh.

Last week, Carter was jumping around in the bath tub and got another black eye. So typical. I was worried he might need stitches for the laceration on his eyelid, but Jeff thought he was fine so we let it go. It's healing okay, except when Carter picks at it because it's bothering him. He woke up the next day and his eye was swollen shut. Very nice.

This week, though, has been "fun" for another reason. Carter started feeling sick on Monday. He fell asleep on me at Allie's Christmas program at school. At 10:00 am. That was the first sign that he wasn't feeling well. He hasn't had much of an appetite all week, and on Tuesday the diarrhea started. And so I kept force feeding him Gatorade to make sure he didn't get dehydrated and changed diapers. Repeatedly. 

McKay had been dealing with a nasty diaper rash for weeks and I was trying everything to get rid of it. He was having baking soda soaks, I would use a blow dryer to dry him off between changes (and he'd always pee on me), and I was letting him crawl around naked for extended periods of time. I was trying all kinds of creams and remedies without success. It all came to a head on Wednesday. McKay was crawling around naked and I was busy working on some last minute Christmas cards. One of the kids came running to find me with this little nugget. "McKay pooped on the floor and he's playing in it!" I found just that. And it was disgusting. I got him cleaned up, wiped up the floor and sprayed with Lysol (because clearly I wasn't going to do a full mop job just then). 

About an hour later, I caught a whiff of Carter. He had diarrhea again and was crying because it was irritating his leg. So, right there in the kitchen, I took his diaper off so he could be free. Only this time, there was more than a little squirt in his diaper. I liken it to bowl full of soup. And the diaper had no chance of containing it. Instead, it covered my kitchen floor as I cursed silently in my head. I desperately tried to get this latest mess cleaned up before anyone (McKay especially) found their way into the kitchen. I went through a dozen paper towels and then went for the mop. I mopped the affected area three times and turned the heat up on my potpourri on the stove. Still, though, I could smell it. The next day, the scent lingered. I took out the trash and used my steam mop and STILL I could smell it. It was awful. 

Today, I can't detect any trace of it. And Carter is back to normal, begging for candy and treats. I couldn't be happier. I'm so tired of cleaning up poop. And changing poopie diapers. There's only one problem. McKay had diarrhea tonight. Awesome.