Ramblings of a Wife and Mother: Wagner Family Visit

Last week, seven members of the Wagner clan made the trek from Melbourne, Florida to visit us during their Spring Break. In spite of the yucky change in weather that left us with five cold, rainy days in a row, we still managed to have a good time. I was actually pretty impressed with how well the six cousins did, especially considering the confined space of our house and the other limited indoor activities. And even with eleven people sharing one bathroom for five days, everybody stayed clean and we rarely had to wait to use the potty. At least once a day, we were able to mobilize the whole crew for some time out of the house; during those times, we enjoyed the McWane Science Center, Chuck E. Cheese, an indoor McDonald's, Caleb & Ethan's birthday party, and, on the last day when the weather warmed up a bit, some time at Moss Rock Preserve. Marcus had to work every day except Thursday, so he missed out on most of the big breakfasts we enjoyed together, as well as the outings, but he caught up with everyone in the evenings.

I think Mimi (Marc's mom) had the best time of all, simply because she had five days with all six of her grandchildren under one roof, which is sort of a euphoric experience for her :). She also spent a morning going to a prenatal appointment and ultrasound with me and then touring the school where Caleb will be attending kindergarten in the fall. That may not sound fun to you, but she said it was a perfect morning for her. And the next day, she got to spend the morning with Marcus, first going to one of his presentations at a local cancer conference and then shoe shopping together.

Caleb and Ethan did a really amazing job sharing their home, their toys, their Mommy & even their bedroom with their cousins. There really wasn't one territorial meltdown the entire week, even when 3-year-old cousin Kylie stood guard at the door to C & E's bedroom and emphatically informed Ethan that this was HER room and he could NOT come in. Ethan just gave her a long look and then said, "It really is my room, but I am letting you use it," and then headed back downstairs. Caleb and Ethan have always been taught that all of their toys and other things actually belong to God and they are just being permitted to use them for a while, but this is the first time this teaching has been tested out over a series of days like this. There were of course the expected altercations when one child snatched a toy out of another's hand, but there was no general possessiveness expressed by either Caleb or Ethan about their space or their things. Any toy on the shelf or the ground was free game for anyone, and the boys didn't even fuss when their cousins sat in "their" eating seats and slept in their bunk beds. Uncle Mike and Mimi are not early risers, so it was usually Aunt Traci and I doing kid duty and preparing breakfast in the morning, and C & E were generally patient as I served their cousins first. Caleb would occasionally get overstimulated, in which case he would go to the quietest room he could find and play by himself for a little while. Ethan started acting out when he was overstimulated, and he had to be sent up to his bed (a pallet on the floor in our room) to regroup. Overall, all the kids did great together, especially considering the unfortunate weather conditions.

My newest nephew, 4-week-old Dallen McGough with his Mommy, Aunt Traci.