The New Family Dynamics

Until Will started school, he only knew about traditional families. Which, when I think about it, is pretty amazing. But all his relatives have been in steady relationships since he's been alive. No divorces or breakups. No separations.

Once he started riding the bus, we began to associate more with the other families of like-age children in our area.

Ethan, who is in Will's class room, lives with his mom and step-father. He spends every other weekend with his dad.

Gabriel lives with his mom, and sees his dad some evenings and every other weekend.

And the other two families are traditional.

I never really thought about how this might impact Will or his thinking until a few weeks ago. We were outside laying in the hammock watching baby squirrels play in a near-by tree. There was only one adult squirrel visible and Will decided it was the "mommy". When I asked him why it couldn't be the daddy, his response was...

"Because, it's not the daddy's weekend."

The Shocking Things Kids Say

You get use to your young children saying things that shock you. However, as they grow, it happens less and less. But it does happen.

Since I've shared the news about their new siblings with the girls they have both managed to say something that totally shocked me into silence. First, you have to understand that the upcoming Marquardt - currently called Panda, as we have no idea it's sex yet - was not planned, anticipated, or really wanted. (Don't go getting on your high horse. How would you feel finding out you were starting all over from scratch at 45?)

Tori

We were riding back from lunch and she says the following just totally out of the blue . . .

"I wish you had waited a few years.
Then we could have had our babies together."

"Wouldn't that have been fun?"


Bonnet


I received the following text from Bonnet this morning.


"So, I was talking to one of my coworkers
about you being pregnant.
She had a great point...
Ur new kid will get all the
rockstar handicap parking."