Welch Whirl

Lessons Learned at the Welch House

You know your child is thirsty when she is sucking the condensation off the side of the toilet tank.


You know your child has cabin fever when she dons her swimming suit, life jacket, and goggles on a 10 degree weather day and demands that someone take her swimming.

You know your child needs more supervision in the morning when he leaves for school wearing a polo shirt, gym pants, and no socks, not having combed his hair or brushed his teeth, and then, moments before being dropped off at school, admits that he didn't have breakfast.

You know you are raising tough kids when, having skied once before, they insist on trying the black-diamond runs at Park City. Then, after falling down several times during that attempt, ask to go again.


You know your child should be taking a nap when she falls asleep sitting up in the grocery cart. (However, you also realize this arrangement allows for more peaceful shopping and you plan to go again during nap time.)

You know if your cell phone goes missing for 24 hours or more there are two never-fail places to check: (1) the LEGO bin, or (2) your second grader's backpack. The problem is when you call and your second-grader answers it while at school.

You know your eight-year-old wants more validation for helping watch his youngest sister when he asks you fifteen times in a row if he is my favorite babysitter and could I please pay him. (You also know he's trying to save for a Nintendo DS.)


You know your four-year-old daughter loves her older brother when she will take off her shirt and follow him into the river so she can be just like him.


You know there are too many LEGOs in the house when you keep finding LEGO man heads in your youngest child's dirty diapers.


You know there is hope for your four-year-old tom-boy when she ALWAYS wants to help when mom is making bread.


You know your one-year-old loves you when she bats her beautiful eyes at you and then bites your cheek so hard she leaves marks. (And you also start feeling sympathy for the LEGO heads.)


You know your four-year-old is smarter than she looks (and possibly smarter than her parents) when, after being relocated to Mommy's bed as a punishment, she waits for Mommy to leave and then stuffs the bed with two pillows and covers them with a blanket to look like a sleeping child. Then she sneaks into another room to play.

You know your child is mischievous when even after being told not to, she convinces her two friends to all lock themselves in the bathroom, run both sinks, and flush the toilet. What she didn't understand was the water heater was being replaced downstairs and the water heater repair man is trying to stop the gushing water from getting all over him as well as our wooden floors. Meanwhile, I'm running for towels and promising the repair man that no one is running water because I couldn't hear anything in the bathroom. Moments later I discovered three girls with large yellow cleaning gloves on, all giggling. . . and me begging for forgiveness from the soggy water heater man.



You know you have your hands full when you can come up with so many lessons learned without even trying. It seems like every night, Ben and I just lay in bed laughing at the funny-story-of-the-day. Such chaotic fun.