Just Some Of The Joys That Come With Learning To Be A Step Dad

As a kid I used to enjoy watching the cartoon Charlie Brown but there was one character I never understood. I can't remember the name of the character but it was the one with the blue blankie, and it was the obsession with the carrying of the blankie around with him everywhere that I did not understand. Growing up in the UK myself I didn't know of anyone who had such a habit. And I know for sure I didn't have such a blankie. But in just a few short weeks of being a step dad here to somechileanwoman's kids I'm starting to realise that here in the US the culture is a little different.
Just this very weekend minichileanman said "My blankie! My power!" I have to confess I did not know what it meant - but it was damn funny! Maybe you had to be there to appreciate just how much.

At the time other than how funny it was I didn't give much more thought to what he said there.

Instead I spent the energy wondering why he hadn't pooped in 2 and half days. I couldn't believe I was worried about his lack of pooping but nonetheless I was. However he did finally poop. I couldn't believe I was so relieved to know that he had finally pooped. What the hell is wrong with me?

Shortly after somechileanwoman went off to work tonight I checked up on the kids sleeping in bed just to make sure everything was ok. So yeah I make for a nervous stepdad.

I opened the bedroom door and was hit my a wave of stink. It was bad. Think of bad and then multiply that badness by a figure of around 10 and you might be close to the level of badness that was the stink that hit my nostrils when I opened the bedroom door. I have to admit I was hoping it was just a fart, so I quickly checked that both of somechileanwoman's offspring were still breathing and then quickly left the room so that I could breathe some fresh air. I checked the room again 10 minutes later hoping to find that the smell had dissipated somewhat. It hadn't. By now I was desperate for reasons why the smell hadn't gone. Maybe because it was such a hot day - it was over 90 degrees farenheit today - it was just there was no place for the stink to go to but hang around and the heat was somehow making the stink worse than it should otherwise be. I know, I know I was clutching at straws. I knew as unlikely as this scenario was that I had to check the bottoms for poop. Sure enough head to bum confirmed that minichileanman had indeed pooped.

This presented problems. First of all, minichileanman does not like to be woken up at the best of times. Probably the only thing worse than waking him up before he is fully rested is me changing his nappy. Of course I now had to be in the situation of having to do both. Oh yeah - sometimes I love being a step dad!

Today was also the day that one of minichileanwoman's tooth fell out, which, beyond a small period of time where hysterics was the order of the day, in itself wasn't really a problem until we stuck it underneath her pillow for the toothfairy to come and collect tonight. She promptly rolled over and fell asleep on it, when normally she always sleeps on the other side of the pillow. Typical!

Of course at the moment they are of an age where they both sleep in the same room. Normally this is a good thing. Not so much when you don't want either to wake and you have to clean the bum of one, and lift the head of another all the while hoping, nay praying, not to be discovered - and me a heathen too.

The praying must have worked because somehow neither of them screamed, and somehow I managed to hold my breath long enough to accomplish the task without vomiting, but I have to say if that is the power of the blankie I don't like it much.