Kalina (9) and Apollo (ever-the-skeptic 3 months)

Life in a large family is different than life in a *ahem* more average sized family. Somethings are obviously different such as meal sizes and vehicle sizes. And some are more subtle. 

One of the most frustrating things (which I've talked about here in the past) is the not-me syndrome. I'm sure all of you with children (or spouses even) experience this to a certain extent. Not-me syndrome happens to be one of those things that is greatly exaggerated in a large family.

It happens weekly (if not daily). From the most benign topics (who left their socks out) to the more serious. Its one of those events that repeats itself in my life ad nauseam.  

Just the other day it went like this:

Me: Who brought the vacuum upstairs?

Children in chorus: Not me!

Just to be sure, I checked with my husband. 

Chuck did you bring the vacuum upstairs?

Nope.

Once again, it seems, we were victims of some strange intruder, who sneaks into our house and brings vacuums upstairs. Or uses the last of the toilet paper. Or leaves wet towels out on the deck. 

I can certainly understand my children's vehement denial in the vacuum incident. I mean, we run a pretty tight ship over here, and punishment can be severe. For instance, had we known, beyond a shadow of doubt, who the guilty party was,  we would have said something like this:

Please keep that vacuum downstairs, we use the red one up here.

Ah…the horror.

So anyway, the other day we were having one of our meetings. Everyone lined up in the living room. The issue this time? A certain bathroom had been out of soap for weeks. And no one had replaced it. We have three bathrooms in our house and this is one Chuck and I rarely frequent. The lack of soap led to a conversation about hygiene. A very serious concern in a family as large as ours. I want to make sure everyone has clean hands and flossed teeth. So we discussed the need for clean hands (especially in the bathroom), the virtues of soap, and the simple common curtesy of replacing the soap when you use the last of it.

After discussing the risk of getting sick from not washing your hands after using the bathroom I asked (expecting an answer of stomach ache and vomiting): Can anyone tell me what kind of sickness you get from not washing your hands?

Kalina immediately yelled out, "Typhoid" with great enthusiasm. 

Ah yes, the dreaded typhoid has indeed spread by unsanitary waste practices…yet somehow that wasn't quite the answer I was looking for…