"Turkey's in the oven!" I hollered as I shut the oven door and clicked the timer on. I tossed the dishtowel on the sink and surveyed the mess surrounding me... cooking Thanksgiving dinner in the McLean household had certainly dissolved from my idea of a fun experience... into mayhem. I pulled the trashcan out from under the counter and began gathering and clearing the empty cans from green beans and corn and the bits and pieces of bread from my stuffing, off the island.

"God it smells delicious in here!" I looked up to see Aj struting into the kitchen, freshly showered and shaved, his hair (what little he had left) still shining with gel. He was wearing a pair of khakis, no shirt. I smiled as he sat down at the table where Matthew was cozied in his bouncy seat kicking contentedly where he'd been chilling out for the past thirty minutes or so. Aj smiled at him and laughed when he coo'd back. It was rare for our son to spend any amount of time anywhere but in one of our arms because most days he'd throw a fit the second we even thought about putting him down.

I couldn't help but laugh when I caught sight of Aj's face as he bent down and blew raspberries on Matthew's tummy.

"Blargh!" he winced coming up gasping for air, "the turkey smells good... our son on the other hand, not so much." I laughed out loud as he fanned at Matt's rearend with the morning news and tried his best not to gag on the unpleasant smells now emitting from the bouncy seat in front of him.

"Give me just a sec," I said surveying the mess still scattered across the table and popping a couple of mini marshmallows from the yams into my mouth, "I'll finish cleaning this up and I'll change him before my shower." Aj shook his head, standing quickly and lifting Matthew easily up onto his shoulder, "I got this babe, you just um... undo the damage you inflicted on our kitchen."

I smiled as I watched the two of them leave the room, happy to know that I had the kind of marriage, at least now, where the man I loved was willing to share in the responsibility of raising our child. Aj had never argued about changing diapers or cleaning up barf or doing any of the less than plesant things that came along with the wonderfulness of parenthood. It made it so much easier for me when he left for work during the days to know that he would come home and be a totally hands on father. Why I had ever worried was beyond me now. I glanced at our newest family portrait on the refrigerator and fought back the tears that threatened to spill from my eyes. I had the most incredible family in the world... and for that... on this day, and every other day, I was most thankful.

Sighing, I finished clearing off the remnants of my first ever Thanksgiving cooking experience as I breathed in the scent of the clorox spray I used to clean the counters, making them once again look shiny and new. One would never be able to tell I'd cooked in that kitchen now. I gave the turkey a final glance and turned the brocolli casserole on in the crock pot feeling very proud of a job well done. I flipped off the light in the kitchen, excited to know that in a few hours time our typically quiet house would be full of my family... and his.

I headed up the stairs for shower more than ready to soak away the smells of grease and turkey guts that came along with the day but stopped short in the doorway of the nursery when I saw that Aj was still struggling with Matthew's diaper. I stepped into the room to see if I could help and that's when my nostrils were assaulted by the unheavenly stench of toxic baby poo.

I gasped as I took in the sight in front of me. There on the changing table was my naked baby in all his glory, and standing there at the end of the table holding a solitary baby wipe with a shocked look on his face was Aj whose chest, arms and legs covered with sticky baby slime. Slime that I can only imagine unsuspectingly shot itself out of our son's rearend as Aj was attempting to do diaper duty.

"Holy crap!" I said, trying my best not to laugh, knowing that in Aj's mind there was absolutely nothing funny about this "crappy" situation, "that's a blowout if I've ever seen one!" And I'd seen plenty in my days as a stay-at-home mom to a big time pooper... but maybe none quite so dramatic as this.

"Blowout?" Aj rolled his eyes and lifted our diaperless son from the changing table, holding him out about five foot in front of him like a ticking time bomb, "more like ass-plosion! Jessica what the hell are you feeding this child?"

I snickered behind my hand, eyeing my husband as he walked past me and into the hall still dangling Matthew at a safe distance. "Where are you going with him?"

"Well," he said pausing before he turned thrusting the baby towards my arms, "this is the kind of mess that requires a shower... or ten, and since you're headed that direction already..."

I shook my head and waved him off, "heck no! You clearly need a shower now too!" He rolled his eyes at me but I just shook my head and turned to survey the mess still on the changing table... and the wall... and the carpet. "And besides," I sighed defeatedly knowing someone had to do the dirty work, "I'll join you both just as soon as I'm done bleaching this entire nursery!"

Aj laughed and disappeared into the bathroom. I walked over to the changing table and assessed the damage. I would rather clean up after a thousand Thanksgiving dinner preparations than tackle the mess before me.

I was not the slightest bit thankful for poop! I cleaned it up hurridly, stripping the pad on the changing table and tossing it into the trash and then scrubbing down the wall and the carpet. It was actually less of a mess than I had expected, and I couldn't help but chuckle at the idea that Aj had caught most of the crap on the way down. I turned on the ceiling fan to dry out the carpet and headed to the bathroom myself, stripping off my clothes outside the bathroom door and throwing them into the hamper I listened to the sound of Aj singing behind the closed door;

I gently slid the door open and slipped into the steamy bathroom. I smiled as I took in the picture of Aj in the shower, Matthew pressed snugly against his chest as the water rushed over the both of them. I climbed in with them and leaned up to kiss Aj as he handed me our peacefully sleeping, slippery baby boy. I held him against my chest as Aj sat down, pulling me into the bottom of the tub with him. I leaned back against his chest and situated Matthew in my arms. I loved the closeness, the togetherness that these little moments always brought. It didn't matter anymore to either of us that our son had just made the biggest mest a tiny human being could possibly create, it just mattered that we were a family.

"I am gonna miss this," I whispered as I felt Aj kiss the top of my head and run his hands along my arms.

"You're gonna miss what Jess," he asked leaning down and kissing my neck. Was he trying to seduce me? It was totally working... but of course totally wouldn't work what with the presence of a child in the room.

"I just know this won't last forever," I sighed, staring down to where Matthew had maneuvered his way to my breast and was now nursing contentedly. "I know he's going to grow up fast... and these moments will be gone."

Aj smiled and nodded as he ran his fingers through my hair. "But we can enjoy them now..."

He was right. I felt my body totally relaxing against his as the warmth of the water flowed over us. I was enjoying it... more than ever.