My husband and I will celebrate our tenth wedding anniversary on July 1. I can’t believe it has been 10 years. We’re heading out on a second honeymoon this weekend (our first cruise). Five days with no cell phones, computers or kids — I think we’ve earned it!

I really wanted to post one of our wedding pictures, but as I was digging around for them I realized that we have nothing digitally. Ten years ago we actually took pictures with cameras and film… it was practically the Dark Ages. If only I wasn’t mid-move and had my scanner hooked up, but I guess for now you will just have to imagine a very young-looking girl and boy who had no idea how challenging and amazing life and parenthood would be.

We’re moving this weekend, so today I’ve had the distinct pleasure of calling the slew of utilities companies to cancel and start new services. As I’ve drudged through faulty automated systems and ridiculously long hold times only to be transferred from person to person, I have had lots of time to think about this new book I just heard of: Your Call Is (Not That) Important to Us. I think I’m going to read it.

I decided to take my three young kids to an olympic-sized pool to play. I was exhausted from carting everything we needed to the end of the pool and nervous because there was no kiddie-safe shallow area and none of my kids could swim. When we finally got into the pool my three and five-year-old kids were hanging on the edge, and I had the baby in my arms.

“Whew! We made it,” I thought.

But then my three year old says, “Mom, I need to pee!”

I quickly weigh my options: he is too young to go all the way to the bathroom by himself; I cannot leave my daughter in the pool and certainly not the baby; so I would have to get the whole crew back out of the pool and walk all the way back to the bathrooms, which of course were a long ways away.

I whispered quietly, “Just pee in the pool.”

He didn’t say anything more. Next thing I know he had climbed out of the pool and was standing at the edge near me. I am thinking he wants to jump to me and make a big splash, but no. He pulls down his pants, stands on the edge and pees IN the pool! I could have died. He was doing exactly what I told him to do, just in much different way than I meant. – Taylor, AZ

There is a certain kind of embarrassment that only a Mom can truly understand. Our MomMoments column is filled with these war stories of motherhood. We’d love to hear your stories so please share with us!

I will never understand the strong attraction kids have for the bathroom, the toilet in particular. When my littlest got herself stuck in the toilet, I just had to snap a few pictures before rescuing her. Looks like it might be a good time for potty training.

Funny thing happened today: I had a couple girlfriends over, and while the kids played we made a bunch of tamales (we freeze them for quick meals later on). After we finished up our work, ice cream cones sounded so good, but the three of us immediately turned to the eight kids sitting on the couch watching The Little Mermaid. Dealing with all the kids and a messy treat made the prospect much less appealing.

So we did what any mom would do. We hid behind the kitchen island and quickly scooped out three ice cream cones then ate them, while taking turns checking to make sure no kids were onto us. It was deliciously refreshing, even though we had to sit on the kitchen floor.

Pulling an all-nighter has a completely different meaning once you’re a parent. Last night, about 20 minutes after we had tucked the kiddos into bed, our youngest threw up. (Happy Mother’s Day to me!)

We did our best to clean things up, and make her comfortable. Then I settled in bed next to her for the night, praying the episode would not be repeated. That hope only lasted about ten minutes — she was sick again, and then it was my oldest’s turn.

With two kids puking and three sets of bedding to wash, we obviously didn’t get much sleep. Just when I had lulled into an almost sleep, I was repeatedly jarred awake again by a sick child. Forget water boarding, this is torture!

Even when your children are grown and gone, there are certain memories that are either bad or funny enough that they stick with you forever. Here are one grandmother’s favorite war stories:

Runaways. When my oldest daughter was about six years old she loved to “test” babysitters. One time while being babysat, she snuck down to her room with her sisters and removed the screen from the basement bedroom window (her and her sisters’ room). She climbed out and then helped her sisters out so they could run away. The babysitter called in a panic! We found the girls sitting in their playhouse in the backyard.

In Living Color. Another time, my daughter got into the baking cupboards while a babysitter was putting her younger siblings to bed. She got a hold of the squirt bottles of liquid food coloring, and the sitter came back upstairs to a “tie dye” kitchen. She did her best to clean it up, but HONESTLY I was finding blue, red and yellow for months thereafter.

All Washed Up. Probably worst of all was when my oldest daughter turned on the garden hose and stuck it in the the dining room window. The babysitter got it turned off, cleaned up all the water and put my oldest in time out. A short time later, our sitter went to put the baby down for a nap. When she came back downstairs, the hose had been dragged in through the sliding glass door into the family room. There was about 1-1/2 inches of water all over the carpet and rising!! Poor Sarah! She cleaned it up again, and this time, she made the three older girls stay right with her at all times. The funny thing is, when we got home I had no idea what had happened, and was so impressed — my house was absolutely spotless, the family room was SO clean, and the girls were sitting like perfect angels quietly playing in the living room (with the carpet still damp). When I drove Sarah home, I thanked her profusely and was telling what a great babysitter she was. She burst into tears and told me all about the hose! I was not happy with my daughter, but we sure laugh about it now.

Someone gave me some great advice once. She was a mother of eight, and I asked her, “How do you keep sane when they are doing crazy things and you want to explode?” She told me to keep a small camera handy. Before “exploding” take a few pictures and find the humor in the situation. I have to say, it helped a lot being able to laugh instead of cry. Plus, now I have all those blackmail photos to share with my grandchildren. — Provo, UT

There is a certain kind of embarrassment that only a Mom can truly understand. Our MomMoments column is filled with these war stories of motherhood. We’d love to hear your stories so please share with us!