RAISING BOYS

If you are familiar with me at all, you know that I have 4 boys. The oldest is in third grade, the youngest is 2. They are the joy of my life. I love being a mom....and yes...I love having ONLY boys.

Don't get me wrong, I am absolutely sure that if I had popped out a child with indoor plumbing, I would have loved her just as much. But there is something that always seems to happen since I have only boys.

When I was preggers with #1, I wanted a boy. I wanted my other kidletts to have an older brother. I saw him as a protector. Responsible. Handsome. Keep in mind that I am an only child, so this, I'm sure, was a dream of mine.....something I would love to have had for myself.

When we had #2, we were congratulated on the production of another boy.

When preggers with #3, we were asked, somewhat snidely (is that a word?) "Awwww. Are you going to try again?"

What? I'm already expecting this one! We want four kids...period. Whatever God blesses us with is OK with us.....seriously. When he was born it just kind of confirmed every one's worst fears (except our own) that YES we had another penis in the family. (LOL...wonder what THAT will do to my rating?)

So...fast forward (not by much) to pregnancy #4. Keep in mind that most sane folk don't go outside the 2.5 children per household. Here is an overview of a not-so-uncommon conversation.

adult - Oh. When are you due? (put excitement here......)

me - In June...right after school ends.

adult - Do you have any other children?

me -Yes....3 boys.

adult - Wow....3 boys? (my kindergartener walks up) Which one is this?

me - My oldest.

adult - Really? Your oldest? Oh....so....um.....3 boys, huh? Are you trying for a girl?

me - Nope. I'm trying for a puppy.

Now, fast forward to after the birth of my fourth BOY. (and even up to now....since I hear this at least once a month.)

adult - Wow...4 kids. You really have your hands full.

me - (my response varies....if the adult has children I say, "You do, too." this is especially great if they only have 1 child. If the adult doesn't have children, I say, "It sure seems like it.")

adult - Are you going to have more children?

(there are a few possible meanings here....first is, "Do you know what causes pregnancy?" "If you do, did you mean to let this happen?" (that is interpreted as "are you going to let this happen again)

And finally, "Are you going to try for a girl?"

To this my response is ALWAYS "I have always said '4
kids,' I just happened to be blessed with 4 boys."

This always halts the conversation.

I don't mean to be tacky....really I don't, but please...I am SO TIRED of people feeling sorry for me that I have 4 smelly boys. (and yes....they smell....it's amazing...if you don't believe me, come over for lunch someday!)

The way I see it, God knew what He was doing. I have a friend who tried for a girl and was quite disappointed at the birth of her 4th boy. She loves him...I have no doubt. But, how sad to be disappointed...even for a moment. I have another friend who has 4 boys....and she is like me. She KNOWS that she is a boy mom. And I think she probably wouldn't know what to do with a girl...same as me!

There may come a time when we adopt. Now pick your jaw up off the floor....it's none of your bees-wax anyway. And if we do, we might take a girl....but right now, I can honestly say that if I were to be blessed with more children, I would be ecstatic if I had more boys.....SMELL AND EVERYTHING.

P.S.A. (Prepare for the Season Announcement)

IT'S MARCH 25th!!!

Do you know where your Christmas decorations are?

HAPPY RESURRECTION SUNDAY, Y'ALL

I hope you truly listen to these words. Have a great day!

*This is Steve Green singing "The Victor."

OUT OF THE MOUTHS OF BABES

So, the other morning, I'm awakened by my oldest son. He came into my room and tapped me on the arm. I could see that he was obviously distressed...especially considering that he was crying.

ANYWAY, he soon told me he had had a nightmare. He was VERY upset. Here is our conversation:

Son #1: Mom? *sniff* I had a nightmare!

Me: Oh, Baby. I'm so sorry. Are you OK?

Son #1: I just dreamed that I said a bad word in Spanish....*voice breaks*
at SCHOOL!

Me: (trying to NOT smile or chuckle) Well, do you want to talk about
it?

Son #1: No. I am better now that I'm here with you.

Now, keep in mind that I have NO clue what the word was. Since I am not fluent in Spanish, I probably wouldn't have been able to know if it was truly a bad word....well, scratch that....I DO know the bad words......but where did HE learn them?

OUT OF THE MOUTHS OF BABES

This is going to be a series. Not so much a series of posts that run consecutively. It will just be about the same type of thing, appearing periodically.

It has been happening, a lot lately, that I have been picking up on some VERY interesting conversation between my children. Sometimes it is a conversation involving myself. I think they are cute, funny, thought-provoking, or just worth sharing. Either way, I hope you enjoy them when they come.

The following conversation took place YESTERDAY, in the FTU, between sons #1 and #2.

Background: We were on our way to church. The boys climbed into the FTU. Apparently, there was a TINY spider that #1 sat beside. A bit of web was on his shirt. Upon the discovery of said web and TINY spider, and after the rigor my son immediately had, we were finally free to leave. This is their follow-up conversation.

Son #2: Go ahead. You watch the movie and I'll watch
you to make sure "Spikey" (he nicknamed the arachnid) doesn't crawl on you again.

Son #1: It's OK. You don't have to. I prayed that the
spider would die.

Son #2: (after a few moments of silence) I don't think
God will kill a spider....RIGHT, MOM?

Mom: (that's me) Well, I don't really know. I don't know that God will kill the spider. However, I DO think that God could make it to where the spider crawls away and not bother your brother anymore.

Son #1: Well, I DO think God will make him die because
God is omniscient and He KNOWS that if the spider gets on me I would freak out and scream. THEN, I would get into trouble by Mom because I'm being too loud and bothering everyone.

Son #2: Oh.

I'm guessing that at that point, son #2 realized the logic and the probability of all of this, thus ending the conversation. As it stands, "Spikey" never did bother Son #1 again...maybe I should go check for a dead spider. Hmmmmmmm........

OH, WHAT A NIGHT!

I love to go out with my hubby....especially if we get to have a babysitter, too! WOOHOO! A night out with my man, SANS CHILDREN....those are the nights memories are made of. And this past Saturday night was no different.

My hubby and I have known each other since the first grade. I'm not saying that in the mushy, fairy tale way in which some girls/ladies/women might say (with a tear in her eyes) "I have loved you since the day I was born." Sniff, sniff, hack, cough, gag. No....we sat across the room from each other in our first grade classroom...and 2nd grade...and 3rd....and on and on until the day we graduated high school.

That being said, we have a lot of memories to talk about and remember together. And on top of that, we are just very good friends....LIFELONG friends. We look forward to going out, not just for the romance of it all, but just to get together and hang out as best friends. We laugh and talk and tease each other.

So this past Saturday, we went to a really great restaurant - Texas de Brazil. We managed to stop eating before we had to loosen our britches. Not wanting to call the night done so early, we went to a pub. DH had researched and found one that has been around a long time. They happened to have live music that night, so we decided to go in, sit and enjoy each other and the atmosphere.

We got there early. (Remember, we are "older" and have 4 kids, so we do have to be home early enough to make sure everyone is rested enough for church the next day.) We got there a bit before the music started. No problem. We just sat and visitied. We talked about old friends and what they were doing. We wondered what the music would be like. We discussed the possibility of the bare area in the corner being a makeshift dance floor. We talked about our plans for the week and when he would be flying out next. We started to look around. We started to notice the people coming in.

First off, let me lay this disclaimer out there. I do not consider myself a "homophobe." I don't think I can be as I don't really know anyone who prefers....oh to put this mildly.

At one point we looked around and out of about 60 people, there APPEARED to be only 10 that.....um......"rolled" in the way God intended.

Now lest I step on any toes, please know that I totally think "THAT" is wrong. I DON'T think one is born "THAT" way. But at the same time, I don't "hate."

By the end of the evening, it was funny. We had a lot of jokes about it. I didn't go to the bathroom during the intermission because I was afraid that I might be tempting to someone. I really didn't want to be hit on in the women's bathroom. DH had nothing to worry about....as most of the "males" in the joint were, in fact, female by nature.

Don't get me wrong. DH did NOT take me to a gay bar. It just so happened that one of the acts was a singer...a good one, to be quite honest...who happened to be as squirly as the day is long!

We ended up leaving about 10:30...not because of the stares I was getting.....I like to think that they were taken aback by my natural beauty. Instead, I think that since we were one of the only heterosexual couples in the place, that we were more or less the "comic relief" in the place.

Either way, we had a good time....and I got something to blog about.

SNOW!

Snow in North Texas comes once in a blue moon. Well, that's not right...blue moons happen with more frequency. My point is, we don't get snow often...and when we do, it is usually not enough for a snowball, much less a snowman.

Well, yesterday, I wore shorts, had the windows open all around the house, walked around barefoot...it was a gorgeous today. Today, parts of North Texas got up to 9 inches of snow.

I feel like Charlie Brown. You know in "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!" where they all go trick-or-treating? They are so looking forward to the goodies. They proudly brag about the fruits, money and treats they got. Charlie Brown says, "All I got was a rock." How disappointing.

Well, here in MY part of North Texas....all we got was rain. And rain. And MORE rain. No excitement at all....except for the few claps of thunder. Now all I can hope for is sub-freezing temps so that I may have a little ice on the roadways to look forward to.

There are a few of you out there who are reading this and you have snow on the ground right now. Would you do me a favor? Would you build a snowman for me? It doesn't have to be big...just a snowman. And put a "Hello" sign on it. If you send me a picture, I'll put it on my blog.

If you won't do this for me....well the only thing I can do is hope your snow is YELLOW!!!

IDENTITY CRISIS

So my third son, sitting in the middle row of the FTU, starts with, "Miss Anna called me 'Mr. Dillon.' I NOT 'Mr. Dillon' I 'Dillon!'"

At that point, I turned to ask if Miss Anna was from the Y or from the church.

I was immediately scolded for interrupting and told that Dillon was speaking to his 2 year old brother.

I dutifully shut up and listened to the rest of the story.

So again I hear, "Miss Anna called me 'Mr. Dillon.' I NOT 'Mr. Dillon' I 'Dillon!'"

To which my 2 year old replied, "Don't worry 'bout it, Dillon!"

* All names have been changed in order to...well, because I'm paranoid.