Fun With Our Sons: Getting Ready

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Getting Ready

Everyone knows fall is a busy time. This year it's even busier than it usually is. Next week I'm leaving on a much-anticipated mother-daughter cruise with my mom! :) In November, a much-anticipated family wedding. In December, Christmas with my side of the family. One trip at a time, so this week I'm all about getting ready for my CRUISE!!!

People without children ask me if I'm doing any shopping for my cruise. People with children ask me how I'm preparing to leave my family for 6 days. For the record, the only shopping I'm doing for this trip is for things I need to leave behind. Like meals for my family. :) The two most amazing men in my life, my husband and my dad, will do a fantastic job taking care of my kids while I'm gone. But they can't be fantastic at it if they don't know what they need to do. Hopefully my word document describing all the daily things that need done in my absence won't overwhelm my capable caregivers. Well, maybe they will be in awe of all I do. That would be okay with me. I'm also hoping my kids step up and be responsible. A girl can dream, right? :)

This past weekend Derek and Braylen attended Webelos Woods, a camp designed to woo Cub Scouts to join Boy Scouts. Even though they camped out during our first patchy freeze of the season, Derek and Braylen had lots of fun! Different troops planned activities for the Cub Scouts, and my guys narrowed their troop choices down to three. If Braylen moves on this winter to Boy Scouts, we'll have to decide which troop to join. Derek was impressed with the boy-led troops rather than adult-led troops. I think that's been our problem with Cub Scouts all along. The boys run wild while the adults try to reign in the chaos. In Boy Scouts, the boys lead their troops, make scheduling decisions, and end up designing their troop to reflect their interests. A nice surprise, I must admit!

Braylen really liked tying all kinds of knots

The tomahawk throw

I'm not sure if I'll blog again before my trip. Things will only get crazier as this week progresses. So before I sign off, I want to remember something Aaron's been doing lately. At night he says his prayer, and he ends with "amen." But not just any amen. He says "A...snaps his fingers once...MEN!" Where does this child come up with these things? :)

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What I've Learned While Raising Boys

You know you're a Cub Scout mom when you end up teaching the salesperon which neckerchief slide goes with which age level.

The boys want to be just like dad, but they want to snuggle with mom.

Snuggling and cuddling can quickly turn into a tickling match with daddy, but mommy avoids the tickling to keep snuggling longer.

A carpeted floor always turns into a wrestling mat.

I don't care how old (or how young) you are; if you are male, you will wrestle on the carpeted floor.

I've never heard the words 'belch' and 'fart' more in my life. Nor the sound effects those words represent.

They'll carry toads and eat dog food. Hand them a toilet brush and they think it's gross.

Why mop the boys' bathroom floor when I can wait for them to do it for me? Three showers later, a towel makes a nice mop.

Courtesy flush=an adult walks by the boys' bathroom and flushes the toilet. Courtesy flushes are standard around here.

Hearing me count to 5 changes my child's behavior, if only for a moment.

I get more practice counting to 5 than I did when I was learning how to count.

Pull-ups should never go in the dryer.

Vacuuming the pull-up pieces out of the dryer at midnight is not unheard of.

Rocks, cars, coins, chapstick, crayons, army men, kleenex, and stickers are all washable, but shouldn't be.

If I want a child to be sick, give him clean sheets.

Band-aids really do make it all better.

My camera batteries will die at the worst time. Like they did at my wedding and the birth of my first son.

When I get mad at my son for spilling his drink, I'll spill mine that same day.

Just when I'm ready to sit down with my lunch, my kids need cleaned up from finishing theirs.

The game "I Spy" works great in a restaurant; not in a moving car.

Dandelion bouquets should be checked for ants before gracing my kitchen counter.

I should always accept a dandelion from my son with delight, for someday they will just be weeds in my yard.

I really do have eyes in the back of my head.

The messier the better--living room, kitchen, toy room--for it means my kids are here with me.

I never turn away a hug from my son--soon enough he won't offer them to me.

Things are always better in the morning.

I can never find the scotch tape in my kitchen drawer, but my son has at least 3 rolls in his desk.

My 5 year old can remember attending a funeral when he was 3, but he can't remember to flush the toilet or shut the front door.

I shouldn't be surprised that my 5 year old thinks I was friends with Mary, mother of Jesus, when he thinks 7 year olds are big kids.

Hiding a purchase from an inquisitive child looks like shoplifting.

The number of bathrooms in a home should equal the number of children. All 3 bathrooms have been used at the same time more than I ever would have imagined.

I'm a selfish, self-centered person. God's cure for that? My 3 blessings.

They really are little for just a little while. . .