It is so important to teach your son about home repairs. Yes, girls can definitely benefit from this too! At our house, we just happen to only have boys, so I tend to focus on raising boys.

This is a guest post that I think brings an awesome point: training up your sons on how to work with their hands. I want to make sure we use these tips at our house more too, and I hope you find this as helpful as I did.

Teaching your sons how to fix their broken stuff will help your finances and teach the boys valuable skills that will be useful later in life.

Who doesn’t respect a handy man (or woman) who is capable of doing his own home repairs?

One thing every parent would agree with is that raising kids can be challenging.  It can be tougher if your children are all boys.

There is a limitation to applying the parenting methods we learned from our parents years ago. Things have changed. 

The perception of manhood some years back includes working hard and respecting and protecting the family at any cost. Men who watch their fathers act this way grew up with the same characteristics.

Over time, as innovation presents new job opportunities, there is almost no need to showcase fitness. Companies now operate hybrid workplaces; hence no need to rush to work. With a smartphone, you can order virtually anything and have it delivered to your doorstep, including booking a repairman.

Nevertheless, your children need to understand certain Do It Yourself (DIY) repairs around the home.

Think they do not need it? Well, what happens if the technician fails to show up? Would you encourage them to call a technician to change a bulb that can be replaced within a few minutes?

Giving them an all-around education, both book knowledge and practical experiences, is essential.

For instance, take them along or involve them when purchasing Shower Door Hardware. Let them know how to choose the right hardware for a shower door.

How to inspire your boys to be kid-fixers

Repairs can be a boring task for someone with no interest; below are ways to make it fun:

Engage and educate

Kids are more intelligent and braver than you think. When supervised, they can safely handle most repair tools, including sharp ones.

Invite your son whenever you are fixing anything. Educate them on what you are fixing and why you perform certain actions.

Explain why you handle the fixing yourself instead of hiring a technician.

Explore

Take them along on your next car routine maintenance trip. You may also visit a repair shop or repair café in the neighborhood to show them the beauty of machines.

Let them see first-hand that the appliances they use at home are not powered by magic but made up of different parts designed to sync.

Supervise

Kids need supervision when working with tools. Teach them about safety features, correct their mistakes, and show them better ways to do it. Only allow them to repair plugged or powered appliances with supervision, except those that use batteries.

5 easy steps to teach your son about home repairs

You do not have to be handy yourself before teaching your kids how to do minor repairs around the house. There are lots of videos online to watch.

It would be fun to watch it along with your sons while you try out the recommended steps. However, here are five easy steps you can use to teach your kids about home repairs;

Introduce them to the tools

Familiarize them with the required tools for the repair you are willing to train them. If you are unfamiliar with the tools and their functions, watch videos to learn what they are used for, and then pass the knowledge on to your kids.

Teach them safety

Once they are familiar with the tools and their uses, the next thing to do is train them on safety. Do this irrespective of your boy’s age.

Also, teach with examples. For instance, narrate how you got injured while repairing something.

Make it fun instead of being similar to their typical school class.

Create a workshop

Purchase a child-size toolset and set up a workshop if you do not have one already in your garage.

Make them write out the names of the tools and have them added to the toolbox. This will help to memorize the names of the tools.

Buying them tools and creating a garage will give them a sense of ownership and could pique their interest in the lesson.

Allow them to practice with the tools

Assign them tasks that will require the use of one of the tools. Instead of loosening a screw yourself, ask them to do it.

Finding the right tool for the task will help them become more familiar with the tools.

Design a project

The project should be age-appropriate. You can start by loosening the screws of the drawer and instructing them to screw it back.

Painting is another project you can make them execute but ensure all necessary areas, such as floors and furniture, are well covered using drop cloths.

Home maintenance and repair skills to teach your children

Plumbing

You can teach kids how to fix a blocked toilet or sink. Direct them to fix a leaking tap and educate them on the importance of conserving water. Let them know about the water bill.

Electrical fittings

There could be a time you may not be around to change a faulty bulb or fix a socket that does not work. Teach them how to do this safely. Show them the circuit breaker box and how to operate it.

Let them know it is safer to switch off the power before performing any electrical repair.

Woodwork

Woodwork encourages creativity. Let them build anything of their choice or something they will find amusing. This may be a birdhouse or a doll house for their sister.

Likewise, you can show your kids how to fix home furniture with minor issues, like removing stains and discoloration.

Painting

Painting is a fun activity that your kids will surely like. Give them the brush and watch them unleash their creativity.

Auto mechanic

Train your son on basic car repairs, such as changing a flat tire and car oil.

Show them the normal car maintenance routine and how to interpret warning signs such as dashboard indicators.

Repairing fences and patching drywall

Your boys might not be strong enough at the moment to help you with repairing the fences. But watching you do it will undoubtedly help them later.

Cleaning

Reinforce in your kids the importance of cleaning. Establish a routine. You may mandate all used dishes are washed after dinner, before they go to bed. They should be able to vacuum and dust furniture.

At an appropriate age, make them take out the trash and wash the trash can when needed.

If you have a lawn, teach them how to operate the mower.

Other repair skills to teach your children include:

• Cleaning gutters
• Tightening or replacing a doorknob
• Vacuuming
• Changing air filter
• Hanging pictures
• Washing windows
• Watering plants
• Washing car
• Gardening

When you teach your sons home repairs, everyone benefits. Your kids become more confident in their own abilities, and your future daughter-in-law will thank you for sure.

The post 5 Important Things to Teach Your Son About Home Repairs appeared first on Stories of Our Boys.

A month ago, COVID case numbers were down, and they announced that we would gradually start sending the children back to school. The funny part is that it was only for one day a week anyway. Around half the county signed up for this, and the other half elected to just stay full time virtual.

Wow! There were so many people who were not so terribly desperate for a quiet day that they actually chose to stay full virtual. All people are different, y’all. We really are, and that is okay.

Me, I was disappointed to hear it was only for a day because I have always thought of home schooling as a nightmare, and I do not like feeling this overwhelmed.

I will take what I can get, so I signed the boys up for the their one day/week.

Our second grader went back three weeks ago, and he thoroughly enjoyed it. He hates virtual school. This child was made for running wild through open fields, digging holes, and showing off all that he knows. It is hard to do any of those things while doing school on a computer. He is free-spirited and uninhibited. I admire his spirit. That was never me. I was much more uptight.

I wrote all about the hilarity that is our second grader doing virtual school here. He is actually quite adorable.

Our fourth grader began his one day of in-person school just this week. He got to go ONE day and reported that it was WAY better than virtual school. Then the announcement came that night.

The Announcement

This week our county announced a return to full virtual school. Even the children enrolled in learning centers were sent home. All hybrid hopes are over.

I am surprisingly okay.

Something has happened in the last couple of weeks in my spirit. I believe it is called acceptance. Kicking against the goads has been my default. Things are not how I want them to be. Who wants a world like this, filtered through a mask, isolated in our little huts?

But these are the cards we are dealt. These are the years, yes years apparently, we spend with our kids full time at home. Rooms are less tidy. Social calendars are emptier, and yes, sometimes it is lonely.

Keeping little boys paying attention to a computer teacher is sort of a joke.

I am so done constantly fighting against that. Actually, I will not be done for a while, but internally I very much WANT to be done. It seems like when I go off to other rooms and leave them alone with their computer screens, they actually get more done and listen BETTER than when I am in the room with them. If I am with them, they feel the need to keep me involved, ask me for snacks, and tell me stories.

Good news: It looks chaotic, but learning is actually going on just fine.

I was talking to my mom on the phone the other day while I cooked lunch. Daniel had asked me to make baked potato soup that day. Normally, I do not talk on the phone during school hours because it is too distracting for all three boys who do school downstairs, but that day I did it anyway.

Daniel was beside me, peeling baked potatoes. John David was trekking in and out to show me the story he was writing. Caleb strolled by to show me his latest drawing and say hello to Nana.

I joked to my mom, “As you can see, they are all working very hard at their school work.”

Mom and I got a good laugh out of that. Were the boys all at recess? I mean I hope so, but I am not totally sure. They are usually on task, but we do still have all of these interactions like this during the day. It feels very much like a home school situation. There are home school programs you can do where the kids have teachers teach them on videos, just like this.

The boys are getting time here to explore their interests. Caleb would be drawing in class whether he is at school or at home, but Daniel would not be squeezing in extra cooking time. This is a bonus. John David probably would not have extra writing time either.

The virtual schooling has also helped me make peace with Alan remaining in the Army.

Remaining an Army family is another life circumstance that my spirit has bristled against. There is this deep longing in me to gather up our family and worldly goods and move to a nice piece of land in Alabama. I have written about that many times this year.

Several things about being in our nineteenth year of military service have bothered me. First and foremost is watching our older children be so strongly affected by changing schools over and over again. Our high schooler is now on his FOURTH school in FOUR years. That is ridiculous. We are not talking about moving every FEW years. No, this is far more drastic than that. He has changed schools four years in a row.

Stressful does not even begin to describe it, and I have guilt!

But wait. With half of the country thrown into virtual school with no options, it has ushered in the idea of another path. Our teenager says he rather likes virtual school. Tennis has kept him active and interacting with the world, and with church starting back, I am hoping that will too.

I suppose we actually could move teenagers during high school if they opt for a home/virtual school type option. That might be far less stressful for them.

Plus, my oldest son does not need my supervision the way the younger boys do. It is not a drain on me at all. Home and virtual schooling feels much easier to me with older children than it did with little ones.

But these younger two, aughhhh!!! At the moment they are literally chasing each other around the house, and I can still see a second grade math class going on in the living room.

Okay. I got both little rowdy buddies back in their virtual classes. Ugh. How I love my new role of “hall monitor.” (Not.) ….And now I am a math tutor….for common core…..

Today I have peace though. Acceptance has occurred.

This is our lot, and it is not so bad. Yes, it is busy, and I will have no energy left by three or five, depending on the day. I am okay though. No one is coming over– it is a pandemic. So the house needs to be clean, but not necessarily decluttered.

There will always be a list full of things to do, but isn’t that a good thing? That makes me feel useful and fulfilled. God has given us purpose here, a whole ton of purpose.

We are going to make the best of this.

What else can we do? This is the lot that God has given us for 2020/2021, and we will graze in this pasture and feed on this soil. We are in the palm of God’s good hands.

“I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord God. I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice.”

Ezekiel 34:15-16

God is good all the time, and all the time, God is good.

Don’t forget to enter our Christmas Giveaway!!! This is a beautiful necklace and a truly unique piece that you can personalize with TWO photos engraved straight on to the inside of the locket.

The post Accepting Life As It Is While Maryland Returns to Full Virtual School appeared first on Stories of Our Boys.

Normally on this blog, I tend to visit new places and post photos of them. I also go house hunting every 1-3 years, since I am a military wife, that has been our lot. Since nowadays we, like everyone else in the world, stay home all the time, I thought I would give you a tour of my house instead, or at least the interesting parts of my house. I am officially not allowed to show you the boys’ rooms. Not everyone loves to share their life on the internet. Huh. Weird..

Now this will not be a tour of an envy worthy home full of hand crafted Good Housekeeping decor. No, no. I wish. This will be true photos of a house FULL of children who have been at home for over a month. It is like summer, but with long sleeves and school work. Messiness does abound, especially in the Easter basket aftermath.

Welcome to our lovely home. Notice how the blinds on the second floor do not match. That irritates me. It does, but I have been too cheap to shell out the few hundred dollars to fix it. Plus, I prefer white. And yet, I know that the dark window blocks more more morning light, and those particular windows do happen to belong to the youngest children in the house, you know, the ones who still like to rise early, so the dark blinds are quite functional.

I also have high hopes of changing those shutters to some shade of blue this year. They are faded, and also they are brown. Bleh, brown. Other than that, we just love this house. I mean who would not love this front porch?

Notice the new wood around the garden? Alan built that the very first week of quarantine.

He did an outstanding job. That looks like quite a project. I can’t tell you much more about it. Wood craft is far outside of my areas of expertise.

We have a lovely tulip tree that is almost finish blooming now. I have always loved these. We had one at our southern Alabama house too.

This large cherry blossom tree is just beginning to bloom which means it will be gorgeous this week. That brings me so much joy. I will have to take extra time to sit on my front porch and just look at that this week.

This is all very classic quarantine, don’t you think? An Amazon package is on the doorstep, and the entire porch is covered in chalk art. They do such lovely creative things when I make them get off of video games. The pictures shown here are Daniel’s.

I just realized I still have a winter welcome mat out. Oops. The thing is I do not own a regular one to replace it…

When you enter the house, you will find yet another Amazon package, and no, they are not essential items. Well, I mean, they are as essential as a cake keeper and a new game of Sorry can be.

The very first week of quarantine I went around the main floor of the house and stuck Bible verses everywhere. I figured we were all going to need these reminders.

In the office you will find book boxes. I had to make these for silent reading time. Now that spring break is ending, I need to switch out a few of the books again. I tried to put variety in each box.

Hobby time: I do not have more free time than usual. I actually have less free time than usual by far because of managing four different school routines each day, but I still squeeze in time for my newest hobby. My whole life–okay my whole teenage plus life– I have wanted to learn to play the piano. Now I am finally doing it. I am still only in the first beginner book, but I am making progress.

My kitchen table is a symbol of another quarantine problem. Doctors can only see you for emergency type problems, so I was turned away from getting a badly needed steroid shot for my plantar fasciitis/heel spur problem. It is so bad I cannot go on any walks at all, not even short ones. Even working around the house is difficult. So my mother-in-law told me about tart cherries. I did a little research, and this is a real thing. If you have an arthritis problem you cannot shake, try eating a large amount of tart cherries each day. It may take a while, but it is supposed to help.

In our living room, you will often see our little whippet mix standing at the door, waiting to come in or out. This dog seems to go in and out about 99 times per day. Sometimes it’s annoying. And oh yeah, electronics are everywhere. We are having a few days of spring break.

Baking galore! I am still going through my Mary Berry cookbook. These are coffee cakes I made from it. Next up is a Battenberg cake. I will be sure to take a photo of it to show you when I finish it.

I finally changed out the hallway flowers to spring flowers. Once Easter hit, I realized I had left out my winter things for far too long.

The dining room has been completely taken over by Lego projects and school supplies. That room is so bad it is downright embarrassing.

Here was the kitchen table all set up for Easter morning. My oldest son stayed up late and helped me fill eggs, and I have to say, I thoroughly enjoyed that. Fourteen is full of new milestones.

You can often find a little boy in the corner of the dining room because that is where the charger is. He likes to play Mario and Minecraft.

Our kitchen still has happy birthday signs up from our March birthdays. That just dawned on me yesterday. I guess I should take those down.. These two are celebrating that I was going to make sweet potato casserole. Sweet potatoes are rock stars at our house.

And in the living room, here are the boys in their natural element, the cushy LazyBoy recliner sofa. We love that thing. I have been a hero with the youngest this week because I helped him figure out how to “make things enchanted” in Minecraft. Then I helped them friend each other so they could play Minecraft together, in each other’s worlds. They have really had a ball.

See this? This is the boys’ end table. You have the toys, the books, the charging station, and the toy box overflowing. If you think that is bad, you do not want to see the dining room (aka craft table/Lego table/ school table). I will spare you that.

Sometimes the office looks like this. The children have taken over every single room in this house.

I could not be more thankful for this backyard. On the good weather days, we can all go outside and do so many things.

I hope you enjoyed the tour! My Facebook newsfeed is full of people making jokes about quarantine and how much they are over being stuck inside. There are even one or two conspiracy theorists, but I gotta tell you, I am enjoying the at home time. Everything is cancelled! That’s like a dream come true. Because we did not lose our income, this is fun to me. I do feel terrible for those who have lost their jobs, though. That is a totally different thing. For them, I will be happy when things begin to transition back to normal, and even happier when people have work again.

How is your quarantine going?

The post Quarantine Family Home Tour appeared first on Stories of Our Boys.

We just got home from spending 10 days with our family down in Bama. I can say with complete sincerity that it was a fun, fulfilling, trip.

Were there melt-downs? Yes, especially me, okay. I was the one with the melt downs.

Was it insanely hot? No, actually.

Did the children fight? Some.

Did we get stuck in traffic? Yes, in the expected places. Why do we ever drive through Atlanta?

But also…

There were breakthroughs!

#1. John David is officially ready for kindergarten.

John David went down a water slide at Water World about 35 times, not even exaggerating, proving that maybe, just maybe he’s bigger than I realize. He can surely handle kindergarten.

#2. I got to watch my mom in action in all her super-executive glory. I’m so proud of her. 

Watching her manage her career reminded me that maybe I’d do better at my own job if I treated it more responsibly.

Did you know that in the census records of the 1800s, they listed each person in a household by name, job, and various other statistics? Each grown woman in a household was not listed as a “stay at home mom” or “unemployed.” They were listed as “keeping house.”

“Keeping house” sounds so much more accurate to me than “stay at home mom.” Children are in the house, so they are part of the house you are keeping, right?

I should treat this more like my job. There should be to-do lists, a sense of job satisfaction, and an alarm clock. During the summer I almost never set my alarm.

#3. Three times a day is how often you should water tomato plants in southern Alabama.

I learned this from watching my dad tend his always thriving tomato garden. His vines go from the porch all the way past the porch ceiling, and he uses no poison at all.

Yes, the tomatoes were delicious.

Maybe, just maybe I can have a garden like that too someday. Someday. Not today.

#4. Back to School Shopping

If school starts tomorrow, everyone will have something to wear.

That mannequin I stripped down because it was wearing my son’s size of deeply discounted Under Armor shirt will be just fine. Yes, I accidentally knocked him over and kicked him under a rack (the mannequin, that is), but I put him back on his pedestal as quickly and clumsily as I possibly could, so I’m quite sure he’s fine.

#5. “Doing nothing always leads to the very best something.” (Pooh Bear)

….Our hilarious trip to the movies…

Mom and I took the boys to see Christopher Robin, as I am a huge Pooh Bear fan. It was a sweet movie, but sharing it with my children was the funniest part.

There was the son who bought himself an over-priced Icee with his own money, drank 3 refills, and then held his tummy and groaned for the next hour.

The same son “whispered” across all 3 brothers to me during the movie, “Pssst Mom!….Pssssssssst Mom!!!… Mom!!!  This movie is boring.”

It was not. If he hadn’t kept getting up for refills and of course the restroom, he’d have found the movie to be very funny and heart-warming.

Then as the movie ended and we exited the theatre, I found the same son’s wallet left under one of the theatre seats. You’re welcome, dear son.

Oh, but that’s not all.

I shuffled past a sticky floor and stray popcorn kernels to find 2 pairs of flip-flops, belonging to my 2 youngest sons.

“Ewwwww! Really, boys, no one takes off their shoes at a movie theatre. Gross.”

But my whining couldn’t change the past. I helped John David back into his shoes and walked him out, assuming Daniel was right behind me.

I have no idea what took Daniel so long, but I ended up waiting quite a while for him to collect his shoes and catch up with us out in the hallway. A very patient and tickled movie theatre worker stood there holding the door for our seemingly never-ending family.

As I stood there, several boys asked me for Icees, while John David jumped up and down in front of me saying over and over again, “Hey Mom! hey Mom! Mom! You said if I be good…Mom, you said if I beed good. If I beed good you said…”

Something about buying him candy…which I most certainly did not say, no matter how good he “beed”, I had not promised that.

As John David continued to jump and talk, Daniel finally made it to the doorway and the laughing movie theatre worker, where he proceeded to stop, kneel down in the floor with one flip-flop on and one flip-flop off, and wipe his shoe down with the bottom of his t-shirt. Because you see, while Daniel may not be too clean to take his shoes off, he will certainly not tolerate anything sticky touching his skin.

Somehow we managed to collect our little crew and walk to the car. They all brightened when I told them we were headed to the Circle K for the 79 CENT Icees that are exactly the same as the $6.75 movie ones.

Another life lesson well learned, as the kid who bought the expensive Icee sat in the backseat and clutched his stomach and moaned. Ah, but those are the lessons you learn the best, right?

Oh yeah and…

#6. Alan and I succeeded in getting Nonna as hooked on the Jeopardy app as we are.

You gotta download it. I’m telling you. Hours of educational fun await.

It was a delight to see everyone that we got to see!! Thank you all for taking time to hang with us!!

The post The Bama Vacation & One Hot Mess of a Movie Trip appeared first on Stories of Our Boys.

Here is a tiny peek into my own messy house:

My coffee table is covered in children’s books, a box of Legos, my Bibles, a box of crayons, a sippy cup, and ALL the little Lego men that I swept out from under the couch this morning.

There’s also a few preschool crafts and the remote control to the t.v.

Then there’s the center piece, all buried in there. It’s supposed to be an ornate pedestal bowl of THREE ornamental balls, but of course someone broke one…..when they were using it as a bowling ball, I believe.

Most of my house is as cluttered as that little table. I won’t even bother lying and saying it’s just because we’ve been busy lately.

Busy lately? Ha! It’s been pretty high tempo since about 2011.

We, like most American parents, live a little overwhelmed, stressed, sleepy, tired, and yes, we’re busy lately.

I rushed home from volunteering in the library this morning (BEST job ever– I love it so much I have trouble making myself leave it). As soon as I pulled in the driveway, the LOWE’s people were here with our new dryer.

Only I was being thrifty and purchased a dented dryer, so I have to send it right back because the drum is rubbing the dent in the side, making quite a loud racket. Problem not solved…

I unloaded the dishes and made myself lunch, but I needed some words of comfort.

Words of encouragement go a great distance when life is an uphill climb.

Kindness I read from a blogger a few years ago came back to me as I sat in my favorite chair, staring at that cluttered up coffee table.

She’s a mom of five boys, but she doesn’t blog anymore. Still what she said is with me though, and her words were so wise…

4Where no oxen are, the manger is clean, But much revenue comes by the strength of the ox.     

 Proverbs 14:4

Julie (the blogger) said that this verse reminded her of her life. Her house is full of oxen, and so her stable is never clean, but look at all the glorious benefits of having a house full of children, 5 boys in her case.

Yes, people without……oxen……have tidier spaces. People with more OCD may also be better at it.

People with the tidy mangers even occasionally say hurtful things to us.

In the past four years, several folks have (surely unintentionally) hurt my feelings about my house. They didn’t get it.

Normal, right? No, it gets worse than this. I do have enough pride to not show you those pictures

But what is that to us?

Our life is richer thanks to these oxen. There’s not a parent worth having who would not agree that their children are their greatest blessing.

Sometimes I’m actually embarrassed to tell people about all my children because it feels like bragging, which we try not to do!! This glorious blessing is not something any of us take lightly.

Empty stalls are for retirement. No thanks. I’d rather have my coffee table full of toys and my arms full of hugs. An empty nest will be something to embrace later, and I’m sure by then I will be ready for it.

For today, It’s better to have…..

coloring books in my dining room than empty place settings

Clean school shirts to fold on my couch than tidy rooms with no inhabitants

Video games in front of the t.v. than knick-knacks collecting dust

baseball hats on my hall tree than empty hooks serving no purpose

dried toothpaste in the boys’ sink than a guest bathroom that’s rarely used.

We can only clean so many areas at once, ya know? You do your best.

These little souls, made in the image of God, are put in our care for a season. It is our most precious duty. There is none like it, the charge to guard and bring up your children, both flesh and blood and adopted.

And yes, it’s a messy job, but what a privilege!! What a privilege to have a house cluttered with preschool art and marked with chubby handprints. Be still my heart.

Eventually we will all be older and in a newer, cleaner phase of life. We will think we are still so busy because it will be hard to remember all this that we are doing now.

Maybe we’ll even shout to the neighbor kids to keep off the grass. Oh, I hope that’s never me.

But for today, the manger is full, and from the strength of the oxen comes the abundance of the harvest, and I am thankful. I hope you are too.

SaveSave

The post Hey, Mom with the Messy House, It’s Okay. Be Thankful appeared first on Stories of Our Boys.

This week I happened upon a super cute post by Janine Huldie titled The 8 Best Things About Having All Girls.

I had to read it! I needed a sneak peek into what that world is like because, mamas, the view over here, in my house of many little men, is a whole lot different!

Janine wrote a great article. You should totally go read it.

Naturally, Janine’s list inspired me to type out my own best things about having all boys, a life I never dreamed of having. Never in a million years did I plan to be a mom of all boys. No, I was not a tom boy. No. I never played a sport, unless you count cheerleading or church league volleyball, or gymnastics…….okay so really it would be more accurate to say I was never into sports.

I don’t fish, touch worms, or laugh at bathroom jokes, and I love everything sparkly and glittery. My toy of choice was Barbie dolls, and I’ve never made a mud pie in my life.

I was never a wuss either. I grew up climbing trees and doing bicycle stunts, and by the way, I killed a snake once.

But oh man, this world of testosterone I’m living in now is a unique ADVENTURE. Here are the 15 BEST things I could think of about having all boys. 

#1. Their clothes are cheap, and you don’t have to buy that much.

It’s so easy. For setting my oldest 2 up for spring/summer, I bought them each a new pair of tennis shoes, gym shorts, a pair of camo shorts, sleeveless tees, one nice shirt a piece, and that was it. I was done. The others have handed down clothes.

#2. All boys want to be Batman.

Not even kidding. They have all gone through the Batman phase. They have all worn the costume. It’s universal, and it is the cutest thing ever.

#3. The Hair

Wet it. Comb it. Done. So easy. Very little room for drama.

#4. Going to the Bathroom Alone

Once they are fully toilet trained, and they have a big brother to escort them, you are done.  Will you ever see me in the bathroom with a little person sidekick? Nope. Am I the one who has to take them to wash their hands at restaurants? Nope. All Daddy. And when Daddy isn’t there, I send them in pairs, with my oldest son. I’m a free woman.

#5. Bug Squashers

They squash the bugs for me. Never have I had to hear someone flipping out because they ran across a bug. They live for getting to squash pests. I’ve seen them kill spiders with their bare hands.

#6. They don’t expect me to play with them much.

Does that sound mean? Don’t worry. I promise I do play with them sometimes, a little. I’ll play board games or occasionally jump on the trampoline, and I love to read to them. But no one asks me to spend a bunch of time at a tea-less tea party or dressing a Barbie doll. I’ll even color, but thankfully, no one expects me to play pretend, which is a relief! They know my interests are a little different than theirs, and they play basketball or super heroes without me.

#7. Boys love their mama.

“I’m riding with Mom!”

“No! I want Mommy do it!”

Mom. Mom. Mom. We are still at the golden age where it’s still all about mom.

#8. The hugs!

I’m sure girls are very affectionate too, but I just adore the way little boys are so physical. That means lots of wrestling with their dad, but lots of hugs for mom.

#9. The laid back atmosphere!

When you are dealing with a house full of dudes, the approach to social functions, free time, vacation, etc., etc. is seriously laid back. There’s not a person in the house that cannot get up and ready in just a few minutes, if necessary.

#10.Their toys are simple.

Hot Wheels. Action figures. Trains. Baseball cards. Skylanders. Done. No need for a billion tiny Shopkins pieces. No need for a $200 doll with a $40 dress.

#11. Hand-me-downs

I have 4 boys, but I actually only have to buy a full wardrobe for 1 of them, and then I get quadruple my money’s worth out of each item they don’t destroy.

#12. Body guards

I do feel extra safe already when I go walking with one of my already-over-5 feet tall and 100 pounds pre-teen boys. Just imagine how much more like a body-guard they will be in just a couple more years! We strut across those parking lots like we own the place.

#13. They’ve made me less prim and proper.

Yeah…. I can say “Everybody get their butts in the car” as loudly as I want because frankly, they love the word butt. It makes them soooo happy.

#14. I get to focus all of my fashion efforts on my OWN wardrobe.

Who has the cutest Lula Roe leggings outfits in this house? Yep. It’s me.  Who has pretty colored hair clips? Again, me. Until the boys get married, I get to be the prettiest girl in this house.

Last but not least…

#15. No crafting requirement

I don’t craft, nor do I ever have to craft again. A friend of mine, who is a girl mom, said that the girl moms make bows and do crafts at play dates. I don’t know if that’s true, but I was horrified at the idea of doing anything other than laughing loudly at playdates.

I hope you got a couple of good chuckles out of this list. Being a boy mom is a treasure. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. Whatever your situation is, it has to be THE BEST, because we only get one go at life. Might as well enjoy it.

Are you a boy mom or a both mom? Be sure to check out Janine’s list if you’re a girl mom! I enjoyed her insight.

The post The 15 Best Things About Having All Boys appeared first on Stories of Our Boys.

Remember how I said that Alan wasn’t going on any business trips in December?

Of course, I was wrong. This week turned out to be New Jersey week. You might think that a 14 year Army wife veteran such as myself would not sweat short business trips. I’ve been through more than one year-long deployment, several months-long assignments or deployments, and too many short trips to count.

You might even think that I should be so tough as to enjoy a little extra free time or nights off from cooking dinner, or some other crazy thing that might have held true 12 years ago before we had kids, but that is not the case at all at this point.

Women are always joking about the husband not being able to handle all the kids by themselves. Well, I don’t know, maybe it’s just me, but I am the mother, and I can’t even handle all this by myself.

Me when Alan is here:

Celiac-friendly melt-in-your-mouth biscuits. They were WONDERFUL!!!

“We are having roast and potatoes for dinner. Go wash your hands.”

Me when Alan is not here:
“What? Oh, you’re hungry? You need supper. Right. Supper…supper…supper…Hold on. I’m pretty sure there’s some frozen chicken fingers in here somewhere…AHA!!  Yes! Frozen chicken strips. There are only 5 in the bag, so one for each of us, and after that you can have cereal.”

When Alan is out of town, cereal is pretty much my answer to all of life’s problems.

School snack?

Cereal.

Breakfast?
Cereal.

Supper?

Well, we talked about that already. Frozen chicken and cereal.

I am obviously NOT going to be piling four boys up in the car and going out to eat or cooking mega meals or going to the grocery store.

Actually, my brain doesn’t even seem to work as well when Alan’s gone. It throws me off. It’s like I’m an earth with only a South Pole and no North.

Do you know what I missed this week?  I missed the way Alan takes care of us when it rains.

Alan is the person who always cleans the backyard before it rains.

If you don’t know what I mean, you must not let your children play in the backyard and just leave their stuff any old way out there, and you probably don’t have four boys. I feel like that’s my ultimate excuse for all of my failings in life. Four boys. Sorry.

So this week it rained for the first time in forever, and apparently our smallest fry had left his tennis shoes and socks out by the trampoline, unbeknownst to me.

Day 1:

“Where are his shoes, where are his shoes????” as I frantically search the house, the car, suitcases from last weekend, everything. I made him just ride in the car without shoes.

Day 2:

“I don’t understand where his shoes are!!!” I searched frantically through the house and the car again. Then I suddenly spotted them through my back door: out in the rain, the POURING rain. Rain day #2, in fact, along with not one, not two, but like four little white socks littered around the trampoline.

I actually had to take him somewhere, so I gave up and put a pair of shoes that’s a size too big for him that I was saving for him to grow into. I bought them for Daniel, but they were too skinny for Dan’s feet, which made them perfect for J.D.

This wasn’t a total loss because the new shoes actually fit him well, and he’s happy with them.

The downside: the old shoes are still laying outside by the trampoline, soaking wet, even now. Let me rush right out there in the cold and wet and get those…right…

Go ahead, shake your head. I know. This is my act, y’all. This is it.

I have no pride left.

Like none. Now whenever Alan lets me know that he’s leaving, I schedule a grandparent to come and stay with us to help out for at least one of the nights of his trip. This week it was my mom who came. I try to trade out between the grandmas so we don’t wear them out. Ha! (Thank you so much, Nana and Nonna!!!!)

There you have it, why I can never have an unbiased opinion about any national military event. I’m affected too directly. Not in a big hurry to get rid of Alan.

See, he’s not just any husband. The man is a machine. I spend most of my energy waiting on John David hand and foot, wiping his bottom, cheauffering kids, cleaning bathrooms, feeding them, and refereeing arguments.

Alan uses his energy to declutter. That man can pick up a full on tornado room in 5 minutes and make it look like Good Housekeeping. He also does laundry and washes pans. Oh! And he finds missing stuff!!

Plus, it’s just lonely, parenting alone, especially in a new place.

Alan gets home in 5 hours now. I only have to make it 5 more hours.

Only 1 hurdle left: I’m supposed to take the kids to Wednesday night church supper and AWANA by myself. I had to quit choir because every single trip crosses a Wednesday night, and there’s no way I’m coming home that late with 4 boys, all wound up from AWANA, to get ready for bed. Really the only reason I still even go to AWANA when Alan isn’t here is that I already skipped it so many times that Daniel is behind the other kids on his badges, and you know if Daniel is behind on something that it’s my fault, and it kills him to not have those badges on his vest. Sooooooo… we are all sucking it up and going tonight so Daniel can say his verse, get his badge, and then I promised them we can all go straight home.

Then I just have to get through bath and bedtime, and I don’t suppose I should let the little ones skip that yet again tonight….

I asked my doctor if I should try vitamins to see if that could help me have more energy to handle this gargantuan job, but my docs never take me seriously about this. They always say, “Well, but you have four boys……that’s why you’re tired.”

My doctor actually said that she thought vitamins would be bad for me since my blood work is good. I don’t know how to get more energy!

Stress, man! What an exhausting job! Do any of you dread your spouse leaving town as much as I do??? What tricks do you do to get through it?

I fantasize sometimes. Like this:

When Alan gets home from New Jersey,

–I am going to finish ALL my Christmas shopping–ALONE.

–I am going to take a bath, and lock the door.

–I am going to go for a hike, ALONE.

–I am going to check into a hotel, right down the street and SLEEP…..and watch t.v.—whatever I want to watch!!!!—and eat snacks in bed!!

–I just want Alan to take all 4 kids away for a weekend to anywhere, and I’m going to clean this house……oh who am I kidding, I’d end up writing and working on my blog anyway!

Merry Christmas, y’all!

The post When Alan gets home from New Jersey tonight appeared first on Stories of Our Boys.