Still living in the land of boys

“I’m good at playing soccer ball Mama!” Ethan shouts out as he kicks the ball around the house. The soccer game quickly turns into a show of pretend skateboard tricks done on a strip of cardboard. “Wanna get on my board, Austin?” Austin and Ethan then take turns skating through the hallway. That is, until they decide that being lions and roaring at each other is even more fun than a pretend board with no wheels. All of these activities are crammed into the space of about five minutes…just imagine all the things you can do in a whole day!
I am living in the land of boys. Here all comments are proclaimed, yelled, screamed, shouted, growled, hollered or whooped. No matter what is said…the volume is on extra-loud. We are obsessed with cars, dogs, planes & dinosaurs (Ethan’s favorite three are Pterodactyl, Tyrannosaurs Rex, and Polka-dot head…whatever that last one is.) Here all jokes begin with the word “poo” and with Austin, poo has been the medium of choice for wall-art. Here our favorite game is tackle mom…where the kids line up at the end of the bathroom and take a running start to tackle me in the bedroom.
Secretly this is my favorite game as well, but you can’t blame me. I have always lived in the land of boys. Growing up in the middle of 5 brothers doesn’t leave a lot of room for girly things. Playing with dolls or pretending to be a princess was met with a chorus of taunts and laughter. So instead I rode my bike, made mud pies and had perpetually knotty hair (usually tacky with tree sap.) I was always more comfortable in the messy world of dragons and wicked sorcerers than any tidy dream of romance with a prince charming.
So now, I find myself, once more surround by boys. My boys will happily eat food with their mouth to the plate while holding a perfectly useful fork in their hands. (I caught Robert doing this a few times and understood where they picked up that trait.) They have managed to cut everything from bedspreads and bill to ties and toys. They play in the sawdust and laugh when they pass gas. They are dirty and always manage to find the most disgusting way of doing things. And you know I love it.

Since Laina stubbornly supports pink and yellow and has declared herself to be the “big boss of everyone,” I’m betting she’s going to turn out just fine.