The JOYS of BOYS

Since baby will be here any day now, I've been reminiscing about the other kids, particularly the boys, when they were born. The addition of boy #3 will bring many new elements to our family, but there's just something about boys that brings out a strange combination of exhaustion, laughter & love in a mommy! I've been observing my 2 boys the past few days, and also have been endlessly doing laundry. (yay for nesting!) I once read a parenting book in which the author talks about what she finds in the laundry & how it speaks of the things her children find important! Haha! Oh, I've found a few things lately... here are the top 3:

1. Army men.
I am pretty sure I find an army man at least once a week. They are either in a pocket from someone's jeans, or very frequently found in balled up socks (I just wash, I don't ask- lol).
To me, this is because boys like to fight! There's an uncontrollable urge in boys to turn everything into a weapon, to defend the helpless & by ALL means to never, EVER turn down an invitation to wrestle another boy! I was recently given this response by our 3 year old: "Mommy, I will be kind to my friends at church today! I am going to share! BUT if they wanna fight me, I'm gonna have to fight, ok?". Yeah, just what every mom wants to hear. :)

2. Small, round, hard objects
Hahaha... I know, this is rather general, but honestly, you have no idea how many pennies, rocks, beads, rings & balls I find in the washer or dryer! Boys find small items fascinating! They seem to notice things that no one takes time to notice! My boys are always the first to pick up on my earrings, my toenail polish, or a string hanging off the back of my shirt. They love details. These 2 can see beauty in the marbleized design on a super bouncy ball! Honestly, it's a pretty awesome trait!

3. PAPER!
aaah! This even gets attributed to daddy. I ALWAYS find papers in the dryer, when it's usually too late to save them! Normally this is my husbands work schedule that HE KNOWS he brought home for me. Other times its a business card that one of the boys confiscated on our way out the door of a doctors office. But, occasionally I find one that is readable. A grocery list I made before daddy rescued me & took both boys to the store last week. A piece of scrap paper they "wrote their name on". My favorite? The folded of paper where my oldest had drawn a picture of himself (w a super "s" on his chest, of course) next to a very tall (& beautiful, I might add) woman in a CAPE! Above this dynamic duo, were the words, "mommy is the best!". He might have received a little extra cuddle time that night! :)

Boys have a special place in their hearts for mommy. It's a place that no one will ever fill! So, even though I probably won't find things in boy #3's laundry for a while, I will already have that special place... no matter what... & I am totally looking forward to washing those tiny blue socks!