Why Home Improvement Projects are Pointless While Raising Boys

Is there any better way to waste a perfectly precious rainy day than to patch the walls of the stairway and hall that your sweet angel-baby sons use on a daily basis? 
No. 
There is not. 
You guys, there should be special wall substances for parents with boys because I am here to tell you, dry wall does not cut it. 
Nope. Not a bit. 
Drywall has an amazing capacity for dings and dents, it scrapes and nicks, and then of course there is also the chipped paint. 

We have lived in this house for approximately 8 1/2 years.
In that amount of time my 3 boys (and their cousins and friends and quite possibly there father...) have managed to make approximately 78,005 dents and holes in the drywall of what we will now refer to as the Spackle grave yard. 
I am dead serious.
It's that bad.

The good news is, there are many dents and holes with a precious memory attached to it. 
Like the time the boys were practicing there Ninja Warrior wall climbing skills and one of them slipped and left a dent in the wall with their head. Or the fact that a loving grandparent gifted one of the boys with a dart board for their birthday and even though they are plastic tipped darts, and even thought the dart board was placed in front of a mammoth sized bulletin board, there are now no less than 7,293 small holes in the walls around said dart board (there could be a reason we never replaced those darts as they 'mysteriously' disappeared). 
I am patching holes and dents that have no explanation whatsoever. 
How, pray tell, do you get a perfectly circular dent in the wall the size of a $0.50 cent piece 2 inches off the floor in a corner? 
And what exactly is happening in this hall and stairs (besides Ninja Warrior training) that could possibly create all of these holes and dents? 

I have a few ideas.... 
Match box car races, sliding down the stairs on a plastic mattress into a pile of pillows,  sword fights (sometimes with real swords), running, throwing all manner of objects (let's be honest, there are almost continuous projectiles flying through this hallway), wrestling, and all manner of childhood mayhem. 
Also, when you are a home schooling family, and you buy your child a mini catapult and a mini ballista because you are learning about medievil times in history, it may just have an adverse effect on the walls of your home. Maybe. 
Did I tell you there is no drywall mud left on any of the outside corners? We are down to that pretty metal strip on every one. 
Every. One.

I know, I know, it's just boys being boys, having fun and making memories. They don't mean it. They are not trying to tear the house down around you as you sit on the couch trying to sneak in another cup of chai tea and read that book that's been collecting dust for weeks now. 
It isn't their fault that their mother is her own special kind of crazy and thought that it was time to repaint the white walls that haven't been painted since before her family moved into this home. 
Although, can the walls really be considered white anymore? Since the hand rails were torn from the wall because of boys hanging on for dear life as they run around the corner, the walls are actually a streaked and muddy brownish grey, but only from about 3 ft high and down. 
It's my own special kind of wainscoting. 
I call it Fingerprints and Boogers. 
I think instead of repainting we will just cover the walls in corrugated steel. The rustic farmhouse look is 'in' now. We live in the country, near a farm. So it could be a good look for us. 
Do I hear someone say ship-lap?
Or for a cheaper option, we could re-purpose some of that old wood paneling they like to put in trailer houses. 
That stuff is virtually indestructible. 
There has to be a creative and durable solution. 
Because parents, I just spent the last hour sweating in the 80 degree humidity of our upstairs hallway, patching 78,005 dents and holes in the walls, 
and there is a light bulb burned out in the hallway fixture..... 

How many more dents will there be when I get around to changing that bulb? 
Glory, maybe we will just leave it burnt out and go with 'mood lighting'. We can just wait to repaint when the boys move out. 

At The Doctor

The other day Wyat and I had to spend some time at the Dr's office. 

Let me tell you, Dr visits are so much easier now that the kids aren't toddlers. I mean really, is there any place you can think of where it is harder to keep an inquisitive toddler entertained for those slowly moving minutes?

Kids are definitely easier, as long as you bring along technological devices. If you don't there is still a lot of touching of inappropriate things and asking of awkward questions.

Wyat, "Mommy, what are these for?" 

Me, "Peoples legs."

Wyat, "Why would your legs need to go in these?"

Me, "Just because they do sometimes. We'll talk about it later."

Although I have no intention of bringing up that line of questioning again. I already have had to field the "Mom, what made them get a baby in their tummy?" questions. I am sometimes astounded and amazed at the simple answers this kid who has a thousand questions will actually accept. 

One thing you can do if you have to wait in the Dr's office for cultures and blood tests, is take pictures on your phone. 

So we did. 

It resulted in these fabulous close-ups of our eye balls.

Exhibit A: Wyat

Exhibit B: Me

Don't we look exactly the same?

Ha! 

DNA is seriously cool. 

We may not have the same color eyes, but there are a few things we share. 

We are both the last born child.

Because of that, we share a few personality traits. 

(If you've never studied birth order, you should. It's very interesting. Here's a link to a good book : http://www.christianbook.com/the-birth-order-book-updated-edition/kevin-leman/9780800734060/pd/734061?event=ESRCG)

We both bruise easily.

We both love soft blankies and chocolate.

So, regardless of the glaring difference of our eye color, we are alike. Mother and son.

Nothing like an extended Dr apt to make you feel all warm and fuzzy about your baby.

Ideally, I would like my good qualities to be what my children inherit from me. That means I have to model those good behaviors way more than I model the bad ones. That old phrase, 'do as I say, not as I do', really doesn't work. 

Just reason #28,765 why it's challenging to be a parent. 

Incidentally, my baby is fine. It turns out he had mononucleosis and we didn't know it. So, FYI: if your kid has a day with a little fever, and complains of a sore throat for over a week, and complains of bellyaches off and on for over a week, he might have mono. 

Having mono doesn't mean that your child will be laid up in bed for a week or more. My child was acting normal, playing normal, and eating mostly normal. He just kept complaining off and on of these aches. Early on, we took him in for a strep throat culture that came back negative. By the time we took him in for blood work, he was mostly over it. 

                                        Lesson learned. 

The Long, Long, Long Winter...

Let's face it, this winter has been cold and long. 

Long and cold.

Did I say cold?

Living in the frozen north woods of Wisconsin, cold can't keep us locked up inside. If it did, we wouldn't ever get to leave our houses.

So on the not quite so cold days, we bundle up and head outside.  One of our favorite winter activities is sledding.  We are fortunate enough to have a fun sized hill in our own backyard.

I like to try and get some action shots of the boys having fun out there.   Here is my favorite sequence from the day.  I like to call it, 

A story in pictures:

Ha! Ha! The boys had a lot of fun tumbling sledding down the hill.

Winter doesn't prevent little boys from climbing trees either:

Or falling out of them:

And of course dogs still do their doggy things.  

They remain mostly unfazed by the temperature change. Although I have noticed that they come in really fast form their potty break when the temps drop below zero/

I hope that if you live where it gets cold, you are finding ways to get outside and have some fun.  It can be easy to let the cold, dreary days get the best of you.  But is is important to look for the beauty that surrounds you and find things to be thankful for.

Book Review: Raising Boys By Design

Raising Boys By Design
What the Bible and brain science reveal about what your son needs to thrive
by: Gregory L. Jantz, PhD
and Michael Gurian

As a stay at home, home schooling mother of boys, I need all the help I can get raising the little blessings that God has blessed me with. 

Being a woman, trying to raise Godly young men has it's own set of challenges.  I don't 'get' boys.  
Fortunately, H.H. is a great dad and parenting partner.
He does 'get' boys, obviously, and helps me out as much as he can.
I have read a few books over the years to help me understand H.H., and many of those principles apply to my boys.  
However, in my role of home schooling mom, I often feel like I have been beating my head against a brick wall so to speak in a few areas. Ladies, I am surrounded by boys 
all
the
time.
I love my sons and desperately want to do better by them than just keeping them alive until the day they move out.  Although some days, that seems like a very worthy and high achieving accomplishment.
 Can I get an 'Amen'?
So, when the opportunity came to get a free book about the very topic that my life is immersed in, I jumped at the chance to read it.  
Thank you very much Blogging for Books and Waterbrook, Multnomah Publishing. 
I absolutely love the cover art for this book. It is definitely a scene that has been witnessed in my house.  It also captures the joy and unbridled freedom and lack of inhibitions in the heart of a boy.
The title of this book also immediately appealed to me. Knowing that good things rarely happen by chance, but develop more out of intentional actions, I am interested in any tool available that will help me build good Christian character in my sons. Although the Bible is the best source for this guidance, I also look to professionals who have studied far more than I have, to provide some additional guidance. Initially, I was actually slightly put off by the psychological and scientific information that this book is based on. I have not previously heard of either of these authors, and as a Christian I am very leery of both of these professions. However, as I read the book, I was reassured over and over that these two authors genuinely seek to build up Godly young  men based on Biblical principles, not worldly mandates. Often times the authors made sure to stress that the science behind the way boys tick, lines up with Biblical truths. They even took a firm perspective against some popular secular psychological and scientific beliefs that contradict Biblical ideals.
I really appreciate the topics that the authors highlight in the book. They covered topics such as differences between boys vs. girls, the importance and difference in maternal and paternal influence, building a HERO, character and self-discipline, emotional health, sexuality, school, technology, Christian manhood, and rites of passage. Thoughtful questions and prompts towards action accompany each chapter.
I can see that this book highlights some of the most important aspects of developing an emotionally healthy, strong, young Christian man. As a stay at home mom who has the most hours of influence raising my boys, it gives me some guidelines on how I can intentionally influence my sons toward these good goals.
Although the text is a little on the dry side, I think it stems from the authors wanting to impart as much knowledge and fact as possible into the pages.  It is not a hard read, and it is packed with information and clearly written. It is my opinion that the information within the book is valuable and worth the time spent reading it.
In this current day and age where men and boys are often belittled, dumbed down by the media, or only admired for any feminine attributes they may display, it is great to have a book that is helping parents to challenge their boys to become Godly young men.  Strong, courageous, gentle and kind.
Men who can be leaders and champions. 
I am looking forward to using some of the tools in this book to help my sons become the hero's that God designed them to be. 
I can see this book being a part of my resource shelf for a very long time.


Did you like this review? Could you do me a favor and follow this link to rate my review? Thanks!

Mooches of Pooches

Some of you may not know that our family has expanded! 
That's right, we have adopted.

A dog.
Ha, ha, I fooled you!

This is Jinx.

She is a Yellow Lab with a huge floppy tongue and a massive appetite for fresh baked goods. 

No, really.

She has eaten to date: 16 banana muffins, 1 1/4 loaves of zucchini bread and a grilled PB & J sandwich. 

Other than that, she is sweet, playful, fairly intelligent and trainable. She also seems pretty loyal, and most of all, she likes me. 

She was found at camp hunkered down underneath a truck, looking exhausted.

One of the families at camp coaxed her out from under that ol' truck and gave her some fresh water and food. She bounced back to her enthusiastic self.

Without a collar or a micro chip, her original owner couldn't be found.

We decided to take her in.

We thought Annie might like a friend.

Well, turns out, Annie could care less.

At least most of the time.

I mean, another dog just means less attention and less treats for her, right?

Plus, she's an old dog.

A little stuck in her ways.

Not used to sharing all her boys.

Or her bed.

Besides, Jinx is one of those annoying dogs that likes to play and retrieve balls.

Annie doesn't have time for that.

In the long run though, I think the girls will get along just fine.

And maybe some of Annie's good behavior will rub off on Jinx. 

So that baked goods are once again safe being left out on the counter.

But that kind of discipline may take Jinx awhile to master.

Until then, we will enjoy having two dogs that are sweet and loving companions for our rowdy boys. One that cuddles and one that plays. 

But two that love being loved on.

It's a perfect relationship.

Got Mah Hair Done!

I've got boys. 

3 of them to be exact. 

And no daughters, just to be clear. 

But that doesn't mean it's all dirt and armpit farts around here. Although it is like that around here a lot. 

Sometimes my boys like to show me their soft side and they like to do my hair.

Exhibit A:

Now as their Mommy, I absolutely LOVE when they decide to do this.  Even though it means the loss of some extra hairs for me. I just think it is so sweet.  Plus, I figure it's good training for when they are married one day.  Almost every girl I know likes to have her hair brushed by someone else.

What I think is hilarious is that they have absolutely no idea how to make a pony tail (I had to help with these).  Usually in their attempt to make a pony tail, they end up making a knot. Out of my hair. And lets not even talk about braids. This is not a skill boys are born with people.  I'm not sure when little girls learn this stuff, seeing as I don't have any of my own to watch.  But it is cute how my boys try and make me look 'beautiful'. 

 And just so you know, I dutifully wore my hair like this for at least an hour so their Daddy could see it when he got home. Even though my boys and I have different ideas on what beautiful hair looks like. 

Plus, it absolutely melts my heart when they look at me and say "You look pretty Mommy". Especially when I'm still in my yoga pants and wearing yesterdays makeup.  I don't care one whit then that we have different opinions of whats 'beautiful'! 

I love my precious sons. 

Oh and by the way, I made this headband out of a t-shirt sleeve and some felt.  What do you think?  I usually wear it a little differently, but it is a great way to re-purpose the sleeves of old t-shirts.  Especially if you used the bodies already to make a t-shirt scarf! It's a win/win. I bet you could even make the flowers out of t-shirt material.  Oh man, stop me now! I'm getting giddy with the thought!

Enjoy your life,

Jana

Lego Bombs

Lego Bomb: a small piece of plastic that is sharpened to a point, usually by small blunt teeth, left inconspicuously on the floor in a common walk way, waiting for an adult to step on it.  

Results in immediate loss of limb use, excruciating pain, and causes voices to reach octaves not hit since puberty. 

I'm sure I'm not the only person that has suspected but never had proof, that our kids leave Lego bombs on the floor with the express intention of causing their loving parents pain.

I now have proof.

Exhibit A:

3 Lego men with their pointy little hands sticking up in the air, placed strategically in front of the basement stairs, waiting patiently for their first unsuspecting victim.

Exhibit B: 

My hidden camera caught an unidentified child filing those plastic hands into super pointy spears of death.

The child who shall not be named will pay for this dastardly deed.  But now I have it:  

Proof that Lego's really are left on the floor for the express purpose of crippling poor unsuspecting parents.  

Who invented these things anyway? 

Fortunately, I was able to avoid a most certain intense and crippling pain in my foot because I saw these guys laying here.  

The children's plan was foiled. 

This time.

But it has happened to me before.  It has happened to all of us before. The worst happens to be when the Lego blends in with the carpet.  You have no chance against that horrible pointy piece of plastic that somehow manages to find the most sensitive spot on the bottom of your foot. Then what happens when you step on it is that instead of taking a full step like you had planned, the sudden searing pain combined with your body's inertia, forces you to crumble to the ground in a floppy garbled mess, shrieking like a banshee or a stuck pig. 

Meanwhile your children try very hard to suppress their grins and laughter at the greatest victory they can achieve when it comes to inflicting pain on their parents.  

I'd consider fighting back, Lego with Lego, but for some reason children seem to be immune to the horrendous, biting, fierce, sharp, intense, horrible, crippling pain that is caused by stepping on a Lego.

I bet they were invented by a kid. 

And to think, I have actually paid money to bring those things into my home. 

No worries, I've got my own ammunition.

I guess they'll be having liver and onions with a sauerkraut and a squash side dish for dinner next time we get a babysitter. 

Hee, hee, hee.

Even Ninja's Need a Nap Sometimes

My two youngest warriors have been pretending to be Ninja's lately.  They dress-up in the hand-me-down karate uniforms they have. They have also been checking out every LEGO Ninjago book that the library has. (By dress-up I mean wear for 3 consecutive days in a row and to bed, until I pry it off their body to wash where they promptly retrieve it from the dryer and put it on again).

There has been a lot of wrestling, leaping, and kicking around here.

However, the other day one of my little Ninja's was extremely grumpy.

Let me just tell you, grumpy Ninja's are no fun.

 

 

I was running out of patience with my little guy, so I did what most sane mothers will do in an effort to keep their sanity, and keep their child alive to see his next birthday.

So, I sent him to bed. 

Come on, sometimes a mom's got to do what a mom's got to do.

After a bit, I noticed it was pretty quiet in the direction of his bedroom, so I went to go check on him. 

I found him all snuggled up with his blankie and animals, fast asleep. Let's face it Momma's, when you see your fearsome Ninja all snuggled up with his special buddies, it melts all your previous frustrations away.  

It's called the power of the power of the warm fuzzy.

I also realized, I haven't seen my little boy sleeping in the daylight in a long time.  Nap time is a thing of the past here in this house. 

-Pause for a moment of silence-

Yeah, anyway when my little Ninja woke up, his mood was considerably improved.  

He of course claimed that he hadn't really fallen asleep. 

Whatever

 

The truth is, we could all benefit from a little nap (i.e. alone time), once in awhile.  However, like my son, we can't always make that call on our own.  Sometimes it's because we can't see our attitude the same way others can see it.  Sometimes it's because we think we're gonna miss something important.  And sometimes it's because we think we would be neglecting our responsibilities.  However, by removing ourselves from our normal routine for a short time, we can come back renewed, refreshed, and with a better attitude. 

Now that's something this Ninja Momma can benefit from.   

I realized recently that I was behaving a lot like my boy.  Grumpy, a bad listener, quick to lose my temper, and just generally not happy.

The fact is, I needed to be put on a time-out.

  So this week, we've been taking a break from our normal routine because Momma needs an attitude adjustment. Through my quiet time with the Lord each morning, I realized, I was setting the poor tone that was pervading my home.  Part of the reason my boys were frustrating me so much, is because I was so easily frustrated. 

So, I've been praying about my attitude, evaluating whether I really do need a night off, and trying to do a better job of  doing what's right when it comes to taking care of my family. 

Guess what?  Today, my little Ninja's played together better than they have in a long time.  Seems like when Momma has her attitude in check, everyone else is happier too. 

I'm glad that God showed me the truth about my attitude.  I'm glad that He is willing to help me change it.  I'm also glad that he loves my babies even more than I do and no matter what, He will help me be the exact Momma they need.

As long as I'm willing to take a time-out every once in awhile and listen to Him.

Christmas Goodies

Here's a question I'd like to hear a few more people's opinions on:
What's your take on all the sweets and treats made throughout the holidays?
Are you crazy for them or do they make you crazy?

They make me crazy.  The holidays already feel so full and rushed.  I like to bake, but everywhere you go, there are cookies!
How are you supposed to keep from gaining 10 pounds in the month of December when there is chocolate and sugar everywhere! 

I'm fairly certain that if I didn't have children, I wouldn't make any treats for the holidays. Why go through all that work when you know you'll end up with a pile of goodies you didn't have to make by the end of the season?
I do it for the boys you know, all the nostalgic memories they will have when they are grown and think on Christmas' past?
I know the holidays are about traditions and stuff.  Making cookies is a part of that.  I even made it so our Advent calendar instructed us that we had to do it.  That way I wouldn't be allowed to skip out on the treat baking.

  So we did our cookie baking.
And this year, I even let the boys help.
(I know, Awesome Mom points for me)
Then I even let them eat some!
(That helps me score major Awesome Mom points)

This is how the pretzels look when I dip them . . .

We only made 2 kinds this year.
We have some other favorites, but I only wanted to invest the time, energy and resources into two.
So we chose dipped pretzels (one of my favorites, and more addicting than crack-cocaine. At least I think so. I wouldn't know from experience)

These are a sticky, gooey, mess with kids, but very simple with little to no instruction needed. I like the white almond bark the best, but the boys like the milk chocolate.
All you have to do is melt the chocolate in the microwave and let the kids dip away.  I did cover my cookie sheets in wax paper to make my life easier though. Incredibly, I'm getting a little smarter, the older I get. :)

This is what happens when the boys get to put on the sprinkles!

Oh, don't forget the sprinkles. They add festivity.  Plus it's the boys favorite part. This part does have to be strictly monitored however.  Otherwise you get a pretzel that is so completely coated in sprinkles, you aren't even convinced there is a pretzel underneath.

Our second treat was ginger bread cutout cookies.  The boys love to do cut outs, and Hunky Hubby loves ginger bread.  I however, do not.  Consequently I am not tempted to eat these cookies, thereby saving me from ingesting extra calories. 
Or it just saves some room for more pretzels. 
If only I wasn't so weak.
I do like to decorate the cookies and the boys do too.  This year they all managed to hang in long enough to decorate at least 3.7 cookies each.  Leaving the other 49 cookies for H.H. and I to do.
Surprisingly to you, because you don't know him as well as I do, H.H. is a pretty darn good cookie decorator.  He displays creativity and 'outside the box' ideas. As fun as it is, I'm really happy when they are all done.
We used a new recipe for the cookies that I found on the internet. H.H. said they tasted really good and weren't as hard as last years.  (he just doesn't realize how hard it is to perfectly bake an already brown cookie!) I'm not a fan of the frosting we used though and we won't be making that kind again.  I like to pipe on the frosting because it's neater and prettier. The frosting kept getting runnier and runnier as we used it! Our warm hands were melting the butter it was made out of I guess.
Fortunately it still tasted good. 
Or so I've been told.

As I suspected, two kinds of cookies were more than enough.  Somehow, there is a phenomenon with Christmas goodies.  They seem to multiply magically overnight.  For some reason, you just never run out.  I thought we only had  a large plate and a large ziploc full of treats, but I looked at my counter top the other day and there were 3 plates of cookies, one huge tupperware full of Cap'n Crunch candy, one bag of cookies and a box of chocolates. 
Plus, I bought peanut M & M's on clearance the other day.  
I just couldn't help myself.
We'll be eating gingerbread men well into the new year.
But, the pretzels are all gone.
Hey don't look at me!
I didn't eat them all!