A House Full of Boys, Part 2

by Fatherofeight | More from this Blogger

23 Dec 2006 10:41 AM

I recently wrote about the traits of little boys and what a household full of them would look like. People have commented favorably about the article but almost everyone pointed out something that had been left off the list. I am going to try to remember all of the suggestions.

Boys really like puddles, especially if they are dressed up for church or school. A young male is simply unable to walk around a puddle. There is so much joy in seeing the splashes and feeling your shoes get wet. Will Moms never learn that rainy days and new clothes do not go together?

Our property is surrounded by creeks. My wife bought five pairs of rubber boots for them to walk around in the water. Of course, they came back with their boots still on, but full of water. Boots do not help little guys when they are wet all the way up to their shoulders.

Boys love guns. I always enjoy parents who think that they can raise their boys in a gun-free atmosphere. They know by the time they are three how to bite off the corner of a piece of bread in order to convert it to a pistol.

I covered toilet etiquette in the last article by merely mentioning toilet seats. Boys do not believe in ever flushing the toilet or closing the door to the bathroom. A bathroom that is used solely by little boys should be power washed once a week. There is no air freshener product that will help.

Boys love to climb trees. Some girls do also; my wife once broke her arm from a fall out of a tree. Recently, two of my boys were stuck at the same time in the same tree.

Boys love to race. They are always ready for a contest. Recently, I made the mistake of letting two of them push the little miniature carts that our grocery store provides. I looked the other way and a race began. The oldest ran into a floor display of cereal boxes. I guess it took someone a while to stack it back up.

Recently, all our boys were blowing bubbles in the backyard. Nancy looked away for a minute or so. When she came back, the three year old was drinking the bubble juice. Of course, he denied that he was doing it. He had trouble making her believe him because bubbles came out of his mouth as he spoke.

In order to raise a bunch of boys, you need to have patience and a sense of humor. There are a lot of little boys (and girls) needing parents.

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rsbg (501) 24 Dec 2006 10:58 PM

I love love love it! I am going to get me a power washer after Christmas specifically for the bathroom! haha I love your articles! Keep up the good work!

Fatherofeight (2475) 25 Dec 2006 07:27 AM

rsbg, apparently we think the same way, glad you enjoyed it and thanks for reading my articles.

Linda Hansen (1796) 26 Dec 2006 06:13 AM

Ed, our bathroom must be powerwashed once a week too. We have looked for toilets that are the size of a small swimming pool, hoping that would improve their aim, but to no avail. Artcraft

Fatherofeight (2475) 26 Dec 2006 07:51 AM

They wouldn't hit the pool, Art.

PATTI (580) 27 Dec 2006 12:09 PM

Dear Ed, Always keep your sense of humor. This,too, is a good article. Keep 'em coming. PATTI

Fatherofeight (2475) 28 Dec 2006 08:24 PM

Nancy and I took the boys to the YMCA today. There was a big muddy puddle near the entrance. Jacob kept eyeing it and Nancy took his hand and walked him around it. When we left, Nancy was still in the building and Jacob ran to that puddle and ran through the middle of it. He then looked at his shoes with this Oh My look, like he didn't know what would happen. We all know better.

Willow (40) 28 Dec 2006 09:59 PM

We have a seventeen month old tank of a boy and a newborn spina bifida baby boy and it saddens me to think that our littlest boy might not be able to jump in puddles or chase the pets or climb trees but he will be able to do all the other boy things like paint the high chair with dinner, paint the wall with his nappy contents, use bubble gum for shampoo, laugh at the dog doing number twos, etc. We have older girls as well and I must say they too have done their share of mess on the walls or puddle jumping. It is a priveledge to raise our daughters and now our foster children in a world where they can be safe to run in the fields under supervision and not afraid to leave their homes because of wars and bombs. We truly live in the lucky country of Australia but children are children everywhere and puddle jumping barefoot is the only way to go.

Fatherofeight (2475) 31 Dec 2006 12:05 PM

Willow, it is so good to hear from our friends down under. I don't mind the barefoot puddle jumping, what bugs me is when they do it on the way to church in their best shoes.

PATTI (580) 15 Jan 2007 11:46 AM

Dear Ed, I say let them puddle jump, the bigger the puddle the better. I do understand that jumping in his best shoes isn't a good idea. Jacob jump high and far! PATTI