Beyond Bringing Up Boys

Samuel loves to wear pj's...at home. So when I got the note that the first graders were having a pajama party at their Christmas party, I thought,no way. He will not want to wear pj's to school--he's so modest. But I was wrong. He wanted to particpate and so he wore them with slippers to school today. Teachers are definitely underpaid but first grade teachers must be underpaid and insane--to choose making gingerbread houses for the craft today! The boys had frosting up to their elbows so it was great to have a sink in the classroom! Girls are MUCH neater, I discovered.

I love lists. I have a list right now for things to do before we leave for PA. I often have a list of things to accomplish in a day. When I was pregnant with my sons, I longed for a checklist for God. Audacious, I was. But it would have been titled, “Things I Don’t Want Passed Down to My Son.” I don’t like my nose but that wouldn’t have been on the list. I always wished my hair was thick like my sister’s, but hair wouldn’t have been on the list either. Scoliosis would have been at the top of that list. It has caused me a lot of frustration over the years. The doctors attempted to brace my back with a rigid plastic brace but I was non-compliant. Being compliant meant being excused permanently from recess and PE. But most of all, in those elementary years, being compliant equaled being teased by other students. And kids are so cruel. My non-compliance (although I didn’t realize it at age 10) was my ticket to a spinal fusion at age 15 and body cast for 6 weeks after that. And anoth

I have an obsession with floors! I think it is because I am closer to the ground than most folks. But whatever the cause, I was always searching for the perfect floor cleaner. Grandma gave me some cleaner concentrate that she had bought from a door-to-door salesman. It was good stuff. So good, in fact, that I thought more would be better. The floor was shiny indeed. But the moment I stepped on it, my feet stuck like glue! What a mess! It took me forever to get that stuff off! Then there was the time that I used an industrial wax on the floor in a basement apartment that we lived in while my husband was in graduate school. Oh, did it shine! But when my brother-in-law and my husband got the dog to run in circles round and round on it, he left claw marks everywhere. (I shouldn’t mention how mad I was about that!) Finally, I found what works for me!! I have been using this product for at least 4 years. Rejuvenate claims to “instantly bring back life to almost any flooring to ma

I told you my boys have selective senses . This was proved again yesterday. I was admiring our tree with its radiant lights shining beneath yards (and yards) of beautiful shimmering ribbon. Samuel was sitting nearby and I asked (innocently), “Isn’t this SO beautiful?” He over smiled and just nodded. And then I KNEW. I said, “Samuel, what do you really think?” He wrinkled his nose and said, “Weird. It’s just weird.” If you enjoy looking at decorations from other homes, I've found a ton at BooMama's .