Boys, boys, boys....

I happened to catch Jay Leno last night and saw his videos on-line segment, and how these videos are usually of cute little children or of stupid things older children do. My Dearest and I looked at each other and waited to see just how cute and/or stupid these videos would be.

There was a video of two boys who gave a third boy, who was a willing participant! a wedgie by hanging the back of his boxers from a 6' ladder and laughed as he screamed and swung from the ladder.

Another video featured a boy who stood on a step-stool or chair and fell onto a cacti garden, after which he started screaming for help getting up out of the cacti on which he had landed.

The last video had a young boy, perhaps four or five, sitting on a chair cuddling with his younger brother, who was perhaps two. The younger brother bit his brother's finger and then the older boy put his finger back in his younger brother's mouth! The younger brother bit down harder and harder, then laughed as his brother screamed.

Yup, these were pretty stupid. The thing I noticed right away was that these videos were all of boys doing these crazy things! Now, as a mother of two boys, about 18 months apart, this scares me and has me on my knees praying for their safety almost every moment. And then it got better. My Dearest started telling me stories.

My Dearest works with a guy.... let's call him Chip. Chip has a twin brother, I'll call him Dale (get it? Chip 'n Dale?). When they were young, they were in a dry field near their house, that they were not supposed to be in, launching rockets. As they watched the rocket sail through the air, they heard crackling behind them. A small patch of the field had caught on fire! Chip 'n Dale took their shirts off and started beating at the fire. Chip ran home and got a blanket to try to beat the fire out. A neighbor ran over with a garden hose to wet down the field so that the fire wouldn't spread so much. Chip ran back home to tell his mom about the fire and she brushed him off, preoccupied with her phone call. Then, he heard the fire engine sirens and a neighbor girl said to him in a sing-songy voice, "You're in truh-bull!!"

The next year, Chip 'n Dale were experimenting with short-wave radio and thought that if they raised the antenna, they could get better reception. They had a radio antenna that they raised on a weather balloon up into the sky. Do you recall anyone famous in a story about metal, a balloon and perhaps lightning? Yup, Dale was hit by lightning and rushed to the hospital. He was fine, but had to have some surgery. One of the paramedics saw Chip and said, "Hey, aren't you the ones who set the field on fire last year?"

When my Dearest tells Chip about things our boys are doing, Chip says it reminds him of him and his brother growing up. Of course, if the boys were as mischievous and curious as Chip 'n Dale were, our boys should have set at least one fire, by now... that we know of. Thankfully, that hasn't happened.

As I was thinking about how difficult it is to raise boys, I received an email about the differences between boys and girls, plus a link to a CNN article, Is it Harder to Raise Boys or Girls?

Happy Father's Day!

The Patriarch

More noble than the valiant deeds of shining knights of yore,
More powerful than earthly plights that make the rich man poor,
More kingly than a royal throne or a lion with his pride,
Is he whose babes sleep well at night sure Daddy will provide.

There is a spirit in this land and Jezebel's her name.
She's calling you to leave your home for power, fun, and fame.
She wants your wife, your children too — she'll never compromise,
Until your house is torn in two by listening to her lies.

But though a hundred thousand million men may fall prey to her lures,
And wives en masse leave home in search of "more fulfilling" chores,
Though preachers praise, and friends embrace, her pagan plan of death,
Stand strong and quit you like a man with every blessed breath.

Stand strong and rise, O man of God, to meet this noble call,
The battle is not new you see, it's been here since the Fall.

Your wife is your helpmeet, my friend, and not another man's,
So care for her and keep her far from Mistress Jezi's plans.
Protect, provide, and give to her your undivided life,
This is the dear one of your youth, your precious bride, your wife.

And rally to those tiny ones who trust you for their care —
A lifetime spent discipling them's a lifetime pure and rare.
For when they put their hand in yours and know a Daddy's love,
You're showing them a picture of the Father from above.

Look not toward worldly goal or gain, or for your liberty,
Look only into their sweet eyes to find your ministry.
Devote your heart and sacrifice and make your manly mark —
There is none so great as he who finds his call as patriarch.

—Douglas W. Phillips

Movement

According to Inch-AWeigh.com, four out of five American women say they're dissatisfied with the way they look and on any given day, almost half of the women in the United States are on a diet.

I wouldn't say that I'm on a diet, per se, but I'm definitely not happy about the way I look. I started to blog about "Movement" and sort of tracking what I was doing, but quite frankly, I wasn't doing much! Then, after my sister's baby shower, I saw what I looked like in photos. Not what I pictured in my head! Yeah, the mirror isn't helpful for me - for me, it's in the harsh reality of photographs that I can no longer deny what my physical condition is.

Seeing pictures of myself has motivated me to start moving again. I seem to do this in fits and starts, but never really end up making it a habit or getting into a comfortable groove. I'm happy to say that with Leslie Sansone's DVDs, I've been walking fairly consistently about twice a week for about a month. This week, I've stepped it up - Four Mile Super Challenge! I'm seeing results now so it's motivating me to keep "moving."

I really like that these DVDs aren't boring, annoying, or just laughable to me! She motivates me to walk. She keeps the pace up, says encouraging words right when I''m ready to quit and I can hear her voice in my head when I really don't want to walk. "Muscle burns more calories!" "Do I have time to exercise? Yes, I do! It's over in a snap!"

If you're discouraged by the way you look or just need some fitness in your life, try one of her DVDs! I think you'll really enjoy it and start seeing results.

I just read about her 10 Day Challenge and I signed up. I'm really excited. Since I've started to see some results already, I think this is the next boost I need, plus I think it'll be fun. Did I really type that? I'll see if I can remember to post in 10 days. :-)

Happy "Moving!"

Blogging Hiatus

I'm not quite sure how I got so busy that I stopped blogging. Every few months I realize I haven't posted anything in quite awhile. I think about blogging quite often... it's the execution that I find difficult.