As My Brother Says, That Boy Has "Left Tackle" Written All Over Him

I am failing miserably at trying to take one step each day this year to Live My Best Life.  Sheesh, right now it's a good day if 1 out of the 5 people in the house gets a bath or shower for the day. Brody fought a high fever for 4 days and was basically glued to my side.  He got over it as fast as he got it... he went from whining all day long and sewn to my hip right back into his normal M.O. of complete and total destruction.  Yesterday my blog was on my mind all day, but never even crossed my mind last night as I passed out from exhaustion that can only be explained by taking care of a sick, and then dealing with a newly well little boy all week.

This boy is Hell on wheels I tell ya.  My girls were tough as infants and toddlers, but this boy is TOUGH.  I'm experiencing things as a mom I haven't dealt with before on my first two tries.  I have finally realized that when you read about all those celebrity moms who say "I don't work out to stay so thin; I just chase after my kids all day," that these women are moms of boys, not girls. 

Not that it works for me in that area at all but I can see how it would work for them because I am constantly on the go with this kiddo, and really I am in constant chase mode.  I've always had pretty strong arms and have been able to carry kids on one or both hips for hours and miles at a time, but Brody makes this a whole new game for me because I am rarely just holding or carrying him, I am constantly wrangling him!  I don't know how moms of more than one boy do it I swear.

The girls have recently started to teach me that girl drama starts much earlier than I ever dreamed it would.  Always fighting with each other.  Jealous.  Hurt feelings.  Crying.  Name Calling.  Hair pulling.  Hitting.  Kicking.  And this is just between my own two; the drama I deal with each day when Olivia comes home from school inevitably hurt or upset about something a girl at school said or did that day is on a whole other level. 

What I hear all the time from moms of boys (including my own) though, is that not only now in infancy and toddlerhood am I dealing with something so foreign to me with a boy, but in a few years I will be MUCH happier to have a boy.  No drama with boys, people say.  (Have these people seen Brody literally take Ava DOWN when he sees her in his Cozy Coupe?  Or climb on top of her and try to push her off of me when he waddles into a room and catches her on my lap?  Jealousy is clearly something that isn't defined by gender roles....) 

But what I'm told is that I'm in for different fun.  Maybe I won't have the drama... but I will have to deal with frogs.  And possibly snakes.  And definitely bugs.  And any number of other things people tell me that little boys can't catch a glimpse of without putting them in their pockets and bringing into the house to show their mommies.  I hear the animal and insect problem is nothing compared to the sheer amount of mud, dirt, blood, bruises, and broken bones I'll be in for with the boy. 

I can see this already, as Olivia is scared to death to try anything, Ava is much less timid but she still holds back a lot.  But at 15 months Brody is not afraid of anything.  ANYTHING.  He was full on walking by 10 months whereas my girls just started taking steps at 12 months and 11 months respectively.  He's been climbing the bleachers at gymnastics since he was about 11 months.  He can climb on top of any piece of furniture in the house, no matter how high.  He tackles his almost 5 and 6 1/2 year old sister with ease and giggles.  He is a linebacker, and I admit I am pretty nervous to see what the future brings for us with this bull in a china shop in our house over the next years.  I'm scared.  I'm not gonna lie.

But OH MY GOSH is he sweet.  And cute.  And hilarious.  And smart.  And just all around amazing.  I was so scared when I was pregnant with him and found out he was a boy... I was all, "what do I do with a boy?  I don't understand boys toys.  Boys clothes are not as cute as girls.  Boys have all sorts of extra parts that I don't know how to deal with.  Boys are rough and tumble not lovey and sweet.  I am a girly girl and so are my girls and so what on earth am I going to do with a boy? 

Everyone said, ohhh, you'll LOVE it.  Boys are mama's boys.  Boys are so much fun.  Boys will really keep your life on the move and full of adventure.  Boys really love their mamas more than anyone else in the world.  Ok, ok, but my girls love me more than anyone else in the world, and they are mama's girls, so how is that going to be any different with a boy? 

Ya.  They were right though.  It's freaking awesome.  This boy... this little unplanned ridiculous surprise almost medical marvel of a boy... he has changed my life so much for the better.  He is all of those things everyone said and more.  And as you know the relationship I have with his father is falling apart, has been falling apart for some time, probably has already even fallen apart, but there is not one thing in the world I regret about it because not ever having had the chance to meet this little guy is something I never want to imagine.

So anyway... there's my little ode to Brode.  :)  But after all of that it brings me to what I did today to Live My Best Life.  I played.  I played and played and played with my boy, just he and I.  The girls are having a sleepover with papa and the boyfriend was, well, watching I guess.  But Brody and I just had the best time making up for lost time from him having been sick all week.  He's not sick anymore, and he wanted to play, and I was all over it!  :)  We played so hard (again, waaay differently that what the girls like to do to play) my arms hurt from picking him up and throwing him around and flipping him over and every which way. 

I'm exhausted!  But what a great reminder for me that even though it's hard sometimes, and it really is a hot mess most of the time, I really do have a pretty amazing life already.