Boys=Handful

Today was rough.  Actually, the past few days have been rough.  I think the heat must bring out the naughty/constant fighting with siblings/whining/tantrum throwing/talking back/sassy side of my children.  Getting the kids ready for swim lessons at 9am Mon-Thurs is tough.  I often times don't even brush my teeth and am lucky if I get to guzzle 1 cup of coffee.  On Monday I actually forgot about swim lessons.  I need to remember to write activites down on my calender.  Thank God Violet's Dr.'s office called to confirm her appointment for tomorrow today or else I would've forgotten about that. 

Lately I feel like I can't pull myself together.  This whole parenting thing is getting hard.  A different hard.  It's not hard, like I have to remember to pack a diaper bag hard (forgot to mention that Baby V is potty trained.  Has been since the end of May.  Woot Woot!  Diaper free for the first time in 4.5 years), it's the discipline and getting my kids to listen and not kill each other hard.

Boys are tough.  I have a much better understanding why Travis is the way he is because of having a boy.  Boys are a completely different breed.  Cash is a handful.  Cash is the reason I am getting grey hair.  Cash is the reason I drink wine and have turned to tequila.  He's the most beautiful little boy, but holy hell he's a handful.  He doesn't listen.  He beats to his own drum.  He's obsessed with dinosaurs and trucks.  Can't get himself dressed if his life depended on it.  Where as the girls get themselves dresses 876 times a day.  Even Violet can get herself dressed.  I am lucky if Cash puts his pants on backwards and forget about the underwear.  That gets handed back to me in a baggy when I pick him up at school almost on a daily basis. 

Can I tell you a funny story about how boys are different that girls?  So, last weekend we had some friends in town and went to Swiftwater to enjoy the sun, get some pizza and sit outside.  Travis had to pick up our case of wine and I took all 3 kids to the bathroom.  I do this quite often, so it was no big deal.  Cash is really into his privacy.  I let him go into the stall by himself while I took the girls.  He took forever.  Kept saying he was ok.  Finally, after waiting what felt like a million years, I made him open the door.  Inside, he was completely naked.  No shirt, no shoes, nothing.  Butt naked with SHIT everywhere.  On his hands, smeared on the toilet, on the walls...you get the idea.  May I remind you, we are in a very nice bathroom.  I freak out.  Tell him to lock to door while I took the girls to Travis.  I run out find Travis give the girls to Travis, explain to him that there is SHIT everywhere.  I return to clean up the mess.  While I am cleaning Cash up, I am trying to explain to him how, "When you go potty, you don't need to get completely naked!"  He's just chilling, singing "Don't Stop Believing" by Journey super loud and knew ALL the words.  I come out to a bathroom filled with ladies telling Cash he's a wonderful singer.  After we are done I find Travis and apparently Presley had informed him that there was "Shit everywhere!" Presley would NEVER do this.  She's such a potty princess!

We are starting Cash in Karate starting tomorrow.  Hopefully that will allow him to channel his energy into something other than doing back flips off the couch and driving me nuts!  He's so forceful and rough.  I wish he would sit and have tea parties with the girls.  He'd rather jump all over the furniture and make messes. 

Anyhow, I wish having kids and being a stay at home mom was this amazingly wonderful gig, but it's not.  It's hard work.  I just have to think that I only have 1 year left until the twinnies are in Kindergarten and Violet will be in Preschool.  1 year. 365 days.  Actually 400 days...I think I may start the countdown!