Braving Boys

Boy Mantra

Jacki — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 19:38:26 +0000

Boy Hair Is Boring

Jacki — Wed, 20 Jun 2012 00:29:37 +0000

Thank goodness for nieces — without them, I’d be lost in a sea of mohawks and buzz cuts.

Bickering Boys Make Dinner

Jacki — Wed, 13 Jun 2012 21:35:54 +0000

I gave them the annual you-better-not-fight-all-summer-long speech, then punished them for today’s bickering by forcing them to make dinner — together. I won’t lie and tell you it was all smooth sailing (there was a bit of bossing and a smidge of slacking), but dinner is prepared, and they are now interacting nicely. Small victory.

Class Dismissed for Older Boy

Jacki — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 18:40:24 +0000

The end of the elementary-school era for the oldest boy. Next stop: middle school. Congratulations, Joey. We are way proud of you!

Easter Eggs for Boys

Jacki — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 01:57:07 +0000

No interest in Easter egg hunts for the past two years. None. Zippo. Too old, or something like that. That’s why I sold the hundreds of plastic eggs in our last garage sale. Today, 11-year-old Joey says he can’t wait to search for eggs tomorrow. And that’s why I was one of the last-minute moms today in Target’s Easter aisles.

Boy Shirt

Jacki — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 16:08:44 +0000

I asked Danny to hang up his shirts yesterday. This is what I found today.

The Boy Is 11

Jacki — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 13:01:47 +0000

‎

” … Greenhorn couldn’t handle this,” is what I heard my OB say as he was attempting to deliver the six-day-late baby who kept “turtling” and would not emerge from my body.

“Who is Dr. Greenhorn?,” I kept thinking.

OK, OK, now I know he meant not a specific doctor, just an inexperienced one, and I think he was probably right, because it was kinda complicated pushing into the world that 10-pound, 9-ounce boy and his Superman-like placenta cape. But he arrived, he was healthy, and that was 11 years ago! Happy Birthday to my now 114-pound Joey!

Boys — and Me

Jacki — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 01:58:16 +0000

.Thanksgiving 2011.

Don’t commit this photo to memory. It will probably surface again as our Christmas pic.

Halloween Boys 2011

Jacki — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 00:49:02 +0000

Boy Who Writes (Reluctantly)

Jacki — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 20:07:27 +0000

Joey claims to not like a lot of things, like the vast majority of healthy foods, playing most sports, performing in piano recitals, getting haircuts, and, much to my dismay — writing. He is a good writer, though, and, in the spirit of parental bragging, I share with you his latest 5th grade assignment. (I admit I helped edit in the slightest, but not to perfection — which was hard — because he is only 10, and I realize he needs to excel at his own pace, not mine.)

What do you do with 120 kids, a bunch of luggage, and two jam-packed school buses? You head straight to Camp Crystal! I just spent two nights and three days at this camp, and I definitely have three favorite activities from my experience.

Free time! Free time was the activity that gave me the most joy. Just staring around with loads of stuff to do, I usually picked Four Square. Four Square is a game of agility and skill, of which I have plenty. One time, I jumped on a square and the next thing I knew, I was the king. I was getting everyone out until that one person came along who was unbeatable. I was out like a flash. I also played volleyball during free time. Even though I wasn’t very good, I tried anyway. It wasn’t that hard until the ball came flying my way and when I hit it, it just slugged into the net. Once, the ball came zipping my way, and I knocked it right over the net. It soared all the way until it smashed into the sand. One point Joey’s side! I was so exited, and I realized that probably wouldn’t happen again. Those are the two great events about free time.

Today is the day for fishing! Fishing is my passion, and Camp Crystal rocked because I got to fish. After I got my supplies, I started. First, I would dig a net into the mud. Then, I would search for wildlife. One time, I caught a water bug with my bare hands! I had seen it move in the water, and I was all over it. I gently put the bug in the water bucket and watched it. Another cool devise I used was a microscope. I used it to look closely at wildlife. One time, I put a baby shrimp under the microscope and looked closely at it. It was like a ball, and it didn’t move. I found out it was just an egg. We let all of the bugs and creatures go and put away all our working utensils. Fishing rules, and Camp Crystal and its lakes are awesome.

Light it up! Another reason why Camp Crystal was so super was we got to have a campfire. We even got to make s’mores! One time, I gave my s’more a nice brown toast, slapped it on my cracker, and gobbled it down. It tasted like heaven. Also, the campfire gave me the chance to just sit down and talk to my friends with the fire blaze on my back. Once, we were talking to each other and telling really funny jokes. We laughed all night long. The fire added another terrific touch to my camp adventure.

Camp Crystal, almost there! Three exiting adventures I enjoyed were free time, fishing, and the campfire. I’m definitely going back in the summer!

Want more? Check out this 4th grade essay.

And Danny writes, too — 2nd grade essay.