Raisin' Hellions - The Joys of Raising Boys

I swore I had a second child, so everyone would know that I really didn't starve the first one. My firstborn was a skinny little fellow. It was hard to find miniature jeans that would actually stay up.

The second one loved to eat. He took a bottle within an hour of being born. The nurse said, "Did he drink this?" I was tempted to say, "No, I did." Who did she think drank formula?

Baby son constantly ranked on the 95th percentile on height and weight while the older one was down at the 13th percentile. I actually worried on little measurements like that way back when.

I thought I was an old pro after having one son, but a second just proved me wrong.

My green-eyed boy and my brown-eyed boy have been very different from day one. I can sum it up with a trip to the mall. They both hate to shop, so they do have that in common. But, I'm constantly yelling, "Slow down son one. Hurry up son two." That kind of sums them up. The older one is rush, rush, rush. The younger one has never been in a hurry. He was even born two weeks late and induced.

All that is to say that it's hard to pin down any surefire rules when it comes to raising boys. Every little guy is different. What works with one may or may not work with the next. The best you can do is love each, listen and follow your heart.

I thought my dad was intent on torturing me by taking me camping and fishing. I am mosquito bait. If the tent is going to leak, it will do it right over where I'm sleeping. Going camping, for some reason, gives me diarrhea.

Of course, my boys adore camping and fishing. I was the good sport and went a few times, but I never did take to camping and/or fishing.

Getting the boys involved in Scouting took care of this problem. I contribute but in my own way. I will work out grocery lists and will set up community service projects. I will visit during the day, but I head home at night.

Though we have different interests, we can meet at the crossroads. Sometimes we work in conjunction like with Scouts. In other areas, we pull together.

One thing we all love here is grilling out. So, I have a home grill, a travel grill and a smoker. And, I share our recipes and fun at Yes You Can Grill.

Boys think life is a competition. Just send them fishing. You'll see. They'll come back talking about who caught the most and who caught the biggest. As long as they clean the fish, it's fine.

With multiple boys, the younger one or ones end up with the small piece of cake pretty often. I remember when my older son had some friends over. The little guy was trying to fit in. All the boys crawled under the kitchen table. Each jumped out, growled and claimed to be a certain type of dog. It went something like this:

Older Son - "GRRR! I'm a rottweiler."

Friend One - "Bark! Bark! I'm a bulldog."

Friend Two - "Growllllll. I'm a Doberman."

Younger Son - "Ruf. Ruf. I'm a corndog."

Needless to say, it is hard to live down being a corndog.

Keeping score just comes natural for boys. Just make sure that the guys have chances to do things that involve personal growth and that each gets a chance to shine. My younger son loves art and bike riding, and he is active in Scouts where he's one of the older kids and a leader. He gets a chance to be the hot dog - instead of the corndog.

Boys who live in boy-ville find girls confusing. And, Momma does NOT count as a real girl. If I really want to confuse my fellows, I just break out some nail polish and do my toes. The boys do not understand this at all. They think nail polish smells bad. And, my oldest wants to know, "Who looks at toes anyway?"

Boys hate to ask dumb questions, but they do wonder especially when it comes to girls. Here are the types of things that lots of little guys want to know:

Why do girls cry?

Why do girls like to dance?

What takes girls so long in the bathroom?

What do you talk to girls about?

Why do girls call on the phone when they don't have anything to talk about?

If there are no girls in the house, make sure the guys are involved in some co-ed activities. Watch the interactions. Make suggestions. Some boys need to be told that, "Gosh, you smell funny," is not going to win and influence girl buddies trying out new fragrances.

Also, make sure to listen and to answer questions. Keep it casual. Guys don't like "big deal" chats usually. If your son says, "I don't know what to say on the phone when 'hot girl I like' calls," think of some conversation ideas. Brainstorm together. Arm him with some ideas and let him take it from there.

On the flip side of introducing boys to girl culture, it's important to learn about boy culture if you're a Mom raising little guys.

When my oldest was selected to play on the All County baseball team, his coach slipped over and discretely noted that I needed to buy a sports cup. I, of course, responded with: Would one of those at Wal-Mart with a straw be OK?"

The coach redefined it for me as "athletic supporter." At least I didn't think he meant the parent fundraising group.

I figured out what to buy and how it went on. The internet is a great place to find information about just about anything including raising boys.

My boys have always been hearty eaters. Now that they're in their teens and very active, they really eat me out of house and home.

That's OK though. I love to cook and have even started my own cooking web site. Yes You Can Cook is set up to help others in the kitchen. I take our favorite recipes and break them down and add tips. Most cooks leave out important "little" things that make a huge difference. I try to cover all the bases.

Here are a few of the boys' favorite recipes:

Easy Chicken Pie - This is an easy chicken pie recipe with a homemade biscuit type crust. A little pepper in the crust gives it that something extra special.

Southern Sweet Potato Casserole - This is my mom's recipe, and it's the best sweet potato casserole I've ever had. This one really could be a dessert, but we serve it as a side dish.

Classic Pecan Pie - We have pecan trees here, so that's good. Nuts are expensive. This is a favorite for years and years. My older son asks for this in place of birthday cake some years.

Peanut Butter Fudge - The Boy Scouts are always disappointed if I don't make peanut butter fudge for awards dinners. My boys are disappointed if it all get eaten (which it usually does). Then, I have to make them a pan too.