Upended

I was away from the house the other day when I got a text from my dad.  He had gone over to borrow one of Hubby's tools.  His text said, "There is an upended lawn mower in your front yard.  Is that normal around here?"

"Yes," I responded. "Yes it is.  Welcome to my world."

  

 

Because the unusual is common when boys live in your house.

When I was pregnant with Parker and found out he was going to be a boy, I panicked.  I did not like boys much.  The ones I had known were loud and rough and gross.  And it was really hard to find cute outfits with matching shoes and bows for boys.  I don't like sports or Monster Trucks.  What on earth would I do with a boy??

And then he muscled his way into the world and stole my heart completely. 

Oh, he was loud and messy, and turned every bent stick into a toy gun (no matter how much I tried to civilize him by banning violent play).  But his chubby cheeks fit perfectly into the curve of my neck when we snuggled.  And his one little curl perfectly framed the purple bruise that seemed to live on his forehead from age 1 to at least 3. (Thank goodness he was hard headed ;)

I was transformed.  I became that mom who always had a Hot Wheel in her purse, a HandiWipe in her pocket, and an ear tuned for that inevitable it's-too-quiet-in-there sound.

And now I am the kind of mom who lives among this...

 

and this... (but we made a seat belt...see?  it's perfectly safe)

I have a random empty jug hanging from my backyard tree limb, extra cars in my driveway, and extra boys in my basement.  My TV is so complicatedly hooked up to video games, I can't turn it on when I'm home by myself. 

I have broken bicycle parts in my garage, NO money in my checkbook, and no food in my cabinets.

But I have soooo much joy in my heart!

I am thankful my life got upended.