Parent Transitioning Is Hard

Sitting in church and watching the families around me interact. So many little boys hugging their mothers, playing with Mom's hair, laying their heads in Mom's lap, stroking her cheek with grubby, chubby, toddler hands. 

Looks of love and giggles shared between a mother and son, as all of them work to keep their little dudes busy, while also trying to gain some spiritual nourishment. That bond between mother and son is so strong!

And then, as I sit there feeling a twinge of sadness that I don't have those little moments with my little boys anymore, my 18 year old son puts his arm around my shoulder and my mama heart melts. The bond has grown even stronger. The moments of toddler adoration may be gone, but the love is still there and sometimes they remember to show it.  

 #boymoms #theysmellbetternow #hestillsplayswithmyhair #theirstronghugspopmybacksodoublebenefits

Suburban Haiku: Boys to Men Review and Giveaway

Winner Update:  I decided to give BOTH of the contest entrants a copy of Peyton's Suburban Haiku: Boys to Men!  Congrats to Miss Jenno and NoraRuth!!  Thanks for sharing your boymom haikus with me and my readers and thanks to Peyton Price for inspiring me to live a more full life!



About a week and a half before Mother's Day, mother, haiku writer and humorist Peyton Price ran across my blog and asked if I would be interested in talking about her newest book, Suburban Haiku: Boys to Men.  After reading the title, it was completely obvious that both Peyton and the book are perfect compliments to the I Am Boymom blog, so how could I say no!?  Three haikus in I was hooked.

I'm not gonna give too much away about the book, other than to say it is an insightful, touching and truly hilarious view of raising boys from a mom's perspective, written in 3 line, 17 syllable haikus.  From the first haiku to the last, Peyton draws us in to her parenting world, using humor and the familiar 5-7-5 rhythm to chronicle the lives of her family.  The end result is a surprisingly funny and tender account of a mom watching her boys grow into men.

So two things happened to me after I read Suburban Haikus: Boys to Men.  First, I remembered what I already knew but tend to forget in the flurry of daily family life:   I'm not the only mom who doesn't have perfect kids.  Knowing that there are other moms out there struggling to teach their kids how to be happy, successful adults helps me not beat myself up on the days when pre-teen emotions and hormones are raging and I can't seem to get things under control.

The second thing that happened is that I recognized something has been missing in my life.  When I started this blog, it was because I needed a way to process my thoughts and feelings about being a mom to two boys who challenge me on a daily basis to be a better person. We have been in survival mode for so long now that I lost sight of my purpose for recording our journey.  I remembered, after reading Peyton's haikus, that I can create memories with my words and that by doing so, I can help my boys find meaning in their own lives when they read about themselves through their mother's eyes.  

I am in awe of women like Peyton Price, who find ways to use their talents to bring joy and happiness to their own lives while bettering the lives of their families.  Suburban Haiku: Boys to Men is a wonderful reminder that simple observations can become poignant memories that bind our children to us forever.

I so cannot wait to read some of Peyton's other haiku books!  Are you feeling the same way?  Wanna win a copy of Suburban Haiku: Boys to Men for yourself?  Peyton Price has generously offered to give an ebook version of the book to one of my readers!!  You can get either the Nook or Kindle version, all you have to do is share a quick parenting haiku in the comments.  I'll leave the first haiku comment to get you all started.  Easy peasy, right?  Then for extra entries you can do one of the following:

• Follow my blog if you are a new reader
• Like Suburban Haiku on Facebook
• Follow Suburban Haiku on Twitter
• Follow I Am Boymom on Twitter
• Check out Suburban Haiku website and tell me what other Peyton Price book you might like

The Deets:  Contest will end on May 31, 2012  @ 12 PM MST.  Winner will be chosen in random drawing or by Random.org the following week and winner will be notified by email.  Good luck and thanks for stopping by!  vvvvvv Now on to the haikus! vvvvvvv 

Living in House Full of Men

Sometimes it gets lonely being the only girl in the house. I have never been a super "girly" girl, but I do like some femininity. For example, it would be nice to have some of my hair accessories available for use in my hair, vs. being used to attack things or hold together a Star Wars Display.

And somehow, even thought the boys have their own bathroom, they keep gravitating toward ours for their showers. It's kinda weird when I have to share my shower with peeping army guys.

The bonus there though is knowing I am safe from terrorists while I shampoo.

(Man Down! Man Down!)

And then there's the husband. Even though he's not a drinker, this commercial pretty much sums up his romantic side.

All that being said, I love my boys. I love the little surprises I find in the pockets while doing laundry. I love the fact that if I let a little wind slip, I hear giggles and then all of the sudden find myself in the middle of an all out "Windy" war between the 3 guys. I swear one of these days one of them is going to poop his pants trying to win. I love that every time I talk about bad guys my men immediately start strategizing about how to protect the family.

Yeah...sometimes I miss the "girly" stuff, but then I let loose with one of those loud, long, straight from the belly belches that you only get from drinking soda and realize I'm right where I belong.

Double Post Day!!!!!

Moving on from the last touchy-feely post, there's another BOYMOM out there! And guess what? She ROCKS!! (You can thank her for some of the mushiness of the "You had me at Hello" post. In addition to designing great shirts she also gives great advice.) Check out boymomdesigns.com. Amy created some awesome shirt designs for those of us who are raising little men. Read her story...in my opinion she expresses very well what Boymoms all over the world are experiencing on a daily basis. Then buy a shirt. Wear it proudly. We Boymoms gotta support each other! We need to invent a secret sign or handshake...something that says,
"Hey! You look like a gal who's pulled one too many weird things out of the washer today." If I can find someone to donate a prize, maybe that'll be my first contest. I'll let ya'll know. Maybe we can get a boy to work on this...they gots some mad secret handshake skills.