by Whitney Barthel posted in Mom Stories

If I'm being honest, I wanted girls. This is funny, because I am the mother of four beautiful little boys.

It?s not that I don?t absolutely adore my boys, it?s just that I really struggle to understand them.

I am the type of person who cannot function in a cluttered environment, insects and animals scare me, I prefer to stay inside, and I really, really thrive in a calm and peaceful atmosphere.
And although boys can be pleasant and quite clever, they never, ever stop moving or making noise. I know there are boys out there that don?t fit the mold. They enjoy coloring, or wearing matching clothes, or brushing their mom?s hair. Unfortunately, none of my boys broke the mold. And while I still have LOTS to learn, here are a couple of scraps I can throw to other new or soon-to-be moms of boys. 1. Pick your fashion battles. Just this morning I picked out an ?athletic? outfit for Dan, our kindergartner, to wear to school. However, when we got to the door Dan decided he wanted to wear his cowboy boots. I tried reasoning with him that sweatpants and cowboy boots ?don?t go together.? And he, of course, didn?t care. I didn?t waste my energy. He is now at school with sweat pants and cowboy boots and I am working. It doesn?t even matter, I am not there to witness his fashion catastrophe.
                                *Cowboy boots and pajamas are also okay at our house.
2. Allow messes to happen. Because usually...