This is too funny....

I didn't hear the whole conversation but what I heard made me chuckle the rest of the ride home. Pumpkin-head suddenly says loudly to Peanut, "you can't say that...that is taking God's name INSANE!"

They can't make this kind of fun at the toy factory

So my boys had a very BOY Christmas and they were in Boy Toy heaven. I realized this when I watched them playing with their new toys. I also greatly admired the way they incorporated all their new toys together.

The pirate ship was being attacked by the walking roaring dinosaur but then from the east, some sort of rough/tough guy in a boat came with his thing that shoots harpoons and catches critters to try to lead the scary dinosaur away and then the Lego StarWars droids flew in to rescue the pirates and help out the rescue boat and the ship was saved. And somewhere in there, Lightning McQueen entered the scene as well. It was amazing to watch how their little brains made the storyline flow. I can't think like that.

Maybe it's because I am a girl.

And quite honestly, girl toys do not really lend themselves to this kind of creativity. Barbie and Ken can have adventures but usually it involves romance or domestic spats. Sometimes you can involve the My little Ponies but unless they are being ridden by Skipper... they don't generally come out to play at the same time. It's all about playing in sets for girls. We don't really blend our toys the way boys do.

But I have to say that I really enjoy the way boys do that. I just sat and watched them play and listened to them create this intricate storyline and play off each other's ideas and I was really enthralled. It proves my point that boys are born wired very differently then girls. It's not an issue of nature vs nurture. My boys came out of the womb ready to wrestle and build things with blocks, and drive toy cars around and with a real affinity for mud that I have yet to explain. Believe me, I did nothing to foster or teach that. It happened in spite of me. I didn't go to the extreme of trying to create feminine boys and forcing them to play with dolls or what have you...I just let them do what seemed natural and watched it happen.

My mom laughed the other day when she heard me tell Peanut, who bumped his foot and was not crying but was about to moan a little, "Are you hurt?" He nodded. "Well, tough guy, walk it off." She questioned me a little. I told her that I have to be both mom and dad to my boys. So, sometimes, I offer comfort when the situation warrants, and sometimes I will tell them to walk it off and tough it out. But at the same time, I also am teaching them to recognize when they hurt others and to apologize and be sensitive to other people.

I am praying that I am doing a good job. They seem to be very normal boys with boistrous energy and active imaginations but also a deep need for affection because they still like to cuddle up in my lap from time to time and let me rub their back or behind their ears and tell them stories about when they were a baby. And sometimes I teach them how to flex their muscles and grunt.