A "Boy Mom"

My mom's neighbor is a mother of two extremely sweet little boys.  Her boys are rough and tumble, smart, inquisitive, adventerous, and all other things boy.  She's the neighbor that brought the baby ducks home for a few days so her boys could play with them. 

Her oldest son has a saltwater tank full of critters.  She brings home new surprises to put in the tank so they can watch and explore.  One of the most interesting creatures that lived in the tank for a few months was, get this, an octopus.  Seriously. 

She allows her boys to be daring, much more daring than I think I can could ever allow my children be.  She understands a boy's need for these types of things, and does what she can to make it happen.  Upon discovering Ethan would be a boy, I've consistently told her she was the "ultimate boy mom" and needed to use her influence to create fun and adventerous learning experiences for my own boy.

I really only know how to "do" girl.  I have no brothers and have only grown up around girls.  I have a couple male cousins close in age, but I don't count them because they have never really been a big part of my life.  My other boy cousins are much younger, and I was only recently introduced to nephews when I married Jason.  It has definitely been a huge learning experience to have a boy in the house, but I'm trying.

In fact, I've decided to try branching out a little.  A friend of mine recently found a bunch of tadpoles in a wading pond near her home.  She and her daughter have been feeding them and raising them into frogs.  She offered to give us a couple for Ethan to enjoy, and I had a momentary lapse in judgement and agreed.

So yes, there are FROGS in my house right now.  Hanging out in a mop bucket, growing little legs, just waiting to jump out and freak me the heck out. And I would say that watching Ethan enjoy them would make this totally worth it, but sadly, Ethan could care less about these frogs.

Oh, but Riley loves them.  She named them Riley and Taylor (after her BFF, of course) and loves coming over to feed them and watch them change daily.  I must admit that while these little things are creepy, it is pretty cool.

I'm finding it ironic that while I make efforts to become a better "boy" mom, the sweet little girl in my life has been what made it worth it.  Since Riley's school group are the Green Frogs, she's really enjoying telling her classmates about them and seeing how tadpoles become a frog.  Our plan is to grow them up to adult size and then set them free.  There's no way I'm buying live crickets to feed an adult frog.  Baby steps.  Maybe next time we will try a turtle.

Pictures and videos to come.