Monday, April 26, 2010

how do you tuck in a superhero?


Okay, so as soon as I read the subtitle of this book I knew that I had to read it.
And Other Delightful Mysteries of Raising Boys.
Because that is exactly what they are...a wonderful somewhat stinky mystery.
Rachel Balducci writes this hilarious book. And she has the remarkable insight to do so.
Because she has 5 boys and one sweet girl born this spring. (can you say rock star?)
I loved every minute of this book and savored each chapter like a nice piece of very funny chocolate.
Because Rachel lives in my world except add on two more boys. (!)
She lives with pirates and dirty laundy and really bad smells and wonders when her lawn has so very little grass.
I love her list of rules that she never thought she would make up:
1. You must never climb into the trunk of someone's car.
2. You must never shut your brother in the refrigerator.
3. Never play with fire.
4. Never open second story windows.
5. Be careful with power tools.
(I may have changed this to "never even look at power tools - they are dead to you".)
6. Spray paint is only for art projects.
(she is braver than I...mine would be "there is a restraining order on spraypaint: it is not allowed to come within 50 yards of you.)
7. My favorite: Do not hogtie your brother and drag him across the yard on your bicycle, even if he claims he is having a blast.
This is a book for all moms, aunts and grandmas of boys. Mostly, because it makes you feel like you have joined a cuckoo sisterhood of women who deal with things they never thought they would have to - like smelling underwear to see if it's clean.
But also because, it reminds you how lucky you are and how fun it is to have a part in loving the small people that God has blessed you with.
Rachel blogs over at Testosterhome and you may need to take a read or 7...because it is good stuff.
And for your pre-Mother's Day pleasure, we are giving away a copy of
How Do You Tuck in a Superhero: And Other Delightful Mysteries of Raising Boys
Write who your favorite boy or boy story in the comments.
Winner will be picked Friday, April 30.

NOTE: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Baker Publishing Group. This has neither positively nor negatively biased my review.

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15 comments:

ok said...

My favorite boy is my nephew and godson Austin, who is now a too-cool-for-his-aunt-15-year-old. There are so many awesome stories about him, I am not sure I can pick just one, but I will give it a shot.

Austin loves to make people happy and feel good about themselves, but he does not want to appear uncool about it, he has always been a real boy. So in kindergarten, he was was not pleased when his seatmate was a girl. His boy friends would often come over and tease him, and the girl mercilessly. One day, they had made pictures, and the boys came over and told the girl how awful and ugly hers was, until she cried. After the boys left, the teacher heard Austin tell her that he thought her picture was very pretty. The teacher told the story to my sister. I was never so proud of Austin.

mariel said...

oh, sounds like such a good book!! I will have to check that one out!! I have two wonderful boys ages 7 and 10 and of course my man. I am in the minority in my house, but it is a blessing and I would n't trade it for anything!!

PS. I just told my firstborn to not close the fridge on his brither TODAY! haha

Kara said...

I still remember my sister calling me to tell me that she saw her son Ethan with his pants down outside....peeing on their dog.....just because. Ha! I have loved boys ever since. I have recently joined the mom of boys club myself in these past 19 months and would love a copy to call my very own! :-)

Anna said...

My favorite boy is my son Noah. He is the youngest of my triplets. He has identical twin sisters. (even on day one he said, "Ladies first"). He has so much energy and has never ceased to amaze me with his 'boy-ness' the girls would play with the toy kitchen while Noah would climb in to it. He climbs so high in the trees I have to look away. His favorite game is 'wrestle and tackle' with his dad (my other favorite guy!). But more important than his amazing energy, is his amazing heart. From his first words he has always referred to his sisters as "his girls". His girls. He would do anything to make them smile or keep them safe. He has the biggest heart of anyone I know. I adore him.
This book sounds amazing! Thank you for the chance!

Mammy said...

My favorite boy is my grandson Caden. He is a special needs child and he lives with me. Although I never expected to be raising a child at this age, Caden is the joy of my life. He is definitely my superhero. I'd love to read the book.

Beth K said...

Well, I can't say I have a favorite boy because I have two adorable sons, but only one is claiming to be a super hero these days!

Aiden insists that he is Larry Boy (Veggie Tales super hero) and insists on being called that most days. One of my favorite stories is when we were at the grocery store one morning, and the cashier asked him his name. Without a moment of hesitation, he said, "I'm Larry Boy, a super hero. And," (pointing to his brother) "this is Bob the Tomato." The look on the cashiers face was priceless!

thetnpreacherswife said...

My favorite boy is my son Wallace. He is 2 years old and generally hilarious.
My favorite story: On Palm Sunday as he and I were getting ready for church he insisted on putting on a "pitty neck-ace" like Mommay (pronounced mom-AY) so I let him wear some fake pearls from some wedding I was in a million years ago...so we go off to church with our sweatervest, pearls, and pocketbook and baby dolls (pocketbook is diaper bag that I'm not allowed to touch). We get to church and he grabs his palm branch to wave during the service. He and I sit down and he immediately starts to fidget and whine and then says, "I need nuss 'ight kik peas" (I need to nurse right quick please) (as if it is possible to do that "right quick)...so I start that process and then we had one of those moments, you know one of those mommy moments that brings a tear to the eye when he was nursing wearing pearls and waving his palm branch while his Daddy and the choir processed--too sweet!
Of course that story rivals this last Christmas Eve when I got teary about the whole season and love etc and we were singing Silent Night by candlelight and Wallace yells out, "I TOOT." I love it!

The Oswalds said...

This book sounds great! My favorite boy is of course the newest addition to our family, my son Keller. But I have 5 amazing nephews as well. My nephew Lawson, keeps us in stitches. Once he (he was about 3 I think) brought the water hose into the den, flooded the room with a couple inches of water and ruined the carpet. When my sister-in-law found him he just started saying, "sorry, sorry, sorry,sorry."

Unknown said...

My favorite boy is my nephew Deklan. He's two and in the terrible two stages which means he gives his mama a run for her money most days but for the rest of us he is pretty good. He babbles away on webcam with me and his cousins and he is quickly learning how adorable he is and using that to his advantage!

Katy W. said...

I love the boyness of all these comments - boys are sweet and mischevious, loving little imps, and sometimes spastic little monkeys with huge hearts. My favorite little monkey is my son Dakota, now 8. When he was about three he would always sneak into our bed at about 3 am. On those nights he got caught he would tell us he was just coming in to give us hugs. Hard to believe he is now such an independent little man!

Dorothy said...

Said to my 3 year old, Paolo, about his brother Luke, 7 months. "Get off him, he is not your horse."

LaneP said...

My favorite boy is my 3 1/2 year old son Mack. He is all boy - wrestling, running, jumping, and generally wild, but also has the sweetest heart and is wickedly funny. Just a couple weeks ago, while in line at Starbucks, he turned to the woman behind us, and confidently told her, "I have hockey underwear on." That's my boy!

Guyla Rae said...

My brother told me that my life would never be the same when my son was born. I thought he was crazy. Turns out, he was right, but I wouldn't change a thing! My biggest problem with my son was keeping him OFF the ROOF!

Now I have two wonderful grandsons who help me keep learning new things about boys regularly. Life with boys is certainly never boring. I want to be sure to get this book and share it with the mother of those two grandsons!

Guyla Rae said...

My brother told me that my life would never be the same when my son was born. I thought he was crazy. Turns out, he was right, but I wouldn't change a thing! My biggest problem with my son was keeping him OFF the ROOF!

Now I have two wonderful grandsons who help me keep learning new things about boys regularly. Life with boys is certainly never boring. I want to be sure to get this book and share it with the mother of those two grandsons!

Jen said...

My best recent boy story happened just yesterday. We were at a family reunion and my niece lost a tooth. Since my oldest son also had a loose tooth, he seemed to feel a little competition coming on. In a matter of an hour he worked that loose tooth until it finally came out, at the dinner table. Not too appetizing, but he was proud of himself. :)