We have heard the saying our entire lives, Boys Will Be Boys, and being a mother of 2 boys, I can assure you all boys are not the same in any way shape or form.  I have 2 boys who could not be more different.  I actually have 4 kids.  Two girls and two boys who are all very very different, but today it’s the boys, rather the boy, that is the topic.

I always wanted to keep a journal of things the kids do or say but haven’t ever taken the time to do it.  What better way to start this blog or my journal than to begin with a doozy of a story.  My older son is 13 and has always had a gentle spirit.  He is all boy in that, he loves sports, hunting and fishing but he is mild mannered and hardly gives me any trouble.  Actually he never gives me any trouble.  God knew what he was doing in only giving me one free spirited child.  My little one, the 8 year old is a really good boy.  He is well behaved and does not like to get in trouble at all…but…sometimes he can’t help himself.  Not in trouble like misbehaving, but in trouble like “what did you do now.”

Have you ever had a dilemma? Oh you know the kind where you really want/ need to know or do something even though you know there are consequences?   I haven’t decided if this is the 8 year old or not.  It is either that or he just acts in the moment.  Maybe a little of both.  So, we have many conversations about making smart choices, Thinking before you do something and sometimes the conversation is more me telling him he can’t make stupid decisions.  Mostly it’s all a waste of my breath because honestly he can’t help himself.

It’s been about 2 weeks now, but it is still quite fresh on my mind.  Major comes running through the house and heads to his room.  I didn’t think anything of it.  I was cooking dinner and he had been outside getting his backpack out of the car.  He doesn’t really walk anywhere any way, its always a mad dash.  Anyway…A friend of Madisyn’s tells her to go check on him, he thinks he ran to his room crying.  She does, and in a matter of seconds she is screaming, “He sprayed himself with pepper spray!”  SERIOUSLY?!?!  My first question is Why????  What were you thinking???  Second, What do I do?  As Taylor is screaming in pain and I am holding his hands so he doesn’t rub his eyes or face, I have Madisyn google what we are suppose to do.  She tells me to wash him with dawn and lots of water.  Also, poor milk on it to help alleviate the burn.  We move the party to the porch where I proceed to wash him in dawn, water, and poor milk on him.  I have Mad get poison control on the phone so I can get more information on how to proceed.  All the while stressing about him being in pain and at the same time asking what the heck where you thinking?!? He says he didn’t mean too… REALLY???  Ummm yeah you did!!

Now, this is a first for me but clearly not a first for the poison control operator, who seemed quite bored in my hysteria as if she already had this same call 20 times that day.  I ask what we do and basically it is what we were already doing.  No, we don’t need to take him to the emergency room. No, there is nothing more other than wait for it to stop burning.  Which could be a while.  I ask, “What is a while?”  Her response, “oh some says hours”….HOURS???

Fortunately, he sprayed it away from him and the wind just blew it back on him so it was about an hour,  no more.

I send Madisyn to the store to get sour cream which is suppose to help soothe the burning, while I continued to poor milk on my child who is in some serious pain.  She gets back and I lather him up with a sour cream mask and by this time, The siblings have moved on from genuinely concerned to the hysterically laughing lets snap chat this to everyone phase.

After things settled down I asked Major to tell the friend why he didn’t stop and tell me why he sprayed himself.  He said, “you tell him.”  I said, “I have a pretty good idea why but I want to hear it from you.”  Major says, “I didn’t want to tell Mom because, It was stupid but I just wanted to know how it worked.”

Later that night as I tuck Major into bed I decided our conversation about thinking before you do somethig dumb needed to be switched up because clearly there are just things he needs to try.  So I say to him, I realize you feel the need to do things and no matter how bad of an idea it may be it is all the more intriguing. Here is what I asked of him, IF/WHEN he feels the need to try something that is questionable or he feels the need to hide, could he please let me know.  I will tell him if it going to cause serious pain and if he still feels the need to do it, then I would like to be able to supervise the stunt so I can get him the medical attention needed without any delay.  I’m thinking its a really good thing the fire department is only 1/10 of a mile from my house.

There is never ever a dull moment in my house!! God, I love that kid!!