What is it about boys?

I am a mother of 4. The girls came first. Life was tidy and clean, curls, bows and frills, dancing and tutus, pink and purple, calm and quiet (at times), sugar and spice and everything nice. Then came the boys. Everyone who has both will agree that there is a stark contrast between the two. Not a bad thing in any way, but a difference, nonetheless.

Let's take a for-instance. Kendra and Alli both hate being dirty. Even when they were babies, heaven forbid there be a fleck of dust on their dress or a crumb of dirt under their fingernails. Not so with my boys.

Take today, for example. I let the boys out to play in the backyard. They didn't go for the fun, little pink playhouse, nor did they look twice at the swings, but they headed straight for the sandbox, which, I might add, had WET sand in it today. Andrew was doing OK as he sat on the side of the box and made his piles of sand. As the baby crawled inside, I saw how just how messy it was going to be. After one attempt to remove him and the wailing ensued, I gently placed him back in the dirt and thought, "To heck with it, he's having way too much fun. I'll clean him up later."

They played a good 30 minutes until, Colby came crawling up to the door, prompting me to quickly grab my camera. Why? Well, somehow the wet sand adhered perfectly to Colby's dripping snot, making him look reminiscent of the Sandman from Spiderman 3, oozing sand from every hole in his body. See pictures below

After stripping both boys and literally hosing them down, I brought them inside and the fun was over. I smiled to myself as hindsight reminded me that I used to not be okay with dirt, grime and the extra work it takes to clean up a filthy mess.

I've changed my mind.