A Gift for Mom! 🤍

 

There are some things parents don’t want to hear, especially from strangers. Things like “why are you letting your kid eat that?” or “you really should (insert annoying comment here).” Parenting is kind of like politics, we all have our opinions but we respect others, even if you don’t agree with it.

Here is what I have learned in the short five-and-a-half years I’ve had the title Mom: you do what is best for your child. If it works for you, awesome! Keep on keepin’ on. But everyone and every child is different (mind blown, right?). Today someone told me, “You have two boys? You need to try for a girl” Which leads me to five things moms of boys do not want to hear.

1. Are you going to try for a girl?
Oh, is there some magical place I can shop at to choose my girl of choice? I’m going to tell you the same thing I tell my kids: you get what you get, and you don’t throw a fit. I’m lucky to have the two that I have; not everyone gets the chance to become a mother.

2. Boys are so wild!
Yes, yes they are. Thank you for stating the obvious. Aren’t all kids wild in their own way? Boy or girl? I mean, aren’t kids just kids? Don’t they all have a little wild side to them? Yes, mine ARE wild, I agree. They are boys, they are a year-and-a-half apart. Together they are crazy. I am aware of this. 

3. Boys leave their moms and go off with their wives.
Well, here’s the thing, I know a lot of girls who dislike their moms and boys, well, I’m yet to meet a boy who hates his mom. Yes, my boys may leave me or they might not. Your daughter may leave you, or she may not. Not only boys leave. Kids leave. They move out for college or they get married and they leave. It’s called growing up!

4. Boys are smelly.
Tell me something I don’t know. But doesn’t everyone smell at some point? I mean, it’s not like girls are born with some magical unicorn gene that makes them never smell.

5) Aren’t you sad you’ll never be able to braid or put bows in your kids’ hair?
Ummm, I can barely find two matching socks. You think I am going to get all Jen Atkins on my daughter? And besides, maybe I will. Who knows what my kids will be into at some point? 

Here’s what it comes down to. Boys and girls are both very special in their own way. I never really imagined having boys or girls, I just knew I wanted kids someday. I got pregnant and had boys, and that was it. I was blessed with boys and after having boys, I never wished for anything else.

I feel lucky. I was made for them.

I am the girliest girl in all the land, and being a boy mom has taught me so many wonderful things. They have shown me a side of fun I never experienced growing up as a girl. The dirt, it’s fun. Riding a skateboard with my kids, so fun! Crashing monster trucks, fun! Baseball, it’s now fun to me.

Boys are fun! 

I have these wild, crazy, loving, hardcore mama’s boys. And whether they are like that just for the moment when they are younger or for the rest of their lives, I am embracing every second of them. I can’t predict the future and nothing is promised. Me having a girl does not promise any kind of togetherness for the rest of our life. My rambunctious toddlers adore me, and I adore them. All I know is I will raise them to always love all equally, value their family, to be gentlemen, to respect everyone they come across, to have common sense, to do good, and to be the best husbands and fathers. 

It doesn’t matter what the sex of my children is; the goal for us parents is the same: to raise good people. So please spare me, the “you need a girl” line as if a girl is going to come into my life and complete it. My life is complete with my little dudes.

Originally published on the author’s blog

So God Made a Grandmother book by Leslie Means

If you liked this, you'll love our book, SO GOD MADE A GRANDMA

Order Now!

Rania Urena

I am a mom of 2 crazy, adorable boys. I love fashion, moming, coffee and most days, my husband! My life is ruled by boys, including my dog and tortoise, who are also male. It's their world, and I just live in it. 

The Pressure to Do Everything “Right” Is Crushing Us

In: Motherhood
Tired and stressed mother sits in hallway with toddler across from her, black and white image

I don’t remember when motherhood started to feel like a test I didn’t study for—but somehow, I’m always convinced I’m failing it. It’s in the quiet moments. Standing in the grocery store aisle, overthinking every label—organic, non-GMO, dye-free, free-range, grass-fed—like I’m one bad decision away from ruining their future…while also trying not to take out a second mortgage just to afford my ever-rising grocery bill. Sitting on the couch, wondering if the show they’re watching or game they’re playing is rotting their brain. Lying in bed at night, replaying the way I handled a meltdown, picking apart every word I...

Keep Reading

Letting You Go Is Still So Hard

In: Grown Children, Motherhood
Walkway toward water at sunset

Nothing really prepares you for the day your child leaves the house. Last September, my husband and I moved our 18-year-old son into his dorm room. Right after that, he was swept away into all things orientation, and we began our 1,000-mile journey back home. Leaving this beautiful human I raised and spent all those years with felt foreign. During our final hug goodbye, despite trying to hold in my pain, I broke out in huge, ugly, guttural tears. Our drive home was a long two days. It took every fiber of my being not to turn around. Returning to...

Keep Reading

Behind Every Smiling Graduate Is a Mother Letting Go

In: Grown Children, Motherhood
Mom and grown son smiling

Every year, millions of American families send their children off to their freshman year of college. Their pictures dot our social media feeds. Images of excited students holding collegiate pennants, maybe wearing a hat or holding up their school’s hand sign with beaming smiles. Their parents post excited words about futures and hopes and dreams. One chapter closing. Another opening. A new beginning. So why am I struggling so much? Why does this feel more like a loss than a gain? Why are my tears always on edge, threatening to spill over each time I think about August and what...

Keep Reading

Life Lessons from My Grown Children

In: Faith, Motherhood
Two women's hands on teacups

“Don’t limit a child to your own learning, for he was born in another time.” – Rabindranath Tagore Quietly communing with a loved one in the early morning hours is such an intimate and precious time. Visiting with one’s grown child when all is dark and still is one of life’s purest pleasures. I remember the conversation clearly. My daughter’s husband, small children, and father were all asleep as we whispered and chatted. She and I are both fidgeters by nature, unable to be still for long. This inner restlessness must be remedied, and we are compelled by biology to...

Keep Reading

As a Medical Mom, I Measure Growth Differently

In: Kids, Motherhood
Little girl climbing outside

In most homes, the marks on the wall are a simple celebration of time passing. They are pencil lines that track how many inches a child has gained since their last birthday. But in our home, those marks represent a much deeper, more complex story. When your child lives with multiple hormone deficiencies, growth is never just “natural”—it is a carefully managed medical achievement. However, as any medical mom knows, the story doesn’t end at the top of the head. It begins deep inside, with a tiny gland that isn’t sending the right signals. Having multiple hormone deficiencies is often...

Keep Reading

Hannah Harper Is Every Mom with Babies in Her Arms and a Dream In Her Heart

In: Living, Motherhood
Hannah Harper American Idol winner sings with her young son on her lap

By now, you’ve probably seen the posts flooding your feed: A young mom. Three little boys. A guitar strap embroidered with her children’s drawings. And a crown. When Hannah Harper won American Idol this week, moms everywhere erupted. And honestly? Same. There is something collective about watching a stay-at-home mom win on such a large stage. The celebrations have been pouring in. Moms, we can do it. She didn’t abandon her dreams. She went for it. And all of that is true, and all of that is worth celebrating. But I want to add something to the celebration. Not to...

Keep Reading

Watching Your Children Build the Life You Prayed For Is Beautiful

In: Grown Children, Motherhood
Mother dancing with son at wedding

“I love you, Mom.” “Hmmm?” (A little louder) “I love you.” “I love you too…so very much.” I’d been deep in thought, listening to the lyrics we were slowly dancing to. I knew this moment of ours was supposed to be the time to say all the things, but this boy and I had already said all the things, so the song the deejay played—written by Lori McKenna and sung by Tim McGraw—enchanted our ears: When the dreams you’re dreamin’ come to you When the work you put in is realized Let yourself feel the pride but Always stay humble...

Keep Reading

I Lost My Daughter on Mother’s Day: 3 Truths I’m Believing Today

In: Grief, Loss, Motherhood
Woman and young daughter smiling

Editor’s note: This post discusses child loss Child loss changes Mother’s Day. My 19-month-old, Julia, died suddenly on Mother’s Day in 2024. Three months later, her autopsy revealed she had B-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (B-ALL, also known as SUDNIC). Julia died a week after we did an embryo transfer at an IVF clinic in an attempt to have a second child. We found out three days after Julia’s death that the embryo did not make it either. Six months later, we did another embryo transfer that succeeded, and I now have an 8-month-old daughter, Lucy Mei (“Mei Mei” means “little...

Keep Reading

If You Give a Mom a Bouquet…

In: Motherhood
Woman arranging bouquet of pink flowers on table

If you give a mom a bouquet… She goes to grab a vase to put it in. As she grabs the vase, she also grabs the duster because she knows the spot for the vase is probably dusty and she has guests coming for dinner. As she begins dusting, she notices the stack of books that needs to go back on the shelf. When she gets to the shelf, she sees the bendy action figures in battle formation that need to go back in the bin. When she gets to the bin, she spots the toy food that needs to...

Keep Reading

Here In the Liminal Space of Parenting

In: Motherhood
Woman in tunnel

It’s Friday night at 8:00. The intermittent snoring of an 80-pound lap dog is the only thing slicing through the silence of my home. It feels empty, and there is a stillness in the air. I have nowhere to be; there is nobody waiting to be picked up. I’m staring at the empty takeout boxes from dinner sitting on the coffee table. There was no need to cook a big meal; it was just the two of us, my husband and me, sitting together wistfully in this liminal space of parenting. It is the quiet place between an empty nest...

Keep Reading