Family Beach Night, Boy Mom Style

We try to have a family beach night as often as we can. Family beach night basically means as soon as we finish dinner, we bike over to the beach closest to us and spend about an hour on the beach.

Which in Miller boy terms, means an hour of WORK. Because what else is there to do at the beach except dig? And dig. And dig. And dig. 

So tonight, we get to the beach, park our bikes and march down to the water's edge, shovels in hand. On our way there, a group of passers-by observe: "That's a lot of boys." 

"Yup, it is." I say.

We find our spot and immediately they fan out and get to work. 

Me? Well, I unfold my beach chair, sit down for the first time all day, watch them and smile.

My boys.

Outside of my boy mom training

On Thursday afternoon, my mom and I watched the five kids.

My four boys and sweet little cousin Macy.

Watching Macy was no trouble what so ever. By this point, I feel pretty confident in my ability to take care of a child for a few hours. Feed them, change their diaper, dress them, play with them, maybe get them in a stroller, take them on a walk.... things like that. These skills all well within my wheelhouse.

Until....

Macy's hair tie falls out and she needs a new ponytail because she doesn't want wispys in her face.

I have just landed in foreign territory.

Sure I can put a ponytail in my own hair, but a little girls... never had to do that before. Heck, I hardly even brush my boys hair and when I do, it's more like me chasing them with a comb sneaking in a few brush strokes when I can.

Okay I can do this... I mean, how hard is it to put a ponytail in a two year olds hair??

Turns out, it's not so easy. My boy mom skills do not translate in this situation.

Macy was soooo patient with me! And she needed to be because I feel like it took me forever and a day!

 

Just look at her face though. She's probably thinking, "Why do they have this amateur doing my hair?!"

Everett watched the whole unfamiliar act go down from his highchair. He seemed both fascinated and a bit skeptical whether I could pull this off!

But I did!

Luckily, Macy can rock any look, even a slightly crooked ponytail!


P.S- if one of my boys decides to grow his hair long and rock a ponytail, I'm ready!