Tackle, Tackle

I don't know how people raise daughters because I have 2 sons. In my in-sanest moments, I have thought about having a daughter and have entertained thoughts about rushing into Toys'Rus straight to the Barbie doll section. My preoccupation with daughters is short-lived. Then I become sane all over again ? I must be out of my mind thinking about having another child! No way, it's totally, absolutely, positively, undoubtedly out of the question. I do love babies. Oh, how I do love them. Pinching cheeks is not one of my favorite things to do an infant but I sure do love the feel of their feathery skin that is layered with fine, fine hair. I can't resist touching their bums like a lunatic.

I am quite sure daughters are fun. Sometimes I watch other mothers fuss with their daughter's hair and I look at Joshua and Jared and think to myself, "You think daddy will still love them if I leave their hair long so that I can tie them in braids and put ribbons on them?" My sons are pretty pretty, if I do say so myself but I don't think they'd like me to dress them up as girls.

I tried.

Dressing my boys as girls Joshua already knows the difference between girls and boys ? after the countless number of times we've broached the topic, how could he NOT know??? The times when we laughed till we were rolling around in unabashed nakedness in the bathroom because he thought I dropped my penis? Classic case of sex education gone folly. Jared, in the meantime, kept lifting up the skirt to see where the pant is one time I dressed him up as a Cinderella. I guess, it's not going to work.

My confusion and problem on dealing with little girls started when I realized that I don't know how to buy pretty dresses and fancy head gears for girls. Mind you, although I DO have a critical eye out for fashion faults, I am not a very good dresser. I prefer the slip-on-and-go-and-don't-feel-like-I-am-wearing-anything-at-all types of clothes. If I had to insomuch as zip, button, snap-on, clasp or buckle anything, I'd feel like dressing was too much of an effort. Naturally, being the 'casual dresser' that I am (my family members refer to it as 'sloppy' but I object), I find myself in a mental maze whenever I have to buy gifts for girls. And in this month itself, there are two. One is for my 9-year-old cousin (being 32 this year, I have a pre-puberty cousin? Yes, I do. So, sue me) and another is for my niece, who's turning 3 this month.

Birthday present problem For my cousin, I was thinking about buying soft toys because it's hard to go wrong with soft toys. I mean, doesn't everybody adore soft toys anymore? But no, I decided against it. I went into the clothes department to get her some fairy costumes, a princess crown or glass slippers, whatever! But it occurred to me that I didn't know how to pick out female clothing at all. Then, I jogged myself into the stationery department, thinking of getting her a school bag. Boy, a school bag? How boring can I be? So, off I go again, into the books department this time. And I got her something that I don't know whether she will like or not ? but I am quite sure it's hard to go wrong with books. Furthermore, I know I would have loved to get books as a present if I was still 9-years-old. Granted the fact that I was a major bookworm at that time.

It's even worse for my 3-year-old niece ? I went from one department to another, shopping mall to shopping mall for days on end. Up till today, I come home empty-handed, wide-eyed and clueless. What in the world do you buy for a 3-year-old girl who already has everything she can ever wish for?

"Bah!" to girls.

Tackling Another thing that bothers me is that I tend to be a little?.erm?.adventurous and wild with my kids. They're boys, so, they naturally like to roughhouse a little and jump, hop, skip, run, hide, scare?.tackle each other. And being a good mom, that's precisely the kind of games that I play with them. I tackle them to the ground, wrestler-fashion, knocking my knuckles into their skull, digging my fingernails into their backs and sides, biting into the butts, pushing their heads into pillows?..

When my nieces come into the room and take one look at the kind of games that we're playing with each other, they have 2 different reactions. One, they gape at us. Two, they want to join us but is afraid to. I remember playing the roughhousing game with one of my nieces, throwing her up in the air the way I throw Jared. She went stiff like a baseball bat in the air and when I caught her back into my arms, she looked like she was going to barf! Her face was green and her lips suddenly had cracks on them.

I gingerly placed her back on the floor and she sped out of the room.

As for having a daughter, forget about it. I'll stick with my two monsters and continue with our snarling and growling activities until they decide that they want to play Barbie with their girlfriends. I will continue to enjoy my boys?.until next year rolls around.

Marsha Maung is a freelance graphic designer and copy writer who works from her home in Selangor, Malaysia. She loves nothing more than blowing bubbles in the park with her 2 kids, Joshua and Jared and considers getting her hair yanked while playing horsey. To her, it's a privilege she treasures. She is the author of "Raising little magicians", and the popular "The Lance in freelancing". More information can be found at http://www.marshamaung.com

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Google News Updated : Fri, 05 Sep 2008 02:05:17 GMT Abramoff Sentenced to 4 Years in Prison for Corruption - Washington Post ABC News Abramoff Sentenced to 4 Years in Prison for Corruption Washington Post - 2 hours ago By Del Quentin Wilber and Carrie Johnson Jack Abramoff, the onetime powerhouse Republican lobbyist whose influence peddling led to one of the biggest public corruption investigations in recent history, was sentenced by a federal judge today to four ... US lobbyist is sentenced to 4 years in prison International Herald Tribune Abramoff sentenced to 4 years in prison Detroit Free Press New York Times - Los Angeles Times - The Associated Press - CNN all 676 news articles Publ.Date : Thu, 04 Sep 2008 23:47:01 GMT Deaths Heighten Arthritis Drugs Warning - WebMD WNCT Deaths Heighten Arthritis Drugs Warning WebMD - 2 hours ago By Miranda Hitti Sept. 4, 2008 -- The FDA today ordered stronger warnings about the risk of potentially deadly fungal infections, especially one called histoplasmosis, in people taking the drugs Cimzia, Enbrel, Humira, and Remicade, which are called ... FDA Demands Tougher Warnings on Immunosuppressive Drugs U.S. News & World Report FDA orders stronger warnings for 4 arthritis drugs The Associated Press Reuters - Bloomberg - USA Today - TheStreet.com all 466 news articles Publ.Date : Thu, 04 Sep 2008 23:30:49 GMT Autism and measles vaccine: no link found -- again - Los Angeles Times Autism and measles vaccine: no link found -- again Los Angeles Times - 6 hours ago Suspicion that autism is triggered by childhood vaccinations -- notably the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine -- lingers on, even though studies repeatedly fail to find such a link. Study Finds No Autism Link in Vaccine Washington Post Health Buzz: MMR Vaccine and Autism, and Other Health News U.S. News & World Report CNN - Reuters - WebMD - ABC News all 265 news articles Publ.Date : Thu, 04 Sep 2008 19:25:11 GMT Evacuations Are Advised as Storm Nears the Southeast - New York Times ABC News Evacuations Are Advised as Storm Nears the Southeast New York Times - 45 minutes ago By ROBBIE BROWN ATLANTA - As Tropical Storm Hanna surged toward the Atlantic Coast on Thursday, the authorities declared states of emergency in Virginia and North Carolina and recommended evacuation from some coastal regions of South Carolina. Hanna May Reach Hurricane Force; Ike Looms Out at Sea (Update4) Bloomberg Southeast braces for Hanna as Ike strengthens The Associated Press WSAV-TV - Philadelphia Inquirer - Beaufort Gazette - International Herald Tribune all 1,943 news articles Publ.Date : Fri, 05 Sep 2008 01:19:19 GMT Boeing workers frustrated, angry at strike delay - Reuters The Gazette (Montreal) Boeing workers frustrated, angry at strike delay Reuters - 1 hour ago By Laura Myers EVERETT, Washington (Reuters) - Less than a day after voting to strike, Boeing workers expressed frustration and anger on Thursday at the decision by union leaders to postpone a walkout and negotiate further with the company. Boeing, Machinists Return to Talks to Avert Strike (Update1) Bloomberg SPEEA Supports IAM 751 Efforts to Secure a New Contract from Boeing MarketWatch The Associated Press - Bizjournals.com - International Herald Tribune - Motley Fool all 1,304 news articles Publ.Date : Fri, 05 Sep 2008 00:30:58 GMT McCain Will Vow an End to Partisanship in Convention Speech - Washington Post Boston Globe McCain Will Vow an End to Partisanship in Convention Speech Washington Post - 1 hour ago By Chris Cillizza ST. PAUL, MINN. - Sen. John McCain will take the stage at the Xcel Center here in less than three hours to formally accept his party's presidential nomination and deliver an address that will kick-start a frenetic two-month general ... McCain will take GOP to task for losing its way CNN McCain to Declare ‘Change Is Coming’ in Acceptance Speech FOXNews The Associated Press - Wall Street Journal - Financial Times - The Canadian Press all 726 news articles Publ.Date : Fri, 05 Sep 2008 00:06:30 GMT Syria details its stance on peace talks - Ha'aretz Daily Star - Lebanon Syria details its stance on peace talks Ha'aretz - 2 hours ago By Yoav Stern and Barak Ravid Syrian President Bashar Assad revealed details on the peace process with Israel yesterday, presenting Turkey with a document of principles, one of whose points discusses the desired extent of the withdrawal from the Golan ... Video: Sarkozy in Syria : the press is divided france24english Syria: Israeli Peace Talks Postponed New York Times Voice of America - Al-Ahram Weekly - Forward - Ha'aretz all 984 news articles Publ.Date : Thu, 04 Sep 2008 23:53:30 GMT Automate Your Blogging RSS Parser

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