I remember standing next to a rather fraught mum in a supermarket who was trying unsuccessfully to stop her son whacking his brother with a roll of tin foil. She looked at me wearily and said, 'Boys. They can make a weapon out of anything.'
I nodded and smiled and looked down at my then tiny little chubby cheeked gorgeous bundle of first born boy. I honestly hadn't a clue what she was talking about.
You see at that point I only knew about girls. I have three sisters, just about all my cousins are girls and our little baby was the first boy to join the family in years.
I now have two boys who can make weapons out of anything.
Typical boys really.
And as frustrating as these sometimes rough, grubby, lazy, messy little treasures can be, I think I've got the measure of them.
I know what makes them happy, sad, bored, helpful. I know what they'll listen to and what they'll probably ignore.
I know they won't dwell or be too devious - apart from stealing biscuits, which they're pretty useless at because they never hide the evidence. On the whole I feel I know where I am with my boys, and that makes things a little more straightforward. At the moment!
They do still surprise me though, with sudden spontaneous hugs, sweet little notes and the occasional disarming compliment. I'll never forget coming downstairs, dressed up for a night out, and my then 3 year old saying, 'nice shoes mummy!'
Sometimes my boys leave me speechless.
Just not always for the right reasons...