I won’t lie. I am often puzzled my husband Joe’s behavior. Sometimes it makes me raise an eyebrow and give him “the look” but most often it just makes me chuckle. Those are typically the moments when I simply appreciate having him and know that I don’t really need to always understand him to know I love him as he is. A man.
So when does my husband leave me scratching my head? A great example occurred recently on a Saturday morning, a week before Christmas. I am busy wrapping gifts. My husband on the other hand gets the idea that he should take out the huge boxes his parents gave him of his G.I. Joes from his childhood. He thinks our action figure loving son Warren would enjoy it. I didn’t discourage the idea because I appreciate having the kids entertained and I had a long list of things I wanted to get accomplished.
This plan worked for a little while. Warren did play with Daddy at the table for about 20 minutes before he lost interest watching my husband sort his “guys”. Many of them were taken apart and badly in need of some care. The quantity was really massive and less than half of them are shown in these pictures.
Joe couldn’t stop until as many of his guys could be put together as possible. He set to work sorting parts and rebuilding his men and sharing stories. I learned about many of the characters and how his brother David left one of them outside to get his legs chewed up by the family dog. He was happy to share the tale with me as he holds up the evidence. (Something he is apparently still a bit annoyed about.) And so I couldn’t resist snapping a couple of pictures, not imagining I’d be sharing them with anyone.
After a couple of hours of this I had to ask, who is he really doing this for? Joe apologized, realizing it certainly wasn’t for our kids anymore but that once he started he couldn’t stop. Eventually I had most of our presents wrapped while he had managed to assemble a majority of his G.I. Joes. I’m not sure if I can say that was a Saturday well spent given the time of year, but it was one of those times I simply shook my head and smiled seeing the little kid in him shine through.
Since having kids I am often wondering who I’m REALLY buying our toys for in the family, especially Legos. Our boys or my husband? When they work on them together it is quality time. Joe has a fabulous gift for building unique items with Legos that the boys just love. But when I find that the boys are playing upstairs by me and my husband has been down in our playroom for an hour by himself assembling some new contraption, I have to wonder….
Understanding guys might be hard, but feeding them thankfully doesn’t have to be. While my husband’s behavior may leave me puzzled, he is easy to please in the food department. All three of my guys, big and small, love a good hot dog. Ball Park is dedicated to making food that is juicy, handheld and easy to make for any guy time occasion. Be sure to visit Ball Park Franks on Facebook for promotions and to stay up to date on new products.
I’d love to hear about any tales in which the men in your life leave you a bit puzzled as well!
Disclosure: This is a sponsored post. Ball Park product and additional incentives were provided to me. All opinions are 100% my own and yours may differ.
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Bridgette Duplantis says
February 9, 2012 at 10:18 pmWhat a cute story! My hubby is surrounded by a house full of girls, so he never gets a chance to play GI Joe. Being the good sport that he is, he will sit and attend a tea party and even let the girls “do” his hair.
Emilie says
February 10, 2012 at 9:39 amMy Dad was in the same boat with only two girls. And when I look back to when I was little some of my fondest memories are of him letting me “do” his hair while I sat on the back of the couch with a squirt bottle and comb and a whole lot of barrettes and hair ties.
Felicia says
February 9, 2012 at 10:29 pmGirl, I am so right there with you on this one. Case in point, we are taking “Graham” to LEGOLAND in April. That’s right. It’s all about Graham.
Emilie says
February 10, 2012 at 9:38 amOh my boys would be in heaven. ALL of them including the big one. 🙂
Xenia says
February 9, 2012 at 10:30 pmFunny! Men and their toys!
My husband leaves me scratching my head a lot too, but it’s mostly when he does something like “cleaning” and just stuffs things into random places. Inevitably we’ll (meaning ME) will be looking for those items a little while later and he’ll have absolutely no recollection or clue as to where he puts them. Argh!
Emilie says
February 10, 2012 at 9:37 amMy husband is really good at cleaning but horrible about setting things to right afterwards. So the bathroom might be clean but I’ll walk in and there is no towel and all the essentials like hand soap, toothbrushes, etc aren’t in place. He never exactly “finishes” it. I”m just happy he is finally starting to remember to put the vacuum away when he is done. (We typically spend Saturday mornings cleaning together.) I don’t complain though because I’m just happy to have a guy that WILL clean with me. I try not to sweat the small stuff.
And no, my husband can’t half the time remember where he puts stuff either. That is my job. 🙂
Renee says
February 9, 2012 at 10:52 pmI can so relate to this post Emilie! Talk to me when your husband comes home with a Jabba the Hut replica.LOL
Emilie says
February 10, 2012 at 9:43 amI’m lucky that so far he hasn’t spent money on any hobbies or collectibles but he is prone to buying toys on our trips to Target simply because I think he wants them as much as they do. Thankfully they are all inexpensive. But case in point, Warren gets to pick out an action figure but there is a bad guy there that we don’t see often in the stores and then Joe has to buy it for himself so they can battle. *cough* This is how Joe ended up with action figures in his stocking at Christmas too.
Kate @ The Shopping Mama says
February 10, 2012 at 12:37 pmThat’s hysterical. My husband doesn’t have figures like that – his vice is electronics. He’ll spend HOURS upon HOURS fixing some random connection or making something hi-tech for no reason. Well, he thinks it’s necessary and I can never tell anything’s different. Oh well…
BusyWorkingMama says
February 10, 2012 at 12:43 pmMy husband loves handyman projects, and he’s good at them. He’s built our deck, wired outlets, installed sky lights (that don’t leak), gutter guards, built an arbor, storage for the garage, etc. But what puzzles me is that each project takes him FOREVER to complete. I’ll find him sitting there, staring at a project and I just want to say, “move it, just get it done!” Right now I have a slide-out spice rack project that’s in mid-completion, wood and cabinet paneling scattered on my kitchen floor.
Caryn B says
February 10, 2012 at 12:51 pmYES! Oh Emilie….it can be SO difficult….I don’t know if it’s a gender thing or what but I seriously find myself shaking my head in wonderment at times. : ) Mostly it has to do with how he handles the kids just in general. I just have such a different thought process and I wonder how he gets from point A to point B with his decisions…..I know…random…
rosey says
February 10, 2012 at 1:04 pmTrains…my husband pretends the trains from his childhood are for our toddler.
I totally get this story. 🙂
Cheryl B says
February 10, 2012 at 3:11 pmOhhhh wow! I grew up with two brothers (one of whom is named David :->), and this brings back sooo many memories. I actually liked to play with all their action figures, too… I remember having to try and put back together the different parts so I could have “complete” action figure boyfriends for my Barbie dolls… Thanks so much for sharing!!
Tiff @ Babes and Kids says
February 14, 2012 at 1:50 pmHa ha, there’s a reason that men and women are so different. I think sometimes men are boys trapped in a man’s body too. Funny that he started telling you about every figure. My brother who is 33 still asks for Legos for Christmas.
tiffany elkins says
February 15, 2012 at 10:25 amI wanted to let yo know I have awarded you the Versitile Blogger Award!
ashley dela says
February 16, 2012 at 2:35 pmluckily my husband is incredibly easy to understand! love him so much!
Theresa @ Brilliant Baby Products says
February 17, 2012 at 8:34 amGotta love a man who plays with his kids and is easy to feed! lol!