It's National Repeat Day!  

It's National Repeat Day!  

It's National Repeat Day!  

It's National Repeat Day!  

It's National Repeat Day!  

So, in honor of the "National Repeat Day," I'm repeating a post that many of you enjoyed before... 


Blog prompt from Mama Kat

4.) Many of us like to poke fun at some of the things that drive us crazy as parents…let’s flip the script, what are 10 things you love about motherhood?

1. Fishy kisses from my Buggaboo.  He loves to give kisses and uses any excuse, such as “I’m sorry”  “Hi”  “Bye bye”  or he’ll just climb up into my lap and give me three or four kisses and then get back down.  And when I’m upset/crying, he comes right to me and gives me fishy kisses until I start laughing.  It’s hard not to, because it’s so cute!
2. How my little man is turning into such a Mommy’s helper… or at least, he’s trying to.  He’s only 16 months old right now, but he’s already trying to “help” out now and then.
3. My hubby’s saying:  “If Momma’s not happy, no one’s happy!”  LOL  He and our oldest (who’s 17 going on 35) like to joke about that.
4. Having people understand why I’m so tired all the time.  All I say is that I have a teenager and a 16 month old and everyone gives me the sympathetic looks and sounds.
5. The power of “Because I said so!”
6. The ego boost that kids give you when they think you know everything.  (this is usually right before I have to burst that bubble, but for a brief moment, the exhilaration is intoxicating.)
7. The “Baby on Board” sign in the back window of the van.  Call me crazy, but I’ve always wanted one of those!
8. Rekindling imagination and the Legendary Characters of Santa, The Tooth Fairy, The Easter Bunny, etc. 
9. Bringing out the Inner-Child again.  I’m a little embarrassed to admit it, but It’s so fun to play with all the cool toys that are out there now, that they didn’t make when I was little.
10. Authority of Motherhood to clean anybody's face with spit.

Writing Prompt of the Day

Here's another writing prompt from Mama Kat.  The first list is from her workshop.  The second list is my own, inspired from the first.

List the top 10 things you miss about being alone.

1. Peace & Quiet  (I think I could just stop this list after this one and feel completely done!  LOL)
2. Not being interrupted when I’m trying to do…. Anything!
3. Not having to share my meal with a toddler who sees Mommy eating and thinks he has to have some of it (or most of it)
4. Being able to just get up and go… anywhere… without having to pack up the Little Man or wait for or find someone to watch him
5. Not having other people’s messes.  If it’s messy, it’s my own fault.  If I clean it up, I didn’t have to worry about someone coming right behind me to mess it up.
6. Being able to do what I want, when I want, without having to think about or worry about anyone else’s needs/wants.
7. Not having to worry about anyone else… did they get where they were supposed to be?  Will they get home ok?  What are the kids doing?  Don’t touch that!  Don’t do that!  Etc…
8. Being able to walk around naked in the house.
9. Being responsible for myself, my own bills, my own meals (If I skipped a meal, it wasn’t a big deal, but I can’t skip feeding my children)
10. Going out and hanging out with friends any time I wanted.

List the top 10 things I love having now that I’m not alone:

1. Unconditional love from my son.  I never thought I could feel so much love, especially from someone so small.
2. Having someone to take out the garbage and carry in groceries for me.  (Ok, so that one's a bit on the selfish side... it's still one of my favorite things of having a hubby!)
3. Having someone to share things with; how the day went, what happened, things to do, etc.
4. Having a partner (my hubby) for all eternity.
5. Being able to be a SAHM
6. Being the Mom for Mother’s Day!
7. Watching the miracle that is my son.
8. Being able to enjoy playing with toys without anyone thinking I’m weird
9. Being able to watch Disney movies without anyone thinking I’m weird
10. Learning lessons that only my baby boy can teach me.

Project 365 (Day Five)

I've officially given my family the Project 365 to do as well.  I'm hoping to have a good journal of our year to show for it and to increase their awareness of the world around them, particularly our son.  I'm hoping that he'll gain a new outlook on life after seeing it through a camera lens.

So, here goes nothing....

This is my contribution.  This is off of our coffee table.

I liked the texture of the leather and the gold leaf design.

This is my son's first picture of Mommy holding Monkey Toes.

I'm sorry, but I had to tweak it in Photoshop and blur my body out.

This is such a terrible picture of me. 

Actually, he did well with taking the picture,

I just look terrible, I can't believe I'm actually posting it!  LOL

My husband still hasn't given me his contribution as of yet.  He's still working, but has agreed to participate.  But I'll post his as soon as he gets it to me.

So, there it is, Project 365 Day Five and The Mad Hatters are officially a photography journal family!  I'm very excited and can't wait to see what comes next!

Project 365 (Day Four)

So, my question is:  How do you only choose ONE picture to post?  I've taken THREE today that I really like and I'm going to post all of them.

I've also decided to challenge my whole family to the Project 365.  I think it would be wonderful to be able to look back on the year and see what each of us saw and did and where we went and how we saw the world.  I've already challenged our son, now I just need to tell Hubby when he gets home!  :o)

Ok, here are my pics of the day...

Sunrise Through Fog

(The fog was so thick this morning in some places,

that it gave off a strange glow to the sun.)

Sunrise Through Tree

(With the fog lifting a bit, it was just beautiful

through the branches and leaves of this tree.)

My Honey gave me this flower the other day. 

It was just barely blooming with one flower. 

Now there are three of them coming out!

Scarred

I look at myself, at the scars left from years and years ago.  Some are faded, others very vibrant.  My hands have some that are easy to see, one when I used a knife and cut toward my hand even though I knew better.  I had to learn the hard way. 

Other scars have faded to nothing.  I had three holes put into my left hand when dad and I had played Monkey in the Middle with our dog.  She was the Monkey in the Middle as we tossed a ball back and forth.  Then the ball and her mouth came down into my hand at the same time.  Three holes, almost all the way through.  I was two years old.  Our dog didn’t mean it, it was an accident, and honestly, it didn’t even hurt, strangely enough.  My parents were horrified, of course.  That was the end of our game.

I have scars on my knees from climbing trees.  Oh, how I used to climb as high as the roof and jump down where my parents couldn’t see me.  I have bad feet now, I’m wondering if that’s one of the reasons why. 

Then there are the emotional scars.  My mom and dad deaths.  Dad died first.  My divorce to my first husband.  Numerous breakups, too many to count.  Pets dying or having to get rid of them for one reason or another.  Depression at different times in my life. 

Of course, there are many more scars of different types, too numerous to list. Now I look at my baby, (oh, and let’s not forget those scars!) innocent, loving, funny, adorable, and I think of how much his daddy and I were daredevils when we were kids and all the scars both of us have, both physical and emotional, and I get scared… no, terrified!  He’s going to get hurt, he’s going to get scars, I can’t imagine the terror my parents felt when my hand went into our dog’s mouth.  But I’m sure I’ll probably find out one way or another. 

I wish I could call my parents and apologize to them for putting them through such pain, seeing me go through what I went through.  But my mom’s philosophy was that I had to learn from my own mistakes.  No matter what she could possibly say, I had to experience the pain on my own, or otherwise I wouldn’t actually learn anything.  She never interfered.  She sat and watched, and was always there to pick up the pieces when I needed her, but she let me fly from the nest on her own.  How strong she was to do that.  I know she worried beyond belief.  She was overprotective of me when I was little, in some ways.  But in others, she allowed me to experience life and pain, but also happiness and love.

Mom always said, what doesn’t kill you, only makes you stronger.  Great, what doesn’t kill you?!  Are you kidding me?!  What about the broken bones, teeth knocked out, God forbid getting maimed,  mental issues, therapy, etc….. Aaarrrggghhh!!  I’m not going to survive this motherhood thing.  I’m going to curl into a little ball until it’s over.  OMG, that’s going to be a long time!  Maybe I’ll just put my baby into a protective bubble and not ever let him get hurt…. Of course, then he’ll never experience love and kindness and all the good things in life either.  Hmmm… not such a good idea, either.  How did my mother do it?!  Amazingly she and I both survived.  How, I don’t know.  But it’s my turn to find out. 

Life is a journey, not a destination. And I plan to have a great time with my family on this journey.  Oh, we’ll have our hard times, our bad times, and we’ll all get scarred.  But we’ll have good times as well and we’ll all be better people in the long run. 

Our scars tell stories of our lives.  Display them proudly.