Color Me Crazy

What do you get when you combine nine napless kids under the age of five with three tired moms and a bunch of white shirts and fabric dye?

Sheer, unadulterated insanity!!!

Things started well... the girls were prepped and ready to go:


And I obviously had the best intentions of getting some pictures of everything...

But about three minutes after this picture was taken, all hell broke loose.

The three babies all started screaming. The toddlers were over tired and just plain done. And the girls were, well, typical independent girls.

I think that my friends and I personified the phrase "It takes a village..." yesterday.

I swept in and dealt with the babies and as many of the toddlers as I could manage while my creative and patient counterparts dipped and dyed the white banded bundles.

The volume in the house was deafening. And I'm pretty sure that I, at least, looked haggard and somewhat hilarious with my child nursing, a baby in the crook of my knee, and a third one on my other arm. I was able to captivate the attention of two of my three toddler charges by having them tell me about the toys in the backpack. My own toddler, however, had to be sent on a wild goose chase looking for airplanes. Don't ask... it is the ONLY thing that will keep his attention or deter him from a total meltdown when he isn't getting his way.

And when all the shirts had been dyed and the diapers had been changed, the power went out.

I swear, you couldn't make this stuff up if you tried.

Exit The Mama.

And as if we hadn't had enough, the nine month old decided that she wanted to choke on a strand of her sister's hair within minutes of pulling out of my friend's neighborhood. It was unpleasant to say the least.

Within ten minutes of walking through the door to our house, I had all three stinky kids bathed. Dinner consisting of Steamfresh broccoli and one cent Publix hot dogs was quickly served.

Bedtime came early last night.

I do have to say that the one shirt I managed to get done before all hell broke loose turned out surprisingly well.

This is her "style girl" pose. I have no idea what that means, but I have a feeling I'm in serious trouble.

We made it home with three other shirts, but sadly my son's is nowhere to be found.

Here are the other ones that my friend Jackie did for me while I juggled the wild ones:


I'm going to add my touch to them with some fun Urban Threads embroideries.

Upon reflection, the tie dying itself was fun. However, next time I think that I will do it minus the children and plus a bottle of wine.

Love, hugs, and blessings,
The Mama

Matt's Special Post

I have this friend. His name is Matt. When I first met him, I hated him.

Tonight, over 12 years since I first met (and disliked) Matt, he said, "I don't read your blog. Do you ever write about me?"

See, here's the thing: my mama was raised in West Virginia. I was taught that if you don't have something nice to say, keep still.

And so with that... I'm kidding.

In all honesty, Matt is one of the most wonderful, loyal, artistic, creative, inspiring, genuine, sensitive, giving, caring, amazing individuals that I have had the pleasure of not only knowing, but being able to call one of my best friends. He's been both my harshest critic and my biggest advocate. He's been with me through thick and thin, good times and bad. He's seen me at my worst (a lot more than I think either of us would like to remember!), and my best. And no, Matthew, your comments will not be allowed to be made public.

Matt's a freelance graphic designer. If you would like to learn more about him, you can check out his website here.

We met working as orientation ambassadors at Georgia Southern. It was my second year on the team, his first. Right off the bat, we disagreed. He was opinionated, rude, sarcastic, always had to be right, had the BEST and BIGGEST ideas, and would NOT take no for an answer. He was a male version of me at the time. It was fate, kismet... my biggest nightmare.

We got over our differences (read: I got over my control issues and he realized who was boss), and we wound up being inseperably close. The majority of my favorite memories of GSU include Matt. Fortunately for most of you, this is a PG rated blog so those stories and the associated jokes will not be shared today.

At any rate, Matt has always been a staple in my adult life. I am incredibly thankful to have him as a friend. Today, he helped me take my three children to the park to let out some much needed energy. He clearly loved playing with them just as much as they enjoyed having him there. My daughter has not stopped talking about "Meestah Matt" since we got home. She insisted on telling him goodnight over Skype before she would even consider going to sleep.

So, Matt, in honor of your unconditional friendship, here is your special blog post. No, we will not be discussing (and I would still like to forget) Very Fresh, tequila shots at Park Place, and Charlie Brown. However, I will always hold swing dancing at the Velvet Elvis, SOAR 99's SROW skit, Mogwai and the Reeces Cups, and Facebook Uno close to my heart.

Oh, and that picture? That's me and Matt at my wedding. We were tearing up the dance floor! Ah, to be that skinny and agile again...

Love, hugs, and blessings,
The Mama

Thoughts on Friendship

I have been very blessed with good friends. Some of these women I have never even met in person, yet they know more about me than I ever could have imagined.

Two years ago, I joined a message board for women who were having babies around the same time as I was having my second child. At first, I joined the board in an attempt to get more information about my pregnancy and childbirth options. However, as time went on, the support and friendships grew. Eventually, the message board split off and we became our own little community.

Now, over two years later, I am still friends with many of these women. I have even have the good fortune of meeting some of them in person. Some of the closest friendships I have formed came out of this group.

You never know where friendship, companionship, support, and encouragement will come from. Our lives, our backgrounds, and our philosophies are all vastly different. We are miles, states, countries, and continents apart. Yet we share a common bond... the bond of motherhood.

Love, hugs, and blessings,
The Mama