Things Moms Say: Kids TV Shows

Many of us look back fondly on the shows we used to watch as kids.  The theme song to The Brady Bunch, Looney Toons,  Full House, and  Mickey Mouse Club,  all create a warm stirring of memories in our hearts.  We loved those shows, but did we ever stop to think that maybe the shows or characters didn't quite win our parents over? Perhaps as we were singing the Lambchop's Song That Doesn't End, our parents were slowly losing their marbles.  I know many of my friend's watched the Simpsons, but it was banned in our house because Bart was such a wise guy.


Now that we are parents, we have to endure some less-than-savory TV shows.  Maybe it's the annoying theme song, maybe it's the impolite main character.  Or, if you are me, maybe the show has puppets, which you find ABSOLUTELY CREEPY (another post for another day, friends).


My gal pals from PSMM shared their thoughts on kids TV shows. It was not surprising to find that everyone had something to say, and there was much commiserating during the conversation.  Spoiler Alert: Caillou is not our friend.


Here's what they had to say:

Things Moms Say: Motherhood

Motherhood.  It's simple, it's complicated. You love it, you get frustrated by it. It's invigorating, it's exhausting. How do you begin to express what it means to be a Mom? Since it's Mother's Day this weekend, I wanted to challenge all my Momma Friends out there with just that question:  What does being a Mom mean to you?


My Philly Social Media Moms spent some time processing, and came back with some great responses.  Read on to hear what they had to say on the topic of Being a Mom.

What Does Being a Mom Mean to You?

What does being a mom mean to me?


It means bringing a life into this world and having it rock you. It means my life has been changed and it can never be the same again. It means never sleeping soundly because you are always aware of every move they make, every sigh the breathe in their sleep. It means never being able to look at yourself as me, but rather we, because they have become an extension of your being. Your body, your life, your heart expanded in ways you never thought possible. It means the frightening responsibility of being entrusted with small, budding lives and helping them know this world and reach their potential.  It is the scariest, funniest, most agonizing, joyous and best thing I could have ever done with my life. 

Here is what some of my favorite bloggers had to say...

"Having a daughter means I get to work through and understand the issues I had with my mom and appreciate the tough job she had to do. She didn't have a role model for her mothering. I also think about the example I want to provide for my daughter who is a bit of a tomboy. I want her to feel confident about herself. Being a mom has stretched me in so many ways, and nothing that I ever would have expected" -- Barb from A Life in Balance



"It means that I get to spend tons and tons of quality time with two little people who look like me, act like their dad, and have personalities of people I've always wanted to know. And I get to watch them grow up and make decisions. It's the best interactive experience ever invented" -- Cindy from Whatever Works



"It means I can't go to the bathroom by myself, get dressed by myself or have a hot meal. Being a mom means putting in the time and the hard work to raise my boys to be the men they should be. It's hard work but it's the best job I've ever had" -- Mychal from My Life in Mommyland



"To me, being a mom means being charged with the biggest responsibility of all - raising another human being to be a compassionate, contributing being on this earth; to share everything you know, mixed with lots of hugs and kisses with people you love more than you ever thought possible" -- Hillary from My Scraps

"Being a mom means you've been given the greatest gift, burden and responsibility all wrapped into one" -- Melinda from Look What Mom Found




"I waited a longtime to be a mom. I had a very successful career of my choosing, traveled, enjoyed life. Something was missing. Now I have a little guy to keep me youthful by experiencing the world through his eyes. It is the best thing that happened for me at the right time in my life. And when it's hard, I remind myself of that!" -- Diane from Knitting Zeal




"Is knowing I would give up my life in a heartbeat for my child!" -- Claudia from Easy Learning Languages




"It means raising kids so that someday they won't need me. THAT is the hardest part of parenting, and THAT is why moms are so dang STRONG" -- Robin from Simple. Green. Organic. Happy




"Being a mom to me means I have the honor if shaping lives, of "making people" the best that they can be. It's a job filled with love and one I take so very seriously. It's the greased gift I have ever been given!" -- Colleen from Souffle Bombay




"Being a mom means that I have the chance to show my daughter the world, fill her life with love and be on a special life journey with my husband" -- Becky from Crafty Garden Mama




"To me it means that I am lucky enough to have two amazing little children that I get to love unconditionally and wholeheartedly; it means every morning I wake up, see their little faces and remember how good my life is because I have them" -- Sarah from Finnegan and the Hughes

~~~~~

I am grateful for the reminder that Motherhood is a gift not to be taken for granted.

I'd love to hear your thoughts: 

What does being a Mom mean to you?

Share your thoughts in a comment below!

Things Moms Say: Dream Jobs

Have you ever dreamed about a job?  Perhaps one that you have no talent for or skill set, but the idea excites you?  The thought of doing that job for the rest of your life gets you giddy?  


While there are some who have the good fortune to fall into their Dream Job early in life, many of us spend a good chunk of our adulthood trying to decide what to be when we grow up. I think that there are lots of jobs we'd all love to try, but we are unequipped to do so. We may not have the talents, skills or training to pursue a profession that we secretly (or not-so-secretly) desire to do. Maybe it's being a trapeze artist or a finalist on American Idol. Maybe it's being a farmer or school bus driver. Whatever category it falls into, we all have job ideas that ignite a small flame in our hearts because we think, "Wow. That would kind of rock."

Some of the Philly Social Media Moms bared their souls and shared their responses to my question: Regardless of skill or training, if you dream of doing any job/profession in the whole wide world, what would it be and why? 


I think a few are not as far off as they think!

Secret (or Not-So-Secret) Dream Jobs

I'll start. I have a few that I dream about, but recently I think it'd be super neat to be a Doula. I have no idea why, since blood or surgical procedures make me woozy, and I didn't opt for a Doula with either of my births. But something about it seems kind of awesome.  I also wish I could be a singer. 




In that, I wish I could sing.


Here is what the PSMM Bloggers had to say...

"I'd want to be a rockstar. I love to sing and if I could be the next Pink or Adele that would be awesome" -- Mychal from My Life In Mommyland




"A children's book author! Apparently I wanted to be one early on in life, as evidenced from my quote in my fifth-grade yearbook" -- Heather from Diapered Daze and Knights




"I'd like to be a talk show host. I wouldn't want to talk to celebrities, though, just regular folk. Learning about people and their lives is so interesting!" -- Brandi from Mama Knows It All




"Bed and Breakfast owner with a fully off the grid farm. I'd love to set it up in the Catskills or Berkshires and just breathe in the fresh air!" -- Becky from Crafty Garden Mama




"I want to be David Letterman" -- Robin from Simple Green Organic Happy




"Can my answer be rich? It takes no special skills---you just need lots of money! :) For real, I think I'd be a singer (maybe a rockstar too) because I love music, I love to sing but sadly for me & my family I can't sing a note to save my life!" -- Jess from Delaware County Moms




"I want to do the Jaywalking segment on Jay Leno... I can never believe some of the answers they come up with. Just once it would be nice if someone knew the Civil War was NOT how we got our independence from ENGLAND! I don't want the whole late night gig, just Jaywalking. Or maybe the photo booth lady. Maybe that's what I'll do when I retire... be the voice of the photobooth... nothing like grandiose plans!" -- Nancy from Defeating the Squirrels




"I'd be someone successful with creativity, like a painter who can actually live off their artwork. Second choice, a rich philanthropist who has nothing better to do other than give away money to good causes. Actually, maybe that should be my first choice!" -- Nichole from Nichole Ann




"I'd be the creator of Facebook because I want to be worth all that money so I could stay home and play with my kids and dog everyday!" -- Sarah from Finnegan and the Hughes




"I have always wanted to paint murals on huge walls. Maybe even billboards. But something HUGE where people would say Wow! Look at that!" -- Cindy from Whatever Works




"A princess :-)" -- Melissa from Girlymama




"I would love to be a Broadway Star - you said skill wasn't necessary, right?" -- Hillary from My Scraps

~~~~~

What about YOU? What would YOUR Dream Job be?  Don't be shy - dream BIG! And share your response with us in the comments section below.

Things Moms Say: Fears

Being a parent can be a lot things: fun, overwhelming, humorous, embarrassing and tiring.  One thing that we've all felt as parents, though, is fear.  We don't like to admit it, because most of the time we'd like to at least give the impression we've got it all together and our parenting experience is all roses.  


But, caring for small lives can be a seriously daunting task, and as we are thrust into the roles of Mommy or Daddy, it can be pretty darn frightening.  Our love for these little beings is so great, that some of our greatest fears are wrapped up with them. 


Today, some of the Philly Social Media Moms bravely share those things, deep inside all of us, that scare them the most as parents.  I appreciate their honesty, and think we'll all be able to identify with their responses...

What scares you the most as a parent?

~~~~~

"How quickly my child(ren) could be gone"  -  Heather from Keeping it Real in the Kitchen

"Trying to raise an independent, confident and positive daughter in a world that is filled with the oversexualization of young girls"  -  Becky from Crafty Garden Mama 

"My kids repeating my mistakes. It keeps me up nights trying to imagine my children doing the things I was doing at various ages. But my biggest fear is one that I think almost all parents have, and that is the fear of them being taken, lost, abducted. The odds are fairly low, but I can't imagine much that is scarier"  -   Michelle from Mommy Confessions

"My children wandering off or being taken scares me to death! I get very anxious when I take them somewhere, like the zoo, and there are only 2 of them right now. Can't imagine what 3 will be like!"  -  Stephanie from Mamma Bear's World 

"Besides the main scare of losing them, I'm scared that when they grow up I will find out everything I have done to raise them was wrong. What if all the choices I made as a mom were bad ones?"  -  Cindy from Whatever Works

"The fact that it's very likely that my son will never be independent, and I won't be here forever Sorry to be a downer, but that is what keeps me up at night"  -  Lisa from A Day In Our Shoes

"Burying my children"  -  Pam from I Forgot What I Was Doing

"Everything that is out of my control,as their parent, scares the heck out of me!"  -  Sarah from Finnegan and the Hughes

"I worry about losing my kids. My ds6 once hid for an hour under our porch. It scared the living daylights out of us. He's so friendly, and my ds3 is just so 3 that I'm scared someone will take them"  -   Barb from A Life in Balance

"Something terrible happening to my kids. If I let myself, my imagination can scare the rest of me into a tiny dark place of immobility. It TERRIFIES me"  -  Hillary from My Scraps

"To be totally honest, everything about being a parent scares me. Losing them, bad guys, drugs, teen issues & my kids are 8.5 & 4---already afraid for what is to come!"  - Jessica from Delaware County Moms 

"For both my girls: that somehow we will lose them. For my oldest: it is the fear that cancer will come back. For my youngest, it is the fear she will be left without a sister"  - Trish from Yoke

"Outliving my child scares me to death!"  -  Randi from SAHM's Crazy Life

"The fact that I'm a parent! Seriously, though, the list is so long. It's a scary world!"  -  Steph from A Grande Life 

"Losing my children. Hands down that's what scares me the most. The idea that I would outlive them is terrifying"  -  Jennifer from Harmonic Mama

"I am terrified that everything I am doing is going to screw my daughter up. That she will not heed my advice and make every mistake that I have made"  -  Rachee from Say it Rah-shay

"Cancer. I almost hate even writing it down, like I could be jinxing myself, but after watching a friend lose her baby to cancer, it just terrifies me"  -  Debi from Who Says 8 is Enough

"I am one of the biggest (literally theses days as baby 3 pregnancy comes to an end) helicopter parents you will ever meet. I watch them like a hawk at all times! Even check on them at night still at ages 7 & 4, I am scared to death of ever being separated from them. Recent news stories of child abductions/home invasions doesn't help either. I am afraid of them not being accepted by peers, I am afraid of bullies, peer pressure, I am afraid one of them will get sick, I could go on and on, but basically I am afraid of everything! They are my world!"  -  Sarah from Philly Burb Moms

"My child going into anaphylaxis"  -  Jessica from Found the Marbles

~~~~

More to come next week.  Until then, we'd like to know:

What scares YOU most about being a parent?

Leave a comment below...

Things Moms Say: Guilty Pleasures

All moms, whether they stay at home or work or are married or single or some mix of all of the above, work HARD.  Like, DANG hard.  Parenting is a 24 hour, 7 day a week job with very little room for sick days or vacation time.  Moms earn pampering points each day, so when they indulge in a some secret (or not-so-secret) guilty pleasures, we can't hold it against them.


This week I asked my fave Philly Social Media Mom bloggers....

What is your Guilty Pleasure?

I'll start.  

My guilty pleasure is Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough. No, not the ice cream.  I'm talking the tubes of salmonella-laden goodness that I eat with a spoon until I want to throw up.

Don't judge me.

Here is what my girls had to say...

~~~~~

"Dance Moms - Love that train wreck!" - Steph from A Grande Life




"Swedish fish" - Pam from I Forgot What I Was Doing




"Take out Chinese and Cole Hann handbags" - Sarah from Finnegan and the Hughes




"Starbucks Caramel Frappuccinos. I can't get enough of them" - Cindy from Whatever Works




"OMG where to even start. . .right now it's the online game Fleck. Gardening and zombies - complete diversion from life" - Hillary from My Scraps




"Vanilla ice cream with chunky peanut butter! YUM!" - Stephanie from Mamma Bear's World




"Cadbury eggs and Cadbury caramel chocolate bars" - Barb from A Life in Balance




"Tabloid magazines - Star, US, People!" - Marissa from Land of Once Upon a Time




"Tiramasu cake from Alfredo BYO! I take a piece home for my husband and I to "share" after I finish hostessing there but he never gets to eat it! I usually gobble it up in the parking lot when I get in the car!" - Paola from Modestly Chic




"Rum cake... I never make it at home only when I'm going somewhere,it's just too tempting, worse than cheesecake topped w/sour cream and cherries and worse than, god forbit, yellow baby peeps shaped like chicks (picky aren't I?)" - Nancy from Defeating the Squirrels




"Doing NOTHING. Just lying in bed or outside in the grass and not doing a thing in the world" - Robin from Simple Green Organic Happy

~~~~~

So now we want to know: 

What are YOUR Guilty Pleasures??

Leave a comment below -  and have a good weekend!

Things Moms Say: Celebrity Crushes

After last week's discussion about our struggles as parents, I thought we should kick back and talk about some rubbish.  Because really, that's where all the fun is. So I asked my Philly Social Media Gals  to dish. And I want you to as well!


Don't worry - we all love our significant others more'n our luggage (who can name the movie quote?!?), but it's just fun to be all middle school about our secret celeb crushes. And you might be surprised by who they fawn over!

Who is your Celebrity Crush??

Since I never seem to share MY responses in these posts, I'll start:

“I love me some cool nerds – Andy Samberg and Jimmy Fallon. I might even throw Jonah Hill in there..” - Steph

Now for my fave bloggers...

“Tough call. Mike Rowe and George Clooney. Smart, handsome, creative. And they both stand up for their values. I love them.” - Chrissie from Picadilly Arts

“Favorite?? Harry Connick Jr.  Secret?? Justin Timberlake. DON'T JUDGE ME!” - Maureen from Mommy Tails

“I can't wait to see my celebrity boyfriend Christian Bale save Gotham City this July. And I'm bummed my celebrity husband Dr Gregory House is in his last season.” - Robin from Simple Green Organic Happy

“I have a serious crush on Jerry Trainor (Spencer from iCarly). There...I said it. There's no turning back now.” - Cindy from Whatever Works

“My crush is Simon Pegg. He is just swell, has been the topic of many a post and I even started a Pinterest board for him. Although I also have the hots for Spencer on iCarly.” - Rachee from Say It Rah-Shay

“Rob Zombie and Tim Burton. I like 'em scary and ugly (Unless you live with me. Then I like 'em scary and handsome with a lumber-jack-on-crack-style beard, like my husband).” - Kelly from The Turnip Farmer

“Matthew from Downton Abbey - who cares who he is in real life?!” - Kelly from My Overthinking

“Do I really have to pick one? Justin Timberlake, Ryan Reynolds, and Paul Rudd. They aren't so secret though!” - Marissa from Land of Once Upon a Time

“Hugh Grant...” - Heather from Diapered Knights

“Patrick Warburton from Rules of Engagement, Seinfeld and Tick. I love a man that can make me laugh.” - Melinda from Look What Mom Found

“Mark Ruffalo. It's something about that tousled hair and smirk.” - Becky from Crafty Garden Mama

“Channing Tatum...ooohhhh boooyyy.” - Sarah from Finnegan and the Hughes

“Robert Pattinson, although that's not too much of a secret :) Or George Clooney!! OMG I forgot about Channing Tatum. I just saw him in 21 Jump Street on Friday night!” - Randi from SAHM Crazy Life

“Ricky Martin and Johnny Depp.” - Pam from I Forgot What I Was Doing

“When I try to convince my tween daughter not to 'junk up' her room by taping posters all over her walls, I have to remind myself that I once had 23 posters of Matt Dillon on my bedroom walls. If I were to choose 23 posters for my bedroom now... probably George Clooney. Think my husband would mind? Oh I used to have Andre Agassi all over my room!!!” - Sarah from USA Love List

“Vin Deisel - in the Fast and the Furious and XXX. Not so much in The Pacifer...” - Jen from Lehigh Valley Momma





"Michael J Fox!"  Barbara from Homeroom At Home

"Ryan Gosling!  I loved him as Noah in The Notebook, and he was so hot in Crazy Stupid Love!!"  - Toni from Tickles and Timeouts

"No one said Billy Crystal?! He's one of mine."  - Liz from Six Year Itch

~~~~~

Now it's YOUR turn. Who are YOUR favorite (secret?) Celebrity Crushes??   Leave a comment and SHARE!

More Things Moms Say next week. If you missed the previous posts, you can find them here.

Things Moms Say: Struggles

Sometimes I get it in my head that every other parent in the world has it all together.  I believe the lies that everyone else has abundant patience, a smile on their face at all times, and never find themselves frustrated with their children.  At playgroups, I sometimes feel like the only one out of control of my children, the only one raising my voice, the only one disciplining all wrong.  Visiting other homes, I become quite positive my house is the messiest house in all of creation, and that other homes are harmonious and tidy.  


I believe the lies.  And yes, they are lies.

Things Moms Say: Pantry Items

Welcome to this week's Things Moms Say post!  Each week, I have been asking questions to moms and sharing their responses.  We've shared everything from parenting advice to mom fails. It is my hope that we can read these posts and find encouragement, community and a few laughs.


This week, I asked a very important question, and got some great responses (Spoiler Alert: MOMS. NEED. COFFEE):

Things Moms Say: If I Had a Penny....

Another week, another Things Moms Say!  I've been LOVING the responses people share for each question. Last week we discussed some of our best (or, is it worst?) Mom Fails. The week before, we were encouraged by sharing our Best Parenting Advice. Some stories make me crack up, others inspire me. Overall it's nice to know that we are all in this together (and we might as well have a sense of humor about it)!


This week, I asked Confessions of a Stay-at-Home Mom Facebook fans, as well as my Philly Social Media Moms bloggers to fill in the blank:

If I had a penny for every time I said _____________, 

I'd be a rich momma!

Things Moms Say: Mom Fails

I hope you found some encouragement from last week's Things Moms Say, where some of my fave bloggers shared the Best Parenting Advice they'd ever received.  This week, I put out the question, "What is your best (worst?) Mom Fail?"  Here is what you had to say (and tell me these haven't happened to you as well!)

Mom Fails

Things Moms Say: Best Parenting Advice

Each week, I'll be taking a little time to share real words from real moms.  From solid advice to funny stories to moving confessions, hearing the words from other moms can be uplifting, encouraging and enlightening.  I hope it makes us laugh and helps us find support from a community of women who are all coming from the same place: Motherhood!