Five Things Friday

This week was insane and weird. The mister left town for business last Saturday and there were three meetups scheduled with the Pirate Mommas... we missed all of them. Cole spent Tuesday night through Thursday afternoon feeding animals and playing in water with great-grandpa at the farm.

For someone who barely knew my great-grandfather, it warms my heart to see my husband's 87-year-old grandpa play with my son. Cole is obsessed with this grandpa and great-grandpa, and he lights up their lives. Grandpa Jim even taught him to say "I love you Mom" this week.. and although it came out sounding more like "I wuv you Mom" it made me burst into tears.

....And it suddenly started pouring rain outside.

So it's Friday again - already! - and I have some new stuff for you. 

Five Things You Don't Know About Me Friday

1. Lemon poppyseed muffins are my favorite.
2. I burn myself cooking a lot.
3. I heart Banksy.
4. I love the rain.
5. Discovering little patches of wonderland in the city is my favorite.

Yesterday evening the kids were both crying, so we went for a drive after dinner.  Discovered a magical little nature park right off the highway tonight not far from our place on accident. While at a stoplight, I saw some men fishing and a few little bridges that intrigued me, so the kids and I stopped and found a dozen or more baby ducks, turtles, momma and daddy ducks, geese, a pelican, and more! It was amazing.

Tattooed Momma Q&A: Samantha

Continuing in the series of tattooed momma interviews, here is part three with Sam of Texas. A friend of a friend, she was kicked out of an amusement park because of her ink. Here's her story.

Samantha, tattooed momma of 5 (with one on the way)

I got my first tattoo on my 18th birthday. For me, it was about having the freedom to do what I wanted. Maybe a dash of teenage rebellion.

Being a tattooed mom for me is like being an elephant in the room. Often I get curious stares and even questions from other parents. My children are not always welcome or included. Sometimes it can be frustrating. But I feel being tattooed and a mother makes me slightly different in my parenting style in a good way.

My children are oblivious to mommy being tattooed; they know no different. They do like to show me off now that they are older. 'See how cool my mom is?' sort of thing.

Several years ago, I was the subject of a news story on MSNBC and was in Inked magazine. I was denied entry into Six Flags over Texas for my chest tattoo of revolvers and roses. An older woman working the door compared them to swastikas. Six Flags apologized because, well, the whole matter was silly; they have shooting games in the park, for crying out loud. But it was the response from the public that was the real issue. I had tons of positive responses and well just as much negative. I once had a woman stop me in a nail salon and tell me I was contributing to the moral decay of society. I had complete strangers say I shouldn't be allowed to breed, that I was trashy and should be in a side show. I was told by many women that I should be ashamed of myself as a mother. Funny enough, most of the negative was from other women. It was quite shocking for me. I wasn't aware my appearance was so reprehensible to some.

I'm pretty tattooed at this point in my life. I prefer traditional style tattoos. I have skulls, daggers, pin ups, roses, revolvers, various animals..

I have five daughters, including a set of twins (ages 12,10,6, and 8 months), with one Team Green baby on the way.

Being a Tattooed Momma: Ashley, Donna & Marian

Continuing with our tattooed momma Q&A, we start with Ashley from Ohio and Donna from Texas, with input from Marian from California. Tattooed mommas are all over the place.

Ashley, tattooed momma of 4

When did you start getting tattooed and why? I got my first tattoo when I was 18 on the night of my high school graduation. It was a random decision with a friend of mine and I got a dragonfly on my back on my left shoulder blade. It didn't really have much meaning to it, other than I thought it looked really cute and wanted to see what it was like to get a tattoo. Now I have several more tattoos and most of them now have significant meanings behind them.

How has being a tattooed mom affected your life? I think it's had a positive affect for me on a personal level. To me it's my way of artistically expressing areas of my life that are important or significant to me.

What do you kids think about your ink, and what do you tell them?  My kids are always interested with my tattoos when I first get a new one, but it quickly fades and they get used to them just being a part of me. My half sleeve of the solar system is the one tattoo that they still show some interest in by asking what all the different planets are. It's a cool way of teaching them about our solar system!

What kind of experiences have you had in public, negative and positive, regarding your tattoos? I've, for the most part, had pretty positive responses from people. I often get told about how they like my tattoos (mostly my half sleeve) and people start asking me who did it for me and such. It opens up some pretty neat conversations with people who also have tattoos or who are thinking about getting one and want to know more about them. I've only had a few people give me nasty looks about them and I just ignore them. Although, I did have one older man once tell me that I would "regret" getting them once I'm older like him and I just smiled and said "Damn, that sucks. Too late now, huh?" Haha!

Donna, tattooed momma of 2

I got my first tattoo when I was 18. It was actually illegal in MA so I went over the border to RI and got a heart with a cross going through it on my chest. The tattoo was a sign of rebellion; I grew up in a strict Catholic Portuguese family. Then I got Tweety bird on my left hip with my husband's name, which is a hack the lines are horrible and the color is faded. I have a pegasus on my right leg, which represents freedom and the ability to do what I wanted.And finally, but not last, I have tribal work with my daughter Hailey's name incorporated on lower back.

Most people don't realize I have tattoos. When they do find out I get a lot of, "You don't seem like the type to have tattoos." Well, what is the 'type?' I've never gotten a real good answer to that one. Usually by this time, they're my friends and don't care. I haven't had anybody be directly mean to me based on my tattoos. Well, unless you consider when I was young, my community (Portuguese) thought I was worshiping the devil...

After I had my first child, I decided to really think about were to put my tattoos (hence the four years of no tattoos). I don't want people to judge my girls and I had to think about my career . Unfortunately, I do believe you will have those teachers that treat your children differently based on my appearance. I have seen and heard it. I try to respect my upbringing and parents by not getting too many, but then I feel like I'm not living for myself.. Is their such a thing as balance?

Both of my girls think mine and hubby's tattoos are cool, and both have said when they get older they will want one. They have asked why I got them, and I tell them each tattoo represents where I was as the time in my life. They're a story. I do have three more tattoos waiting for a home and will hopefully be getting on in the next few months for my birthday. One is a portrait of my beloved mom.

Marian, tattooed momma of 2

Marian has a different take on the subject of tattoos. She said, "Well, my stories are probably very common among moms who have ink or want ink.."

I've picked out a tattoo for the inside of my foot - that's not a big deal. When my mother-in-law found out my husband got another tattoo (on his rib cage) she said to me, "I hope he's done with doing that to himself." I kept thinking... "have we not cut the cord YET?!" I felt this was the perfect opportunity to mention to her that I was contemplating a half sleeve, or modestly, a quarter sleeve. I think she almost passed out.

I get comments like that all the time, so it wasn't a shocker. My favorite is "What's going to happen when you are a grandma with all those tattoos?" I guess I'll just be a grandma who understands that everyone has a right to express themselves... Some paint pictures, some collect knick-knacks, but I'd be doing both in ink... On my body... I guess?!

And of course we've all heard the "what if you regret it" line. Isn't that getting old? What IF we listen to all the naysayers and go through this life conforming to what's normal or acceptable? We might wake up a grandma regretting the conformity and hitting the local tattoo shops and which point in our life, would be called a crisis. I don't get it.