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.

Lists & Things From My Phone

Do y'all make lists? Where do you keep yours?

My iPhone was my perfect note-taker until we switched to Android phones. It's still used as an iPod touch, so all of my lists are still in it, including play date ideas, inspirational quotes, photoshoot ideas, future house ideas, a recipe for Sunshine Lemon Coolers, Stella's birth story, words in my son's vocabulary, things to do, and baby names.

One of the longest running lists is a tattoo idea list. When something comes to mind, I make a note of it in my little section called TATTOOS and add to it or change it as time goes by. That way when that tattoo is finally inked on my skin, I'm sure of what I want.

Anyway, here's a glimpse into my phone and my life!


1. Sunshine Lemon Coolers

Ingredients:
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 cups cake flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 tspns baking powder
1/3 cup shortening
1 tbspn water
1 egg
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tspn vanilla
1/2 tspn unsweetened lemonade mix
1/8 tspn salt


Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Cream together sugars, shortening, egg, vanilla, and salt in
a large bowl.
3. Add the flour and baking powder. Add 1 tablespoon of water and
continue mixing until dough forms a ball.
4. Roll dough into 3/4-inch balls and flatten slightly onto a
lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until
cookies are light brown.
5. As cookies bake, combine 1 cup powdered sugar with the lemonade
drink mix in a large plastic bag and shake thoroughly to mix.
6. When the cookies are removed from the oven and while they are
hot, add 4 or 5 at a time to the bag and shake it until the cookies
are well coated. Repeat with the remaining cookies.


2. Baby Names
For girls, our names were:

• Isla Claire, Everly Mae, Tessa, Finley, Laney, Hayden, Ellery, Amery, Reese, Eva, Arden, Scout, Amelie, Peyton, Eisley and Brynn
• We ruled out these due to someone we know having them: Charlie, Sarah, Ava, Mia, Maya, Avery, Hadley, Audra, Audrey, Cadence, Ashlyn, Abigail, Sydney

 For boys, our names were:

• Asher Miles, Max Aidan, Kayton, Kasen, Wynn, Deagan, Beck, Gracen, Owen, Keaton, Story, Jett, Brooks, and Pierce (most of which my hubby hated)
• Silas, Jack, Henry, Holden, Jude, Price, Jase, Reid, Paxton

We settled on Cole Sayer and Stella Grace. Cole came first, then Stella. Both original, classic, timeless, strong names that stand on their own. I have no idea what will happen if we have an 'oops' baby, except our boy name is picked out! ;) Originally, I really wanted two boys, but having a girl has made me a softer person and a better mother.

3. Tattoo List (Wanted)

a red-orange Gerber daisy on my right shoulder

Russian dolls going down my right hip and leg

locket with two keys on my chest

• add on to owls to complete right sleeve with trees, leaves, sky, wind
• add anchor to left arm under pirate girl
• pirate ship on the back of my left arm

Yes, they're a handful. So what? I'm handling them just fine, thankyouverymuch.

Hello, I'm Stacy. Meet my kids.

It is fair to say that my two children are daredevils. When Cole was little, I wanted to teach him to be tough when he fell and not to cry over small things, aka, not to be a wussy boy. So, the first time he fell, I hit the ground and said "Boom!" and it became our joke from then on out. With Stella, there is no boom because the girl doesn't cry when she falls. She is a fearless climbing machine, with the dexterity of a monkey and the determination of an athlete on steroids.

Since my husband works and spends a lot of time out of town on business trips, I'm forced to take the monkeys to places like the grocery store, where I hold my breath and hope that I can get out as fast as I can with as little damage as possible. I get a lot of stares. It could be the tattoos, or it could be that I'm super petite at 5'2" and 95 lbs. (Don't hate, it's genetics, bitches.) My guess is that these old folks who stick their nose in my business think I'm a "young mother" who must be "clueless" and "needs advice and wisdom." HA. (I'm 31.)

It happens in convenience stores, in restaurants, at the checkout line in Kroger. "You sure have your hands full there." "You got yourself a handful with that one," and depending on the day and who's acting out more depends on which one is pointed at. This week some stranger in a gas station told me Stella was going to be a handful... Why? Because she was standing still looking at the chips with a gleam in her eye? She didn't mess up your shelves, lady, and she even politely said goodbye when we left.

I'm never quite sure how to respond to that statement. Before I had kids I would have let my birdie finger fly and my lips let go of hateful words, but now I have to think about my actions in front of my two children. Then again, before I had kids I guess my hands weren't so full. Sometimes it's anger that churns, paranoid these strangers are thinking I'm a bad mother.. and for what? They don't know me. They can't simply observe my children in a five-minute span to determine they are "a handful."

I've come to peace with the fact that, yes, I do indeed have my hands full. My 14-month-old daughter is breaking all stereotypes by outdoing her brother in acrobatics before he could even walk, and my 3-year-old is so smart that it scares me sometimes. While out of town this week, my daughter tried to take some concrete stairs alone and my son ran face-first into the pool table's corner. Both of them look like they've been beaten, so I've started telling people "I didn't do it" when they look at me.

So yes, I have my hands full. But so what? I love it, and I wouldn't change it for the world. I'm a fantastic mother and I'm handling them just fine, thankyouverymuch.

Today's Kidisms

• I can't decide if it's cute or creepy watching Stella walk around saying her own name in Cole's voice.
• After this week's falls, I now greet everyone when with my beat-down looking children with "I didn't do it."
• At Kroger and the boy's unders are sticking out the top of his pants, which is hilariously entertaining... until he mooned the Starbucks barista. Yes, this IS my life.

Much More than a Mom

So it occurred to me that I only write in this blog about my children, which is fine, but there is much more to me than being a momma.

My tattooed momma friends are always telling me how cute I look at our meetups - I admit, I love fashion. I love getting dressed in the morning. Sometimes I lay out a week's worth of outfits dreaming of wearing them, but alas, the good ol' vintage doesn't get pulled out much these days. My cute little babydoll dresses wouldn't look so adorable with food stains crusted on them.

These days my outfits are more kid-friendly and exist mainly of leggings, boots and a long shirt and cardigan. Leggings are something I thought I'd never wear in a million years, but they were so comfortable during my pregnancies that I bought some from Victoria's Secret in black and gray and wear them with practically everything.My favorite recent purchases are a black and white shift dress from H&M, a gray short-sleeved tunic cowl-neck sweater, and black knee-high boots from Target that zip up the side for a little edge.

Today I wore these boots and sweater to brunch with the girls and kiddos. I paired them with black leggings from VS.

In short, when there's nothing to post about my kiddos, you may see an outfit or two. I refuse to be that momma who looks like crap all the time, even if I don't get to shower every day. ;) (obviously, i need to improve my poses or my husband's camera angles.)

Barbie Got Tattooed.

I

Read this and had to share..

By Kavita Varma-White

Barbie's been stirring it up again, but this time the controversy has nothing to do with her blonde ambition or bizarre body proportions.
Nope, this Barbie conjures more P!nk (the singer) than Paris (Hilton), with pink hair, leopard leggings, plenty of tattoos and a dog named "Bastardo".  Created in collaboration with the Japanese-inspired Italian designer tokidoki, it's similar to Barbies designed by Kate Spade and Bob Mackie as part of Mattel's collectors edition.
On its website, Mattel says the doll is "for the adult collector" and that it's sold out. But tokidoki Barbie's inked up skin still has people talking.
Some, like this commentor on a Christian Science Monitor story, are questioning whether the doll's tatts are appropriate for young kids.

Barbies are for children not adults [and] they should not be dressed like they are teenagers or adults.  Tattoos are tacky and should not be exposed to kids.

 Over on a Huffington Post story, a comment from Loretta Schrader says:

  Grrrrreeeeeeeat now kids in grade school and younger will be bugging their parents for tattoos and their parents will oblige .

Still, numerous others think the new Barbie is simply a sign of the times, and tattoo-sporting Moms are applauding that it's about time there's a Barbie that looks like them.
Nicolepierre, a poster on Cafemom.com's The Stir, writes:

As a tattooed mom who got pierced and dyed her hair blue to celebrate the birth of my twins (albeit 14 years ago) I so totally want this doll!"

 And as poster, Cait, commented on Babble.com:

This Barbie is great, it shows not to judge and that regardless of what someone chooses to do with their skin, they are beautiful!! I am so tired of people without tattoos thinking they are better then someone who does have them. Get over yourself! All of my tattoos have a very deep and personal meaning and I will never regret them.

Adds commentor Sabrinambowen on Cafe.com:

Sorry, but seeing how there are LOTS of children out there whose parents have tattoos, I'm not sure why Barbie (who is supposed to be an adult) having them is an issue... As a tattoed parent, I think it's awesome!

Parents, what's your take on tokidoki Barbie? And if you're a mom or dad with tattoos, how do you talk to your kids about tattoos in general?

Kavita Varma-White is a writer, editor and mom of two tweens. In between cheering at numerous soccer and baseball games, she's a contributing editor for TODAY Moms and MSNBC.com.