The Stroke

In an effort to not be so freaking serious.....

This has been circulating among my mom facebook friends today:

I carried a child within my body ♥ Slept with them on my chest ♥ I've kissed little toes & wiped away tears ♥ I've been vomited on, peed on & spent sleepless nights cradling my child, but I wouldn't have it any other way ♥ My body isn't magazine perfect, but when I look in the mirror I see a Mama… and there is no greater honor, love or blessing! ♥ Post this if you are a very proud Mama!

Ugh, seriously? Let's be more sentimental shall we?  I swear moms only post this garbage to stroke their own ego. (Yep, that explains the ever so clever title. It's also stuck in my head all the time because it's Meg's favorite song, second only to Last Friday Night)  But back on point, we get it, you're a mom. It's a momentus thing for your body to do what it was designed to do, and you did it!  Go you!

Here, I'll rewrite this. Real talk. 

I carried a child within my body [and complained for about 9 months, reproduction is kind of gross] ♥ Slept with them on my chest [with my homework just out of reach.... goodbye productivity] ♥ I've kissed little toes & wiped away tears [no smart ass comment here, this is actually something I adore about parenting] ♥ I've been vomited on [thanks Bay...], peed on [Megan's personal favorite, however Bailey manages to aim outside of her diaper, she's a talented young girl] & spent sleepless nights cradling my child [Negative, Bay nursed, I slept, and we use the baby daddy for the rest], but I wouldn't have it any other way [Except I would. I would've graduated college first and done everything different...] ♥ My body isn't magazine perfect [Who's that stopping?  I'm still a MILF], but when I look in the mirror I see a Mama [Whose Calvin Kleins are fitting better and better by the day I might add]… and there is no greater honor [Because who takes the Nobel Peace Prize seriously since President Obama won anyway?], love or blessing! ♥ Post this if you are a very proud Mama [Who happens to also realize life exists beyond her children, did in fact exist before, and will still exist later when they've moved out and moved on with their lives]!

There you have it!  New and improved annoying facebook chain status update.  You're welcome.

Mother's Day 2011

Our 3rd Annual Mother's Day Photo.  As is tradition, she cried for the 3rd year in a row



Drive My Car

The other day I watched my two year old Megan climb into the frontseat of my Jeep.  She wanted to drive, which is totally fine by me because she's the best.  So I was watching her get ready to drive.  She did exactly what I always do.  She got in, tried putting on her seatbelt, asked for my phone to plug into the charger, and last but not least messed with the dials.  And then she was ready.  At this point I step in and put her on my lap so she can actually drive.  She was so excited.  I let her go up the street and then back into the garage.  I won't lie, it was a proud moment.  Driving a Jeep is like a right of passage in our family.  My dad was Tom Hammock after all.

Now fast forward a few hours.

It's after bathtime and Megan is asking for the hair dryer.  I stood there wondering, "Why does she want me to dry her hair all of a sudden?"  It's only started happening the last month or so that she even wants her hair blow dried.  I'm still standing there thinking, "I've never even tried to dry her hair.  Where did this come from?"  And then it hit me.  She sees me dry my hair after I wash it in the shower. 

She's trying to be like me.

This child looks nothing like me, yet acts exactly like me.  She's watching everything I do and is soaking it in like a little sponge.  Realizing that this week made me stop and think about the kind of example I'm setting for her.  It was incredibly sobering.  Am I setting an example of who I want her to be?  Right now, it's just little things like putting on a seatbelt, later it's going to be big things.  When that day comes I want to know that I've set the best example for her that I could. 

And here's the goal:

My child, listen when your father corrects you.
Don’t neglect your mother’s instruction.
 What you learn from them will crown you with grace
and be a chain of honor around your neck.

Proverbs 1:8-9

Yes, it's directed to the the child, but the parent needs to pay attention.  Fathers (or single moms), are you correcting?  Mother's (or single dads) are you instructing?  You are instructing if you're living.  As parents we teach our children how to live simply by doing it.  My dad never sat me down and said, "Now Sis, this is how you raise a child as a single parent."  He just did it.  I watched him live his life and learned how to live mine.  Yes, he made mistakes just like I have and will continue to do, but even through the mistakes he taught me how to live.  Parents do that.  I'm doing that right now with my little girls.  So I ask myself, am I teaching them things that will bring what these verses talk about? 

They're watching and learning even if I'm not.

Take Me Home Tonight

"Yeah, maybe it's time to find a new something. Even if it's something simple, like baking or blogging or volunteering. It's time to go all extreme makeover and find a new Annie :)"

-the great, Andrew Shaffer

 

 

So, I guess I blog now.

 

I might as well start with the title of this blog. I love Magnolia trees. They're home. The neighbor had one in his yard and in his rental next door to us, we'll I guess he still has them. The trees are still there, I am not. Every year they would bloom and smell wondful. The trees were just beautiful all around. Then the blossoms would fall and make a huge mess. Sometimes storms would blow them off, but most times they just started falling. I absolutely loved stomping all over them for some reason, but Momo and Pop didn't share my love for the fallen blossoms. Like I said, these trees were a mess. After the mess their regular leaves came in and as much as I loved the blossoms, I always thought the green leaves were even more beautiful. They are just the right size, and the prettiest shade of green. I guess what I'm getting at here just because you think all the pretty is gone and everything's a mess doesn't mean it is.

And now we move on the the rest of the title, the rest of what makes home, well home.

 

 

The "Hammocks" aren't the comfy things that hang between trees. Don't get me wrong they're great, if you have a sense of balance. In other words, not for this girl! I do enjoy an outdoor summer nap though. That is perfection. No, the "Hammocks" make home. My parents. That's right folks, I was raised by Hammocks. I am a lucky girl. Tom and Ezell to be exact. They made our house a home.

 

 

This blog? Eh, it's probably just going to be rambling.

 

 

I miss home, I miss my parents. My whole life turned upside down this last March and it won't ever be the same. Like those Magnolia trees, I have a messy stage. I guess that's the phase I'm in now, guess, well it is. Things were beautiful before, and they're a mess now, but they can be a different kind of beautiful in the future. I just have to be messy in the meantime.