Gone are the days of June Cleaver where Mom was perfect, totally focused on family life and didn't work outside the home!

Modern day Moms are the busiest of Multi-Taskers. Their job description includes cook, bottle washer, child care provider, comforter, nurse, spouse, maid and housekeeper, breadwinner and income earner. In today's economic times, most Moms either work outside the home. Those who don't either have a business or somehow earn income from within the home.

Today's lifestyle is faster paced. Moms must be versatile and resilient. In today's economic climate, they must also be resourceful and inventive to keep the family budget and household running. Being a Mom requires a lot of qualities. Kuddos to Moms everywhere!

My life is constantly busy and I consider myself the ultimate of mulit-taskers. My hat goes off to all the other Moms out there because I know we are a sisterhood when it comes to that.

Here's a fun and somewhat humorous look at motherhood, some of musings and things I'd like to randomly share with other Moms. Motherhood has it's rewards. True, the salary isn't great. But motherhood is one job you can't measure by a salary. The rewards of motherhood are so worth it. Just hearing a little voice say "I Love You Mom" does something that no amount of money can do.

Hearing my son say "You are the best Mom in the world" brings tears to my eyes and nothing compares to that feeling. It melts me! Gosh knows somedays I don't feel like the perfect Mom at all. I'm far from it! I'm no June Cleaver. I can't even hold a candle to the kind of Mom my mother was or the women of her generation or generations before.

Modern times have changed motherhood but the emotions and love we have for our children is something that's never changed over the generations.

Here's to all you Moms out there!

Every parent has to get a kick out of this one. While we pray for our children, here's a fun look at parenthood on "one of those days".

A Parent's Prayer
Anonymous

Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray my sanity to keep.
For if some peace I do not find,
I'm pretty sure I'll lose my mind.

I pray I find a little quiet,
Far from the daily family riot.
May I lie back and not have to think
About what they're stuffing down the sink,

Or who they're with, or where they're at
And what they're doing to the cat.
I pray for time all to myself
(did something just fall off a shelf?)

To cuddle in my nice, soft bed
(Oh no, another goldfish--dead!)
Some silent moments for goodness sake
(Did I just hear a window break?)

And that I need not cook or clean
(well heck, I've got the right to dream)
Yes now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray my wits about me keep,
But as I look around I know,
I must have lost them long ago!

Aaaah, the joys of childbirth! But isn't the end result worth it? The 22 hours of labor and all the memories including how severe I thought the pain was were gone in a flash when I looked at my son's adorable little face.

This is a very funny parody written and performed by Helen Austin at Voices Three 2007, a concert fundraiser for Hope Hospice. While it contains some mild language, it's sure to give most Moms a few laughs. Enjoy!

Real Mothers by Author Unknown

REAL MOTHERS

Real Mothers don't eat quiche; they don't have time to make it.

Real Mothers know that their kitchen utensils are probably in the sandbox.

Real Mothers often have sticky floors, filthy ovens and happy kids.

Real Mothers know that dried play dough doesn't come out of carpets.

Real Mothers don't want to know what the vacuum just sucked up.

Real Mothers sometimes ask 'Why me?'and get their answer when a little voice says, 'Because I love you best.'

Real Mothers know that a child's growth is not measured by height or years or grade...It is marked by the progression of Mommy to Mom to Mother....

The Images of A Mother

4 YEARS OF AGE - My Mommy can do anything!
8 YEARS OF AGE - My Mom knows a lot! A whole lot!
12 YEARS OF AGE - My Mother doesn't really know quite everything.
14 YEARS OF AGE - Mom doesn't know that, either.
16 YEARS OF AGE - My Mother? She's clueless.
18 YEARS OF AGE - That old woman?!
25 YEARS OF AGE - Well, she might know a little bit about it!
35 YEARS OF AGE - Before we decide, let's get Mom's opinion.
45 YEARS OF AGE - Wonder what Mom thinks about it?
65 YEARS OF AGE - Wish I could talk it over with Mom.

The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure that she carries, or the way she combs her hair.

The beauty of a woman must be seen from in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart, the place where love resides.

It is the caring that she lovingly gives, and the beauty of a woman with passing years only grows

....we do! We really do! A mother is in the truest form a teacher. We are our children's first teachers and continue in that supporting role throughout their lives. I for one enjoy those teachable moments with my son and I am sure all Moms out there share those sentiments.

Here's a funny look at the lessons a Mom teaches. This gave me a few giggles as I reflect back on my childhood and look at my experiences as a Mom myself.

The Great Things Mom Taught Me!

My Mother Taught Me About...

1. My Mother taught me about ANTICIPATION...

"Just wait until your father gets home."

2. My Mother taught me about RECEIVING....

"You are going to get it when we get home!"

3. My Mother taught me to MEET A CHALLENGE...

"What were you thinking? Answer me when I talk to you! Don't talk back to me!"

4. My Mother taught me LOGIC...

"If you fall out off that swing and break your neck, you're not going to the store with me."

5. My Mother taught me MEDICAL SCIENCE...

"If you don't stop crossing your eyes, they are going to freeze that way."

6. My Mother taught me to THINK AHEAD...

"If you don't pass your spelling test, you'll never get a good job."

7. My Mother taught me HUMOR...

"When that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don't come running to me."

8. My Mother taught me how to BECOME AN ADULT...

"If you don't eat your vegetables, you'll never grow up."

9. My Mother taught me about GENETICS...

"You're just like your father."

10. My Mother taught me about my ROOTS...

"Do you think you were born in a barn?"

11. My Mother taught me about WISDOM OF AGE...

"When you get to be my age, you will understand."

And last but not least...

12. My Mother taught me about JUSTICE...

"One day you'll have kids, and I hope they turn out just like you....Then you'll see what it's like!"

Motherhood and Diaper Days. Oh what fun right? Here's a funny YouTube video that takes a look at why diaper changes are Mom's work. Even the Daddies must admit this is pretty funny!

 IF YOU GIVE A MOM A MUFFIN

If you give a mom a muffin,
She'll want a cup of coffee to go with it.
So she'll pour herself some.
The coffee will get spilled by her three year old.
She'll wipe it up.

Wiping the floor, she will find some dirty socks.
She'll remember she has to do some laundry.
When she puts the laundry in the washer,
She'll trip over some snow boots and bump into the freezer.
Bumping into the freezer will remind her she has to plan supper for tonight.

She will get out a pound of hamburger.
She'll look for her cookbook. (101 Things To Make With a Pound of
Hamburger.)
The cookbook is sitting under a pile of mail.
She will see the phone bill which is due tomorrow.
She will look for the checkbook.

The checkbook is in her purse that is being dumped out by her two year old.
She'll smell something funny.
She'll change the two year old.
While she is changing the two year old the phone will ring. (Of course!)
Her five year old will answer it and hang up.

She remembers that she wants to phone a friend to come over for coffee on
Friday.
Thinking of coffee will remind her that she was going to have a cup.
She will pour herself some.
And chances are,
If she has a cup of coffee,
Her kids will have eaten the muffin that went with it.

Written by Kathy Fictorie

Based on If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff

I must confess that I am a bit of a quote-a-holic. I love reading quotes from others about various topics in life. I especially enjoy ones that inspire me but I love finding good quotes and keeping them on hand for reference.

Here are some cool famous quotes about Moms and Motherhood. Some are funny, some are touching but they all sum up Moms.

A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie.  ~Tenneva Jordan

A suburban mother's role is to deliver children obstetrically once, and by car forever after.  ~Peter De Vries

All mothers are working mothers.  ~Author Unknown

When you are a mother, you are never really alone in your thoughts.  A mother always has to think twice, once for herself and once for her child.  ~Sophia Loren, Women and Beauty

Mother love is the fuel that enables a normal human being to do the impossible.  ~Marion C. Garretty, quoted in A Little Spoonful of Chicken Soup for the Mother's Soul

God could not be everywhere and therefore he made mothers.  ~Jewish Proverb

Biology is the least of what makes someone a mother.  ~Oprah Winfrey

You don't really understand human nature unless you know why a child on a merry-go-round will wave at his parents every time around - and why his parents will always wave back.  ~William D. Tammeus

Making the decision to have a child is momentous.  It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.  ~Elizabeth Stone

Before I got married I had six theories about bringing up children; now I have six children, and no theories.  ~John Wilmot

"By and large, mothers and housewives are the only workers who do not have regular time off. They are the great vacationless class." -- Anne Morrow Lindbergh

"The mother's heart is the child's schoolroom."  -- Henry Ward Beecher

"Youth fades, love droops, the leaves of friendship fall; a mother's secret hope outlives them all." -- Oliver Wendell Holmes (1775-1817)

I wish I could sit here and give you words to describe what my mother means to me. There aren't enough words in the dictionary. I don't know how she did it. ~LeBron James

Here's a YouTube clip of The Mom Song with lyrics as performed by Jude Johnston to the William Tell Overture. I know most Moms have seen this at sometime. No matter how many times I watch it, it's still funny.

Your feet stick to grape jelly on the kitchen floor..... and you don't care.

When the kids are fighting, you threaten to lock them in a
room together and not let them out until someone's bleeding.

You can't find your cordless phone, so you ask a friend to
call you, and you run around the house madly, following the
sound until you locate the phone downstairs in the laundry basket.

Your idea of a good day is making it through without a child leaking bodily fluids on you.

Popsicles become a food staple.

Your favorite television show is a cartoon.

You're willing to kiss your child's boo-boo, regardless of what body part it happens to be on.

You're so desperate for adult conversation that you spill
your guts to the telemarketer that calls and HE hangs up on YOU!

Spit is your number one cleaning agent.

You buy cereal with marshmallows in it.

You count the sprinkles on each kid's cupcake to make sure they're equal.

You have time to shave only one leg at a time.

You hide in the bathroom to be alone.

Your kid throws up and you catch it.

You cling to the high moral ground on toy weapons; but your
child chews his toast into the shape of a gun anyway.

You find yourself cutting your husband's sandwiches into cute shapes.

You're up each night until 11 PM vacuuming, dusting, wiping,
washing, drying, loading, unloading, shopping, cooking,
driving, flushing, ironing, sweeping, picking up, changing
sheets, changing diapers, bathing, helping with homework,
paying bills, budgeting, clipping coupons, folding clothes,
putting to bed, dragging out of bed, brushing, chasing,
buckling, feeding (them, NOT you), PLUS swinging, playing
baseball, bike riding, pushing trucks, cuddling dolls,
rollerblading, basketball, football, catch, bubbles,
sprinklers, slides, nature walks, coloring, crafts, jumping
rope, PLUS raking, trimming, planting, edging, mowing,
gardening, painting, and walking the dog. You get up at
5:30 AM and you have no time to eat, sleep, drink or go
to the bathroom, and yet ... you still managed to gain 10 pounds.  

Who remembers this from the television show "Dinosaurs"? Baby Sinclair's "Not The Momma" is proof that Moms rule...even in Dinosaurland! Enjoy! 

POSITION: Mother, Mom, Mama


JOB DESCRIPTION: Long term, team players needed, for challenging permanent work in an often chaotic environment.


Candidates must possess excellent communication and organizational skills and be willing to work variable hours, which will include evenings and weekends and frequent 24 hour shifts on call.


Some overnight travel required, including trips to primitive camping sites on rainy weekends and endless sports tournaments in far away cities. Travel expenses not reimbursed. Extensive courier duties also required.


RESPONSIBILITIES:

The rest of your life. Must be willing to be hated, at least temporarily, until someone needs $5.

Must be willing to bite tongue repeatedly. Also, must possess the physical stamina of a pack mule and be able to go from zero to 60 mph in three seconds flat in case, this time, the screams from the backyard are not someone just crying wolf.

Must be willing to face stimulating technical challenges, such as small gadget repair, mysteriously sluggish toilets and stuck zippers.

Must screen phone calls, maintain calendars and coordinate production of multiple homework projects.

Must have ability to plan and organize social gatherings for clients of all ages and mental outlooks.

Must be willing to be indispensable one minute, an embarrassment the next.

Must handle assembly and product safety testing of a half million cheap, plastic toys, and battery operated devices.

Must always hope for the best but be prepared for the worst.

Must assume final, complete accountability for the quality of the end product.

Responsibilities also include floor maintenance and janitorial work throughout the facility.


POSSIBILITY FOR ADVANCEMENT & PROMOTION: Virtually none. Your job is to remain in the same position for years, without complaining, constantly retraining and updating your skills, so that those in your charge can ultimately surpass you.

PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE: None required unfortunately. On-the-job training offered on a continually exhausting basis.

WAGES AND COMPENSATION: Get this! You pay them! Offering frequent raises and bonuses. A balloon payment is due when they turn 18 because of the assumption that college will help them become financially independent.

When you die, you give them whatever is left. The oddest thing about this reverse-salary scheme is that you actually enjoy it and wish you could only do more.

BENEFITS: While no health or dental insurance, no pension, no tuition reimbursement, no paid holidays and no stock options are offered; this job supplies limitless opportunities for personal growth and free hugs for life if you play your cards right.

All kidding aside, I have written this with the hopes that it will bring a smile to the faces of Moms who read it. I love keeping fun stuff like this about Motherhood and often use it on my Blog etc. Many of my business partners are Moms and most of these are a fun look at our most important job...motherhood.

I find myself thinking about my Mother a lot lately. When I read these things, I see a lot of my childhood and memories of her in them as well. I will always feel blessed to have such a great Mom and can only hope I can fill her shoes and be the kind of mother she was as a Mom myself to my son.

My mother has been gone from us for a year now. Somedays it seems like just yesterday she was here and others it feels like she's been gone for an eternity. While there's a lot of humor in the things I've shared here, Moms are a blessing! I have so many funny and happy memories that I will always remember about my Mother.

To my readers, hug your Moms today! Or call them and say "I Love You" just because. There is no one who loves us as much as our Moms. In the Real Mothers segment, you see how we progress from Mom rules our world, to Mom doesn't know anything and later in life we learn how much they really knew. So remember your Mom today and every day, not just on special occassions or Mother's Day.

I Love and Miss My Mom, Sandy Mathisen, every day! You live on in my heart and memories and I will always feel very blessed to have had you as my Mom! 

Motherhood changed my life in so many great ways! I am sure all Moms out there share those sentiments. My son is the reason I've made many life changes and worked hard to realize the dream of becoming a WAHM (a Work At Home Mom).

Our children are our most precious gifts. I am a very proud Mom. At the close of every day, I am thankful for having my son. Life's ups and downs, the daily challenges, the multi-tasking and all of it is worth it when I look at him. Isn't that true for all Mommies?