A.musing.mama! 5.0

Please tell me I'm not the only one...?

I think if it weren't for my dear husband who shoves breakfast in front of my bleary eyes each morning.. I would overlook feeding myself till fainting (or rage) struck me! ;o)

Sometimes I remember to graze off the kid's leftovers, you know.. still being the mama goat around here.

A.musing.mama,

Mel ;o)

You can find all the previous COMICS (that yes, I still sketch right from a pen!) here!

 

A.musing.mama! 4.9

Life has officially spun full circle.

I'm sounding more like my Mom each day...

...

The above conversation happens almost daily this winter (much like it did thirty years ago!)

What lines do you catch yourself 'passing on' to the next generation?

A.musing.mama,

Mel ;o)

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You can find all my previous COMICS here!

 

A.musing.mama! 4.8

Oh Christmas tree,

Oh Christmas tree,

how barren are your branches!

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With kids in tow,

and falling snow,

the perfect tree stands aglow.

Now we all know,

until these ones grow,

the ornaments hang low.

A, musing mama,

Mel ;o)

You can catch up on previous COMICS here, friends!

A.musing.mama! 4.7 (COMIC winner)

Isn't that the truth?

Today's COMIC giveaway winner is Nichole M!  This sketch is dedicated to her 13month precocious progeny who loves getting into all sorts of messes while she attempts to clean.

Yes, a carton of ice cream all over his head.

Yes, the toys all over the floor.

(Not depicted... taking the stereo speakers for a 'walk' with the cords as their leashes! ha!)

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I think we all relate well to the 'futility' of housework with little ones underfoot, don't we?

A BIG thanks to all the hilarious entries for this giveaway, you guys - and your fun families - gave me some great chuckles!

Have a fun weekend friends,

Mel ;o)

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You can catch up on previous COMICS here!

 

A.musing.mama! 4.6

So, I don't know about you, but when the baby is having a fit of 'ain't nothing going to make me happy' I start to go through the mental checklist:

hungry? angry? wet diaper? tired? sick? scared? full moon? voodoo curses? etc.

And when I come up empty.

Teething.

She is always teething if nothing else.

Because that one word still makes me feel like a have a 'clue' about this whole motherhood gig.  It's the answer to calm the fact that I don't have the answers.

Granted, she may be legitimately teething as well.

So, win win... or, something like that (where you still feel like you're losing).

A.musing.mama,

Mel :o)

**P.S: there's still time to enter the GIVEAWAY CONTEST and win your own personalised comic!

your personalized COMIC giveaway:

Alright, alright friends... here it finally is!

I've been plotting and planning this curious comic giveaway for a while now... but the weeks have been a blur of bleary eyes, snuffles and sleeplessness (seriously cramping my creative mo-jo).

But I shall wait no longer.

So here's the scoop:  since all of us with kids likely have an endless list of hilarity worth sharing, I thought it would be fun to illustrate one of your amusing moments.

It will then be posted on the blog.

After which, the original sketch will be mailed to your doorstep.

We may even throw in a few originals from the younger artist in the nest too ;o)

How to enter the contest:

1. E-mail me a 'true-from-life' moment of hilarity from your home.

needleandnestdesign@live.com

done!

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The winner of the contest will have their silly moment sketched and published for next weekend's COMIC post. (Nov. 15).

I will then contact you for your mailing address and send you the original.

Looking forward to laughing with you,

Mel ;o)

A.musing.mama! 4.5

Taking your kids out to walk in public... I've heard it compared to 'herding cats'... yeah, that.

Usually our kids are pretty civil about going to the Mall or places like that, but you're always secretly fearing that this time will be that time when the mall security escort your wild ones out.

Just walking together as a cohesive unit down the sidewalk is a victory for me.

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Sorry again for the delay in this A.musing.mama series.

I hope to get back to sketching these weekly, (although I won't use this marker pen again... ugh)!  I also have another surprise around the corner for you with this series too!

Happy weekend'ing friends,

Mel ;o)

 

 

A.musing.mama! 4.4

Now, I know being a mama is not the hardest job on earth... but we sure do know what running on exhausted feels like.

Those days when you feel like the little 'black holes' called your children have sucked the very life force out of you... emotionally and physically.

Those nights when you've watched the hours tick by while holding a fussing babe.

Those mornings when you wonder if you should just pour the coffee directly into your eyelids.

Yeah, all that.

Now you see how a blink can feel like a power-nap for us mamas, yes?

A.musing.mama,

Mel ;o)

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You can catch all the previous comics HERE!

A.musing.mama! 4.3

It's feeling like a three-ring-circus around here as we pack up.

Sometimes it seems easier to just put wheels on the whole house and go.

Sometimes I miss the 'glory days' of my back-packing around the globe with one bag.

 Because it's one of those freaky laws of nature... it seems that the smaller the child, the more stuff you need to pack! 

The other law, is Murphys'.  No matter how much you manage to wedge in to your packs... you always end up forgetting half a dozen things.

But we're excited - family adventure awaits.

See you on the flip side, friends.

A.musing.mama,

Mel ;o)

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You can catch up on previous comics HERE!

 

A.musing.mama! 4.2

So this comic is probably funnier if you know my husband.

Or, if you happen to have a partner who has the 'one-expression-for-all-emotions' face.

I'm telling you, it's ridiculously sweet to see this guy's face crack open (and his voice raise to a falsetto) when he sees his baby girl.

We love you Mr.'I'm-smiling-on-the-inside'.

Happy weekend'ing friends!

A.musing.mama,

Mel ;o)

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 Catch up on the previous comics HERE!

 

A.musing.mama! 4.1.

...don't even get me started.

But surely, surely I am not the only parent who deals with this one?

The notion of 'time economics' doesn't seem to translate well with our kids... in that, if I have to put in a certain amount of time preparing an activity for the kids to do (pool, crafts, games... etc) I have this crazy notion that they should actually play with it for more than a nano-second.

Like I said, don't get me started!

Happy weekend'ing friends,

a.musing.mama,

Mel ;o)

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You can catch up on all the previous comics HERE!

 

A.musing.mama! 4.0

Surely our daughter isn't the only contortionist couch-potato out there?

The daily face-plants, head-bangs and bruised elbows are usually the result of her falling off some chair or couch she's been teetering curiously from.

I think she lacks the physical ability to actually 'sit still' some days... (so I'm not sure how that's going to work if she gets into school this fall).  Maybe my next sewing project should be velcro-bottomed jeans for her.

A.musing.mama,

Mel ;o)

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 You can find all the (forty+) previous comics HERE!

A.musing.mama! 3.9

That moment when the kids catch you being a hypocrite...

The old: 'do what I say, not what I do' nonsense.

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Because as much as I have to daily plead the case for 'sharing is caring' and 'do to them what you want done to you'... I need to remember it in my own heart too.

(Those who recall my choco-holic confession may understand this dilemma for me)!

A.musing.mama,

Mel ;o)

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You can find the previous comics right HERE:

 

 

 

A.musing.mama! 3.8

 Because some times you need just a moment to regroup and recharge as a mama.... amiright?

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And, because they look cuter all 'zoned out' in real life than what I can scribble... here:

 

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Have a beauty full weekend friends!

Mel ;o)

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Catch all the previous comics HERE!

 

A.musing.mama! 3.7

The power of a compliment.

Husbands ~ consider your wives.  We sometimes wonder if you still see us as the attractive bride you married.  Now that the kids and the chaos of the daily routines have added gray hairs and jiggly pounds.  A kind word is like your 'super power' to charge our hearts!

Wives ~ consider your husbands.  He sometimes wonders if you have any thing else in your wardrobe other than yoga pants and men's t-shirts.  Dress 'up' for him like you used to when you were *trying* to attract him.  Throw on that shiny lip gloss he likes, and fluff out your hair five minutes before he gets home from work.

Sure, our value doesn't lie in the surface props... but it goes both ways, doesn't it?

Feel good, look good.

Look good, feel good.

Maybe I should go throw my hair around now,

A.musing.mama,

Mel ;o)

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You can find the previous comics HERE!

A.musing.mama! 3.6

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Bedtime is kind of scary for everyone...

The kids are trying every 'one more...' they can think of.

One more hug, one more story, one more song, one more drink.

While we're using every 'NO more' we can think of too.

(And what is the deal with the kids being more bonkers on the nights we're most exhausted)?

These are the nights I'm especially grateful that my husband usually puts the kids to bed, just so the above scene doesn't actually happen most evenings!

A.musing mama,

Mel ;o)

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Catch all my previous comics HERE.

 

A.musing.mama! 3.5

Ahhhh yes, that moment when your husband pulls in the driveway... and you both look at each other as if you've been hit by a truck.

"Take the kids, I need a break" we both say (usually in our heads).

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I keep telling my husband he needs to work until 4:50, not 5:00, because it is often those last ten minutes that destroy us.

No matter how good (or bad) the day may have been.

Even if I've managed to get dinner ready, and the table set... every.one is going to be having a meltdown at 4:50.

You know, just in time for Dad to come home and think his address is the insane asylum.

We're lucky enough to have this guy that comes home and jumps right into the fray, helping with dinner, or wrangling kids, or coaxing me out of the corner I may be rocking in....

so, thanks for always coming home to us Ben.

Happy (belated) Father's Day!

Mel ;o)

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You can catch the rest of these cathartic comics HERE!

 

 

A.musing.mama! 3.4

Ok, so this isn't so much a *funny* comic from our life.. as much as it's a sweet moment that I wanted to remember.

Because some days that girl can push our limits.

Some days she can feel like a bur clinging to my side the entire day... and even a trip to the bathroom is met with "whatcha doing mama?!"

Because some days she like to throw down - and in her dramatic tone cry that 'this is the worst day ever!!' and 'no one lets me do anything!!'.

So when she grabs a dandelion, puffs her lips into a kiss and blows with all her might, and then whispers: "I wish, I wish... with all my might, that we'd be a family forever" my heart glows.

Then I remember, she's our special treasure.

She delights in being a part of our family.

And, the reason she may cling like a bur is because she loves us all sooooo much!

Have a sweet weekend friends,

A.musing.mama,

Mel ;o)

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Catch up on previous comics HERE!

 

 

 

 

A.musing.mama! 3.4

If you live within a forty-mile radius... and hear a blood-curdling scream, no worries, it's just our son with a tiny bug fluttering near his face.

Good grief, going to the park is an exercise in torture for the wee man.

Any tips for getting your kids to not fear a fly?

Also, our older daughter shrieks the street down when she spots a worm/caterpillar.

 So either way, going outside is an adventure!

A.musing.mama,

Mel ;o)

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You can find the previous parenting comics HERE!