MamaBlogger365 - Take Me to the River by *Dr Mama* Amber Kinser

I am feeling regimented and controlled to within an inch of my life. It’s coming at me from every angle and I’m feeling a distinct desire to run. Or drive, anyway.

What I really need is a mountaintop, solitude, and a cool breeze. Or maybe a nice sunny spot at a river. Or… wait. A river running through a mountain range and no one but me and a thermos of coffee. Plus some water because coffee dehydrates... click here to read more!

BIO: Dr. Mama (Amber Kinser) is a writer, feminist mother, professor, and speaker who lives in Tennessee. Check her out on Facebook, follow her on Twitter @DrMamaWit, and see her webpage. Kinser writes for the MamaBlogger365 series each Thursday at the Museum Of Motherhood, Mamapalooza and Mamazina Magazine.

The Museum Of Motherhood is the first and only facility of its kind, celebrating the “her”story of mothers around the world. We need your help -- please make your tax-deductible contribution today! Visit the Museum of Motherhood, NOW OPEN in NYC - Tues.-Sun., 10:45-6:30.

MamaBlogger365 - Happy Birthday by Shira Adler, Diva Mama

Happy Birthday my sweet, smart, handsome son. Exactly nine years ago I gave birth to you and the experience gave new definition to the word miracle.

The day your child is born is the day that will change your life forever. And no matter how many children you have, any mother will tell you, each one is a gift from God. You feel the earth move under your feet as you gaze upon their smushed up face, hear their first cry, marvel at the tiny little fingers in the palm of your hand and feel them nuzzle and inch their way on your body looking for food and warmth.

I gave birth for the first time eleven years ago to my beautiful daughter and if that wasnʼt life changing enough, two years and ten days later - on January 29, 2003 - I did it again.

But the second time around pregnancy/birth was very different. One would think having been through pregnancy and labor once, Iʼd be more prepared and calmer. But my nerves were at a fevered pitch because my life, and that of my unborn son, were hanging in the balance. Five months in, I was branded a high-risk pregnancy. No one was sure Iʼd actually survive - and in fact, I almost didnʼt.

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BIO: By day Shira Adler is a cantor, spiritual vocalist, certified pastlife regressionist, voice-over artist, producer, performer, writer/blogger and mompreneur and by night... well, she is actually the same person at night though she does admit to wearing fuzzy socks when no one can see her and hiding a secret stash of Mallomars somewhere near her writing desk for those late night pick-me-ups. In, around, and between her various work activities, she is raising two beyond-the-spectrum children as a single mom (though lovingly gives a shout out to her best friend, editor and soulmate whom she considers the bees knees). Is it any wonder her website’s tag line is One Voice Many Paths? Seriously, look up the definition of a multi-tasking Mama and you will find her picture there. But when it comes to living a life of connection, faith and consciousness Shira is the gal to call -- or if you’re fresh out of Mallomars -- she’s always happy to give you one. For more information visit: ShiraAdler.com, read her blog at Diva-Mama.com; Social: Twitter (1DivaMama), Facebook (DivaMama1), Tumblr (not really sure, but the name is cute) and LinkedIn (because doesn’t everyone?).

The Museum Of Motherhood is the first and only facility of its kind, celebrating the “her”story of mothers around the world. We need your help -- please make your tax-deductible contribution today!Visit the Museum of Motherhood, NOW OPEN in NYC - Tues.-Sun., 10:45-6:30.

Photo credit: Mother And Baby by Anna Cervova

MamaBlogger365 - 2012~A New Year for Mothers by Patti Ashley, Ph.D.

My youngest daughter is expecting her first baby in April of 2012. As I reflect on how things have changed since her grandmother was born in 1914, I realize how far women have come in less than one hundred years.

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The Museum Of Motherhood is the first and only facility of its kind, celebrating the “her”story of mothers around the world. We need your help -- please make your tax-deductible contribution today! Visit the Museum of Motherhood, NOW OPEN in NYC - Tues.-Sun., 10:45-6:30.

MamaBlogger365 - Are Two Heads Better Than One? by Shira Adler, Diva Mama

Nothing stresses out a mother more than the holidays. Why?

Because our true primary selves, our working, creative, entrepreneurial “let’s-get-it-done-head” collides head on (sorry) with our “Mommy-she-touched-me-are-we-there-yet-I’m-bored-am-I-going-to-be-possessed-like-the-demon-on-the-new-The-Devil-Inside-trailer” head.

Living the dual existence of visionary mompreneur and stay-at-home mom is almost like having one pet who is both dog and cat, mongoose and cobra, spider and fly. I’d like to say it’s less filling and tastes great, but that may be an exaggeration.

Home for the holidays, at least these days, is the kind of statement that brings sheer terror, night sweats, and more than an extra pound to us moms who know better than to believe that time off during the holidays is anything but, for us.

The point of all this is not to lament how crazy it is to shop, wrap, cook, or in my case order in, Olympic-style, meals as often as humanly possible, but to gain, at least a little bit, some perspective.

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Bio: By day Shira Adler is a cantor, spiritual vocalist, certified pastlife regressionist, voice-over artist, producer, performer, writer/blogger and mompreneur and by night... well, she is actually the same person at night though she does admit to wearing fuzzy socks when no one can see her and hiding a secret stash of Mallomars somewhere near her writing desk for those late night pick-me-ups. In, around, and between her various work activities, she is raising two beyond-the-spectrum children as a single mom (though lovingly gives a shout out to her best friend, editor and soulmate whom she considers the bees knees). Is it any wonder her website’s tag line is One Voice Many Paths? Seriously, look up the definition of a multi-tasking Mama and you will find her picture there. But when it comes to living a life of connection, faith and consciousness Shira is the gal to call -- or if you’re fresh out of Mallomars -- she’s always happy to give you one. For more information visit: ShiraAdler.com, read her blog at Diva-Mama.com; Social: Twitter (1DivaMama), Facebook (DivaMama1), Tumblr (not really sure, but the name is cute) and LinkedIn (because doesn’t everyone?).

Our Year-End Giving Campaign is going on NOW! The Museum Of Motherhood is the first and only facility of its kind, celebrating the “her”story of mothers around the world. We need your help -- please make your tax-deductible contribution today!

Visit the Museum of Motherhood
NOW OPEN in NYC - Tues.-Sun., 10:45-6:30

MamaBlogger365 - Holiday Memories: “Kitty” and Grandmothers by Donna Scrima-Black

Excerpt from MommyBest: 13 Inspirational Lessons... Lesson + Memoir + Reader Reflection = Ways to be your MommyBest!

Very rapidly, mothers ripen into glorious grandmothers who leave indelible imprints on both their children’s and their grandchildren’s lives.

I gleefully watch from the sidelines, letting “Granny Lynn” become mere putty in my children’s tiny, adoring hands. As she spoils my sons. I often tease and question why I didn’t get this “VIP treatment” while I was growing-up?

I believe one of Life’s great blessings is: A grandma who always has an extra stash of cookies she dotingly saves, eagerly awaiting her grandchildren’s visits. Be prepared to see your own mother transform into a grandmother and journey with your children in wondrous ways!

Holiday Memories

“Kitty” and Grandmothers

My mother, now in her sixties, loves being a grandma. After hundreds of requests from my children, she recently agreed to stay overnight. My toddler sons were so excited to have their “Grandma Lynn” to themselves so she could play with them, and especially, read a bedtime story. They heartily laughed when my mother was unable to decipher some of the words without her reading glasses on. Both boys eagerly found her spectacles after digging like dogs through her immense and cluttered purse.

But, the biggest hysteria came when they saw their grandma clad in her brightly colored, ruffled pajamas—accented by my father’s black socks. After lots more giggling and snuggling, Grandma tucked them in with a promise of “more fun tomorrow.”

I was awakened very early the next morning by the sounds of scurrying footsteps and loud whispers — which are my spirited children’s attempts to be “quiet.” I went to see what all the commotion was and found my two sons hanging over our guest bed, their heads downward, pressed very close to my mother’s face. Their hands were covering their mouths, in an attempt to contain their laughter. Grandma Lynn was making a good amount of noise snoring, although she calls it “heavy breathing.” Her eyes were half-open—until she jolted up when I joined my sons in their amusement.

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Our Year-End Giving Campaign is going on NOW! The Museum Of Motherhood is the first and only facility of its kind, celebrating the “her”story of mothers around the world. We need your help -- please make your tax-deductible contribution today!

If You Could See Me Now... by Amy Andrews

If You Could See Me Now...

Part of a very occasional photography series shot by Amy Andrews.

Support MamaBlogger365 and help the Museum of Motherhood secure a permanent home in 2011! Your tax-deductible donation in ANY amount will help us make our POP-UP exhibit in NYC a permanent reality - visit our Members page to learn more.



Visit the Museum of Motherhood
NOW OPEN in NYC - Tues.-Sun., 10:45-6:30

MamaBlogger365 - Not Exactly Upper Crust by Loren Christie

Start out with nothing to do and a day off on Long Island and you may find yourself where you don’t belong. For my husband and I, that means we spent the day on a "date" in the Hamptons. What better place to do what we love to do best in public when the kids aren't with us: look around at people nearby and imagine what they are saying to one another? I thought we were the only ones on Earth who did this for laughs until I saw the movie Date Night.

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Support MamaBlogger365 and help the Museum of Motherhood secure a permanent home in 2011! Your tax-deductible donation in ANY amount will help us make our September POP-UP exhibit in NYC a permanent reality - visit our Members page to learn more.

MamaBlogger365 - On the Deep Kindness of Parent by Blaze Rose

Buddhism: A Brief Introduction

Based on the Compassionate Teachings of Venerable Master Hsuan Hua

The most basic human virtue is reverence for one's father and mother. The Buddha regarded filial piety as absolutely essential to a moral life.

"There are two persons who you can never repay. They are your mother and father. Even if you were to carry your mother on one shoulder and your father on the other for one hundred years, and they should even void their excrement there; and if you should attend to them, anointing them with salves, massaging, bathing and rubbing their limbs, even that would not repay them."

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Support MamaBlogger365 and help the Museum of Motherhood secure a permanent home in 2011! Your tax-deductible donation in ANY amount will help us make our September POP-UP exhibit in NYC a permanent reality - visit our Members page to learn more.

Photo credit: Buddha Carving by Peter Griffin

MamaBlogger365 - The Trip Home by Kim Jennings

The trip home has me thinking about what home is. Is it a physical place or a state of being, dependent upon the people around you who give you a feeling of safety and security?

Do you need both in order to be home?

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Support MamaBlogger365 and help the Museum of Motherhood secure a permanent home in 2011! Your tax-deductible donation in ANY amount will help us make our September POP-UP exhibit in NYC a permanent reality - visit our Members page to learn more.

Photo credit: Floral Wreath On A Red Door by Andrew Schmidt

MamaBlogger365 - Mother as Comfort by Aiya Art

© Aiya Art; all rights reserved

"Unfolded Out of the Folds"
Walt Whitman (1819–1892)

UNFOLDED out of the folds of the woman, man comes unfolded, and is always to
come unfolded;

Unfolded only out of the superbest woman of the earth, is to come the superbest
man of the earth;

Click here to read more and view this week's full online exhibit...

Support MamaBlogger365 and help the Museum of Motherhood secure a permanent home in 2011! Your tax-deductible donation in ANY amount will help us make our September POP-UP exhibit in NYC a permanent reality - visit our Members page to learn more.

MamaBlogger365 - Mother Earth by Aiya Art

Click here to view this week's full online exhibit.

Support MamaBlogger365 and help the Museum of Motherhood secure a permanent home in 2011! Your tax-deductible donation in ANY amount will help us make our September POP-UP exhibit in NYC a permanent reality - visit our Members page to learn more.

MamaBlogger365 - A Woman's Interpretation of the Cosmos: From the Infinite to the Microscopic

Click here to view all the images in this week's online exhibit!

Support MamaBlogger365 and help the Museum of Motherhood secure a permanent home in 2011! Your tax-deductible donation in ANY amount will help us make our September POP-UP exhibit in NYC a permanent reality - visit our Members page to learn more.

MamaBlogger365 - The Art of Giving Birth by Aiya Art

 © Aiya Art; all rights reserved.

Giving birth has been the single most life-altering event of my life. Not only has it changed me; it has made me a better human being. I have learned to trust my body and to surrender to its timing. I was plunged into the awesome arms of labor, never to find my way back...


Click here to view the complete exhibit.

Support MamaBlogger365 and help the Museum of Motherhood secure a permanent home in 2011! Your tax-deductible donation in ANY amount will help us make our September POP-UP exhibit in NYC a permanent reality - visit our Members page to learn more.

MamaBlogger365 - The Feminist Boudoir

MamaBlogger365 is thrilled to feature a virtual tour of The Feminist Boudoir, a M.O.M. Exhibit by Joy Rose and paintings by Jo Jayson. It was part of the M.O.M. Conference at Marymount Manhattan College, Mamapalooza Festival and MAMAExpo, May 23-25 2011. Read more...

Share your art with us and support MamaBlogger365, a joint effort of Mamapalooza and the Museum of Motherhood to help the Museum of Motherhood secure a permanent home in 2011!

MamaBlogger365 - #HAIKU #MOTHER by @elenaskoko

When I use my fingers, the food is warm and tastes like mother.


Smells like freshly made rosetta, tastes like crème brulée. My baby.

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Elena Skoko is a singer, artist and mom. She is the author of “Memoirs of a Singing Birth” and frontwoman of Bluebird & Skoko band. Her tweet poetry project #HAIKU #MOTHER tries to capture the beauty of child’s metamorphosis in time, the subtle mother and child relationship, and many little everyday things that have the power to reach deep inside with piercing greatness. They are like sudden bites of ecstasy that she shares in form of tweets. Follow her @elenaskoko and visit her website www.sugarbabe.org for more information. She will present her memoirs at MAMA EXPO conference.

Support MamaBlogger365 and help the Museum of Motherhood secure a permanent home in 2011!

MamaBlogger365 - What does it mean to be a mother? by M.J. Kang

I remember when I was pregnant and many well-meaning friends said to me, “Get your sleep now because once the baby arrives...” I did not get enough sleep once my daughter arrived...read more