What Really Makes MAMA Happy??!

I am always writing about taking time for yourself, having date nights and GNO, and just doing stuff for YOU! I have been thinking about this a lot lately because we the hubs and I had a date night/overnight which completely rekindled the old fire :) and then we had a week in Cumberland with old friends and had an AMAZING time just reminiscing and acting like we use to in High School (after all the kids went to bed of course! HA!). It has all gotten me thinking about what do I REALLY like?! Yes, I no longer read for fun because I am googling the latest advice on how to organize your family and any book I read is parenting advice, and yes, I like to squeal at airplanes like it is the first time I have ever seen one, and yes, I find joy in playing the same board game over and over again! However, if we are being honest, we do most of these things for our kids, our spouses and everyone else so day after day, month after month and year after year, we start looking back and say who am I?! What makes ME happy?! I really do strive for this, but it hasn’t been until recently that I realized I need to do what makes me happy MORE, because the saying is true, “IF mama ain’t happy, nobody’s happy”!!! So I thought long and hard about what makes me happy and here is what I have come up with so far:

• Being silly and crazy. I am a loud girl, always have been and after becoming a mom I have tried in certain situations to “tame it down” because I thought that is what a mom is supposed to do…always be on her best behavior right?! WRONG! I do have to wear my mom hat for most of the day, but I don’t have to be perfect around my kids. I am allowed to mess us, make mistakes and do the wrong thing sometimes and it won’t kill them. We are so obsessed with being the perfect parent, spouse, friend etc. which is something we can never live up to and we just end up hurting ourselves in the long run! BE YOURSELF!
• Listening to music from my past which mostly include a curse word every other lyric and lots of base bumpin!! O.k. so this is one of those things you should reserve when the kids are in bed or you are alone in your car! I won’t judge you, but the last thing we want our kids to walk around saying is “MotherF Dre, MotherF Snoop Dog, MotherF Death Row…..”! I have always said I am a gangster at heart and I love all of my ghetto fabulous music from back in the day. It just makes me feel young again!
• SEX! Yes, I may feel too tired most days and have a million other things to do on my list, BUT when I actually make the time to have some sex with my hubby , it is GOOD and it brings us closer. No one wants to feel like room mates and when  you are both doing the day to day things with work, the kids, the house, it is nice to have some naked time!! LOL! O.k. so this may be TMI, but  ladies, you know it’s true! Hopefully my hubby won’t read this post because he would literally be MORTIFIED!
• Having Fires. I don’t know what it is about having a fire that makes me so darn happy, but it relaxes me and i f you throw in a cold beer or some smores, I have died and gone to heaven. #bestthingever
• Boating. I have loved boating since I was a teenager and Steve introduced me to it. Nothing like being on the water, in the sun with some good music… and a cold beer of course (o.k. so I am really not an alchi, mama just likes a drink every now and then)!
• Working Out. I have been making more time for myself to go to the gym and I have been feeling SO amazing since I have really made it a routine. I haven’t really lost any weight, but I have had so much more energy, I feel so much better and stronger. It is certainly one of those things that I use to say “I just don’t have time for that”, but it is so worth it! Just ask my hubby……hmmmmmm :)
• Seeing true JOY in my kids eyes. Nuf said!
• Dancing. I LOVE to dance. I may not be crazy good, but I have SO much fun doing it! I love the saying, “Dance like nobody is watching”. Isn’t that the truth?! Who cares what you look like, as long as you have fun doing it! Shake those bums baby!

O.k. so this is what I have so far. My next thing to do is a bucket list. There are things I have wanted to do that just don’t seem to fit into family time, but I am bound and determined to make it happen. It may seem selfish to put yourself at the top of the list, but I find when I give a little back to me, I am better in every other area of my life.

So get our your pens and  make your list! Write it down and put it on the fridge and DO IT! Chip away at those things that make you happy, include it your day and make yourself a priority!!! YOU DESERVE IT!

Cheesy, Ghetto Fabulous, #onecrazymama

What makes YOU happy????!!!