Are you ready for it? — Taylor Swift concert

After a year of planning and excitement the day finally came this past weekend. The day where i got to enjoy Taylor Swift in concert again. I have been a fan from the beginning. When i was in high school Tim McGraw would only play in the wee hours of night on the radio because Taylor was brand new. I literally remember the very first time that her song was released. I stayed up most of the night, ever night in school listening to music. I remember it being on the country channel on Sirius radio and i remember thinking ‘Why would someone name a song after Tim McGraw?’ before it played as the guy was talking up the debut of ‘this upcoming young artist’. I remember instantly loving it and looking her up online that same night. I remember fan girl crushing on her quirkiness and her long curly hair. I remember loving that she was my age. Every album i bought on preorder from then on. I went to the Red tour and have seen every single music video. I know every song word for word. I’m not a die hard fan of many people. In fact, she’s probably the only person that I’m a dedicated fan of. I love fantasy sagas and have a few that I’m obsessed with but as far as real life people go, she’s the only one that i have followed from day one and continuously get excited over. Going to her concert with my cousin (who is also a big fan) was wonderful. We had a great time. It hurts my feelings to say that my kids did perfect without me. Even the baby. My crazy husband had friends over while i was gone and did a play date to watch the OSU game. They don’t need me ha. THEN i got home to a fire going in the fire place. Just another reason that i love him. His love for all things Fall. It was 65 degrees here and feels amazing. It’s awesome and I was happy to be home but i definitely enjoyed my night with both of my Taylor’s. She only has 6 shows left in the states but if you happen to get a chance to go to one (she has one in St. Louis next i believe) i recommend going. And if you’re not a Swift fan but need a mom’s night out, DO IT! I get out more and more as my children grow and it’s so nice. Everyone needs those breaks no matter what you decide to do on them. I used to feel like i needed this title of a mom who NEVER EVER left her children. Only bad moms leave their kids by choice, right? What kind of dumb logic was that?! Don’t let society or guilt keep you from still being your own person that dedicates time to yourself. Self love includes self breaks from your squad. 

Happy 7th Birthday — Charlee Adeline

Seven years ago at 12:48 pm i became a mom to a 5 pound, perfectly perfect baby girl. The events and emotions of that day will forever be branded into my soul. There are no adequate words to describe it. Our world changed. Our love changed. Our hearts changed. I spent weeks after her birth asking my mom when the ‘this is a dream’ feeling/fog goes away and when Brian would stop staring at me like i was a god ha. Life was flawless. Perfect. Complete. I couldn’t believe that it was real. People swirled around us but all we saw was her. After 2 years of infertility, a failed adoption, fertility treatments, being told word for word that Brian had ‘less of a chance than a man with a vasectomy to naturally father a child’ by a fertility specialist (What did he know?), and so much more — it took a long time to get used to the fact that our dream came true. It was real. We were parents. Charlee is mature beyond her years. She freakishly intelligent and the most well behaved child that I’ve ever met. She never gives us a fuss or makes things hard (aside from when it comes to fashion). She is our first miracle and we love her oh so very much. Happy birthday to our Char Bear. 

We spent the day with family and friends. Charlee told us multiple times that it was her best birthday yet because she got an American Girl doll and got to spend all day with her family. It’s rare that a birthday falls on a day that we are all here and Brian is off of work. He made her her favorite breakfast. We went shopping and to get our names done with Liv and my mom. Then we had friends over. I still can’t believe that i am the mother to a seven year old. With each passing year we get closer to the preteen/teenage state and i already want to tuck my tail and run ha. I’m so nervous about raising teenage girls. But for now, I’ll soak in this stage. This year. The seventh year. 

Also, find you a man who reacts like this to meeting his children. Nothing reminds me of Brian’s love for me and our kids like his actions and emotions during labor and delivery. He stresses to see me in pain. He stands by my side to comfort me rather than go straight to the baby warmer where the baby’s were. He rubs my face and arm. He kisses my head. He is so tender that it makes me melt. Of course, he does those things in regular life but it’s intensified during the delivery of our children. I can’t wait to do it again with him 💕 

Child Carseat Safety

For years car seat safety has been a big topic of passion for me. I did it all wrong with my oldest and praise God i didn’t pay a price for my lack of education. Her chest clip was rarely where it was supposed to be. I put her in her seat in big coats. I forward faced as soon as she turned a year old. I fucked it up in every way just about. Thankfully because of a fellow mom saying something to me i began to research it. At first i was annoyed with her. It felt like she was judging me and questioning my ability to be a mother. I felt threatened and offended. But she was right and i quickly saw that after endlessly educating myself. I’ve had women delete me. Cuss me. Block me. Ect. For trying to help them safety restrain their children. 

PSA — A MOM EDUCATING YOU ABOUT CARSEAT SAFETY ISN’T CALLING YOU OUT! IT’S TRYING TO SAVE YOUR CHILDS LIFE! 

How can you KNOW that something is proven to be safest and simply ignore it?! How? I don’t get it. No excuse in the world can justify knowingly neglecting your child by putting them in premeditated harm. They cry rear facing? So what! They hate it? So what! They can’t look around good? So what! Your child is big for their age? So what if they still fall within the rear facing guild lines of their carseat. Their legs are cramped? So what! Broken leg, cast it. Broken neck from prematurely forward facing, casket. They have some ‘medical reason’ why you can’t rear face them past 12 months old? Bull shit! Seriously. Bull fucking shit. It’s an excuse to make you look and/or feel better about YOUR CHOICE to forward face them. Each state has different laws on car seat requirements. I get it. But a) most states are changing those laws for safety reasons and b) just because you can legally do something DOES NOT make it the safest option or what’s best. The American Academy of Pediatrics just released new information reinforcing that children need to rear face as long as possible. They need to rear face until they exceed the height and weight maximum on their car seat. That’s not at 2 or by 2. In fact, it’s the average size of a 4 year old! Think about that if you are forward facing your 1 year old. Two year old. Three year old. Not knowing (like i didn’t) is one thing but knowing and ignoring it is neglect. And this day and age with social media, billboards, magazines, news outlets, cell phones, the odds of a parent not coming across this information is rare! Curious about your child’s adequate car seat recommendation? There are countless credible sources online to find the exact type of seat that your child needs to be the safest that they possibly can. Here are some links to support what I’ve said in this post: 

ABC NEWS

AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS

CBS NEWS