Getting in and out of a car will take at least 30 minutes and you will always forget something… always.
If you can, space them out age wise accordingly, do so. Having a little Boss that can’t talk yet and tell me how he is feeling about a new baby Blakely is tricky. He is getting there now it just takes a whole lot of one on one and cuddling.
Diapers. So many diapers. I take down at least 6 diapers after one nights sleep.
Date nights will be non existent for a bit and thats ok. Just appreciate the time alone you do have together and remind yourself that one day you will have built in babysitters.
Consignment stores are everything especially when you are trying to match 7 people all the time.
Costco is your best friend.
Set a reminder on your Alexa to clip the 100 toenails and fingernails once a week.
Moms have a gift of prioritizing every second of every day so while running up stairs to wipe someones bum grab a few things to take up with you so you don’t have to go up and down an extra five times out of the six hundred you will.
Kids are helpful. They want to help if you explain that you need it and why. At five I have Dakota helping with dishes, Jax is taking care of trash and the three oldest are cleaning up toys when I ask. Don’t be scared to ask them to use those cute little hands.
You will always have throw up or poop in, on and around you. Get used to it and have perfume in every diaper bag.
Being in public will feel overwhelming but on lookers will either laugh or offer help. Take the help. Let the guy behind you in line at Target pick up the shoe that your kid kicked off.
Don’t ever order your own meal at a restaurant because you will have six to-go boxes if you do. They never finish their food. Order the margarita instead of the meal.
Sleep isn’t a thing right now so don’t expect it just have really great coffee on deck.
Surround yourself with friends that encourage the chaos and enjoy your time together. Someone is bound to pull down their pants and pee in the front yard, spill a drink, get crumbs in a couch etc. True friends who invite you over with that many humans know the drill.
Train the olders well and the littles will follow.
Laundry is life. Have a glass of wine while you do it. Make it fun!
You will be exhausted and you will blame your spouse for said exhaustion. The only way to fix this is by making that time for the “special special” but don’t have too much “special special” because then you may get another surprise bundle of joy.
They will all look exactly like your husband. Don’t take offense you are in their personality somewhere.
Time to yourself will seem non existent because it is but if you can take the bath or shower alone, if you can play a game of Candy Krush on the potty, if you can tan for two minutes without another being on top of you, remember to appreciate those moments.
LOVE HARD ON THEM NOW. This is a season and it is flying by so through the tears, the lack of sleep, the fight over green beans, the gallon of Gatorade spilt on the floor by your eager toddler… love it all. Write it all down. Don’t ever forget that you dreamt of these moments all your life. The good, the bad and the goofy.
Just for Men Beard Dye is for beards. And men. Quarantine has gotten the best of me. Shout out to my bf/stylist Chad who’s got his work cut out for him. Hair hack fail of 2020
The first time I ever cut my hair pixie short was when I was modeling and I made $2000 doing it. I walked out of that shoot feeling like a much more confident version of myself. I remember getting in the car, looking in the mirrors over and over and running my fingers through my healthy locks. I walked into my boyfriend’s (at the time) house and the confidence was crushed the second his brothers called me Justin Bieber. I vividly remember this incident because if it happened now I would have made a joke about it then dumped the boyfriend on the spot for not sticking up for me (heck yes to that 30 year old woman confidence).
Fast forward to me having children of my own and growing out everyone’s hair whether they are boys or girls. This is not a Craig choice. This is not a Taylor choice. We have babies, they have really great dark hair when they are born until it starts to fall out, then we shave it and let it grow. Jax went through a phase of wanting short hair so Craig and him cut their hair at the same time in similar styles. CWB got a lot of back lash for it from fans but he also got a lot of love. Jax liked the response from his peers at school with short hair but then he went to the BMX track, a ton of the other boys still rocked long hair and he missed his. Jax now loves his man buns and we have taught him to tell kids who react negatively to make light of it or say “You are welcome to your own opinion”. Gray, our two year old son, let us shave the sides because his hair is so thick but he will not let us touch the top long parts. He may throw a fit when I have to brush him but if you ask to cut it he will give you a stern “No!”. Dakota Lynn cries every time we cut anyones hair and wants hers to grow like a princess. We just shaved Boston’s sides this week and once he gets a little fuzz growing back we will buzz the whole thing and see what happens. All of this to say, once they grow into their own preferences we listen and let them do whatever they want to their hair (with the exception of coloring :).
What hurts my heart is when someone assumes wrong. My dad always said assuming typically makes an “Ass” out of “U” and “Me” and there is something to that! We recently had a family situation where Jax was in a class without us for an hour and during the entire class a teacher insisted that he was a girl no matter how many times he corrected her. He had on black cowboy boots, a suit jacket, black jeans and a sweet belt buckle along with a name tag that said “Jaxon”. She called him “her” for an hour in front of kids he was just getting to know. I am so proud of him for standing his ground and continuing to correct her no matter how humiliated he might have felt. When we went to pick him up he immediately told us what happened at the door. Craig addressed it kindly with her and her response was “Whatever works”. Absolutely wasn’t an acceptable response and believe you me they got an email after that. I basically had to quietly pull Craig Wayne Boyd out of there by his long hair and we all calmed down in the car.
My point in saying all of this is we have no problem when people make a mistake and use the wrong pronoun on one of our long haired boys or our daughter dressed in black. There have been countless times at dinner that one of my kids has been called the wrong thing and corrected it themselves or Craig and I have…politely. On social media it happens daily and our #yallers always come to the rescue to clarify. I understand when you go against the grain some might not always approve. I respect that back in the day long hair wasn’t as common on men or might have had a negative connotation. People often come back with “they are just so beautiful” when our son is mistakenly called she and what better a compliment than to hear that! One day when they start growing facial hair it will become a non-issue but until then I would like to kindly suggest that if you are ever unsure just skirt your way around it.
Parenting is so stinking tough. This has been an ongoing situation I have been learning to navigate for the past 5 years and will continue to work on so that my munchies don’t feel wrong for having a personal preference about their appearance AND so they don’t feel ashamed for preferring to be a little different. What are some parenting challenges you have faced???
So tonight I tried to steer clear of Corona and talk about a parenting issue that happened most often when we were out and about. Honestly, for the time being I am trying to find anything to talk about other than Covid-19 . Any “normal” topics we had about being parents before we were confined to our homes with minimal human interaction would be welcome! Love you all, wash yo hands and try and stay as healthy and happy as possible during this crazy madness. I might blog in a week, I might blog tomorrow to be honest some days I am inspired and others I am trying to keep from feeling overwhelmed. If there is anything you want to chat about or hear funny stories about let me know that might be just the inspiration I need. Keeping this blog does more for my personal health than you know and I just thank anyone reading. xoxox
I don’t even like saying the word and as I type I am still unsure of what to talk about so no one takes offense. The past two weeks in Nashville and our county have been strange. We have experienced a tornado hit our beloved town then only days later we are seeing the unimaginable happen in our country/world. I have seen love, support and community come together in the most beautiful way and then an entire shift to panic. There are so many views, so many articles, so many posts happening that I have tried to stay offline as much as humanly possible yet our lively hood revolves around current events and public appearances. Here goes something…
Craig left for Austin, Texas today to play a festival in Round Rock. Do we post about it? Do we share with people that he is on his way to do his job? We did. Not sure if it was the “correct” decision but as a family we made it. We decided that because it was outside of the metropolis that is Austin and because the cases are few nearby, and Craig’s fans are attending that driving (rather than flying) and playing an acoustic show while being as conscious of cleanliness as possible was a must. He/We are absolutely aware of the importance of being “quarantined” and respect everyone’s thoughts. Every mic will be sanitized, there will be elbow bumps instead of hugs, and when he gets home there will be a lot of laundry to do but this situation will be handled in the most cleanly and safe way possible. I hope his fans and our friends know and respect that.
We have also “stocked up”. We have enough toilet paper for two weeks, formula, diapers and wipes for two weeks and food for TWO WEEKS. I am the most protective mom on the planet but we did not go shopping in bulk for anything. We shopped responsibly knowing that there are other new moms out there who need exactly what I do and there are elderly people looking to have food in their fridge too. This panic is scary. This shift in our economy is scary. We aren’t sure we will get deposits or any new shows in the next few months and THAT. IS. SCARY. Prayer and family time has been the only thing that seems to keep me from grinding my teeth at night.
My personality has always been the “half glass full” kinda gal. My figurative glass is half full knowing that I have enjoyed three days with my tribe. No phones, no news, just outdoors, cuddles and close friends. We have taught Dakota to ride a bike with no training wheels successfully and I am so stinking proud of her. Jaxon has learned two new songs on piano and is now honing in on his drum skills (SOS Johannes!). Graydon is learning colors and has mastered the rainbow with the help of M&M’s. Boston has us all smiling with every one of his new smiles. Craig and I are talking less and loving more. If I wasn’t so worried about our careers and humanity I would chalk this moment in time up as precious. That being said, my literal glass right now is half full because I don’t think I could experience this many emotions without a glass of wine or two.
Yesterday I needed out of the house so I went and detailed our car from front to back. Aside from wine, reading and praying… cleaning has become my new therapy. I needed a moment to reflect. Afterwards, I found myself going to Dollar General for ice cream for our kids because they are absolute rockstars. The other day Dakota and Gray were playing and Graydon came running into our room saying “Mommy there is a Mado (tornado) outside”. In that moment I realized how much they hear, see and absorb. In that moment I knew that my tension was rubbing off on him. Then Jaxon came home clinging to a stuffed animal which he has never done. His school was flattened by a tornado two weeks ago and now he knows that he won’t be going back for a while because people are getting sick. I asked Craig if we should take the “stuffy” away and he said “No. They are kids and they have feelings bigger than ours.” Moral of all of this… Love. Let people feel. And know that children are hearing and feeling all of the emotions that you have. I don’t think anyone should hide them but they should be talked about and then cover everyone in enough kisses and hugs to make the scary disappear. It is difficult, I am not saying it is easy but remember you are the leader of your pack and you want to make that pack as strong and comfortable as possible. (I say this to myself as I type because this is new territory and I am obviously learning as I go to).
Love you all, wash your hands, and share with me any creative ideas you might have for adults and kids alike to stay sane during this time of chaos. xo
Last night I took babe out for the big 40th birthday to the Fairlane Hotel and ate at Ellington’s Midway Bar and Grill. For our Nashvillian friends…Best. Food. Ever. Being from the west coast I’m always apprehensive about eating seafood in the middle of the country but their scallops were a gift from heaven. We started with the tastiest truffle fries, fried pork strips with Alabama white sauce (this is slowly becoming my favorite condiment), baked cauliflower drizzled in ponzu, then a wedge salad that could have fed Craig’s whole band, bread (there’s nothing more to say than “bread” because bread is my best friend) and ended with the sexy scallops. At the beginning of this binge feast we came in confident and ready to conquer the entire menu. By the end of the appetizers we called off an entree and dessert. Amazing food, incredible view and ambience (anyone that plays smooth jazz and Brian McKnight in Nashville is a friend of mine) and the sweetest waitress of all time named Kathryn. She was the one that really made the night. Well, her and the two Manhattan’s I drank.
Kathryn was truly the sweetest waitress of all time. She was professional, informative and all around a cool person. She is from Brooklyn so we got to chat about my knowledge of New York and Long Island being that my dad and stepmom live out there, and she also lived in California which is where I’m from. She was a big fan of The Voice and told Craig “You were probably the last season I watched because I figured after you there wasn’t much better”. Apparently the entire staff googled him and watched his blind audition on The Voice before we got there because she knew his name from the reservation. (A. I love that she told us that B. If you ever see someone you love in person go say hi and take the picture. If they get upset they shouldn’t have chose entertainment as a career) It was special that she knew who he was and was a fan because Craig’s order of loves goes GOD, Family and friends/fans… oh and the Cowboys.
Annnddd this is where my post probably should have started before I shamelessly promoted an incredible restaurant and gave a shout out to an awesome friend we made… my husband. His heart is his most attractive quality. I will never make fun of him but I will let you in on jokes I have that I’ve told him to his face so here’s one. He’s like living with a super hot Grandma. He loves fancy dishes, cooking, flower arrangements and matching BUT he also cheers on the Cowboys every Sunday (Yay Sports!!!), works on cars, loves a fine whiskey and eats steak like a caveman. So really I’ve got the best of everything.
40 is a big birthday and last night was a beautiful night of reflection. As we sat chatting with Kathryn about his career and experiences it really hit me just how incredible his life and now our life is. He went from scraping money to pay for diapers and cans of tuna (he still eats canned tuna weekly but by choice now) to playing a residency at The Hard Rock with Rascal Flatts in a years span. You can tell in his humble and soft spoken personality where he came from but when he’s on stage he becomes CWB. Guitar in hand he commands everything around him like the pro he is. And his voice…. I know I’m bias but it’s just the best.
Baby, you are a force to be reckoned with. Own 40 like you do everything else and I’m just so very proud of you. Thank you for the perfect dinner, thank you for always getting up on stage when I ask you to on our date nights, and mostly thank you for loving me and our kiddos with all your might. Oh, and NO thank you for my pounding headache today. Topshelf baby topshelf.
BoydsRUs 