Perception is reality, at least that’s what they say right?

Why hello! Long time no talky. I hope 2017 has been amazing for everyone. I must say… you guys… I have really been crushing my goals this year. For example, I just got to DJ a wedding (all I had was an iPad, a Disney Frozen karaoke machine and some sweet merchandise I made myself) BUT talk about checking off the bucket list… dancing to It’s Tricky by The Run DMC in a shirt that says MC SkardA… I just couldn’t ask for much more. 

Aside from being the life of the party, I have been SO focused in on everything I set out to accomplish this year. I had a pretty hefty list going and who knew it’d be so stressful?! Ha. As if three kids and a husband doesn’t consume enough energy; trying to build an empire on top of it all might be setting myself up for disaster… after disaster, after disaster… but I mean, I’m not going to stop. No matter how many times my mom tells me to slow down, I refuse to quit until I get what I want. Call it what you want but I’m trying to manifest my own destiny here, ok y’all?! A little self-visualization going on and I’ll have you know… it’s working!

It started in 2010 at a PiYo class in California, when my instructor pulled me aside after my very first session and asked me to come to her master class to become certified to instruct. She noticed my form and ability immediately. Five years later – years since I took a PiYo class – I was in a rut as a stay-at-home mom and I yearned for my younger body back, so I took a leap of faith and took a master PiYo class. A couple months before the class I started the at home DVDs and I would picture being a girl in the videos – their strength and form was so impressive to me – I wanted to look and be professionally fit. But I didn’t just I visualize that for myself then go eat a sandwich. I worked for Every. Single. Bit. Of. It. Now I’m teaching at 2 gyms, multiple days a week and lookin/feeling better than I ever have. I may not be in the DVDs (yet) but in two weeks I’ll be on the local news promoting and previewing my PiYo Live class! Less than a month ago I looked at my husband and said, “I’m going to be on the news next month babe – whatcha wanna bet?!” 🤗 coincidence? I think not!

I made that happen for myself. I imagined it, I spoke it, I reached out to the right people, I booked a holiday show. Boom! Can’t never could… that’s what I was taught as a child (s/o mom- you’re the bee’s knees). I see so many people throw away potential simply because they don’t see it in themselves. It’s sad really, but I got lucky. Someone who I looked up to told me everything I needed to hear to make me stop shaking my head “no” at myself. Sometimes seeing yourself through the right person’s eyes is all the light you need to take ahold of your life and make it what you actually WANT it to be. 
Sometimes, filtering through the hate and the negativity is the hardest part… but once you put your purpose on a pedestal and you get your mind right, then the excuses vanish! That’s when you have to go for it. If you don’t… someone else will, so WHY NOT YOU?! 

It only took me five months to pull this off 🤗

I make it a mission to get PiYo pics everywhere I go- catch me at Target like….. 
Jk but I’m on my way to go get a pic now 😜

Remember the first time you told me you loved me?

Whatever I’m about to write right now isn’t going to be good enough.

Honestly, there’s really not a good way to put into words how much I freaking love you.

You saved me. You saved me from a life that I cringe to think about.  In the cheesiest – and in the realist way – you made my dreams come true. My own Prince Charming.  Thank you, babe. Thank you fifty billion GILLION times for loving me. 

Remember the first time you told me you loved me?

We were 15 & 16 years old. It was right after you spent six months swearing to me that “love” wasn’t a “real” emotion because, from experience, no person in the world is capable of loving anyone more than themselves. Only after you had convinced me that you were stone-cold and had never ever shed one tear….  you CRIED and told me you loved me in your stinky blue truck. With a Hurley hat on.

I’ll never, ever, ever forget that moment. Ever. I remember being SO annoyed because a week before you were all “I don’t love anyone” and so I got back together with my lil’ high school boo thing and then BOOM. You laid that on me. Tears and all. It was the sweetest thing ever. 

There was a phase in our lives when we didn’t communicate, because you weren’t “allowed” to…. That was honestly the darkest phase of my life. It’s hard for me to even reflect on those times because I’ve blocked it out. 

I just know you weren’t there and it was very hard on me. 

When we first met, it was like the ZING in that one movie with the Dracula and that red head. Exactly like that. Right?! I mean I remember the first time I looked at your face… and those eyes. I remember the first time we hugged. How you used to stare at me at Colton’s when we were working. Your little smile  

I miss those days. I always had butterflies just sitting next to you. We stayed on the phone for hours & hours and you’d fall asleep…and I’d hang up and call you 50 times to wake you back up. Lunch breaks from work were the peak of my days. But as fate would have it, we never got the chance to really get into our emotions with each other because we were always dating other people, at the wrong time. When we’d randomly catch up, we always talked about how timing just wasn’t right… but the feelings were deep. We always knew that about each other. There was always something more there.

I’ll never forget the way I cherished our “phone-friendship” throughout the years. In all my outlandish endeavors,  you always answered my sobbing 3 AM phone calls. Usually about some nonsense that you couldn’t care less about… but you listened to. 

You always listened. You always gave me the best advice. {I remember telling Mom about you when we started seeing each other and I said “I listen to his advice and I actually TAKE it!” She was instantly sold because I don’t listen to annnnyyyyooonneee evvveeerrrr!} I would run to you and you’d always say “if you’re happy, I’m happy”.

But neither of us were ever actually happy. 

I always dreamt of you. Well James Franco, but I mean basically you. It felt like you were in my dreams, though, and every time I woke up from one I would have an overwhelming feeling…. 

Of sadness. 

I clearly remember the first time I ever FaceTimed you. I was wearing a red tank top and I was telling you about my gangster alter-ego I had in California where I acted like a gang member from Arkansas. We talked for hours and laughed the entire time. You were sitting at Nathan’s playing video games – of course. We talked about how many kids we each wanted and we both wanted FOUR. 

I know you remember that deal babe… we should totally adopt that 4th one though..eventually.

It took only one FaceTime call and life had purpose again. I knew it was you the WHOLE time. I always knew you were The One…even ask Brooke!

And here we are. 

Five years later. A bus load of kids later… countless arguments later… endless struggles later… like five whole YEARS later. 

I feel like that’s a lot. I am so proud of where we are in our relationship. I know we aren’t perfect. Yes, we could be better on a hundred different levels – but I love US. I love that our love is unique. I love that I can flip out and lose my mind and you can tell me to go away…. and then sometimes, I can apologize and we can kiss and make up. 

You’re amazing. You are too good for me. You’re way too smart for me. You look like James Franco and I don’t look like any famous person. You’re WAY funnier than me…but I mean, you’ve made me a funnier person, for sure. You’ve given me everything you have. From your last dollar to the last ounce of energy and all of your patience and love. 

You deserve everything in the world babe. 

I can’t give you the world but I WANT to give you ALL of me for the rest of my life. I want to you to be my best friend FOR actual EVER. Like gray hair… scratching butts… and hearing aids. I want to love you every single day, forever. 

Thanks babe. Thanks for giving me everything. I adore you. I’m obsessed with you. I love you and I cherish you.

Happy fifth anniversary, baby 

The Everyday Life of a “Super Mom” :

        

I like to start my Super Days off with a nice latte, a little yoga and some time in the books (i.e. my planners because what is life without organization?!) After I have some quality “me” time, I wake my little angels up with kisses and a home-cooked breakfast. Next, I clean my house – in the same routine, everyday, so the house is completely spotless and my laundry is always clean/put away. After dressing my girls and fixing their hair, I use my spare time to pose them for sweet pictures that I share on Facebook (so everyone can see how together our lives are!) Then, I focus on wife-ing and making sure my husband doesn’t have to lift a finger around the house… all while running a small business out of our home!

Okay, okay, okay. 

First of all… NO, just no. None of that is accurate.. I’m NOT super mom nor am I super wife – but I AM super tired, stressed, drained, sore, and well… cool. I am super, duper cool. Wanna know what makes me sooo cool? I don’t try to be Super Mom! And, I don’t try to make anyone think I’m super anything. I’m just ME. 

Whether I’m tired, stressed or skipping with joy, you will always get the same Lyndsey out of me. Example: I will pop, lock, & drop it at the drop of a dime because I’m always ready to showcase my dance skills. I will also cut you up with my tongue in a second (if you push me to it!) because I’m bad to the bone. And, I will ALWAYS greet you with a smile because I believe in first impressions. 

Yes, my life has drastically changed over the last 12 months and I’d be lying if I said it hasn’t changed me. 

I realize a lot of people that know me think I’m something more than I am (in my opinion) and I’ve been left wanting to address that idea. When it comes to me being a “Super Mom” all I can say is… I wish! I wish I could always be the best mom/wife/home keeper. I wish I could do it all and take all the credit.

 

But the reality is… I’m lucky to have all three of my girls in shirts – let alone fully clothed! Getting the divas styled from head-to-toe is a seldom occurrence. And as for “me” time?! Is that even a thing ? I don’t know about you other moms out there but “me time” comes maybe once-a-month when my husband pushes my stressed butt out the door and tells me to go get a shake (because Herbalife is a MAJOR pick me up) and to buy some new sweat pants. 

I could not do a fraction of what I do if I didn’t have my husband, Grant. He is the House Chef, he gives baths/changes diapers/throws all the toys laying on the floor into trash bags before I get home (so it always looks clean when I walk in)…and even when I find the hidden trash bags weeks later, I’m still appreciative that he did whatever he could to make my day a little less stressful. Thank you, Grant.

No, my life isn’t a blissful walk in the park. Having a family of FIVE comes with a bus-load of up’s & down’s… and an equal amount of laundry. I can’t do it all; there’s always a new mess to be cleaned or a boo-boo to be kissed. 

Maybe my only real Super Power is that I strive to do life and this “mom” thing with a smile. The days I can laugh along with my family – while the messes are being made – are the are the days that I strive for.  ❤​

•Today was one of those days, I managed to laugh through the purging of this mess I walked into 😳 

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Introducing Lyndsey Rae Taylor // The stay-at-home boss babe, fashion enthusiast and creator of the Taylor Tribe

So, 2017 is here. Day #4: I haven’t worked out even once, I’ve cussed (a little) and I’m planning on eating a double cheese burger… later. New Year: Same Exact Me. 

Now, I won’t lie… I have high hopes for 2017. I have goals! One of them is THIS – my blog. I want to share my glamorously flawless life and family. Ha! Right; but I’m doing this selfishly to showcase the reality of myself, my life and my family. I think we are all pretty dope and I am hoping you will enjoy getting to know us, too! I’m 26 and I have T H R E E daughters. Yes, you read that right. Three. On top of living with 3 miniature divas, I have quite possibly the FUNNIEST husband to help me do the job! I can confidently say that life is genuinely great.

But – as a young stay at home mom – it didn’t take too long to lose my sanity.

No nights out. No social life. No brunch dates or girls nights. I was a complete hermit. (Note: Living 30 miles into the woods doesn’t help much, either.) So, I did what anyone my age would do. I turned to Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest to “get away” throughout the day.  Sad, huh? I mean, I’m 26 for crying out loud! I should be uploading selfies everyday with my makeup on fleek and out at the clubs gettin’ jiggy with it! But nah, I didn’t even desire that life anymore. I devoted myself entirely to being a wife and a mom.

For someone who used to say they’d never have kids… I really surprised myself when I became a mother. Everything changed. 

I fell IN LOVE with staying home and teaching the ABC’s, always having the laundry done and the floors clean (this was with just 1 and 2 kids – NOT 3! My laundry is NEVER done now. Ever.) I even fell in love with the solidarity of country life. I grew and learned and gained so much wisdom in the first couple years of staying at home. My morals changed. My outlook broadened. My circle shrank.

As fate would have it – right at the peak of my blissful stay at home life – I got pregnant. Again. Only NINE months after having our 2nd daughter (Alayna-Mae). With that third pregnancy came depression. Everything shifted. Stress poured onto me.. onto us. My husband was trying to get through college, on top of preparing for another baby, which generated another major stress. We fought. I was terribly sick with this pregnancy so I was unable to care for our house and family the way I normally did. So, my husband did it all. I mean EVERYTHING from baths to diapers, bottles to meals, and nap-time to play-time. He let me wallow in my sorrows, all while holding up my end at home and attending classes.

Finally, Baby Number 3 (Emerey-Vae) made her appearance. This was my 3rd repeat MAJOR surgery in 4 years. Surprisingly (and thankfully) my depression left the second I laid eyes on my husband holding our littlest angel. Like magic. I had found even more purpose and drive to become a successful, accomplished – yet obviously, stylish – woman/wife/mother.

So… 7 months after Baby E was born, I went out on a limb. I took my “crafting” to the next level. I have allllllllways always ALWAYS dreamed of owning my own boutique, so I decided to get a start on building my empire! I bought some equipment and started slangin’ shirts. Almost a year later and here we are. I’m running my at-home business out of a lovely (literally the CUTEST) basement work-space. I have grown so much faster than I anticipated and it has really opened my eyes to the opportunity that is in front of me.

My passion for a dream has driven me to where I stand today. My hopes and goals for this year all stem from what I learned about myself last year. And I can’t wait to see what life is like 361 days from now!

Follow me this year on my journey as a Stay-at-Home Boss Babe. And friends, I have BIG plans this year… so please don’t miss out! 😉

Yours Truly,

Lyndsey Rae Taylor