I was walking by this sign at the BlissDom conference and couldn’t resist stopping to snap a picture.  The baby’s mom, who was sitting just to the left of the Got Milk? sign, tells me her daughter’s name is Stella.  Just thought I’d share.  Cute, right?

Joe Jonas performed a live concert last night and I was steps away from this incredibly popular singer, but I just couldn’t get into it.  It was there, standing maybe 5 feet from the star, that I realized I’m officially old.

He was performing at BlissDom, a conference for bloggers, and he was on stage before Rascal Flatts, a band I was really excited about seeing perform.

I know I should have been equally excited about Joe Jonas, but it just wasn’t my thing.  My niece, however, was thrilled for me.  And I’m sure my daughters thought it was cool, too.  He does seem talented.  I hate to take anything from the guy.

There was even a time last night that I saw flashes of Elvis in his performance, but that’s probably because my vision is failing me in my 40s (see the pic below).

Guess I’m just old.

He kind of confirmed that for me.

Rascal Flatts is about to unveil a new album, “Changed”, on April 3rd, and last night I was lucky enough to get to hear “Banjo”, one of the songs from the album performed live.  It’s a good one.

Their song “Moving On” got me through a big life change nine years ago, so getting to see them perform for our relatively small group at the BlissDom conference was amazing personally.  I stood in the second row and got some great video of their performances, recording them on my phone (sorry for the audio quality–it’s almost sinful to do that to the band since they really did sound so good).

I thought I’d share some of what they performed for us.  First, below, enjoy another oldie but goodie, “The Broken Road”.  Then I listed “Banjo”, the new one.  And the final one is “Why Wait?”.  I love the lessons in their music.  I personally can’t wait for the new album.

And oh yeah, I had to brag that the drummer tossed me his drum stick afterwards.  Yes, I can say me, because I was the only one still standing there at center stage in the audience when he did it.  Some gals were standing off to the right yelling for him.  I just gave him the thumbs up and he was nice enough to send one my way.  That kind of thing never happens to me so I had to include it here.  You all already know my son is also a “little drummer boy”, heading off to college next year where he’ll turn his music into his profession, so the drum stick has new meaning to me.  Plus, learning to play the drums is still on my bucket list.

Anyway, on to the music… enjoy!

You know how amazing it is to see beautiful photographs and wish you could capture the same images?

Well, I was lucky enough to sit for a bit in a session with a professional photographer, Me Ra Koh, an incredibly talented lady who has an amazing gift of capturing true personalities in the pictures she takes.

Capturing great shots is not always easy to do with children.  But Me Ra has some great advice for getting the shots you want.  Check it out in the video below.  Then, if you want more advice, check out the book she wrote on the topic.  Great stuff!

Sitting at the Blissdom conference in Nashville, Jon Acuff hit me between the eyes. Not literally, but it hurt just the same.
He talked about a few things that hit home, but the one that felt most like a heart attack was his reminder to make time for things that matter.
He told us a story about how he was sitting with his daughter, working on her homework, while he was trying to come up with a funny tweet. He told her to hold on a minute, a few times, and she put a napkin over his iPhone.
He shared that with us during his speech.

It says “Daddy pay attention”.
My daughter isn’t the one who wrote it but she could have been.
All my kids could have.
I need to change that. Now.
What an important reminder Jon.
Message received. And thank you!

We all know the birth of a baby or a marriage are life-changing events, but what other critical things have happened to you that make you wake up and take notice?  Maybe you didn’t realize what a big deal it was while it was happening, but what event took place that led you down the track you’re on now?

That was the topic of a new weekly challenge I’m part of in the mom vlogging community (we’re bloggers who use video to tell our stories).  It’s a great group of gals and I’m enjoying this new way of reaching out to you.

My first response is in the video below.  Feel free to comment below (doesn’t have to be video) with something life-changing that happened to you.

Some friends of mine were lucky enough to walk the runway during the Mercedes Benz Fashion Week in New York City last week. My six yr old fashionista daughter watched the video with me and decided she needed to have her own fashion show this morning, too. Hers came complete with stuffed animals to accompany her beautiful outfits. I gave her the royal treatment, playing music for her to strut to and snapping photos as she worked it. I did not take video but thought you might enjoy the photos. I still wonder where she gets this passion for fashion. It is not from me, that much I must admit.  She leaves me speechless all the time. #WordlessWednesday

From Animal Kingdom to Epcot, there are so many parks and fun things to do at Disney World, but in my opinion there is no comparison to the Magic Kingdom.

It’s my favorite. For so many reasons.

First, it’s the original.  It’s where I have so many fun memories of my own childhood.

As a child, it was fantasy, adventure, so many thrills all wrapped up into one.

As a parent, watching my children enjoy all it offers is simply magical.

Some wonder whether kids outgrow the Magic Kingdom.  I worried about it myself last year when I took my 17 yr old back for the first time in a good while.  But he told me it was still amazing, and Pooh and Tigger were still some of his favorite characters.

I guess you never outgrow the magic, huh?

I’m a warm weather girl but I think I might get used to ice skating a bit more often after the family fun we had today!

The girls convinced their dad to take them ice skating last weekend.  They had so much fun that they begged to go back again this weekend so they could show me just how naturally skilled they are.

I have to say they surprised me.  The 13 yr old is doing spins, balancing on one foot and jumping.  And the 6 yr old is out there with her dad, sliding between his legs and hopping back around holding just one hand.

We brought the guys along today and even they blew me away.  The 17 yr old was like a little speed racer out there, flying by everyone.  The 14 yr old struggled a bit, having an issue with the whole leaning forward part.

Even I impressed myself once I realized how important it was to have my skates tied really tight.  The 17 yr old was nice enough to hold my hand to try to hold me up the first time around the rink.  Pretty sweet, huh?   The 6 yr old was smart enough to realize she was better off holding her daddy’s hand if she didn’t want to fall.

We had so much fun together…seriously, the best time in months!  This time it’ll be me hoping we can go back soon.

My daughter FINALLY lost that loose tooth she’s been wiggling for weeks.  I’m telling you…weeks!

It happened at school today and she was so proud to show me her smile when she got home.

I’m so happy to know she didn’t lose it in her sleep where she was afraid she’d swallow it.

Funny what kids worry about, huh?

Meantime, she gets to add that tooth to her special kit I discovered when I was at the ABC Kids Expo last year (a huge expo for baby and kid retailers offering new products).  The folks who created this Complete Tooth Fairy Kit were kind enough to give me a kit to give my sweet girl after she lost her first tooth (a big event that this mommy had some serious guilt over missing!).

It’s pretty neat–complete with a door hanger letting the tooth fairy know where to stop!  I have a feeling we’ll be putting that door hanger to use tonight.