Mom in the Spotlight: Rockstar Blogger, Tara of You Know It Happens at Your House Too

Pretty Blogger!

How old are your children?

I have three amazing girls, ages 11, 6 and 5.  My two incredible boys are 8 and 3.  Yep, that makes for 11, 8, 6, 5, and 3.  Yes, I’m busy.  Yes, they were all birthed from my uterus.  Yes, they were all planned.  

No, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

What was your life all about before you had kids?

Um, hmmmm….life before kids?  That seems like it happened in a previous life, not this current one.  I know I was a middle school and high school social studies teacher.  I know we slept in on the weekends and my grocery bill was minimal.  I know our house was quiet and remarkably clean.  We did whatever we wanted to and we spent many a night drinking beer and playing cards with friends.  Minus the beer and cards, it was pretty boring and monotonous now that I think about it.

What made you leap into the blogosphere?  How long have you been blogging?

It wasn’t until friends and family started urging me to do it that I finally took the plunge about a year and a half ago.  When you get enough people telling you that you are hilarious, before long you start to believe them.  It was a great morale booster and little do they know that they forced me into this gig.  You don’t want to disappoint those who are supporting you before you even start.   So here I am.  The sometimes entertaining, rarely grammatically correct, almost always sarcastic, wine drinking writer of a more popular than I ever thought it would be blog.  By popular I mean more people than my mother and my husband read it.

Blogging is something that starts out as a fun hobby, and then before you know it, you're easily spending six hours a day at the computer while your home looks and feels like a post-event frat house.  How do you find blogging balance?

I have no balance.  I’m unorganized, at times unmotivated, and usually un-inspired.   For me blogging really is a hobby.  My attitude towards my blog is that it was started purely for fun.  Something for me to do when I have thoughts that I want to put somewhere.  I have a paying job that I don’t really enjoy --  one I have to have to pay the bills.  I don’t want my blog to turn into something that I HAVE to do, I NEED it to stay something that I ENJOY doing.  If it turns into a job, a thing that I am forced to do then it loses the allure of FUN.  Once it isn’t fun, the writing becomes craptastic.  No thanks.

What's something you love that is totally out of character with your personality?

I love to make the birthday cakes.  Six times a year (the Hubs gets one too) you can find me elbow deep in cake batter and frosting making whatever their little heart desires.  It’s never fancy, always stressful (mainly because my standards of perfection are ridonkulous), but the smile on the face of the birthday baby makes it all worth it.  Plus I like to eat cake, so it really is a win/win situation.

Name three things - foods, things, articles of clothing or beauty products you'd without question go down fighting for.

• My iPhone.  You want my iPhone?  I will cut you. It is my lifeline to the outside world and it contains all my music.  Without the music I cannot survive.

• Flip-flops.  My piggies need their freedom.  They don’t like containment and they love the fresh air.  I will beat you off with my flip-flops if I have to.

• My tweezers. Some things just need to be tended to and amazing things can happen with a pair of tweezers.

The current fashion trend that makes your eyes bleed?  

I was shopping for shorts just the other day and I left with a pair of freaking capris because I couldn’t find a pair of shorts that wouldn’t’ require a full Brazilian before I could wear them out in public.  If you bend over and I can see your cheeks, your shorts are too damn short.  No one wants to see that.  If you want to show off your nether regions I’m sure there is a room with a pole looking for new recruits.

If money were no object where would you fly off to tomorrow?  

Somewhere alone.  Anywhere tropical with white sandy beaches and crystal clear water.  I love my kids, but any mother knows that there comes that time in which we need a break.  Right now, we are over a month into summer vacation and I need a break.  I need my girlfriends, a beach, a cabana boy bringing an endless supply of drinks, some amazing music, and Johnny Depp if he isn’t too busy.

Your worst FML Mommy tale?

I will just have to say it involves three young kids, a stressed out dad, a very pregnant mother, and air travel.  You can read all about it in this post because it’s just too painful to type it all out again.  Lessons Learned: Air Travel With Littles

What advice do you have for new moms?

Do it your way and always take time for yourself.  Every time you turn around someone will be giving you advice.  Listen to them, but never feel obligated to utilize their advice.  You know your baby better than anyone.  You know what works and what doesn’t.  You are under no obligation to anyone else to do it their way, so do what works for you and your little one.  Then don’t forget to take time to decompress.  

This mothering biz is hard yo; don’t let the stress get to you.  Take time for a walk or dinner out with your girlfriends.  Even if it’s just a nice bath with a glass of wine once the kids go to bed, do something to relax every now and then.  You are worthless to everyone else around you if you can’t keep your shit together.  It really is one of those everyone wins kind of situations.

Tara of You Know it Happens at Your House Too is the mother of five young kids, wife to one hard working farmer. She is the sometimes hilarious, sometimes serious, usually sarcastic writer of the amazingly popular (in her own mind) blog You Know it Happens at Your House Too. In her free time she enjoys wiping butts and noses all while picking up Legos and Polly Pockets. If she ever had a moment to herself she would go pee, then relax with a nice, cheap glass (bottle) of wine and any movie starring Johnny Depp. She has completely forgotten what it is like to do anything alone. Tara lives in Kansas with her husband and her five children. You can also find her wasting time and ignoring her kids on Facebook and Twitter.