It’s no surprise that holidays are a big deal they are for many people and always have been for our family especially with the painful road we had to walk to get to our kids. We soak up and celebrate everything.
Especially the “little” things because they turn into the bigger more meaningful moments long term.
As I’ve mentioned in several past features here we’re huge fans of Unique Baby as a brand and company & the convenience of their availability on Amazon is top tier!
Keeping with tradition we’ve ordered our children’s Thanksgiving outfits for 2022 from unique baby.
2022 has been one of our family’s best years yet, it’s obviously not without hard work though so when we have a reason to celebrate anything we do it and we do it right. You’ll know I’m a mom that is extra AF when it comes to celebrating literally anything – my family doesn’t call me Beverly Goldberg for nothing!
From day one of my children’s lives I’ve always been THAT mom…
•The mom that customizes everything I possibly can.
•The mom that coordinates holiday & themed outfits every time.
•The mom that has been coined the queen of personalization.
And I don’t regret a second! Of course, I know one day all of this will come to an end with my kids no longer wanting to do that and it’s fine, but right now they love it and I love being festive and even when it’s over I know I’ll at least have these countless holiday memories and precious family photo shoots to look back on and smile.. it’s really just my thing and I love that they love it too!
So for the Fourth of July 2022 nothing has changed! We went with an adorable unisex shirt from unique baby on Amazon for my son & a FEDPOP American flag dress for my daughter both of which I love! Remember you don’t have to dress your children of either gender the exact same way for them to match.
I love this shirt for my son and I love that he can also wear this to school and represent the values that we’ve tried so hard to instill in our children by doing so yes I’m fully aware that he’s only three, however, good values start young.
The links to purchase these items from Amazon are below:
Flag dress:
FEDPOP Toddler Girls American Flag Dresses Independence Day Outfits Kids Patriotic Clothes 4th of July Stripe Dress 2-8 Years https://a.co/d/dzbrNh8
Unisex liberty shirt:
Unique Baby Unisex Kids Patriotic American 4th of July T-Shirts https://a.co/d/bOveciT
Remember it doesn’t matter your title to a child whether you are a parent, an aunt, a grandparent, A foster family, Or anything that makes you family by love or by blood you can make a difference in their lives. You have the power to make every day special, you only have 18 summers, only so many holidays., Make them count.
I’m fully aware holidays can be hard, so celebrate to your heart’s content or don’t.
Do what best suits your needs but please remember while you’re out there living your best life it’s always better to ask for a ride or call a ride service rather than drink and drive. it takes a split second to change your life forever and end someone else’s. Please don’t be the reason someone doesn’t come home this weekend. Don’t drink and drive.
Yes, I have my hands full but I’m also overflowing at the heart!
Since finding out that JCPenney portraits still offered photo sessions last November we’ve now gone 5 times in 8 months.
Excessive? Crazy? I think not!
When I learned they offered “grow with me sessions” I couldn’t pass that up!
We had to take Raiden in celebration of his 3rd birthday in March. We did family Easter/ spring photos in April and we were back in June to celebrate Sp turning Two.
It’s hard to fathom how quickly life progresses and time goes on. When I started Tatorthoughts I wasn’t even a biological mom earthside yet.
I wrote about my TTC experience, my journey through both high-risk pregnancies, and my recovery, and here we are celebrating years 2 and 3 for my heart and soul.
They didn’t disappoint! These sessions were so cute and very worth it. They showcased their personalities perfectly and encouraged us to bring props which me being the “extra” mom we absolutely followed suit on!
They’re so affordable, and accommodating to small rambunctious children with big needs and Groupon has become a great source for things like this as well.
It takes us about an hour to shoot and 15 minutes to choose our packages to purchase. And that’s with littles!
I’m still super impressed by JCPenney portraits studios and their photographers.
It may seem totally 80’s & 90’s family of us but this is a sweet family tradition I hope never dies out.
I encourage all my people to go at least once because babies don’t keep and people won’t be here forever.
Always grateful to JCPenney for their dedication to their clients, attention to detail, and caring spirit. These memories will always be precious to me!
And thousands of loyal readers and supporters that none of this would be possible without!
Four years of what started as a simple idealistic dream of mine that QUICKLY turned into something I could’ve never imagined with over 20k people reading regularly, people and companies reaching out to me, friends made, partnerships built & so opportunities available to me that I would have never dreamed of.
To say that I am shocked and thrilled is an understatement, I am so unbelievably blessed to be writing this to an incredible, extremely supportive audience four years to the day from when this all started… all because my husband believed in me and honestly believed the world would enjoy my thoughts on things, thus Tatorthoughts was born!
I am so incredibly thankful for all the wonderful partnerships and friends that I’ve made through this journey I’ve been able to do some amazing things that wouldn’t have been otherwise possible with my family and for myself in the process. I’m grateful that people read and take away good things from what I have to say and that I have a voice that’s bigger than myself.
In today’s world, it’s really easy to get lost in what you think you should be or rather what others think you should be But if I’ve learned anything in the last four years it’s that embracing Tator (my real-life nickname) and becoming unapologetically her was one of the best things I had ever done because it didn’t matter what I looked like or what I didn’t look like, it didn’t matter that I have CP because I had something to say I had thoughts on a subject and people wanted to know what I thought. I was seen for more than a physical representation. In the process, I was able to break so many stereotypes that people willingly admitted to me that they carried because I don’t judge. everyone has a stereotype at some point that they believe or maybe even Portray and that’s OK because you only know what you know.
I’m so proud of where I’ve been and how far I’ve come as a writer I truly do believe that embracing who I am and giving 100% authenticity here made me the best mom that I could be for my kids, it’s given me some of the best friends a girl could ever ask for and it’s allowed me to do things for my husband and for my kids that would’ve only been possible in my wildest dreams before I branched out and took the leap of faith it took to start this journey.
It’s honestly hard to believe that it’s been four years already but what a beautiful four years it has been I hope 2022 continues to bring happiness and health for everyone who reads this and I’m hopeful that I can continue to bring insightful, uplifting joyous content to my platform in the year ahead and for years to come.
Tatorthoughts has been such a blessing to me and to my family. I’ve received some wonderful feedback as well and that keeps me pushing to do more and to do better for the people who place value in this the way skeeter, myself and our children do.
My writing has grown in depth and improved over the last four years so much so that I’ve taken the plunge and written & Co-illustrated my book for our children.
It was a daunting undertaking for me but I am so happy to say that I did it! we are currently illustrating the book and will be publishing it with Amazon KDP when complete.
I can’t tell you how influential all my followers and partners have been In my life since this first began, I can’t wait to see where the next chapter of this journey takes us but I do know that if the last four years have been any indication it will be incredible my goal has always been to bring interesting content to the forefront of my website with the hopes of promoting advocacy acceptance and inclusion in all that I do.
Representation matters!
Thank you all for making this endeavor possible and worth it!!
We ended 2021 in an eventful way stepping out of our comfort zone and doing something we hadn’t done before.
We visited JCPenney portraits not once but twice in the span of a month because Tator does what Tator wants. I’ve always been considered a “shutter bug” and it was no surprise to anyone around me that I wanted to book professional portraits. you could probably say I’ve done 20 sessions since my children came Earthside but these were my first with JCP.
We weren’t quite sure what to expect and went into everything knowing that it may not work out, especially since I have two very active yet reserved children with their own set of issues not to mention my own unorthodox set of challenges.
But to our pleasant surprise, they were extremely accommodating and welcoming even though we were anything but calm during the sessions.
My relationship with my grandmother is bar none I don’t know anyone who has a relationship like we do but I will say that after all she has done for me it gave my heart such joy to be able to surprise her with a four-generation photo shoot at JCPenney portraits paid for by my husband and me.
It was a dream of mine growing up to have good family photos including everyone that I love and unfortunately that didn’t become a reality until I became an adult myself so I made it a point to make sure that my children never had to long for what I desperately wanted.
It was a joy to document for generations with the third and fourth being my children and me.
More of a gift for me to be able to give something so special to the people that mean so much to me. My Grandmaw and my children, celebrating the importance of lineage, and the family connection so strong across 4 generations.
I’m happy to report that I was concerned about the outcome of the pictures for nothing because this gift and the following Christmas card shoot with just our immediate family went off without a hitch.
The purchasing process was very simple, the quality of the photos was impeccable,
And we had plenty of opportunities to purchase after the session as well with each gallery lasting 90 days in the Lifetouch shop.
We will definitely be long-term return customers, especially to our Mall of Georgia location JCPenney portraits.
Their affiliation with Lifetouch and willingness to go above and beyond to get the pictures that every family deserves is one of their biggest selling points
As a parent, I understand the desire to pause time and sit in a moment.
Savoring the little things before they quickly become a memory and JCP portraits does a fabulous job of making the impossible a reality. Capturing moments, freezing them- perfectly preserved in time because babies simply don’t keep.
Every family regardless of their struggles and challenges deserves that level of care and representation. I’m so thankful that we weren’t seen as an obstacle or challenge but instead an adventure and an opportunity to candidly photograph big bright personalities and celebrate our individuality.
This is definitely the start of a yearly Christmas tradition for us as we plan to make Christmas cards a yearly staple of our family festivities.
Thanks JCP!
happy holidays from The Tatorthoughts family to yours! we’ll see you in 2022!
