Authors’ Bios
I am a working mother of three, Amanda (13), Zac (9), and Isabella (7). I was transplanted to the South about 11 years ago by my husband, with then 2 year old daughter. I grew up in Central California which is pretty much desert so you can just imagine my introduction to humidity. OMG, I never knew my hair could get THAT big! My Maybelline just said no! This was also the first place (and only I’m guessing) I’ve ever had a sample bag of Ms. White’s instant biscuit mix waiting in my seat at a concert. Not joking -it was a Vince Gill concert at the Ryman!
I was the youngest in a family of five back in the day when people didn’t bag their own groceries or pump their own gas. A great house cost $35,000 and that was new construction. Pop-Shop sent us kids into a tizzy and ice cream cones cost 25 cents for 3 scoops at Thrifty’s. The first video I ever watched on cable was Duran Duran’s RIO and I thought life could never get better than that!
On the way home from a trip to Disneyland (a 4 hr drive from L.A.) I realized the world was larger than where I lived – I don’t remember my age but the concept was mind boggling.
Before I actually had kids – I wanted 5 and swore they would never watch tv. Reality -I realized I had reached my “blessings” limit after 3 and kiss the tv every morning when I get up.
I’m a teencie bit of a control freak (my husband would argue the teencie part), but in my years I have learned something… 5 people can do 10 times the work of 1, in the same amount of time.
I genuinely have great affection for all things tidy – like, I think it speaks to me. I’m not a natural but I try hard because it makes me happier. Not only is it more relaxing to dwell in the world of tidy, we all seem to just get along better when we aren’t tripping over each others things in the hallway.
I love to cook when I have the time to create something extraordinary. I dream of someday traveling the world and taking cooking classes from great chefs in every country. If things go well, I’ll invite you for dinner. Warning! I love to point out the humor of life, often saying things in casual conversation that embarrass my husband (sorry Honey). 
I’m not just the soccer mom. I’m the soccer, baseball and volleyball mom and YES, I drive a mini-van! Our mornings resemble the Olympics where the athletes are scrambling to get it all together and out the door before the traffic starts, bus pulls up or the clock reads that drop dead time. Evenings are full of sports, homework and family time. We spend a little time on the weekends having a good time and then get ready, here comes Monday!!!
I am Danielle’s younger (by one year) husband. We met in college where she broke my heart…to pieces. We remained in touch, but not involved for about 7 yrs. while we made all those mistakes you make in your twenties, with other people. We still make plenty of mistakes but we got back together in our late twenties, slightly wiser and a little more mature, and have been together ever since.
Shortly after getting married, I moved her from Fresno, California, where she had always lived, to Tennessee, with big dreams of starting over and great success. I told you, slightly wiser and a little more mature. Although I studied business in college, I somehow ended up as a fitness trainer, an area of personal interest. I got my real estate license in 2005 and was off to a good start, but as of late, I have had a lot of time to work on Danielle’s most current creative idea- Tidy Kidz. She is just full of ideas. Neither of us are writers so please consider that when reading the blog. You will find entries from us both, each with our own perspectives and writing flaws.
In our relationship, you might say she is the right brain and I am the left. She gets an idea and I either find a number of reasons why it won’t work or help figure out a way to make it work. Not that I am always right, but she usually lets me handle the big decisions like how to achieve world peace, stop global warming and solve the financial crisis. You know, the kinds of things they ask beauty contestants. She has the last word on the smaller stuff, like which house we’ll live in, what kind of car we’ll drive and where we’re going on vacation. We have our roles, though sometimes reversed from the typical. For instance, on a Sunday afternoon, she would be the one watching football, yelling at the TV, while I’m doing laundry or trying to find a quiet place to take a nap. We take turns at embarrassing each other in public.
We are definitely not the ultra organized family, but we certainly try. There is an argument over whose side of the family Bella received this trait from. Either way, it has really inspired us to get a better grip on the collective clutter, as a household. With both of us working and all three kids in sports, there isn’t spare time just waiting to be used for picking up the house. We have to carve out time when everyone is assigned their tasks and we just get ‘er done.
Bella does like to clean in her spare time- really, she does. She will just see something like the throws and pillows on the sofa and start folding and arranging, or start wiping fingerprints off of the doors and walls. She even attacked the bottom of the kitchen pantry one Friday evening while I was making dinner. She took everything out, wiped all the little oatmeal flakes and flour dust off of the floor, and put everything back very deliberately. She then turned to me, pointing her finger, and said, “Now don’t mess it up.” But she is the only one with that attribute. In a few more years, she will be running the whole house, and we will be the better for it. I have told Danielle that when we get old, she is the one who will be in charge of dispensing our medications. The other two would probably kill us.
