The Taylor Wise Guide to Naming a Child

I LOVE baby names! I have a constant running list of names in my head in case I ever find a baby on my doorstep in a basket... or more likely, if I ever get another dog.... or even more likely, to beg Avery to name our 1st grandbaby but you get the point. I'm ready, with a list of precious names for at least 20 grandchildren.

This morning I woke up to the TRAGIC news that Kim and Kayne named their daugther North West. Yes... North West. No middle name... just directions.

I have determined that celebrities have lost their marbles and are doing anything in their power to stay in the news for money. There is NO other rational explaination for the whackadoodle names people are naming their precious babies these days.

Obviously they need some guidence.... I am here with my baby naming services.

You're welcome society.

When naming a child, there are a few questions you need to ask yourself....

1. Is there any way mean kids can make fun of my child for this name? AKA... if you name your daughter Bethany-Jane, know that boys in her middle school class will nickname her BJ.... and that's a heck of a nickname to take to high school if you know what I mean.

2. Is there any negative connotation with this name? Google it.... Is this also the name of a serial killer? If so, I suggest going in another direction. After a Google search, I discovered the moniker we chose for our son was a construction firm in Atlanta, GA.... I was OK with that, but a mass murderer... not so much.

3. Is it the name of an alcohol? You laugh... I have tutored 2 "Tequila's" in my short life. It's just cruel.
4. Is it a curse word? Shithead is not a name you call a child... it's a name you call the baby daddy who bounced on you. Richard is a great name for a 45 year old man.... in high school, you might as well have named your child Dick.

5. Just because you conceived your child in a particular city/state, does not mean you must commerate the day by naming your child "Conneticut." There are obviously socially acceptable "city names" (ie... Charlotte, London, Branson, Dakota, etc) Unacceptable city names include: Cowpens (yes, that is a town in South Carolina), Cancun or Vegas..... but feel free to name your dog that.

6. Be mindful of initials. If the initials spell WTF, ASS, etc might want to pick a different middle name. Don't forget to check how a monogram looks! Whitney Francis Thomas spells WTF in a monogram! You can also use initials and monograms in your favor. I went to Clemson and wanted our son's name to have something to do with Clemson so his initials are PAW, an ode to Clemson's mascot being the tiger.

7. Family names can be great! They can also be daunting. If you want to honor your great grandmother who was your favorite person in the world but her name was Ruthanne Georgette Smith and you don't love that... consider Ruthie or Georgia. Also, if family names are going to equal a family fued, it isn't worth the family drama. For instance, if I wanted to honor our family with a name, I could name a daughter "Amelia" because my entire family is into aviation. Whether they were flight attentants, pilots, plane salesmen or accountants for a airline, Amelia (for Amelia Earhart), would be in honor of our family's livelihood, without singling out a particular person and potentially offending others.

8. Does this name set my child up for success? Could he or she be a Dr? Lawyer? Teacher? Could he or she put it on a resume without it being a hinderance to their abilty to get the job? This, in my opinion is MOST important. Let your child decide who he or she wants to be. If he wants to be a free spirit then maybe he'll go by a nickname later in life. But what if your child desires a more serious career? How many Rainbow Aurora's do you see in med school? Let your child define their name, not their name define the child.

I'm not saying every kid has to be named Henry William Smith or Anna Claire White but it is our job as parents to set our children up for success. To be whoever they want to be. Children are going to get made fun of in their life for something or another but why would you, as a parent, be the source with these awful names?!

So if your name is Pilot Inspektor, Rainbow Aurora, Audio Silence, Buddy Bear, Moon Unit, Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily, Moxie CrimeFighter or North West.... I apologize for your parents. They had yet to take my baby naming class.

Are there any other "rules" I missed? What guidelines did you use in naming your child?

Mesothelioma Awareness - an amazing cancer survivor story

Good morning! I've gotta get out and about today to run an errand or 4 but since my swagger wagon doesn't go-go-gadget into a boat, I think we'll be hanging home today. My garden sure appreciates this rain but my Vitamin D levels are in a tailspin. Larry Sprinkle, our weather man whose last name is probably not actually Sprinkle but how cool would it be if it actually is, has promised sun the rest of the week. I'm holding him to it.

A few days ago, I got an email from a fellow cancer survivor named Heather. She sent me a link to her website that raises awareness for Mesothelioma. If you're ignorant like I am, the most I've heard of Mesothelioma is on law office commercials. You know the ones "Call the law offices of Garfield and Harris if you've ever been injured at work, had complications from surgical mesh, been diagnosed with mesothelioma due to exposure to asbestos or have ever taken the birth control YAZ." That was literally my entire knowledge base of mesothelioma. I knew to call a law office if I got it but I had no idea what "it" was. "It" is a preventable cancer and had I not watched Heather's video, I wouldn't have known that.

Here's a girl who lived my worst nightmare.... cancer with a newborn. I've said it before and I'll say it again...  I'm SO thankful my cancer was before I had kids. I can't imagine what she went through having a 3 month old and cancer diagnosis. I can only imagine I'd be bitter.... but not her. I want to share this amazing story of a woman who beat the odds. She beat cancer with a better attitude than most of us have on a good day.

Please take a moment to watch this 3ish minute video and educate yourself on this 100% preventable cancer. It could save your life! Please pass along this video... and apparently the phone number of a law office. (kidding!)

Friday Confessions

Usually we do "midweek confessions" around here but life happened so welcome to "Friday Confessions!". Hopefully this light-hearted post will bring some cheer on day #2 of dreary rain!

1. When I saw it was supposed to rain for 2 days straight because of the tropical storm, my first thought was that it was going to make the pool cold. Selfish much? Forget the flooded streets and power outages.... my pool that has just become tolerably warm enough to swim will now be cold again. Lord forgive my selfish thoughts!

2. I made a photobook this week on Shutterfly that I agreed to post on my blog for a $10 coupon... Making those  photobooks is one of my favorite hobbies but I refuse to make one without a groupon or coupon so excuse my shameless Shutterfly post but hey.... it's a free $10.... Anyways, I made this one of fall/winter/spring iPhone photos and tried to make one spread (2 pages) of the "Queen of Mischief" photos.... I had enough pictures for 8 pages of Avery doing things she shouldn't be. I had twice as many photos of her being mischievous than I did of her being sweet or good which sounds about right. I bet I'll cherish those photos more one day anyways!

3. Along the same photo lines, I have probably 4 times as many photos of Avery as I do of Parker. He just doesn't like picture whereas Avery will ask you to take one of her. But on the flip side, I have WAY more videos of Parker than I do Avery. Kids, I promise I love you both equally... mama's just not good about Even-Stevens when it comes to family documenting I guess!

4. I have deemed today "jammie day" at our house. We have been going going going lately and I was SO looking forward to a lazy rainy day like I used to have back in college where you lay on the couch and watch Gilmore Girls all day... except I have kids so while I'm in my jammies and "watching" Wreck it Ralph {again}, I have accomplished more before 9am than I did in college over a whole weekend. I would never trade my life but a rainy day alone to watch whatever I want and nap might be on my Christmas list this year. PS- Wreck it Ralph is a really cute movie... the first 43 times.

5. For breakfast today, Avery ate 6 mini blueberry muffins, blueberries, strawberries and half a banana... while upstairs putting the dog bed in the washer, I hear Avery yell, "MOMMY! Pancakes!" and I couldn't help but giggle and think of the scene in Wedding Crashers where Chazz screams for meatloaf. Unfortunately, I couldnt find a clip that didn't include the F bomb at the end to post for your viewing pleasure to understand my reference. We call Avery "The Hungry Hungry Caterpillar" because the caterpillar's "Saturday" is Avery's every day. How is she only in the 1st % for weight?!

6. We have family photos on Sunday morning... at 7:30am.... an hour from our house. My husband is about ready to divorce me.  My plan for them to go well includes coffee for my 2 year old and a run through the Krisy Kreme drive thru. This could be a disaster... but we sure will have pretty light!

Your turn! Post your confession in the comments below or on facebook!  Happy Rainy Friday!

Photo Book

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