Race Season is Underway!

Hello my lovely followers! I know, I know..it has been a while. But, good news is race season is underway! We have been busy this winter working with a owner to drive for, and things fell through. On a good note, they say when one door closes another opens. That happened for us and we are tacking onto my brother in laws race team. That means it is going to be a brother duo (and 3rd generation drivers) on the same team and on the track together.

We have been busy working bee's trying to get things ready to run with the USMTS Central Region. We are a couple races behind, but plan on heading to Missouri this weekend. Baby J will be taking his first road trip..lord help me! I think I will be dependent on the DVD player in the truck and puzzles. Let's just hope thing's run smoothly.

Also, I wanted to mention an opportunity for some of my fellow bloggers and companies. We have some spots available for sponsorship. Sponsoring the race team can entitle you to great advertisement. You can sponsor any dollar amount, and we will notify you on what it will go towards. Whether that be entry fees, tires, or replacement parts. Your name will be mentioned in the winner's circle, and for our high dollar donor's...your name will be featured on the race car to be seen all over the central region. We will even send you autographed photo's! Contact me with any questions or interest.

I am also working on a few product reviews that I am testing on Baby J so stay tuned for that!

Just remember that I love and miss yo' faces! :-)

~Danielle

GET OUT OF HERE WINTER!

Hey y'all!

Man, I am so disappointed in myself. My new years resolution was to keep in contact with you guys and it just seems like time has flown by. I apologize to each and every one of you! I WILL DO BETTER!!!

Can we all agree on something? That it is time for winter to get the heck outta dodge?!? It seems like the whole US has had a hard winter. We finally got a taste of spring yesterday with a 70 degree day and now, I have spring fever! A lot has been suffering because of the cold weather and one thing was my skin was getting SO DRY! I seriously had crocodile scales. I have been trying to moisturize as much as possible but it wasn't getting better. But, thanks to being a BzzAgent, they sent me a lovely product to try (FOR FREE!), which I have used their products before. It's called Tone Petal Soft Body Wash! I AM IN LOVE! After just a couple days of using it, my skin doesn't have those nasty scales. I can finally wear a black shirt without dry skin flaking into my sleeves!

So, for those of my followers that are suffering from dry skin this winter, among other things, please...please try Tone! I have used their products before and will never use anything else again. Now, since I have spring fever...I can start getting my soft skin ready for shorts and tank tops! =)

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to message me. I am available for product reviews and suggestions and will try and get back to you within 24 hours! 

Until next time, my loves! 

-Danielle

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

It has been a long time since I've posted on my blog, and for that I am terribly sorry! Our life has been pretty crazy here lately, and time just got away from me. But, as part of my new year resolution, I am hoping to get back to posting regularly!

I hope all of you had a great Holiday season with your families!

We have been busy with the holidays, Baby J is walking now which has been keeping us on our toes. The hubby has been working on race cars a lot here recently since he has joined a team for next season! He has also been traveling a lot to racers auctions and has been busy buying and selling parts from the auctions. I have been sick on and off from my allergy shots, and have had a few close calls on being hospitalized from them. But, I think we are nearing the end of those and hopefully my immune system reacts the way it should so we can get back to our normal lives!

I hope to figure out a regular schedule for the blog again. It may be a difficult challenge since Baby J is more mobile and on the go now, and with race season rapidly approaching, but I refuse to let my blogging slide! So, bare with me as we get a schedule worked out!

Also, as most of you know, I am a bzzagent and am continuing to review products for them. I have a few in the works right now that I will be reviewing and plan on sharing some of that with you!

Stay tuned as this is going to be a wild 2k14!

Product Review: Comforts for Baby by Kroger Co.

Hey everyone!

Gosh, it has been awhile. Things have been crazy around our house! Little man is on the fast track to turning 1!! Where has time gone? Where has my itty bitty baby gone? But, I guess time only moves in one direction, so we have been making the most of it. 

A few months ago, I became a BzzAgent. Through this company, I sample products and provide feedback on the products. Recently I tested out the Kroger Co. baby brand, Comforts for Baby FOR FREE! 

I do the majority of my grocery shopping at Dillons, and have seen the Comforts for Baby products before, but I had never tried them. But, I had the opportunity to try out their diapers, baby wash, lotion, and wipes. I was nervous at first because baby J has sensitive skin and new products can make him break out easily. But, I was pleasantly surprised when baby J didn't break out AT ALL!

The diapers are light weight, which is nice in this Kansas heat. But, just as absorbent as the top brands. They even have cute little bees on them! The only problem I had was when we added them to our diaper genie, once the bag was full, the pressure of the other diaper on top caused them to leak, but not a big deal. 

The baby wash left baby J smelling fresh and clean. I prefer baby wash over shampoo so it can be used all over, and I know it is tearless. The lotion had a lovely lavender scent that baby J loved and went straight to sleep after being under the lavender spell....so relaxing! 

The wipes were like any other wipe, they come in a variety of packs and options. 

But, the great thing about these products is that they are AFFORDABLE! It is also convenient for someone like me who does the majority of their shopping at Dillons (A Kroger Co.) so I don't have to make an added trip somewhere which is nice with a little one! 

I highly recommend these products. They are super affordable so just give them a shot! 

Sorry it took so long..allergy update

Hey guys!

Sorry I have been away for a few weeks. Things have been getting a bit crazy lately. Baby J finally, FINALLY, broke his top 4 teeth through. It seems like he was teething FOREVER! So, he has been a handful to say the least.

I have been busy with some doctors appointments and testing which made me sick for a few days, and then I caught a cold, and so did baby J. He still has the sniffles, poor guy.

For those of you who don't know, for the past 2 years, I have been suffering a rare allergy sensitivity to cat dander. This sensitivity is so strong that if around someone who owns a cat, or visits a home with cats frequently, I go into a large allergy/asthma attack where my throat starts to close, I can't breathe and I start to black out.

This sensitivity has caused a lot of problems as you could imagine because cat dander is so common. 90% of our family, both Chris' side and mine, has cats or visits a house that has a cat frequently. We haven't seen most of our family since this started happening, which has caused problems. Mainly because shortly after finding out about this sensitivity, I became pregnant. Now, Baby J has yet to meet some of his aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents (well, they met a few times, but they haven't been able to hold him) so there has been a lot of strain on my husband and I's relationship and our relationship with our family because there hasn't been anything we can do.

I had met with numerous doctors prior to getting pregnant, and the only options for helping an allergy is the regular over the counter meds, and allergy shots (immunotherapy). The doctors I spoke with refused to give me shots due to the severity of my allergy. Immunotherapy is when they actually inject the allergens you are allergic to, into your system and try to trick your immune system into thinking these are not allergens that need to be fought off, and therefore your immune system will stop fighting them and causing the allergy attacks. But, since my sensitivity level is so high and severe, they claimed giving me the shots would be too much of a fatal risk.

We called around to numerous doctors and they refused to do them. A month later, I found out I was pregnant so even if I could find a doctor willing to do the shots, I couldn't get them while pregnant. My doctor actually stopped seeing me once he found out I was pregnant because he wanted my OB/GYN to manage my meds and track my oxygen levels. He told me to call him after I had my 6 week post partum check up, I did when I needed my meds refilled, only to find out that he dropped me as a patient completely. He refused to carry me as a patient as I am too high risk and there is nothing he can do to help me and even refused to refill my meds. But, as if that wasn't crappy enough...he "black listed" me with other doctors in town. I tried calling to get in with a new doctor to get my meds refilled and NO ONE would take me. Most knew my case from when I called prior to pregnancy about shots, and had heard from my dr (or EX-DR) that my case was too high risk to be treated and there was nothing anyone could do.

So here I am, without my asthma and allergy meds and can't get a dr to see me. But, after a referral from a friend, I called to a dr that I hadn't met or spoke with before, and he agreed to set up an appointment...for 6 months down the road! He was booked solid for 6 months, which had to be a good sign, right? He must be a good dr if he is booked that far out. At the beginning of this month, I finally got to meet with him. After telling him my story, he basically told Chris and I that the other dr's are full of sh*t and that he will try and help me. He apoligized for the other dr's and how they treated me and said he would take a chance on me.

Now, he changed some of my meds, and I will be starting immunotherapy at the end of the month. If I don't have an allergic reaction to the shots, it will be a 5 year program a 6 week build up and then maintenance shots after that, and it may help with the sensitivity. He said he didn't think I would ever be able to go to house with a cat, but, I will at least be able to visit with people who have cats, just not at their home. Which is a big relief, but I feel sorry for the part of the family who doesn't own cats, because it looks like holidays will be at their homes instead of the regular homes (that had cats). But, I don't think they will mind.

I am so grateful to have found a dr willing to take a chance on me and willing to try and help. I would be lying if I said I'm not scared, because afterall...90% of the drs I have met with have said the shots could be fatal. But, I have to give it a shot and hope that all goes well. We miss our family. We want to have another baby, but I want to wait until I know our family can be around for my pregnancy, have a baby shower (which I didn't get with Baby J) and the birth of this child as it would be our last. I want to have holidays with our family and see Baby J interact with all of his cousins, he has A LOT, our family is HUGE!

So here is to hope, trying to regain my faith, and family.

If you could take a minute out of your day and say a little prayer for me and my family, I would appreciate it.

Thank you! Have a wonderful weekend!

p.s I will have a few reviews coming up within this next month! If there is anything you would like a review on, let me know!

What are your Dreams?

Happy Hump Day!

As I watch the news special about the anniversary of the MLK's I have a dream speech, I starting thinking about my own dreams. Now days, it seems like dreams are out of reach. I try to think positive and hope for things that aren't extreme. Lets face it, I can dream all day long that I am going to become a millionaire, but that is far fetched.

The past few years have been hard on my family and I as we dealt with my severe allergies and not being able to do much and not being able to see a lot of our families. We lost our second income and gained an added expense, a very joyful expense, our little boy who is much, much more than just an expense. He was a dream come true.

But with the changes, we lost hope. We prayed for answers, we prayed for financial help, we prayed for solutions, and we haven't received any of it. Don't get me wrong, I don't expect things to land in our lap. But we have done our fair share of searching with no end in sight. This has caused our hope to depreciate and I am trying to find a way to gain that hope back.

My hubby and I talk everyday about things we wish could happen. Dreams of ours that are somewhat realistic. We try and think positive and keep our heads held high, and maybe, just maybe that will pay off at some point.

I felt like I could share what our dreams are with our viewers. I receive such positive messages from my viewers and some even ask questions as if I know all the answers and that makes me feel good about what I have started here, and that I am open to sharing so that we keep things at a personal level.

Here are a few of our dreams/hopes/wishes that we have in mind;

• A cure for my rare sensitivity so we can at least see some of our family again, and be recognized as family instead of the enemy, who they seem to talk so poorly about.
• A new home, one that has all of the healthiest purifying equipment to help me breathe better and to provide a cleaner atmosphere for my family.
• I'd love to move away from Kansas. I've lived here my whole life, and in the farming area. Its not the greatest place for a someone with hay fever to live and I would love to live by a beach somewhere, but who wouldn't?!
• My husband loves selling race parts and car parts. He attends auctions each year and cleans items up and resells them. We hope to make it into some sort of business.
• A blogging career, I enjoy blogging so much and hope to get to a point that I am recognized for it and may be able to travel to the blogging conferences and be able to blog about bigger things like vacation places for your family and my reviews.
• I would love to travel with my family. As a kid we never really had family vacations because my sister and I were so involved in sports that our summer didn't allow for extra time to go on vacations. My husbands family went skiing almost every year and took numerous vacations. I want to show my son the world. I want to experience it with him and my husband.
• I would be lying if I didn't say that I wanted my husband to make it in the big leagues of racing. He has such a passion for it and would love to see that all of his hard work pays off for him in the end. He deserves it.

Now, these are pretty normal dreams. There is nothing too extreme and I think with hard work in some aspects, we should be able to achieve some of these things. The allergy cure is out of my hands. But, I am meeting with a doctor next week and he seems promising. Now, I must continue working on my dream of becoming a great blogger and working my way up the career ladder in the blogging world!

I hope that dreams come true, I wish our hope will come back, and things will fall into place. I hope the same for all of you. I want to know some of your dreams, big or small. What are some things you do to help reach your dreams? What kind of things do you do to keep positive about your dreams?

Have a great hump day lovely's!

The Reality of a Racer's Wife

Happy Hump Day!

I wanted to start off by saying thank you for the great response to last weeks blog. That was Chris' first time writing and he was very concerned on how he did. I told him it was one of the most viewed posts and he was happy to hear that. So, thank you! Maybe he will be more comfortable with writing more posts and post some "manly" blog posts.

I mentioned last week that we had a request for a post about how I deal with being a racer's wife and the strain it can cause on a marriage, along with what I think about Baby J getting involved in the racing scene. This can be a lengthy topic, so I hope I don't ramble on too much! HEHE!!

THE BEGINNING
     As we mentioned in the last post, Chris grew up in a racing family. Racing was second nature to him, and it was one of the most important things in his life. When you have someone who has a hobby that they live and breathe, it is important to take interest in that hobby because the person you have feelings for, has a strong feeling for that hobby.
     I didn't grow up around racing, but close friends of mine that I grew up with had began racing so we made it a point to go out and support them at the track. After going just a few times, I became addicted to the sport. I've always been a so called "tomboy" that didn't mind getting dirty, and liked working on cars. Being at the speedway gave me such a joy. I was going every weekend just to learn the sport and learn more about the cars. My mom even became the track photographer, and she is still the photographer at the same track today.
     I met Chris at the speedway and had seen him race there. We became friends and about a month later we started dating. Our dating relationship wasn't like any other. The time we spent together wasn't just hanging out watching TV, or going to dinner and a movie. Everyday, as soon as I got off work I would change clothes and head out to his parents house. We would have family dinner, and as soon as dinner was over, we were in the garage working on the cars until at least midnight. As we closed up shop, I said my goodbye and headed home to do it all over again the next day.
     Saturdays meant early morning wake up calls and in the garage making last minute changes to the cars, last minute trips to the parts store, sonic happy hour drinks and loading the cars up to head to the track. We would be at the track from about 5pm to sometimes 1am and then head back home to unload the truck and trailer and try and catch some shut-eye. It was clearly something you had to have the passion for to stick with and Chris could tell that I loved it just as much as him, so he proposed a few months later, bought our house and started planning our wedding. We married in 2011 and even in some of our vow, we had stuff about racing.

THE EVERYDAY ROUTINE
     As I mentioned, the everyday routine meant working on the car until late every day of the week until race day. But, with our own home to take care of and family dinner being just the two of us, and no other help for the car other than each other, things changed. We worked, came home and he would be in the garage before I got home. I would make dinner and sometimes have to eat alone because he didn't want to stop in the middle of something, so either he would come in late, or I would take him a plate to the garage. There were more arguments because I needed help with something in the house, or needed him to go with me to the grocery store and he needed to finish up his car. In the end, I knew that the car needed to get finished or we would pay for it on Saturday.
    We rarely had date nights, and most of the time those date nights happened because the races rained out that night or his division didn't race that weekend. After a long week of working on the car, and a long night at the track, we wanted Sunday to recuperate, but Sunday is for washing the car and creating the checklist for the fixes that need to be completed for the next week. No break there. That can take its toll on a relationship, so you have to be able to communicate with one another and tell each other when you need some "non-racing" time.
     Our season can start as early as March and last as late as November. We would race every Saturday night, and sometimes Friday and Sunday too. If there happened to be a rain out, it would be scheduled during the week on a Wednesday or Thursday. By the time the season is almost at an end, you are ready for a break. But, "off season" really isn't "off season". Most think that drivers just park their car in the garage until about a month before season start time, but really..."off season" means breaking the car down to the chassis and figuring out what to replace, rebuild, or redesign. It is a whole process that takes up most of the "off season" and garage time continues.

THE FEAR
     When I talk about Chris' racing to friends or family that have never experienced it, the first thing they say is "it sounds dangerous". Dirt track racing is a dangerous sport. But, he is in a roll cage, wears a 5-point harness, fire suit, fire shoes, gloves, a helmet, and a neck brace. He has all of the safety equipment to try and keep him safe. Racing is a rubbin' is racing type of sport. There is a lot of contact between cars, spin outs, fires, and rolls.
     There is no other feeling like the feeling you have before your husband goes out for a race. I kiss him and tell him I love him before he gets in the car, not knowing if anything will happen. I stand in the back pit area and watch and cheer him on. But, anytime he gets spun out or gets into a wreck, I cringe. Thankfully he has never rolled his car, but his brother did and I will never forget the feeling of watching it roll and running to get to the car as fast as we could to make sure he was ok.
     Chris has had one bad wreck, and the feeling I had, I never want to have again. He was racing in the Thumper (stock car) division that year. I had been standing on the back wall in the back pit area with his dad and brother. When you stand in the back pit, you can't see the front straightaway that well. You can see them head into the straightaway and you can see them come out in the corner. We were watching the race and they all headed onto the front straightaway and next thing we know, the red light is out. Typically, the red light mean a bad wreck and all the cars have to stop on the track. With a yellow light, cars have to stop the race, but they can continue to drive around the track while the caution is taken care of. So, the red came out and the drivers started to pull around to the back to park for the red, and we heard over the loud speaker that Chris was in the wall.
     His brother and dad started to run off to get to him, and told me to stay put as we couldn't tell how bad it was. I remember grabbing my chest and dropping to the ground as the ambulance pulled out onto the track. I had tears in my eyes and a friend of mine said I was as white as a ghost. I heard over the loud speaker that he was ok, and getting out of the car. A few minutes later, I see them towing the car off the track and I see Chris running my way. He jumped over the wall, dropped his helmet, picked me up in a bear hug and told me he was fine and that he was sorry. I told him don't be sorry about the car, and he said he wasn't sorry about the car, he was sorry he put me through that.
     Racer's take the track knowing something can go wrong, they are well aware of the safety issues and know that it takes a special kind of crazy to love someone who races a car.

BABY J'S FUTURE AT THE TRACK
     Racing is a family tradition, so we wouldn't be shy about putting Baby J into the racing scene. We plan on having him race carts by the time he is 5 years old. A lot of people don't agree with us taking him to the track in the pit area because cars are all over the place in the pit area and you have to pay attention. But, as long as we are paying attention as parents, and know what's going on and where he is, it is completely ok.
     Baby J is 9 months old and has been to the track numerous times. Of course he was in a stroller or strapped to one of us the whole time so it wasn't hard to keep track of him, but he enjoys it. I went to the track every weekend when I was pregnant with him so the sound of the cars soothes him. He does wear ear protection as it is loud out there though.
     Chris took this year off to spend as much time with Baby J since they grow so much in their first year, and he knew it would be hard to keep him on a schedule if we went racing and we didn't want to throw him off every weekend by going to the track.
     I think next year Chris will be racing again and Jayden will be old enough to actually watch the race and see his daddy race. Chris is looking forward to sharing those moment with him and teaching him the right and wrong about racing. I just need to be prepared to handle Baby J while Chris is racing, as I am usually a frantic mess!

Racing is a family sport, it is a hobby, it is a passion. Take an interest in your loved ones hobby. It takes a special kind of crazy to deal with the life of a racer. It's not easy by any means. Be dedicated to dealing with the struggles that are to come. It is a time consuming hobby. If you don't enjoy it, realize that you may not get to spend as much time with your spouse as you would hope for. Since I enjoy it, I don't mind hanging out in the garage and going to every race. Just support them either way.

I hope you got an idea as to how it is as a wife of a racer. I can go on and on about the subject but I'll spare you the randomness.

Thanks for stopping by Our Fast Track Family!

Remember that we take request for product reviews and other topics, don't be shy and leave a comment or message us!

-Danielle

Tradition, Legacy, and Passion: Our Racing Family

A big reason our blog is called "Our Fast Track Family" is because our family lives and breathes  the fast lane. We are a racing family with deep roots into the sport.

I have had messages from some of my viewers wanting to know how our family is involved in the dirt track racing scene and some of the family history behind it.

I also have a request to follow up on how the hobby effects our family, how it effects me as a wife or a racer and what I think about my husband racing and bringing Baby J up in a racing environment and starting him in racing. That is a HUGE topic in itself so I wanted to give you the family history first before tackling that subject next week. So, stay tuned for that!

This is more of a topic for my husband considering his family is the backbone to our racing life. A big portion of the story will revolve around his grandfather, and I wasn't lucky enough to meet him(he passed away 3 years before Chris and I got together) so I feel I shouldn't be sharing his story.

So, I now introduce you to my husband, Chris!

My wife didn't feel comfortable writing about this topic, since this mostly deals with my side of the family tree (although her mother is currently the track photographer at our local dirt track). So now here I sit trying to think of the words to keep you interested in a family tradition that is second nature to myself and the rest of my family. The picture above is of my grandfather, Bud. Although, growing up, I was never allowed to call him "grandpa", my cousins and I called him "Uncle Bud" because "Grandpa" made him feel old, and he wasn't old enough to be a grandpa, according to him. My grandpa started racing in 1964 and ran his last race in 2006 so the tradition of dirt track racing in my family has stretched many years, states, and family members. As far back as I can remember, grandma and grandpa had always owned a salvage yard and race parts business and grandpa raced at least once every week during the summer months. I spent most of my summers during my grade school years wrenching on engines and changing tires, I was "Wrenchman Chubbs" because I was chunky, and my little brother Jay was "Jackman Jay". We loved going to the local dirt tracks in Coffeyville, Ks and Caney, Ks every weekend during those summers.

Grandpa raced many types of cars over the years including super modifieds, sportsmans, limited lates, super lates, stock cars and late models. I personally think the late models are the coolest of them all. He was very good at driving anything with wheels. His shop is stock full of more trophies than I have ever seen in one place in my life.

One of my favorite cars that Grandpa built

 

Naturally, his racing "addiction" rubbed off on his son, my uncle Al. Uncle Al drove his first stock car when he was 14 years old. It was a Camaro that matched my grandpas. But it only matched grandpas until he drove into the first corner of his first race and drove it off the end of the race track and rolled it a couple times. I wish I could find the picture that was in the paper of the ordeal. You can see the tree line in the distance and the tops of the trees are lower than my uncle Al's car while it was upside down. He was ok of course and had another car built before the next weeks race.

My father, Mike, now had two racecars and drivers to deal with on a weekly basis. My dad did most of the pit crew work on both cars and never got into actually racing them. But he sure does know just about everything there is to know about building, maintaining, and setting up dirt track racecars. He instead did demolition derby's which are a whole new kind of fun! Smashing cars into other cars on purpose, I mean what's not to love? He was even featured on a TNN TV Special about demo derby's because he was a corporate businessman by day and demo derby driver by night.

Uncle Al took winning to a whole new level for the family racing business. He's the only 7 time O'reilly NCRA Late Model Points Champion, a 6 time MLRA Late Model Points Champion and has also won a few MARS Late Model Points Championship. Grandpa, and Al's racing careers have taken them all across the country to do what they love. I don't know all the places they've been but the places include Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Texas, Nebraska, Colorado, Iowa, Arizona, and Nevada to name a few.

My uncle Al's championship late model



When my grandpa stopped racing as much, he decided to open his own racetrack on the land that his salvage sat on. Thus was the start of Stateline Speedway, the fastest 1/4 mile track in the tri-state area. This operation was truly a family run business. Grandma and my Aunt VJ made all the food for the concessions, my mom, brother and I worked in the concession stand and pit gate. My dad worked in the pit area with grandpa to keep everything running smoothly. Uncle Al and Uncle Russ (My Aunt VJ's husband, who also raced) had the easiest jobs, they just raced at the track. We ran the track for about 10 years until grandpa got cancer and could no longer run the operation smoothly.

By the time the track closed down, my brother and I had strayed away from the racing scene because we were in high school and had other things on our mind. My brother actually got back into racing before I did, and it was literally by accident! I'll explain..someone backed into my brother's truck in a gas station parking lot and naturally he took the truck  to my grandpa to buy new parts and fix it. He left Wichita on Friday evening to drive to Coffeyville where our salvage is located, with a wrecked truck and returned Sunday afternoon with a still wrecked truck but had a Camaro race car on a trailer in tow. Grandpa had actually convinced my brother to use the money he would have spent fixing the truck to instead buy a racecar and leave the truck wrecked!

Then began my part of the family tradition. My dad and I went to work immediately helping my brother build his racecar. We raced every weekend in Hutchinson and Wichita. My brother raced that car for one year and I was back to being hooked. I agreed to buy the car from Jay and help him build a new one. We didn't get the new one finished in time for the next race season so we shared my car. I raced it in Hutch on Friday night and he drove it in Wichita on Saturday night. I finished 3rd in points, and he finished 6th. I always felt bad because we had all week to make the car right for me and had very minimal hours on Saturdays to fix all the damage I caused and set it up for him. He did however win the points championship the next year and moved up to modifieds and I bought his car and we spent every weekend together at the track. Currently, we both race modifieds. He races on a more regional circuit, going to tracks in Missouri, Oklahoma and Kansas while I stay home and race our local track in Park City, 81 Speedway.



My brother (35) and I (36) at 81 Speedway

It was at 81 Speedway that I met my  loving wife. It takes a special kind of crazy to love a dirt track racer. She was all for it though! Long nights in the garage, and countless hours and dollars spent to keep the car maintained in top notch shape. She is there by my side through all of it. While we currently do not own a racecar (sold it to spend all the time we could with Baby J), We are still very active in the racing scene. We will have another car soon and start to bring Baby J up in a racing family so that he can continue the family tradition of dirt track racing.

I hope this gives you an idea of the lifelong tradition that we enjoy. Its definitely an addiction that can't be shaken. I look forward to seeing my son win his first race in a car we build together.

-Chris

There you have it guys! An inside look as to why this sport is an important tradition to us. It is a legacy to our family and nothing could ever fill the space that racing has in our hearts.
We will see you next time!
-Danielle

Parenting: How Things Change and Judgement

How's everyone doing on this fine Tuesday? I hope all is well with all of you and you are conquering your early week tasks.

Baby J is teething right now (4 top teeth all at once, YIKES) so he needs some extra comfort which in return has not allowed me to get much research done on my next product review. But, I did have some other topics I wanted to discuss with all of you and wanted to get some feedback on what you think about some of these issues.

As new parents, my husband and I have discussed how we want to raise our kids. Now Baby J is only 9 Months old, but it's never too early to discuss how you want to parent. Will we be strict? Will we try to be the "cool" parents of the group? When will we let them get a cell phone? What about computer and social media access? Will we give allowance or just buy things freely?

There are a million questions as parents, but you will never have definite answers. I think generally you have an idea of how you want to be as a parent and how you want to deal with certain issues. However, I don't think you can truly know how you will react and solve the problem until the situation comes along. I think we reflect on how we were raised to determine how we want to be as parents, but so much has changed since then and the big no-no's of our generation, are normal occurrences now days.

My parents weren't strict, but they taught us right and wrong. My sister and I weren't angels by any means. We lived in a small town, and we knew that if we did something wrong our parents would find out and we would suffer the consequences. We both didn't want to deal with our consequences because our parents were tough when it came to discipline. Discipline has become such a different thing through the years. If you were too tough or spanked your children it was considered child abuse in some eyes and you were a bad parent.. If you were too nice and just let the child off easy, you were considered a push over and a bad parent. So which is right or wrong? You be the judge. Because they are your children.

Obviously, things are different. My sister and I had cell phones, I was 11 years old and she was 14 years old. Which 11 years old seems too soon to give a kid a cell phone now, but our phones weren't anything like the phones now. We couldn't text, couldn't take pictures, use the internet, and the only game we could play was snake. We didn't have the social media that kids have now, which causes a lot of trouble. We had a family computer that was in a public area so our parents could see what we were doing. We were active in sports and we played outside all the time. It seems as if kids are glued to the TV, video games, and their cell phones these days.

Now, I am only 23 years old and I am a new parent so I am not an expert parent by any means. But, I do notice things happen that wouldn't fly with our parents and realize how much things have changed. There are many ways to raise a child, and different types of parenting. I have no right to judge how you raise your children. Like I said, we have a general idea of how we want to be as parents but we will never really know until the situation comes along.

I think we reflect how our parents have raised us and use that to better our parenting. Luckily, my in-laws and my parents had the same type of parenting and that helps my husband and I agree on a lot of our parenting "rules".

So, here are my questions: Does your parenting style resemble your parents? What differences did you have compared to your spouse? What are some things you notice about todays generation, that wouldn't have flown with your parents? Do you feel judged by other parents? If so, for what reason? What are some of your rules for your children?

I would love to hear your feedback! Leave a comment below or message me with your answers!

Until next time, Loves!

- Danielle

PRODUCT REVIEW: CHICCO ECHO STROLLER

Happy Friday y'all!

Oh, how this week has been an emotional roller coaster. We are trying to reorganize our house and sell things off that we don't need to declutter because we really don't have much storage space. That means we are looking at some of Baby J's items and debating on selling them. Of course, I want to save it all for another baby, but we don't have a clue as to when that will happen.

As we were looking at our office that is filled with old baby items. Chris said we should sell the travel system that we bought new for Baby J. Tears filled my eyes as I remembered putting Baby J in that car seat for the first time at the hospital to bring him home. We used the stroller a lot as he was a newborn because we would always sit the car seat in it when we went to run errands. I didn't want to let go of the set, but I kept telling myself that safety regulations may change by the time we have another baby and that we will know that it was the safest car seat out there.

We listed the travel system that day and it was sold within an hour. It was bittersweet. But on a brighter note, that meant I was going to get to shop for a new stroller for Baby J! Woohoo!!

I knew I had certain requirements when looking for a new stroller.

• Safety
• Comfortable for Baby
• A bit of storage
• Light-weight
• Smaller than our standard stroller from the travel system
• I didn't want him to have a tray
• I wanted the stroller to be at a comfortable height for my husband and I to push it. We are both tall (I'm 5'10, he's 6'0) and we didn't want to be hunched over to push it.
• Reclining positions for it little one fell asleep.

With my list of requirements it made the elimination process a bit easier. We looked online, and immediately the Chicco Echo stroller caught my eye with its bold colors. So, we headed to the store to see if they had a floor model that we could check out. Sure enough, they did! We got it down and I immediately started running through my checklist and looking the stroller over. It seemed to have everything I wanted and moved smoothly but I wanted to get one home to test it out a bit more.

The stroller comes in a variety of bold colors: Turquoise, Green, Red, Orange, Purple, and Gray. Target is the exclusive provider of this stroller at the moment and they only happen to carry 3 colors in store. We had to choose between turquoise, green, and purple if we were purchasing in store. Of course Chris said no to the purple, and he gravitated towards the green color because Baby J's diaper bag happens to be an Oakley backpack with green accents that just about matches the green stroller.

 

It's definitely bold! We brought it home and started the assembly. The assembly was quite easy! Basically it was just snapping the wheels in place and attaching the canopy. It took us a total of 8 minutes! It has a nice instruction booklet that explains everything very well and runs you through the process of opening and closing the stroller which is a breeze!

 

We put Baby J in it and took it for a spin. He seemed really comfortable, and liked when we reclined the seat. The seat has 4 different reclining positions that can be moved with one hand. The seat itself is nicely padded so I know Baby J is comfortable. The 5-point harness is adjustable and has shoulder pads for extra comfort. The footrest can also be place up or down for comfort.

 

The navigation is very smooth and easy to turn. Chris even made a comment about how smooth it was and the fact he didn't have to hunch over to push it! It seems to be very sturdy and safe. It has rear brake locks and the front wheels can be locked into swivel position or you can have it locked into the straight position if you aren't needing it to turn.

 

The canopy is nice, the only thing I don't like about it is that it can't be moved in front of J's face to block the wind and sun like our old standard stroller. But, it does cover a big area and if J is laid back it blocks the sun completely. The rear flap of the canopy can be removed as well!

 

A few additional features:; it has a parent cup holder and a nice storage basket that seems to hold quite a bit.

 

The ease of opening and shutting the stroller is astonishing. Just open the clasp and pull the handles and press the rear locking mechanism down and its locked into place. To close fold the canopy in and pull the rear locking mechanism upward, and be sure to release the secondary lock. Push the handles down and wait for the clasp to click into place. It even has a nice carrying handle!

 

I am really impressed with this stroller. It is just as convenient as an umbrella stroller but with the extra features and more sturdy!

 

We purchased the Chicco Echo at Target for $99.99 which is fairly inexpensive. The maximum weight limit recommended is 40lbs which is quite a lot. I feel like we will be using this quite often. I definitely recommend this stroller if you are looking for something light weight but for it to have some of the same features as a standard stroller. We are big fans of the Chicco products. Our travel system was a Chicco product, and our current car seat is a Chicco product as well. You know you are getting higher quality and the best safety with Chicco!

 

A++ in our book!

 

I hope you enjoyed this review.

 

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Until next time!

 

-Danielle