SHELBY: There’s a million things that they’ve taught me, but I would say the most—the coolest—thing about being their mom is their little relationship and how loving they are with each other. Today, we were at the car dealership, and one of my girls was with me this week, and my other daughter is in camp (my youngest), and my five-year-old made sure to tell the dealership lady who was giving her a coloring book, like, “Oh, I have a sister, and she’s gonna want these too.” WHAT’S SOMETHING YOU’RE PROUD OF? SHELBY: [Elle and Lovie] always look out for each other. It makes me feel like we’ve got to be doing something right if they’re that sweet and thoughtful and so kind to each other—and to us—but especially to each other. It’s not something I ever thought about before becoming a parent. That feeling you get when you have your baby and you hold them for the first 10 minutes and your heart is just exploding… that same feeling is something I get watching the girls do
got into a booster car seat for the first time. And in my mind, I feel like I was just strapping her into her baby car seat and freaking out over whether it was installed correctly. It’s so crazy to me how fast it goes. So that’s my biggest piece of advice: just soak it in, and enjoy the time you have while they’re little.
wondering, “How could we solve that problem,” or, “What if we did this or that?” I always have a ton of ideas in my head, and there’s no telling what we’ll do next. But for now, we’re working on franchising. We’re expanding the studio, helping other moms with the experience that I’ve had over the last 12 years now, running businesses and opening their own Create and Play clubs. [We’re] giving them the tools, the support, the systems, all of the things that we need to succeed, and giving that to them in their town, wherever they want to put their Create and Play club. That’s our main focus right now. WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO OTHER PARENTS? SHELBY: To soak it in. It’s really hard to do, because even the moms I know who are getting a job, like being a nurse, or stay-at-home moms, I feel like it’s so easy—with how fast life moves— to get caught up in all the things you have to do. There’s a different sport every night of the week, there are so many things that have to get done, but just soaking it in and thinking about the fact that you won’t get that time back, [because] they change every single day. Like today, we had a big milestone: Elle (my oldest)
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stuff like that for each other. WHAT’S NEXT FOR YOU?
SHELBY: I am a serial entrepreneur; I am always thinking of something or
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