Tamara Taggart on career, marriage

by Emma Lee
celebrity
mommy
Tamara Taggart on career,
Clockwise from left: Tamara, son Beckett (l) and daughter Zoë (r); Zoë;
Beckett and Zoë. (Photo credit: Joy Photography)
ubt: How would you
describe yourself as a parent?
TT: I’m a very calm parent,
which is surprising because I’m
not always a very calm person!
There are a lot of hugs and
kisses in our house and we’re
constantly telling Beckett and
Zoë that we love them.
ubt: What have you learned
about yourself now that you’re
a mom?
TT: How much love I really
have in my heart...I love my
kids. They hold my heart and
give me so much joy and
happiness, more than I knew
was possible.
ubt: Your son Beckett has
Down syndrome. Describe
what it was like for you and
your husband when doctors
began implying there may be
something wrong? What was
going through your mind? How
30 | urbanbaby & toddler | fall 2009
did you cope? How do you
move forward?
TT: Wow, that’s a big
question. Beckett was
diagnosed with Down
syndrome when he was five
days old; it was determined
through a blood test in the
hospital. It was a surprise
and because we didn’t
know anything about Down
syndrome, we were very
scared. After a few tears,
we gathered our family and
friends, shared our news
and started our journey. The
first thing we did was read
everything we could (books,
not the Internet) about Down
syndrome and we talked
to as many other parents
as we could. [My husband]
Dave and I are now experts
on Down syndrome and we
have built a really good team
of experts and advocates for
our son. Beckett is such a
As CTV’s local weathercaster, Tamara Taggart
is a familiar face to most Vancouverites—
delivering the forecast on-location or from the
studio every weekday. As if that’s not enough, on
top of her full-time job, she has also found time to
have hosted of HGTV’s “Love It or Lose It” series,
to appear in feature films and TV series, to be a
business owner as well as a mommy blogger.
Oh, and did we mention she is also mother of
two toddlers with her musician-husband Dave
Genn (with band 54-40)? How does she do it
all? We recently asked Vancouver’s favourite girl
nextdoor about how she balances her busy life
with family and career.
sweet, loving, funny boy—and
that’s not because he has
Down syndrome; it’s because
that’s who he is. We can’t
imagine our lives without him
in it—every day he surprises
us. So many of our friends stop
by the house to visit Beckett.
They don’t want to see us, just
Beckett—he’s a very popular
guy! I could go on and on here
about how perfect he is...
ubt: With two babies
under the age of two, you are
definitely busy. What is your
biggest challenge with your
two children right now?
TT: Sleep and organization
are definitely my challenges!
Beckett and Zoë are great
sleepers—they get 11 hours
each a night. I don’t! My
memory isn’t what it used to
be...I seem to forget everything,
therefore being extremely
organized is a must. Finding
the time to be organized is
tough. I’m chasing my tail a lot!
ubt: Because you are a
public figure in Vancouver, do
you feel self-conscious when
you’re in public with your
babies? Like you have to be a
“perfect” mom when you’re out
with them?
TT: Not really. People talk
to me and our kids all the time
when we’re out and it’s nice. I
learn a lot from other women
who are on the same path as
me. We’re all in the same boat
so it’s great to bounce ideas off
of each other. I never feel like I
have to be perfect—as far as I
can tell, there’s no such thing.
ubt: What is Beckett’s and
Zoe’s favourite things in the
world right now?
TT: Well Zoë loves whatever
Beckett has and Beckett loves
whatever Zoë has! They both
marriage & motherhood
like cups—they like to stack
them and toss them. Reading
is also a favourite and of
course, everything comes to
a screeching halt when In the
Night Garden comes on!
ubt: What is a perfect family
day for you?
TT: We love to go
swimming. Beckett and Zoë
are both becoming great little
swimmers! Walking in our
neighbourhood is so much
fun—a walk and a snack is a
good time in our family.
ubt: How would you want
your children to complete this
sentence when they’re older:
“The most best thing about my
mom is…”
TT: ...that she loves us so
much, encourages us to follow
our dreams and puts our
happiness first.
ubt: You seem to have
bounced right back into prepregnancy shape. How’d you
do it?
TT: Oh you are very sweet
but I’m not back to my prepregnancy shape. It is so hard
to find the time to exercise
and eat—not eat properly, just
to eat at all—when you are
so tired! I try to get to Pilates
three times a week. I’m lucky
if I get there once. We go for
walks, but the reality is that I
need to run not walk. Being
on TV every day is motivation
to lose weight but sometimes,
well most of the time, I choose
sleep over exercise.
ubt: What is one thing you
do, as a parent, that you are a
little embarrassed to admit?
TT: I have recorded Barney
on our PVR and I put it on
when Beckett won’t eat. When
that purple dinosaur is around,
he’ll eat anything!
ubt: How do you and your
husband stay connected,
keep your marriage strong?
Many couples with very young
children experience turbulent
times when their kids are
young, due to stress, lack of
sleep...
TT: We’re both super-busy
people with very different
schedules...we spend our
mornings together and we’re
both home every night to put
our kids to bed (Dave then
goes back to the studio).
We try to schedule “dates”
and little getaways. Right
now, we stay strong together
by drinking a lot of coffee
together!
ubt: When both the kids are
asleep for the night or when
you have some time to yourself,
what’s the first thing you want
to do?
TT: Read. I love to read and
there’s not a lot of opportunity
to do that with two babies in
the house, so as soon as they
are sawing logs I’m opening a
book or magazine!
ubt: Do you ever feel
overwhelmed as a parent?
TT: Of course I feel
overwhelmed. It’s really hard
to keep all the balls in the air.
I’m learning to live by the words
“good enough”—everything
doesn’t need to be perfect
and sometimes it’s just good
enough. Life is so much easier!
ubt: What was your labour
and delivery like?
TT: I had a c-section with
Beckett and because my
babies were so close together
I had to have a c-section with
Zoë too. I have a wonderful GP
(Dr. Donna McLachlan) and
obstetrician (Dr. Rob Anderson)
so I was in very good hands.
My doctors and the women in
the maternity ward at St. Paul’s
Hospital took very good care
of us.
ubt: How did you do with
breastfeeding?
TT: I couldn’t breastfeed. I
used the Dr. Brown’s bottles
and Good Start formula.
Amazing how much grief I
got from some women about
formula-feeding my babies. I
couldn’t breastfeed...way to
make me feel crappier!
ubt: What would make your
top three “must-haves” when it
comes to baby gear (could be
anything) that you think every
parent should have?
TT: I love our video baby
monitors: we can watch the
kids sleeping and know when
they wake-up—it’s the best. My
new Bumbleride Twin stroller is
a dream—so easy to turn and it
fits through doorways (available
at EiO)! The face cloths from
Ikea ($7 a pack!) are great; we
use them for everything.
ubt: How do you maintain
balance between working
full-time, mothering full-time,
being a wife, and finding time
for yourself?
TT: That’s what I’m trying to
figure out, every single day I do
my best to keep it all together.
Boy, is it hard. Working at CTV
is great. I love my job and when
I’m at the station I need to be
at my best—it doesn’t matter
that I woke up with Beckett at
5:15 am and I’m dead-tired.
Coffee is my new best friend.
I opened up EiO a Kid’s Store
(at 18th and Cambie) with two
friends. It’s a dream come true
and I’d love to do more and be
there more but it just doesn’t
work out that way most days.
Thank goodness for my
business partner Marc and our
great staff at the store. I rarely
get to the gym or to my Pilates
class—I want to, but so many
other things pop up. I never
remember to eat and when I do
it’s because I have a headache!
This is a work in progress. It’s
a beautiful challenge that I’m
happy to take on. My kids and
husband are first, and always
will be. Nothing trumps my
family. If the laundry doesn’t
get done and the lawn doesn’t
get cut, it will be okay! ]
Follow Tamara Taggart on her
Modern Mommy Blog at
www.ctvbc.ca.
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