Who are the members of your family?
The members of my family are Me, my husband Christian, our daughter Taylor (2) and I am pregnant with our second baby due March 9th!
What is or was your career?
Before having Taylor I was a corporate transactional attorney specializing in structured finance at a large law firm in downtown Los Angeles. Now I stay home with Taylor and still practice law on a contract basis for clients. It is a perfect situation for me because I have really flexible hours and get to be home with Taylor and yet I didn't have to stop being an attorney altogether. .
How long have you been a member of Stroller Strides and what has it done for you?
I've I have been a member for one year. Stroller Strides has been such a wonderful experience. Taylor and I have gained so many great friends and it has given me the ability to be able to workout while Taylor gets to enjoy the outdoors and being with her friends too! Plus, as an extra benefit to the great workouts with friends, we have such fun play dates after class that it really combines everything you could want in a mom's group!
What is something that has surprised you about motherhood?
I was surprised by how fast my priorities changed after having Taylor. Before having Taylor I couldn't imagine the love I would immediately feel for her and after there was no doubt that family was my top priority. I always thought I would go back to my law firm after my maternity leave but I just couldn't imagine leaving her for the incredibly long hours that my career demanded. My husband and I had lived in Los Angeles for almost ten years and we had a great time with all of the restaurants and things to do and see, however, we knew that as soon as we were ready to have kids we wanted to move to Orange County where it would be easier to raise them and be able to have a house and lots of kid-friendly places to visit, etc. These have been some of the best decisions that we have made!.
Favorite website(s)?
Facebook, Amazon, Shutterfly, Sugarsync (to back-up all of our pictures and videos) and food blogs (to get ideas for new recipes). I also visit www.nosa.gov (the national weather service website) each day because I always like to know what weather is forecasted.
List three current obsessions.
Trying to finish decorating the house we bought three years ago and now a new nursery too! Finding new things to cook that Taylor will (hopefully!) eat. The third would have been attempting to run a half marathon before this year ended if I was asked a couple of months ago, however, that will now have to wait until the end of next year. So going with a much less physically demanding interest, I am very excited for fall tv to start and all of my favorite shows to return as well as new shows!.
What is your child's favorite thing about you or favorite thing that you do?
Taylor loves for me to sing her songs and read her books. We learn new songs at kindergym and library storytime and Stroller Strides and then we sing them all the time at home!
Any tips for other moms out there?
Oh this is hard because I think every mom is an expert when it comes to their own kids. I would say what has really added to my enjoyment of motherhood has been finding so many friends who have kids around the same age as Taylor. Joining Stroller Strides or a mom's group or a church group for mom's is a great way to meet new friends and have people who can relate, celebrate and commiserate with what you are going through. I would also say that staying in the present and enjoying each stage that your child is going through and accepting their personalities and strengths and weaknesses really helps to reduce the mommy stress and stops the time from speeding by quite as fast.
