I’m a SAHM (stay-at-home-mom) to two of the most wonderful boys and soon-to-be baby girl; Joshua (4), Hayden (2.5), and baby girl (due October 1, 2009). I have the pleasure of waking up each morning to be with them, guide them and nurture them into independent self-thinkers who have a love of learning, a respect for self, others and their environment. They are our pride and joy and my reason for living. (I know, a bit over the top, but like any mom, on certain days, I wonder who are you and why are you torturing me?)
I married my soul mate, he is my everything. Gregory graduated from Michigan State with a degree in restaurant management. He works at a restaurant and remarkably has the best hours, for his line of work. He is a wonderful father and an excellent cook. He is originally from Dayton, Ohio but moved here in ’99 to pursue his career. His parents and siblings still reside there and from time to time we have been known to pack the car and the kids and head on over to the Buckeye state. On the flip-side, we have a tendency to have house guests at least once a month and we wouldn’t have it any other way.
I'm the older of two children and I live in an affluent village in DuPage County, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago and a short drive to just about anywhere in the Midwest. To be honest, we’re not exactly on the affluent “side of the tracks”. We co-own a 2-flat apartment building with my dad, who happens to live in the other apartment with my grandmother, “Nanny”. I like to think that I live in a ‘house’ and someday we will have our own ‘home’. My parents have been divorced since I was 8 years old. Turns out, my dad is gay. (More on that later.) Most of my family lives within 45 minutes of me and I’m so glad they do!
There is never a dull moment. Excitement and fun fill our house...we can be a boisterous bunch, all Greek and half Italian but always 100% American...a place where you are always welcome and we forever have plenty to eat, just the way I like it. It seems we are constantly hosting some sort of social event; whether we have friends over for dinner, a holiday party, small family get together, or a birthday party for one of the kids, our house bustles with family and friends.
I’m a “jack of all trades, master of none, though often times better than master of one!” I have a bachelors degree in Hospitality Management. Along the way, I added courses in Interior Design from Harrington College of Design and I have picked up a few skills in Montessori (AMI) where I was a teacher’s assistant and office assistant for a brief time.
Enter - my love of Montessori and her philosophies. Currently, Joshua is enrolled at the local AMS Montessori school. It's not the AMI which I am more familiar with, but it's 3 blocks from our house and he loves it there!
I LOVE to shop and I’m always on the look-out for a bargain. You can always find me online shopping and bargain hunting, but never at the mall. Just the other day Joshua asked me, “What’s a mall?” I don’t find pleasure in mall shopping anymore. What once used to be a social hang-out, my first place of employment, my home-away-from-home, is now a distant memory of yesteryear. I wouldn’t trade the experience of mall shopping for anything, but thank God for the internet!
My “Junk Drawer”:
· I own lots of clothes, but prefer my pajamas!
· My passport is recently expired, but proves I traveled, but not as much as I like...have to work on that.
· I have a cell phone but I rarely use it.
· I love taking pictures and I’m always trying to enhance my photo-taking abilities.
· I use to be a tan-aholic. But I’ve learned that white=good, tan=bad. So, now I’m just happy to get my little bit-o vitamin D from being outside with the kids for an hour and call it a day.
· I’m complicated, fiercely honest and loyal to those who matter most to me.
· I like people….but you'd never know that because my circle of friends is very small.
· I love books! Children’s books especially! I can get lost for hours in the book store causing me to spend a ton of money we don’t have…thank God for the library! I once heard that there is a direct correlation between the number of books you have on your shelf and your I.Q. Mind you, the correlation is based on the number of books NOT on if you actually read them! My kids are geniuses!!! :)
· I’m a Gemini and if you want to know more about me, this website is scarily accurate. http://www.astrology-online.com/gemini.htm
