Tuesday, December 4, 2012

1. Please introduce yourself!  Post a picture or two and write a paragraph about yourself first, separate from your mom-ness!  Tell me about your work, activities, your passions, etc.—include anything you think I should know about you.

Here is a little about me:

 

My work: I joined The Chicago Lighthouse in 2004 and am currently Vice President of Development for Individual & Planned Giving.  Since that time, I have worked extensively with donors who are interested in remembering The Lighthouse in their estate plan (will and/or trust).  I also oversee estates and trusts where The Lighthouse has been named a beneficiary to ensure that the administration is carried out in a fiscally responsible manner.  In addition, I have also worked with donors and friends of The Lighthouse who are interested in helping support The Lighthouse now.  I was appointed as the Vice President of Development from Director of Development for Individual and Planned Giving in 2012.

Prior to joining The Chicago Lighthouse, I worked in two downtown Chicago law firms as an associate attorney.  I focused in estate planning, estate administration, and tax matters. I frequently dealt with the IRS on behalf of clients.  I helped represent one client who allegedly owed over $35 million to the IRS.  I successfully helped settle that case for under $5 million.

I also was an adjunct law professor at two Chicago law schools.  I taught Legal Research and Writing and an Estate Planning and Estate Administration course.  Most recently, I was a Clinical Assistant Professor of Law at Northwestern Law School, where she taught first year law students legal research and writing.  Finally, I have over eleven year’s experience teaching writing, literature, and law to college and community college students.  I taught at Columbia College in Chicago for over six years at night while working as an attorney during the day.

I have undergraduate degrees in English and Political Science from the University of Rochester in Rochester, New York.  I graduated cum laude with Honors in English.  While in college, I studied abroad in London, where I took classes at the University of London and worked for a solicitor’s office as a legal intern.  I also have a Masters in English from the University of South Dakota.  In addition, I have a J.D. and a Proficiency in Taxation Certificate from Washburn University School of Law.  Finally, I have an LL.M. in Taxation from the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law.  While obtaining her LL.M., I worked alongside a law school professor to revise his Missouri Probate Law treatise for a new edition. 

Do I have time for anything else in my life!  Yes!  Here is my Pinterest page, so you can see a little of what I do in my free time:

http://pinterest.com/minnehaha2010/

I also read quite a bit, work out, go shopping, hang out with friends, try some of the newest restaurants Chicago has to offer (but try to always eat healthy), and eat breakfast every morning religiously!!!

2. Now, I want to meet “The Fam”!  Upload photos of your family including your children—not just portraits, but pictures that show me what you guys are into, how you spend your time together.  Choose some of your favorites.  What are three words   you would use to describe your family’s life and what you love about it?

My daughter, Chloe, age six, with some of her Halloween candy!  We donated it at the dentist's office, where it was sent overseas to troops serving our country abroad.  My little girl was a ballerina for Halloween!


In Florida this past winter.


My cat, Minne, and me.  She eats everything in sight: plastic bags with any kind of food on it, fish food, and olive oil that splattered on the floor!  Needless to say, apparently, we do not give her enough cat food.


The three of us together celebrating for Chloe's sixth birthday this past spring.


Steve (my husband) and Chloe kayaking in Florida.  I was in the other canoe taking the picture!


Steve and Chloe on her first day of first grade this August.


Three words to describe our family's life: hectic, fun, and never a dull moment!  I think you can get a sense of our life from these pictures-we don't usually sit around and just do nothing!  Always too much to do- either in the house or around Chicago.


3. How would you describe your role as a mom?  Fill in the blank:  “I’m the ___organizer______________ of my family”.   Blog about your parenting style—what do you think makes your approach to parenting unique or special?   Be specific.  It could be big things or small things. 

You name it; I do it all, besides working full time!  I do all of the grocery shipping, I clean, I organize play dates for my daughter and activities, and arrange for a babysitter to come over, so that my husband and I can spend a little time together- just us.

I am relaxed and laid back when it comes to parenting.  For example, my husband was upset last week because our little girl ripped the knee of her favorite pair of pants.  He called me at work to tell me of the crisis (but it had been a bad day for him).  These pants are no longer being made, and they are the greatest pants ever!  I can sew, a little, and there happens to be a great fabric store near where I work. 

I said not to worry---I looked at the pants, and they needed more than just to be sewn--they needed a patch in the knee.  So, I went to the fabric store at lunchtime one day recently (as well as going grocery shopping!), and bought a darling flower patch for 75 cents.  (My little girl had already instructed me it needed to be pink AND purple.)  I sewed it on that night, and voila!  Pants were fixed, and the patch looked great.  My little girl wore them to school on Monday, and her friend said, "Cute patch, Chloe!!!" Problem fixed for 75 cents without any loss of sleep.  That's a great example of my approach to parenting.

4. With all that you have going on in your life, what are the moments during your day/week when you feel most proud of yourself?  It could be a big thing and/or just a little moment.  Please be as detailed and specific as possible about these times and why you feel the way that you do.  Post a picture or two of what is happening when you have a proud moment.

I am most proud of myself when I break away and work out at the gym.  I do this after work, before going home, a few times a week.  I can't do it when I leave work too late, or when the traffic is too bad, or when I am too tired.  But I always have my gym bag in my car, just in case!  After I work out, I feel so good, like I am doing something for myself---physically and emotionally.

My litttle girl has a blue betta fish named Fluffy, who is a very delightful fish.  Sometimes he gets really happy in his bowl and swims circles around excitedly!  You can tell he is having the time of his life.  You can equate the happy and jubilant feeling I get after working out to my daughter's fish when he is so happy swimming around in his bowl:

5. Now, I want to understand the moments during your day/week when you feel most proud of you child/ren.  Again, it could be big and/or small stuff that makes you feel proud.  Please be as detailed and specific as possible about these times and why you feel the way that you do.  Post a picture or two of what is happening when you feel proud of your kid/s.

When my little cutie pie does something so silly out of the blue, and it is just so funny!  I look at her and think, "This is my daughter, and she is amazing!"

Here is a picture of my daughter at the beach in South Carolina over Thanksgiving, a few weeks ago.  Clearly, she is having the time of her life, while being extremely silly!




Here is "Super Chloe"  (her idea)---with a shirt on her head!  When she is "Super Chloe," she runs around with something on her head or as a cape, and says..."here is Super Chloe!!!"  In this picture, I was able to capture her in the act of becoming SuperChloe.




6. Last task of the day:  Choose an image from the Internet that captures what it’s like to be a modern-day mom; explain why you chose it and how you FEEL about being one.

Here is a picture of classy, modern, shoe designer of the moment Christian Louboutin shoes (the shoes with the red bottoms).  I do not have these exact shoes, but I have others by him that I love to wear to work.  These lovely shoes demonstrate that you can be a mom, yet be fashionable, have flair, and still be in vogue, while raising a child and working full-time!  ;)