International Women’s Day with Jessica and Amber | FairfieldMoms

Happy International Women’s month since we like to celebrate women all month long! As we celebrate we thought it would be nice, as it is also Meet a Mom Monday, to reintroduce ourselves with some fun facts!

 

Quick intro:  Amber and I are “mom friends”. We met almost 4 years ago when our daughters were days old…Happy Friendiversary to us, at Willows Pediatric, the New Moms group. I knew we’d be friends when after our mom meet up at the office we all went to lunch and she ordered a beer! We had mutual friends and lived a few streets apart and would meet for walks during our maternity leave. Almost 3 years ago I texted Amber asking if she wanted to be “Fairfield Moms”. I heard of other towns having this and said “I think we just go to events with our kids on the weekends and take pictures”. Here we are 2 and a half years later, going to more events than we ever could have imagined, being a resource for our town and surrounding towns and learning this is a full-time job, but one that we absolutely love!

 

So some fun facts about us!

 

Where are you from?

Jess – I will never give up my 631 area code, love being from Long Island but never leaving Fairfield

Amber – I grew up in Norwalk and moved to Fairfield 11 years ago

 

Kids?

Jess – My daughter Emma almost 4 is named after Rachel’s baby Emma in Friends and my son Aiden; 5 months is named after Carrie’s bf Aiden in Sex in the City

Amber – Camden is 6 and Kennedy is 4 (going on 14).  We kept their middle names as family middle names (John after my husband, his father, and grandfather, and Elizabeth after me and my great grandmother).

 

One thing people would be surprised to know about you?

Jess – I have run 10 marathons. One being Boston because I qualified and used to be fast but my favorite race that I have done 3 times is NYC

Amber – I am really handy lol and have built some small projects around our house, along with other fun DIY projects.  I also love to garden.

 

One thing you wish someone would have told you about motherhood? 

Jess – These kids are smart and remember everything. Hard to pull a fast one on a 3 year old!

Amber – Get mom friends…they will be your sanity when you have “a day” with your kids!

 

Favorite local things to do in Fairfield?

Jess – We love eating out and shopping local in Fairfield, concerts on the green, bonfires on the beach, fireworks for the 4th!

Amber – Summer movie nights at Jennings Beach.  Eat at the amazing restaurants in Fairfield!

 

What’s your favorite thing about raising a family in Fairfield?

Jess – The beach and riding our bikes when the weather is nice!

Amber – The families we have met and the community events

 

Do you have a favorite family friendly restaurant?  Date night?

Jess – We love the Irish Club for a family friendly restaurant especially when it’s nice to be outside and they can run around. For date night probably anywhere else!

Amber – Flipside and Shake Shack for family and The Chelsea, Malibu Taco, Geronimo’s and Artisan for Date night

 

What is your go-to activity for your family?  For yourself?

Jess – love walking everywhere. For myself going walking alone (professional walker now) or when I stop peeing my pants, running again!

Amber – Jess literally walks everywhere haha.  We love bike riding, pizza nights at the beach watching the sunset, and getting ice cream for dinner some nights.  For myself, it’s a quiet house right now while the kids are back full-time!

 

Best mom hack that makes your life easier?.

Jess –  I drop my clothes off to Wash, Dry, Fold (this has helped me since having a 2nd tremendously and but do when it is very, very piled up and overwhelming). No idea how we have so much! Also melatonin when someone is a little too crazy, that little purple pill is magic!

Amber – Teaching my kids where to find breakfast in the kitchen and how to turn on the TV in the mornings.  That extra 20 mins in bed is BLISS!

 

Name one thing you regret when learning the ropes of parenthood and what you learned from it?

Jess – Everyone has something to say or a way to do something but you have to learn what works for you!

Amber – Before leaving my full time career, I 100% regretted taking advantage of the time I had with family.  My job had me leaving the house every day before anyone was awake and I feel like a missed a part of their lives.  (#1 Dad award goes to my husband for getting them off to daycare every morning!)  I’m lucky enough to now work from home and cherish those moments that I used to miss.  BUT, I also think it showed my children that both moms and dads have to work hard and sometimes might not be there all of the time.

 

Tell us about your other business besides running FairfieldMoms.

Jess – I co-own AR Workshop a DIY Paint and Sip boutique in Fairfield – it’s the place to be if you love a good mom’s night out or something to do with the kids on the weekends!

Amber – I’m the founder of Rowlan’ Tides, a boutique residential interior design business that specializes in full-service interior design and virtual e-design.

 

How did you both decide that this was the right career move for you while having a family to raise?

Jess – Love how FairfieldMoms started and how we became business partners without ever thinking we would be! For AR Workshop is was all about timing. I love not being in corporate anymore and being a mile from work and can bring my kids if I need to. They are growing up there and I love it!

Amber – I went to school for Design and KNEW I had to get back into it…and I was lucky enough to find a way to make it work for myself and our family.  For FairfieldMoms, it was easy to transition.  Jess and I got SO lucky that we are the best working business partners.

 

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