How old are your kids and how long have you lived in Westport?
My boys are 5, 9 & 11 and we moved to Westport and have lived here for about 8 years now.
What has been the most difficult age with your children to date? What helped you overcome the challenges at that time? I think between ages 2-5 is really rough but also lots of fun. My youngest is the most difficult by far because we allowed the “baby phase” to go on a little too long. We let him get away with unacceptable behavior thinking it was still innocent and cute and suddenly we realized one day that he was taking advantage of us instead of just being adorable.
What is your favorite family activity to do in Westport or the surrounding towns? We really enjoy a lot of the restaurants in town and can often be found at some of the more kid friendly ones. But for activities, you can’t beat the playground at Compo and the Norwalk Aquarium. Earth place and the Stamford Animal Embassy are places we like to visit here and there as well. And my kids would be mad if I didn’t mention all the ice cream spots they like to hit on the weekends. They fight over their favorites. Tucker likes SweetFrog while Brady prefers Sunny Daes and Mason insists on Saugatuck Sweets.
What was your most memorable family vacation and why? We were lucky enough to spend a month this spring in Australia and we traveled to almost every corner of the country and it was spectacular. We will never forget the experience of dipping our toes in the Indian Ocean, Tasman Sea, Coral Sea and South Pacific all within a few weeks. The animals and the culture my children learned about will be with them forever. But my favorite thing to do is travel and we are finally getting to an age where the kids can really enjoy it and it’s just a blast. Last summer while working on the movie I directed Watcher in the Woods (on Lifetime October 21st starring Anjelica Huston) in Wales, we took the kids to London because Tucker really wanted to see Big Ben and Mason leaned all about Winston Churchill who is now his hero. I also dragged them to see “a bunch of rocks” at Stonehenge that they now talk about fondly. It warms my heart to see my kids learning and experiencing the world.
What’s your favorite app right now- for you- and for your kids? I just started using Rooster Money which helps keep allowances straight. We were having a hard time remembering who was owed how much and this app has been helping out so far.
What’s your can’t live without beauty product? I’ve just discovered hyaluronic acid and it’s a game changer!
What’s your favorite restaurant for a family dinner? A night out with friends? Duh, Bar Taco! Love that place and the food! But we like to mix it up. With kids we hit Rizzutos and Little Barn often. But on dates and couples we do a lot of Spotted Horse and Jesup Hall…but Terrain for girl lunches mostly.
What is one thing people would be surprised to know about you? Maybe that Mark and I take care of our own yard and that my pet peeve is white cars. 😉
If you had 24 hours to do whatever you wanted – what would you do? Catch up on 7 seasons of Game of Thrones. I feel like the only person in the world who doesn’t know a thing about that show.
What is one piece of advice you would pass along to other moms? Take it easy on yourself and just keep doing you! If you are a soccer mom, PTA president, CEO, singer, board of ed, spin teacher, working mom, or whatever might be keeping you busy, you have to take some time and head to New Beauty Wellness for a facial or Sun Reflexology and get a foot rub or Plaza Nails to make sure you get a little ME time. If mama ain’t good, ain’t nobody good!
