Have You Met MacKenzie

Here is a new entry to the the segment of the blog called "Have You Met . . "  I am excited to introduce you to MacKenzie. She has a successful career and is Mom to a beautiful little girl. Since I don't have siblings, I have always admired her wonderful relationship with her sister.  Read on to see her thoughts on being a Mom.

Facts
Name/Age     MacKenzie, 36 years old
Marital Status/How Long Have You Been Married     Married almost 8 years
Child(ren)/Names & Ages     One Amazing daughter Willow, age 5

Questions
What has been your most memorable moment since becoming a Mom?
I've had so many but my most memorable are the times I see her doing something by herself.  Running on the playground to introduce herself to a new kid, or on the stage at school as the head of her school play. 5 short years ago I gave birth to this baby and now she's her own person, maneuvering herself in this world and I'm in awe every time.

What kind of activities do you enjoy doing with your child?
We love to cook and bake together.  She's my sous chef and we have so much fun.  We take long walks with our dog and we talk, she's so much fun to have a conversation with and never fails to have me laughing out loud with her comments.  We also love Target.  We can roam that store for hours.

What advice do you have for Moms looking to return to work?
Don't beat yourself up or stress about all the hours you miss being with your child.  I beat myself up a lot when I started working and it was consuming me.  My daughter absolutely adores me despite me working, so it took a while, but I've finally learned to make our time together special and to just know she's very well taken care of, happy and having a great time even when I'm at work.

Do you think it's easier or harder raising a kid now than when you were a child?
I'm 50/50 on this.  We have so much more now.  So many opportunities to do well and be successful and to be able to create a nice life for our families.  I didn't see it then, which just goes to show how amazing my parents were, but with one income my parents had to worry about things I don't have to worry about now, thank God.  But, sometimes I think it's harder because kids can't have the freedom we had growing up to figure things out for themselves.  When I was little we would play outside for hours, we would be in the neighborhood with all the other kids, riding our bikes, playing in the woods, refereeing arguments, and having lunch at our neighbors house and our parents didn't have to worry.  It breaks my heart that my daughter will never know what it feels like to leave her house in the summer when it was still cool in the morning, spend the entire day outside exploring and just be called home when the sun was going down for dinner.  Now, I wouldn't even leave her in our own yard alone, even knowing we live in a nice, safe neighborhood, if there is such a place anymore.

What surprises you most about parenthood?
How it can be amazing, fun, scary, worrisome, joyful, exciting, exhausting and terrifying all at the same time. I didn't expect that.

Little Details
I'm obsessed with . . . Parenthood and Ray LaMontagne.
My favorite drugstore buy is . . . Mascara
My go to meal on a busy day . . . Not gonna lie...too often it's cereal
My guilty pleasure is . . . Pinterest
My favorite beauty product is . . . Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage