1.How many kids do you have and what are their ages?
We have 2 boys and a little girl, Dylan (12), Logan (11) and Jolie (5).
- How long have you lived in Short Hills/Millburn/Livingston and what made you decide to live
here?
My husband and I were married in the city in 2006, and our 2 boys were born there. In 2010,
we decided to move to the suburbs and we liked the idea of being near family. Derek’s brother
lives in New Providence and my sister lives in Short Hills.
3.Tell us about your business and what other local things you are involved in! And how did you
get started?
I was involved with the schools from the moment we moved to the area. The boys went to the
JCC for pre-school and I eventually ran their largest fundraiser for the education program. As
they got older, I became involved in the public schools, and was president of the HSA at Burnet
Hill Elementary School for 2 years, and I’m currently the President of the HSAs of both Mount
Pleasant Middle School (6th grade) and Heritage Middle School (7th-8th grades). My goal is
always to build the sense of community by supporting the schools, which benefits the teachers,
administrators and most importantly our children.
I’ve run several fundraisers, started many programs, websites and am happy to say they are still running to this day! I’ve always made aconcerted effort to involve a variety of people. There are so many talented families in Livingston, and I love how much people are willing to help when given the opportunity.
I pride myself on being organized, and having the ability to manage situations, so with that in
mind I started my company, AH Solutions. The foundation of the company is organizing, but it
incorporates various business lines. We organize homes, offices, moving, storage units and
whatever else is presented to us. We like to say there isn’t anything we can’t organize. I also
have a photo division which takes hard copies, digital photos, camera pics, etc, organizes them
and we create a hard drive that has all the photos/videos in one place. This allows clients to
quickly find pictures/videos even though their library may contain decades of entries. Our
events division was created to bring clients visions to reality, but we are not event
planners. Typically, our clients have hired several vendors and need someone to coordinate all
the moving parts. The feeling of seeing clients enjoying their parties, stress free, shows me that
we’re doing our job!
4.Favorite thing to do when you need “me time”?
I prefer to use “me time” as family time. While it may sounds atypical, I am actually
most relaxed being with them even though, admittedly and can be chaotic at times.
5.Favorite place for dinner with kids?
This is a tough one, but I’d say the overwhelming favorite is Kim’s Sushi in West Orange.
6.Most enjoyable place to hang out?
Between having three kids, volunteering and running my company, I’m happy to be at home
relaxing.
7.How do you balance your career and being a mom?
Thankfully, much of what I do involves being around kids (including my own), so this isn’t as
hard for me as some other moms.
8.Proudest mommy moment(s)?
I was recently running a party where my oldest son, Dylan, was a guest. As a group of kids
were leaving, they were all politely saying thank you to me for holding the door, when my son
chimed in, proudly, you guys know that’s my mom? The thank yous became “hi Dylan’s Mom”,
it really touched me. There are so many more, but I am so proud of the support my kids give
me in everything I do. They are always eager to help, and they’re good!
9.Can’t believe that happened mommy moment!
When my third child was born, we didn’t know if it was a boy or girl, the doctor held up the baby
and said, “okay Daddy, tell her what it is”. My husband, Derek, stood there with a blank look,
the umbilical cord was hanging down so he had no idea.
10.Best advice you have gotten from a mom?
The minutes may go slow but the years pass quickly, enjoy the ride!
11.Best piece of advice you can give other moms!
Let your kids fall down, but don’t pick them up, support and teach them how do it themselves.
12.One thing people would be surprised to know about you…
Those that know me will be all over this. I’m known for my attention to detail, but I’m a terrible
speller!