This week, one of my friend’s moms shares her stories about rearing her two children. It sounds as though their lives together have been filled with great adventures and lots of love. And I love how Bonnie continues the adventures with her grandchildren… read on and take notes for some super fun ideas!
Real (Experienced) Moms Interview with Bonnie
What are the approximate ages of your children now?
Lara is 41 Pete is 40
Do you have grandchildren?
I have 4 wonderful grandchildren that are the love of my life! Lara’s children are Dylan – 6 years & Brooks – 3 years. Pete’s are Hunter – 14 years & Bailey -12 years
I am so blessed because they all live in Houston and I see them at least once a week. I go to their activities from baseball, softball, football, cheer and have lunch with them at school once a week. I have been babysitting ever since their birth and we’ve had so much fun. We might get in trouble once in a while too…with our pranks and antics. We’ve been known to wrap a house or two. Movies, crafts, baking cookies, sleep-overs, Vacation Bible School, trips and games! They are so much fun!
What are some of the qualities that you admire in your children?
There are so many! Our family has 4 generations that have been in PR or marketing. My grandfather was an executive with Texaco in New York that was in Public Relations as well as Employee Relations. My great grandfather was an executive with Prudential. They were both very philanthropic.
I admire Lara and Pete’s entrepreneurial spirit and their confidence to take calculated risks to better their lives and those around them. Both are self-motivated leaders and have accomplished so much. They have won awards and have been honored at dinners. Lara has been employed at a successful TV station for 14 years. She has her own TV Show “Wild About Houston” which is very informative and entertaining. She creates the segments and works very hard to appeal to her audience. She also handles Public Relations and sales. Her out-going personality is like a magnet and her grace when she is speaking at public events is so admirable! She is very caring, loving, thoughtful, creative and philanthropic. She has chaired many successful galas in the city and has a warm heart toward anyone in need. She is a wonderful mother and her children just adore her. She is teaching her children about philanthropy.
Pete started a company 14 years ago and it has grown into successful corporation. His philosophy was to work alongside his employees and be loyal to them, so he has retained faithful staff over the 14 years. He has a great vision and marketing talent to develop direction for the company. His outgoing personality is such a great asset for the growth of the organization. He is very caring, loving, thoughtful, creative, and philanthropic also. He founded a charity to help children in need and has had profitable fundraisers. He is a great dad and his children are so close to him and he, too, puts the giving spirit into his children.
So history repeats itself and the qualities have carried on to each generation.
How much of their personality now was a part of them as children? Oh, my gosh, a lot!!! Both of them have always been involved in school activities, had lots of friends and were so much fun.
They were always leaders, creative, loving, thoughtful!
Before your children were of traditional school age, were you a stay at home mom or were you employed outside the home? At the time, how did you feel about that decision? How do you feel about it now?
I stayed home with Lara and Pete until they were about 4 & 5. At the time I did not want to work… my goal in life was to be a mom and be involved with my children and not miss anything. But I was blessed because I had a sales position and was able to attend all of their activities and I didn’t miss a thing!!! I was always a room mom, Girl Scout leader, PTA, Team Mom or, when they were in high school, I was involved in different volunteer positions.
Tell me about a difficult decision you remember making as a mom concerning one of your children. If you could do it over, would you make the same choice?
As a mom there are always difficult decisions to make throughout their life.
I was so protected growing up so I wanted my children to experience life and not be afraid to try things. They had much more freedom than I had but I did enforce strict rules when it came to values and safety.
Or well I thought I had rules! As a parent you think you are “on top of it”….but found out in later years some of the things they did! How did I miss that? They had confession time and we had some good laughs!!! Of course, I remember I did a “couple of things” growing up, too!
Tell me about something you feel you did ‘right’ as a mom.
That’s easy! I can think of all the wrong things I did as a mom…but if I could say one thing that I did “right,” it would be that I knew all their friends because our house was the ‘club house.’ Everyone was welcome and we had lots of sleepovers and the kids were welcome anytime! In tandem I knew all of their friend’s parents so we had an accountability “system”… we all had parties at our homes and the children were with us and all of us were active in the schools.
What were some of your family’s favorite meals that you served? Would you mind sharing any of those recipes?
I think the recipe that comes to mind first and I think my children will say the same thing is the “Famous” Chicken Casserole recipe that my Mom passed on to me ! I passed it on to my Children. The recipe is so easy ! My kind of cook’n !
“Famous” Chicken Casserole
6 cups of cooked chicken cut in cubes
1 can cream celery soup
1 onion
1 can French Onion green beans
1 cup mayonnaise
1 box Uncle Ben’s Original rice
Mix all ingredients together and bake at 350 degrees for ½ hours.
Are there any particular foods that your grown children now ask for at family gatherings? Would you mind sharing those recipes and any story behind the dish? They really liked deviled eggs & potato salad! Both are family recipes too, from my Mom. She made the best potato salad ever… and, of course, her deviled eggs too! She passed on the recipe to me and through many years of making the deviled eggs and potato salad, mine taste like hers now!
Did you establish or follow any family traditions with your children that you especially cherished… then or now? Tell me about a few of your favorites.
I was spoiled growing up and Christmas was wonderful! I wanted my children to have the same tradition and feeling!!! Christmas is such a exceptional time and to celebrate the birth of Christ was always a part of our Christmas when I grew up.
I carried the family tradition of candlelight service on Christmas Eve. Then we’d come home and snack and play games. Then the “Sleigh Bells” were heard !!! My great-grandfather had “real” sleigh bells on a leather strap and my granddad or dad would go outside of our house and ring them… my Sister and I would scream every year and run to our rooms because Santa was arriving!!!! My Children heard the sleigh bells when they were little and ran to their rooms, too! The sleigh bells have been passed on and Lara and Pete who ring the bells for their children. My Son’s children are too old, but my daughter’s children still hear them ring. The sleigh bells must be 70 years old and they are so tarnished but so special! Christmas morning was always lots of laughs and presents. We had the traditional Christmas dinner every year of turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans, rolls, cranberry sauce and then turkey sandwiches later in the evening !!!
How did you celebrate birthdays with your children?
We always had a special birthday party when they were little. The parties we had in the ’70s are nothing compared to the parties the kids have now! We usually had them in our home or a pizza place with games, cake, ice cream and lots of family and friends were there. They always had big “milestone” birthdays like turning 16 was a huge event. Lara’s was at the Hyatt Hotel and Pete’s was in a private room at a restaurant. The big parties were 21, 30 and 40!!! One thing that we never have to worry about in our family is a party… We love parties!
What were some of your family’s favorite things to do together when you had preschoolers? Elementary-school age children? High schoolers? Now?
When the children were preschoolers they loved to go to the zoo, playground, beach, movies but we did a lot of crafts at home too. We used to make things… particularly at Christmas, Valentines, Easter, etc. Reading bedtime stories were such a special time for me.
In elementary school we would have children over to our home all the time. We did a lot of picnics with friends and their children. We would go to a park close to our home and have a picnic and make s’mores… and then play charades by the fire!
Our neighborhood was very close with lots of children all about the same age. We used to play volleyball every Sunday and when the children were old enough, they played, too. We all had a lot of laughs together and it was so much fun to have the children with us for our weekly game.
They are friendships that developed in the ’70s and my children still see their old friends. The moms still get together once a month for dinner. Our conversation used to be about our children in school, then college, weddings and now grandchildren. All of our grandchildren have been together at one time or another but one grandmother and I have play dates with our grandchildren…. so history is repeating itself!!! Being with friends and family is the most important thing!
What memories of their youth do you think your children recall most fondly now?
I’d say going to Wimberly, Texas every year and staying in a rustic cabin on the Blanca River. The “resort” had 12 cabins and there were always lots of families staying there. It is a place where you can let the children run and you know they are safe. The grounds are beautiful and the children played hide go seek, looked for fireflies, rode their bikes, swam in the pool and tubed in the river.
When the children were teenagers we always had their friends with us. The girls loved to wash their hair in the river and the boys rode their bikes in the river rapids. We played games, ate our meals outside, had bonfires, cooked s’mores and told ghost stories! They had a recreation hall with ping pong, pool table, shuffle board and when Lara and Pete were older all the teens at “resort” would hang out till wee hours! We would walk up town to the ice cream parlor, maybe go for lunch or dinner on occasion. We’d go to the drive-in movie and sit in lawn chairs outside.
Blue Hole was always fun because they could swim in the cold Cypress Creek water and swing from a big rope into the water. It was wonderful family time – no phones, no TV, no stereos… we were “together!”
I’ve had the privilege to take my son’s two children for 3 years and they have brought friends, so I’ve been able to relive the great memories with them. We have a blast and do the same things! They always want to go back. Now that my daughter’s children are getting older, I want to take them, too, so they can have the “Wimberly experience” with me. Now we call it Camp Mawmaw and Gargaw when we take the grandchildren.
Oh, another wonderful memory is our annual summer trip to San Luis Hotel in Galveston. We started going to the hotel when it opened. It was just the 3 of us… Lara, Pete and me! What a wonderful and special time. It was a week of spoiling them to “whatever” they wanted, whenever they wanted, and it was a “there are no rules here” week!
We were at the pool everyday, had lunch served as we lay in lounges at the pool, had room service whenever, rented floating “tricycles” and rode the waves, (I don’t think they have those anymore), we went to the outdoor musical every summer…Hello Dolly was my favorite! We went shopping on the strand… whatever they wanted to buy was great with me! Ice cream parlor, railroad museum but we mostly hung out at the hotel and had a blast. That is one of my most favorite times with my children… I had them all to myself!
Is there anything about your parenting that you are especially proud of? What is it?
I guess if there was one thing it was always being there for my children and they were always the most important thing in my life. I tried to do everything I could for my children to make them feel loved and special because they were! Today it’s the same! They are the loves of my life and my heroes! Now that they are adults I have to say that God blessed me with my two best friends!
Is there anything about your parenting that you now regret? Do you mind sharing that with us?
My big regret is the divorce, for sure. I was the first person in my family to get a divorce and, even though my family supported me totally and helped me get through it, I wish that I could have had a marriage that lasted……for my children. I regret mistakes- big and little, and I try to live the way God wants me to live.
When your children were very young, did you have any hobbies you enjoyed just for yourself? If so, what were they?
Exercising!!! I exercised every day– Aerobics, Jazzercise, weights and walked! I loved it! Hmmm…better get back at it !
If you could give newer moms advice, what would it be?
The “Triangle” is what try to live by: God at the top, Me and my Family. I put “Me” second. Not selfishly, but because I have to be strong and walk the walk before I can help my family.
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