AGE   Old enough to lie – I have seen a lot of fashion trends.

HOMETOWN / WHERE DO YOU LIVE NOW?   I was born in Manhattan (NYC) and lived Washington Heights until 1984. My mom and I moved to Georgia that summer. Georgia is where I grew up. We lived in an area that wasn’t even on the map, a very small town called Alpharetta. Alpharetta housed the library, city hall, pharmacy, police head quarters, a jail, and a post office all in the same one-story building – not even a quarter of the size of a NYC block. Today Alpharetta is quite large and so different from when I lived there. Not only is it on the map, it is considered a small city. I was there to see the beginning of its transformation. Today I live in Sunset Park, Brooklyn- respectively different than Alpharetta.

@TWITTER   @veehere

ON THE WEB   Vee*s Vision  -  Flickr

NUMBER OF CHILDREN   Two girls (biological) and one bonus 20-something year old young man ^_^

FAVORITE CHILDREN’S BOOK   Each child likes a different style of book. In addition, one child likes to read the same book over and over and over, while the next likes something different each night. It’s hard to say, but I foresee the Harry Potter series being the one that we ALL agree is high on our list favorites.

DAY JOB   Well, I suppose I have a lot of jobs. I am at home with my kids, but they are of school age now.  So, in the morning I freelance as a Photoshop re-toucher, photographer, and after they are in bed I moonlight as a digital darkroom professor at the Fashion Institute of Technology.

RELATIONSHIP STATUS   I am married to my handsome and adoring husband John (8 years). Although it feels like we never got married because things haven’t really changed. It’s more like we’ve grown at the same rate. Through thick and thin, in sickness and health, for rich or poor, we have been living together for over 13 years. He has seen me at my best and my worst. He is my love, my lover, and my best friend. I am a very lucky woman.

HOW DO YOU COMBINE WORK AND FAMILY?

My husband and I are definitely partners. We see when the other needs a break or needs a hand with the kids. We pick up each other’s slack. If the kitchen needs to be cleaned, it gets done – no one person is responsible for it. The same goes with cooking and kids’ appointments. We each have a responsibility to our home life and to our children, and that means we do what we have to do before we do what you want to do.

John and the kids are supportive when it comes to my crazy work cycles. “Feast or famine” say colleagues because in my line of work… I am always working even when it is not for a particular job. Lucky for me I love it – it is never really “work”; it’s a fun career. I try to be the best, so that I can continue to do what I enjoy doing as a job.

HOW HAS PARENTING CHANGED YOU AS AN INDIVIDUAL?

I think I am more assertive after having kids. I want to be a good example to my kids, so if I see an opportunity, I take it. I want my kids to do the same. Also, I am less likely to accept bullshit. Where before I had kids, I gave a person the opportunity to redeem themselves after serving some baloney and to “see” if they were full of it. Today, I am more likely to call it crap. I have to also point out that one thing I really have learned after being married and having kids is forgiveness. Life is so short to hold a grudge.

HOW HAS PARENTING AFFECTED/CHANGED/IMPACTED YOUR RELATIONSHIP?

Don’t know if it’s a good thing or a bad thing, but not too much has changed. Or perhaps we have changed but are looking at it like we have grown. Our eating habits have certainly changed, so has our sleeping schedule. We have less time to go out as a couple so we make sure to do things that are child appropriate. Sex happens when the time is right. Is it ever enough?

WHAT ARE YOUR STRENGTHS AS A PARENT AND WHAT ARE YOUR WEAKNESSES?

I have been told I have a lot of patience. That is a quality I’m proud of, but I think my best strength is my ability to work well under pressure. When my youngest was about 9 months old, her arm popped out of her socket! Don’t ask me how we figured that one out, but off to the hospital we went. My poor husband was a nervous wreck because he was sitting on the floor with her when it happened and to this day blames himself for missing her stumble. I remember keeping him and my oldest daughter calm because the baby was so uncomfortable her cries sounded painfully unsettled.