Our series of interviews with homemakers begins with my friend Olivia Hare.
Olivia a super sweet, super smart, super involved mama of 15 month old twins. In addition to being a stay at home mom, Olivia is a Pampered Chef consultant and serves on the board of her local non-profit multiples organization, Triangle Parents of Multiples.
Olivia loves to cook and prefers to make fresh, real foods for her family but admits that she loves junk food herself! She describes herself as a 30 year old hippie who prefers more natural ways of life but loves modern day conveniences. She cloth diapers her 15 month old twins and loves it, even though no one thought she would last this long with it.
She has a degree in child development and several years of real life work experience in the early childhood field. She considers herself a professional in early childhood but is not interested in working for others ever again, which makes Pampered Chef a great company to work with.
Olivia says she sometimes wishes that her house was always clean and shiny but refuses to miss out on time with her children in order to keep it that way.
Olivia, you’re a stay at home mom of 15 month old twins, a board member for the multiples club, and a Pampered Chef consultant. You definitely have a full plate! What do you think of when you think of the word homemaker?
I think of someone who cares for their family as their first priority. Someone who wants their home as the “it” place to be. I want my friends and family alike to feel 100% welcome at my house at all times. I think a homemaker works to make their home comfortable and full of love as well as good food!
What do you think other people picture when they hear the term?
June Cleaver or another version of a TV mom from the 50s or 60s.
How do those images compare to your vision of yourself as a homemaker?
They all seemed to have that miraculous house thing….I surely do not. I would like to think sometimes I am like them but I don’t come anywhere close!
Why do you think homemaking is important (and specifically, what makes it meaningful to you)?
Your family is the most important thing and as a homemaker you need to make a place where your children feel great, your spouse feels great and where you can all be yourselves. It’s meaningful to me because everyone is shaped by their home life for eternity and I want to provide my children with the most “normal” life that can be accomplished these days.
What does “making a home” mean to you?
Making a place for your family to be themselves at all times no matter how pretty, ugly, normal, or disfunctional you all may be!
What are your favorite parts of homemaking? Least favorite?
Laundry is my favorite. I seriously love doing laundry. As well as spending the days playing and exploring with my boys. My least favorite has to be dishes and cleaning the kitchen at the end of the night!
What other kinds of homemakery things do you do? Are you crafty? A great cook? A decorator? A cleanliness nut? Holding on by the skin of your teeth (that would be me)?
I consider myself crafty, I am beginning to sew some. I have a goal of making curtains for our entire house. So far in the last year I have made a valance for the kitchen. So maybe one day I will get to the other rooms! I like to also consider myself a great cook, I grew up with a chef as a dad and learned early on that cooking is an art and baking is a science. I get really creative with dinners and babyfood.
Olivia is such a sweet and talented mama. She is a Pampered Chef consultant and regularly hosts parties. If you’re in need of any Pampered Chef goodies, Olivia is the person to talk to!
Are you a homemaker? How do you define that term? I’d like to interview all kinds of people who think of themselves as homemakers. Male, female, SAHM, DINK, empty-nester, “traditional” (whatever that means!), or insert-appropriate-term-here. I want to expand people’s notions of what being a homemaker means.