Occupation: I was trained in England as a hotel manager and worked in that field for a few years. Actually, it’s very similar to being a full-time mom. You have to think about food, and keeping the house in shape, and making sure everyone gets along. It was fun and challenging — always something new every day.

Then I wanted to travel so I went to Australia for a year and that’s where I met Dan, who was from Buffalo, N.Y. The funny thing was, I had been to Buffalo once when I was 15 to see Niagara Falls.

We went back to England to get married, then we lived in Washington, D.C., while he studied journalism at the University of Maryland in College Park. I worked managing a bookstore.

When we moved to Frederick, Md., we started our family, and I’ve been a full-time mom ever since.

 

How Long In Newtown: We rented a year in Danbury, and then we bought a house in Newtown more than five years ago.

Biggest Change You Have Seen In Town: Aside from all the development, a nice change is seeing several people in town renovating and restoring their old homes. I think the older homes are much more beautiful than the new ones.

 

Family: My husband, Dan, works in New York City as an editor at the Reuters Financial News Desk. He commutes very early every day into White Plains and then takes the train.

Nathaniel, 12, is in the sixth grade at the Intermediate School. Katie, 9, is in the fourth grade at Hawley School, and Emma, 7, is in the first grade, also at Hawley. For one half year, I had all three at the same school. Next year, none of them will be at the same school.

Hobbies: I like to garden and work around the house.

Pets: My son has tropical fish. He’s got a monster catfish called a Plecostomas that has gotten so big we had to get a larger tank. Katie has two rabbits that are kept indoors.

About having pets, we follow the Eighth Birthday Rule. When they turn eight, they can choose a pet but they have to take care of it themselves. Emma is still trying to decide what she’ll do and she’s wishing her life away, hoping to get to eight as soon as possible.

 

Favorite Books, Entertainment: I read a lot. I like realistic fiction, mysteries, and I enjoy reading Tracy Chevalier. Now I’m into Body and Soul by Frank Conroy. We like to read aloud to the kids, and my mum is always sending my childhood favorites over from England.

Our family likes to listen to A Prairie Home Companion on Saturday nights while we eat dinner and do the dishes. There is something for everyone to enjoy on that show. It’s repeated Sunday nights, so we can catch what we missed.

 

Organizations: I am involved in scouts for all three children, and I am a co-leader with Suzanne Lang for Troop #433. Dan coaches soccer for all of their teams.

 

Most Vivid Memory About Newtown: I have a wonderful memory of going with our neighbors to Taylor Field behind Hawley School early one morning a couple of years ago to watch a meteor shower. It must have been about 4 am because we all went back to the Vaccarro’s house afterwards for a fabulous breakfast. I was dubious at first, but it was phenomenal. Just raining meteors in all directions. I’ll never forget it.

Favorite Vacation Spot: When I was a child, we always tried to see different places. Having said that, we like to go every year to my brother-in-law’s place at the beach in Maryland for a family get-together. And, of course, I try to get back to England every other year.

 

Personal Philosophy: Work hard to achieve your goals and have fun along the way!