Sparta moms ‘Living the Dream'

Sparta - Nina Frye and Cindy Schmitzer began their adult lives in the corporate world. Cindy obtained an accounting degree from Penn State and was employed as a CPA and a corporate financial analyst. Nina graduated from Millersville University with a degree in economics and has held various sales and account executive positions. Eventually, the two women married, had children and now reside in Sparta, raising their families. The boardroom has been replaced by an ironing board; power lunches now include a ball pit and a Happy Meal; the company car is now a family mini van; and a business trip for these women includes all the people they work for … their families. It was on one of these trips to the Jersey Shore when the women wondered how they arrived at their present destination. “As we wrestled to get our seven children packed up and ready to go to the beach, we sat back and laughed at the insanity of it all,” recalls Nina. As the relaxing day at the beach progressed, sunscreen was reapplied, kids were fed, sand castles were built, mommies’ feet were buried, and sibling arguments refereed. Nina and Cindy sporadically chatted about their daily lives as homemakers while at the same time also playing lifeguard and chasing toddlers. “We came to a few conclusions that day. One was that although we don’t think our lives are necessarily difficult, we do wonder how we got here. By here we mean spending so much time doing laundry, carting our kids to activities for endless amounts of time, dealing with unreasonable three-year-olds in the grocery store, cleaning house, cooking, loading and emptying dishwashers, and countless other chores in and outside of the home.” says Nina. Both women agreed that their vision of motherhood was an occasional trip to the park, maybe the library, but, overall, cooperation and organization from their families. Instead, they found themselves living the lives of so many stay-at-home moms today: organizing households and busy schedules, while juggling the day-to-day chaos. “We never really thought about the daily tasks of raising a family, and our corporate and professional experience certainly didn’t prepare us for motherhood,” laughs Cindy. Another conclusion the pair arrived at was the obvious connection people have with t-shirts. “T-shirts give you an opportunity to tell everyone something about yourself; the school you went to, the team you cheer for, a favorite vacation spot, a statement that expresses your opinion.” says Cindy. “We decided then and there that we should come up with a line of T-shirts that relate to all of us moms out there, that really express what we experienced on a daily basis.” Nina credits her husband with the tongue-in-cheek name: Living the Dream. Although to many people a homemaker looks like the perfect dream job, with no rush-hour commute, no corporate politics, no overbearing boss or annoying coworkers, Nina and Cindy point out a homemaker’s “workplace” is open 24 hours and can be just as challenging or more. “We see women everyday doing what we’re doing. We wanted the shirts to have a catchy phrase and that was perfect. Living the Dream with an overwhelmed mom depicted on them in various situations, expresses most women’s feelings of ‘How did I get here? or ‘Are you kidding me?’ ”said Nina. “It’s a fun way to laugh at ourselves, while saying, ’Hey, this is not exactly what I signed up for, but I’m here and I’m making the best of it all,” said Cindy Nina Frye and Cindy Schmitzer will be living their new dream at the upcoming June 10 Sparta Day, where their t-shirts will be on sale. They can be reached at 973-726-8637 or 973-729-9357.