Name: Teresa Denham
Children & Ages:
Jackson Denham 6, Madeline Denham 5
Hometown/Current Location:
Raised in Moyock North Carolina, Reside in Virginia Beach, VA
Quick Bio: My name is Teresa Denham and I am the Founder and CEO for the popular female fan wear company, Spirit Fingerz based out of Virginia Beach. After taking maternity leave in 2008 to have my son, I decided to leave my full time job all together to pursue the business of Spirit Fingerz and mommyville. Still, to this day, it has been one of the best decisions Ive ever made. By the end of 2009, I had my second child, a daughter, and my company was successfully launched at various colleges and hundreds of retailers across the nation. I struggled at times, as many new mothers do with balancing my career and family life but quickly adapted to each of my roles without skipping a beat. Nowadays, the days are long but the years fly by. By being “self employed” I have an extremely flexible schedule that grants me the unlimited opportunity to be a part of the kids field trips, classroom parties and attend as many extra-curricular activities as possible! I preach to my kids the importance of finding a “career” and not just a job and one of my all time favorite sayings is “I work an 80 hour work week so I don’t have to work a 40”…I take great pride in being able to live a balanced life between being a mother, my career and quality time to myself. Almost daily, I wear many different hats, but I can honestly say that I have no regrets about my life or the way in which my children have experienced their lives to present date. We laugh a lot and spend a great deal of time together, which for me, this is also how my relationship with my own mother was. I truly hope that I can be an inspiration for both of my kids to live their own lives to its truest potential. At the end of my life (and perhaps my biggest wish for theirs) is that we look back and say how happy and fulfilled our lives have been. You may find more information about Spirit Fingerz by visiting our website: www.spiritfingerz.com.
Q: Share your best or favorite place for a family vacation and tell us why.
A: Although it can be frowned upon, my kids have not attended organized sports at this point in their lives. Our weeknights are spent together and we always have dinner with each other. Our weekends are filled with adventures of traveling, football games, local events and hanging with our friends and family. We try to stay relaxed and unscheduled which helps prevent let downs and melt downs J . There is not a specific “vacation” that is my “favorite” but as many of you recall, last year in Hampton Roads we had a lot of snow. By the second snowstorm, we had had enough and as soon as we found out school would be closed; we took off for Great Wolf Lodge to ride out the storm with the indoor waterpark!! We were there for three days and the spontaneous trip is still a popular favorite for my kids and I.
Q: What’s your most memorable Mommy moment to date?
A:
This may not be a memorable mommy moment I should brag about and it’s definitely NOT Politically Correct; but the moment a little person does a “big person” thing, it is funny to me. My Madeline was just 4 years old at the time and she simply wanted f$#@-in Donuts for breakfast. In her mind she new exactly what she was saying but all I heard was that she wanted f$@#-in Donuts for breakfast. After the immediate shock wore off I was finally able to pull out of her that she wanted to GO to Dunkin Donuts for breakfast. LOL, it has been one of my most memorable mommy moments to date and in my mind, extremely hard to replace.
Q: Share something you have learned about yourself since you became a Mom.
A: Becoming a mommy taught me a lot about who I am. Ive learned to forgive everything Ive ever said I would do differently than my mom did. Yep, that famous line we all use as youngster is no longer in my vocabulary. Ive also learned NOT to judge other moms. I get it and if I don’t, I certainly will not say it out loud because God is going to grant me the experience so that my “lack of sympathy” can be used as a learning lesson, which then makes the “judgment” something I can now empathize with. So all in all, Ive learned to be less judgemental ( I am human so it does happen from time to time) and sympathize more with my fellow mommies and care takers and definitely only offer advice when asked.
Q: Describe your “Haute Mom” (fashion) style!
A: Fashion is my passion so I was extremely pleased when my kindergartener was awarded the “King of Fashion” at the end of the school year this year. My daughter can often be found rummaging through my closets and wearing various outfits and jewelry from my collection. I personally spend a great deal of time buying clothes and accessories and rarely will be seen in sweats and a tee. I get dressed, fix my hair and do my make-up everyday before I leave the house. The quickest way to get to know a person is to see how they dress. I am not saying that sweats and a tee are not “stylish” but I personally do not wear them unless I am working out. Most people who know me also know about my collection of hats. It is rare to see me without one but it does happen from time to time. I usually wear some sort of head garment 3 to 5 times per week. It has been a dream of mine to be a stylist to the men and women of Hampton Roads!!!