Meet Amanda Rodriguez, Digital content producer, social media consultant and author, “50 Things to Do in Baby’s First Year.”
Lives: Frederick
Family: Spouse, Paul; and children, Tony, 18; Will, 15; and Alex, 12
Five things you can’t live without?
My phone, my Kindle, my air fryer, my puppies and my family
What’s your favorite chore?
Chore? Um, the ones I can make my kids do. I’m pretty sure I am allergic to chores. The only thing I even remotely like doing is organizing my closet.
What would you do if you had one hour without any responsibilities?
Read one of the romance novels I’ve downloaded to my Kindle or practice TikTok dances—I’m kind of obsessed with them right now.
What do you love about parenting?
Seeing my children become who they are and watching them do what they love. Some parents find going to practice and schedules packed full of games and activities exhausting, but I love it. I would spend every hour watching them do the things they love doing if I could, and I hate missing their games more than anything.
What do you find challenging about raising kids?
Not being able to predict the future. It’s so hard to know if you’re doing the right thing for your kids, especially when you’re faced with new experiences and big decisions. I honestly wish I had a crystal ball I could look into and know what the right choice is.
As they get older, it feels like so many of the things you’re deciding for them or helping them figure out will have an impact on the rest of their lives that it’s hard not to feel a little anxious about it. But I guess that’s just the nature of life. You never really know what the “right” thing is. But you have to be confident that you’re making the best choice for yourself and your family and then be ready to live with the consequences of that.
What’s something that makes juggling motherhood and your career a little bit easier?
When my kids were little, I would 100 percent say help from family. My mother was invaluable to us when the kids were younger and I was traveling a ton and juggling my own business. Now that they’re older, I would probably say my teenager’s driver’s license.
Man does that come in handy when my younger boys need to be picked up and I’m stuck at work. Also, for parents with teenagers, mainly those who drive, the app, Life 360 has made my entire life as a parent of teens so much simpler and less anxiety-riddled. Download it if you have teens.
How do you take care of your mental and physical health?
My physical health could use some attention these days as I’ve not been great about making time to head to the gym. Mentally, I think allowing myself just to step away from work responsibilities and running my business to take time to binge a few episodes of whatever show I love at the moment (“You” on Netflix) helps me recharge.
How are you able to maintain a social life between working and parenting?
Prioritizing and forgiveness. Sometimes I can’t get everything done and I have to give up on a girls’ night here or there because something else requires more of my presence and attention.
Other times, my kids have to eat chicken nuggets from the air fryer that I can’t live without and I have to forgive myself for not being able to do all those things so I can catch up with my girlfriends and enjoy an evening away. Also, my husband is very supportive of this activity and makes every effort to pitch in as needed.
What’s something your family loves to do together?
Movie night. We started it this school year. Every Sunday night, all of my kids turn off the games, we put the phones down, and we climb on the couch for a family movie. They look so forward to it now and so do I. We also love to travel—Disney, cabin camping, snowboarding, the beach. We love traveling together and experiencing new things.
What do you love about raising kids in the Frederick area?
It’s an amazing community with great schools and awesome people. There are plenty of things to do here for families, it’s close to all kinds of places we can travel to, and it’s pretty safe. I don’t worry much about my kids going out with their friends or playing outside without watching them like a hawk, and that’s a relief.
