My Mother: She is beautiful, softened at the adges and tempered with a spine of steel. I want to grow old and be like her. – Jodi Picoult

We are happy to say hello to: Shannon Smyth

Hometown: Lake Ariel, PA

Hometown Must Do’s: Spend some time on Lake Wallenpaupack – a 13 mile man made lake that is absolutely beautiful.  Visit many of the area indoor waterparks: Aquatopia at Camelback Beach, Great Wolf Lodge, Kalahari, and H20oooh at Split Rock.

Meet the Family: Married to Bryan; we have 6 children between us. Gavin (19), Connor (16), Duncan (13), Justin (11), Brody (11) and Ethan (2.) Our cat Roxie runs the house.

Passions and Interests: I’m passionate about helping small business owners, because I am one. I take all that I have learned in building my brand and apply my knowledge for clients who don’t have the time to do it themselves. I’m passionate about helping women – from creating pampering products, to doing reviews and providing tips on my blog. I’m passionate about raising good men. Raising 6 boys is a challenge, especially in today’s world. I’m trying hard to help them build a foundation that they stick to as they grow. I’m passionate about learning. My grandmother passed away from ALZ last year. I always worry about inheriting this disease and so I am always exercising my mind by growing my knowledge-base and skillset. I love archaeology and have always dreamed about going to the Middle East (Jerusalem, Egypt, etc.) for a dig.

Most Controversial Thing About You: I’m not sure it’s controversial, but I am a Christian who is not a conservative or a liberal, I’m a moderate. I think people always assume I’m conservative and are surprised that I’m not, which also leads them to wrongly assume I am liberal. Other than that, I’m pretty boring.

Biggest Pet Peeve: When people waste my time. Time is valuable to me. If you waste my time, you are taking moments away that could be spent with my kids.

One Major Goal You’re Striving For: Finally fixing up my house. My house has been in fixer upper mode since I bought it 15 years ago. A lot of things have gotten started but not finished (husbands, cough cough.) I decided that this year I’m not waiting on anyone to get the job done and I’m just going to do it myself or hire people will help me get it done. So far I’ve gotten a lot accomplished. It feels amazing.

Best Advice You’ve Ever Received: See the beauty in everything.

Occupation: Entrepreneur, freelancer, beauty blogger, mom

What are you reading? Best investment I ever made was Audible. With such a large family and a busy business, I don’t ever have a chance to sit still. I listen to audio books while I work and while I’m driving. The one I just finished listening to was “The Simple Art of Not Giving a F*ck.” It wasn’t what I expected in a good way and helped me to see things from another perspective and take a deeper look at situations in my life.

Favorite Kid-Friendly Restaurant: Any buffet because then everyone is happy. Locally it’s Royal Buffet.

Go-To Family Dinner: Homemade mac and cheese.

What types of activities do you like to do as a family? Going to church, eating dinner together, watching movies together, traveling, going for walks around the lake at our house.

What do you do when you have some time alone away from the kids? Sleep and then sleep some more. And when I’m not sleeping, then go shopping at the mall.

Shannon’s Website

Shannon on Twitter,Facebook, IG, YouTube: @agirlsgottaspa

Are you our next “Meet a Mom?” We hope so! Tots2Tweens is always looking for mom’s to feature – take a moment and let us meet you. Just fill out this short questionnaire: http://bit.ly/2eGmerM – there are instructions on the form on how to get us a photo!

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