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Libertyville moms group lets women socialize while children play
Litsa Kubiak, sitting with her 18-month-old son Brian, listens to Deepti Shivakumar talking about her 22-month-old twin daughters Nina (closest,) and Diya. The women brought their children over for a Libertyville mom meeting group.| Michelle LaVigne~Sun-T
Should there be an annual holiday to honor stay at home moms?
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Updated: June 11, 2012 8:08AM
Sitting in her living room with a room full of kids, Heather Socie appears quite content. Socie, a stay-at-home mom with two young children, joined the Libertyville Moms Meetup Group about two-and-half years ago. She and other moms in the group get together on a regular basis so they can socialize while their children play.
“We wanted to meet people of a similar age who had kids with a similar age, and it seemed like joining a moms group was a great way to do that,” said Socie of Libertyville.
For Socie and other women in the group, being mom can be exhausting and consuming at times but also is filled with fun and joy.
The Libertyville Moms Meetup Group includes mothers from communities throughout the area including Libertyville, Vernon Hills, Mundelein, Lincolnshire and other nearby towns. Most of the women in the group are stay-at-home moms, but the group has some members who are working moms.
“We have about 100 members,” said Socie. “Moms aren’t allowed to join the group for security reasons until we’ve met them. We are all moms with young children so we want to make sure we know the people who join the group.”
Members get together on a regular basis, usually at one of the members’ homes so that the children can play while the moms talk. Sometimes, they will schedule events with the kids outdoors at local parks or at children’s play facilities like Party Fantasy in Mundelein or Jump Zone Party and Play Center in Buffalo Grove.
‘Going a little crazy’
Litsa Kubiak of Vernon Hills has two children, Brian, 18 months, and a one-month old daughter Madelyn. She joined the group to get out of the house and meet other parents with small children in the area.
“You start going a little crazy when you’re the only person talking to a baby who can’t talk back,” she said with a chuckle.
Kubiak said her young son also enjoys getting out of the house and meeting other kids close to his age. “I think he likes getting out of the house even more than me,” she said.
The issue of stay at home moms recently began an issue in the presidential campaign when a political commentator recently questioned how much Ann Romney knew about work as a stay-at-home mom raising five children.
Socie said she thinks it’s an unfortunate but all-too-common perception.
“It’s definitely work,” she said. “I think a lot of people understand that but some people don’t.”
Kubiak said one of the biggest challenges of being a new mother is “lack of sleep” and the need to devote nearly full-time to taking care of the kids. “Your whole life changes,” she said.
Deepti Shivakumar of Libertyville, who is part of the group, is a working mom with two twin girls. She said her husband knows how much work it can be talking care of the children when she has to work and he has to baby sit the kids.
“My husband works really hard at his job and yet he still feels it’s easier to go to work than to take care of the girls,” he said.
Despite the challenges, mothers in the group never regret their decision to have children because of the fun and joy their kids bring. With Mother’s Day approaching, Socie said new mothers appreciate their children even more.
“I’m thankful every day I have such wonderful, healthy kids,” she said.
