From Highland Park to Hainesville, the Lake County suburbs are vast and everyone is looking for that parent who’s just like them. This month we’re taking a look “Behind the Trike” and meeting the parents who bring Lake County to you every day. Today we meet one of our newest contributors, Jaime, our “Scribbler Mom.”

I’ve known Jaime since our oldest kids were toddlers and we’ve shared plenty of laughter on our parenting journey together. I can already tell you that Jaime will mock me for using the term “parenting journey” and no doubt I deserve it. It’s precisely for her acerbic sense of humor and her talents as an artist that Jaime is now joining the Little Lake County team as a Comic Illustrator. Look for Jaime’s new monthly comic, “Parenting Outside the Lines” on our website as she gently pokes fun at parenting foibles and raising kids in Lake County.
P.S. She’s also going to tease me for using the word, “foibles.” It’s a real word Jaime. Look it up!
Current Town: Grayslake
Hometown: Boise, ID
Family: Two girls, ages 5 and 6. One husband.

How did an Idaho girl find her way to Grayslake?
I’m still trying to figure that one out.
What do you like about living in Grayslake?
I love Grayslake, it’s like my hometown without all the Californians and hipsters that live there now (my apologies to any Californians or hipsters that may be reading this). I don’t live near any relatives and the friends I’ve made here have totally embraced us and have become my family. I couldn’t ask for more. Plus, it’s beautiful.
How did you rediscover your love for illustration?
I never really lost it, I just needed to be forced to stop moving around long enough to get back into it (thank you, husband and children.)

How do you find time for your art?
It’s easy, I just devote less time to various essential activities such as sleep and regular hygiene.
Where do you find inspiration?
My interactions with and observations of other people provide all the inspiration I could ever need and more.
What’s your greatest challenge as a mother?
It’s hard to say which challenge is the greatest. Probably grappling with guilt, and then grappling with whether or not I should be grappling with guilt in the first place.
What was your scariest moment of being a mom?
Bringing home my first daughter from the hospital. She was born 8 weeks early and was only 4.5 lbs when she finally came home. To say I was scared is an understatement.
Happiest moment?
There are so many of those. Watching my children thrive and knowing I play a microscopic role in that is beyond thrilling.
What’s your biggest pet peeve?
Whistling. Oh how I despise whistling.
What’s your guilty pleasure?
TLC
What would your kids say about you?
That I am the smartest, funniest, thinnest, nicest, craftiest, and most fashionable mother in existence.
What would your friends be surprised to know about you?
That I am the smartest, funniest, thinnest, nicest, craftiest and most fashionable mother in existence.

To learn more about Jaime and her previous work read our interview with Jaime about the children’s book, “What Do Fairies Do All Day?”

By Loralie
Hainesville
When Loralie isn’t out exploring with her two pint-sized adventurers you’ll often find her in front of her computer plotting to take over the world (or at least Lake County.) She appreciates good friends, good food, expensive shoes and parents who make two lanes in the drop-off/pick-up line at school. Her spirit animal is The Hobbit. She invites you to join her on her quest for unique distractions, diversions and deliciousness in this county we call home.

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