Today we’d like to introduce you to Michelle Mathis.
Hi Michelle, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I created my blog MamaMightKnow, as a reference site to share tips and tricks that I have learned along the way after having four daughters of my own. I wanted to create a place where I could leave the advice that I would want my own kids to know now as they are entering adulthood as well as being able to share things with friends and acquaintances when asked what has worked in our home, and the tips and tricks of our busy home life. The tag line of Mama Might Know is, I might have been there, and I might know that for a reason. I’ve been through the stages and try to have fun each day while juggling all the things. Running the office end of our construction company, mom life, keeping our home tidy and guest ready without extra help and doing it all while tending to our hobby farm on our multigenerational property. I get asked how it all works frequently with the property to live the way we do with two homes on one property. I wanted a site to show how it really does work in a wonderful way to live multi-generationally with the set up that we have. We have our own spaces, but live in a way that we can pop over and check in, exchange grocery items if we’re out of sugar, ask if we can pick up anything for one another when we’re out and enjoy the yard and gardens, pool and just the outdoor San Diego lifestyle together. My kids not only have an amazing relationship with their grandparents, but were able to for a time get to know their great grandmother when she lived for a few years with us down in the guest house. We have everything financially worked out in how we contribute to all the bills so that it’s a win win for all of us. We’re going on 13 years of this set up, and our Instagram site Rancho Passiflora captures a bit of our home life so we can document and share how it works for us and what life on the property is like.
Mama Might Know as shares how my high school kids do concurrent enrollment college while in high school, what it’s like to run a summer camp with so many kids from the community attending and tips and tricks keeping it al going with tending to our animals such as chickens, goats, dogs, tortoises and others and the gardens as well. It’s been trial and error as life always is and I just wanted to create a place where I can share what I know as well as a place where in the near future I can share experiences from other mamas in my community that have reached lofty goals all while maintaining their home lives as well because after all, we might have been there and we might know that.
As I mentioned earlier, my husband and I are blessed to be able to raise our daughters on the same property as his parents. With my husband being a general contractor he completely transformed the property that he was raised on into a multigenerational property with two homes. That allows our family and his parents to live separately, but just right nextdoor to one another. We are able to enjoy the property together, spend time playing games, enjoying Sunday dinners and I can not tell you what a blessing it has been for my daughters to have this incredible relationship truly knowing their grandparents. Having them right next door and involved in their lives like I said before has truly been a win- win for everyone.
What once started as somewhat of a crazy idea when we sold our home of 10 years in Cardiff to create the vision that is now Rancho Passiflora, I wouldn’t have changed a thing through the journey and the adventure and how much we have learned along the way. Between the website Mama Might Know and our home Rancho Passiflora, I share what has worked for us both in family life and farm life in hopes of inspiring others and sharing after going through it all, what has been learned along the way.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
This road couldn’t have been more windy! In order to take on the build financially, we first had to sell our home to invest in the build. That ment 4 girls, one bedroom and two sets of bunkbeds! The girls are all 3 years apart so bedtime was a mess and who actually made the room a mess had lots of finger pointing, but looking back at the cute forts and lots of dress up, makes me smiling at so many good moments too. Mid house build, my husband was involved in a very serious accident leaving him in a wheelchair for 8 months with bilateral calcanus fractures, which ment two shattered heels. We learned, as did our girls, so much about handicap needs as far as accessibility and ramps! My husband continued to build the house from a wheelchair as well as other Rancho Santa Fe homes with amazing clients that still put their faith in him to build for them their biggest investment, all while he couldn’t walk. That was a humbling experience, but also a very large faith builder. He kept his head up and kept focused each day with feet or not, where and what he needed to do. I held down the fort with the kids and the office and together we kept going. The house was built, the kids still were very active in school and sports and did continued all the things and life, while messy, kept moving forward. So then because chaos loves company, I also decided to go back to school and get my degree in family and marriage studies. So yes, you can say the road getting here has not been smooth or straight, but more like navigating the pot holes in San Diego. Those dips pop up, but we all know that view and weather has been so worth it!
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am a creative person that always has something I’m working on and when I’m
In, I’m ALL in. Now that is my website MamaMightKnow.com to share my experience and give quick bits of advise for all the things I mentioned before. I think my biggest sharing points are how multigenerational living works around the house as people seem to want to be interested at what this way of living looks like. The second biggest ask I get that isn’t satisfactied with a simple google search is about concurrent enrollment. In the state of California, it is free to take college classes after 8th grade through high school and there’s classes they can take through your local Community college that count for high school and college. One class that counts for two. I was sold! I have created a series of posts to share with others how to approach it, when and how to start, the forms needed and what classes to take and when. It took quite a bit of time to figure it out so sharing the information in one spot streamlines that process. It has worked for my girls and I have been through The Who process and I share with others how to do it too.
Like I said before, I’m a girl who loves a passion project and a side hustle. When the girls were little I created ABC Photobboks, a children’s activity book. With 7 in print, ABC’s of Summer and The ABC’s of San Diego to name a few. The books were interactive books that were sold at stores such as all the Geppettos, the Hotel Del, boutiques around San Diego and even with HMS Host at the San Diego Airport. I was a one woman show and after having my 4th daughter and selling our home (I am am also a realtor), we moved to create what is now Rancho Passiflora. With only so much time in the day, from mom life and still in running the office for our construction company, the books went on the back burner. ABC Photobboks are still available online. With that not taking my time, I still needed a creative outlet so my husband built me a “Art Barn” which was a creative space in our yard where I could do arts and crafts with our girls. This gave me an idea to share the space with others which then took shape into Pacific Breeze Farm, the summer camp I mentioned earlier. I figured if I had 4 kids and a farm, might as well entertain other kids during the summer too! I created a instagram page and though word of mouth, it quickly gained in popularity. I kept the numbers small for our Monday through Thursday camps, so I could make it a fun and safe environment for all the kids. It has been such a wonderful experience really getting to know so many kids in our community and teaching them things at each camp like how to make homemade bread and cinnamon rolls, creating art, showing them how to garden, playing games and just having old fashion fun, no electronics needed. I have had kids that have attended my camp when they were in elementary school and now have graduated college! Now that my kids are older, they run the summer camp. We typical host 5 weeks a summer. I am there each day to help, but they are in charge and it’s a way for them to make money that helps them out for the year. It’s been so fun to see my girls now in charge of a large group of kids and how they are able to manage them, cook bread with them, have fun with them and watching how they can now pass these same wholesome skills on to the next generation of kids in our community is something that I am proud of.
Can you share something surprising about yourself?
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Contact Info:
- Website: https://Www.mamamightknow.com
- Instagram: https://Instagram.com/ranchopassiflora
- LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/michelle-mathis-319a0161
- Youtube: https://youtu.be/tR7PjA_w0Bo
