The Moms of Meesh & Mia - The Final Chapter (for now!)

And today, for our last but very not least Moms of Meesh & Mia tribute, we have the Marketing team and the founders of Meesh & Mia!

First we have the beautiful Lothspeich ladies, Sarah and her mother Janet. Diehard Idaho Vandals, Sarah and her mother share a special bond over the love of watching the Vandals lose…wait…I mean play! Don’t worry ladies, there’s a chance this year we’ll be really good and games will be less about just the experience and more about winning (I’m totally aloud to write this, I’m also a diehard Vandal fan :)) Keep up the good work Lothspeichs and GO VANDALS!!  

 Next, we have Kat and her mother Karen. While her dad would simply call Karen a ‘babe’ when she’s cruising around in HIS mustang, Karen would describe herself as ‘a pretty cool grandma’ when she drives HER mustang, and Kat would say “she’s lucky she gets to borrow MY car.” However, no matter who this car actually belongs to, one thing is for sure…she is a pretty cool grandma, mom, and wife and we’re all pretty lucky to have her!  

Next up we have Rachel Nordgaarden pictured here with her son Bryce and her beautiful mother Sydne. Full of smiles, this family is clearly in the mood for some fun in the sun here in Sandpoint! Mother’s Day is always the time the weather turns from spring to summer in North Idaho and the sun starts to really shine. The beauty of Sandpoint makes for some amazing time with family, friends and especially mothers! This photo just makes us all want to go boating!!

And our last Moms of Meesh & Mia photo is that of our very own Meesh & Mia! Here we have Meesh & Mia loving some lake time…Elizabeth (founder of, and mother to, Meesh & Mia) took this photo during a family vacation. Well, we’ve got to say Elizabeth, whoever coined the phrase ‘hot mommas’ must have met these two! “This was such a great time in our lives and we really shared some amazing memories during this trip. The girls had so much fun. Sharing times like these with them is what being a mom is all about…it’s what life is all about!” Well, we’re sure glad we’ve got Meesh & Mia to have inspired our company, without them, the world would be a less fashionable place!

And let’s not forget, Meesh just became a mom not too long ago herself! Here she is with her son, Brady. Cute, sweet and smart we’ve clearly got a triple threat here…and Brady’s not too bad either! :) We can’t wait to see this little guy grow up, and the great news is, Meesh has recently joined the MM team so we’ll be seeing a lot more of both these faces from now on…It’s going to be a great year! 

Tomorrow we will post all of our Moms of MM photos on Facebook for all to see. We have loved sharing our families with you all and we can’t wait to see more next year!

Thank you to all of the mothers in the world that make us stronger, wiser and take care of us when we most need it. We love you!! Happy Mothers Day! 

A Great Start to Mother’s Weekend!

Happy Friday!! Our next installment of MM Mothers through Pictures features our product development team and our sales team!

First we have Chandra Brown, our resident expert on all things football (we may all be fans, but not all of us are married to a coach for University of Virginia…so we get all of our insider lingo from her…it’s nice to know people in high places!!) Chandra and her beautiful mother, Gloria Nims, share a special moment in this photo. A great photo of two lovely ladies and two amazing mothers!   

Next, the lovely Cindy Benkowski and her two favorite men in her life…her sons! We think this photo says it all…style runs in the family and they know how to have a good time!

“Here’s me and my two wonderful sons….. Stefan (on left) and Andrzej (on right). This photo was taken in Arizona last Christmas :-) We live very far apart so when we do get together our time is filled with much joy, love and laughter. We always have fun!”

And let us not forget the wild and crazy Clasby family. Ann says, “Went to go see mickey and got a little goofy!” But we all know it doesn’t take Disneyworld to bring out the Goofy in this bunch! Here she is with her hubby Mike, son Dylan and daughter Emma…clearly they have a mom to be thankful for!

Next we have our product development team…and as you’ll see, we’ve added a few new faces to the team!

First up, Kirsten Hollan and her two adorable wee ones, Marin and Ellie. Kirsten recently joined the team to manage the product and logo side of the business. It’s a big job, but we’re fairly certain if she can manage these two OBVIOUS trouble makers, she can manage us :) These photos were taken here in Sandpoint at the beautiful Lake Pend Oreille…now you know why we chose a tiny town in Northern Idaho to start up Meesh & Mia…because it’s beautiful!  

Here’s the last Mom and Me photo of the day by the newest addition to the Meesh & Mia team, Theresa Williams! We want to welcome Theresa to the MM family and from the looks of these photos, she’s going to fit right in. Here she is with her lovely mother, Trish looking quite put together at Theresa’s graduation and showing their true colors a bit later on :) 

TGIF and Happy Mother’s Weekend! 

Mother’s Day with the Creative Folk

First, we have Barbara…her ‘too cool for school but not noodle art’ children gifted her with this homemade card one year for mother’s day. Obviously quite an artistic crew!

“I think this says it all. What mom hasn’t received “pasta art” at some point from their kids? How about when they are in high school and everyone is just trying to be cool? One year for Mother’s Day, Marjan and Ryer had presented this — made especially for me by my teenagers. Sweet, intentionally dorky and I don’t think their teachers had to help them. ;)  I’ll keep it always.”

And Marjan, Barbara’s daughter…from noodle art to mother she’s got a whole new take on life with the addition of her daughter, Emma. We’re all a little jealous of Marjan and Atom’s family photos…it must be nice to have a photographer as a husband, so many memories are captured so beautifully!

“There are a lot of funny moments when you have a baby, it seems like you are constantly laughing at their charming faces, noises & gestures. Emma, as I am sure many babies do, goes through a lot of phases. When she started using her jumper she insisted on holding my hands in order to bounce, makes this funny sucking in scream when she sees a puppy, has a monster voice when she is in a funny mood, and loves hugging my face with an open mouth on my cheek as hard as she can when I get home from work. She could pass a driver’s course in her ability to do a 3 point turn or parallel park her walker, and challenges herself to stop at the last moment before she runs into the dog or wall. I have been drinking my morning coffee to look up and see her resting her head on the sack of potatoes that sit on the second shelf of the kitchen island. These little things may not be significant or bear any clues to a genius baby, but they are all my favorite and funniest moments, and with her only being 9 months old, I can’t wait for the rest of our lives together.”

Next we have Amy Jahn who is braving the Sandpoint winter with her two little ones. As you can see, it’s not hard to be inspired by the beauty around you in Northern Idaho, but it’s even better when you’re inspired by it WITH your loved ones!

And our last Mom and Me photo for the creative team is one of our favorites! This is Annie Kuster and her mother, Caroline. We think this photo says it all about how great is to grow up with a great horse and a great mother…some gals have it all! :) 

We have a bonus mom and me photo given to us by one of our customers!! Thank you so much to the lovely Barbara Hecker for submitting a photo of her and her handsome son, we were so thrilled to receive it.

“It’s these special moments that make being a Mom worth it.”  Barbara with her son, Cody after an Eastern Washington Eagles game. Well we say, you just don’t get much better than this mother/son duo.

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY (or week) to the women who make us who we are, and check back tomorrow for more Mom & Me photos from the Meesh & Mia team!

Meesh & Mia Mother’s Day in Photos

Mother’s Day is very special at Meesh & Mia. We’re a team full of moms and moms to be, and if we’re not moms, we have them and we sure do love them. Last year, we shared with you some of our favorite motherhood stories and did a photo shoot just for them…but this year, we wanted to extend the sharing to the whole team. We asked anyone and everyone to submit their favorite ‘mom & me’ or ‘me the mom’ photos and we’ve come up with this special mother’s day tribute to celebrate the women that make us who we are. Thank you to all of the moms out there, you’re our favorite!

First up is our Business Systems and Data group….don’t judge these women by their department name though, these ladies have a good time, especially with their families.

Our first Mom/Daughter pic comes from Jamie Souder. Here she is with her mother and sister. Jamie is the wee babe in this photo and while she calls herself the “marshmallow” baby, we just call her happy! We’d never ask a baby her age, but judging from the amazing orange couch in background, we’d say this family is going to hit up some paisley pants and disco balls in NO TIME…

Oh look! We were right! Sorry Jamie – we know you didn’t share this photo of you and your sister as two ‘wild and crazy guys’ with us to share for mother’s day, but seriously, our fans must see where we get our fashion inspirations.

Next, we have Sarah Howard who submitted this AMAZING family photo spanning 4 generations! Sarah is lucky to have so many generations of remarkable women and mothers in her family…and to get a photo with them all in it?! Priceless. We asked her one of her favorite moments as a mother:

“Emma was about a month old when Alanna, about 2 ½, asked if we could take her back to the hospital – guess the novelty of a baby sister had worn off.  I replied that the hospital would require me to take them both back.  She never asked again!”

Well hey, fair is fair! Happy Mother’s Day!!!!

Back Row:  Ruth Staudacher (grandmother), Deborah Mathews (sister-in-law), Alanna Lacina (daughter), Pamela McHale (aunt) Front Row: Marsha Zwiebel (mother), Helen Melcher (sister), Amber Melcher (niece), Emma Lacina (daughter), Sarah Howard

Next up, we’ll be featuring our Creative Team and their mom photos and stories. Those will be coming soon…so keep your eyes out and please, send us any mom and me photos and we’ll be sure to post and tell your story! 

The Month of the Graduate!

May is an amazing month. The weather is beautiful (at least it’s getting there) and you can just feel summer coming…and for those that are graduating, it can also feel like the longest month that ever was! Finals, senioritus, THE JOB HUNT. It can be daunting, but we’re here to tell you that when you’re old like us, you’ll look back on these times and (almost) miss them. This month, we’ll share with you some of our favorite college memories…from reoccurring dreams that will probably never end to the time a dog ACTUALLY ate a homework assignment we’re going to have some fun reminiscing about ‘the good old days’. We encourage you to share your story with us as well. We’ll post customer and employee stories on our blog all month…we can’t wait to hear the good, the bad, and the ‘I can’t believe I graduated’. Send us your story to customerservice@meeshandmia.com for a chance to win a graduation day outfit for your school! Winner will be chosen on May 17^th.

Kat Crozier – Director of Marketing

University of Idaho ‘06 - Marketing and Finance 

I had a great time in college, and like many of us, sometimes too great of time. There were a lot of late night cramming sessions for me due to procrastination and definitely some awkward presentations due to lack of preparedness…however, I always seemed to be able to pull it off. I wasn’t someone who could pull off an A at the last minute, don’t get me wrong, but I could definitely pass! I also have to be sure I mention I wasn’t always procrastinating, there were a handful of times where I walked into exams perfectly ready to tackle the subject of the day…but I’d be untruthful to say that was 100% of the time!

Anyways, even at graduation I thought about the fact that I could have probably tried a wee bit harder in some of classes, prepared a bit more, studied a bit harder…but that didn’t matter so much on graduation day because I had done it. I was walking the line to get my diploma and I had a respectable GPA so no regrets! Or so I thought…

As I stood in line with my friends; family cheering me on I took one last look at the graduating class list and…my name wasn’t on it. Feeling myself starting to get panicky I whispered to my friend “I’m not on the list?! Why am I not on the list?!” My friend told me to run over to our marketing professor, who was sitting on the side of aisle, and ask what had happened…I’m sure it’s just a mistake! I ran over:

“Mr. Walker! My name isn’t on this sheet?! I don’t understand!”

Mr. Walker looked at me perplexed. “Well Kat,” he said “You can’t expect to graduate if you don’t take Stats 101…it’s a required course and you never took it. I’m sorry but you can’t graduate this year, I’m not sure how you weren’t aware of this.”

Then I woke up.

As it turns out, my days of procrastinating have not forgotten me and once a month I am plagued with a dream that I’ve crammed for the wrong test, haven’t been to a single class all year and show up to take a final I know absolutely nothing about or, perhaps the worst, think I’m going to graduate only to find out I didn’t take a required class! I’ve spoken with friends and family about these dreams and most of them have some variation of it. Is it because we’re all hopeless procrastinators and therefore our past will continuously haunt us? Or is it just because graduating is such a daunting task that we feel like, even now with diploma in hand and 7 years out of the gate, it could be taken away from us? I’m not sure, it probably varies, but for me…I blame it on procrastination. Never again I say! I suppose I should stop writing this story and get back to work, eh?  

Go Vandals!

Sarah Lothspeich – Marketing Coordinator

University of Idaho ’10 – Public Relations

My college experience was something I’ll never forget. The friends, activities, and school spirit were a given…..classes were a little more of a challenge. School has never come easy for me. I love learning and taking notes (odd hobby, I know), but the test taking was always something that I struggled with. However, I did manage to make the cut and graduation day was nothing short of amazing!

On a snowy day in December, I sat amongst my classmates in the famed Kibbie Dome; I couldn’t help but feel a mixture of strong emotions. Memories of my time at the University of Idaho came flooding back to me as I sat in my gown, worrying about my cap falling off (it was heavy and my hair is huge). Nerves were also kicking in; would I find a job? Will life suck when I have to live with my parents again? Do I really have to grow up now?

Aside from nerves and a twinge of sadness due to reminiscing, I felt a tremendous amount of gratefulness, happiness and pride. Grateful that I had chosen to attend the University of Idaho, happy that I had such an amazing experience, and proud of myself for trudging through the hard times and excelling at things I never knew I could.

As they finally called my name and I walked across the stage, I looked up at my large cheering section and just beamed with happiness. Numerous family members and friends had traveled 8 hours in the snow covered mountain roads to celebrate graduation day with me…I’m a lucky girl!

When I moved my tassel from one side to the other, signifying my alumni status…every long night studying, those difficult tests, and lengthy presentations came flooding back. All my hard work and dedication paid off, and that’s a life lesson I’ll carry with me in my professional life, as well as my personal life.

The pride that comes along with being an Alumna of the University of Idaho is something that will never fade. Go VANDALS!