TheMommyBlog

Man or man, how time flies. Yeah, right. Like a fly stuck in molasses, more like.

I don’t remember the last time I felt so totally *TILT* but then again it could be because I’m not able to perform those kinds of mental operations anymore. The combination of trying to find creative ways to be endlessly repetitive at work (picture holding parent-teacher conferences for five thousand students), missing the kids when they’re gone, being overwhelmed by the kids when they are here—in a good way, mostly—and the constant worrying and figuring and juggling necessary to keep the payments up on all the plates I’m spinning.

Twice today I was confronted with a database problem I wished I could solve. One, I could solve because I know how but can’t because it’s not my database, and the other I couldn’t because there’s no admin tools that are open to me so I have to go through the records I’m responsible for manually. It’s like trying to chip through a mountain with a spatula.

On the up side, I can’t exaggerate how much easier my life is this week because of all the leftovers from Phil’s cooking over the weekend. Within fifteen minutes of the kids complaining of hunger, I had individual trays served up with pulled pork (done in the pressure cooker in the most wonderful broth until you could slurp it up with a straw), vichyssoises, french bread, and red grapes.

Believe it or not, two of my kids are freaks about vichyssoises. I aim to keep it that way by maintaining that it’s “potato soup” and never mentioning the heretofore never-encountered mystery vegetable called “leek.”

When I waltzed into the room with three gorgeous, steaming trays for everyone and explained what everything was, Dylan said, “Could you please make some room so I can faint?”

He and Daphne scarfed the pork; Logan not so much. “I tried it and the first bite tasted like heaven, but the second bite tasted like the opposite of heaven. It sort of tasted like…”

“That’s okay, sweetheart, you did a great job on everything else!”

“Everything else” meant eating all of his vichyssoises, all of Daphne’s, and most of Dylan’s until Dylan caught onto how delicious it was. And then, as I was cleaning up, Logan asked if there was more soup, so I slopped all the rest into a bowl and he ate all of that too. I really wish Phil had been there to see it.

Later, just before everyone went to bed, Logan came to me at my desk and said, “Be sure to thank Phil for the vicious swan!”

I went to Logan’s game today with Phil, to hang out with the children while their dad coached and brother played. They are always so glad to see me that it’s hard to mind sitting on a bench for two hours while they paint me with melted Skittles and spit.

After the game wound down and Logan’s team would not be batting again, I said that it was time for me to go, and that Daddy would be right there and they should stay in sight and hang out next to the dugout until the game was over. Dylan promised to let his sister play his Game Boy because she was so sad.

“Mama, I want to come to your house.”

“And you will, on Monday!”

“Nooo, I want to come now.”

“But then you’d just miss your father and this is your time to be with him. Isn’t it just as fun there?”

“Yes, but you’re so much snugglier.”

“Snugglier because I do it more or just plain snugglier?”

“Well, Daddy snuggles, but after a while my head hurts on his shoulder.”

“Ahhh, so I’m more cushy.” She burrowed deeper into my arms until her voice was muffled.

“Mama, we want you to stop! We want you to live together in one house. We want you to stop living in two houses.”

“Baby, that’s just not going to happen. Do you remember why we have two houses?”

“No,”

“Well, it’s because we are a better team in two houses. We were fighting too much and too sad all together in one house, so we each have our own place and we’re all able to get along much better and share time really well.”

“But Mama, I don’t want to fall apart.”

And that just did it for me. That was the ball game.

Sure, it’s been 22 years since the last time our names and faces have been within inches of one other’s (and people think I’m tall), but doesn’t this seem a little too spooky?

In 1986, she was a world-famous actress and model with a clothing line of her own having lunch with fashion consultants at Marshall Field’s in Chicago; I was a small-time actress and model selling her clothing line as a fashion consultant at Marshall Field’s in Chicago.

In 2007, she’s a world-famous TV and movie star, mother and writer who wrote a blurb for a book; I’m a mother and writer who wrote a blurb for a book.

The connection? Postpartum depression to beat the band. Coincidence? I think not.

I am proud to promote Lisa Garrigues’ Writing Motherhood: Tapping Into Your Creativity as a Mother and a Writer. If you’ve even needed the push and the guidance to preserve your life story, this is a must-have book. And to think that Lisa was just riding the train one day, bumped into a guy who just happened to be a friend of mine from way back, and told him about her new book. Serendipity. Thanks, Kyle, for hooking us up!

I know this is everywhere, but I am still dying of laughter. I actually gave up on a piece of dropped lemon scone this morning because I didn’t wato touch anything else between the seats.

(Thanks, Gabby!)

Hey there, sorry I’ve been scarce lately, but I’ve been busy at my day job! We’re very excited about the press release sent out this morning…

TrustedOpinion.com Launches with Uniquely Personal Recommendations for Movies

Consumers now have a way to get reliable, trusted recommendations from their circle of friends, thanks to the launch of TrustedOpinion.com which opened for free access to the public today.

(PRWEB) March 22, 2007—Until today, every rating and recommendation website has suffered from the same problem: The recommendations come from strangers. Consumers are often fooled by seemingly unbiased opinions when the reality is that many online reviews are commercially biased. And even with “honest” online reviews, consumers have no way of knowing how much they have in common with the reviewer. Fortunately, consumers now have a way to get reliable, trusted recommendations from their circle of friends, thanks to the launch of TrustedOpinion.com which opened for free access to the public today.

TrustedOpinion.com delivers better, trusted reviews and recommendations by weighing your circle of friends’ opinions higher than those of a stranger. As each person’s network of friends on the site expands, the recommendations become more targeted and relevant. With this public launch, TrustedOpinion.com offers recommendations on thousands of movies as well as television DVD collections. Over the coming months, TrustedOpinion.com will expand by offering trusted recommendations for restaurants, clubs, and more.

read more…

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Winner: Best “No-School/Parent-teacher Conference” side-benefit

Winner: Shiniest Floor

Winner: Best “Let Me Know How That Works Out” moment

Winner: Best “I Don’t Care That This Is Not My Birthday Cake” face

Here’s the video on CBS.com from last month’s press conference on the set of “The New Adventures of Old Christine.” There will be an interview with Julia Louis-Dreyfus on BlogHer.org tonight after the show, which airs at 8:30 PDT.

View the Featurette

Title: The New Adventures of Old Christine
Episode: Behind the Scenes with Real Moms
Description: “Mommy bloggers” from across the country meet with the show’s cast and executive producer during an exclusive visit to the set

via BlogHer.org:

Gearing up for the return of the comedy series The New Adventures of Old Christine to the primetime television line-up, Emmy award-winner Julia Louis-Dreyfus and series creator and executive producer Kari Lizer will participate in an exclusive virtual press conference with BlogHer Monday, March 19, at 7pm PST/10pm EST.

BlogHer Co-Founder Lisa Stone will emcee the press conference, bringing your questions to Julia and Kari in a 30-minute live interview webcast.

You can access the The live webcast here on BlogHer.org, or on CBS.com - immediately following the east coast broadcast of The New Adventures of Old Christine. Following the live feed, the webcast will also be available for download on CBS.com.

To access the Virtual Press Conference on March 19, CLICK HERE.

After the 19th, we’ll post a video link to the press conference here.

Want to tune in to “Christine” regularly? The series returns Monday, March 12. That night will feature a double-header of new episodes, from 8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT. The following week, Monday, March 19, the night of the virtual press conference, the series will move into its regular new time slot, 8:30 PM, ET/PT.

If you can’t make the press conference, or if you’re shy, leave your question below for Julie or Kari, and Lisa will ask it during the live event.

A little while ago, I received a really very unique children’s book in the mail from Nick Loukoumi (who, incidentally, published friend Beth Feldman and Yvette Manessis Corporon’s Peeing in Peace!) of course I ripped open the package and looked through everything. I say, “Looked through everything” because this is not just a book, it’s also a narrated story with music, featuring an amazing cast of performers.

The book is called “Growing up with Loukumi” and teaches children that if they believe in themselves, their dreams will come true:

Loukoumi doesn’t know what she wants to be when she grows up. In Growing Up With Loukoumi, her friends Gus the bear, Fistiki the cat, Dean the dog and Marika the monkey, each help Loukoumi realize that if she looks inside her heart, she can be anything, because if you believe in yourself, your dreams will come true! Visit the website to see character sketches, reviews, and quotes from performers.Book includes a CD where Growing Up With Loukoumi is narrated by Grammy winner Gloria Gaynor and the original Loukoumi book is narrated by Oscar winner Olympia Dukakis, both featuring the character voices of:

• CBS National Correspondent Alexis Christoforous as Loukoumi
• American Idol’s Constantine Maroulis as Gus the bear
• Grammy Winner Gloria Gaynor as Fistiki the cat
• Guiding Light star Frank Dicopoulos as Dean the dog, and
• Oscar winner Olympia Dukakis as Marika the monkey
• CD also includes the orginal song “Believe” performed by Gloria Gaynor

Even more exciting, this Monday the 19th, the book will be featured on the Martha Stewart Show, and Olympia Dukakis who (among others) narrates the book will be a guest on the show!

And we should seize such affirmations, no? Seize them and hug them and love them and feed them and call them George.

This is a lovely review of my book on Amazon, and from someone who doesn’t read this blog, so we know she hasn’t been brainwashed. Yet.

Every Mommy’s Best Girlfriend, March 15, 2007
Reviewer: A. Sydow (USA)

Reading Melinda Roberts’ new book, Mommy Confidential: Adventures from the Wonderbelly of Motherhood, is like spending an evening with your best girlfriends. I’m probably one of the few people (in the universe) who has not read her blog, but I’m so glad I ordered this book. It is fun, it is invigorating, and it is packed with brutal honesty.

What’s so unique about Roberts’ book is that many of the events she records are written about within minutes of them happening—so we get to experience the ups and downs of life with small children as she does. Her nearly daily entries reveal the truly tender, life-altering, and heartbreaking moments of motherhood in a way that no other book on the subject does.

And Roberts is not just funny ha-ha. She is I-can’t-breathe-I’m-laughing-so-hard funny. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that she either turns this book into a stand-up comedy routine and takes it on the road, or that she comes out with a sequel. Regardless, I’ll be keeping up with her future adventures on her blog

Thank you so much! Now please go tell Harper Collins and Penguin.

Tonight marks the second anniversary of our first date.

I could only go out on Wednesdays and alternate weekends, so actually, yesterday was our “Wednesday” anniversary, and tomorrow is the “date” anniversary. Either way, cause to celebrate.

Several days ago, I announced that we had plans for tonight, and Phil didn’t bat an eye. He didn’t ask what, or where. I was hanging around the internet and making phone calls, trying to get a table at Three Seasons in Palo Alto where we met, and the only reservation I could get was for seven p.m. Someone had taken the last table for seven-thirty.

I found out yesterday that it was Phil.

We both booked tables at the same restaurant, the same night, the same time.

Still haven’t decided which one to keep. We’ll see how hor d’oeuvres go.

I was all ready to say no out of sheer exhaustion to this meme request from Peace Fairs until I saw that the most recent links were to friends of mine! Apparently there was a Technorati Tech Link Love List, and they’ve decided to do a more general list, and I believe I can give it a decidedly Mommy Blog spin. I’ll email each person I add with the html code to make it easy for them to continue, and I recommend they do the same ‘cause ain’t NOBODY likes retyping code.

Here goes:

1. Write a short paragraph at the beginning of your post and link back to the blog that put you on the list in the paragraph. This isn’t a suggestion. You need to break up the duplicate content string. Someone took the time to add you so the least you can do is give them an extra linkback.
2. Copy the list of originals below COMPLETELY and add it to your blog. If you would like a different keyword for your blog then change it when you do your post and it should pass to most blogs with that keyword.
3. Take the adds from the blog that added you and place them in the “Originals” list.
4. Add no more than 7 new GENERAL blogs to the list in the “My Adds” section.

***Begin to copy here***

My Adds:
Peace Fairs
Role Mommy
Mommy Track’d
Manic Mommies
Cool Mom Picks
Mom101
The Self Made Mom
L.A. Daddy
Wannabehippie
The Soccer Mom Vote
Everyday Goddess

The Originals:

Wanna Be Wahm
Joy Unexpected
Purple Goddess In Frog Pyjamas
She Dances In Dragn
Draft Day Suit
The Mommy Blog
Liberal Candy
Seo Tricks
Kegerator
Delayed News
world peace
Retro 80’s & 90’s
Burned By The Man
business and finance
Religious Fanatics
crazy forum
News Stories
Stupid Criminals
From What I Heard
National Lawsuits
Jimi Morrisons Head
Internet Serious Business
Celeb News
Auto News
celebs
JMH Techtronics
small business news
Pencil Thin
Toil
That boy ain’t right!
Candid Quips
SEO This!
No Average Mom
Simplify Every Obstacle
AGLOCO Cash Machine
Funky Olive
Life In Reality

***Stop copying here***

Had a total breakdown at work today. Not pretty, but not fatal. I’m having a stress hangover that’s lasted for months. If you would be so kind as to leave your message, I’ll get back to you when the lines clear.

The New Adventures of Old Christine returns to CBS tonight at 8:30. Back to back episodes, baby. I can’t wait. Oops, am burning dinner. Gotta scoot.

Occasionally when there’s a five-day stretch without the children, my ex will send me tidbits. I live for these tidbits.

• I was telling Logan and Dylan about the cub scouts overnight at Chabot Observatory. I said, “it’s a big dome with huge telscopes to look at the stars…” and Logan said, “and germs.”
• Daphne has to wear green on st paddy’s day. Daphne corrected me and said “St. Patrick’s Day,” and I said, “Paddy is an abbreviation for Patrick.” And Dylan said, “So Grandma’s real name is Patrick?”
• Daphne was so proud that she brushed her teeth by herself - she said, “Twice on top, twice on the bottom, and like a lion.” (we go grrrrrrr for the front)

Outside: gorgeous and sunny, with a hint of “why are you sitting inside?”

Inside: frantic and stressful, with a heaping cup of “servers down.”

I wiped this afternoon clean so that I could work on freelance stuff (is it freelance if it’s for yourself in the hopes that it will become a paying gig?), and the servers have been up and down, more down than up, and I’m ready to hurl things through the french doors. And then I think how nice the sofa looks out there under the pergola, and wonder why in blue blazes I’m not out there trying to peel myself off the ceiling, and then I remember it’s so that I don’t have to wonder how much I could get selling it for scrap to support my family. It’s the ultimate irony: not enjoying the nice environment you’ve created because you’re no longer able to provide like you did while creating it.

I love my house. I love the flowers and plants my mom and stepdad have planted and nurtured all around it. I love the colors and the way it looks so cozy and warm at night, and bright and cheerful in the day. I love having a garage and a car that’s paid for. I love having a fireplace and a nice home office.

I don’t love that technology is unpredictable. I don’t love that the gas and electricity bills are through the roof. I don’t love the sound my brakes are making. I don’t love worrying about the mortgage. I don’t love that I have to hang onto this place by hook or by crook (not that I don’t want to, but that to lose it would be disastrous) because it’s by a fluke of map-drawing in an excellent school district and I can’t leave until my kids have gotten the most they can out of it. There is no way I could afford a different place with a decent school district, or private school tuition if we did move. So, we’re staying put as long as we can because we love it and we need it.

Which means I am in a state of constant worry and fear. I know that my family won’t let me break off from the mainland and drift off to tip over or melt in the warmer waters; they have always been here for me. But I have to provide for myself and my family. In the end, it’s down to me, and where I am now won’t do it.  So I’ve turned to web enterprise as a second career, and the fucking servers won’t stay up. That means that although this site is still up, Boutique Community and the new site are not. And I still haven’t put all the bolts back into the new one, and it still needs finish work.

It’s making cleaning out the garage look like fun—if only someone would pay me for it! Until then, I am not going to be much fun, and certainly won’t be very entertaining. Just looking at that other tab in my browser is making me want to scream and then wince from the screaming because I have a migraine-like feeling building behind my eyes.

I’m going to walk away and take something for my head, back and neck, and hope that my cortisol levels will recede sometime this decade.