I Was a Really Good Mom Before I Had Kids

Meeting Girlfriends in a New Town is Just Like Dating.

Trisha-and-Amy — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 22:56:48 +0000

Hey, (Amy here), so I’ve just moved to a new town directly across the country from where I was (California). About a month in, I’m shocked at how friendly my neighbors and friends-of-friends are. I’ve even been invited to a couple ‘girls nights out’ which is very exciting. But it’s funny how meeting new (potential) girlfriends is kind of like dating. No, wait, it’s kind of exactly like dating.

Scenario 1 (one week in):
New friend “Suzie” — “Hey there, I’m so glad you could meet me for coffee. I heard you were the new girl in town. I could tell by looking at you that you’re a “California girl.” With the blonde hair and the way you walk and everything. Do you get that a lot?”
Me: (Fakes stomach cramp, leaves after 5 minutes.)

Scenario 2 (two weeks in):
New friend “Rebecca” — (arrives at front door)
“Hi, um, I just made this banana bread for you guys. Can I come in? I just love seeing how people decorate! Oh I love these kind of stools. They swivel and go up and down. Verrrry cool. Mmmm hmmm. I used to be a stenographer, how about you??”
Me: (Fakes stomach cramp, she leaves after 20 minutes.)

Scenario 3: (just last week):
New friend “Jamie” — (I’m at her house for a playdate with our sons)
“It’s 4:30 – not too early for wine, right? C’mon, the kids are downstairs, let’s go outside and relax.”
Me: “I might make out with you right now.”

So there it is. I think I’m doing pretty well, considering that in dating it takes like 100 dates to find one maybe decent guy. I’ll endure the pain until I find my perfect Mommy Match. Keep ya posted.

Oh Facebook Friends…I Love Thee (and Sometimes Need to Hide You).

Trisha-and-Amy — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 12:01:26 +0000

Ok, I know I’m not alone here. Facebook is part of my life. My daily life. I get up, I brush my teeth, I check Facebook. Maybe I check Facebook first. I peruse the status updates, I see if I have any new messages, I see who changed their profile pictures. (Uh…wait…you’re not Kristin Stewart…oh…you just think you look like her. Got it.) Then I make my tea, maybe a kid gets up, then I check Facebook.

But lately, it seems like there are a few glitches in my Facebook system. Like the guy who I barely knew in middle school who ALWAYS has to comment on whatever I comment on. Really? Ok, it was cute the first few times. But now you’re getting raunchy, and people are wondering what the deal is. Did we have a ‘thing’ going on at one time? Why do we seem so ‘close’ now? We’re not, really. I promise.

Or the people I know and love who post things like “Whew…that sky sure is blue today!” or “That steak sandwich was YUM-MY!” Ok, no disrespect here…but just because you have that fleeting thought doesn’t mean we all want to hear it. If you scroll through my status updates, you’ll see that I’m guilty of this on a few occasions (“Damn, it’s hot”). My bad. I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.

So there’s a thing you can press to ‘hide’ people who annoy you, and I’ve found that button surprisingly freeing. They don’t know you’ve hidden them, which is nice. But now I’m feeling guilty about a few people and I don’t know how to ‘un-hide’ them. Hmmm. Thoughts?

Or, you can just de-friend the peeps you simply cannot keep in your Facebook life for one more second. They, too, are unaware that you’ve done the deadly deed. That is a harder button to push, but again, refreshing when you realize that Freddy from elementary school has a really foul mouth and propensity for sharing links to his used auto business (where he has ’super bad ass Camaros on sale for crazy cheap’).

Overall, I love Facebook. I’ll defend it to anyone who slams it (like my husband, who peers over my shoulder when I’m laughing like a hyena over some YouTube video my acquaintance-I-met-at-a-cookie-exchange-three years-ago posted). It’s a little slice of community that I can keep as close or as far as I want or need. And I don’t have to pick up the phone to see how Sheila from summer camp is doing. Ever.

HOW does one do it, I ask??

Trisha-and-Amy — Wed, 26 May 2010 04:26:36 +0000

Okay, ONE of us just learned from the OTHER one that, to be a good parent, one should read aloud to their children every single night, for like 30 minutes or something. Really? For real? I mean, that sounds reasonable in theory, but after shuttling everybody everywhere, getting house stuff done, trying to maybe take a shower on occasion, doing the whole sports/homework/dinner thing and just GETTING them into bed at a reasonable time….NOW I have to squeeze in quality reading time BEFORE they actually read quietly to themselves? I’m seriously barely hanging on here, people. Help!!

‘Sonny’ Skies…

Trisha-and-Amy — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 22:24:27 +0000

Wahoo! A dear friend Michael Feldman is the EP and head writer for Sonny With A Chance, that Disney show that all of our kids looove. So lucky us – we got to watch a taping and go backstage afterwards to meet the stars. Suffice to say, our kids were beside themselves…we’ve never seen their eyes or smiles SO big!! Thanks Michael….

Little Glimpses

Trisha-and-Amy — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 03:02:47 +0000

In researching our books, when we’d talk to the prior generation of mothers, we’d often ask if their now grown or almost grown children were the same basic people as when they were three or four or five years old. Almost all of the time, the answer was a resounding ‘yes.’ So it’s really wild when your child busts out with a thought or insight or opinion that might just give you a glimpse into who they’ll be – or who they already are.

The other night, when Amy was in the midst of a total mental breakdown over house and family stuff, her kids Sam and Emily came over to her, kind of horrified that she had snot running down her nose and was heaving sobbing, uncontrollably (she usually holds it somewhat together and fakes it pretty well in front of them). Emily immediately broke down crying – “I’m scared! What’s going on?!” Sam, on the other hand, put his hand on her shoulder and calmly said, “Mom, you need to BREATHE. Just breathe, c’mon. You don’t need this stress. It’s okay, really.” It was quite amazing to see not only the difference in their reactions, but how they are becoming their own, strong, thoughtful little people.

And by the way, it’s totally completely acceptable to let your kids see you have a breakdown, and then see you pull yourself together. No need to put up the facade – it’s too much work, anyway.

How Do You Grab the Moments?

Trisha-and-Amy — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 04:35:02 +0000

Hey – Amy here. Tonight putting Sam (7 years) to bed, he whispered in my ear “Mom, I love it when you laugh…your voice sounds so beautiful.” Ok, he’s either gunning for Mario Cart Wii….or he was delivering one of those ‘oh my God I need to go write this down right now so I never forget it’ moments. As an optimist, I chose the latter and ran and jotted it down. And then proceeded to clean up the kitchen, review my long ‘to do’ list and finally heat up some dinner.

But wait…that moment deserves a little more pause. A little more…more. It’s all going by so fast, how do we keep these moments, translate them into our brains for how precious they really are, breathe into them a little? In about 5 seconds our kids will be grabbing our keys and dating and leaving the house and…well, we all know the drill. I guess for now, I’ll just try really, really hard to savor his sweet, seven year-old words.

Alice in Wonderland!

Trisha-and-Amy — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 21:07:56 +0000

We both were blown away by the new film produced by our pals Jennifer and Suzanne Todd! (We are also thrilled to be working with them on a Lifetime show based on our ‘Dirty Little Secrets’ book)…stay tuned!

We flew to LA Monday for the first U.S. screening of Alice, and it was phenomenal. A very soulful and compelling interpretation of the tale, with amazing performances by Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter and Mia Wasikowska. Opens this Friday, check it out! xx

No, really, it’s soooo cute…

Trisha-and-Amy — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 17:11:36 +0000

“Oh…! Look at that…kitty? You worked really hard, didn’t you? You want it to go where? In the kitchen? Oh…I’m thinking maybe my upstairs closet shelf would be waaaaay better, where I can see it every day…what do you think?”

It's a...kitty, right? Awww.

GO RED FOR WOMEN TODAY!!

Trisha-and-Amy — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 14:36:16 +0000

Today is the BIG DAY!! The American Heart Association is declaring today as “Go Red For Women” day, to raise awareness and prevention of heart disease. Please please re-post this on your blog, Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn. It’s time for all of us moms to truly take care of ourselves. Along with wearing RED today, please check out their website — http://www.goredforwomen.org.

GO RED FOR WOMEN and NATIONAL WEAR RED DAY!

· Cardiovascular disease kills approximately 450,000 women each year, about one every minute.
· While 1 in 30 American women die of breast cancer, about 1 in 3 die from cardiovascular disease.
· More women die of cardiovascular disease than the next five causes of death combined, including all forms of cancer.
· Ninety percent of women have one or more risk factors for developing heart disease.
· Only 1 in 5 women believe that heart disease is her greatest health threat.
· Heart disease is largely preventable. In fact, 80 percent of cardiac events in women may be prevented if women make the right choices for their hearts, involving diet, exercise and abstinence from smoking. Check out GoRedForWomen.org!

Wear Red Today!

GO RED FOR WOMEN!!

Trisha-and-Amy — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 16:41:41 +0000

Hey guys– we are excited to help support the American Heart Association’s “Go Red For Women” effort and “National Wear Red Day.” This special day is coming up on Friday, February 5, and it’s dedicated to helping raise awareness and prevention of heart disease. Check out: GoRedForWomen.org. One super easy way you can help is to take a minute to read the following stats and re-post via Facebook, Twitter or blog. THANK YOU!! PS– and WEAR SOMETHING RED on Friday!

Cheers,

Amy & Trisha

GO RED FOR WOMEN and NATIONAL WEAR RED DAY
(THIS FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 5)!