Sleepgasm: noun; the intense emotional sensation experienced after an uninterrupted eight-hour sleep for any working mom. Also known as the elusive “Big S.”
So, I finally, nearly achieved the big “S” last weekend. Sure, it was more like seven hours of slumber - but it was a somewhat glorious stretch in a bed without a blaring alarm, crying child or groping spouse. Too bad it took being hooked to an IV in a hospital bed, drugged up post-surgery and literally listless from hours of HGTV to achieve that. Oh, and the little yellow pill the nurse delivered in Dixie cup before lights out.
The story behind the forced downtime not surprisingly says a ton about the typical WoMo habit of putting her family’s health in front of her own. Like most working moms, I honestly don’t have time to get sick, let alone get into the doctor for every little ache, pain and sniffle I experience. And on the annual visits I force myself to squeeze in, I consistently skip the pesky “blood work” assignment the doc slips me on more...
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Tags:Juggling & Struggling, WoMo Book (untitled)
Stubble Shock: noun; state of anxiety induced by the sudden realization – typically on the commute into work – that one is wearing a skirt but has neglected to shave her legs (and possibly, pits).
Okay, let’s face it: this is not a syndrome exclusive to working moms. Most of us can remember a time or two when this panicked realization occurred during our single girl days as well, particularly when hitting the beach slightly hung over the day after a particularly crazy night out. The difference back then was that it was more likely our bikini area we were sweating over (remember these were pre Brazilian days for most of us) and the time elapsed between our last encounter with a razor is probably much more lengthy these days. I mean, what married woman – let alone a working mom married woman – has the time to shave on any regular basis? And most of the time, boots, opaque tights, long dresses and forgiving husbands let us skate along in the hairy zone until an absolute necessity arrives … more...
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Tags:Looks: Is This Mirror Working?, WoMo Book (untitled)
iSmudge: noun; description of the greasy build-up on your smartphone’s screen attributed to too many instances of using it as a convenient babysitter/distraction during restaurant meals.
What in the heck did working moms do before smartphones? (Oh yeah, it was just a couple years ago, you didn't even have one. Insane.) There are few greater ways to while away a boring sandbox session than by clearing out annoying emails or catching up on friend's Facebook posts. And how did our parents survive the torturous wait for the check after a restaurant meal without the ability to click on an airplane game or an episode of Spongebob Square Pants to buy four minutes of reprieve from whining? But as we all know, small fingers + french fries, quesadillas, grilled cheese, corn dogs, and/or peanut-butter and jelly + glass surface = a cloudy screen even the best Windex would have a hard time clearing away. Oh well, you were due for an upgrade soon, right?
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Tags:WoMo Book (untitled), WoMo Words
Remember the first time you ventured outside your California roll sushi safety zone to try maguro nigiri? How about when you quit your first crappy job (slinging franks at Chicago Hot Dog Company, circa 1985) to hit the big time with a night time gig (hostess at Bobby McGee’s San Ramon, circa 1986, woo-hoo). Maybe you recall the liberating moment you switched your major from what your parents always wanted you to study (Business Economics) to something that interested you … however impractical (hello, Mass Communications!) Or the day you decided to ditch a sad sack loser boyfriend for the much hotter dude who is now your hubby? The common theme to all of these experiences is the joy in embracing change and seeing where a shift in direction will take you.
In that spirit of reinvention, we have decided to try on a new concept for this blog that’s tied closely to one of the favorite parts of our book: a glossary of WoMo Words. From now until the end of the summer, we are going to try more...
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Tags:WoMo Book (untitled)
Imagine my surprise (fear) when Aimee informs me that an ABC Talk Show wants to do a segment about one of our blog posts… with us in it. Really? Us? I guess I always knew television might be a possibility when writing a book. But I also know winning Publishers Clearing House might someday be in my future — it doesn’t mean The Prize Patrol came knocking at my door last week.
In true WoMo fashion, everything was last-minute, crammed, chaotic and unrehearsed. But as always, we did our best and lived to talk about it — much to the aid and support of the awesome people at ABC's The View From The Bay.
I figure that with all the possible things that could have gone wrong (vomiting, stumbling, spitting, sweating, coughing, sneezing, crying and fainting), we fared pretty well. Would I have said and done some things differently? Of course, but life doesn’t have a rewind button... nor does live television. Watch the segment here. more...
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Tags:Looks: Is This Mirror Working?, Pop! Culture, WoMo Book (untitled)
February 15th, 2010, posted by Aimee, Tags: WoMo Book (untitled)
“Three Martini Playdate,” “Skinny Bitch,” “Sippy Cups are not for Chardonnay,” “Punk Rock Dad” …. What do all these books have in common? Clever, original, witty titles. Something ten months after starting work on our book – “a candid, visual look at the comic, tragic life of a working mom” -- Marcie and I have yet to nail down.
It’s not for lack of trying. Professional brainstormers in our real careers, we have both attacked the task with zeal, jotting down words we like, scanning the dictionary and thesaurus, diagramming on white boards and even polling colleagues, friends and family members for suggestions. We have each thrown out a few ideas that struck each of us individually as brilliant but annoyed the other as clichéd, trite, boring, negative or too obscure. We scanned our own copy, racked our brains, sketched out sample covers and still came up empty.
With the clock ticking on our proposal and our agent ready to begin shopping for a publisher, I decided to cast a wider net. Maybe someone in more...
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Tags:WoMo Book (untitled)
I'm at a loss for words (literally). In the last few weeks Aimee and I have encountered some resistance to the term “working mom.” Mothers that veered off the career track are feeling like the label implies that they aren’t “working” because they chose to quit whatever "work" they had prior and raise their children (which is "work"). Confusing, right? Are we being just a little sensitive over semantics? Or is it a legitimate gripe? I'd love to hear what you think, but I'll go on the record here on behalf of the WoMo Book:
Call me crazy, but I don’t think that a woman who finds an article, book or website classified under “working mom” is somehow trying to ostracize or criticize other women. Nor is she implying that her BFF who stays home isn’t “working” hard for her family. She is merely a gal who is raising children and has a job or career. If we eliminate the adjective “working,” then she’d often be reading mom stories that are completely irrelevant to her life, her struggles and more...
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Tags:Girlfriend Gab, On The Career Track, SAHM Sisters, WoMo Book (untitled)
Let’s get this right out there: I am not one of those people who turn their noses up at the idea of a New Year’s Resolution. “I don’t do resolutions” is a popular refrain these days, as if pledging to make a change or set goals to better your life are a bad thing or somehow ridiculously archaic. Nate and I always laugh about the New Year’s Eve party we attended a while back in which the revelers – all self-described “enlightened” types (i.e. live in Marin, take lots of drugs, go to Burning Man, talk about chakras, etc.) – adamantly declared their “New Year’s Intentions” instead of resolutions. Guess it’s uncool to really commit to anything these days, even a simple goal to lose 10 pounds or be a nicer friend we laughed.
So, yes, every January 1st I wake up and put pen to paper with a list of simple goals for the year ahead, with an emphasis on simple or achievable. I set that bar low so that honestly I have something to really toast on December more...
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Tags:Just For Laughs, WoMo Book (untitled), WoMoLists
Accrapulate: the act of accumulating a large amount of child/baby gear over time (usually crap that takes up precious space in a garage) /
Bagmata: the red marks you get on your hands from carrying too many shopping bags in from the car because the toddler is still strapped into his carseat (and of course, you’re running late to your next urgent mom errand) /
Cookie Nookie: giving the offspring a diverting treat in an attempt to partake in adult activities
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Tags:Just For Laughs, WoMo Book (untitled)
