Strollerderby : CityMama

Parenting Post-80s ... Oh the Baggage!

Mike Adamick (Cry It Out!) — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 14:19:00 GMT

Despite her bizarre choices of writers to fill in for her during a break (this will become apparent tomorrow), I am loving CityMama's mad tribute to All Things '80s, which kicks off today with a hilarious and insightful essay on going from Club Kid to Club Parent from Jessica Ashley of Sassafrass:

"Maybe I cling to that part of me because sometimes I still rely on certain shoes or skinny pants to get me in the mood for whatever doors I will be walking through that day. It's just that, on the other side of these doors, I'm much more likely to find tricycles and aisles of organic soy butter than young boys in Z Cavs and the uh-uh-uhhhh of Frankie Goes to Hollywood sampled into New Order. The attitude's the same, though, and occasionally even the red lipstick."

And oh there's more ... so, so much more. From Girbaud to Guess to Robert Palmer, Ashley manages to perfectly mine a decade of what it's like to be the first generation growing up under the MTV culture and ask what that makes of us now, as parents. Plus it's just killer to remember the hella rad '80s, so tune in over the next two week and maybe, if you're lucky, someone will break out Max Headroom.

Last minute Father's Day gift idea

Brett Singer — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 18:00:00 GMT

CityMama has a Father's Day Gift Guide. It's only one item, but it's a goooood item.

That's right: it's a lightsaber. Specifically the Luke Skywalker Force FX Lightsaber. You can also buy the Darth Vader model. In fact, buy both and then you can have a battle!

What? What's that, you say? This is a... a child's toy? Well, first of all, how many toys cost $89.75? (The Vader version is $98.98. So evil does costs more.) And besides, the age range says "8 and up." That's right. And up. Which means older than 8. So there. ("Older" in years, if not in maturity.)

Plus, it's not just a gift for dad. As one Amazon commenter says, "I even let my children play with it." It's fun for the whole family!

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go purchase my tickets for the new Hulk movie.

image: Amazon.com

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They Say: Limit Kids Screen Time

Five Most Loving Celebrity Dads

New York Comic Con Photos - Part 2

Let's Play Guess The Photo

Free Wii ... For a Price, That Is

Mike Adamick (Cry It Out!) — Mon, 19 May 2008 12:24:00 GMT

Want a super cool gift or just want to play some awesome games when the kids go to bed (sharing is overrated)? Well, SD alum Stefania (Citymama) Pomponi-Butler is giving away a free Nintendo Wii game system ... with a catch, of course.

All you have to do is spill the beans on your most embarrassing exercise story, just like Stefania did with her Jazzercize routines. (Ouch.) Check out the details here and then enter away -- you don't even need your own blog. Just a healthy dose of self esteem. (Three Kid Circus has the same contest, so if you want another chance to win, go here.)

Apologies for pimping out the Wii like some character out of Hustle and Flow, but I was so excited to hear about the Wii when it first came out because I thought, "Finally! If kids are going to play video games all day, at least here's a way to get them off their fat asses!" Having played the bowling game and the tennis game, I now know it's not that involved -- but still, gotta be better than nothing.

Strollerderby Playdate: What Are These Things You Call Grocery Lists?

Jessica Ashley (Sassafrass) — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 12:47:00 GMT

While I love to cook, I am not what you'd call a meal planner. And even though I love to write out a nice, long, comprehensive grocery list, the contents rarely take into account specific recipes. In fact, I like to rationalize all this laziness and ill-preparedness by thinking of myself as a stellar impromptu chef, whipping up healthful and happiness-inducing dinners in thirty meals without any sort of Rachael Raying or ramekins filled with ingredients prepped and planned the previous Sunday night. Really, though, I am just lazy and ill-prepared. Not so with these mamas. These mamas have their meals mapped, their meticulous Whole Foods list checked off and probably know where all the proper lids to each Le Creuset pot and pan is in the pantry.

For that, I honor thee, ye who put your wedding china to good use and house at three kinds of salt in sealed canisters, ye Meal Planning Mamas. I bow to you and I wonder if you have any crushed tomatos I could borrow for tonight's pasta:

CityMama's foodielicious family meals that realistically incoporate sandwiches, deep fryers and date nights. Love her love her love her.

Lucky Charm and microbrew overloads don't stop Foodmomiac from getting all organic with the kids.

Diva Mom Vicki is insistent about staying out of the kitchen on the weekends. But during the week, it's on yo.

Post-holiday schedule re-entry means loads of meal planning delight for An Ordinary Mom.

And when all else fails, Mommy Cracked's embracing my kind of supper spontaneity.

Photo credit: grocerylists.org

If You Don't Bottle Feed, You Don't Love Your Children

Rachael Brownell (Redsy) — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 21:09:00 GMT

In "Perfect Answer to Perfect Moms," Mike heralds CityMamas' approach to a self-righteous commenter. The commenter -- a breastfeeding, Sears-loving, co-sleeping Perfect Mommy, fumed that she could barely stand reading Stefania's slacker parenting blog.

People wonder why assumptions of judgment are ascribed to natural parenting types. Comments like the one left on CityMama's blog are exactly why.

Put another way, imagine if we so-called slacker parents chided naturalists on their breastfeeding, organic clothes wearing ways. A similar comment would look something like this:

Dear Perfect,

You're inability to let go of your selfish desire to snuggle with your child keeps you breastfeeding longer than is healthy. If you continue to let your children sleep in your bed, your marriage will fail and your kids will suffer. If you'd only see the wisdom of T Berry Brazelton, you'd be a much better mother. I'm appalled by your lack of bottlefeeding.

Signed,

Better Parent Than You

The Perfect Answer to "Perfect" Moms

Mike Adamick (Cry It Out!) — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 16:46:00 GMT

So what do you do when a Carole Brady pops over to your blog and lays a gob of riotous righteousness on you, invoking Dr. Sears and saying, basically, all other parents suck it? I like CityMama's answer: Call. them. out.

"Dr Sears is God! Dr Sears haters are all lazy, unloving parents!" begins commenter "Aubrey."

"And as far as respecting my kids, they're 3 and 5. What the hell do they know anyway? I mean, they can't even tie their shoes no matter how much I yell at them," shoots back the former editor of this very blog.

This is so worth your time. I kid you not. (Although the update now leaves me wondering whether Aubrey even has children, but still, what the hell else are you doing right now?)

I've been approached and reproached by my fair share of "perfect moms" who in not-so-subtle terms let me know what I'm doing "wrong," (Hey, just because your kid doesn't know what a vampire is, doesn't mean mine can't sing her favorite song! Yeah, still bitter) so it's been great fun to read the CityMama comments and watch as perfection meets its match.

Kitchenista: Mess of Pottage or Lentil Soup?

Karen Murphy — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 19:07:00 GMT

If you have a Gmail account, then you've seen the sponsored links for 101 Cookbooks. I love this site: lively, delicious, slightly-out-of-the-ordinary vegetarian recipes, written blog-style by a foodie who can write. Which makes two I know of. Wait, make that three. Or are they writers who eat/cook? Oh well, makes no difference.

So when I saw this recipe for lentil soup I immediately thought: I know one awesome thing to add to make the recipe my own. Which I share with you now. My secret?

Croutons. Homemade croutons. Crunchy, buttery, garlicky, they easily adapt to almost any soup. Lentil? Sure, but what else? How about Minestrone? Or my virgin homemade-crouton must-have, Split Pea.

Mm, I'm hungry already.

By the way, I'm making this lentil soup recipe tonight, complete with the fire-roasted tomatoes, so I'll let you know how everyone liked it. My kids tend to be pretty open but brown stuff, even when sprinkled with crunchy, buttery, homemade garlicky goodness, may prove too much. Still, what's not to like abut lentil soup? it's nutritious, filling, and you can make a LOT. And you can put all sorts of things in it, hiding vegetables ~~Jessica Seinfeld~~ Missy Chase Lapine (grated carrots and zucchini comes to mind) style, or just let the lentils shine on their own. A bit of ham, bacon, or sausage would be good, too. So much for vegetarian! Hmm...

Anyway, here's the recipe for 101 Cookbook's version.

And here's where we talk croutons:

Cut good-quality French bread (baguettes are wonderful for this; lots of crust!) into cubes. Saute in large saucepan, using plenty of butter or olive oil (or both). Allow to brown on all sides. Prepare spice mixture: garlic powder, onion powder, salt, herbs to taste, a couple of tablespoons total. Place spice mixture in ziploc bag, and when croutons are browned and crusty, pour them in and mix shake-and-bake style (the closest I ever came to real Shake and Bake) until coated on all sides.

Pile onto each loaded bowl of soup, and enjoy.

Photo: foodforthoughtcatering.ca

24-Hour Countdown to the Madness: Videoblogs Help You Fake a Great Turkey Din

Jessica Ashley (Sassafrass) — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 16:23:00 GMT

I'm not sure if the new videoblogs at BlogHer were made to walk me through easy, delicious dinner prep or to distract me into such a state of procrastination that we all end up feasting on pie alone for Thanksgiving. It's all good either way. And when I say all good, I mean it all, mama.

First, check this quality yo. These videoblogs graciously hosted by Erin Kotecki Vest are sleek and have sound quality that beats PBS on some days. Second, the co-hosts are hot blogging (oh yeah, and cooking) mamas that you know and read (CityMama, bring those green beans and that killer swing sweater and come back to us!) that are serving up Rustic Apple Gallette, Green Beans with a Twist, Mom's Turkey Stuffing and an Easy Holiday Turkey. I haven't actually put silicon spoon to sautee pan yet, but good gravy, every one of these recipes looks smokin'. And when I say smokin', I mean not the way my mother massacres vegetables in the microwave.

If the only potluck recipe you've put together involves PlayDoh and Cheerios, or if you are putting off any organization of the big day until...tick...tick..now, then I really recommend you put down the screaming toddler you've volunteered to discipline before getting to the foodstuffs and check out each videoblogged course. Individually, these dishes seem like a prime opportunity to score points with family. All together, they'd make up a simple and scrumptious escape from the family. You click on, preheat and dig in. In the meantime, I'll gather the ingredients for a traditional Turkey Day gimlet.

Oh wait. Seriously? For Thanksgiving, it's giblets?

Strollerderby Playdate: Holiday Deliciousness

Jessica Ashley (Sassafrass) — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 11:57:00 GMT

We've had amazing Thanksgivings with golden brown and crispy delicious turkey with melt-in-your-mouth apple pie and perfectly whipped potatoes. And then we've had stomach flu horrible Thanksgiving when apple sauce and EmergenC were about all we could be grateful for (or keep down). Somewhere in the middle of the mania and mothers-in-law, disasters and deliciousness, there is a moment when Thanksgiving sends a deep ahhhhh around the table. Since that feeling could be fleeting, you hold on to that while we serve up these dishes and tips, courtesy our favorite realistic bloggy mamas:

Pumpkin soup, mmmm. And even better if you still haven't yet thrown away the Halloween pumpkins sitting on your front porch. Thrifty and delicious.

You know those houseparenty types, always bragging about how big their turkeys are. Go ahead, get in on it. You know you want to.

Freezing all the leftovers you can't bear to look at for one. more. meal. Or that you pray your husband will eat while you are dining on gimlets at Bunco next month.

And if all else fails, these fiascos will guarantee that the bits of hair and lint on the turkey don't (necessarily) dictate that you should stop having dinner at your house. Or kids. Or that you should stop serving kids frozen turkey for dinner.

Strollerderby Playdate: Turkey Talk

Jessica Ashley (Sassafrass) — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 18:38:00 GMT

I'm not sure how it happened, but apparently, the holidays are just around the corner. And to think, there are still shorts in our laundry baskets and flip-flops strewn about the living room (note to self: must remember to take care of those before hauling in a Christmas tree). Fortunately, my bloggy brothas and sistahs are keeping this mama on task (sort of) or at least allowing me to procrastinate further on laundry by thinking about turkey hand drawings and pies (mmmm, pies...possibly the best motivation to put away flip-flops):

Bossy's daughter depicts a day in the life of a Seminole woman, which, for some strangely delicious reason involves looking like a Tootsie Roll.

Chookooloonks is breathlessly beholding the produce.

CityMama's featuring a week of Thanksgiving recipes for families of foodies. Catch up before you get scolded...or too hungry.

UrbanMamas are talking about jet lag while traveling over the holidays. And it has nothing to do with dragging the damn car seat behind you through those tiny airplane aisles.

and the holiday gets all tied up over at Kari's Couch.

Strollerderby Playdate: You WILL Be Jessica's Friend.

Jessica Ashley (Sassafrass) — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 10:56:00 GMT

I've known a lot of women in my tribe for a long time. I danced with some of them on platforms of all-ages clubs with some of them, shared my first wine cooler with some of them, walked across the Quad on the first day of my college classes with one of them, sang camp songs at flagpole with some of them. But then there are the bloggers. Sure, I have bloggy friends, some of them I've even squealed over and drooled on -- I mean, MET CORDIALLY and politely handed my business card whilst conferencing in a business manner -- and some of them I've even stolen ashtrays and portable hard drives from -- or really, just post ideas and Bunco winnings. And then there are the bloggers who I don't necessarily know but think would fit perfectly into my life and my tribe. So, darlings, here are the bloggers I absolutely must get a dose of every single day and swear it is not just in a lame old attempt to make them like me and be one of my new BFFs:

CityMama: OK, this is technically cheating because she is actually a friend of mine but I am fully and unabashedly lobbying for her to take over the role of that one friend in high school that seemed like an A student to my parents but secretly persuaded me to sneak out. Not only is her writing right on every single day, she speaks to my inner Sa-sa-samantha Foxx like no other.

State of Grace: I decide, just by reading faithfully, that Grace is that smarty pants friend who just breaks it down to the raw truth. You know, the one who says yes, you should leave that ass monkey of boyfriend and no, you do not need that Bugaboo before the first playgroup meeting.

Amalah: Is fekking hilarious. Good Lord, I wish this woman lived next door. Or even in the next block. Hell, I'd just like to wave at her from across the blogosphere (hiiii, funny lady). Amy, I nominate you to get tipsy on my back porch with me on a Tuesday night, if only on talking about the co-op mommies.

I Am Bossy: With her photoshop wizardry and dry sense of hilarity, Bossy makes me laugh out loud every morning. I bet Bossy was a kick-ass college roommate who could work a word processor with four pages of stored memory like a freaking genius. I want her to take the place of my one roommate who's booty-length hair I had to hold back every Thursday night, also known as the rent payer with the pro-life signs and complete disregard of contraception and basic common sense. Please, Bossy. Take her away from my memory.

Friday Style: Suuuuuuuuuuuusan, please. Be that friend who comes over and absofreakinglutely cannot look at the flecks of sandbox sand and fishy crackers in my carpet and must vacuum now. Or better yet, gives me many props for the designer bag I found on clearance at TJ Maxx ans suggests I pair it with that diaper bag instead of this one. Or better even better than that, the one who asks what Jesus would do if he saw my bedroom closet, clearly the headquarters of a very disorganized and untidy Satan.

I've purposely set aside my narcissistic tendencies and have not included all the blogs of my esteemed Strollerderbycolleagues that I do read daily. But I am sure you know by now that you can hunt them down on the interwebs by clicking the profiles to the right.

Now, enough about us: What are the five blogs you must read every day?

Strollerderby Finish Line: Behind the Music Edition

Mike Adamick (Cry It Out!) — Sat, 08 Sep 2007 21:02:00 GMT

The year? 2007. The scene? Cyberwood. A naive, wiry parental blog with a dream -- you could call it Blog Ambition -- started out working small, beer-soaked gigs at county fairs and roadhouses across the country, only to one day sell out mammoth stadiums and have almost every parent in America wear its T-shirts.

It was the best of times. The blog poured some sugar on it, if you will. It gave love a good name. It was just 18, and life to go.

Nothing could get in its way. Then, the unthinkable happened.

"I always knew CityMama had a massive, "open secret" issue with horse tranquilizers and Play-Doh. I just never thought she'd let it influence the blog, man. We were just trying to keep it real, keep it pure. And then ...."

Every rose, it seems, has its thorns. Just like every cowboy, well, sings melancholyish from time to time.

From impossible highs like drinking HTML code out of Kip Winger's boots to improbable lows like emailing well past 1 a.m., this is the story of a young, ambitious blog that soared under CityMama until, one day, she left it all behind.

This is "Strollerderby: Behind the Music."

"Let's see, CityMama came aboard in 2006, I think. She took over not long after. Man, she could play. She could play."

From her humble beginnings writing about a mom who called the cops on her own son -- for opening his own Christmas present, what the hell? -- to her later mastery of feel-good parental licks like 70-year-old new mama drama that brought the SD fame and glory, CityMama took the young blog and helped make it a star.

"I've never seen someone drink so many hyperlinks in one sitting. It was amazing, and yet, at the same time, you could kind of see where this was headed."

Just as soon as the blog crashed through the roof of success, the roof of success came crashing down. CityMama left for another gig, two charming, impossibly sweet ones from what we hear, leaving the blog behind and leaving a lasting legacy that continues to grow each week.

"It was a sad day here at the SD -- she left some shoes to fill ... I can't. I can't. Can we just stop for a second? I said turn that off!"

Emotions were high, and they were high on emotions. And cough syrup. But the rest of the blog vowed to keep going. Through the tears, behind the scenes, they're still producing kick-ass parental tunes and are secretly happy to have a more even distribution of tranquilizers, but they know it won't be quite the same again.

To cope with her pain, Kelly has taken to beating the crap out of attachment parenting.

Karen has started chopping off the fingers of poor, unsuspecting babies -- her version of Ozzie and a bat, it's rumored.

Patti spends her time thinking up new uses for Play-Doh. She claims it's cologne, but the rest of the blog thinks she's just happy to have found an easier way to snort it.

Even the blog's roadie is having a difficult time -- he was nearly arrested for stalking another band.

"We're gonna miss her, man."

Kitchenista: Homemade Pizza That's Faster than Frozen

Patti — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 13:05:00 GMT

If you're not hip to our own Citymama's FamilyFood blog, get on it, 'cause Stefania knows from cooking. She's got the goods on whipping up a quickie cheese pizza that blows away anything you'll find in your grocer's freezer, and you can get it on the table in less time than it would take for the delivery guy to show up.

A simple, speedy sauce made from fresh tomatoes, whatever cheese you've got on hand, and a pre-made pizza crust are all you need to create a simple and tasty meal for your family. Throw together a salad and you're good to go.

(I'm really ashamed of myself. Not that I never make real homemade pizza, but usually? If it's a quick and dirty pizza they want, it's squirt-bottle sauce and a handful of tasteless "mozzarella" on top of a bagel they'll get.)

The FamilyFood archives are rich with amazing recipes. Our family loves Stefania's take on the classic coq au vin, and her barley pilaf is the perfect sneak-in for kids who'll eat rice in any form but not much else. And this baked pasta with squash, bacon, and lots of love is tailor-made for family dinner.

Take Your Judgment and Shove It!

Alisyn — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 16:57:00 GMT

It's been my experience that moms, SAHMs specifically, in this case, are fed up, stressed out, and beat down. Pretty much all the time. Myself included. When your job description includes 24-hour private nurse, chauffeur, cook, psychologist, art teacher, housekeeper, shopper, list-keeper, snack-maker and butt-wiper, in addition to your paying job in many cases, it's easy to lose your sense of humor about life. What's funny is, us SAHMs? We're the lucky ones. And we know it. But that doesn't make it any easier.

It makes me feel more human and less insane to read blog posts like Freitas Family's: "I can't make dental or Dr. appts. for myself without lugging LG or waiting for MIL to have a day off or Husband to take time off. I can't go to lunch with friends without having LG with me (during the week). I have a tough time talking on the phone without LG needing something from me. I poop with someone by my side 80% of the time. I feel lonely a lot of the time. Everything in my life revolves around my kid. I don't know who I am anymore or what I love."

I feel like less of a jerk for not being 100% happy, 100% of the time, when I read that friends like CityMama are struggling with their identities and day-to-day lives, post-motherhood, like I am. Because, like she says: "We need to continue being honest with ourselves and each other so we can make motherhood better. Whatever that means to you... I say, do what you gotta do to get the word out, girl. I like commiserating just as much as celebrating when good things happen."

Having intelligent and irreverent women friends, many of whom are in the same boat I am, is what gets me through. Because motherhood is hard, dammit. And we don't need any more judgment, not even from ourselves.

So, let's talk: what's getting you down as a mother? What stresses you out? And most importantly, who do you talk to when the going gets rough?

Blogging's Dirty Little Secret

Karen Murphy — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 18:22:00 GMT

Bloggers are a goldmine to advertisers. Think about it: if you, as an advertiser, could get someone to advertise your product for you, and for practically FREE, wouldn't you? All you'd have to do is maybe send out a sample. That's it! And then you're golden, because you've got all these influential people talking up your product to their buds on the blogosphere! Perfect!

Of course, the PR people for the advertisers are smart. Hey, they have to be! So they try to target bloggers that 1. have readership and therefore influence, and 2. blog about things that sort of relate to the product (or not; I've had some wacky pitches).

Oh, and I should mention #3: that AREN'T people of color.

What??!

Yes. True. Our own CityMama Stefania wrote a revealing and scathing piece about this very practice. Frankly, after reading it I felt sick. Stefania receives pitches from PR people daily for her personal blog CityMama, but her group blog Kimchi Mamas, a Korean identity and culture parenting blog, receives nothing. Zip. Zilch. Zero.

Why? "Because we don't pitch to people of color," says the PR guy Stefania questioned.

It's because Asian people are invisible in the media. Discrimination by invisibility. Which is the worst kind of bigotry because everybody pretends it isn't happening. But think about it: other than as a stereotype, when was the last time you saw Asian people on TV, say, just doing what people do? I was struck during my recent visit to Vancouver, a very multi-cultural city, because it was clear that people of all sorts weren't regarded as being part of one group or another. They were just ... people.

Why isn't it like that in the media? And what can we do about it?