Strollerderby : strollerderby playdate

Strollerderby Playdate: Feminist Mormon Housewives

Shannon LC Cate — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 14:30:00 GMT

I have a confession. I really like Mormons. I can't help it, most of them are just really nice people. And if you know the history of the LDS in the United States, you know they have been--historically--some of the most oppressed people in the country. They were fired on by federal troops and basically chased West to territory no one else wanted. They were polygamists (I know, I know, the LDS Church has a strong official stance against polygamy now) and were hated and condemned for their non-mainstream sexuality and "lifestyle choices." This makes me feel they are queer kin, in an odd way.

I am not now and have never been a Mormon myself, but I have had several LDS friends over the years. I always have a big disconnect when confronted by the face-to-face super niceness of Mormon individuals in spite of the institutional nastiness of the official church's positions on thing I care very much about. Imagine my delight at finding the Feminist Mormon Housewives, a group blog by, well, a bunch of feminist Mormon housewives. Lately, they've been on about the election, of course. Most of them were big Obama supporters and they had some dissident things to say about the big LDS push to pass Proposition 8 in California. (As does, Mormons for Marriage, an unrelated, but also terrific site.)

Even if the Mormons have been historically oppressed in the United States, they sure as heck are not the underdogs anymore. In fact, they are a huge, monied, powerful organization with a strong top-down organizational style which yes indeed, contributed mightily to Proposition 8's passing. It's good to know that there are women in this church who are not only thinking, but speaking for themselves in eloquent and intelligent ways rather than toeing a party--or religious--line.

Hey White Queers, Don't Get All Sarah Palin, Now

Adoption Ban Passes; Fails to Eliminate Queers and their Spawn from the Earth

Separation of Church and State=Same-Sex Marriage

Strollerderby Playdate: Thriving With Five

Amy Kuras — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 20:32:00 GMT

Three months into two kids, I find myself muttering "WHOSE IDEA WAS THIS???" less and less often and really relishing the Family Thing more and more. I'd even want another baby, if I weren't all creaky and old.

Then I run across a blog like Swistle's and feel like a big candy-ass. She's got five kids. Five, ranging in age from nine to one including two-year-old twins. And she finds time to make brownies, postpartum cookies, and be funny, like snort in your coffee funny.

And, AND, she also keeps a baby name blog. I shall dub her my Vice Emperor of Baby Naming. Especially since I have noticed, and maybe this is unintentional or maybe it's impoltie to actually point this out, that she steers people away from unfortunate names ever so gently.

Some other suggestions for "lotsa kids" blogs: My college roommate and good friend Nicole (although any stories she may tell about me are out-and-out fabrications, just so you know, I was an ANGEL in college) and our own Amy Lutz.

Political Nanny: Playdate With Jennifer Aniston

Madeline Holler — Wed, 14 May 2008 11:31:00 GMT

After the predictable outcome of last night's primary in West Virginia, Political Nanny has sent the candidates on their way to spin results and/or beg for more time. This provided her a quick break to get together with some Hollywood nannies, who themselves are working overtime as their charges ramp up political activities of a more international sort.

Seems the heartbreaking refusal of the Burmese "leadership" to quickly accept assistance in saving lives of last week's cyclone victims has gotten some big Hollywood names to do something even bigger: free it.

From Glamocracy:

They are hoping to get a million people signed up to the U.S. Campaign for Burma, a grassroots activist group, by the end of the month with the campaign "Burma Can't Wait: A Million Voices in Thirty Days." Lots of Hollywood heavyweights have made PSAs in support of the drive, including Judd Apatow, Ellen Page and Sarah Silverman.

Go here to sign up or watch more videos. They're making a new one everyday for the next 30 days.

What do you think of the video? Too light for the weight of the actual cause? Or, whatever it takes to get something done?

Vidoe: Fanista

Strollerderby Playdate: My Miserable, Lonely, Lesbian Pregnancy

Erin White — Mon, 12 May 2008 11:02:00 GMT

I'm not talking about mine, people. I might have been miserable occasionally, and a lesbian definitely, but I was never, not even once, lonely. I guess that's what having a three-year-old who thinks the words "Mama needs privacy" mean "Mama wants you to close the door behind you when you follow her into the bathroom for the grillonth time today." I would have paid money, real money, for a little hit of lonely.

And you all should pay money for this hilarious new book.

My Miserable, Lonely, Lesbian Pregnancy is Andrea Askowitz's chronicle of her 40 week descent into the depths of pregnancy hell. At nearly 35 she wants a baby and she wants it bad. So bad that she is willing to go it alone. She's not really alone, of course. She's got her friends, who drive her crazy with the insenstive questions they ask and the ugly maternity clothes they choose for her. And she's got her family, who drive her even more crazy than her friends, especially her mother who wants to make a quilt for the baby depicting Persephone and her goddess mother, Demeter.

Askowitz isn't afraid to write about sex and love affairs, about break-ups and heartache, about fears of motherhood and fears of being alone. And the best part of all is that she is so damn funny.

Go out and buy your favorite pregnant lesbian a copy of this book. And while you're at at, get one for yourself.

Strollerderby Playdate: True Confessions

Adrienne Martini — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 13:30:00 GMT

I've got a little secret to share about my playdate this morning. No, no, it's nothing like that. Pervs. It's this: if you put my leg side-by-side with my playdater, it'd be hard to tell whose is more furry.

You think I'm kidding. Or, maybe, you just hope I'm kidding. I am not.

That's just one of the many confessions that Michelle W. forced me to admit while I was reading her blog, sometimes disgruntled. There are days when I also watch the clock and count the minutes that I have to be on-call for the children. There are moments when I wonder how the heck those rich-in-hits blogging moms do it. And there are times that Sponge Bob is my favorite critter ever.

You might just see yourself confessing a little bit too. Own your secrets, hairy legs and all.

Strollerderby Playdate: Hippos and Bleach and Babies, Oh My.

Adrienne Martini — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 13:00:00 GMT

I just got back from a swing through Southern Cali with Beckey from Hippo Brigade. We dished about cleaning supplies and sunned on the beach. It was awesome. Beckey, however, is on the horns of a dilemma. Maybe you can help her out.

She's trying to decide if one kid is enough. It's a tough call, made even tougher by the whole personal nature of the whole thing. The only advice I could give her was that the Husband and I knew that if we had one, we'd have two. There was brief talk of a third -- but that was before we had the second and realized that we just aren't comfortable with being outnumbered. Also, after kid number two's birth, I swore that I would never, ever do that again.

How about you? How did you decide how many to have? Or are you still deciding?

Photo credit: Rebecca Brumfield

Strollerderby Playdate: Unpack Your Tiara

Adrienne Martini — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 13:00:00 GMT

If I have learned nothing else from Jen's blog Get In The Car!, I have learned that a tiara and a ball gown are worth more than you paid for them. Because, really, who can put a price on embarrassing your kids?

But - oh - I have learned so much more during our playdate.

1) Husbands are hot when they do housework and can raise some bucks for NOLA's Habitat for Humanity chapter.

2) Little green men may (or may not) be hovering over Arizona.

3) What men want. Or not. Or, yeah, maybe a little, if you really got right down to it, but that they are too modern to admit to. Depending.

My morning has been full of coffee and education and giggles. Now I just need to find my dollar store crown and an old bridesmaid dress.

Strollerderby Playdate: Spring and Playclothes and Yogurt, oh my

Adrienne Martini — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 13:00:00 GMT

There are playdates you have because your kids love their kids. There are those you have because you love the parents and can tolerate the kids. And there are those you have because the parents make the simplest things look fabulous. This is that sort of playdate.

Disdressed's Liesl -- yes, she does know her blog name is misspelled -- is a woman whose skill with a pair of scissors or a bowl of porridge is a thing of beauty. Not only is she a mom to a cutie-pie little girl, she also is a sewing dynamo who crafts kid patterns and sells them as Oliver + S.

Even if you aren't into the crafty thing, you can't help but fall for her New York neighborhood. Maybe "fall" isn't the right word. Perhaps it should be "live vicariously through while you briefly curse your luck that your home isn't quite as well curated."

Still, I like playdating with Ms L. -- even if I do it in hopes that her way with things will rub off on me.

Strollerderby Playdate: THEBLOG WEEMADE

Brett Singer — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 13:00:00 GMT

Today, I'm taking the Tim Hasselbeck role on the Playdate team - stepping in when the first stringer needs a break.

This week we're playing with THEBLOG WEEMADE. The concept is a little different from the mommy/daddy blogging that you usually see. The site's founder, Brian, stumbled onto "a box full of his old schoolwork and drawings that his parents had kept over the years," and decided to make a website where kids could contribute their creations.

Here's the rub: although some posts appear to be created by the currently young, others are from taller folks -- such as this terrorism poem from 1984, penned by Brian himself.

All posts are screened before they appear on the site, which makes this a bit of a playdate with a Type A parent -- more "OK, everybody ready for the next activity???" as opposed to "Sure kids, you can play video games until daddy finishes his six-pack of Meisterbrau." To encourage potential posters, they've just added Weemade Activities -- coloring pages with suggestions of what to draw.

The blog is fairly new and posts are few, so we'll see how it all develops. Me, I'm going to check my closet and see if I still have any of my old prank call tapes.

Strollerderby Playdate: Hanging With a Messy Loh Life

Madeline Holler — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 21:33:00 GMT

Just back from a playdate with writer/performer Sandra Tsing Loh and her two kids. Between us, their place is a pit! Clothes everywehere and they had this strange color-coded dishware system, which, I'm pretty sure, kept her off the hook for actually washing them but once a week.

No judgment, though. She's solo household-heading for the next two years. Her husband, a musician and their home's main source of cleaning and cooking, got a temporary gig with Bette Middler's show in Las Vegas. Instead of moving the whole family from Southern California to Sin City, they're doing the long-distance daddy thing. Hence, the pigsty.

Truthfully, I'm not big on clean, neat and tidy either. And, like Loh, I've never had the 50-50 argument with my husband about the chores since my skills (and interest) in that area are totally inferior to his. "If you're going to do something, do it right or don't do it!" is his mantra. Agreed! Here's the mop.

Loh and I both shared a good laugh over Bitch Ph.d's approach to equalizing housework in her home: narrating the wiping of tables, the cooking of dinner, the neatening of floors to the very smallest detail, including passive-aggressive "Oh, I see that X and Y need to be done. Now I shall do X and Y."

Standards. Who needs them! Now pass me my green plate, Sandra, I'm refilling my snacks.

Strollerderby Playdate: Boobies and Blood

Adrienne Martini — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 18:00:00 GMT

I've just returned from a lovely playdate with Heather at Oh My Stinkin Heck. We had coffee. We played with Play-Doh and Webkinz. But, mostly, we griped about the video store.

What's wrong with getting a couple of flicks to watch with the kids on family night? Plenty. Once you manage to pass the gauntlet of candy near the registers, you have to explain all of the DVD cases that feature headless women with enormous breasts or horrified women covered in blood. Now that's entertainment.

It's not that the questions that your kids will ask are hard to answer -- it's just that so many times the older kids take video boxes as illustrations of how the world is and don't ask questions. While the pictures alone won't force the tweens into a Girl's Gone Wild gig, they do add to the climate.

But Heather is a mom after my own heart. Not a prude, just aware of how powerful images can be. I do have just one word of advice, however: Netflix.

Strollerderby Playdate: Mama Tried

Adrienne Martini — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 19:00:00 GMT

As a wise man once said: There are people you meet and there are people you know. Even though I've never met here, Mama Tried is one of those people I know. In fact, if I didn't know better, I'd think she was my long lost twin.

We both have old houses and handy husbands. Ditto spent the better part of a day at work with baby spit-up on our clothes. Ditto shouldering the burden of a picky eater and all of the advice that comes with the same. And ditto a search for non-fundy friends with kids in the south.

I don't have a dog, however. Otherwise, I'd start to wonder if I was sleep-posting again.

Photo credit: www.answers.com

Strollerderby Playdate: Get Outta Town

Adrienne Martini — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 19:30:00 GMT

I just stepped back in from a playdate with Karrie at Mom Voyage. Yes, I do smell of dried chile peppers and sunscreen. Thanks for noticing.

I love hanging out with Karrie -- despite her current intestinal disorder -- because she is a mom who refuses to take "no" for an answer. Not when it comes to her kid eating his veggies. And certainly not when it comes to packing up and hitting the road. She also takes great pictures. How can you not want to head out after seeing shots like these?

What's so refreshing is that Karrie will be the first to admit that she's not "Adventure Mom" but rather "Don't Stay At Home Mom." Her trips aren't perfectly planned excursions with shiny, happy people. They are always better than being bitter about staying home and not trying something different.

Even if a break in the routine leads to a jellyfish sting or giardia.

Photo credit: Karrie Wellborn

Strollerderby Playdate: Papa (and Mama and Kids) is a Rolling Stone

Adrienne Martini — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 18:00:00 GMT

There are days when I think about chucking it all, packing up the kids, spouse and cats, and hitting the road for a few months. Only a two things stand in my way: my hatred for camping and my love of plumbing.

After my playdate with Vicki from Where the FuhKaui?*, I'm starting to think that I could do it. Her three kids -- ages 10, 8, and 6 -- look like they're having the best time ever as they criss-cross the country in their converted school bus. Dad Joe seems to have a perma-grin in all of Vicki's pictures.

And what pictures they are. Vicki has a knack for capturing the heart of both a place and the family. Just looking at Joshua Tree or San Diego or peacocks or ice make me want to be where she was, even if some of the excursion were less than pleasant. It's just gorgeous out there, though.

Which almost make me think that I could do it. Almost.

* say it out loud but quietly since it's nsfw.

Photo credit: Vicki from www.fuhkauifamily.blogspot.com

Strollerderby Playdate: Mired in Misery? Not So Much.

Amy Kuras — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 15:33:00 GMT

Misery index? I'll give you a misery index!

Karen wrote this week about the fact that Forbes Magazine recently released a list of the most miserable cities in America, and guess what? I'm living in the worst one! Whee!

Admittedly, right about now it’s hard to disagree. We're embroiled in a huge political scandal, my neighborhood streets are so icy I can hardly negotiate them, and there are for sale signs just everywhere, including on the homes of some of my favorite neighbors. Boo.

But there is so much reason to be optimistic, including that some of the best parent bloggers out there live in my very own city. Melissa from Suburban Bliss is one of the leading motherhood bloggers, to the point that she vacations with Dooce and has taken on Meredith Viera and everything. And she's smart, funny, insightful and generous with her success; she's been nice enough to link to me and you should see the spike it gives my blog's traffic numbers. Plus I got to vicariously live through the horrors of the Detroit real estate market with her – and they actually sold the house! Hope is alive!

And then there is Sweet Juniper. Bloggers (alias) Dutch and Wood moved here from San Francisco a little over a year ago, and I love seeing this city I have lived in almost my whole life through their fresh, creative eyes. They are both uncommonly graceful writers, although Dutch makes me feel like the slackest parent ever with the cool things he finds to do with their daughter.

And there are some excellent non-parenting bloggers as well – check out Detroitblog for an interesting perspective on life in this city and Model D for development news and neighborhood profiles that counteract all the gloom.

That'll show you, Forbes Magazine.

Strollerderby Playdate: A Very Good Thing

Amy Kuras — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 23:44:00 GMT

This has been kind of a crappy day, in the midst of a crappy week, at that crappy time in a woman's life known as the ass-dragging end of pregnancy. And it's Michigan. In February.

So when I went looking for a playdate for this week, I wanted someone funny. Someone who could make me giggle without being mean, who could point out the many humorous aspects of this parenting gig without making it seem like the most horrible idea ever. Because if ONE MORE PERSON takes it upon themselves to tell me how much more awful and busy and chaotic life is with two I am going to burst right into tears in front of them.

So I clicked a link on another favorite blog and lo and behold found right what I was looking for, right there at One Good Thing.

Leigh Ann, or Flea as she calls herself, is so funny and wise I kind of want to be all stalky until she agrees to be my friend. The first two posts I read, which are up right now (go over there, I'm not kidding) were about the Robot Army her sons command (funniest thing I have read all week) and then the next one down was about incredibly unfair domestic violence laws in her home state of South Carolina. Do you know cockfighting's a felony and wifebeating a misdemeanor? Neither did I, and I am horrified.

Also? She and her husband have an interesting little side business. Could bring a whole new meaning to playdate….

Strollerderby Playdate: OK, You Can Call This One Dad

Erin White — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 16:00:00 GMT

Or Baba, if you are one of her two wildly photogenic children.

Whatever you call her, try to schedule a playdate over at her place this week. LesbianDad is always a good time-- she's smart and political and somehow manages to photograph and write about her children in a way that's not at all precious. She's also got a Northern California vibe in her words and photos which makes me want to hop a plane out of this ice-encased Yankee town I live in and spend the week in her well-lit, natural wood-filled house where I am just certain you can smell both the ocean and really really good coffee, all the time.

But here's the real reason I think you should be hanging out over there:

Turns out LesbianDad had to take a bit of time off from blogging (something about an teeny little bit of surgery) so she created a series of six posts out of a fantastic essay that first appeared in this book. All six installments are up now, so you can just settle back into that tastefully upholstered chair by the window with a handmade mug full of hot chai and read all about this one woman's journey to Babahood.

Strollerderby Playdate: Because 8 Wasn't Enough

Madeline Holler — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 12:15:00 GMT

What is wrong with these people? One woman, along with her husband and five kids (yes, five), invited her sister, brother-in-law and their 2.5 kids (baby to hatch soon) to come and live with them, together, under one roof. "Temporarily." (I know.)

This "temporary" arrangement has been going along for at least a year now and I don't see any posts of scratched-out eyes or lawyers or anything. Just lots and lots of names of kids which I'm pretty sure even the grown-ups don't actually remember. The bloggers provide a nice cheat-sheet of the cast for the rest of us.

Besides being the premise of a great reality show, for those of us who don't relate to the women of Orange County, there's some real drama, here. Amy, for one, is a bit jealous of her sister Keri at the moment. Also, one of the boys is autistic (and spending six months in a hospital away from home.) How do you get through those kinds of challenges without feeling exposed, even if it is your sister? Also, who's actually the boss -- there's always a boss, right?

The two acknowledge that it's not always great. Here's how they seem to make it work. (1) the house has eight bedrooms. (God, where is this? A plantation in the antebellum South?) (2) the sisters seem really nice. (3) the sisters are ignoring their mother's advice to them as children and not expressing every damn problem they have with each other. They're really sucking it up. (4) they recognize the fact that they have FREE BABYSITTING. (Actually, maybe that was ME who recognized it. Wonder if my sister wants to move in ...)

So Amy and Keri of Who Else Wants to Live In My House are today's playdate. If they have room. And enough snacks to share.

Oh, oh, one more playdate surprise: that sister Amy? She's totally Strollerderby's Amy Lutz! No secrets now (like she had any living with 11 other people?)!

Strollerderby Playdate: Home Ec 101 for Those of Us in the Back of the Class

Jessica Ashley (Sassafrass) — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 20:27:00 GMT

I'd love to tell you all with confidence and honesty that I am a good housekeeper, a neatnick, a clutter-clearing wizard. And I'd love to to tell you that the fact I edited and wrote some content for a mom's organizational book last year means I have some kind of (ahem) expertise in the area of putting away all that stuff in piles on the dining room table, dressers, desks, couch and any other reasonably flat surface. Alas, I do not. I try. Lord knows, I try. As I move away from my marriage, the refuge of my parents house during my separation and blaze into life as a single mama, I feel even more committed to trying to be one of those people with clean counter tops and organized closets who is not afraid for visitors to pop by or worried that bills are tucked into the bins of plastic trucks and puzzles. To get there, I will need a lot of patience, a good chore schedule and to send up lots of prayers for mercy and guidance from these domestic demi-goddesses:

Bad Bad Ivy and Heather at Home Ec 101, I bow down to you. You cook, you clean, you sew, you save money. And the best part of all? Your advice on reigning over the household is all realistic and wise-ass and wonderful and devoid of pretentiousness, primping or judgment.

You do not make me feel inadequate for (heretofor) having a minefield of a home with only a path through the toys and laundry and notes from interviews I did three years ago. You just offer up a handy chore chart with no-nonsense tasks (like using the broom to pull down the cobwebs from the ceiling corners on Tuesdays) to take or leave as I please.

Then come the Ms. Fix It tips and sink-shining goodness that I love putting to work (and that allow me to unabashedly wear a cape and deflector bracelets while I wield power tools and make my own repairs). You follow that up with an easy peasy stew to frugally fill the whole family's bellies and simple strategies for keeping tidy, cleaning up, saving up, planning menus, saving water and time -- you know, all that stuff you should have learned from a high school class or your dad or some afterschool special but didn't because, well...you were busy cutting school or watching Tron on a beta tape or not listening to your father.

Home Ec 101 does a sparkling job of keeping the tasks simple and accessible and the talk straight, sassy and smart. Reading it actually (gulp) makes me want to be (look away, mom) more domestic. Or at least, ask Bad Bad Ivy and Heather if they know of any great housekeepers I can call. Just for a jump-start, I swear.

Strollerderby Playdate: The Inexpensive, Cheap Parent Edition

Madeline Holler — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 12:36:00 GMT

You know what? I'm cheap. I don't even use the term "frugal" because that's just a needlessly expensive word that sounds defensive. Not that cheap is my badge of honor, but I'm not trying to hide anything either.

Don't worry, I'm not so cheap that it's embarassing. I am not tempted to call supermarket sampling "lunch." But I am just cheap enough that my family will manage this coming recession without much drama. We won't have to adjust and cut back too much since we ride it pretty close to the line anyway.

Still, miserly-ness loves company, so I've invited some along to today's playdate (via Susan Flynn's article in the January L.A. Parent magazine). Whether you need some new ideas on how to cutback or save more. Or if you prefer the more salacious side of money matters (this article on how to tell if your financial partner is cheating. Yow!). Oh, most of these websites aren't terribly fancy -- naturally, they cut corners and didn't go the professional design route. So tacky! The savings!

Miserly Moms -- budget calculators, which are fun, and tips from readers (also recipes, but, well, yuck. We're more serious than casseroles, here.)

Dollar Stretcher -- the best since it's loaded with specific topics on budgeting, stuff for new moms and also easing into investing and lots of calculators -- retirement, city vs. country living, etc. -- links to forums and also a few blogs. All free!

If you've got a lot of different debt, there's the Debt Snowball method of paying it off. And, in any case, a calculator that's great fun to play with because it tells you how long you'll be paying off the debt and, after interest, what the total amount you'll have paid.

Warning: cheap people can get pretty holier-than-thou, so you'll have to ignore that if you think that might bug you. Just remember, people who write about it must be really into it. Anyway, they've got so little else going on (what with the price of ...)

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

Strollerderby Playdate: Purse Lust

Jessica Ashley (Sassafrass) — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 16:01:00 GMT

If this was really a playdate -- complete with decaf coffee, cheese and crackers, juice boxes and big gallons of hard liquor -- I admit that about four minutes in, I would be so over talking about the election, done catching up on night-time dryness and ready to stop talking about whether or not small animals pee in the playground sandpit in the winter. I can assure you that today, I will want to move on to the things that really matter for mommies on the go. Yes, friends, it's time to add a couple of extra glugs of half and half to the coffee and talk handbags.

No no no, I don't want to know what's in your bag. I don't care how much you paid for it (unless it was a hella good eBay sweep). It doesn't even matter if it only holds loose fishy crackers and a Costco of baby wipes. What does matter is how much you love the pretty purse your toting around to Pilates, Target, or just from room to room during boring afternoons with the kids.

Here are a few beauties I'm bringing to the table today. Tell tell tell...what do you think? What purse is the object of your desire these days?

The perfect little brunch bag.

Sweet little wristlet for a saucy night out on the town.

Preppy-pretty tote to carry all your sorority girl tendencies.

A totally non-controversial way to sassy-up your preschool Mommy of the Day outfit.

Adding a little funk to your functional purse.

A little bit of vintage-inspired love that (awwwww...) you can't squeeze a sippy cup into, not even if you try.

Strollerderby Playdate: The Awful Blog I Can't Stop Reading

Madeline Holler — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 12:32:00 GMT

How can it be that I am a regular reader of this blog? I mean, you could hardly call it a blog -- she posts only once or twice a month, it's not terribly interesting, it's surrounded by ads for gentle yet overpriced baby laundry detergent that you don't even need.

And it's her! Her! I don't even like her! I am not interested in her! I do nothing but criticize and disagree with her. I didn't watch her on TV before and, now that she's back, I still don't. I won't! Yet, I read her blog. I check it for updates, feel let down when there are none. I find myself identifying with her truly mundane stories and smiling at -- and I mean this in the rudest ways -- the very unfunny funny things she strains to write. Please, what is wrong with me?

Somehow, I have let Elisabeth Hasselbeck get under my skin and into the heart of my web browser. Bafflingly, I don't consider the three minutes I put in each month checking out her posts -- she doesn't even have links or games or a photo album to look through! -- wasted time. How could I? I love reading it! But shouldn't I hate myself a little more for loving it? Shouldn't I want to soak in a tub of scalding hot water and gentle Dreft soap bubbles?

It's like the playgroup I go to again and again. The membership is dwindling, the only mom who shows up is the one you have nothing in common with. Nothing! But I keep going -- once or twice a month -- to not connect, to not agree, to not enjoy. Why go? Why not.

Strollerderby Playdate: Anyone Have An Epi-Pen?

Kelly Mills — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 12:03:00 GMT

Wow, school is almost back in for us. I'm happy-sad about it, but I do sort of regret that we did not do many playdates for the wee one this break. Nor have I done much playdating blog-style, because what with the big meals and the family crap and blah blah blah, I'm lucky I could read the dosage on the bottle of Advil, let alone check out anyone's blog.

But in a gallant stab at returning to normalcy, I've come up with a date for y'all. Its on one of our hot topics: kid allergies. There's all kinds of theories about what causes allergies out there and so on, but I must confess this is the first time I'd heard Jimmy Carter's name dropped. It makes sense. Anyone who does that much good in the world, building houses for people and all must have some dark karma he's trying to purge. And causing kids to go to the hospital is pretty bad karma.

You might even recognize this blogger, because he is one of our own, meaning he's taken the dark oath and had the pentagram carved into his chest. And he's a funny guy who often drops the kind of musical references I can relate to, thank god. (So tired of the kids talking--make that texting--in language I don't understand about bands I've never heard of and who are probably too loud.) Anyhow, he sacrificed his blow-up doll for his kid, so you know he's going for a world's best dad trophy too. Check out his conspiracy theory on allergies, and bring your inhaler.

Strollerderby Playdate: Checkin' It Twice. Or At Least Once, Really Well.

Jessica Ashley (Sassafrass) — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 22:34:00 GMT

Since there are eight gazillion parenting blogs out there to read, four or five of which are actually entertaining, it helps to have some guidelines when you have a good solid twenty minutes of Elmo's World to waste online. Other than scratching off all the Republicans, homeschoolers and people who are still buying Baby Einstein DVDs, how do you negotiate your way through all those parent blogs?? (People, I'm kidding. I would never, ever judge someone who threw the kid in front of a Baby Mozart video from time to time throughout the day). Since it is the holidays and since I'm already migrating over to the other side of the list for posting this Playdate wayyyy late, why not just use the old St. Nick shortcut to decipher which blogs you should be reading? And of course, which blogs you really, really, really can't help but touch the screen longingly while you're reading. Here's how the bloggers are measuring up in these Christmas countdown days:

Naughty.

Nice.

Naughty.

Supremely nice.

Mostly naughty.

Pretty nice.

Naughty naughty naughty.