Multiple....Choice.

A) Pretzel

B) Taxi

C) Museum of Sex

What did Aviva pick?

The Good Enough Blogger

Now that life is getting back to normal (whatever that is) since my trip to New York with Devra for Mamapalooza, I thought I would do a quick book review. You see, I'm not much of a reader. At least not in comparison to my daughter, Lexi. Lexi can read 3 or 4 books simultaneously, keep them all straight and finish them all in about 3 weeks. As for me? I can read 3 or 4 books simultaneously, not have any clue what I'm reading about and finish them all in about 3 years, each. Unless, of course, I have a plane ride.

Luckily for all of us, the 4 hours between Colorado and Virginia was all I needed to breeze through Good - enough Mother by Rene Syler (by the way, her first name is actually Michelle which she wanted to change to Mike but since her mom liked Mike, she went with Rene). While the book is obviously written to a very targeted audience of moms, I must admit I found myself laughing out loud on several occasions at the stories she told. I also found myself a little teary eyed when she told of her family battles with cancer not just once, but 3 times with three different family members - including herself.

I couldn't help recognize some of the similarities between the attitude in Rene's book and the attitude Devra and I espouse when we discuss Mommy Guilt or conduct Parentopia workshops. One of the most powerful "tools" we like to give parents is the little two word phrase, "So what." We encourage them to yell it out loud when they need to or whisper it under their breath when that seems more appropriate. It is a very liberating phrase that reminds you to believe in yourself and not worry so much about everyone else. Rene has a chapter in her book titled "I Don't Care." It is her good-enough mother mantra and it serves the same purpose as our "so what." Like Devra and me, Rene believes that being a parent should be enjoyed more than fretted over.

Should you find yourself with a little time to spare and want a fun, light read, you may want to pick up a copy of Good - enough Mother. It may not possess the answers to your burning parenting questions but it will remind you that good enough really is good enough! Besides, if I could read the entire book in less than a week, so can you.

Is your family hitting the road any time soon?

Laurel, our fabulous web designer, has a terrific article about saving money on family road trips. Start your engines and head over to
Mom's Mini Van for some useful tips to help you get your show on the road without spending all of your hard earned cash. And if you save money...

You'll be less crabby and everyone will enjoy the trip even more!

The Results are in. The Winners of the Mommy Guilt books are...

Last week we held a contest.

Lumpyhead's Mom at Lumpyhead and April at My Bullet Needs a New Gun are the winners of our contest but wait, there's more...

We also decided to give a book to Sara at Self Made Mom for showing up early in the morning and being the first to enter our contest. We know how pressed parents are for time, and we want to give her a shout out for putting our contest on her priority list.

If you didn't hear about our contest in time to participate, we've got good news. We'll be doing another contest in June. If you entered our contest and didn't win, we've got good news; You can enter again in June!

Mommy Guilt Absolving Workshops - New York City Mamapalooza

Looking for absolution? Just want to meet us? Just want to go out and have some fun? Join us on Saturday, May 19th at The Cutting Room. We will be conducting 2 Mommy Guilt Absolution Workshops as part of the Mamapalooza Lifestyles and Creativity Conference. Workshops will be offered at 2:00 and 3:00 PM.

See you there!

Mommy Guilt Contest Reminder! Win Free Book!

Please remember to enter our contest! Don't be shy! Delurk!

The Dangerous Book For Boys- MotherTalk Blog Tour

This is the first book I am reviewing with my eleven and a half year old son,MITCH, who is sitting next to me as I am typing rapidly so both of us can get to bed at a decent hour. MITCH (who insists on having his name in all caps, because it looks important and he thinks the author might be reading this review so,"We need to do a good job, Mom!")

MITCH thinks we should just make a list of our "likes" and "dislikes" of the book. So that is what we are going to do. (and upon MITCH's insistence we will use a different font and make it large.)

LIKES:

• It wasn't a boring book. Most of the stuff in it I actually read. (MITCH)
• Provided fond memories of my own childhood and activities I did with my own dad. (devra, who's name is not in caps as MITCH is laughing evilly because he gets to be in charge and likes that he is the only one in caps.)
• Most of the contents of the book were accurate- for example, the rules on the soccer pages are the rules for soccer. I know because I play it. (MITCH)
• The book doesn't need to run on batteries nor be plugged in yet it utterly and completely energizes the reader. It is easy to keep reading and reading all the way to the end. (devra, still not in caps with smartass son next to her smirking.)
• I liked the sunflowers because I was born in Kansas. (MITCH)

DISLIKES:

• The book isn't called "The Dangerous Book for Kids" (MITCH)
• Doesn't have an index and that's just not right. (MITCH and devra, who's still not in caps, even though I am included in the parenthesis with MITCH)
• Other than skinning a rabbit, there isn't anything in the book about cooking. Girls like boys with barbecuing skills! (devra, lower case, but hanging on.)
• Insect and Spider section was too short. There were six pages about insects and there are more insects in the world than people by a ton. (MITCH who is awesomely awesome in caps according to himself.)

OH YEAH! WE ARE SOOOOO GOOD! And please note we have no sense of humor...................................................................................................NOT!(previous sentence designed and typed by MITCH who still reigns in caps forever and ever. oh and devra his mom, while not in caps, is still his awesomely awesome mom. Oh yeah!)

MITCH is going to bed at 11:00 PM which is a new record for staying up on a school night. MITCH says "Thank You MotherTalk!"

And now that MITCH is in bed, I'm going to use ALL THE CAPS I WANT! MWAHAHAHAHA!

*Remember to check out the "Dangerous Book For Boys" contest. And while you are in the contest mood enter this one too!*

Win a signed copy (or two) of Mommy Guilt for Mother's Day!

It's been a while since we held a contest so we're doing one just in time for Mother's Day.

Below you will find four unique search terms that have been used to find Parentopia.

Contest rules are as follows:
Pick one.
Answer it.
Extra credit will be given to answers that include one or more of the
The Seven Principles of the Mommy Guilt-Free Philosophy


Does Alaska celebrate thanksgiving on a different day?

Should you put silverwear(sic) face up or down in dishwasher?

Who is the flatulent one?

How to tell a parent to wash their child.

There will be two winners. Each will receive a copy of Mommy Guilt, signed by us and sent to the person of their choosing.

Contest will close on Tuesday, May 15th at Naptime.

Feel free to leave your entry in the comment section or email it to us at ParentopiaMail@aol.com

Missing Mother Alert-Seriously. No joke. Please read. Help Find Lisa Stebic.

Lisa Stebic, a 37 year old mother of two disappeared on April 30th.

My friend Melanie Greenberg (married to Lisa's cousin Mark) has set up a website for anyone who may have information to help find Lisa.

Find Lisa Stebic

I've known Melanie for over 10 years, so I know she's not participating in some kind of sick Internet hoax. This is real. This is tragic. This is not the way anyone wants to get 15 minutes of fame. I know Melanie, a huge movie buff, would much rather be scanning the newspaper for movie reviews instead of being interviewed by journalists for what must feel like a story right off the Hollywood Screen.

Lisa is from a suburb of Chicago. The phone number for any tips, and they can be given anonymously, is 815-267-7217

Why am I posting this alert on our site? Well if we can all be a few degrees of separation from Kevin Bacon, there is a possibility someone reading our site may be a few degrees away from Lisa Stebic. It may be a remote possibility, but there is still a possibility.

Mommy Guilt in the Media

We are in the Pittsburgh Tribune today."Parents Spend More Time With Kids, but Angst Continues" We appreciate Kellie Gormly's piece about how parenting isn't always easy and how we aren't always easy on ourselves either. We need not be perfect, and it's always a good thing to be reminded that good is a perfectly acceptable standard. Even O.K is Okay! The Trib did a quick overview of the 7 Principles of the Mommy-guilt Free Philosophy, but if you want more details and examples, here ya go.

You know what Aviva and I do whenever we read a story where a journalist has opted to cover issues and not perpetuate mommy war rhetoric? We send a note to the journalist. We let them know we liked what we read and compliment their paper for running the piece. Sometimes the paper decides to print our letter. While the original piece is now behind the Tallahassee Democrat's *pay wall*, we can show you what ran on the May 6 Editorial Page:

WE NEED LESS GUILT AND MORE NAPS
re: The Mom Trifecta (My View April 26)
We want to reach out to Paula Bryant and her guilt-o-meter, she is right everyone in our country is exhausted and needs a big nap. It's why so many in our country are grouchy at work and home... Read more

Pundit Mom also let us know about a mommy guilt segment on the Today Show. I tried to get to my TV in time. but missed it. I was able to find Dr. Gail Saltz blog from the Today Show and her post about the emotion of mommy guilt. I left a couple of comments too.
Anyone see the segment which aired this morning and can fill us in on the advice given to the mom of the two year old?

Feeling Guilty About Drive-Thru dinner? Hit the brakes and enjoy those meals on wheels

Ya know, sometimes our kids are going to eat crap and we're going to drive thru and buy it for them. If you do it, it's not child abuse, it isn't even neglect. If you are feeling depleted and not sure you can figure out what your next meal will be or how to make it, but you are able figure out where it could come from, then by all means get in your car and go.

Many of the fast food joints recently began offering healthier options, such as apple slices, milk and yogurt. So if you are having a rough day why not make it easier on yourself? The kids might actually be a bit more cooperative if you offer up, "Your parent is exhausted. We are hitting the drive-thru so mommy (or daddy) can stay awake until your bedtime. Lemonade, Milk or Juice will be the drink of choice. Please keep your hands, feet and head inside the vehicle at all times and everyone remember to thank the driver when we arrive at our destination."

The Letterman clip was shamelessly lifted from our friend Liam's website. If you are in the New York area, you should go check out his show on Monday nights at Lolita's. It is FREE! That's right, free entertainment in New York City!

Got Mommy Guilt Questions? Need Absolution? Just wanna hear what our voices sound like? Have we got a deal for you...

Listen live, call in, email your questions, or just put em in our comment section and we'll try and tackle em "On Air" when we are guests on Motherhood Uncensored BlogTalk Radio.


Kristen speaks with Jodi, and then us! Show begins at 9:00PM EST.

Here is how you get there on May 2nd! Just press and go!