Zeno's Bar & Grill
Thursday, January 19, 2006
Thirsty Thursday
Pull up a chair and pop open a Pacifico. It's time for a Mom Meme. Join us if you want, invite a friend (by tagging them), and/or come back next week when we'll have a new Special.
1. What is the craziest, most over-the-top thing you've ever done so far inthe mad pursuit of being a "Perfect" Mom?
Kelly: Participating in the Pre-School Frenzy when my child was nine months old to get him into a three-year-old program and being upset that I hadn't started earlier.
Melanie: That would probably have to be the zoo birthday party that I threw for my oldest daughter when she was turning five, where I was 8 months pregnant as I frantically hauled several loads to the party site in a red wagon that was loaded with games, music, the perfect cake, a full lunch for adults from a local cafe, a hand-crank ice cream maker, a pinata…you get the picture. The kids even had PB & Js that I cut out in the shape of zoo animals with these Williams-Sonoma cookie cutters. It was total lunacy.
2. Name one real person, television, book or movie mom that you would consider to be a role model. Why?
Kelly: I'm not just saying this because she's my writing partner, but Melanie seems to have it so together - spending time with her kids and doing cool stuff with them, but still retaining herself and her interests - i.e. running, doing her science work, writing, keeping up w/ our blog, etc.
Melanie: Thanks, Kelly! You're too kind, and I'm not sure I should let you get away with that answer. Anyway, this question made me think of the mother bear in the Little Bear movies (based on the Maurice Sendak books). She is so calm and nice all the time. She bakes cookies and lets Little Bear’s friends come over and trash her house, plus she has the best voice and wears a long white apron. I always think of Mother Bear as my ideal!
3. Name one television, book or movie mother that you would definitely not aspire to be like. Why?
Kelly: Joan Crawford or Nikki from our book. Of course, Nikki was based on real life examples. Women who always made you feel like your house wasn't clean enough, your kids weren't well behaved, and you were just generally a mess.
Melanie : Probably the mom Mary Tyler Moore played in Ordinary People, who was so brittle and caught up in having her family look perfect rather than be happy.
4. What's the most horribly expensive and/or silly baby gadget you ever bought?
Kelly: A baby monitor. That doesn't sound too bad into you realize we lived in a tiny two bedroom flat in San Francisco.
Melanie: The Emmaljunga Viking pram I bought for my first daughter which cost a shocking $375 or so in 1998, way more than the typical buggies then. Of course now it would be considered el cheapo compared to the Bugaboo etc. But it lasted through three kids and is still going strong, so it was worth it--and a bargain I guess.
5. If you weren't a mom, what would you be doing?
Kelly: That's a hard question to answer because I think that if I had never been a mom I wouldn't have had this tremendous growth and awareness that I've had since I've had kids and tried to figure myself out. I would probably still be working some executive job and my husband and I would be taking fabulous vacations and driving matching Porsches in our Gold Coast Penthouse. But it would be boring.
Melanie: I think I might have ended up being a biology professor just by path of least resistance.
1. What is the craziest, most over-the-top thing you've ever done so far inthe mad pursuit of being a "Perfect" Mom?
Kelly: Participating in the Pre-School Frenzy when my child was nine months old to get him into a three-year-old program and being upset that I hadn't started earlier.
Melanie: That would probably have to be the zoo birthday party that I threw for my oldest daughter when she was turning five, where I was 8 months pregnant as I frantically hauled several loads to the party site in a red wagon that was loaded with games, music, the perfect cake, a full lunch for adults from a local cafe, a hand-crank ice cream maker, a pinata…you get the picture. The kids even had PB & Js that I cut out in the shape of zoo animals with these Williams-Sonoma cookie cutters. It was total lunacy.
2. Name one real person, television, book or movie mom that you would consider to be a role model. Why?
Kelly: I'm not just saying this because she's my writing partner, but Melanie seems to have it so together - spending time with her kids and doing cool stuff with them, but still retaining herself and her interests - i.e. running, doing her science work, writing, keeping up w/ our blog, etc.
Melanie: Thanks, Kelly! You're too kind, and I'm not sure I should let you get away with that answer. Anyway, this question made me think of the mother bear in the Little Bear movies (based on the Maurice Sendak books). She is so calm and nice all the time. She bakes cookies and lets Little Bear’s friends come over and trash her house, plus she has the best voice and wears a long white apron. I always think of Mother Bear as my ideal!
3. Name one television, book or movie mother that you would definitely not aspire to be like. Why?
Kelly: Joan Crawford or Nikki from our book. Of course, Nikki was based on real life examples. Women who always made you feel like your house wasn't clean enough, your kids weren't well behaved, and you were just generally a mess.
Melanie : Probably the mom Mary Tyler Moore played in Ordinary People, who was so brittle and caught up in having her family look perfect rather than be happy.
4. What's the most horribly expensive and/or silly baby gadget you ever bought?
Kelly: A baby monitor. That doesn't sound too bad into you realize we lived in a tiny two bedroom flat in San Francisco.
Melanie: The Emmaljunga Viking pram I bought for my first daughter which cost a shocking $375 or so in 1998, way more than the typical buggies then. Of course now it would be considered el cheapo compared to the Bugaboo etc. But it lasted through three kids and is still going strong, so it was worth it--and a bargain I guess.
5. If you weren't a mom, what would you be doing?
Kelly: That's a hard question to answer because I think that if I had never been a mom I wouldn't have had this tremendous growth and awareness that I've had since I've had kids and tried to figure myself out. I would probably still be working some executive job and my husband and I would be taking fabulous vacations and driving matching Porsches in our Gold Coast Penthouse. But it would be boring.
Melanie: I think I might have ended up being a biology professor just by path of least resistance.
