Books

It’s naptime here for Milo and I just read cover to cover The Granny Diaries: an insider’s guide for new grandmothers and loved it! I suspect that since my oldest son is three that my mom and MIL already learned most of this stuff the hard way… BUT, if I could go back to my first-time-pregnant self, I would engineer a way for both of them to get copies (either anonymously or from their own battle-scarred girlfriends). It’s that good!

The Granny Diaries is written by an actual hip grandma, Adair Lara, about all the mistakes she made and lessons from her own screw-ups grandmothering an infant and toddler. It’s packed with funny-but-true advice about not interfering and always following the mama’s rules (instead of freestyling and giving my son his first ice cream while I’m parking the car at the grocery store and didn’t even think to ask you not to give him ice cream!!) while also celebrating the great parts of grandmothering too.

Do yourself a favor and find a copy of this book and mail it anonymously to any new grandmothers out there. The sanity you save may be your own.

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I received this copy to read and review and love from our friends at Chronicle Books. I’ll be sneaking it into my MIL’s bags at her next visit.

Whitney and I both have young and hip husbands in the all-important 18 to 34 demographic while we are in the less desirable 35+ bucket ourselves. It is from this vantage point that I flipped through How Not to Look Old and wondered, “is she talking to me? (or my mom?)”

I got the book sent to me for free by the publisher and immediately put it in the pile with books For Other People and went on with my day.

I like to think of myself as “wash and go” or better “low maintenance” and that’s all well and good when you are young and taut. When I used to spend my weekends in college in my pajama bottoms, I’m sure that I still looked pretty darn cute. If I couldn’t be bothered with makeup in my twenties, I still looked like I was in my twenties. Know what I mean?

Then I found Fussy’s Frump Fighting Manifesto during my Internets prowling the other week. Mrs. Fussypants has five sons (one newborn) and proclaims “we can’t both look good, it’s me or the house” (oops, we both look sloppy!) and “respect the rack!!” among other tips. Since reading that list, I’ve purged more t-shirts that don’t flatter my body and started questioning this whole topic.

With the last five pounds of baby #2 hugging my middle and my Berkeley casual attitude, I think I’m on the slippery slope to frumpsville. Oh crap.

I went back to the book. I furiously read it as fast (and as casually as I could) so I could soak up all the important parts without letting on to Alec that I care. I learned about letting go of ill-fitting jeans and embracing natural looking make-up. She offers tested product brands to try as well as strategies for staying in fashion without being a slave to it. That last bit appeals to my industrial engineering practicality, my ever-present frugality, AND my low maintenance ideal.

Lucky for me, my Mother In Law visited this weekend and she saw the book. And she picked it up. And she casually read and memorized all she could without taking notes or acting like she cared too much. So, I offered it to her and she accepted. Because you can’t be 35 and have that book sitting on your coffee table. Nor can you really ever give it as a gift.

Oh good, she is talking to my mom, she says “boomers” right here. Whew!

I’ve been waiting for the right time to thank Heidi for her feature of us and now it’s time. Her self-described “little book” Super Natural Cooking is nominated for a James Beard Foundation Award and she’s off to NYC for the weekend to celebrate. Yay Heidi!

In praise of Heidi
We’ve been friends (and fans) of Heidi for a long time, and she’s always doing something amazing, from chickclick through her regular posts to 101 Cookbooks to her gorgeous photographs and tasty potluck dishes, she’s a great friend, mentor, and all-around fun person to have at a party.

We thank you for your delicious dishes and encouragement that we should have a website and also a book. You rule.

In praise of Super Natural Cooking
This latest book project offers practical suggestions for gradually increasing the whole grains and healthy foods in our pantries. As a result, I’ve got a few better sugars and heartier grains with a few more to go. Of course, it is beautifully photographed and stocked with the usual array of fantastic vegetarian dishes with unique twists on standard ingredients.

I admit that I’m a carnivore and I tend to throw a small chicken breast on the Foreman as I’m making one of her recipes, but let me assure you… my little chicken is the side dish and the main dish is Sushi Rice Bowl or Risotto-style barley with arugula.

What do Pretend Soup and Trader Joe’s have in common?
They’re on our round-up of favorite Rookie Mom cookbooks over at 101 Cookbooks.

For the dirty details on why we like what we like, a montage of funny pictures, and which of us aspires to be June Cleaver, you’ll have to read the full post, but here’s a quick list of faves:

• Cooking with All Things Trader Joe’s
• Pretend Soup and Other Real Recipes: A Cookbook for Preschoolers & Up
• The Best 30-minute Recipe: A Best Recipe Classic (Best Recipe Series)
• The Six O’Clock Scramble: Quick, Healthy, and Delicious Dinner Recipes for Busy Families
• Super Baby Food
• First Meals (New Expanded Edition)

Thanks a million to Heidi Swanson for featuring us and congratulations on your nomination!

We’re building a TasteBook of all our favorite recipes. We’re collecting recipes that we love that are worth the effort, ones that can be doubled and frozen, ones that we can make with a kid on our hip or one climbing a leg, and recipes that are sweet sweet naptime indulgences

Will you help us? It’s easy.

1. Join TasteBook (it’s free).
2. Add your favorite recipes or find some using the site search.
3. Share them with us at MOMS [at] rookiemoms.com.

We’ll include all our favorites in the Rookie Mom’s TasteBook Series.

Regardless, you can use TasteBook to mix and match your favorites with ours…

On Saturday, from 10am to 3pm, we’ll be (wo)manning the Rookie Mom’s Table at the Birth and Baby Fair at Fort Mason. Come on out and see us!

Saturday, May 24th • 10am to 3pm
Fort Mason Conference Center
99 Marina Blvd • San Francisco, CA 94123

• Decorate a Onesie at our Onesie-of-a-kind area (is a corner of a table really a station?)
• Buy our books — We’ll have a few dozen to sell and autograph with a special trade show price.
• Just say “hi” if you’ve ever read our site!

There’s also other way cool stuff to see and do and buy if you’re expecting a baby like get maternity clothes at a discount, visit tables with unbelievably cute mom-preneur inventions and clothes, and learn from experts about birthing options. More details here at birthandbabyfair.com.

With the May 30th premier of SATC, the movie, the timing is just about perfect for a children’s book that celebrates the virtues of being single, having fun with your friends, and seeing the world over marrying a dullard prince. The message of Princess Bubble is loud and clear: find your own happily ever after!

I like the message and the illustrations enough to share this cute find with you, but I’m not really sure what the appropriate target age might be. It strikes me that the tween, teen, and twenty-something young ladies that could really benefit from this message are probably not reading books like this anymore.

As with the Rookie Mom’s Handbook, we share a common idea that a happy (and confident) mom leads to happy and confident children.

I’ll try it out on Holden tonight and figure out if the amusing puns fly right over his head. So, for those of you with princess wannabes at home, is this book perfect or what?

Tomorrow we’re having a party to celebrate our book and we want to invite all you rookie mamas. Realistically, we’ll just expect those of you who live in the Bay Area to show up.

The details:

Wednesday, May 21, 2008
11:00am - 12:30pm

Studio Grow
1035 10th Street at Gilman
Berkeley, CA
510.526.9888

Here’s what will be happening:

At this fun-filled event, Heather and Whitney will offer tips for first-time moms on how to maintain your individuality and boost your confidence with the new baby in your life. Meet other new moms and participate in fun activities that will inspire you to discover baby-friendly destinations and adventures.

FUN ACTIVITIES FOR YOU AND BABY, INCLUDING

• Babywearing session: 5-10 different carriers will be available for moms to try on. Sponsored by Waddle and Swaddle
• Baby Portrait Station: Your newborn cutie can get their photo snapped by a professional photographer, Jen Molander
• Onesie-of-a-kind Decorating Station: We supply the materials, you leave with a cute new top for your baby
• Raffle for baby items, including
  • $25 Studio Grow “Green Card” for a family’s admission to Studio Grow
  • An autographed copy of Rookie Mom’s Handbook (with many more on sale!)
  • Mommy Organizer
  • Moby Wrap
  • A Lucky Brand Baby outfit worth $100.00!

Immediately following the event, Studio Grow will be hosting Baby Grow, their weekly drop-in parent discussion group for parents of children 0-12 months. Group is facilitated by Judy Alley, a pediatric social worker.

There’s something so refreshing about reading Mama Rock’s Rules.

And I read a lot of parenting books.

The thing that’s different (and great!) is that it’s all common sense. Nobody is trying to get me to remember to act like a grunting caveman when I talk to my toddler or shush and swaddle and jiggle (sorry Harvey, I still love you!) — there’s nothing here to memorize. Instead, Rose has a knack for distilling the essence of responsible parenting into easy-to-remember and time-tested rules (honed while mothering 27 kids).

These were the ones that stuck with me:

1. I’m your mama not your friend. When I said this to my almost-three-year old, he said, “mommy you’re my friend too” so I just let it go because he was so cute. But I think it’s worth remembering that the parent’s job is not to be the most popular, but raise self-sufficient kids who know right from wrong.
2. Have a family dinner every night. I somehow got this one in my head already, so I like reading reinforcement that this is not just my crazy idea but rather a proven method for building a close relationship with your children. Mama Rock thinks our kids are over scheduled anyway.
3. Institute the Rock Justice System. The RJS is based on the older children being in charge of the younger ones in an effort to teach them greater responsibility and resourcefulness. If you’ve ever watched Everybody Hates Chris, you’ll already know what this looks like (Chris gets in trouble when his brother ditches school or if his little sister catches a the flu). It’s almost enough to make me want to have more kids just to test this out. But not quite.

Bottom line is that this is a great book if you want to open up a can of whoop-ass on some of the other parenting experts on your shelf. Kinda funny and extremely pragmatic, with attitude. Worth a read.

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I was given a review copy of this book via ParentBloggers — see what other folks think. I slurped it right up.

Once upon a time, I had a job as a copy editor and I lasted about six weeks. From my first day, I felt it wasn’t the right job for me, and I cried on the phone to my previous boss. I forced myself to stay six weeks, and then I gave my two week-notice.

There was a bright side of this job – my office mate. Erika Lenkert was funny, smart, and confident in exactly the way you want an older sister to be. She had a glamorous work history, having written for InStyle, assorted travel guides, and glossy San Francisco magazines, and a glamorous social life, packed with dates, wine country outings with girlfriends, and invites to hip events. And she liked me. She told me she was my number one fan. I felt honored.

We lost touch soon after I left that job, so it was a short-lived friendship, but I was delighted to get an email the other day announcing a new book “The Real Deal Guide to Pregnancy” by Erika Lenkert.

The entire book is in Erika’s voice as she fills the reader in on all the important things a pregnant woman needs to know, adding a dash of her own experiences and down-to-earth perspectives.

Since I am not pregnant, I will confess that I could only bring myself to read about half of the book and then skip around. Love that she suggests traveling. (Can’t dwell on it because for me traveling right now includes a 50% potty trained three year old and an eight-month old who doesn’t sleep through the night.) I am grateful, however, that I didn’t miss out on page 226, where Erika gives us the real deal:

The first six months are really hard. Women who were born to be mommies will disagree, but those of us who have enjoyed being self-indulgent rulers of our own domains and defined ourselves through professional or social achievements accomplishments might beg to differ.

… In conjunction with moments of parental glory is the relentless and all-consuming task of navigating new parenthood, caring for a newborn, and realizing that you and your desires are no longer the first priorities in your own life.

I love to hear other women spell this out for soon-to-be-mamas.

Since Erika went through new motherhood a little after I did, reading this made me wish I could have given my former idol a big hug back when she was a smushy-bellied, tearful, milk-leaking, postpartum mess. I would have taken her and her daughter out for hot chocolate and pedicures. I would have assured her that she would return to the self-confident, strong, creative woman she was when we shared an office. But apparently that already happened, since she must have bounced back in order to write a book about it.

> The Real Deal Guide to Pregnancy is available at Amazon
> Erika Lenkert’s Web site
> The Rookie Mom’s Handbook: 250 Activities to Do with (and Without!) Your Baby (similar themes, but for women whose bundles of joy are already breaking in their Bugaboos)