Book Event Archives

Go See This Show If You're in New York

October 13, 2009

When was the last time you laughed so hard your stomach hurt? Can't remember? If that's the case, I have a strong recommendation for you. Go get this book: "Afterbith: Stories You Won't Read in a Parenting Magazine." Better yet, if you live in the New York area, go see the author, Dani Klein Modisett, in action. She'll be bringing her show to the New York Comedy Festival on Saturday, November 7th.

Modisett emcee's her show... which includes well known writers and actors reading essays they wrote about becoming a parent. The show runs mainly in LA, but travels around the country as well. For this stint, she'll be joined on stage by Dana Gould ("The Simpsons"), Andrew McCarthy (actor/director, "Lipstick Jungle"), Caroline Rhea (mom on "Phineas and Ferb," real mother of Ava Rhea), Dan Bucatinsky ("Web Therapy," "The Comeback"), Lew Schneider ( "Everybody Loves Raymond," writer, "Men of a Certain Age"), Caroline Bicks ("Midwiving Subjects in Shakespeare's England," Professor Boston College), and Andrea Martin (actress, "Wag The Dog," "Nurse Jackie."

Now watch this video:

"Afterbirth"

May 18, 2009

Four years ago, before our first son was born, I had no idea what I was in for. I had no idea that some day, I'd watch in horror as one of the kids deliberately stepped in dog poop. I had no idea that I'd say things like, "Stop licking the pole on the bus." And I definitely couldn't have imagined that extreme frustration could co-exist with extreme happiness. Often in the same day.

It's this very sense of shock and awe that's at the core of the new book "afterbith: Stories You Won't Read in a Parenting Magazine". Without a doubt, this is the most hilarious thing I've read in a long time. If you, like me, thought it was virtually impossible to find a unique parenting book, think again. And then go buy Afterbirth.

Comedian Dani Klein Modisett edited the book, which is a collection of essays about how parenting changes you in ways you'd never imagine. All of the pieces are written by top writers and performers... a virtual who's who in Hollywood.

The book itself sprang from Modisett's long-running show that features these writers reading their essays. It started in LA, but she now takes it on the road. And if it's near you, go see it.

I was lucky enough to catch the show in NY recently, after meeting Modisett in a dance class. She was wearing a t-shirt of the cover of her book, so I practically pounced on her to see what it was all about. We were quickly reprimanded by the teacher to stop talking. Thanks to email, we continued the conversation later.

Yes, little did I know, four years ago, that I would come to worship our babysitters so that I could go out to an event like Modisett's show. Then again... I don't think I ever envisioned saying, "Get off of your brother RIGHT NOW or someone is going to get hurt!"

Too bad I didn't have "Afterbirth" BEFORE I gave birth.

"If You Give a Mom a Martini"

April 26, 2009

Here's my assessment of Mother's Day when you have small kids. In my case, boys. Two of them. 18 months apart. Under the age of 5. Mother's Day is the place where aspiration meets reality.

My husband aspired to give me a break yesterday. I aspired to relax. But in reality, it didn't quite happen.

Sure, they let me sleep in. (Thank you! Thank you!) And yes, they made an awesome pancake breakfast. (Loved the flowers.) But one parent is not enough to handle these two steamrollers, so I decided to tag along on their trip to Central Park. One massive toddler meltdown and a near collision with a golf cart collecting trash later, we retreated home. I never made it to the yoga studio.

Over the past few years, I've slowly come to terms with the fact that "down time" is something to catch as catch can. If you've got a half an hour to yourself... take advantage of it. Don't wait for that free afternoon. It's hard to find, and even when you do, it might be fleeting.

A new book embraces this very notion. "If You Give a Mom a Martini" has tips for making the most of your free time. The subtitle..."100 Ways to Find 10 Blissful Minutes For Yourself"... says it all.

The book is co-authored by Julie Klappas and Lyss Stern (with a foreword by Christie Brinkley). Full disclosure... Lyss organized my first speaking engagement when my book came out.

Give a Mom a Martini is a quick read and has the usual suggestions of taking a nap and getting a manicure. But it goes further, and may even leave you chuckling at some of the pointers... I liked the idea of using a baby mop. Unfortunately my kids are too old. I think buying a lottery ticket is a good way to day dream... so I've done that. And I'm planning on decluttering our mailbox by trying out catalogchoice.org.

All in all, even if you only have ten minutes of peace and quiet, this book is all you really need. Just lock the bathroom door and tell the kids you'll be right out. Soon. When you're ready. After all, shouldn't every day be Mother's Day.

If You Want to Make Last Minute Monday Night Plans In NYC... I'm Speaking at an Event in Brooklyn

To all of you expectant moms in New York... I'm speaking at an event in Brooklyn. It's a breastfeeding basics class run by Baby Bites NYC. I'm doing it jointly with lactation consultant Andrea Syms Brown.

You can still sign up to come at this link.

Winners of the Book "Margarita Mama"

May 15, 2008

And now for the winners of the new book "Margarita Mama: Mocktails for Moms To Be." Thanks to everyone who submitted a comment to the contest, telling us their pregnancy cravings.

Alyssa, the author, picked the following winners. Ladies, please email me if you won:

Regina
Biggest craving: I took the train the entire time i was pregnant,it was during all of the sweaty months. people would have this oniony body odor that would make me want chicken soup and lobster bisque. Gross in retrospect yes but I would stop at nothing to get these two soups!

Lindsie
My biggest craving were those red, white and blue popsicles which isn't weird in and of itself but this was January! I sent Hubby to the local gas station every night to get them!

Kate5405
Biggest craving: Fish & Chips from Arctic Circle. I had to have them almost every day. Even when labor started, I made my hubby stop at Arctic Circle on the way to the hospital and I ate my fish in the car.
I would love these books for my daughter-in-law who is pregnant with her first baby.

CarynB
My husband and I were living in Scotland during the first 13 weeks of my pregnancy. Scottish food is very...heavy. I was so nauseous...all day...every day. The only thing I wanted was cheese. Grilled cheese, macaroni and cheese...cheese!

Angela
Biggest craving: I craved Margaritas!! My husband was so sweet and helped me out by making me some delicious "virgin" ones. They tasted pretty good!!

BettyRood
my craving was for honey...but i was lucky .a very elderly neighbor had his own bee hives,when he found out i was craving it ,he brought me a fresh quart every week!! i still remeber that fondly 28 years later...and by the way,what is my 28 year old's fav thing to eat??HONEY,,,LOL

Jenny
And my craziest craving was for tons and tons of strawberries. It was an expensive craving, because this was not during strawberry season and I could eat half a pound of them in one sitting.

Danielle
Strangest Craving: FISH!!! I have ALWAYS hated all fish and seafood. The smell alone makes me nauseous, but for some reason when I was preggo with my first, I craved it SO BAD! I still couldn't get past the mental part of actually allowing myself to eat it, but I would go to fast food places, order a fish sandwich and just smell it! WIERDO! ;-)

Andrea
I craved lemon juice with a little bit of water and without sugar.

Vicky
My biggest craving and how I satisfied it...I had craved fruit, but I think the biggest fit I had with one was I wanted Iced Coffee Frappacino-like drink. Problem was I didn't consume caffine and I had gestational diabetes. I went to a specialty coffee shop and had them make a custom-made drink. It was sugar free, caffine free, and the best tasting coffee drink I ever had. They even put a very small dollop of whip cream with cinnamon spice. YUM!

Winners of the Book "The Rookie Mom's Handbook"

Thanks to everyone who sent in their "rookie mom" mistakes for the Mother's Day Contest here. Boy have we all done some pretty funny things! And below you'll find the ten winners of the new book "The Rookie Mom's Handbook." The authors themselves picked their favorite entries. Let me know if you're on the list!

Vicky:
My biggest rookie mistake is a classic I am sure any mom of a little boy has made.... What am I going to do with a winkie?" I think I asked that 100 times the last 1/2 of my pregnancy. I soon found out. I made the mistake of changing my little guy slowly and took the chance of getting a diaper with ease. Before I knew what had happen, I had pee shot in my eye. (I had glasses on, no clue how he managed that one) Then rookie mom here decided to scream...in my mouth the pee went! NOW...I KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH A WINKIE!! FYI- my next baby boy never got me like that and never will.

Sarah:
Biggest mistake - not finishing the remodel on our old house BEFORE the first baby. Now four years and two kids later, I'm stuck in remodel land and miserable with it. No time, no money.

Andrea:
When my son was three weeks old, I was so tired that one evening I brushed my teeth with diaper ointment (which came in a tube) instead of toothpaste and only noticed a while afterwards because my lips were white. And...I did it again a few weeks later.

Regina:
biggest rookie mistake: I would say not taking folks up on their offers to help out, or not speaking up more on the train when i was 8 months pregnant and people wouldn't get up.

Lindsie:
My biggest rookie mistake was putting carrier into the car without the baby being buckled. We had been somewhere and I unbuckled her and never buckled it back up. When I went to get her out and saw that I felt like the worst mom in the world.

Vicky:
My biggest rookie mom mistake was comparing my baby to other babies too much. It is hard not to compare but it just made me worry if my baby wasn't doing something someone else was at the same age.

Danielle S.:
Biggest Rookie Mistake: Telling everyone when I was pregnant "I'd never let my child..." I've had to eat ALOT of crow! LOL!

Jenny:
My biggest (or um, grossest) mistake as a pregnant mom was not realizing I could no longer overeat. I used to LOVE Fuddrucker's, and one day after the morning sickness had subsided (I was sick the first half of my pregnancy) I asked my husband to take me there. After consuming my burger and wayyy too many potato wedges with cheese, we got in the car to leave and the baby was crowding my stomach. I told my husband to stay in the right lane in case we had to pull over, but did he listen? We were in the left lane about to turn when it hit me. "Jordan. PULL! OVER!" It was dark, and he couldn't find the parking lot, so I ended up puking in the middle of the front lawn of a church. I felt terrible about it, but at least they weren't having a service that night!

Katie:
My biggest mistake was putting the baby in bed with me when I wasn't really awake. Bonk! I didn't make that mistake again!
(I've loved the Rookie Moms forever!)

Angela:
My biggest mistake was not getting help sooner when breastfeeding wasn't going well. My daughter lost too much weight because she wasn't latching on right and I then spent the next two weeks seeing a lactation consultant frequently to get her back on track and get my supply back up. I knew it would be hard, but it was a lot of work. I ended up breastfeeding successfully for 11 months while working full time, though! :)

A Video Interview With Me

January 10, 2008

The website Boldfacers.com recently interviewed me, and the story (click here) has some of the best breastfeeding puns you'll ever come across. It all starts with the headline, "She's Stacked, Baby." Now why didn't I think of that?

If that's not your thing...just surf around the site to find profiles of people doing pretty cool stuff in all sorts of fields...people like a sneaker designer, a landscape architect and a jazz club founder.

Now click here to watch this video.

Speaking at Another Moms Event in New York City

November 10, 2007

Calling all pregnant ladies... or new moms...or anyone who wants to talk about babes and boobs. I'm doing a book signing with the group Baby Bites on December 5th. Here are the details:

When: Wednesday, December 5th, 6:00 - 8:00 PM
Where: Destination Maternity, corner of 57th and Madison
Cost: $40 in advance, $45 day of, food & refreshments will be served
RSVP: laura@babybitesnyc.com

Here's a link to the event information.

I'm Making A Guest Appearance on the Site The Nest Baby

November 01, 2007

In the late 90's I lived on Mott Street in Manhattan. It was a cute little block that had yet to be overrun by chic boutiques. Today its a shoppers' mecca. But back then we had one coffee shop, a pizza place, a diner and some abandoned store fronts. I also had a hallway neighbor who mentioned that she was working on a new website for brides. (She may have even been starting it, I can't remember. I can't remember her name, either). That little website was called The Knot. I'm sure you've heard of it.

If you have, you may also know The Knot's sister websites, The Nest, and The Nest Baby. Can you say building a brand?

Anyway, The Nest Baby is an adorable site for moms who are trying to conceive, well into their pregnancies or experiencing life with a newborn. I'm making a guest appearance on the site this week, and I'm answering reader questions. Hop on over if you'd like and check things out.

Speaking at a Moms' Event in New York City

October 31, 2007

You'd think, after all these years of speaking in front of people, and even working as a reporter, I wouldn't get nervous about public speaking. But I do. Can someone please teach me how to meditate?

Anyway, if you want to see me put on my "I'm-not-the-least-bit-anxious-game-face," come to a book party next week in New York City. I'll be at Citibabes on Wednesday, November 7th, from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m.. Here's the Citibabe's site if you want more information.

My Virtual Book Tour for Mama Knows Breast

October 02, 2007

When I finally finished writing Mama Knows Breast, I naively asked the publisher if I was going on a book tour. She must have thought I was a total idiot...or entirely self-centered...to ask that question. Seems that today book tours are reserved for the heavy hitters. And that's where the internet steps in for the common folk.

The NYT Style section ran a piece a few weeks ago on the increasing popularity of the "virtual book tour." In other words, authors sit at home (in my case, sporting an apple sauce coated t-shirt), and visit blogs and websites to promote their book. Sometimes the blogger writes about the book; sometimes the author does a guest blog post.

In a sense, I've been doing a virtual book tour on my own for the past couple of weeks-- thank you to all the lovely bloggers who have kindly reviewed my book. And now, I'm also doing something a little more formal through a website called Mother-Talk.com. Mother-Talk has a post about my book, a "backstory" that I wrote, and links to 10 bloggers who are doing reviews all this week.

Throughout the week I'll put links here to each of the 10 blogs, and pull quotes, as they post:

Oct 1: Stirrup Queens writes a review, as well as her story about how, after the birth of her twins, she never produced enough milk. After trying every suggested remedy under the sun, she eventually found out, through blood tests, that the problem was due to low prolactin levels. She also draws parallels between the emotional challenges of both fertility treatments and breastfeeding problems. There are a lot of people leaving comments to her post. Check it out.

And Making Things Up, who is having her fourth baby any day now, has this to say: “The text’s layout is practical for the brand-new mom: the author wisely makes use of lists and short sections, so you can set down the book at a moment’s notice without feeling lost when you come back.”

Oct. 2
Suburban Turmoil writes: "I especially enjoyed the "From the mouths of moms" blurbs, with first-person tales from the trenches that were often hilarious and reminiscent of my own breastfeeding experiences."

Oct 3: A Vocational Duality says “The section on nursing etiquette is wonderful in its detail, including comebacks for nosey critics. Likewise her kick in the pants about comparing oneself to celebrities who have personal trainers, chefs, and nannies that most of us can’t afford.”

Life as Lou says, "Silverman captures the perfect tone of encouragement and support, while keeping a realistic perspective. This book is the perfect blend of help and humor, and I absolutely recommend it." And while you're on her site, you've got to check out the gorgeous photos Lou posted of Manti, UT on October 3rd.

Oct. 4:
Family Living: Hatfield Style says "(T)his book actually dares to talk about sex and breastfeeding, a question on many mom’s minds that isn’t addressed in many print books and seems taboo to ask your neighbor. My Husband read this section with interest.“

Vivirlatino says “[Mama Knows Breast] may well be one of the best books on the subject out there.

Oct. 5:
Ask Moxie writes "There's a huge segment of the population who gets pregnant without ever having taken care of a baby. In our culture not many of us grew up watching anyone nurse a baby. How many of us even knew that the milk comes out of a bunch of little holes in each nipple? There are all sorts of things we don't know that someone needs to tell us, without freaking us out or making us feel bad for not knowing it. And I think that's the strength of Mama Knows Breast. It's a funny, gentle, hip-looking introduction to some basic concepts of breastfeeding."

Writing in the Mountains says "This book is...informative and serious as well as humorous. That can be a rare thing to come by in this genre, the all inclusive 'Mommy Lit', where a majority can be found to favor one or the other school of thought."

And finally, Major Bedhead writes, "There are loads of tips and information that, even now, after having nursed three babies, I wish someone had told me. The tip about getting a footstool seems so basic, and yet I didn't figure that one out until baby #2. The advice about what to keep at hand while nursing is also key - I never remembered to keep the phone next to me. Never. Water I had, the phone, eh, not so much."

Come to A Book Signing September 19th

August 29, 2007

Divalysscious Moms, a NYC parenting group, has invited me to speak about my book. You can still sign up. Go to this site, and scroll down to find the announcement for the event and to RSVP.

Alice's Tea Cup Chapter III
220 East 81st Street
6:30-8:30
Dinner is served.
$60.00

Divalyssicous Mom does a lot of cool events, so check out the rest of the site while you're there.

Speaking at a Moms Event in New York City

July 31, 2007

Hey NYC moms...and anyone else nearby... I'm on a panel about breastfeeding the evening of August 7th. Danielle, the woman behind The Celebrity Baby Blog, is the panel moderator, and the featured guest speaker is lactation consultant Heather Kelly. Click on this link at Big City Moms to learn more.