Friday, January 27, 2006

Playdates, it's a good thing

After scrutinizing several episodes of Caillou, I've realized how Caillou's mother stays so calm: it's playdates. My friend out in California tells me she has playdates all the time where moms get together and drink tea while their children play. The playdate "host" changes from week to week so no one gets stuck hosting and having to clean up all the time. Moms get a chance to talk to other adults and the kids have fun, it's a win-win overall. I wish I could have playdates with my kids but in my neighborhood either the moms work or the mothers are just not interested in playdates. It's pretty sad. So to compensate, I have turned my local Barnes and Nobles into my playdate heaven. I get to drink fresh Starbuck coffee and my kids get to play with the train set and look at all the picture books. I pick up after my kids if they've made a huge mess so the saleswomen won't be like "Oh God, here she comes again with her platoon of messy kids", and so far we are very welcome there. I sometimes chat with other moms visiting the store but usually I'm engrossed with a magazine and my cup of coffee (while keeping an eye on the kids, it's a shame but there are alot of weirdos out there who snatch kids, we parents can never truly relax in a public place). It's the multi-tasking playdate, but it's better than nothing.

7 comments:

Virenda said...

can I just say I really wish you lived near me, i think we would get along great. :0)

First off I tried the play date thing here in cali and there are a bunch of "click" moms and ones that try really hard to be perfect and expect you to be as well. than there are the "hoochie" moms, so please your not missing anything. (could just be my town)

Second coffee is the single best thing ever!! and I LOVE B&N's, i do the same thing with my 3 kids as well and I have a great time.

I always look forward to your posts chic mommy, keep it up.

p.s. we have a crap load of working moms here too, I think it's just the "era".

Chic Mommy said...

I can't agree with you more about the "friends out of necessity" and "hoochie" and "click" moms. Most of the mothers I know are the wives of my husband's friends and it's the same thing here too, I have nothing in common with them except kids the same age. These women are so set in their ways and try to "outmom" me in every aspect of my life that I don't even feel like hanging with them. I really need to move out to California, all the cool people live there :)

Virenda said...

Yes they do! :0) Just to let you know there is a BlogHer convention coming up in June-ish and it's held in San Jose, Ca. It's a conference for all blogging women, you should totally come. :0) It would be awesome to meet...

It's also great because it helps you(me) to make a better blog.

Lena said...

I struggled for about three years to find good mommy friends. When I first had my daughter I lived in a really wealthy community (even though I wasn't) in No. Cali and it was B-R-U-T-A-L. I tried Gymboree Play & Music and Moms Clubs. Everyone had massive perpetually clean foreign SUV's and $500 diaper bags. Casual BBQ's would be catered. When you would meet new people they would look at your shoes and bag before eye contact. So not kidding. I tried to fit in, but I soon realized that I liked to stimulate my mind beyond the Pottery Barn catalog. I resigned myself to the fact that I would have wait to make real friends. And eventually it happened. So hold out for a goody, chic mommy!

And Vi and I were just talking about you today (at B&N incidentally) and decided we totally have to convince you to come to BlogHer this year. No kids. Drinking. Eating. Blogging. Did I mention no kids? LOL

Lena said...

Okay, I need to stop with all the LOL-ing. I'm making myself dizzy.

Chic Mommy said...

I'd love to go to BlogHer but I have no one to leave the kids with. I need to wait at least 6 years before I can go anywhere overnight, let along cross-country without them. If the convention in NYC, it's easier for me.

Lena said...

Six years. Hmmm. Chances are we'll still be here, drinking coffee, and gossiping. I doubt you'll miss much. :)