Sex in Mommyville

Recently I had the opportunity to attend a reading of a unique and hilarious play reading, Sex in Mommyville.*

I chose to take my amazing friend Donna with me to the reading,  I love you girl!

The reading of Sex and Mommyville was at The Snapple Theater. When we first arrived at the theater, we headed straight for the ladies room. I must say, this theater had the cutest bathroom I've ever seen. The sinks were wearing skirts!

They made me feel a little underdressed for the show!

Our next stop was a wine and cheese display, which we naturally indulged in.

The show commenced, and we sat back and enjoyed our girl's night out!

Sex in Mommyville is about what it feels like to be a mother and cope with one's desire to remain sexual. The protagonist, Artemis, played by Anna Fishbeyn (who is also the writer of the show) struggles between the role of mother, and sexual being. Not only is Artemis a mother and a wife, but she is also a writer. Her inner writer's voice is characterized by Greek muses who speak for Artemis' desires. 

Other characters who play a part in the story are Artemis' Russian immigrant parents, Poseidon and Athena, her daughter, Aphrodite, her infant son, and her husband Zeus. 

Sex in Mommyville is brutally honest, raw, and hilarious! I deeply related to the character of Artemis with regard to her want to feel wanted by her husband, and having tremendous difficulty balancing those wants with the wants of her children. 

Though Donna doesn't have children yet, she remarked that she related to the dynamic between the Artemis and her husband. It seemed like the two were trying so desperately to be understood by each other. This theme can be a challenge in any marriage, and I, too, felt like I related to these characters. 

Sex in Mommyville was a literary, engaging, thoughtful, and hilarious show. I can't wait to see where it goes from here!

For more information on Sex in Mommyville click here. 

*Tickets to the reading of Sex in Mommyville were provided by the lovely and amazing Holly from Mamadrama

Ari Discovers The Road Atlas

One day, we were in a taxi and Ari spotted a road atlas in the driver's side seat pocket.

"What is this, mommy?" He asked.

"These are maps," I explained. "They show the driver different routes he can take to get where he needs to go."

"Ohhhh!" He said with a fascinated expression. He spent the rest of the short taxi ride carefully examining the maps in the atlas, and tracing his finger along the thin blue and pink lines and over the Interstates.

When we were getting ready to exit the taxi, he picked up the atlas and attempted to stow away with it. I caught him thankfully, and explained that the atlas had to stay in the taxi, because it belonged to the driver.

"But I want a map!" He said nearly in tears.

"Well, maybe we can go to the bookstore some time and find our own atlas."

"No! I want this map!"

I had to forcibly eject him from the taxi while he was still pining for the map.

When we got home we even searched grandma and grandpa's library to see if they had any old atlases. Sadly, they didn't.

I remember loving maps as a child. I can recall many instances where I would sit on my parent's couch (I was older than Ari at the time, probably eight or nine) perusing the enormous Rand Mcnally World Atlas that was probably just as big as I was. I would look, mesmerized, at each page that showed a new colorful blob signifying a different place in the world. I didn't quite understand the cultural aspect of what I was looking at, I just thought that these pink, purple, green, brown, and blue shapes were magical lands that I might someday explore.

I didn't forget my promise to Ari. Today, we went to Barnes & Noble in search of an atlas. First, we went to the children's section. He took one look at the atlases in kid's section and said:

"No! I don't want these. I want a real map!"

Okay, I thought, Let's go to the travel section!

We took the elevator one flight down to where the "adult maps" were, and Ari found exactly what he was looking for.

Today, I caught him in the kitchen studying the altas. He pointed to Ohio and asked

"Who lives here?"

Here's to another map lover in the family!

Purse Lover

Samara loves my bag!

Actually, even more than my bag, she loves what's inside of my bag, my wallet!

And my change purse!

In fact, I've busted her (multiple times) taking every single card out of my wallet (debit cards, driver's license, AAA card as well as various other membership affiliation cards) and attempting to unzip the change purse and eat the coins inside.

Her purse and wallet obsession knows no bounds. She will scale any surface to get to her booty.

I bought her own purse complete with fake debit card and wallet, but she wants nothing to do with it. She just wants mine.

Is your kid obsessed with your bag too?

Ahoy Matey! Help Wanted: Pirates!

Ari loves to go to Playtime! where he gets to create art while I see great theater. I recently got an email from Kristina over at Sitter Studio letting me know about a new musical starring the Artist Sitters rom Sitter Studio! These are the same Artist Sitters that create art with Ari at Playtime!

The show was called Help Wanted: Pirates! When I heard the title, I knew my kids would go bananas over it. Even Samara likes to dress up like a pirate at home!

Help Wanted: Pirates! is an interactive kid's show that enlists the help of the audience members to become pirates! Ari and Samara were happy to get in on the action! Check it out:

Help Wanted: Pirates! was written with children in mind. The show takes into account how active kids are, and how they need to move around often. The show fully engages the audience, kids and adults, and invites both into the exciting world of piracy and treasure seeking!

Ari and Samara both had an awesome time at the show!

If your little one loves to be a pirate, this is a ship he or she will love to join.

So what are you waiting for matey? For more information on Help Wanted: Pirates: click here!

Ari Got Into Pre-K, But My House is Still Dirty

Let me start out by saying that The Universal Pre-K process in New York City is totally insane. You apply online through the lovely Department of Education. You're allowed to select 12 choices for Pre-K and you aren't guaranteed a spot. Consequently I spent the months of April, May and part of June terrified that Ari wouldn't be going to school at all next year.

Thankfully, I got an email a week ago from the D.O.E. notifying me that my 4-year-old did indeed have a free place to go play legos next year.

But then it occurred to me that he still doesn't wipe his our butt when he goes to the bathroom, and I began to get nervous.

I started thinking about next year even more, which is a really bad idea for me to do (the thinking part I mean) and I realized that my house is a disaster. I'm going to have to have play dates here next year. I have to find a way to clean it up.

As of now, there is no set schedule around here with regard to daily activities and I'm kind of freaking out.

But then I thought about it...

And I realized that there are other parents out there with dirty houses that have kids in school and babies at home! They have to find a way to clean, take care of the babies, and have their kids ready for school every day, just like me!

So, how do you do it?

Do you clean the house while your son or daughter is off playing with magna tiles and eating tater tots? How does it go down? Do you have a schedule? I have no schedule. I don't even know what a schedule is. Well, I guess I know in theory, and I did make one once upon a time for Ari.

Tell me how it works!

No! Ages 2,3, and Now

From the time Ari was able to shake his head back and forth he's been saying "no." But upon reflection, I've realized that "No" has meant something different at each age, starting at around two, and now verbally running rampant at four. Each year, "no" has increased with sophistication. Here's how "no" has evolved:

Age 2: No!

Meaning: I just figured out that I can disagree with you! Now I'm going to do it for fun, all the time!

Age 3: No!

Meaning: Don't tell me what to do, even though what you're saying makes perfect sense! I obviously have a better idea!

Age 4: No!

Meaning: Not only do I disagree with you, but I'm going to spend as much time as it takes to get you over to my side. You are clearly mistaken.

Age 32 (Me)

No!

Meaning: I'm right, you're wrong! The end!

Rapture, Blister, Burn- Boyfriend Stealing, and Playtime!

On Sunday, my mom and I had the opportunity to see Rapture, Blister, Burn at Playwrights Horizons, while Ari got to go back to one of his favorite places, Playtime!*

Ari was so excited to go to Playtime, he couldn't wait to get off the elevator at the theater.

Once we got out of the elevator, he bolted for the Playtime desk to check in!

After Ari got his VIP badge to enter Playtime, my mom and I headed to see Rapture, Blister, Burn. We entered the theater and we were very excited because we had orchestra seats! That was pretty awesome!

This was our view of the stage, I felt like I could smell the actors!

As soon as we sat down, I noticed a woman and her husband sitting together. We got to talking, and it turned out that this woman was none other than Digital Latina! She told me her daughter was also hanging out in Playtime with Ari.

Ms. Digital Latina has a good eye, too. She spotted Broadway legend, Tyne Daly in the audience with us!

Now about the show. Watching Rapture, Blister Burn was one of those theatrical experiences I've had where I literally didn't think about anything else but what was going on right then. I found myself trying to predict what the characters would do next.

The story is about a group of women who lead diverse lives. Two of the women went to graduate school together. One woman went off to become a very successful career woman. At the time she was in graduate school she was dating a man who she left back home to study abroad. During her study abroad, her roommate stole her then boyfriend, married him and had children with him.

There are also two other women involved in the story, the career woman's mother, who is elderly and who recently suffered a heart attack, and a young free-spirited pre-med student.

The play chronicles the two women (once roommates and friends) meeting up in their 40s. The career woman begins to teach a course on feminism which the boyfriend stealing housewife and the pre-med student (who used to be the housewife's babysitter) both attend. The career woman's mother joins in on the feminist dialogues while mixing martinis for the group.

During the course, the two former friends realize that they envy one another, and they would like to switch lives.

I'm not going to tell you what happens after that, you'll have to see the play and find out!

I will tell you this, as a woman, I identified with each of the different female characters in the play. I can understand the feeling of wanting a career, yet having that urge to settle down and have a family. I also felt connected with the pre-med student, and her cluelessness about men.

And I particularly related to the relationship between the career woman and her mother. The career woman said multiple times during the play that her mother was the only person in the world who truly deeply cared about her. That really resonated with me.

While we were enjoying the play, Ari had a blast at Playtime. Here are some pictures that Candace from Playtime forwarded me:

After the show was over, we collected Ari from Playtime. He was ready to tell me all about it and show me what he made!

As soon as we stepped out of the theater, we got another pleasant surprise, Lee Tergesen, who plays the male lead in Rapture, Blister, Burn, (that coveted stolen boyfriend) was standing outside of Playwrights Horizons! I told him I was writing a blog post about the show and asked if we could take a picture together. He said, with a dead pan expression,

"well what are you going to say?"

Being a great actor, he totally caught me off guard. I replied:

"I don't know."
"I'm just kidding! It's my thing!" He shot back.

We both cracked up.

Well Lee, it turns out I had a lot to say! It was great to meet you, by the way!

So what are you waiting for? Go see Rapture, Blister, Burn! It's awesome!

*Tickets to the show were provided by the super amazing ladies at MamaDrama, courtesy of Playtime.