Toohotmamas's Blog

Mom getting bombed

toohotmamas — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 15:49:54 +0000

You do not have sufficient freedom levels to view this video.

This is what happens when your 13-year-old son gets interested in making home movies…

I’m so proud.

Carolyn

Texting for the menopausal

toohotmamas — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 19:01:04 +0000

I got a new iPhone. Still trying to get the hang of it. Found these handy shortcuts for my generation…

BFF: Best Friend Fainted—or—Best Friend’s Funeral

BYOT: Bring your own teeth

DWI: Driving While Incontinent

FYI: Found Your Insulin

LMDO: Laughing My Dentures Out

LOL: Living On Lipitor

OMG: Oh My! Gas.

ROFL…CGU: Rolling On Floor Laughing…And Can’t Get Up.

TTYL: Talk To You Louder

Carolyn

How to embarrass your teen

toohotmamas — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 19:35:26 +0000

During a recent trip to the dentist, my daughter asked, “Mom, are they gonna give me a shot today?” (She is terrified of needles).
I guess I need to take a twelfth step style inventory of my compulsive sarcasm, because I simply can’t seem to resist.
“For a teeth cleaning? They’ll probably put you under.”
“No. Really. Will it hurt?”
“Not really. Unless you object to being stripped naked, told to start running and then being shot at. With a Novocain cannon.”
“Mom. Seriously. Stop.”
“Okay. It won’t be quite that bad.”
“I hate getting my teeth cleaned. I just know this is going to be awful.”
“Now, now. It’s not the teeth cleaning that’s bad. It’s when they try to pick your nose that it gets a little strange.”
“Mom! People can hear you!”
“I’m just sayin’.”
Ah. Nothing like a good trip to the dentist to get me laughing.
Carolyn

The Face(s) of Sixty

toohotmamas — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 23:27:47 +0000

Multiple Choice

Pop Quiz: What does 60 look like?

Still thinking? Of course you are; it’s a trick question. Nobody knows, because so few people have the chutzpah to age these days. So who looks better–Cher, Diane Keaton or Joan Van Ark?

My husband was torn between Cher and Diane Keaton. Not I. For me, it’s Diane by a mile. I look at her face and see a woman who has spent more time parenting her kids, taking photos, pondering the world and her place in it and making thoughtful movies than running to a plastic surgeon. I see a woman with the guts to be fully herself and to challenge Hollywood to respect a woman over fifty. Better yet, to simply acknowledge that there are women over fifty.

No wonder poor George Clooney is so confused about who his peer group is.

Thank you, Diane. And a big shout out to Annette Bening and Jacqueline Bisset, too.

Wendy

Fun with Photos!

toohotmamas — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 08:02:55 +0000

The other day, I was having some fun running some photos of myself through a Photoshop-esque type picture editor, you know, diminishing the age spots and such and adding a little virtual mascara. Attempting to ignore the ravages of the ageing process for a few whimsical moments. But, when all was said and done, my kids pointed out that the new, air-brushed versions of mommy weren’t true to form and that in the interest of total candor, I should show the “Before” pictures.

So, my younger son, who happens to be dangerous with an iPad in hand, took it upon himself to help me ‘get real’.

I started to worry—just a tad—when he rolled backwards on the bed and fell into a gasping fit that would have had me dialing 911 if it weren’t for his snorts and guttural shrieks of laughter as he served as my professional photographer. Have I mentioned that I hate him?

Anyway, here, I give you the artist: He’s eight.

Before his Cheerios:

Annnnnd, after:

Amazing, that airbrush, huh?

And now, there is me… Before my coffee:

After a big cup of coffee and a bit of photo magic:

Which one is the real me? Depends on who you ask and what mood I’m in. Anyway, to all this digital photo nonsense I say, “Pppfffffftttttt!” Give me a Polaroid Instamatic any day. Waiting for the picture to appear? Now THAT was some good times.

Carolyn

HOW TO PICK YOUR HUSBAND

toohotmamas — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 00:06:23 +0000

STOP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Of late, my 8-year-old has been giving a lot of thought to marriage—and more specifically, to finding a husband. To wit: When her friend turned down several snack options in a row, El sought me out.

“Mom, she is a PICKY eater. She’s going to have trouble getting a husband if she eats like that.”

And later: “I think it would be good to know geometry before you try to get a husband, because…” She pondered. “Because then you’d both know it.”

Right-o. I mean, I’m not sure that both people knowing the difference between an acute and an obtuse triangle would qualify as being “equally yoked,” but it couldn’t hurt.

El’s musings got me thinking. I watch The Bachelor, I admit it. And, yes, I disrespect myself in the morning, but I am fascinated by what young women and men assume will make a relationship work. Two minutes into meeting the prize—AKA, the bachelor—beautiful, seemingly bright women are passionately kissing this virtual stranger and claiming they’re sure he’s the one. By the end of the evening, these same girls are sobbing inconsolably, because the bachelor has given their coveted rose to somebody else.

Well, duh.

To all past, current, and future ABC bachelorettes: I’m going to give you a little advice, and you should take it, because I’m a romance novelist, and I know about happily ever afters.

When you meet someone you consider forever-after material, keep your lips clamped unless you are opening your mouth to talk. To talk, ladies. You will not know he’s the one for you simply because you feel goose-pimply after he kisses you and fifteen other girls at an alcohol-soaked cocktail party. (I’d feel goose pimply, too. Eew.) This is romance 101: Save your kisses for someone who’s kissing only you.

From now on, I want you to heed the wisdom of my 8-year-old: At the very least, find out if you both like geometry before you begin doodling your name together with his on a cocktail napkin.

I tell my daughter all the time, “Marry your best friend.” At the moment she’s taking me literally and is considering walking down the aisle with one of her girlfriends. “’Cause we talk about everything, and we could share the same wedding dress, and wedding dresses are very expensive, Mom.’”

I question the practicality of two women and one dress in the same wedding, but I appreciate that she’s budget-minded and, for the moment at least, wise enough to want to spend her life with someone she knows, likes and respects.

As for The Bachelor/ette, Too Hot Mamas must send the show to the front of its Doody Head line asap. Of course, I suppose I have to walk it there myself.

Wendy

Doody Heads

toohotmamas — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 20:40:38 +0000

I have been hearing about Voodoo Donuts now, for several years as it is one of Portland’s weirder tourist attractions. Because we had a fieldtrip to go downtown to Powells Bookstore, my kids talked me into a sugar fest, first. After all, we needed the energy to prowl Powell, as it takes up an entire city block. When we got to Voodoo Donuts, there in showcase was a giant, chocolate covered, cream filled…phallus. And, of course, my 13-year-old son wanted that. It was huge and he’s in a growth spurt. Luckily, he’s still relatively innocent as to the crudities of the world and I’d like to keep it that way for as long as possible. So, when, eyes shining, he pointed to the confection, I had to intervene, sotto voce, and ask the girl behind the counter if there were any non-penis shaped donuts that still offered the same ingredients.

HOW SICK IS THAT?

Wendy, I feel for you with the whole Ben and Jerry’s Shweddy Ball ice cream outing you wrote about in your last post. And now, Cock ‘n Ball Donuts from Voodoo Donuts? Is this advertising tactic supposed to tempt me? Aside from sounding vaguely diseased, odorous and bug infested, I ask you, what is the world coming to? Have we become a society that cannot consume our food and entertainment without referencing our crotches? Wendy and I have been talking, and are starting a list of Doody Heads who feel that the only way they can make money is to drag our kids into the sewer. And, before you call me a prude, just know, I’ve been to the sewer. Used to live there. It made me, and those around me miserable. I’m a reformed sewer rat and trust me when I tell you, life is better without all the sleaze.

I’m mad as heck and I’m not gonna take it anymore. Ben and Jerry’s? DOODY HEADS! Voodoo Donuts, DOODY HEADS! Somebody out there, offer me a Hero sandwich with a side of Good ‘n Plenty.

Carolyn

Ben & Jerry Drop The (Schweddy) Ball

toohotmamas — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 21:49:26 +0000

Recently a good friend gave our daughter a generous Groupon coupon to Ben & Jerry’s, so after Christmas we trooped to our local store, where the trees out front were still festooned with twinkly lights. I ask you: Could any outing say “family” more than a winter trek for ice cream, the kids giggling inside their hooded coats, swearing they can eat two waffle cones each despite the frigid weather?

This is just like It’s A Wonderful Life, I thought, grinning as we approached the door. On the glass was a big sign advertising their newest flavor.

Nice work, B & J. Care to explain your latest creation to a few curious nine-year-olds? Yeah, me either—especially to the ones who aren’t mine.

Pretending I needed to use the entire right side of my body to shove the door open, I blocked the sign as best I could and started brainstorming an excuse to stand in front of it on the way out. It’s not that I’m prudish…’kay, maybe I am, because after we got into the store and I saw the sign below the cash register, on the glass above the ice cream case and behind the counter, I felt a hot flash coming on—the kind that accompanies a dangerous spike in blood pressure.

What does Too Hot Mamas have to do to teach you folks some manners, Ben? Jerry? Dudes! Did you even read my blog about farting at the dinner table? Ah, never mind, you boys probably get a kick out of that sort of thing.

My husband, you will be happy to know, has been singing a little ditty about your ice cream flavor, set to the tune “Lonely Is The Man Without Love,” ever since our trip to your store.

Listen, I know you’re not going to take down a few thousand signs across the nation, because one mother in Oregon questions your sensibilities. But, if you’re going to hawk Schweddy Balls in front of impressionable youths, then how about giving equal time to your menopausal friends? We could use the media attention.

On that note, I’d like to see a flavor called Droopy Booby. Perhaps vanilla ice cream, overripe peaches, maybe a few Jelly Bellies? We hot mamas are buying as much of your product as anyone else. Probably more since we like ice-cold treats in the depth of winter to counter those hot flashes.

Think about it, fellas. Droopy Booby could increase sales among the senior crowd and spark insightful conversations about body image. How many insightful conversations do you think you’ve elicited with that other flavor?

Be the change you want to see, Ben and Jerry. We’re counting on you.

Wendy

DUDE, THAT’S RUDE!

toohotmamas — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 21:39:56 +0000

In an ongoing effort to transform our dinner table from a trough to a haven of grace and civilization, I recently purchased the books DUDE, THAT’S RUDE and TABLE MANNERS FOR KIDS (of all ages).

When gas is released during the meal and elicits cackles of hyena-like laughter from all present (except me, and kindly do not refer me to Walter, The Farting Dog; I’m not gonna laugh at flatulence when I have slaved over lasagna Florentine)…well, that’s when I think we’ve gone too far.

I decided to read aloud from DUDE over a dinner of spaghetti marinara. I chose that entrée deliberately as our spaghetti feeds typically resemble the Brown Derby scene in I Love Lucy, wherein Lucy tries to manage giant balls of pasta or endeavors to suck up endless strands, and Ethel resorts to snipping the noodles with a pair of scissors.

With the book as a guide, I modeled twirling a manageable forkful lightly against my spoon. Twirling—that’s fun for kids, right?

Apparently not.

“I can’t do it,” my daughter complained, letting her fork clatter to her plate. “Not to be rude, but I don’t like spaghetti anyway. May I be excused?”

“Of course not! We just started eating.”

Tim patted her on the arm. “Mom doesn’t want you to take a huge mouthful, that’s all. Here, try this.” He forked up a couple of strands, puckered and inhaled—with agonizingly slow glee—so that the spaghetti looked like live worms, attempting to wriggle away and splattering marinara along the way. Now our daughter liked spaghetti.

I kicked him under the table. “Let’s work on our napkins. They should be placed on our laps–”

“I don’t have a napkin,” dear child pointed out, searching around her placemat. “You never give us any.”

“All right.” I got up, scrounged in a drawer and slapped a few wrinkled napkins on the table. “From now on we’re using napkins, and they should be placed on our laps.”

My husband wiped his mouth delicately then tucked his napkin under his plate.

“Your lap,” I reiterated.

“It’s easier to get to this way. You don’t have to reach below the table.” He demonstrated. “Besides, did you notice how I raised my pinkie when I wiped my mouth?”

He and our daughter proceeded to entertain each other by seeing who could keep their pinkies raised longest while performing various tasks, most of them not dinner related. I felt a different finger trying to rise, but that would have been rude, so I practiced not speaking with my mouth full.

Flatulence and cackles followed.

It may look like I’m defeated, but I’m not giving up on those books or on us. And if you think I’m being a stickler, invite my family to dinner sometime. You’ll thank me.

Wendy

Ghost Child

toohotmamas — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 01:38:38 +0000

At our house, we have a ghost child. His name is Jimmy. Jimmy is a clumsy, stupid child with an evil sense of humor. Jimmy is the one who makes huge, horrible, malodorous poop in the toilet, and never flushes. Jimmy is the one who never, ever puts a lid back on anything and in fact, hides or throws the lid away. When he actually manages to clean up after himself, he perches the lidless jar/bottle/tub at the very edge of the refrigerator shelf and carefully closes the door so that when some unsuspecting innocent wants to make dinner, BLAM-O! Broken, splattered, wasted, whatever…everywhere. Jimmy is also the one who leaves the lights on in both the house and car, leaves the doors unlocked, leaves the heater on and the door wide open. Jimmy uses the last of the shampoo/toilet paper/dry towels without replacing them. He has broken a Wii, lost cell-phones and iPods, screwed up our computers, scratched DVD’s…If it’s costly and irritating, you can be sure Jimmy did it, because none of my perfect darlings would ever be so dastardly. Or so they tell me.

It puzzles me, how Matt and I managed to raise 5 relatively perfect teenagers, and yet put up with the boorish behavior of this ill-mannered ghost. If we simply got rid of Jimmy, imagine how seamless our lives would be!

In fact, as I list my grievances against Jimmy, I am experiencing a bit of a hot flash. I think I’ll just run to the store for some garlic and a silver bullet. Invite Bill Murray and Dan Ackroid over for dinner… I’ll let you know how it goes.

Carolyn