talkin' 'bout bloggin'

Who-hoo! I survived my first radio interview (well, I was on another program once before, but that was in a PR capacity, this one was totally focused on mamahood). And, despite my serious case of butterflies (OK, it was more like falcons dive bombing my insides), nonsensical ramblings, lost trails of thought and a brief period of waterworks (ugh, what a cry baby), I some how managed to plow through the 30-minute interview without a projectile showing of my stomach contents. SWEET!

Minette Riordan, publisher of North Texas Kids magazine and now host of the parenting-powered radio show of the same name, asked me to come on and dish all the goodness that is blogging your way through mamahood. Now that the experience is over, I can say it was completely awesome. Minette was super-easy to chat with and she was great about picking up the ball and running with it when I inevitably dropped it like a two-ton diaper (over and over again … there is a reason I’m usually on the other side of the interview, lol).

The show, which airs weekdays from 2-2:30 pm on The Word, 100.7, debuted Monday and has already featured some amazing guests (present company excluded) including authors, experts and parenting phenoms. The show’s ratings will inevitably dip when my segment airs next Thursday, but I know Minette has the strength and wherewithal to bounce back.

I’ll post a link as soon as my segment airs.

Here’s a pic of me and Minette post-show … no, the studio was not as balmy as it appears. Cooper, unbeknownst to me, had swiped my camera at some point and smudged the lens with his pudgy little fingers. So, riddle me this batman, why does Cooper avoid me like the swine flu when I’m going all mamarazzo on him only to snag my camera, turn it on himself and say, “Cheese!” when I walk away? Gotta’ get this kid his on toddler-friendly version … would love to see what he “captures.”



Post lens-cleaning … hmm, maybe I should keep the baby smudge on … I look waaaay better behind the “smoke.”

yay!

An essay I wrote about Melanoma Mimi (aka my mom) several months ago now has a home ... over at the momtrepreneur-started, DFW-centric, chica-focused online-community/hub: Moms Out Loud. Check out the article here. And then stick around and poke through all of the great resources available ...

Life Goal? CHECK!

I am beyond the moon excited today. I can now check off a HUGE goal on my "must do" in life list: Get Published In A National Magazine! ;) One of my personal "cribspiration" essays is in the November issue of Working Mother magazine, on stands now. It only took 15 months from submission to publication (ack!), they spelled my last name wrong (gotta' love those thorough fact checkers) and I’m not a fan of some of the edits (like the inexhaustible use of the phrase child care), but none of these things can diminish the joy of writing such a personal account of mamahood and getting to share it through such a great forum.

AND, my fav part? They included a fan-freakin-tastic pic of Coop taken by an amazingly talented friend of mine, Devon Jones.

Now, if we could just hear back on the house (um, houses?? lol), this day would be perfecto! ;)

so stinkin’ excited

Wednesday’s mission was to be the bestest pooper scooper ever so that the doc could (finally) figure out what was going on with Coop’s tummy. So, in between checking his diaper to see if the stench was a teasing little toot or the real deal (it was usually the former, the latter didn’t, ahem, appear, until 4 freakin’ 30! UGH!), I desperately tried to pound out some marketing copy for work.

Around 3 I took a brain break and checked my e-mail and low and behold if there wasn’t a shiny, happy message in my inbox from the peeps at Working Mother magazine (they purchased one of my personal essays months ago and it’s yet to see the light of day). One of the art chicas was requesting a work(ish) photo of me, as well as a family pic to run alongside the story. WHAT??!! You’re gonna’ run my story in a national magazine AND include a pic of my absolutely precious boys in it, too … and I get paid for this??? Hell’s bells this is the life.

I was so excited I could barely sit still. Um, that was until panic set in. It was Wednesday afternoon, she had to have pics by FRIDAY. Coop was in bed battling the bug, my roots were literally a mile long and I had no pics on record that I would even dare submit.

FREAK. OUT.

Thank goodness photography greatness just happens to exist in a friend of mine who also happens to be a miracle worker! I called Devon, of Devon J. Imagery … check out this woman’s work … it’s fierce-alicious (that’s just for you d.j.). I asked if there was any way on God’s green earth that she could put her life on hold the next day, haul ass to Dallas (from Wichita Falls) and take pics of me and the men after work.

She said yes (yay!) and yesterday evening, with freshly covered roots, fall(ish) attire (the essay is running in November) and a cranky baby, the Falk family let Devon snap, zoom and Cooper! Hey Cooper her way to some great shots.

The mag will hit stands on October 28 and I can’t wait to see it!!!! This is my No. 4 dream coming true and it feels awww-maz-ing! (Oh, and in case you were wondering, No.1 on the list was to marry the man of my dreams. Check! No. 2 was to become a mama to an amazing child. Check! No. 3 is to publish a book … guess I gotta’ get going on that one now.)

yahoo yourself

If you haven't "yahoo'd" yourself lately, you totally should ... it's amazing what you'll find.

Case in point: I did a search on my name the other day and found that an article I'd sold in December had finally run. I was so stinkin' excited to see the piece in "print," but a little bummed that I hadn't been given a head's up about its debut. Sigh. Such is the life of an on-again, off-again freelance writer. When you're one of a gazillion mommies penning "in the trenches" pieces for parenting mags, I guess the novelty and excitement of selling (and seeing) first-time rights is lost on the publishing house. But, I must confess, I know that during my former editor days, I too, neglected to give some wide-eyed writer the "head's up." Oops. =)

Anywhoo, still overjoyed that the article is out there, click here to read the piece.

yes!

I submitted it last August. It was accepted in November. It was slated to run in April. And then May. And now ... October. The best things come to those who wait I guess.

Last week I finally received my contract from Working Mother magazine to publish a personal essay I'd written about Cooper. This has been a dream of mine ... to be published in a national pub ... and now it seems like it's going to come true. I am sooo friggin' excited. Actually receiving all the legal eagle paperwork lends an honest sense of reality to it all. And to have my first piece be about my precious little man, well it doesn't get any better than that!

Aspiring Author

A blank wall behind my desk has been staring at me, taunting me to fill it for over a year. And I'm finally going to.

Yesterday, while the hubby was napping, I stripped Coop down to his diaper, drug out my absolute favorite gift Chris ever bought me ... a vintage typewriter ... and let the two play while I went mama-razzo on the scene. Coop was so precious clanking around on the keys, I had visions of his future as a famous writer.

Well, a mommy can always dream, can't she?

Even if Coop forgoes a career involving the written word, at least this little setting provided some awesome pics and some much-needed inspiration for me as I set out to tackle yet another one of my goals ... writing a children's book (and getting it published!!!).

Here's hoping a story with "Coop" as the main character pops up on the Barnes & Noble shelves someday.

L.A. (Not-So) Confidential

In the early days of mommyhood, like so many other newbie ’rents, I often became overwhelmed when Coop would launch into an inconsolable tear fest. At a loss for what to do, I often joined him — tear for steam-rolling crocodile tear.

But then, one beautiful, fateful, sun-filled day, my little guy and I had a breakthrough. And, like any would-be writer, I later sat down at my laptop to capture every precious detail in the hope that I would one day be able to share our milestone-ish moment with other mommies.

Fast forward a smattering of months and YAY, the piece is now in print. Better yet? The essay, entitled ‘Mommy, Can You Hear Me Now?’, is circulating in L.A.!!!

Tucked inside the pages of L.A. Parent’s B.A.B.Y. magazine is my little tribute to the first mommy-and-me conversation Coop and I ever had.

We haven't stopped "talking" since ...

-smell you later-
Coop’s Mom (aka Tessa)

A New Year's Read

A few months ago I made a resolution for 2008: Not to make one and instead, let Coop lead the way in the new year. Check out my personal essay about the new view in the January issue of DallasChild magazine.

Here's to a living great in '08.

-smell you later-
Coop's Mom (aka Tessa)

Payday!

YAY! I just received my first "large-ish" freelance payment today. Just had to commemorate the occassion with a pic of the pay off and my lil' inspiration.

When you've been laid off (OK, technically that will happen in Feb) from a writing job, seeing your name on a check from a publishing company sure does the heart good. =)

-smell you later-
Coop's Mom (aka Tessa)

Tales from the Crib

YAY! Motherhood is paying off - literally. =) A regional parenting publication that has mags in 5 states across the country e-mailed a couple of weeks ago and said they were interested in purchasing not one, but two personal essays I had submitted. Cooper has served as non-stop inspiration and I am beyond thrilled that my experiences are going to be shared with other mommies. What a blessing.

I am signing the contract right now (as Cooper sleeps off a nasty little tummy ache).

-smell you later-
Coop's Mom (aka Tessa)

p.s. There has been talk of a NATIONAL parenting mag purchasing rights to a third essay I've written!!! Will post again when details are finalized - fingers are crossed.

Dear Diary ...

Each month in DallasChild magazine, they publish "Mommy Diaries," which is a day-in-the-life snapshot of a local lady. When I started at the mag (back in my Infertile Myrtle days), I had always hoped I'd be able to write one of those entries. And now I have! =)

My "Becoming a Mommy" diary is in the August issue and is available on stands now. Though I am no longer with the magazine (I will be freelancing from time to time ... can't let all of this good mommy mojo go without capturing it on paper), I don't think I could have ended my full-time status in a more perfectly fitting way.

-smell you later-
Coop's Mom (aka Tessa)