On Top 30 NY Mom Blogs (That I Love), I named the “who”. This is the first of five posts explaining the “why”.
1. Amy Oztan (Selfish Mom): Amy makes me laugh…and I like to laugh. She primarily does video blogs on her site. If nothing else, I am in awe of the fact that she does her daily commentaries with her webcam with little to no makeup. Fortunately, she has a naturally pretty face so she can get away with it! One day, she and I were joking that she is a “pajama mama”, because she has on occasion needed to take her kid to school while wearing pajama bottoms. The fact that she is free of pretense with a big, squishy heart draws people (including me!) to Amy…and to her blog.
2. Ana Fader (Mommy Poppins): I met Ana at an event at the Children’s Museum of Art a couple of years ago. I remember that I liked how attentive she was towards her daughter. I have seen her at a few events since then. When we get a chance to chat, it is always a treat. She is a smart woman who has an obvious love for New York and her kids – a woman after my own heart. (And don’t get the two of us started on a discussion about the treatment of boys in some school classroom settings…) Above all, the Mommy Poppins site is my number one (bar none) site to visit for NYC area activity ideas.
3. Beth Feldman (Role Mommy): I can’t say enough great things about Beth. She is one of the first people who reached out to me and supported me when I started blogging. Of course, there is the brilliant PR, book-writing, etc., etc. side of Beth that many people already know about. The thing that I love the most about Beth though is that she is a woman who passionately lives out her dreams and who is extremely generous in helping others do the same. (And she can sing. You don’t want to go up against her in a karaoke contest. That is for sure!) Beth is definitely one of my “role” mommies.
4. Carol Cain (NY City Mama): Carole is both tough and tender at the same time. Don’t let her sweet face fool you. She is no joke. I love how she brings her Latina flavor to all things New York. She really does make New York her playground…while bringing her three sons along. I consider Carole a “soul sister” in that we both really love our sons and really love living in New York. (Did I mention that her blog is so cool that someone literally tried to steal it – as in reprint all of her posts including pictures – as their own? Well at least the thief had good taste!)
5. Emily McKhann (The Motherhood): Emily is the co-founder of The Motherhood. It is a really great, supportive site for moms. It’s one of those sites that make me wish I had a couple of extra hours in my day! (For instance, when I was trying to decide whether to get my tubes tied or to get an IUD, I received tremendous advice and support over at the Motherhood. Although warned about potential “oops” babies, I ended up going with the latter option.) Besides her site and other business interest, Emily is just an unbelievably sweet person. I’m serious when I write “unbelievably”. One day I was doing a paid assignment for The Motherhood and she was there. It’s rare to see someone as sincerely warm and loving as Emily – to the point that I just “had” to ask her long-time friend that was there with her if Emily had always been like that (in a good way!). She has. I stand in awe.
6. Esti (Primetime Parenting): If you are Jewish or simply interested in other religions/cultures/etc. (like myself!), then you definitely need to follow Esti’s blog. The tagline reads: “How I Found Kosher Food, A Husband, and Had Children After 35”. Esti is great at bridging cultures. We’ll be at a dinner where she won’t eat the food because it’s not kosher. So, she’ll just have a kosher beer which cracks me up. Around Christmas times, she was one of my first Jewish friends that helped me to realize that it is normal for Jewish people to call Christmas – “X-mas”…that they were not trying to be funny. Most recently, our discussions have turned to sheitels. (I have a hairdresser friend that specializes in these wigs/hair-pieces that are very popular in the Orthodox Jewish community.) Anyway, I digress. Estil also covers a variety of things on her blog, so really everyone should read it. She is honest and has no problems taking companies to task (in a fair way) regarding issues that might not be in the general public’s best interest. I think of Esti as my Jewish sister/neighbor (we live near one another in Queens). She is a gem.
If you are familiar with any of the women above and/or their sites, what would you add as a reason why others should read them?