THE REAL STEPMOMS OF TRAVIS COUNTY HOLIDAY PARTY
When: TONIGHT! Thursday, December 3
Where: Vino Vino, 4119 Guadalupe St, Austin, TX 78751
When: 7pm
Contact:Izzy Rose at izzyrose@stepmothersmilk.com or got to meetup.com for more details
Posts Tagged ‘Austin_stepmoms’
Austin Stepmoms Holiday Meet Up
Thursday, December 3rd, 2009
Los Angeles Stepmom Meetup
Sunday, October 18th, 2009
Ladies, I LOVE watching our stepmom community grow. Not only are we reaching out to each other online like never before, but we’re starting to take our relationships offline, forming enduring friendships and stronger support systems.
Recently, a group of ten Austin stepmoms gathered at Vino Vino in Hyde Park. When our server asked us what the celebratory occasion was, I said, “We’re all stepmoms.” She looked at me for a second, like… And what else? When I didn’t say anything more, she said, “Oh, like a Girls’ night out for stepmoms. Cool.”
When we step out of the shadows and make ourselves visible, we force the culture to see us for who we really are (we don’t all ride broomsticks) and the significant role we play. I truly believe that the more we speak up and share our stories, the sooner we can look forward to a mainstream discussion on the truth about stepmotherhood.
Meet fellow stepchicks Hannah and Julie, who met this past weekend at Edendale Grill in Silverlake.
Hannah, in her own words:
“It was so nice to be able to say certain things to her and know she wasn’t going to judge me or wonder how I could possibly feel this way….I think stepmoms have feelings we don’t think we should have…Hopefully next time more stepmoms will join us. It would have been fun to have a big(ger) group, but it was nice to just get to know Julie too.”
Have you recently attended a Stepmom Mixer in your city or town? Send me a picture of your group and I’ll send you a signed copy of The Package Deal as a thank you for encouraging other women to follow your lead. Tell us how your group got started. Where do you meet? How often? What have you learned from each other?
Not sure how to get a group together? You can start by reading How to Host a Stepmom Mixer.
Good luck and keep us posted!
A Stepmom Mixer
Wednesday, May 20th, 2009
Local Ladies:
Interested in meeting other Austin stepmoms? The Real Stepmoms of Travis County will be gathering to sip and spill at House Wine Thursday, June 4th at 7pm.
Come join us! We’d love to meet you.
House Wine: 408 Josephine St @ South Lamar (512) 322-5210
FAQ
Q: What if I don’t live in Austin, but want to come. Is this an exclusive club?
A: Not at all! Come one, come all.
Q: What do you talk about? Is this some kind of weird sharing circle where we hold hands and cry?
A: Don’t be silly. This is just an informal get-together, an opportunity to mix and mingle with other women living similar lives.*
Q: What if I don’t eat cheese and crackers? I understand that’s all they serve at House Wine.
A: While I think that’s a shame, not a problem. P Terry’s is across the street and House Wine encourages patrons to go score a burger or a chicken sandwich and bring it back.
See you there!
Cheers,
* For why mixing with other smoms is important, read this excerpt from The Package Deal: My (not-so) Glamorous Transition from Single Gal to Instant Mom…
“Surely, there must be a support group,” I said to Sarah my shrink. “In California,” I tell her, “there’s a support group for everything.” I reason that there must also be a group for stepmoms.
Sarah says no. She’s heard of no such thing.
“Really? No meetings in auditoriums with fluorescent lights and metal chairs?”
“It is a stepmom group you’re looking for, right?”
I think, if there is no local support group, then where are all the stepmoms going to commiserate? Didn’t I hear there are more step and blended families in this country than ones subscribing to the old-fashioned nuclear model? If that’s the case, where are all my step-ladies and why isn’t this a mainstream discussion? Why aren’t we on Oprah?
I think, surely my fellow sisters are not all battling it out with themselves in bathroom confessionals, as I do? I envisioned millions of women muttering to their shower curtains, how did I end up with another woman’s kids?
Excerpted from The Package Deal, published by Three Rivers Press, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc.
Holla At Your Girls
Wednesday, August 13th, 2008
It was an encouraging first step.
I met some of my contemporary stepmoms face-to-face. Five of us gathered in downtown Austin for fancy barbeque, including fellow blogger, Erin of The Erin Experiment. She and her husband were in town from Chicago celebrating their third wedding anniversary and indulging in some much-deserved stepparenting R and R.
Our group was much smaller than originally expected (see La Belle Mere), but family obligations, escalated airline costs and general economic woes were keeping ladies home this summer.
Still, our little group discussed a variety of topics, ranging from the difference between stepsons and stepdaughters, how to handle the ex-wife, why we discipline the way we do, and how the hell did we get into this mess in the first place? We also discussed the merits of good wine to alleviate stepparenting stress and pole dancing for dropping extra pounds (lbs most likely due to excessive wine consumption).
… a delicious treat.
It was a lovely evening and I’m already at work planning the next one. Look for a larger, national conference next spring in conjunction with an exciting event (no, I’m not pregnant) that I’ll keep you posted on. Any of you who want to partner up, please let me know.
In the meantime, I’m going to Holla at My Girls–that is, my local Austin stepmoms. The first Austin Step-Ladies Mixer coming soon!
If you haven’t already, I encourage the rest of you to start your own local stepmom groups in other parts of the country. I love my online community, but sitting down with real women to linger over great food and share honest conversation is such a delicious treat.
Cheers,
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