Mommy Monday: Does My Baby Count As a Carry-On?

I was a hot, sweaty mess. My heart was racing. My mind was racing. I couldn't remember the last time I'd been so scared...

No, I wasn't about to give birth.

Nope, I wasn't about to walk down the aisle and commit myself to one man for the rest of my life.

And no, I wasn't about to get my first Brazilian bikini wax since the baby was born, er, three months before.

I was about to...

fly half-way across the country with my baby for the first time.

Cue dramatic music from something scary. Like Poltergeist. Or the Exorcist. Or The Nate Burkus Show.

You'd have thought I was preparing for a three-week cruise to the Caribbean the way I packed for my first four-day trip to California with the baby. The poor hubs looked like a Sherpa as he hauled our, count 'em, twelve bags and various baby gear out to the cab. (In hindsight, we should have ordered two taxis as it probably wasn't fair to make the hubs ride on the roof!)

You name it, I'd packed it- and then some...and some...and some.

Diapers? Forget the flight to Cali. I had enough to fly around the world.

Wipes? I could've wiped the ass of every baby within a two thousand square mile radius.

Spare Outfits? My daughter's suitcase could've put Suri Cruise's closet to shame.

But beyond being prepared for anything my baby could need, I was trying to be prepared for what type of traveler she would be.

What if she decided that thirty thousand miles up was the place she should have her inaugural public melt down?

Well it turns out my baby was a perfect angel. The kind that our flight mates remarked on at the end of the flight. Wow, you're lucky. Is she always so good?

But her mommy? Not so much.

Turns out, mommy was the problem. Mommy who was so frazzled going through security that she practically offered her baby up to be body searched. Mommy who got upgraded to first class and after consuming her second glass o' bubbly became obsessed with babbling baby talk at her baby.  Mommy who probably broke some unwritten rule of the friendly skies and changed her daughter's diaper in, wait for it, the seat.

But if one of us had to be annoying, better me than her, right? *wink* *wink*

xoxo,

Lisa

PS: Leave a comment (and make me feel better about being such a "freak") and be entered to win a copy of The Baby Planner by the fabulous Josie Brown. We'll randomly select the winner after 6pm EST on Wed., June 1.

Ask Liz & Lisa: Which Came First, The Blog or the Book?

Our inbox has been fillin' up with tons of questions from y'all. THANK YOU! (Our email address is asklizandlisa@chicklitisnotdead.com) This week, we selected a question from Erin who will be winning a copy of Uncharted TerriTori by Tori Spelling! And if YOU leave a comment today, YOU'LL be entered to win a copy of The Baby Planner by Josie Brown. We'll select the winner after 6pm EST on Thursday, May 5th.

Now here's Erin's question...

Dear Liz and Lisa,

Your blog is a must read for me...though since I started following you I have this INSANE list of must-read books I fear I will never conquer! Q: what came first? this blog or your first book? how did this blog come about?

Well, Erin, first of all- you will conquer the TBR list, don't worry! (If it makes you feel any better- you should see our bookshelves!)  And unlike the whole chicken and the egg thing, your question has a very simple answer.

Our first book.

Because wayyy back when we first decided to write a novel, there were no such things as blogs because that little thing called the internet didn't even exist yet.

Yup, we're officially old.

We were still wearing boxy sorority t-shirts and high-waisted jeans (not the chic kind- the reall, really bad mom-jeans kind). And thinking about keg parties and midterm exams.

And even though we talked about writing a novel, seeing that actual book come to life was many a year in the making. It was like one of those projects that you keep putting off. And off and off. Until suddenly it's been ten years.

Yup, it took us a decade to start writing.

And finally, one of us- in this case- Lisa- said so eloquently, either we sh*t or get off the pot! And the concept of I'll Have Who She's Having was born. Although it was originally called Single Minded and had some characters that later hit the cutting room floor including a hilarious Brit named Mack.

And after we finished our labor of love, it was Liz who said we should create a website and blog.  And we won't even get into the part about how Liz had to explain to Lisa what a blog was! Oy vey! But alas, Chick Lit Is Not Dead was born. (Check out our inaugural post here. Let's just say we've come a long way!)

And two years later, another book later (The D Word- exciting announcement coming soon!) we haven't looked back! It's been more fun than we could have imagined as we've flown by the seat of our pants with really no plan other than to provide good, solid (and hopefully funny) content. And all of y'all who support us have made this all worth it. We couldn't do it without you! *cue sappy soundtrack* maybe something like That's What Friends Are For by Dionne Warwick- and we'll try not to think about her horrible diva behavior on Celebrity Apprentice as we listen!

xoxo,

Liz & Lisa

What's on Josie Brown's Bucket List?

We love Josie Brown. Plain and simple. We first fell for her when we read the impossibly delicious,  Secret Lives of Husbands and Wives and now we're falling all over again after consuming her latest fun, funny and  completely satisfying novel, The Baby Planner. (In stores tomorrow- Tuesday, April 5!) about a thirty-seven-year-old baby planner whose own biological clock is ticking off the charts faster than you can say designer stroller. (Lisa could definitely relate- having her first baby, er, a little later in life.) Synopsis:

Katie Johnson may make her living consulting with new moms on the latest greatest baby gadgets no parent should be without, or which mommy meet-ups are the most socially desirable, or whether melon truly is the new black, but the success of her marriage to her husband, Alex, depends on controlling her own urges toward motherhood.

He's adamant that they stay childless. Sure, Katie understands that he's upset over the fact that his out-of-town ex-wife rarely lets him see their ten-year-old son, Peter. But living vicariously through her anxious clients and her twin sisters' precocious children only makes Katie resent his stance more deeply.

While helping a new client—Seth Harris, a high tech entrepreneur who must raise Sadie, his newborn daughter, as a single parent after the tragic death of his wife in childbirth—maneuver the bittersweet journey from mourning husband and reticent father to loving dad, Katie’s own ideals about love, marriage, and motherhood are put to the test as she learns ones very important lesson about family:  How we nurture is the true nature of love.

Want to win one of five copies of The Baby Planner? Just leave a comment here and we'll randomly select the lucky winners after 6:00 PM, EST on Wednesday, April 6.

CHICK LIT IS NOT DEAD PRESENTS: JOSIE BROWN'S BUCKET LIST 1. To own pied–à–terre on the northwest tip of the de l'Isle Saint Louis, an island in the Seine, there in the middle of Paris.

2. To circumnavigate the world in my own private plane, stopping wherever and whenever I want, for however long. (In other words, I may never get back home...)

3. To live long enough to witness world peace. Seriously. I'm no beauty queen, believe me. I just mean this from the bottom of my heart. (Must be the flower child in me who still believes it's possible!)

4. Great skin. Always. Despite a daily dose of sunshine!

5.  To see my own musical of Pride and Prejudice make it to both Broadway and the West End.

To find out more about the fabulous Josie Brown, check out her website and follow her on Facebook. And don't forget to pre-order The Baby Planner!

Thanks, Josie!

xoxo,

L&L