You do NOT expect that you are going to be talking about vibrators.

Was there a mention of vibrators in my book? Well, yes, actually, there was. About two sentences.

However, most of the book is about becoming a mom, quitting my job, moving to the ‘burbs, and losing my cool. So when I appeared on The Today Show with Hoda and Kathie Lee, I naturally assumed we would focus on those topics.

But just as we rounded the corner on the conversation about mom jeans and minivans, Hoda Kotb let it fly.

“So one of your kids, your son, happened upon your vibrator…”

Boom!

In case there was any confusion as to what she meant by the word, “vibrator,” Kathie Lee was kind enough to clarify.

“Hoda, it’s called an Adult Toy!”

Me, demonstrating the proper technique one employs to use a vibrator as a back massager.

Really.

Just in case you were not sure, this was not really the story I wanted to be sharing on national TV, but I went with it because,
a) it’s live.
b) sadly, there was no five second delay where we could have bleeped the word “vibrator” and replaced it with the word, “light saber.”
c) I couldn’t reach the power cord on the TV camera to yank it out of the wall.

So, no big deal. Maybe the 2.5 million people who watched the show would think of me as an empowered feminist who was woman enough to meet my own sexual needs. Or maybe they would all think I was a suburban sex addict who left my Fifty Shades of Gray arsenal lying around for my kids to use as action figures. Who cares. As long as it sells books.

Still, I had some ‘splaining to do. First there was my niece and nephew who watched the segment with my brother and his wife and then wanted to know what was so funny about their cousin finding a personal massager. Then there was my mother who wondered how she was going to look her bridge club in the eye. My husband and daughter, of course were horrified, and my son wanted to know if he could change his last name and go move to Easter Island.

And then there was the lady at Crate and Barrel.

“Excuse me,” she asked as I paid for a gift I bought at the store later that afternoon.
“Did I see you on TV this morning talking about how your son found your vibrator?”

I shook my head.
“No, that wasn’t me,” I lied.
“But I’m sure whoever that woman was, she would want you to buy her book.”

To see my interview on The Today Show, CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW

NBC TODAY Show _ Mom: How My Son Found My Adult… by hulu

To read the section of my book about the vibrator, you’ll have to buy the book! Don’t worry, it’s worth it!

PS… After the segment, I gave Hoda and Kathie Lee their very own ducky bathrobes so they could be honorary suburban moms who drive in their bathrobes. THIS was the story from the book, I thought I would tell on the show! Had I known the story they would actually bring up, I guess I would have brought them ducky vibrators.

PPS.. My friend Nicole mentions this story today on her wonderful blog, Sisters from Another Mister, where she also does a review of my book. You can check that out here!

My friend Jessica also posted about the book on her blog, Savvy Southern Parent. Jessica and I had a chance to hang out in Charlotte on my Cool Mom Book and Blow Dry Bar Tour! You can read her review here!

Since I don’t travel to these cities that often, I wanted to make sure I got a chance to stop in at some great bookstores while I was in town and do some book signings. I loved visiting Diesel Books in Santa Monica, One More Page Books in Arlington, Barbara’s Bookstore in Chicago, Bound to Be Read Books in Atlanta, and Bookends, Watchung Books, and Booktowne in my home state of New Jersey. You should definitely stop by if you live in those areas because they are all wonderful independent bookstores!

Because there wasn’t enough going on, I also squeezed in some TV in each city, with interviews on Fox 5 Morning News in DC, Good Day Dallas, WGN in Chicago, and my own local shows, Good Day New York in NYC and “Live from the Couch” on CH.55 in NY. It was a lot of fun to be semi-famous for 4 minutes in each city, and I’m hoping they will remember me fondly, except maybe in DC where I made a cup of coffee at the station before my interview, but forgot to put the actual cup in the machine and flooded the green room.

(The TV portion of this tour actually extends through next week when I will be chatting with Hoda and Kathie Lee on The Today Show, Monday between 10 and 11am! I think, in all likelihood, I will refrain from making any coffee at NBC.)

The main event on the Book and Blow Dry Tour, of course, were the blow dry parties! Huge thanks to my national sponsors, without whom these shin-digs would not have been possible. Please visit the websites of Theraderm to discover their fabulous line of skin care solutions, The Living Fresh collection of eco-friendly, hotel quality sheets, Office Candy’s sassy home office accessories, and Ann Taylor. Thanks to Angela from Theraderm, and Randi from Living Fresh for making the trip to just about every city with me, and to Laurie who was there in spirit and kept us in Office Candy goodies!

Cupcakes from Cupcrazed Cakery

We also had some local sponsors who contributed to the fun, including Bella Luna Restaurant in Chicago, Fat Boy’s Cookie Dough, Sweet Loren’s ready to bake cookies and brownies, Jennifer Lee Photography in NY, Love Bites Treat Shop in LA, The Pure Natural Diva line of Pure Natural Botanical Perfumes, KINeSYS performance sunscreen, Cupcrazed Cakery in Fort Mill, SC, Mellow Mushroom Pizza, Sinless Cocktails, and social media marketing firms Everywhere, Forty Weeks, and Culture Mom Media.

I also could not have done these parties without having such amazing locations to host us. I want to send big Jersey Girl thanks to The Fix Beauty Bar in NYC, The Blo Out in Charlotte, Blo Beauty Bar in Atlanta, Blow Angels in LA, Denise Sharpe Salon in Bethesda, and Blow by Blow in Chicago. The salons were fabulous, the stylists gave all my guests gorgeous blow outs, and everyone could not have been more gracious and welcoming.

Thanks to everyone at WE+PR, my PR posse in New York, who did all the heavy lifting to find the salons, set up all the food and drinks, help with the promotion, book the TV appearances and bookstore signings, and basically make this whole tour happen! They rock! I also want to thank my publicists at Pergiee for making sure my books got to every event, and my literary agent, Lynn, for helping smooth out the rough edges along the way!

Thank you to Dress for Success, for being a non-profit partner in my tour and letting me share your mission and story with all of my guests!

Lastly, I have to give an enormous shout out to my tour partner, Holly Rosen Fink of Culture Mom Media. Besides being the nicest person in the world, Holly is a tireless social media dynamo who not only helped me keep track of everyone who was coming to the parties, but also came to Every. Single. City. with me and helped run the parties. Holly, you are amazing and I feel very lucky to call you a friend!

I apologize if I forgot anyone. It’s been a whirlwind and I know there were so many people who brought some Lost in Suburbia love to my tour, including all my guests who blogged, posted, tweeted, instagrammed and shared stories, pics and videos from the events to help spread the word about my book. Thanks to you all!

And of course, thank you to my amazing husband and children for putting up with an empty fridge and having to do laundry in my absence while I traipsed around the country promoting my book. I love you more than anything, except maybe Heather’s red velvet cupcakes, and I can’t wait to be home with you again, put my arms around all of you and tell you how much your support and love means to me!!

xo
Tracy

I got breakfast in bed, lots of hugs, and the chance to be on stage with 19 amazing women for the New York City Listen to Your Mother Show. Everyone’s stories were incredible. Some were hilarious… others were heart-wrenching. We read our essays to a packed house and bowed to a standing ovation. It was a pretty spectacular Mother’s Day, for sure! Additionally, all the cast members did an interview before the show. You can read mine here.

This morning I hoped on a plane (again) and flew to DC. This is the last week of my 6 City Cool Mom Book and Blow Dry Bar Tour and I’m both glad to be winding down and also sad that the fun is about to come to an end. But we are definitely going out with a bang!

Here’s the schedule:

Tomorrow morning I will be appearing on the Fox 5 Morning News (WTTG-TV) at 9:15am to share some of my tips for getting your cool back when you’re a new mom. (Of course, it took me 5 years to get my cool back, but we won’t tell them that).

Then, later on at 7pm, I’ll be signing books at One More Page Books in Arlington, VA. If you live in the area, please come by! It’s always a lot more fun when friends are there!!

Wednesday night is my Cool Mom Book and Blow Dry party in Bethesda for local mom bloggers (You can see pics of our LA event here!). If the past 4 Blow Dry Bar parties are any indication, this should be a lot of fun. I have to give a big shout out here to Julia Beck and Vanessa Birch of the strategies firm, Forty Weeks for all their help pulling this event together. So excited to celebrate with them, my DC friends, and our sponsors, Theraderm Skin Care Collection, Living Fresh eco-friendly, hotel-quality sheets, Office Candy home office accessories, and our newest sponsor, Fat Boys Cookie Dough who will be warming up their fresh baked cookies in the oven at the party for hot, gooey chocolate chip cookies to have with the wine!!

Thursday morning, my tour partner Holly Rosen Fink and I are back on the plane headed to Chicago. This is one of my favorite cities (and not just because I love Chicago pizza!). Chicago is the home of one of my big newspaper groups, Gatehouse Media. I love being out there and seeing my Gatehouse family! No sooner do we get to Chicago then we have our Last Cool Mom Book and Blow Dry Party. All the sponsors will be back for that one, AND we are having pizza from Bella Luna cafe. too. YES! I get my Chicago pizza!!

Friday morning I will be appearing on WGN TV at 11:40am and then shoot over to Barbara’s Bookstore, a Chicago institution, for a book signing at 12:30pm at the Willis Tower (Sears Tower) on the Lower Level 1. It’s truly a phenomenal bookstore so bring the kids and stop by!

I know it’s a lot to keep track of, but if you are in the DC area or Chicago, please come to one of these events and say hi!!

And don’t forget, all the stops on my tour celebrate my book launch, but I’m also trying to raise awareness for the group, Dress For Success, which provides professional attire for low-income women, a network of support and the career development tools to help women thrive in work and in life.
Please check out my fundraising page here.

*     *     *

WHO’S WRITING ABOUT LOST IN SUBURBIA?

*My friend Sharon writes about her own experience losing her cool with her six (!) kids on her blog, Mom of Six. She talks about how her experience parallels mine (times three). You can read her post here.

*Erin also posted about her personal journey becoming a mom and losing her identity on her blog, Mommy on the Spot. She writes, “I took great comfort in the fact that [Tracy], too, shared the feeling of insanity that cleaning wipes was an acceptable topic of conversation. In fact, those kinds of conversations are the exact reason why I started a blog.” It’s a great, touching post. Please check it out here!

*My friend Tricia, of she-who-helped-me-throw-the-world’s-greatest-party-in-Charlotte fame, reviews my book and is also doing an INSANE giveaway on her blog. You can enter to win my book and a ton of other goodies on her blog Southern Spark.

*Gene Myers is an editor of one of the North Jersey Media Group newspapers that carry my column, Suburban Trends, but he is also a phenomenal poet and writer in his own right. Gene has been posting about his own parental awakenings on his blog, Joy of Life, ever since his son, Owen, was born several years ago. We had a great chat recently about my book and both of us being Lost in Suburbia. You can read that interview here.

*I did a radio interview with two wonderful women who are part of a five sister radio team known on the web as the Satellite Sisters. Lian and Julie Dolan and I talked about everything from Kim Kardashian’s pregnancy to connecting with other moms in the ‘burbs.
You can listen to that interview here!

I LOVE the ladies over at the O-Mamas. They are Opinionated Mamas who provide a platform for America’s moms to be “the voice of reason” in our nation’s most important conversations. I was truly honored when they selected me to be their “Hot Mama” for May! Please check out my page on their site, and then click around and see some of the other discussions going on at Opinionated Mama.

*I did one more radio interview over on Break Thru Radio where I chatted with Kory French for his show, Book Talk. Kory and I just started talking and I didn’t even realize at some point he had pushed the “on air” button and we were live. You can check out that interview here! I come in around the 7 minute mark, so you can either listen to some other slightly strange things and a little bit of cool music before me or fast forward ahead!

By the way, just in case you were thinking I might be getting a swelled head from all this attention, CVS pharmacy printed out a coupon for me when I stopped in at the drug store this weekend that brought me back down to earth:
xo Tracy

I was really excited about the appearance because I think Greg and Rosanna are a hoot and you never know what is going to happen on that set. I was also excited because I knew that the group, Take 6 was supposed to be on the show that day, too, and I LOVE them and was hoping to meet them.

But mostly I was excited because I heard Fox has really good snacks in the green room.

Not that I’m shallow or anything.

In case you don’t know Take 6, they are a phenomenal acapella singing group. I have a special place in my heart for them because back when I was in labor with my son, we played my favorite Take 6 album in the delivery room.

Anyway, while I was waiting in the green room for my segment, eating muffins and trying to keep my dress from riding up because it seemed to be shrinking with every passing minute (which might have to do with the muffins I was eating), the sound of six-part harmony filled the hall and suddenly, Take 6 was in the room. I jumped up enthusiastically and yelled,
“Oh My God, YOU’RE TAKE 6!! I gave birth to you!!”

One of the members stopped and said, “You don’t look like my mother.”

I regained my composure, explained about the delivery room, and then gave them all hugs, because I’m friendly like that.
Then we sang together and took a picture.
Now that we were such good friends, I asked them if I could be part of the group and go on tour with them. They apologized and said that if I joined them they would have to change their name to Take 7 and all of their stuff already said Take 6 on it. I said I understood and it was fine because I had to finish my book tour anyway.

Anyway, after that, I did the appearance with Greg and Rosanna and it was a lot of fun. You can watch it here!

After the interview, I did a quick change, got into some comfy plane clothes and headed to Los Angeles!

The party in LA was at a fabulous place called Blow Angels in Santa Monica. We had some incredible sponsors for this event, including a hot new LA cookie company called Love Bites, a new line of Pure Natural Botanical Perfumes from the Pure Natural Diva, Tania Reuben, and wines from boutique vinyards in Napa courtesy of The Wine Sisterhood.

Our tour sponsors Theraderm and Living Fresh were also on hand with samples and door prizes for two lucky guests.
Sarah Auerswald from MomsLA won a gorgeous sheet set and lotions from Living Fresh and Elizabeth Peterson from the blog Traded My BMW For a Minivan won a three month supply of Theraderm skin care products. They also both got great blowouts! Not a bad way for a mom to spend a night!
Did I mention we also served Cool Mom Margaritas, had chocolate mousse shot glass desserts, gave out all natural sunscreen samples from KINeSYS Performance Sunscreen, gift cards from Ann Taylor, and, of course, gave everyone a free copy of my book, “Lost in Suburbia: A Momoir. How I Got Pregnant, Lost Myself, and Got My Cool Back in the New Jersey Suburbs.” It was so much fun to celebrate with my LA friends!

The party ended with a bang, or more accurately, a large shredding sound, when I sat down and ripped the inside of my dress from my hip to my thigh. Fortunately it was the lining and no one noticed, but I realized I was definitely going to need to cut down on muffins in the green room for the rest of the tour.

Thanks so much to everyone who came and to my sponsors for helping make this such a wonderful event!

*       *       *

Listen To Your Mother!

Tomorrow at 5pm I’ll be reading an essay from my book as part of a one day, off-broadway show called, Listen To Your Mother.
Showcasing moving, socially relevant and humorous stories about a range of modern mothering experiences, the Listen To Your Mother Reading Series is a unique national event taking place this May in 24 cities across the United States. My castmates include former Editor in Chief of Redbook Magazine Stacy Morrison (now Editor in Chief of BlogHer.com), comedian Jaime Fernandez, the fabulously funny NYC blogger, Marinka, actors Laura Pruden and Elizabeth Robinson, and many other incredible women. The show is directed by Amy Wilson (When Did I Get Like This) and Shari Simpson (Dusty Earth Mother) and produced by Varda Steinhardt (The Squashed Bologna) and my book tour partner (!), Holly Rosen Fink (Culture Mom Media).
As Holly says, “Their stories will make you laugh, make you cry and make you reflect on the institution of motherhood. Whether you are a mother or a daughter, you will experience a deep connection to our show.”

Do something nice for yourself this Mother’s Day and come see the show! It’s TOMORROW, Mother’s Day, Sunday, 5/12 at 5pm at Peter Norton Symphony Space (2537 Broadway at 95th Street). Tickets are $25 (advance), $30 (at the door) and can be purchased in advance online HERE.

Hope to see you there!
xo

Since Charlotte is not all that far from Atlanta, I figured it would be an easy jump across the state and then I could just relax for a couple of hours before the next event.

That was the plan.

But I failed to take into account the possibility that the airline would lose my pop up banner. In case you were wondering, the pop up banner is the big sign I took to all my events that has the names and logos of all my sponsors. It weighs 20 pounds and is 6 feet by 4 feet when opened. How someone can lose something the size of two golf bags is beyond me, but they did. So instead of chilling in Atlanta, I ended up freaking in the Atlanta airport for a couple of hours.

The good news is, they found the banner. And we still had time to go find another Mellow Mushroom and get more pizza for lunch!

The Atlanta event was a blast. Our host, Melissa from Blo Beauty Bar put out a fabulous spread including strawberries and truffles, chips and salsa, and asparagus rolled in sopressata salami. Her team gave everyone with hair longer than mine gorgeous blowouts. And the guests all got a chance to sample some Cool Mom Margaritas made from Sinless Cocktail mix.

My good friend Danica and her team from the social media marketing agency, Everywhere brought wine and helped me welcome all of their Atlanta friends. Our sponsors Theraderm, Living Fresh, and Office Candy were also on hand with gift baskets and products samples for all the guests.

Not to pick favorites, but I have to admit, my best guest was my friend Desiree’s daughter. She helped us out greeting people and serving hors d’oeuvres. And she and her mom stopped at a bookstore to pick up a couple of copies of my book to bring to the party when the box of books I was supposed to have delivered never showed up (are you sensing a theme here?).

In spite of a couple of bumps in the road, we had a great time! I’m now halfway through the “Lost in Suburbia Cool Mom Book and Blow Dry Bar Tour!” Next stop: Los Angeles!!

But before that happens, I have a couple of other cool things going on!

*If you happen to live in the New York tri-state area, Tune into Good Day New York on Fox 5 Monday morning at 9:20am where I will be chatting with Rosanna Scotto!!

*Looking ahead, I will also be on Fox 5 Morning News in the Washington DC area on Tuesday, May 14th at 9:15am. Please check that out if you live in MD, DC or VA.

*My Today Show appearance has been rescheduled for May 20th! Please watch NBC between 9 and 10am or set your DVR to see me with Hoda and Kathie Lee!

Who’s writing about Lost in Suburbia?

One of my Atlanta guests, Sweetie Berry (don’t you love her name?) did a great wrap up of the Atlanta party. You can read her post here. Another new friend, Trina, showed off the aweseome pants she wore to the Atlanta party on her blog, Baby Shopaholic.

I did an in-depth interview for Jewish Women’s Magazine. You can check that out here.

There are some great reviews of Lost in Suburbia on Celebrity Parents Magazine, Shelf-Awareness.com,, Barista Kids, and Gatehouse Media.

I just added some more dates for bookstore events around the country, so check out the Book Tour page to see what’s new!

Hope to see you at one of these locations!
xo

Yes, he was with me when I went for a run, turned my ankle on some big old rusty bolt in the street, fell down and broke my thumb, but it wasn’t his fault. In fact, he curled up next to me and didn’t leave my side until I was able to get up and hobble home.

THAT is a good dog.

Of course, then he saw a squirrel and almost dragged me across two counties before I could get him back under control and continue my hobble home. But I’ll let him go on that one.

So, no, this was not the best day ever. But I really can’t complain… or at least complain too much… because before this, there was CHARLOTTE and ATLANTA.

And THAT was awesome!

Last week I headed to Charlotte for the 2nd stop on the Lost in Suburbia Cool Mom Book Tour. I met up with some friends at a famous Charlotte restaurant called The Cowfish for sushi and hamburgers (get it, “cow” for the burgers and “fish” for the sushi? Took me about 4 days to make that connection. Duh.)

Then we went to a super blow dry bar called BLo ouT for our event. We had an amazing time.. all the guests got fabulous blow outs… we had some Cool Mom Margaritas and unbelievable pizza from a place called Mellow Mushroom.
Being from New Jersey, I have to admit, I’m something of a pizza snob. But this pizza ROCKED! Our sponsors Theraderm, Living Fresh, and Office Candy were all on hand with gifts and door prizes, too. But in all honesty, it’s hard for me to remember anything except the cupcakes.
Yes, the CUPCAKES.

These are Heather McDonnell’s cupcakes from her Cupcrazed Cakery in Fort Mill, SC. Heather is the winner of the Cupcake Wars on the Food Network and for good reason. Not only did she make outrageous chocolate, vanilla and red velvet cupcakes… she decorated them with LOST IN SUBURBIA FONDANT BOOKS!!

And yes, they were absolutely delicious. I ate two. Don’t tell my trainer.

With friends Tricia Oakes, Heather McDonnell and Randi Farina

The whole night was really so much fun. I had such a good time I almost forgot about the five year-old on the plane who stabbed me in the middle of my new white shirt with a black Sharpie marker. (Meanwhile, who the heck gives a five year-old a Sharpie and, where are the Federal Marshalls when you really need them??)

So, I had a great time and I also learned some important lessons:
1. Charlotte girls are tons of fun.
2. Don’t wear white on planes.
3. Check with my guests to find out what they are wearing to the event so we don’t all show up in the same color dress.

With WBTV anchor Maureen O’Boyle and National Sales Director of Living Fresh Collection Randi Farina

Come back tomorrow and I’ll tell you all about ATLANTA!!

*       *       *

Who’s Writing About “Lost in Suburbia”

*My friend Leslie, otherwise known as The Bearded Iris did a great post about my new book on her blog. She says she was able to read it in between “managing all her body hair and attending 12 step meetings.” The ultimate compliment. You can read her post here.

*Over on The Mommy Factor, my friend Onica did a wonderful wrap up of the New York City Lost in Suburbia Cool Mom Book Party. That one was a lot of fun, too, even though I did not end up wearing the same thing as anyone else. Loved getting to chat with Onica! Check out Onica’s post here.

*Esti was also at my New York party and she had a great time, too. She writes about the party and does a review of my book on her site Primetime Parenting. She says, “There is so much that Tracy shared, and in such a humorous way, I was laughing out loud through the entire book.” I was so glad to have her at the party with me! You can read her post here.

*Lastly, my friend Jen included me in her Mother’s Day Gift Guide on her blog, Mommy B Knows Best. She says, “Any mom is sure to relate to Tracy’s stories of kids mistaking adults for being pregnant, fishing toys out of the toilet and more!” You can see the rest of her recommendations here!

*       *       *

COMING UP:

Thursday May 2nd I’ll be at the Summit New Jersey Girls’Night Out. It is a fabulous event… More than 75 merchants and restaurants will be offering special deals and menus and the Summit YMCA will provide free babysitting, children’s activities and classes so moms can relax and enjoy the night. And I’ll be there signing books at the Welcome Center from 5-8pm. if you live in the area, please come by. To find out more, click here.

Hope to see you then!
xo

36 hours of labor will do that to you.

Or maybe it was the fact that I was distracted while I was working on some stuff for my book signing at Watchung Books tonight (7pm at 54 Fairfield St, the Watchung Plaza, in Montclair). How else, really, to explain the fact that I stupidly let the dog out back again, unsupervised, and then was shocked when he I found him covered in mud, again.

This time, however, he didn’t come to the door. This time, I had to chase him around the yard for ten minutes before I could grab him and drag him inside. But this time I thought I was smarter because I locked him in the kitchen while I went to get the bath towels, so he didn’t track mud all over the house.

I did.

Sadly, I neglected to check the bottom of MY feet, and apparently I had run through the same mud outside that he did and I left a trail of muddy sneaker prints through the whole house.

Yeah, I’m just really brilliant that way.

I left the dog in the kitchen and ran around cleaning carpets for the next 15 minutes.

By the time I got back, the dog was passed out, his muddy paws had hardened, and I was ready for a drink with an umbrella in it on a remote desert island.

So now we are on the third dog bath in a week. Good thing we are using super gentle puppy shampoo. It is leaving my hands silky smooth for my book tour.

*         *         *

Speaking of my Book Tour. Tomorrow morning I leave for the next stop on my whirlwind “Lost in Suburbia Cool Mom Book and Blow Dry Bar Tour” to benefit Dress for Success. (If you’d like to learn more about my fundraiser, PLEASE CLICK HERE!)

First I’m heading to gorgeous CHARLOTTE, NC, to the BLo ouT Blow Dry Bar where I will be celebrating with some of my favorite people, Tricia Oakes, who writes the awesome blog, Southern Spark, and Heather McDonnell, who writes the fabulous blog, Stepford Life and also owns a bakery called Cupcrazed in Fort Mill, SC where she makes the most decadent cupcakes around. How good are they? They’re so good that Heather won the Food Network’s Cupcake Wars! She will be baking some of her outrageous cupcakes for my event and I CAN NOT WAIT!!

(L-R) Tricia, Me and Heather, otherwise known as Spidergirl, Super Jersey Girl and Captain America

BTW, here is a picture of me with Tricia and Heather from the Aiming Low Non Conference last fall.

And yes, this is how we usually dress when we get together.

There will be a lots of other friends joining us to celebrate my book launch, and also enjoy Heather’s cupcakes, wine, “Cool Mom Margaritas,” and gifts from my tour sponsors, Theraderm, Living Fresh and Office Candy.

Right after that party, I’m jumping on a plane to do it all over again in ATLANTA at the Blo Beauty Bar! The fabulous ladies from Everywhere, a Social Media Strategy and Marketing company, are helping me run this event, as well as providing wine for the guests (Thanks to the amazing Danica Kombol for her support and friendship!!). Also helping me in the planning is my friend Desiree Miller who writes the blog, Stress-Free Baby, is a TV producer, a travel writer, and an all around wonderful person!

I know Atlanta is going to be a blast thanks to Danica and Desiree, and special thanks to Holly Rosen Fink of Culture Mom Media who is my partner on the whole book tour and is helping me organize and run every event!!  Big shout out, as well to the ladies from WE+PR, my PR posse, who are the ones responsible for this whole concept, getting us the venues, and holding my hand when I freak out!

*         *         *

Who’s BLOGGING about “Lost in Suburbia: A Momoir?”

Hold onto your hats… there’s a lot of them!

*As I mentioned earlier, tonight I will be signing books at WATCHUNG BOOKSELLERS in Montclair, NJ. In anticipation of that event, I did an interview with the Montclair Times. You can READ THAT HERE. I did another interview for Montclair’s Barista Kids. You can check that one out by CLICKING HERE.

*My friend Beth Feldman over at Role Mommy is sharing an excerpt from my book over on her site. You can READ THAT HERE.

*And over at 5 Minutes for Mom, Michelle is doing a review and a book giveaway! She writes: “Though the book is filled with humor, there are situations far too many of us can relate to with real issues many moms face.” You can READ MORE OF THE INTERVIEW HERE.

*Holly Fink also did a review of my book on her blog, The Culture Mom (and not just because I promised her extra cupcakes at the Charlotte event!). Holly says she can relate to my feelings of being “Lost in Suburbia.” You can CHECK OUT HER ENTIRE REVIEW HERE.

*The Stay at Home Mom Community is also doing a giveaway of my book for MOTHER’S DAY! FIND OUT HOW YOU CAN WIN A COPY HERE.

*My friend Mary McCarthy (we go way back to my first Blogher conference when I shoenapped Mary’s Red High Heel and took it for a joy ride through New York City) has included my book in her most recent “Must Read” post on her blog Pajamas and Coffee. You can CHECK THAT OUT HERE.

*Rachel Blaufield, who writes the blog, Back’n Groove Mom, wrote a review, and also invited me to share a top ten list with her readers. You can see her review and read my TOP TEN WAYS TO SURVIVE YOUR KIDS’ TEEN AND TWEEN YEARS by CLICKING HERE.

We had a fabulous time at my NYC “Cool Mom Book and Blow Dry Bar” party this past week! It was great to see so many friends and have them celebrate with me. If you’d like to see a slide show of the party, YOU CAN CLICK HERE. Thanks again to Fix Beauty Bar for hosting, Jennifer Lee Photography for the great pics, Sweet Loren’s for the yummy deserts from their ready-to-bake line of cookies and brownies, and our sponsors, Therederm, Living Fresh and Office Candy!

*May 2 from 5-9pm I will be joining the Summit NJ annual spring event, “Girls’ Night Out.” I’m hoping to see lots of friends from my community there! If you are in the area that night, please stop by the Welcome Center where I will be signing copies of my book, “Lost in Suburbia: A Momoir.” To find out more about Girl’s Night Out, CLICK HERE

Finally, if you missed my appearance on “Live from the Couch” (Or you don’t live in NY so you couldn’t have seen it!), you can CHECK IT OUT HERE. I had a lot of fun chatting with three hosts.. two of whom are pregnant (not the guy in the middle).

Check out the Blog Tour schedule to see if I’ll be close to your town. I’d love to see you at one of the events!!
xo

Our other sponsors, Theraderm, Office Candy and Living Fresh Collection were also on hand to shower our guests with gifts and discuss their products.

I will do another post when all the photos roll in (courtesy of Jennifer Lee Photography!) and give you more detail about the event. But for now, I just want to thank Holly Rosen Fink of Culture Mom Media, my amazing publicists at WE+PR, and everyone who made it such a wonderful night!

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Now, because I’m me and nothing happens in my life without a little excitement around it… let me tell you what happened before the party.

I drove into the city with a case of Margaritas in the back of my SUV. At some point the case fell over, which I didn’t realize, and several of the bottles were rolling around the back, which I also didn’t realize. However, when someone cut me off and I had to slam on the brakes, I was very aware that the smashing sound in the back of my car was the sound of one or more bottles of margaritas being broken. And if the sound didn’t give it away, the instant overpowering aroma of margaritas in my car certainly did.

I pulled over and kneeled into the back of the car to clean up the mess and, in the process, got margarita all over the knees of my pants.

At this point, I was thinking it would be really, really bad to get stopped by a cop, so I drove really slowly and tried not to hit any pedestrians like I usually do.

Eventually I got to the salon, unloaded the stuff from my car, and then hit the bathroom on the way out. I was in a hurry since I was double parked outside, so I quickly tucked in my shirt, zipped up my pants, and somehow, ended up catching the shirt in the zipper and shredding the shirt.

I now have a shredded shirt, wet stinky pants and 1/2 an hour to go until my party. So I quickly ditched the car and came back to help set up. We were just about ready when I picked up a bag of bottled water, lost my grip, and dropped the water on my foot.

In case you were wondering, the dragonfly tattoo is a normal part of my foot. The black and blue color above the tattoo is not.
The good news is my jacket covered the shredded shirt, the pants were black so no one could see the margarita stains, and the foot hurt like hell, but what’s a little pain when you have a party to host? I’m hoping that our next party in Charlotte next week will be just a little bit less eventful. Maybe there will just be a Category 3 tropical storm or something like that to keep things interesting.

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Fortunately, the fantastic bloggers who are posting about my book this week did not run into any of the same problems I did in getting their work done!

My friend Estelle Erasmus wrote a wonderful review of my book on her blog, Musings on Motherhood and Midlife. Estelle says, “.. this book makes you smile, more like guffaw, snort, spit out your doughnut, breakfast bar as you laugh, while nodding with recognition…” You can read more of Estelle’s review HERE.

Aliza Worthington, who is totally one of the nicest human beings on the planet, writes, “You don’t have to even come close to having had the same experience as Tracy in order to feel exactly what she feels in long-distance sympathy and understanding. It is SO relatable.” You can read more of Aliza’s review by visiting her blog HERE.

Nicole of Red Lotus Mama can also relate to my book. She quit her cool job and moved to the suburbs of San Diego with a new baby where suddenly her idea of a big night was potty training. She says, “Those early years of first time motherhood are challenging and life altering, but you will never survive if you can’t laugh at those over exaggerated moments.” You can find more of Nicole’s review here.

And finally, I have an excerpt from my book up on the website of The Today Show. Check out this sneak peak of Lost in Suburbia: A Momoir. How I Got Pregnant, Lost Myself, and Got My Cool Back in the New Jersey Suburbs” over on Today Books!

Don’t forget to pick up a copy of Lost in Suburbia: A Momoir for yourself or another mom you love!!

xo

Well, you know that all adage, “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me?” Having learned from my mistake, this time when I had an important conference call, I put the dog outside. He disappeared to go play in the fenced in yard and I was able to complete my call without the disruption of the Nile River of Dog Pee flowing through my kitchen.

But when I called him and he arrived back at the door, this is what I saw:

In case you are not familiar with my dog, he is an all white English Golden Retriever. Those brown spots are not fur. They are mud. Lots and lots of mud. His face was covered. His paws were covered. His tail and his entire belly were covered in mud. Apparently “He-Who-Pees-in-the-House” decided to change his name to, “He-Who-Burrows-in-the-Mud.”

Here’s another view:

Now, hot on the heels of my conference call, I was supposed to leave for a meeting. But there was no way I could let the dog in the house and leave until I de-mudified him. Naturally, when I opened the door to usher him into the bathroom, he decided to take the long way there and did a muddy cha cha through three rooms before I could collar him and drag him into the bathroom… where he then proceeded to mudify the entire bathroom before I was able to get him in the tub.

Two hours later, the dog was clean, the bathroom was clean, the other rooms were clean, and I looked like I’d been wrestling in a mud pit.

So now Monty is in the doghouse. I know dogs will be dogs, but I suspect he may be trying to sabotage my career, and for that reason, he has been found guilty of Reckless Puppyness.

So the moral of THIS story is, if you are trying to have a successful career as an author and columnist, get a BLACK DOG! (And preferably one with a large bladder.)

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Meanwhile, back on the book tour, I have a couple of updates:

Barista Kids is helping me spread the word that I will be speaking and signing books at Watchung Books in Montclair, NJ on April 25th at 7pm. You can check out the article and interview I did for them HERE!

My dear friend Chloe Jeffreys wrote a fabulous review of “Lost in Suburbia: A Momoir” over on her new site, Generation Fabulous. Chloe says, “Tracy writes poignantly about the powerful internal tug-of-war that happens inside many working mothers–except that wackadoodle workaholic CEO at Yahoo–between meeting their own needs for achievement and success and the needs of their children for a onsite caregiver who passionately loves them.”
You can read more of her review HERE.

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THE TODAY SHOW!!

Please remember to tune in to “The Today Show” Tuesday morning on NBC between 10 and 11am when I talk about my book with Hoda and Kathie Lee! Yes, I’m a little nervous! Let me know if you’ll be watching so I know I have some friends out there!!

xo

First I hung out with some very cool Ridgewood moms at a wine and cheese hosted by a group called, naturally, Ridgewood Moms. A lot of them had, like me, left behind their big jobs and life in the city, moved to NJ, and had also become Lost in Suburbia. We all traded notes and commiserated over those early childhood days when you are so sleep deprived you feel like you could take a nap on the conveyer belt of the checkout line at the supermarket, and so unfashionable that you actually believe peanut butter and jelly stains on your shirt are a fashion statement.

With Estelle Erasmus from Mothers & More, and Jill Smokler (aka Scary Mommy)

Right after that ended, Jill Smokler joined me and the two of us got a chance to talk about both of our books to some more Bookends customers. Sadly, just as we were getting started, a monsterous thunderstorm moved in, and anyone without an ark or scuba gear wasn’t able to make it out to the event. So yes, turnout was light, but we had a great time with the people who came and shared a lot of stories from our books, “Lost in Suburbia: A Momoir,” and “Motherhood Comes Naturally (and other vicious lies).”

(On a side note, I got a chance to reconnect with an old friend who wrote a very funny post today about her challenges trying to get to Bookends last night. You can read that here!!)

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The Lost in Suburbia BLOG Tour

Two great blogs are posting about “Lost in Suburbia: A Momoir” today!
My good friend Rhonda Franz runs an amazing site called Parenting Squad, which is an online is a community of parents, experts, and authors from all walks of life. We did a really fun interview together which you can CHECK OUT HERE!

I also did an interview with my friend Stacey who is One Funny Motha. No really, she is, and she has the blog to prove it. We talk about everything from my career delivering singing telegrams (it was a very short career) to my amazing laundry skills. You can read that interview and enter to win a free copy of my book by CLICKING HERE.

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Lost in Suburbia BOOK tour

My six city book tour is gearing up to start next week! I’m still adding in dates and locations so stand by for more on that. But we’ve added a couple of great sponsors, including Sweet Loren’s which makes INSANELY good all-natural, ready-to-bake desserts like brownies and cookies, and Jennifer Lee Photography which is based in New York and specializes in stunning family portraits and capturing moments that matter.
Please check them both out!

Also, don’t forget, my appearance on THE TODAY SHOW with Hoda and Kathie Lee is coming up next tuesday. I’d love you to watch if you are home between 10 and 11am! If not, set your DVR!

And, if you haven’t gotten your copy of “Lost in Suburbia: A Momoir” yet, head over to AMAZON and find out what all the buzz is about!

xo