For Christine Coppa, the journey into motherhood was a little rocky. At 26, she was living in Manhattan, had a good job, great friends, and a cute boyfriend. Then, she found out she was pregnant. The boyfriend bailed, and Christine started down the road of single parenthood. Two years later, Christine has learned a few things about motherhood and herself. On the blog Storked! the mother to 19-month-old Jack Domenic (JD for short) shares her daily insights into the chaos of raising a child. Now, in her new book, Rattled!, Christine recounts the process of getting there.
Q: What about your son makes you laugh?
A: JD foreshadows his mischief. He'll say, "Ut-oh," then chuck a string bean off his plate onto the floor. Then laugh.
Q: What is your favorite family ritual?
A: JD and I take long walks around the lake in our town. There are benches at the edge of the water. We sit there often and eat Goldfish crackers and point out birds ("beards," as he calls them) and ducks. I've told him many times over crackers that I will remember these moments always, just him and me and the pretty pink sky at sunset. And I really will.
Q: What was your most frazzled mom moment?
A: I brought a bag of old clothes to the donation bin in a nearby shopping center. On the way out of the apartment I had my wallet, the bag, and JD's little hand in my hand. Well, JD didn't feel like walking to our SUV and literally plopped down on the grass. So I popped my wallet into the bag of clothes and scooped him up. I forgot my wallet was in the bag and popped the bag in the bin. Four hours later, I can't find my wallet in my purse in the grocery store. Thankfully, I remembered what I did (d'oh!), and thankfully the people who sort through the clothes were honest. I got my wallet back with everything in it. I haven't deposited clothes since.
Q: What parenting issues do you and your family disagree about?
A: My older brother, JD's godfather, Carlo, maintains that I need to feed JD steak and not "crappy girl food" like grilled chicken and avocado. He was horrified when he caught JD eating salad with olive oil and vinegar, and he often tries to give JD cookies for a snack, but the kid wants strawberries. "What did you do to him?" my brother asks over and over—and over. A toddler that loves fruit and veggies? Is that something to complain about? My younger brother, Brian, also maintains that I coddle JD too much and that I've made him a total mama's boy. Again, problem? He's not even 2.
Q: What is your parenting role: good cop or bad cop?
A: As a single parent, I'm both, and I am admittedly a softie. However, when I say "No!" JD knows he did something bad. Throwing a Lego in the toilet bowl is a "No!" He gets very shy and looks at me with his big brown eyes. Sometimes he runs into the bedroom. Melt.
Q: What do you wake up in the middle of the night thinking about?
A: If I wake up in the middle of the night and it's not because my kid woke me, I don't think about anything. I just feel really lucky it's still dark out and I can sleep more. My thoughts are reserved for the shower and they include money, if I spell-checked my blog, and how much longer I have in the shower before JD starts screaming for me. (I've adapted to five-minute showers. I'm very green now.)
Q: What do you wish you had done before you had children?
A: You know, marriage. I kid, I kid. (Well, not really. I always did imagine the cookie-cutout family—oh, well!) People always ask me that, especially because JD wasn't exactly planned. I could say something like "to have traveled more," but still, I'll just take JD with me now. Having a child has definitely changed things, not in a bad or out-of-sight way, but in an obvious way. Your life is supposed to change when you bring a seven-pound person home from the hospital.
Q: What is a typical Saturday morning in your house like?
A: I wake up to JD chirping or talking to himself or calling out, "Mom-mee! Mom-mee!" at 6 a.m. I grab him, change a usually drenched diaper, and pour him a cup of milk. I take him into bed with me, and I "awake sleep" (a.k.a. : lay there with my eyes half open) while he watches Blue's Clues. A half hour later, I'm cooking eggs, and he's slapping ABC magnet letters from the fridge onto the garbage can.
Q: What was your mom most right about?
A: Toddler boys are a handful. My younger brother, Brian, used to hide in the bushes at my kindergarten after he promised my mom he would be a "good boy." He was notorious for wiggling his hand out of hers. I see where JD gets his energy from. When JD was a newborn, I used to say, "Look at my little cherub," to my mom, and she would smirk and say, "Wait."
WHAT'S YOUR...
...guiltiest pleasure?
90210 reruns—in marathon form preferably. (And I mean the 90210 with Dylan McKay, not this new CW show.)
...ideal getaway?
A resort in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, with one of those big, twisty pools that sits at the foot of the beach. JD loves to swim and to pile sand onto his lap. I like margaritas.
...favorite clothing item?
Laceless Converse. Adult and toddler sizes.
...current reading material?
Safekeeping: Some True Stories from a Life, by Abigail Thomas. I also read The Foot Book, by Dr. Seuss, at least seven times a day—JD's fave.
What's your preference:
Chocolate or cheese?
Cheese. JD and I are famous for "cheese board" lunches. I cut up three different types, a little fruit, some bread—yum!
Cook at home or eat takeout?
Cook at home. But every Friday night JD and I have a pizza party. I order a small mushroom pie.
Coddle your tot or let him cry it out?
Both. Like I said, I'm a softie.
