About JavaMom

Who are you “mom” to?
I’m Mom to JavaBoy (age 6) a very curious and imaginative boy who is always “inventing” something, and JavaGirl (age 4), a very active little girl who believes that the entire world is her canvas and all objects are potential art supplies… tomatoes, maxi pads, eyeliner pencils. They keep me quite busy.

I’m married to their father, JavaDad, who is the light of their life, based on their reactions when he comes home from work. He’s pretty darn cool, and most people consider him a saint for being married to me. It’s true.

I’m also Mom to a bevvy of cats. When JavaDad and I married, we had His and Hers cats, and then along the way a couple of strays picked us up. What can I say, we’re suckers.

And who are you?
I’m a journalist (are you ever really a “former” journalist?), a Silicon Valley escapee, and a stay-at-home mother.  That means I’m also part chauffeur, caterer, social secretary, art restorer, historian, peace maker, hostage negotiator — you name it, I do it. I’m also an active volunteer in the community.

The more independent my children become, the more I return to freelance writing, marketing communications consulting, and now social media consulting.

So where did the name Caffeine and a Prayer come from?
I’ve tried to quit caffeine and my daily Diet Coke many times and discovered that it is impossible.  When I’m stuck at a really long stoplight, you’ll catch me using that as an opportunity to get a few prayers in — I figure that’s as good of a time as any. I pray other times, of course, but a mom is in her car a lot and that’s a time when I know where both kids are and that they can’t possibly get into anything, so it’s a good time to grab a few moments of serenity.  If there are two things I need to get through the day as a mother, it’s caffeine and a prayer or two!  (Get it?)

Addendum: I’ve been asked a little bit more about the caffeine part by my mother-in-law. It’s true, most of my caffeine does come from Diet Coke rather than coffee, but contrary to rumor, I DO drink coffee — I just don’t make it at home. Here’s the ugly truth… JavaDad doesn’t drink coffee! GASP! And I always started my day with a Diet Coke rather than a coffee, so I drink my coffee out and not every day — I’ll drink coffee at an office or at a restaurant or at a Starbucks or someone else’s home, but I rarely actually stock coffee in my own home. Should anyone ever want to pick me up a coffee, I love mochas! : ) I do, however, drink a lot of tea at home. But now relatives will know that I do drink coffee, even though I have to dust off the coffee maker every time they come to visit!

So what’s the point of this blog anyway?
This blog is about an imperfect mom with imperfect solutions but a sense of humor about it all (most) of the time.  It’s about sharing funny moments, tips, and ways to keep current and relevant while going through the mommy years. I started it for myself, but just as other blogs have sparked moments of inspiration in me, I hope it will spark something in you.

And since it keeps coming up…  Do you do product reviews?  (This one is for the PR people!)
I do product reviews from time to time.  I get approached about them a lot.  I prefer to do reviews that are somehow relevant to women, families or kids and are either fun, issue-based or solve a real problem.  I don’t “review” a product unseen — that’s not a review.  I will do giveaways — I love making my readers happy!  I will disclose everything about the terms of the review — in other words, if you give me something, I will say you gave me something because I’ve promised such transparency to my readers.  I will give my own opinion about a product.  I do, however, make a concerted effort to give a balanced review to say what is positive, what is negative, and even if the product is not for me, who the ideal audience is.  I can meet a deadline, but please don’t send me something without checking to see if I can meet the deadline first as I have many commitments in my life and some times are busier than others.  As part of a future strategy for advertising, product reviews are starting to move to CaffeinatedReviews.com though they will be promoted on this site.  I’m happy to answer questions about my site statistics offline.

If you send me a press release about a topic or an issue and it is of interest to me, I’m happy to write something about it, in my own words, with my own take.  I love spreading the word about important issues.  But I don’t write about just anything and everything — it’s the old newshound in me — if there’s a good hook, I’ll bite.