My Guilty Pleasure: The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills

I’m often asked by people; why on earth would you watch such a dumb show?  A bunch of dumb rich women who fight and drink and shop all the time, with no worries.  Oh I assure you, these are normally people who haven’t watched a full episode!  First of all, only one or two of the housewives are dumb…and actually a few of them are quite successful women on their own.  Housewives is a deceiving name for the show, because truly many of the women could survive (and some of them do) without husbands at all.

Friends also want to know why, when I work with an office full of women and drama all day, five days a week, I’d want to watch a show full of drama as well.  It’s hard to explain, but when I spend all day interpreting policy forms, reading insurance verbiage, explaining to coverage to clients…etc …why would I want to watch a murder mystery show, or anything else that would require my brain to function properly?  No thank you!    I’ll take meaningless drama and fun fashion ideas any day.  Plus, watching successful women inspires me, even if their successes aren’t necessarily ones I would wish for.

There’s one woman, Adrienne, who absolutely amazes me.  She is extremely wealthy, owning several businesses with her brothers and even owning a basketball team.  She puts her husband in his place daily; he’s a plastic surgeon and also doing very well...however this is no traditional marriage.  She has a chef because she doesn’t like to cook—and isn’t even a slight bit apologetic for it.  Hey, she can afford it!  She takes martial arts classes, and could probably beat up most guy’s I know.  Yet she’s a dainty little thing that is often wearing cocktail dresses and has her own high heel line. 

So, needless to say, I’m going to stay tuned in; even if I can’t relate to having millions of dollars sitting in the bank or having nannies raise my children.  I am still going to enjoy watching catfights in heels, knowing that the drama entailed has nothing to do with my life, and as soon as I turn the TV off, it’s over!  We all have our dumb guilty pleasures…this just happens to be one of mine.  

"Hollywood Moms Night" - The Next Best Thing To Going Out With Your Girlfriends!

Can’t make it to girls’ night out tonight?  Hollywood Moms Night is the next best thing!  Stay with me, mamas!  I know what you’re thinking…the “Hollywood” makes you think of the Kardashians, private chefs and limousines, 24-hour nannies to moms who’ve never woken up in the middle of the night to their crying gassy babes.   This delightful show isn’t about those Hollywood moms.  It’s about as close to real as I imagine you can get in Hollywood.

The dish is this… if you can’t get out for a dinner party with your girlfriends (and you don’t feel like cleaning your home to host one), just pour a glass of vino and join these moms for a relaxing night in filled with laughter and nods of understanding – you’ll be shouting out:  “I’ve been there!” and “Oh, no she didn’t!”.  Just like us real moms, they enjoy taking the time to get pretty and put on that new dress, delight in bringing their own dishes to the party (who really cares if it was bought or cooked) and just talking about what girls talk about.  From how they met and fell in love with their men to what to call their sons’ privates-I was happy to hear that penis is indeed one of them! 

Known for their fun dinner parties, besties Alison Sweeney and Ali Landry are now hosting these dinners on-camera.  I decided to tune-in because I’ve always been a fan of Alison; I adore her style and down-to-earth persona as seen on The Biggest Loser.  The hour-long premier proved Hollywood Moms Night to be the essence of a real dinner party with real moms!  I love it!  The show even caught Alison having to balance decorating, cooking and dolling up all before and after a day at work.  Sound familiar?  That’s why this show is beautiful…it’s relatable!

It’s what Trina and I are so passionate about.  Real moms being real.  Beautiful.  Strong.  Even sassy – Niecy, we’re talking to you!  As we’ve said in many of our posts, we’re all in this world of motherhood together…we might as well share the great things we find that make us smile, laugh or even just know we’re not alone in some of our crazy motherhood experiences.

If you like reality shows but you’re tired of the over-the-top, over-dramatized, not-a-bit-relatable takes on reality, you have to check this out!  It’s refreshingly gratifying.  So ladies…moms…join me Sundays via TV Guide channel at 8:00 p.m. and let’s raise a glass to real moms, even if they are in Hollywood!

***Going to be up late tonight?  Tune in at 11:00 pm. for a showing of the premiere episode of Hollywood Moms Night on TV Guide Channel!  If not, it looks like they will rerun the premier every day from now until Sunday.

Finally! The Jones Family is Back...

Hopefully few mommies missed last night's airing of Quints By Surprise...with the lovely and endearing Jones Family.  I'm willing to admit that I'm a total reality TV junkie for any show with meaningless drama; episodes that include everything and anything I don't have to think too much about or that just make me laugh after a stressful and long day at the office.

This show does something a bit different for me.  It makes me want to be a better mother....it makes me want to do more for my children.  Sometimes, I battle my maternal needs of wanting to be a stay-at-home mom; Betty Crocker meets June Cleaver in the Brady-Bunch household.  This tussling with the other side that wants to be Erin Brockovich; climbing the corporate ladder as fast as I possibly can and bringing home my own bacon thank you very much.  The Jones family has me wanting to send in my resignation letter, join
PTA and trade in my honda accord for a minivan.

When I watch Casey Ann handle her five three-year-olds, along with her older daughter Eliot; I think...what am I complaining about?!  This woman does it all.  She cooks for all the kids, she bathes them all, she puts them to sleep...no nannies, no complaining....all the while clicking photos with her camera and bustling around her spotless, gorgeous house.  And-no glass of wine in her hand at 6 o'clock.  What?

Last night I viewed Casey and Ethan discussing how crazy they were for potty training the quints, their new dog, and attempting to get the quints in toddler beds and ditch the cribs...all at once.  I thought about my own household; I have a hard enough time trying to simply get the laundry done and dinner on the table-who has time for a dog?  And thank God for my babysitter Nancy, who basically handles the potty training department.

What makes a family so wonderful?  Is it the TV producers and knowing that you are being filmed for all America to see?  I mean, Casey and Ethan both look like they stepped out of a fashion magazine...where after a day with two kids I'm wrinkled, smudged, and broken down.  Or, is that good ole', God-fearing, southern family outlook that us in other parts of the world are lacking?

Whatever it is, I love it.  I'm going home tonight, cooking dinner (no wine!), giving baths, delivering stories at bedtime...all with a smile on my face and excitement about my very less-than-extravagant but also very satisfying life. 

Make sure and tune in next Tuesday to TLC ya'll!  ~Trina