I heart Ellen on my blog

By Jessica McFadden, writer of the parenting blog A Parent in Silver Spring

Before I became obsessed with community activities for parents and kids, I was a new and novice SAHM, not that I had ever heard of that acronym. In early 2004, my day primarily consisted of nursing my kidlet on the couch, kissing his baby cheeks, taking two walks a day and reading every Sandra Boynton book in the house. I got us all dressed up to go to the store and made fantastic recipe book meals every night. I subscribed to multiple newspapers and the trade publications of my former career and read them diligently.

When I finally found a playgroup of other first time moms and kids to hang out with when my son was seven months old, I cried with relief. These are the women with whom I first discussed local activities, and we inspired each other to seek interesting things to do with the babies in the DC area.

But before I met my baby mama posse, I, a former TV scorner, planned my day around the airing of a brand spanking new television talk program, The Ellen Degeneres Show. Ellen was engaging, she was funny, she was real, she kept me informed about new movies and pop culture. She was a welcome respite from orange poops and op-eds. She was my 10am playdate; she never judged me or asked, "So, what do you *DO* all day?" Though not a mom herself, she was the supportive girlfriend archetype when I needed it most.

Ellen and I danced together every morning for a year. She had an awesome DJ, Tony Okungbowa, who would drop new hits I could load to the iPod or old school classics I'd forgotten. Her charm can make Chris Matthews try to jitterbug, or Senator Barack Obama perform some seriously smooth hip swivels. Think about that the next time you're at a wedding or a club and you protest that you are too old to join in - this woman is 50 and she's shaking her stuff on national television. With a presidential candidate.

So thank you Ellen for being my friend before I discovered story times and hayrides, free kids' classes and parenting blogs. And to my fellow parents, I present Ellen's dancing greatness:



My website A Parent in Silver Spring was created to help parents find activities to share with their kids, but it was also made to keep you from being as pathetic as I was four years ago. So get your bad self and your kids out of the house when you're not working or are in need of external stimuli! There is so much more we can be doing with our families and in the community than just watching TV.

Just make sure to program Ellen doing her thing on the DVR!