Ever been Mom-Shamed at the Checkout? | Slummy Mummy Episode 5 | Cat Food | MomCaveTV

Friend or Frenemie? Only something as life-changing as motherhood could amplify the Mean Girls dynamic between some women. The next episode of our award-winning web series, “Slummy Mummy,” was inspired by some very real events in my life.

My husband and I were the quintessential “struggling artists.” We met in acting school, moved in New York City, and never seemed to have enough money. I babysat, taught dance, catered, transcribed videos, modeled shoes, sold makeup, bought and sold things on Ebay, did extra work on any TV show or movie that came into town, participated in focus groups and medical research and occasionally collected unemployment. Oh, and sometimes I got an actual paying acting job.

We were lucky enough to sort-of-not-legally inherit my husband’s grandma’s rent-stabilized apartment. That meant we could live in one of the wealthiest areas of the city but pay very little in rent.

The other mothers around me were either high-earning, high-powered corporate types (see the last episode of Slummy Mummy) or the accomplished stay-at-home wives of high-earning, high-powered corporate types. And while I tried my best to fit in for the sake of my son, even my stroller gave me away.

There were several supermarkets in our neighborhood. When we moved in, I spent hours going from store to store with a notepad, comparing prices, to determine which one we should shop in. I determined which was the overpriced, fancy store and avoided that one at all costs.

Until one day, the fancy store was the only one open and I needed to grab some dinner for my son and me. My husband was out of town, working, as he often was. So, I went into the fancy store, with my bargain stroller, and bypassed the organic dry goods in bins to find the least expensive frozen dinner available.

Of course, when I was in the checkout line, I ran into one of those fancy moms from the neighborhood. That incident, along with the homeless man who sat outside day after day, asking for money I didn’t have, inspired the episode below. Enjoy!

Cat Food | Slummy Mummy Ep 5 | MomCaveTV

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Jen

Jennifer Weedon Palazzo is the creator/writer/and producer of Mom Cave TV, an online network of comedy shows for moms including Slummy Mummy, Double Leche, Blabbermom, and MomCave LIVE. She's a working actress in NYC who has appeared in films, commercials, and some very off-off Broadway plays. When she’s not writing about the funny side of being a mom (for blogs like Scary Mommy and Mamalode) Jennifer can be found eating Reese’s Cups while furiously bidding on vintage clothing on eBay. She lives with her husband, Evan, bandleader of The Hot Sardines and two spirited children.

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