false 261948 1 Of the many stay-at-home mommies who dream of writing the Great American Novel, few actually try; fewer still get published. Though <I>not</I> a novel, <I>The Big Rumpus</I> certainly is the Great American Tale of one woman's schlep through early motherhood--honest, hilarious, and irresistibly naughty. Ayun Halliday, a highly caffeinated and refreshingly immodest city gal, acknowledges that motherhood is pretty much like contending with a cloud of locusts swarming toward one's wheat--then laughs her "heiner" off about it. <p> Under her gifted muse's care, stories about childbirth, holiday acrobatics (sans religious ties), and raising two kids in a tiny New York apartment read like standup comedy routines; they also give way to bittersweet reflections on her own youth--goofy boyfriends, repressed sexual behavior, and all. Yes, she swears; yes, she delves deeply into issues anatomical, gastronomical, and diaporial. But for hip stay-at-homers who find sustenance in friendships honed at neighborhood playgrounds (not slapped together like cold deli meats at those contrived mommy-and-me meetings), Ayun Halliday might just become the patron saint of blissfully imperfect motherhood. Even mommies who lack Halliday's affinity for "unhusking" their breasts in public will find moments of empathy in this mirthful sprint through life as the family "Milk Monkey." <I>--Liane Thomas</I> 253905 26 2 2002 The Big Rumpus: A Mother's Tale from the Trenches total:190|5:55|4:76|3:47|2:11|1:1| 190 743 264 32 3 0 false false Tue Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2006 Sat Nov 01 09:53:02 -0700 2008 Sat Nov 29 10:55:03 -0800 2008 four times more...]]> 5 0 false false Mon Apr 20 12:09:31 -0700 2009 Mon Apr 20 12:11:27 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Mon Oct 26 01:23:02 -0700 2009 Mon Oct 26 01:31:26 -0700 2009 1 0 false false Mon Oct 20 10:41:23 -0700 2008 Mon Oct 20 10:53:25 -0700 2008 Job Hopper but it's agressively, beat-you-over-the-head-with-its-hipness hip. Ayun seems to be a human representation of the satirical site stuffwhitepeoplelike.com, and a lot of the ethnic references in her writing read more like, "I can't be racist -- some ...more...]]> 5 0 true false Tue Nov 11 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Tue Nov 11 05:24:50 -0800 2008 Tue Nov 11 23:03:25 -0800 2008 more...]]> 2 0 false false Thu Oct 15 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Nov 09 08:47:06 -0800 2009 Mon Nov 09 08:48:09 -0800 2009 3 0 true false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sun Feb 22 11:36:02 -0800 2009 Sun Feb 22 11:36:02 -0800 2009 5 0 false false Mon Feb 23 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Wed Feb 18 23:03:38 -0800 2009 Fri Apr 03 20:07:53 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Tue Jul 15 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sat Jul 19 09:53:20 -0700 2008 Sat Jul 19 09:59:46 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sat Jul 07 09:46:57 -0700 2007 Sat Jul 07 09:50:16 -0700 2007 more...]]> 3 0 false false Tue Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Jul 15 12:11:43 -0700 2008 Sat Jul 19 17:41:06 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Jul 06 21:40:55 -0700 2008 Sun Jul 06 21:55:58 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Mar 04 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Fri Dec 28 11:02:02 -0800 2007 Wed Jun 04 06:59:57 -0700 2008 4 0 false false Fri Sep 14 20:49:06 -0700 2007 Fri Sep 14 20:49:13 -0700 2007 5 0 false false Mon May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2006 Wed Aug 20 14:35:06 -0700 2008 Wed Aug 20 14:39:18 -0700 2008 5 0 false false Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Mon Feb 04 10:11:26 -0800 2008 Mon Feb 04 10:13:00 -0800 2008 4 0 false false Thu Aug 16 13:57:41 -0700 2007 Thu Aug 16 13:59:07 -0700 2007 5 0 false false Wed Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2005 Sun Mar 25 20:38:30 -0700 2007 Sun Mar 25 20:42:27 -0700 2007 4 0 false false Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2001 Thu Feb 28 17:51:17 -0800 2008 Thu Feb 28 17:54:24 -0800 2008 4 0 false false Mon Feb 04 21:08:10 -0800 2008 Sun Jan 20 21:18:12 -0800 2008 Mon Feb 04 21:07:31 -0800 2008