Asheville area moms' groups offer support, give parents a break

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A sampling of support groups for moms in WNC.
Asheville Stay-At-Home Moms Playgroup: Visit www.meetup.com/Asheville-Stay-At-Home-Moms-Playgroup/
Arden Moms Meetup Group: Visit www.meetup.com/arden-moms
or contact Susan Toole at ArdenMoms@gmail.com.
AshevilleMommies.com: Meet and greets for moms while kids play. Two sessions, 11 a.m.-noon and 3-4 p.m. Wednesdays at The Hop Ice Cream and Coffee Shop, 640 Merrimon Ave.
Asheville Moms with Multiples: Group for moms with multiples meets 7 p.m. the first Thursday of each month at the Women?s Resource Center on Doctors Drive, behind Mission Hospital. Meetings are an opportunity to share experiences and offer support in a social setting. Call 444-AMOM or visit www.ashevillemom.com.
Biltmore Baptist MOPS: Group for all mothers of children from infancy through kindergarten. Meets 9:30-11:30 a.m. on the first and third Wednesday of each month, September-May, at Biltmore Baptist Church, 35 Clayton Road, Arden. Call 687-1111, email mopsofbbc@yahoo.com or visit www.biltmorebaptist.org/mops/.
Hiking with Preschoolers: Visit www.meetup.com/hiking-with-Preschoolers/
La Leche League of Asheville mornings: Pregnant moms, babies and toddlers welcome at all meetings. Meets at 10 a.m. the second Monday of the month at First Congregational Church on Oak Street. Contact a leader: Susan, 628-4438 or wncbabylady@gmail.com; Jessica, 242-6531; or Falan, 683-1999. Visit www.facebook.com/#!/pages/La-Leche-League-of-Asheville
Buncombe/370356353543
La Leche League of Asheville evenings: Pregnant moms, babies and toddlers welcome at all meetings. Meets at 7 p.m. the third Monday of the month at Awakening Heart on Merrimon Avenue. Contact a leader: Yvette, 254-5591; or Molly, 713-7089. Visit www.facebook.com/#!/pages/La-Leche-League-of-Asheville
Buncombe/370356353543
La Leche League of Hendersonville: Offers information and support for pregnant or breastfeeding women. Meets at 10 a.m. the second Wednesday of the month at Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Hendersonville, 2021 Kanuga Road. Babies and toddlers are welcome. For more information, Contact a leader: Andrea 676-6047, Katie 808-1490, or MC 693-9899.
Mom2mom: Christian moms group meets at St. Paul?s Church, 32 Rosscraggon Road, Rosscraggon Business Park Building B, Asheville. Moms with any age children are welcome. Call 388-3598.
Mommy and Me: Park Ridge Hospital offers a support group for moms at 10 a.m. the fourth Monday of the month. Contact Amy Mast at 216-7244. The hospital offers a luncheon for moms and babies, noon-1 p.m. the third Monday of the month, at the hospital?s private dining room. Call 681-2229.
Moms Club of Hendersonville: A support group open to mothers of all ages in the Henderson County area, including mothers who have home-based businesses and those who work part-time but are home with their children during the day. The group meets for speeches and topics for discussion, park days, playgroups, nights out, holiday activities and service projects benefiting needy children in the community. Meets 9:30 a.m. the first Thursday of the month at Hendersonville Church of Christ, 1975 Haywood Road, Hendersonville. Children welcome. Call Kerry at 692-7724 or visit
http://www.hendersonvillemomsclub.wordpress.com
MOPS at Mud Creek: Mothers of Preschoolers provides an open, faith-based atmosphere for moms of infants through kindergartners. Meets second and fourth Wednesdays, 9:15-11:15 a.m., September-May, at Mud Creek Baptist Church, 403 Rutledge Drive, Hendersonville. Email Melissa Thorsland, melthor@tds.net, or MOPS.MudCreek@gmail.com or visit http://mopsatmudcreek.webs.com/links.htm.
North Asheville MOPS: Meets 9:30-11:30 a.m. the first Tuesday of each month at Maranatha Baptist Church, 1040 Lower Flat Creek Road, Weaverville. Contact Amy at 658-0739 or Liban at
lmorris_cid@hotmail.com.
WNC Mountain Mamas: Moms and kids can meet up and play at 11 a.m. Wednesdays the Hop Ice Cream Shop, 640 Merrimon Ave. Enjoy half-priced coffees and ice cream. Encompassing, supporting and uniting WNC families. Visit www.wncmountainmamas.
proboards.com

Bookstores stock the shelves with countless self-help tomes while TV psychologists offer advice on every channel. Yet, where do most moms go when they need support or have questions about raising their kids?

They turn to another mom as nothing compares with the voice of experience. For moms in Western North Carolina, there are a variety of support groups that offer opportunities to share experiences. These active groups schedule playdates and field trips, go hiking all year long, and offer practical help to nursing moms.

The Asheville Stay-at-Home Moms Playgroup was formed last January when Brandy Lewis moved from Manhattan to Asheville.

?I had a very successful playgroup in New York,? Lewis says, ?and the whole reason for creating this group was to meet friends for myself, for my daughter, and soon-to-be baby boy.? The group has 32 members from the surrounding area including Black Mountain, Waynesville and Hendersonville. The group provides support, friendship and an outlet to talk to other adults to get advice or just to bond. They meet several times a week for playdates at a member?s home or go to parks or indoor play areas. There are no fees to join but members are asked to attend at least one outing per month.

Here?s a glance at other groups for moms around Asheville:

South of Asheville, the Arden Moms get together at least once a week either at someone?s home or at destinations such as the Carl Sandburg Home goat farm, the WNC Nature Center, apple orchards or pumpkin patches.

?Joining the mom?s group was the best thing I did as a new mother,? says Susan Toole, organizer of the group. ?It gave me a reason to get dressed and get out of the house and introduced me to a lot of moms going through similar experiences.? She adds that it is great to get advice from other moms and trade battle stories of raising kids.

The Arden Moms schedule a Mom?s Night Out on occasion to give moms a chance to have dinner and a movie, or perhaps attend a book club meeting without kids. There is a $3 annual fee to join.

Another new group in town that boasts more than 70 members is the Hiking with Preschoolers in WNC club. Started by Stacia Sparks, the group promotes the fun, free social outlet of hiking with the family.

?Western North Carolina is a hiker?s paradise and to be able to get our kids out enjoying what this area has to offer on a regular basis is like the icing on the cake,? Sparks says. And winter weather doesn?t slow the group down.

?We hiked through the winter all bundled up,? she adds. ?What I like is that the outdoors is so accessible even in the wintertime. You just have to be prepared for the conditions.?

Sparks notes that having both the kids and parents engaged in a physical activity really facilitates conversation and hiking in all kinds of conditions fosters fast friendships.

Several area churches offer Mothers of Preschoolers programs, or MOPS, sponsored by the MOPS international organization. Mud Creek Baptist Church in Hendersonville, Biltmore Baptist Church in Asheville, and North Asheville Baptist Church all offer MOPS programs that run with the school calendar from September through May.

?The purpose of MOPS is to nurture every mother of preschoolers,? says Melissa Thorsland, coordinator of the Mud Creek Baptist Church program. ?Stay-at-home moms, working moms, single, teen, married moms, and moms with different lifestyles who all share a similar desire to be the very best mom they can be.?

Registration for MOPS ranges from $25 to $40 for the year and includes two meetings per month. At Mud Creek, moms receive a subscription to Momsense Magazine, a MOPS reusable shopping bag, stickers, and email devotions. At Biltmore Baptist, kids go to Praise Island, the church?s nursery, free of charge where they enjoy age-based classes full of crafts, games and story time. Breakfast is also provided.

?The best thing about MOPS is the friendships you make with other moms,? explains LeAnn Moffitt, membership coordinator for the Biltmore Baptist program. ?It?s tough being a mom, and this is a time in life when we can encourage and support each other.?

Toni McDonald, of Hendersonville, discovered the Moms Club of Hendersonville just over a year ago.

?If I had known about the club, I would have joined a long time ago,? she says. ?Kids are welcome at all of our meetings and events and this was a big factor for me when I first looked at the club.? The group of about 32 members meets monthly at the Hendersonville Church of Christ and offers an activity calendar with additional scheduled outings. The group is open to any mother, expectant mother, grandparent, or caregiver that wants to spend time with others from the area.

Twenty-seven years ago, when Susan Mooney could not console her crying baby at 3 a.m., she called a breast-feeding counselor.

?I was told to call back at a more reasonable hour,? Mooney recalls. ?As I sat in my rocker and cried along with my fussy newborn, I vowed no woman would struggle like I was. When I had my second baby I trained to become a leader.?

Mooney has been leading La Leche League meetings in Asheville for more than 18 years.

The La Leche League exists to help mothers learn the art of breastfeeding as an important element in the healthy development of the baby and mother. The group holds informal monthly meetings, not classes, where women talk about childbirth, baby?s first weeks of life, and how to avoid and overcome difficulties.

There are no requirements to join and you do not have to be a member to attend. Those who do join with a $40 fee help support the La Leche League?s purchase of new books and materials for the group as well as hosting conferences and workshops for families and leaders.

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Ten best companies for working moms

The best companies for working mothers offer good benefit packages.The best companies often have good benefits for moms who can only work 20 hours a weekTriHealth, whose employees are 83% women, offers extensive child care servicesAt WellStar women earn two thirds of the very highest salaries and oversee most of the profit-and-loss decisions

(Parenting.com) -- Stressed about work-life balance? Take a look at this list from Parenting's sister magazine Working Mother of the top ten companies that keep working moms' needs in minds, excerpted from the Working Mother 100 Best Companies.

PwC

Employees: 30,379

Women: 47%

Headquarters: New York, NY

What We Love

Working a reduced schedule won't hurt your career at this audit, tax and advisory services firm: Moms who put in just 20 hours per week still earn full benefits and remain under consideration for top jobs. In 2010, the firm added training that helps them better navigate the workplace and advance in their careers; nationwide sessions assist the human resources team in advising and managing employees on such arrangements. At present, more than one tenth of female client-service partners, directors and managers have cut their hours—and nearly all say that it has made them feel happier, more committed and more supported by the firm.

Parenting.com: How to tell your boss you're pregnant

General Mills

Employees: 16,803

Women: 40%

Headquarters: Minneapolis, MN

What We Love

This major food manufacturer earns employees' loyalty by investing in programs that support their long-term satisfaction. Its recent great Manager initiative, for example, used training courses, mentoring circles and town halls to teach officers and directors how to inspire and motivate their workers. To help people make more time for family, the company promotes flexible schedules, grants 26 job-guaranteed weeks off for a birth or adoption (with $10,000 in adoption aid) and allows employees to take three weeks of vacation in their first year. At the Minneapolis headquarters, an on-site center looks after infants ages 6 weeks to 16 months; everyone else has access to discounts at 63 near-site child-care facilities and may request backup-care subsidies.

Deloitte

Employees: 40,984

Women: 43%

Headquarters: New York, NY

What We Love

Sprawling across 700,000 square feet on a massive plot of land in Westlake, TX, is this professional services firm's new Deloitte University, which boasts hundreds of training courses for its employees. As they pursue their career goals, moms telecommute, ramp up or reduce their workloads, take paid sabbaticals and even go on five-year breaks, all the while maintaining connections to office mentors and freelance work. Gender-neutral parental leave policies grant at least eight fully paid weeks off to primary caregivers and three fully paid weeks off to secondary caregivers after the birth or adoption of a child. To keep costs down, employees use the firm's mortgage assistance, tap up to $10,000 in annual tuition aid and invest in pretax commuter, health-care and dependent-care accounts.

Parenting.com: "I'm jealous of my nanny:" A mom's honest confession

Discovery Communications

Employees: 3,094

Women: 54%

Headquarters: Silver Spring, MD

What We Love

Can't find time to get a blood test, physical or EKG? Employees at the Silver Spring headquarters and Miami and New York sites of this nonfiction media company simply walk down the hall to their office wellness clinics, which offer free acute and primary care (and basic prescription drugs) to workers and their children over age 14. Since 2004, the clinics have doled out some $7 million in medical care to employee families, which has put money back in parents' wallets. To improve their mental health, moms join the Working Families Group (a parenting network that debuted in October 2010) and take workshops on women's finances, home-buying and retirement. Anyone who pays for an exercise class or athletic activity may be reimbursed for 50% of the cost, up to $50 per month.

Ernst & Young

Employees: 23,899

Women: 48%

Headquarters: New York, NY

What We Love

If you're surrounded by talented people, it makes sense to seek their advice on work life matters, which is what the female employees of this professional services firm often do. Meeting at the discussion forums, book clubs, lectures, dinners and outings hosted by the firm's more than 70 U.S. professional women's networks, they share their goals, hopes and challenges, forging key relationships. If they have a question about how to achieve balance, they can turn to the firm's affinity groups for working moms, parents and those raising kids with special needs. And if their teens are going through rocky times, they can ask its employee assistance program to arrange counseling or join a dedicated online support group.

Parenting.com: Stay home or work? How moms can make the best choice

Prudential Financial

Employees: 20,023

Women: 53%

Headquarters: Newark, NJ

What We Love

It's easy to find people to admire at this financial services firm, where moms run two of the three highest-earning businesses and the number of women promoted to senior management increased by 51% in 2010. Encouraged by their example, female employees have recently doubled their participation in its career-counseling and life-coaching programs. Those in the retirement and life insurance divisions enjoy their own leadership forums, but mentoring and tuition assistance are widely available. Women who work 20 hours per week can take nine partially paid weeks off after the birth of a child.

TriHealth

Employees: 10,114

Women: 83%

Headquarters: Cincinnati, OH

What We Love

Employee kids are everywhere at this health-care system -- working as candy stripers, roaming the halls during holiday parties, running through the on-site gymnasium and taking swimming, babysitting and yoga classes. In 2010, the organization expanded its day-care center to accommodate growing families, and now looks after 98 kids ages 6 weeks to 10 years. Children confronting tough issues get special help, with sessions on how to stay safe at home alone offered to those in grades three through six and a free retreat offered to older kids who've lost their parents. Mentoring and leadership initiatives and tuition aid abound for ambitious moms, who rely heavily on flex schedules; a very helpful employee assistance program can locate extra dependent care and provide parenting and health coaching.

KPMG

Employees: 20,601

Women: 47%

Headquarters: New York, NY

What We Love

Facing any new parenting situation for the first time can be tough, something this professional services firm recognizes with its Parents in the Know initiative (available in Boston and New York City). No matter what stage of life an employee is in—having a baby, adopting, returning to work—she can be put in touch with a colleague who has been through it and can offer advice. To help parents in Kansas City, the firm's women's network just debuted a Working Parents group (joining similar ones in other locations), which hosts social outings and informative lectures. Across the firm, parents attend seminars on nutrition for young children and learn how to help kids do well in school. While women earned half of all promotions to manager, senior manager and executive last year, the growth of virtual meetings means they don't have to stay in the office to be considered top performers.

WorkingMother.com: 7 tips on asking for a raise

WellStar

Employees: 13,046

Women: 83%

Headquarters: Marietta, GA

What We Love

Financial acumen is prized by this health-care organization, where women earn two thirds of the very highest salaries and oversee most of the profit-and-loss decisions. Aware that they shape the organization's future, many take advantage of the executive mentoring offered by its 21st Century leadership program, which allows them to work on projects aligned with their employer's goals. As they rise, women also utilize tuition aid, which covers 100% of their job-related college courses or degrees, up to $4,500 annually. Smaller perks help them save for the future, from discounts on sports and entertainment activities to inexpensive backup care and deals on respite and full-time care for elder relatives, offered at an on-site assisted-living facility.

Bank of America

Employees: 248,074

Women: 60%

Headquarters: Charlotte, NC

What We Love

Family health insurance is worth its weight in gold these days, but parents at this leading bank only need to work 20 hours per week to earn it. If they want to cut their out-of-pocket costs, they can save $5,000 annually in pretax health accounts; similar versions offset dependent-care and commuter expenses. While ten on and near-site child-care centers offer subsidies, parents can also call a resource and referral service to locate nannies, day cares, backup assistance and special-needs caregivers. Employees who are thinking about the future may consult the benefits Education and Planning center, whose counselors will pinpoint savings goals for their retirement and work with them to build a long-term financial strategy. Altruistic types may take two paid hours off per week to volunteer; over a year, that's 13 days.

WorkingMother.com: See the full list of Working Mother 100 Best Companies

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Why Moms Obsess Over The Twilight Saga - Patch.com

‹ Back to Article To view this video, you may need to install Flash player version 8 or greater. Also, please make sure Javascript is enabled in your browser's preferences. Embed | Share      The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1The film premieres on Friday, Nov. 18. Summit Entertainment

Which one of these does not belong: a clumsy yet thrill-seeking 17-year-old loner girl who has no interest in ordinary high school boys, a “vegetarian” vampire attending high school in a Northwestern sleepy town, a Native American teen turned werewolf pining for the love of a human girl or a suburban mom of three?

I overheard some fellow moms discussing on the preschool playground how addicted they were to a book called Twilight. I decided to give the book a try. Within a few hours, I was lost in Bella and Edward's world of young love and vampires, and things like dishes, dinner, laundry or parenting were no longer important. I was not going to put this book down until I finished it. The next day, tired and haggard, I drove to the store to buy the second book in the series, and then the third and fourth. I was a women obsessed.

I eagerly awaited each movie with tween-like giddiness. Each movie delivered big time, and the Twilight fandom grew exponentially. The most dedicated group of “Twi-Hards,” as they are called, are not teens like the characters themselves, but grown women. It's a bit odd, right? Why are moms swooning over these teen romance books and movies?

Twilight series author Stephenie Meyer is a mom of three boys herself. It’s no wonder that her books appeal to her peers. Although the books center on star-crossed young lovers, they have all the elements that make her fellow suburbanite moms yell, “Heck, yeah!”

Here are some reasons Meyer’s books leave Twi-Moms wanting more:

Reason 1: Love Triangles—My obsession with love triangle plots began around the time when I was using Sea Breeze and buying Teen Beat. I tuned in regularly to “Saved by the Bell” to see who would win the heart of Kelly Kapowski. I was raised on teen dramas. I'm merely a product of my culture. The Twilight saga plays the love triangle game with perfection. Just when you think Bella has made her final choice of beau, her heartstrings are pulled in the opposite direction.

Reason 2: Teen Romance—For hundreds of years, writers have been trying to bottle the magic of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.  Teen romance has its appeal for several reasons:

A) Intensity. First loves spark feelings never felt before and the power it has over those under its influence can actually make your heart hurt. Twi-Moms reminisce on those glory days when true love and perhaps algebra was their only concern or care in the world (sigh).

B) Innocence. Steamy scenes in romance novels have their place for a good beach read, but if a writer really wants her female readers to be invested in the development of a relationship, it had better evolve slowly. Young romances, at least the ones moms are willing to read about without closing the book in parental disapproval, take their time, let the chemistry stew, and build to a first kiss. While this kind of sexual restraint is a novelty in this day and age, Edward's background as a young gentleman originating from early 1900s society helps him maintain his beliefs and protect Bella's virtue.

C) Anticipation. That's exactly why readers could not put the Twilight books down—we were all internally screaming, "Would you kiss him already?!?"

Reason 3: Human Weakness- While moms might be unwilling to invest in the wellbeing of a teenage girl who sleeps around with every vampire or werewolf she meets, Meyer has given Bella integrity. She’s a girl who’s unlikely to cave to peer pressure. We like this girl. But, she’s only human, and in this story, that means a bit more. She cannot help throwing herself at Edward due to his supernatural vampire beauty and magnetism. Bella also frequently encounters her best friend who is in love with her, Jacob. He's a werewolf, causing him to have a higher body temperature, and therefore frequently going without a shirt. Bella always finds herself in predicaments where she needs his body heat to warm her up. Meyer successfully stirs up the sexual chemistry in the love triangle without going there, leaving readers and movie viewers both in love with and frustrated by the story.

“The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1” is in movie theaters at midnight Friday, Nov. 18. “Breaking Dawn” promises to satisfy fans with the wedding of Bella and Edward, the highly anticipated honeymoon, and Bella’s troublesome pregnancy with the vamp-baby.

Finally, Twi-moms will be able to relate to the plight of the heroine—a fetus kick to the ribs hurts, supernatural powers or not. And fans will only have to wait one more year to see what happens when the baby is born in Part 2.

Where to see the movie locally: Rave Centreville 12 is showing The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 all this weekend, starting at 11 a.m. Friday and continuing at ?12 p.m.?, 1 p.m. ?1:45?, ?2:45,? ?3:45?, ?4:30,? ?5:30,? ?6:30?, ?7:15,? ?8:15,? ?9:15,? 10 and? ?11 p.m.? The same schedule applies Saturday and Sunday.

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Moms Talk: Teaching Your Child To Deal With Failure - Patch.com

‹ Back to Article Embed | Share      Moms Talk is a chance for neighbors to chat about parenting and other issues. Patch

Each week the Mentor Patch Moms Council answers a question on parenthood posed to them by readers or another member of council.

This week's query: This week's question springboards from last week's question, where you were asked how much praise is too much?

Kids -- teens, especially -- live in a high-pressure world. They are often told that the decisions they make today will impact their entire future.

In the same breath, parents realize their kids cannot succeed at everything. In fact, never experiencing failure may actually stunt their problem-solving skills. So how do you teach a child to accept failure without inadvertently teaching them to accept mediocrity?

Devone Lansing:

I don't have teens yet, but I've tried to teach my kids from the very beginning that life isn't always fair.

I don't want them to go into life thinking that they will always be Number One in everything, or that other people will treat them as such. That will just lead to heartache and disappointment as they get older.

I tell them to try and do their best. If they fail and they want something badly enough, they should try again.

Melanie Majikas:

That's a tough question for me, because I have one child for whom things come very easily, and she rarely experiences any sort of failure; and one child for whom things are a bit more difficult.

I actually am more concerned about the one who never has to struggle for anything. I think it's important to learn that you can fail and bounce back.  But the other part of it is that when things come easily to you, it can also lead to not taking risks or trying new things, because you are comfortable with being successful with what you are already doing.

I do try to encourage her to get into situations that push her a little out of her comfort zone. While I don't wish that she would fail at anything, I do wish that she would have the experience of having to try a little harder.

My other child, on the other hand, does work harder for what she has, and has experienced more "failure," or at the very least, not getting the outcome she hoped for.

So far, it has made her realize that trying was the important part, and she's very philosophical about the experiences and knows that she can always try again.

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Silicon Valley Powerhouse Moms Unite, Fight for Clean Air Act - Patch.com

“Mother love is a force of nature,” author and environmentalist Dominique Browning reminded a select group of powerhouse Silicon Valley moms yesterday at the launch of a new initiative called Moms Clean Air Force.

The group, some thirty in all, were gathered for lunch at the Stanford Park Hotel to hear about the challenges currently facing the Clean Air Act and to learn what they could do to ensure that their children have a future free of polluted air.

Moms Clean Air Force is the brainchild of Ms. Browning and the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF). Their goal is to sign a million moms (and dads) to their non-partisan movement.

“We want to transcend politics to get to a deeper core of values, the ones that protect our children’s future,” Ms. Browning said.

The 1970 Clean Air Act, signed into law by President Nixon, was intended to regulate emissions of hazardous air pollutants. In 1990, President Bush amended the act to ensure stricter compliance. However, since then industry and certain congressional leaders have worked to undermine the act. 

Elizabeth Thompson, President of the Environmental Defense Action Fund, called it “death by a thousand cuts” as riders have been added over the years to various congressional acts deflating the impact of the Clean Air Act. She cautioned that if congress continues down this path, there may be nothing left to protect our children from polluted air.

Vickie Patton, General Counsel of EDF, said “coal fired plants are the single largest source of mercury pollution in the country.” She went on to explain that mercury can harm fetuses and the developing brains of small children and impacts older children by placing them at increasing risk of asthma and other diseases.

“There are solutions,” she assured the group. Activated-carbon-injection technologies significantly reduce mercury emissions and have already been installed in over 60 power plants across the United States. 

Moms Clean Air Force would like to see deeper limits on coal powered plants and stricter compliance with laws regulating air-born pollutants across the country. 

It was for this reason that philanthropists Susan Ford Dorsey, President of the Sand Hill Foundation, and Ann Doerr, wife of venture capitalist John Doerr, hosted the event. They asked their influential friends to “reach out” to their own networks and “help make this movement grow in towns and cities across the country.”

Signe Ostby, EDF board member along with Ms. Dorsey and Ms. Doerr, was also in attendence. 

Thanks. We'll email you the next time we update this story.

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Michelle Williams playing Marilyn, playing mom - Chicago Sun-Times

BY CINDY PEARLMAN November 17, 2011 5:36PM

Michelle Williams plays Marilyn Monroe in “My Week With Marilyn,” with Eddie Redmayne (left) as her caretaker, Colin Clark, and Dougray Scott as her husband, Arthur Miller.

Updated: November 17, 2011 5:50PM

“A career is wonderful, but you can’t curl up with it on a cold night.” — Marilyn Monroe

On this particular night, the actress who plays Marilyn Monroe isn’t curling up with a script.

“I’m in my pajamas and that’s delicious,” says Michelle Williams, who has settled in for the night. “I’m going to make some mac and cheese for my daughter while I talk to you. It’s going to be an evening just curled up reading to her.”

Her daughter, of course, is 6-year-old Matilda, whose father was the late actor Heath Ledger.

Williams, 31, usually keeps all matters Matilda quiet, but not tonight for some reason. “Motherhood has changed my life in just every way,” she says. “It’s true that just watching children play is the best acting lesson.

“Parenting can be the ultimate creative act. Of course, a lot of things try to get in your way. There is stress, work, and frustration. You can so easily bring those things into the room with you. But I try to have nights like this where we just leave it all on the outside.”

Acting experience helps. “Being a great parent does take a tremendous amount of creative effort,” she says. “I play with her. I shake a move. I use what I got to convince her to eat her dinner and go to bed.”

She laughs. “Taking the direct approach doesn’t work for me. Being creative does — and I just love it.”

Williams also loves being creative on the big screen. To that end, she’s enjoying the role of her career and one that’s destined to bring her a best actress Oscar nomination.

She plays the bombshell in “My Week With Marilyn” (opening Wednesday), about a week of Monroe’s life in 1956 when she shot the film “The Prince and the Showgirl.”

Directed by Simon Curtis, it revolves around her need to be taken seriously and how director and co-star Laurence Olivier (Kenneth Branagh) wouldn’t put up with her moods, her tardiness or her need to practice only Method acting. It also narrows in on the troubles between Monroe and her husband, Arthur Miller (Doug­ray Scott).

Williams relished playing Marilyn — both the fragile, shaken, insecure woman and the screen siren.

“I think I’m still coming down from the experience,” she says. “She’s such a complicated woman, which I loved playing. She was an ever evolving process.”

Transforming into Marilyn wasn’t Williams’ main objective. “It was amazing to see what I looked like transformed. But it wasn’t just about that Day One of seeing myself as Marilyn. It was about on Day 30 how I felt about her, which went beyond a look.”

It was crucial to play on Marilyn’s nuances. “There have been many previous representations of Marilyn that were impersonations, and I didn’t want to go that route,” Williams says. “I wanted to explore this in a deeper way.”

She still had to get the basics down.

“I watched all the movies,” she says. “I got my hands on the Marilyn interviews and read the books. I tried her walk. I figured out how she held her mouth and why she talked in that way. But it was deeper for me. I tried to think about what she was feeling. I wanted to find the person and not just the icon.

“I came to the conclusion that Marilyn Monroe was a role that she played. She carefully honed that character and made it work for her. She made it work for everyone to the point where they confuse the woman with the role.”

Williams shot the film in the same studio where “The Prince and the Showgirl” was shot. “My dressing room was Marilyn’s actual dressing room,” Williams says. “It made it special.” She also filmed at the English residence, called Parkside House, that Marilyn rented.

Her own climb to stardom began in Montana and started with the series “Dawson’s Creek,” which led to movies including “Brokeback Mountain” — where she met Ledger — and then “Blue Valentine” and “Shutter Island.”

Williams lives in New York, and her social life revolves around hanging out on playground with other moms.

“I love that children enjoy repetition,” she says. “They play the same game over and over again and it doesn’t bore them.

“It’s a lot like acting. You do take after take of the same scene and think, ‘I want to do it again.’ With my daughter, I try to change it up a little bit to keep it exciting for her. But I always encourage her to follow her instincts.”

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Twilight Moms craze over popular vampire story - UT The Daily Texan

Kristyn Chambers hugs a life-sized cutout of Twilight character Jasper Hale Thursday night in the IPIS theater at the Domain in North Austin. A watching party was hosted by local fan club Austin Twilight Moms before the midnight premier of the latest installment in the vampire-werewolf saga, “Breaking Dawn Part I.”

April Cleaver, Austin Twilight Moms, Bella Swan, Bella Swan, Business, Candace Wheeler, Dawn Part, Edward Cullen, Edward Cullen, Fantasy, Fantasy novels, Fiction, Horror novels, Jillian Cooper, New Moon, Romance novels, Speculative fiction, Stephenie Meyer, Technology, Teen films, Twilight, Twilight series

It is a little off-putting to most people at first, the idea of moms obsessing over a teenage romance novel. But with Edward Cullen’s golden eyes and chivalrous gestures, he can be irresistible even to the strictest of mothers.

“The Twilight Saga,” by Stephenie Meyer, is a four-part series about a forbidden romance. The hero of the story, Edward Cullen, just so happens to be a devastatingly handsome vampire in love with an average human girl named Bella Swan. While he constantly wants to drink her blood and is actually forbidden to tell her his true identity, their love overcomes all. The four novels tell of their struggles and journey together.

The best-selling books have since been adapted into films and the latest, “Breaking Dawn Part I,” opened today at midnight. While the novels and movies are marketed to a teen girl audience, the appeal has spread to include their mothers.

“Being older, we had real life experiences to relate to the feelings we had about the book,” said Austin Twilight Moms member Candace Wheeler. “I read ‘Twilight’ in one day, a Monday. I felt like I had to know what’s next. It was a need.”

Fan club Austin Twilight Moms met through the website twilightmoms.com after realizing there was a large group of mother “Twilight” fans in Central Texas. They now host premiere parties for the movies, DVD release parties and other lunch and dinner dates for occasions such as Bella’s Birthday. The group has also started raising money for charities such as Alex’s Lemonade Stand, which benefits childhood cancer research.

“I know people roll their eyes and snicker about those creepy Twilight Moms,” Wheeler said. “But have you helped a soldier today or raised money for a children’s cancer research group? And taken three kids to school.”

The moms are aware of the stereotypes out there, but it does not seem to bother them all that much. The moms are of all ages, from 20s to 50s, and their professions range from teacher to nurse or doctor. Some of the members are not even mothers, just older than the typical teenage “Twilight” fan.

“Most people think Twilight Moms are middle-aged women who are stay-at-home moms trying to relive the past or recapture their youth,” said April Cleaver. “People think we tend to be pretty aggressive, at least when it comes to the stars of the movies and there are some of those.”

Cleaver is one of the members of the group who is not a mom, but “just a grown up.” She works as a controller at The Blood Center in Austin and began reading “Twilight” after her boss encouraged her to do so. She became “infected” after just three chapters of the first book, she said.

“Bella is the every girl, so she reminded me a lot of me when I was that age,” Cleaver said. “And it reminded me of when I first got married and I’ve been married 27 years. It brought back all of that new love, which was fun.”

Jillian Cooper, a project manager at Cisco, has been a member of the group since 2009. She read the books after the second “Twilight” movie, “New Moon,” sparked her curiosity. The love story of Edward and Bella captured her attention and also brought a new dynamic to her own relationship.

“It led to me seeing our relationship differently, what I expected and what I wanted out of things,” Cooper said. “My husband and I both understood that protective nature [of Edward] and the need to do anything for the other person.”

The Twilight Moms group has even helped some mothers rediscover their sense of self, that they are someone beyond just a ride to dance practice or Boy Scouts.

“It’s helped my to see the importance in developing myself as a person,” Wheeler said. “I didn’t pay attention to music, movies or have hobbies or girlfriends. I didn’t do things for me and it made me happy to do something again.”

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