Momslikeme.com: Try It, You'll Like It

It's not easy being a mom and some days you just need a place to vent.

For the past year, I've enjoyed chatting online in a free discussion group called Momslikeme.com.

It's a national network, but you sign up for the region closest to you. This allows you to chat with mothers who live close to you, as well as with mothers across America.

While there is no San Ramon–specific group, several local moms have joined the San Francisco site. On this local part of the site, you can chat with moms throughout Contra Costa and other counties throughout the Bay Area.

I've used Momslikeme.com to ask fellow moms questions about everything from: "What are the best, kid-friendly restaurants in San Ramon?" to "Anybody have a good recipe for dinner tonight?"

I've downloaded coupons, won sweepstakes for a $50 discount at a local spa and another $50 gift certificate for shoes, a parenting book, and free tickets to local festivals for kids.

At the same time, I've shared hot bargains I've found for back-to-school supplies, gluten-free diet tips, and I'm particularly generous about giving my two cents on how to solve other people's problems.

Turns out, I'm something of a genius at solving other people's problems ... despite being a virtual idiot when it comes to solving my own.

Which is all the more reason why I like Momslikeme.com. I've met many smart, local moms there, who have helped me decide things like whether or not to adopt a doggie (they said yes) to whether or not I was over-reacting to my ex's shenanigans (they said no).

Nothing beats having a good, flesh-in-blood "real" friend, of course. But sometimes, having a virtual friend or two can be even better. Do we really want to burden our dearest friends with every question and complaint we might have? Especially embarrassing ones like "Help! I'm in my forties and still have acne!"

And where else can we get instant responses? I don't know about you, but my friends sometimes take days to return my phone calls.

A few times, I've met a few of the San Ramon moms (gasp!) live and in person. We've had lunches. One mom introduced me to Chow, a restaurant in Danville that's now one of my faves.

Like every free site, there are the obligatory ads to wade through and the occasional posters who only want to sell you something, but all in all, I give Momslikeme.com a big thumbs up for giving San Francisco Bay Area moms a place to vent, ask questions and share tips, tricks and secrets.

Today, for example, I learned that Trader Joe's is the place around here to buy untainted eggs and that I'm not the only mom in San Ramon whose house isn't perfectly clean at the moment.

I also learned that football season is about to start. Which means I'll soon become my boyfriend's second-favorite thing to watch.

Hell's bells. Some things I could live without knowing.