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No desperate housewives in the Whittier MOMS Club

By Ben Baeder , Staff Writer

WHITTIER -- They are housewives with the pressures of staying fit, managing a home and raising kids.

But rather than sinking into desperation, a group of Whittier stay-at-home mother s has formed a club to help them have fun and learn from like- minded women.

The Whittier Mothers Offering Mothers Support (MOMS) Club has grown from 30 members last year to 70 members this year, and leaders see no signs of slowing down.

"I think we get at least two new members every month,' said Katie Moreno, a mother of two who is the club's co-president.

The growth of the Whittier club is consistent with a national trend of mothers deciding to sacrifice money and career for more time with their children.

The number of stay-at-home mother s has increased by about 23 percent since 1994, rising from an estimated 4.54 million families in 1994 to about 5.57 million in 2004, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

International MOMS Club, which was started in 1983, boasts about 75,000 members, according to the club's Web site.

Mother s in the Whittier group said they were lucky enough to have the financial resources to stay at home, so they decided to take full advantage and spend as much time with their children as possible.

"I have a 10-year-old son,' said Kim Konsler. "I know what he is reading, what his homework is. I like to make his lunch, t o take him to tennis lessons. I'm happy that I don't have to have some other person do that for me. I may not drive the nicest- looking car right now, but that's not a priority.'

Many of the women in the Whittier MOMS Club gave up good jobs to stay home, they said.

Michelle Sivertsen worked in marketing for Disney Home Video before she quit to stay at home with her two young boys.

"Almost all of us gave up a career,' she said.

Many of her days are now spent setting up play dates and attending potlucks.

Melissa Silva said she and her husband plan to have only one child, their 21-month-old daughter, Paloma.

"I wanted to find other children for her to play with,' she said. "It's important for them to build relationships with other children, especially when they're not old enough to go to school.'

Other members said they've received great child-rearing advice from other women.

The group also does community-improvement projects.

On Monday, for instance, they tied purple ribbons around trees in Uptown Whittier as part of a national program to remind parents to be careful to make sure children do not get trapped in cars during the hot summer months.

And, once a month, the club holds business meetings, which can get pretty chaotic since most members bring their children .

Konsler said a lot of women were successful at work but thought their job at home was more important.

"We have to take back some of this thing where women were so into the corporate world,' she said. "That's great. But we have proven we can do it. The thing is, nobody can love your kids as much as you. Some of us could get nannies or drop the kids off at day care. But I would be heartbroken if someone else got to raise my kids.'

Ben Baeder can be reached at (562) 698-0955, Ext. 3024, or by e-mail at ben.baeder@sgvn.com .