Sometimes a girl spends her entire life assembling her girl squad. If we’re lucky, we give our best friend a lollipop in preschool and she remains a friend for life. If we were really lucky, we hand out a few more lollipops and forever remain rollerblading distance away from our best babes.
Life however, almost always throws rocks on our path. Some of us go away to school. We do adult  things, like get real jobs, or fall in love with men from different states. We end up committing to live in places we’d never even visited. It’s at those times when we find ourselves relating to the preschool versions of ourselves, wondering who is going to accept our lollipop and be our best-best-friend-forever. Or at the very least, hoping to find someone that enjoys a mocha.
Here’s where the app Peanut comes in. In true tinder-for-mom-friends-fashion, you swipe away to find the mom who is the peanut butter to your jelly. After you log in, you fill in your location and interests. Rollerblading (obvi), coffee and fake book clubs where you go and drink wine instead are all A-ok. You can create group chats if more than one mom meets your criteria, and when you all agree on a date, the app will automatically sync with your iphone calendar. Pretty sweet, huh?
There are just a few things to remember. Online dating your next BFF is similar to courting a regular date. There are rules, sister.
Rule No. 1
DO NOT send a selfie before the first date. You may think your potential new bestie would really dig your new highlights, but never forget your own rules: Stranger selfies are creepy.
Rule No. 2
Find more in common than the fact you both produced offspring. For example, don’t start with a gross baby story. Sure, you have baby vomit in your hair, but keep that shiznat to yourself until you’ve sealed the deal.
Rule No. 3
Don’t talk about all your failed mommy-dates. You both got to this place because you are optimistic about the future Stroller Strides classes you will be taking together. There’s no need to throw past mom-lationships under the bus. You can never judge someone for what they did or said when they were postpartum and sleep-deprived.
Have fun mamas! Remember to tell us about your adventures by tagging @ChicagoMomGoesSuburban & @ChicagoParent.
