Meet the Mom – Courtney Davis Schlesinger

Name – Courtney Davis Schlesinger

Where did you grow up: Austin, Texas!

Town you live in now: Westport, CT

Why you love living there: I was living in an apartment in NYC and started getting major anxiety every

time I would walk out into the busy streets of Soho (although the easy access to shopping DID help with that amazingly…) so we rented a home on the beach in Westport randomly and loved it! It’s so peaceful, and yet an hour from the city.

Tell me about your kids: I have one kid who is almost 2 years old. He is so sweet, but it has been such a challenge for me going from no kids to a kid. I always thought it would be easy-breezy  to be a mom, especially if you have someone helping you like a nanny, but I never realized everything that goes into motherhood–the emotions, the physical work–the amazon ordering! There is NO job at as a mom that is easy!  My son is also a ginger (like my husband when he was a kid) and looks nothing like me! It’s not fair…we grow these kids for 10 months and they come out looking like the dad lol.

Favorite things to do with the kids locally: There are great playgrounds and beaches in CT, but we will hopefully be spending the winter at our hotel The Brazilian Court, in Palm Beach. We love taking our son there and watching him run all over the courtyard, play in the pool, and eat lots of truffle fries.  The most important part to him is he’s allowed to take his truck up and down the patio.  Everything’s fine until you take his truck away.  If anyone is in PB with a toddler and wants some truck play dates, please meet us there anytime!

We are also members of a very private club…The Ice Cream Club! That might be my favorite place in all of Florida.

What’s your ‘day job’?  How did you get started with it? I do stand up comedy and host a radio show called “Courting with Courtney” where I give relationship advice (although it’s ‘funny’ relationship advice because I don’t always have the right answers…) I always wanted to be a clown growing up, but after I moved to UCSB for college, my teacher suggested I try stand up instead.  One person laughed at my first show, and that was all I needed!  I recently performed at the Comedy Cellar in NYC and that was a big dream of mine. Now, I perform ‘virtually’ for companies (like an awesome group of women called HeyMama Co.) anyone else who’s willing to listen (which is usually just my husband while he’s watching the Yankees games.)

I also LOVE helping my husband with The Brazilian Court and a few other properties in Palm Beach. It truly is my favorite town in the US…everything there seems untouched by time and the people are so friendly and happy.  Now that covid has changed our lives so much, perhaps our family can all work virtually from anywhere and live there full time!

What is your best parenting advice.  Lay it on us.  Let it go! Do whatever is best for you and your family, despite what other people think is right.  Don’t feel guilty for letting your kid watch TV for 3 hours while eating ice cream (ok maybe I feel a little guilty writing that)..but seriously! Do whatever you need to do to get through the day.

This is an especially difficult time for so many people, and we’re all frustrated at time.  I’ve learned that being grateful for all we have, and replacing any frustration with gratefulness, is so helpful for me.  We are so lucky to be alive..be healthy..have food to eat..the little things don’t matter as much when we realize all we really do have.

What do you do for self care? I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I love to extract my pores (and that’s the kindest way to put it.) There is something about sitting in front of a mirror for hours and releasing any ‘toxins’ from your skin, that makes me SO relaxed. I want to go to beauty school so I can do it on other people professionally.  It’s an obsession. It might actually be a disease lol.

 Anything else you want to share? I’m obsessed with animals and animal rescue.  We sponsor a goat named Noodle at a farm in CT and have fostered pitbulls and bulldogs from high kill shelters. It is such a rewarding experience…the rescue animals have SO much love to give! My dream is to have a farm of my own to house these animals in–if only my husband can put up with a couple more dogs until then!