The Shlepperellas are currently also trying to help keep Bay Area schools in the pink (or at least out of the red) by performing their comedy and musical revue, Mothers Gone Mad, as a fundraiser. They will perform Friday, June 13 and Saturday, June 14 in San Jose; the Friday show benefits the San Jose Unified School District.

Schilling-Gould and Merriweather were inspired to create the Shlepperellas four years ago when they met in a class and found they had much in common, in part because both were uncommonly busy moms. "Karen and I each had three children in 16 months—she had twins and a singleton; I had a single baby and then 16 months later had twins," says Merriweather. "So we met, and of course, you could imagine there's a ton of material right there. Three babies under the age of 2, and if you don't laugh, the alternative is pretty sad. You need to laugh, and we were thinking that maybe this could be something we could take out there. We were both taking theater courses in improvisation and the chemistry [between us] hit, and we just decided to do it."

Perhaps needless to say, the Shlepperellas pull much of their material from their daily lives, which is a bountiful source. "It's exaggerated, of course, to add humor," says Schilling-Gould. "But everything we talk about are things that we have felt or experienced, as well as a lot of things that other people will not discuss in public but are thinking about." She says such polite unmentionables include "admitting that you're happily married, but you do have some fantasies. You're married; you're not dead."

But laughs taken from real life have limits. "We won't make fun of our children or our husbands," says Schilling-Gould. "We celebrate men," adds Merriweather, "We think they're great. There's nobody who's going to come to the show and say, 'Gosh, that doesn't sound very nice about kids or their significant others.' "

A lot of the material comes from within, literally. "We make fun of ourselves," says Schilling-Gould, and Merriweather continues, "I think that people relate to that because they're afraid to go out there with what their shortcomings are, and we just put it on the table."

In fact, the Shlepperellas, dynamic as they are, are quick to point out that no one can do it all, and shouldn't try to. "Part of the reason women are so much more prone now to heart attacks and heart disease is because we're doing it all now," says Schilling-Gould. "There's too much stress, and so our message is really, 'Do the best you can; you can't do everything. Slow down; try to find the humor in what's going on.' Because otherwise it's a heart attack waiting to happen."

"So what if your car is filled with petrified string cheese? You know, who's going to care, right?" Merriweather jokes. "The rats don't come into your car as long as you keep the doors closed. I mean, what's the big deal?"

Schilling-Gould takes up her riff, "The laundry doesn't get done; you're having take-out for the fourth day in a row—big deal. Give yourself a break."

In fact, as much as they joke about it, it seems a healthy attitude is something the Shlepperellas are pretty serious about, aiming to keep parents' stress levels as low as possible with a good dose of humor.

And so, what would they tell the wide-eyed newcomers to parenting? After a beat, Schilling-Gould deadpans, "Have sex now."

Mock-mortified, Merriweather cuts in, "She doesn't have to print that, does she?"

The Shlepperellas perform June 13 and 14, 8 p.m. both nights, at the Montgomery Theatre in San Jose. Tickets are $22-$27. The Friday show benefits the San Jose Unified School District. For tickets, call 866.468.3399 or visit www.ticketweb.com.