Dad humor

And now for the companion book to You Know You're A Mom....

Fatherhood is full of challenging moments.   If we can't laugh at those moments, they could become stressful and take away some of the joys of parenthood.  Filled with humors little one, two, or three liners, You Know You're a Dad takes you through various stages of parenthood from the father's perspective from the expectant days when you are supportive of your wife during the stages of pregnancy she is going through while you are having some of the same "symptoms" of becoming a parent all the way through having adult children who will need their father no matter their age.  Let's face it, I will need my dad and I have two grown children of my own.  Many of these clever little squeaky clean anecdotes will bring a chuckle whether you are the father or mother. (I enjoyed them as I read thinking of both my husband and my own father.)

Published just in time for Father's Day, this small sized, hardback,  almost two hundred page gift book is perfect for an expectant father or any father since it covers the full spectrum of fatherhood.  While a few of the anecdotes mention church, you won't find the contents a bit preachy so I would recommend this book for both believers and non-believers alike.  One would have to look hard to find anything from which to take offense. 

Some of my favorites:   You know you're a Dad when.....
You decide only the best crib will do for your baby---and then, after pricing cribs, you wonder just how important a crib really is.

You collapse in bed exhausted, realizing that a two-year-old has more energy than you.

You sense that your kids believe you are incredibly lucky to have made it this far in life without their advice.

You finally realize it is easier to come up with $25,000 a year than it is to qualify for one of those unclaimed scholarships.

You pray your kids won't do the idiotic things you did in college.

You teach them that the most valuable asset they can have as they enter the adult world is their integrity.  A good handshake doesn't hurt either.

Two thumbs up for this volume.  It definitely goes on my gift book list this year.  I did receive this book as a review book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.  I am in no way obligated to write a positive one.

Mom humor

Having been through most of the stages of motherhood in this book and now newly entered into the last of having adult children, I found myself laughing out loud at the various scenarios presented in this book.  Harrison takes moms through the stages of motherhood from pregnancy to infants and toddlers up through teens and being a mother of adult children with snippets of humor and sentiment such as the following:

You know you're a pregnant mom when... You stop to thank God for making you a woman.  Who can have a baby.  OR You skip Lamaze class and go to Dairy Queen because you are pretty certain the baby can find his way out.

Baby:  You and your husband count your baby's stools and compare notes over dinner.  OR You call your mother-in-law for advice.

Toddler:  You spend hours teaching your baby to walk and talk, then later wish he would sit down and be quite.   OR  You take your kids to the playground so they can run free--and then panic when you lose sight of them.

School-age kids:  You find yourself running for PTA president--and really caring if you win.  OR You think that if your kid gets hungry enough, he will eat spinach.   You are wrong.

Working mom:  You tear up in the car because you've been tearfully begged not to take them to day care.  OR You stay home with your sick child even though you have three meetings that day.

Teen:  You immediately know something's wrong because the noise in the house has become dead quiet.  OR You keep every Mother's Day card in a special box and reread them year after year.

You know you're a mom with adult kids when....You're so happy the entire family has gathered for dinner that you cook without complaint for a vegetarian, a meat lover, and someone who's lactose intolerant.  OR You wake up during a violent thunderstorm, worrying that your twenty-five-year-old might be driving right then.

The job of a mom NEVER ends.  Whether you are have just found out you are pregnant or you are a stay at home mom who wonders if you will ever have time to do something for yourself or if you are the mother of adult children, that maternal instinct seems to be in overdrive.  I love the memories this book evoked as I read it and often laughed or grew a little sad knowing that these are just memories and I don't have the opportunity to have little people in my house that are my own ever again.  While I look forward to being a grandparent someday, it just won't be quite the same. 

This small hard bound gift book has been released at a perfect time for Mother's Day but I also think it would make a fun book for an expectant mother.  It speak to moms at any stage in  life. 

I did receive this book free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review and I was in no way obligated to write a positive one.

 

Berenstain Bears friendship collection

Berenstain Bears Friendship Blessing Collection contains five beloved Berenstain stories in one volume relating to the reader what it means to be a friend and to have friends.   Friends...such a commonly used word but does it mean the hundreds of people we adults have connections to on social media?  Not really.  Friendship is precious and teaching your child how to dependable, honest, faithful and kind through these sweet cubs and their parents make friendship, the true and lasting kind, attainable and are strong moral character in every aspect of life.

What is not to love about Berenstain Bear books?  The illustrations are bright and playful.  The teaching/moral lesson is easily applicable yet not preachy.  The characters have been around for years and years making them a classic in my book.  I began reading these stories to my children long before they could read themselves.  One might think it would stop there but my son picked up these fun to read books until he was probably entering middle school.  He still won't let me get rid of a single one of them and he is 24!  The only problem is that many of them are falling apart with the number of readings since they are paperback.  It was an easy selection deciding what to review next when I saw this hardback collection published.

Whether looking for a gift or something to add to your own children's collection, you can't go wrong here.  The only thing I find missing is a table of contents which would make it easy to flip the book open to your favorite story. Not a big deal.  I am certain this hardbound collection will be one to be treasured.   Contents:  The Perfect Fishing Spot, Reap the Harvest, Faithful Friends, Kindness Counts, and God Made You Special, all originally published between 2009 and 2014.  Thank you, Mike Berenstain, for picking up where your father left off and continuing the tradition of rich, wholesome stories for children. 

I did receive this copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review and am in no way obligated to write a positive one.

LOVE the illustrations!

If a board book is an option to review, those who follow my blog know I will choose one over other children's books anytime. Why?  I love the sturdy pages that are impossible to tear and durable enough for any child of any age to be able to hold and "read".  I have yet to read my first ebook because I love holding a book in my hands rather than an electronic device and I want children to have that same love of books.  What better way to foster that love of reading than to surround a child with books you don't have to worry about him/her harming?

Enough of my board book soapbox.  God Loves Mommy & Me by Bonnie Rickner Jensen is one of the newest Tommy Nelson releases just for young readers.  The rhyming prose reminds us of how much God loves us whether it be through the dandelions on a spring day, how Mommy kisses us when we are hurt, splashing in the puddles on rainy days, when we make mistakes....all the time and throughout each day.  Each of us are precious in His sight. 

The illustrations by Laura Watkins are precious, my favorite being the look on the little one's face when he makes a mistake.  But love forgives as the book reminds us.  The artwork is bright and cheery without being brash.  Honestly, I was as captivated by the artwork, if not more so, than the words themselves.

I did receive this book free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review and am in no way obligated to write a positive one.  Thank you, Tommy Nelson, for continuing to produce quality faith-based materials for our children.