The Fertility Journal

The latest book I'm reviewing for Mother Talk is one I think every single person who reads my blog could have or would still benefit from. "The Fertility Journal," by Kim Hahn (founder and CEO of Conceive Magazine...so she knows her stuff and won't tell you take a vacation or drink wine to get pregnant:) is one of the best resources I've ever seen for learning more about your fertility, charting temps, ovulation, keeping track of taking that pesky prenatal vitamin and SO much more. PLUS...it's the prettiest book I've ever seen:)

Along with keeping track of all the basics, there are sections for really delving into having a healthy pregnancy, keeping your marriage fresh and on track (I'm reading that NOW!:), and then examining emotions if/when getting pregnant becomes an issue. This journal is the epitome of organization, so you know I love it. :) Every month has it's own "issue" to examine - some aren't even directly related to pregnancy but may examine your battle with your weight and self-imagine. Really, this is just a fantastic book for anyone thinking of conceiving. As the months go on, too, the focus becomes more on taking good care of yourself and examining every option related to fertility treatments. The back section, "When you need a little help," lists every possible diagnosis, how it can be treated, and what options you have. There is also a section of definitions for all the acronyms we have come to know and despise, but that were super confusing at first. (hCG is Human Chorionic Gonadotropic - a hormone produced by the placenta that is measured in pregnancy tests, HSG is a hysterosalpingogram - a procedure used to determine whether the fallopian tubes are open, etc....really, I could've used this two years ago when I was swimming in confusion and overwhelmed by terminology. IT.IS.AWESOME! I highly, highly recommend it to anyone trying to get pregnant. Now that I'm beyond that stage (aren't I?) I'm going to pass this on to a woman I know who is trying to get pregnant. It's that good!

While I'm on the subject, if you haven't ever visited "Conceive" online, I highly recommend the site. Again, where in the world couldn't I have found this two years ago?? :)

Dirty Little Secrets...Too Dirty?

I am on such a kick right now with wanting to read funny books about what motherhood is REALLY like. It's messy. It can be exhausting. It can make you wonder where the you who lived before kids went. It can make you sometimes want to sit your screaming, teething toddler on the front porch until she stops crying. (Or is that just me?) But, it's also fantastic and makes you experience more love than you ever realized you were capable of. What's missing from some aspects of Trisha Ashworth and Amy Nobile's new book, "Dirty Little Secrets from Otherwise Perfect Moms," is the love part. I am all about gabbing away with my girlfriends, mom, and sisters about the dirty side of motherhood, but underneath it all, it's always clear that we love our children fiercely. I felt parts of this book were far too dirty and a bit mean spirited for my taste.

To be fair, this is a compilation of actual truths that real moms confessed to the authors. And to be fair, some of them are hysterical. Take, for example, the mother who confesses to letting her toddlers eat dog biscuits. HORRIBLE, right? Well....last week, Lily got into our cat's bowl and ate some of it's food. It's not like I FED it to her and it's not like I'm glad she did it, but it happened. And the mom who listens to hip-hop in the car so often that her kids know all the words - even the bad ones. I can see Lily someday knowing every single word to lots of Ani DiFranco music. Oops. There are also some nuggets of wisdom in here that should make us all feel a lot better about the bad days that you KNOW we all have. Things like admitting to being worried about judgement from other moms. And loving your children, but having that love develop over time.

However, there were some "secrets" that I found very disturbing. Secrets that didn't always have to do with children. One woman admits to quitting her birth control and not telling her husband. Not so funny. Some of the mommy secrets are pretty unfunny, too. A woman admits to pinching her child so hard it left a mark. The way it's worded, also, it sounds like it might not have been a one time deal. That's scary. Yet another was too hung over to get out of bed for her daughter's fifth birthday party. You get the idea.

There are kernels of wisdom in this book. But there are also things that really disturbed me. I thought this book was going to be one of those "gab with your girlfriends and laugh about the kids" books, but a great deal of it involved secrets that were more disturbing than funny. For a book pitched as a "funny and feisty compendium..." with "sweet, funny, thoughtful, and strikingly honest" secrets, I wish there would've been more sweet and funny. It DID make me think, though, of how important it is that as moms we're there for each other rather than judging other women's parenting.

On a happier note, Mother Talk is sponsoring a really fun contest! Submit your own dirty little secret (Jess, go ahead and tell everyone you hogtie Ave to clip her nails. You may as well admit it.:) HERE and you could win a $25 Amazon gift certificate. And who wouldn't love that? :)

I have a RAVE! "Naptime Is The New Happy Hour"

The title alone was enough to make me read! :)For all you moms out there who have been right here with me during my "pull my own hair out" moments this past year, have I got a book for you. I'm reviewing Stephanie Wilder-Taylor's new book, "Naptime Is The New Happy Hour," and I can not rave about it enough. It's snarky and silly and a little naughty, and I so wish Stephanie Wilder-Taylor lived next door to me. I am embarassed to admit that I had to email her immediately after reading because I loved the book so much. I felt like a groupie:) I laughed out loud SO many times while reading, and I literally read it cover to cover in less than two days. Poor Lil took a backseat, I'm afraid, but hey, it was mommy's time. :)

The book is hilarious. In the intro, I knew I was hooked when I read, "For the first year your main job is to keep the little suckers alive. Now that's not nearly enough. A mom of a toddler has a whole new set of concerns, worries, and questions, like 'Who the h*ll is this Dora chick? And why does my child need to own everything with her picture on it? Is it wrong to have a cocktail at two in the afternoon...You're shaping little minds, imparting valuable lessons like, 'Just because your mom eats food off the floor, doesn't mean you can do it."

What struck me most, though, is the idea of letting go of the guilt of not feeling like Mommy of the Year because your baby loves to watch tv (guilty!) or because you don't do playdates or fit in well with the super mommies at the gym or you like to read US Weekly while your baby plays on the floor (guilty again). I got this book at the perfect time for me because I am far too hard on myself (aren't we all?) It is so important to me to do this well that I often forget about taking care of myself. At the same time, the book is a fantastic reminder of how quickly these years go and instead of worrying so much about the stupid things we need to just LET our houses be dirty and hug on our babies. :) She tells so many personal stories using hysterical pop culture references about her experiences and what helped her through them that you feel like you've just made a new friend who finally GETS you after you've read it.

I highly, highly recommend this book for any mom who has a great sense of humor about motherhood. And if you need one more reason to buy, the front cover shows a diaper bag with two wine bottles in it. Don't tell me I'm the only one who has considered doing that. :)

I've linked Stephanie Wilder-Taylor's blog in my side bar, but I'm going to add it HERE, as well. Trust me, it's worth a click!

Book Review: On Borrowed Wings

I am loving doing these book reviews! The Mother Talk book I have just finished is "On Borrowed Wings" by Chandra Prasad. This is a book I would've chosen for myself off the shelves at any bookstore. The cover is absolutely gorgeous and the premise of a young woman in the 1930's taking on the persona of her deceased brother to enroll at then "males only" Yale is one that would've surely sparked my interest. I love novels with strong female protagonists - they are hard to find. Adele is a bright, sharp, yet sensitive dreamer. She has grown up in a world where marrying someone who works at the local mine is what is expected of her. I loved watching her sense of adventure and longing for more in her life unfold. Prasad has written a lovely coming of age novel.

I will say that the idea of a woman disguising herself as a man (Shakespeare's Rosalind in "As You Like It, Viola in "Twelfth Night") is not a new one, and it is one with which I struggle to suspend my disbelief. The only pause I gave the novel was accepting the idea that any woman could truly impersonate a man so well as to be able to live, sleep, eat, learn, etc. with them and not be discovered. There were also a few scenes that just didn't play well with me. Adele seems to step out of herself a time or two and engages in some things that were strange and uncomfortable to read.

All in all, I did enjoy the novel. The character of Adele is well-written, and as previously mentioned, I always like reading something with a strong female protagonist.

My first book review!

I love to read! In elementary school, the only time I got in trouble was when I was caught reading "A Wrinkle in Time" under my desk during Math. :) That being said, I am thrilled to post my first book review for Mother Talk. James Patterson's "Maximum Ride: Saving The World And Other Extreme Sports," is the author's latest young adult novel. Young adult? What? James Patterson, the author of such ADULT novels as "Kiss the Girls" and "Along Came A Spider" has also written an exciting, fresh series geared toward kids. Who knew? Well, everyone but me apparently! :) This series has quite a following! I must admit I was hesitant when I started reading. The premise involves a flock of Bird Kids who are trying to save the planet from a mad scientist. Bird kids? Yes, they have bird DNA and can fly. I was never a huge fan of science fiction, but the book is engaging and I can definitely see why it has such a huge and dedicated following.

Before even getting into the novel, I started to do some looking into its appeal. Max, the novel's main character is a 14-year old strong, sassy chick, yet she also demonstrates compassion toward the younger members of the flock. I love it! It can be tough to find strong female characters in young adult novels. I know that's something I looked for when I was choosing novels for my students to read. I taught at an all-girls school and found that the girls always responded best to reading female leads they could identify with. Also, the novel appeals to young people through technology. Max's "love interest," Fang, has a blog. That's right, bloggers, 6 Kids, 12 Wings, and 1 Blog is a place where Fang (and Max occasionally) post updates encouraging kids to become bloggers themselves, gives updates on a possible movie, and on future books.

"Maximum Ride" is, in my opinion, for younger readers. I can't imagine my 15 year old sister-in-law enjoying it, but I know my 11 year old cousins would probably love it. I would caution parents about having younger children read it due to the amount of violence. It's nothing too graphic, but it's there. "Maximum Ride" is full of hip and trendy language that does not really appeal to the older reader. Or am I just not hip? Who knows. But, when dealing with trying to get kids to read, it doesn't really matter if the book appeals to us fogies. What matters is that more than 5 million kids were so excited about the book that they clicked on the website to encourage a movie. Anything that gets kids that excited about reading is okay by me.