I have big news!!!!!! No, I’m not pregnant. Every time a “mom blogger” says she has big news, people think she’s pregnant. I’ve learned to caveat all “major announcements” with the #notpregnant hashtag. Otherwise, everyone is disappointed.
Well. Hopefully this isn’t disappointing, because it has been in the works for over a year (six years if you count all the time I’ve been blogging) and to be frank, that is way longer than the gestation period.
What’s bigger than my tummy on week 39?
MY BOOK!!!!
Yep, today I finally get to reveal the title and cover of my book, plus I’m announcing that it is available for pre-sales!
Oh my god, it feels so good to get that out there.
Remember when I said writing the book was hard? And then I said laying out the book and finding high res versions of my photos was even harder? Well, deciding on a cover is the absolute hardest. At one point, everyone wanted to go with a cover of Harlow on the iPad and I was like— I CAN’T JUST HAVE ONE OF MY KIDS ON THE COVER!!!
Call me crazy but I think Mazzy would hold that against me for the rest of my life.
Can you imagine Thanksgiving dinner in 2042? I’d serve Harlow turkey first and Mazzy would shout, “I knew it! You’ve always loved Harlow more! You put her on the cover of your book!!!!”
Finally, just a week ago, I thought of something that fits my experience as a mom perfectly— an image that says I’m far from perfect but I’m doing the best I can and I’m okay with that. I took the photo in my kitchen while Mazzy and Harlow, were like, “MOM! What are you doing???!!!! MAKE US LUNCH!” Which seemed to really bring the cover photo home.
Here is my book:
Just to be clear, this book is not me coming down on myself or hating on my kids. It reflects my personal philosophy which is that the average parents (not the ones striving for perfection, hovering in the playground or overdoing it on the Pinterest crafts) are the people having the best parenting experience of all.
It’s a celebration of parenthood in general, while still being honest about the many struggles of new moms and dads. It’s also a love letter to my two daughters, which is something a reader called my blog a few years ago and I never forgot it. That’s another reason why having “Love, Mom” right on the cover feels pretty perfect.
Hopefully, that will help Mazzy and Harlow forgive me for the potty training chapter.
I think I had the most fun writing the first few chapters because those were about a time before I started my blog (I started Mommy Shorts when Mazzy was about 9 months old) so you will find lots of fresh content inside along with a lot of your favorite stories, charts and photo series.
They say that raising a child takes a village and I’ll add that writing this book took a village too. Throughout, you will find pictures and quotes submitted by my readers (aka you guys) over the years, because Mommy Shorts has never been a one-sided venture. Your contributions, advice, support and witty comments have been the backbone of my blog for over six years.
As I say in the intro, “You will learn a lot in this book, but maybe not all of it from me.”
The book will be on shelves on September 27th but if you’d like to buy an advanced copy, or more than one copy (one to read, one to give as a gift, one to put out on your coffee table, one to give your baby to chew on, etc.)…
You can now purchase it online by clicking on any one of the retailers below:
Thank you all for bearing with me during the book writing process. It was no joke. I honestly never even considered that I would one day write a book so even if nobody buys it, it still feels like a great accomplishment of which I am pretty proud.
Just kidding. BUY MY BOOK!!!!
Congrats on the book!!
Very exciting! Can’t wait to read it!
I do like the cover. It’s simple and eye catching. I’ve already preordered and can’t wait to read it (if I ever manage to find the time for myself that is)!
Any chance you’ll do a book tour stop in Clovis, NM? ?
I love the cover!! I think it is a cover that will be funny even in 10 years! I can’t wait to read it!
Yay! The cover looks great, I can’t wait to see it in person.
What a huge accomplishment! I can’t imagine how relieved you feel. The cover is great! Your kids aren’t doomed to therapy. I look forward to readying your book. I wish you tons of success!
I’m so excited to read the book! All of our kids will probably need therapy at some point so don’t sweat it!
Love the cover! I think it’s super cute and very you. I will be ordering my copy asap!
LOVE the cover! Can’t wait to read it!
The cover is so perfect. Trying to get kids to eat can be comical at times and it’s a good stress reliever to make fun of it.
I’m so excited to have a book that doesn’t push parents to the impossible goal of perfection! And I love the cover! Can’t wait to read!
I love average parenting and I love the book cover. Burnt toast is my breakfast speciality!
I’m also pretty sure this May swag box was meant for my kiddo. We’re in the midst of a superhero bedroom makeover and his favourite just so happens to be Captain America. Here’s hoping!
Good luck with the book. Can’t wait to have it in my hands 🙂
I love the cover, sums up motherhood (for me) perfectly!
I absolutely love the cover!! perfect homage to being a mom. 🙂
I love love love your book already!!! The cover is genius, I am a terrible cook and my daughter freaks out anytime anything has even a touch of burnt on it, so we started saying “it’s not burnt….its crispy”. It’s become a tradition and even her brother tells it to her now, so I loved that the cover reminds me of it!
And if the book is anything like your blog, it’s going to be my favorite book of the year. I look forward to your posts every day and I’ll be anxiously awaiting September to get my hand on a book!!
This will be funny – I know it!
Congratulations on your book! I can’t wait for September! The cover really is perfect and I hope your girls will always appreciate you preserving memories of their childhood. It goes by so quickly and it’s easy to forget some of the special moments.
I never typically have a strong desire to buy or read any of the books that I see on the blogs I read; however, I am very excited to read this one! I really love your ideas about being an average parent, and how average parents have the most fun along the way. I just had my first baby a month ago and that really resonated with me…I want to enjoy raising my daughter without being overly stressed about all of the little day to day things! Can’t wait to read it!
Love the cover! Love seeing your posts about your girls!
Cover is hilarious. You’re hilarious. Keep it up 😉
So excited for your book to come out!! Love all you do!
I can’t wait to read this book! I’m so excited!
Congratulations on the book! I can’t wait to read it!
I AM SO EXCITED FOR YOU!! I LOVE the book cover!! I have pre-ordered the book and can not wait for it to get here! I have been following you and your blog for years and it is so much fun to see how much you have accomplished with this blog! Congrats again!!
Congratulations! I’ll be buying this as a standard baby shower gift from now on (registry be damned).
Cannot wait!! Pre-ordered the other day through Amazon!
What a great accomplishment! Congrats!!
I LOVE your blog and it’s made me feel like a normal Mom! Looking forward to reading your book!
Gosh, I think the last book I read was in 2009 before I had my son. I think your book might be the book that gets me back into reading! Congrats!
The cover looks great! I can’t wait to read your book!
The cover is phenominal! Perfectly captures the true mom experience. Looking forward to reading it! Congratulations!!
This is so exciting and absolutely perfect!! Can’t wait to have your book in our home!
The cover is hilarious! I remember the first time I realized that the toast was burnt and my mom had scraped the burnt part off… I also remember burning toast for my own kids! (I scraped it off too). I am really looking forward to the book! Awesome!
Can’t wait to get my hands on this book!!
But I am a little surprised it’s not a waffle on the cover..
Congrats, what a journey it has been! Can’t wait to read it!
Congrats! Congrats! Congrats!
Congrats on the cover and book! I love the cover to show that parenthood is not this perfect, easy thing that other people make it seem to be. It’s a little messy and not always the way you plan, but it doesn’t mean that you don’t love your kids and aren’t doing a good job.
The book cover looks awesome!
I found you through insta2yearold and now really enjoy your blog too! Your posts are funny and insightful and very encouraging for someone who also parents remarkably average!
Thank you for sending the message to mothers everywhere that perfection is not necessary for us to love and care for our children!
The cover to your book is perfect. It can be a struggle getting kids to eat. All you can do is smile and try to laugh at it.
Pre-ordered and can’t wait!!
I came here for the swag. ??
Butsrsly. If your book is as good as Babysideburns, I cannot wait for it!!
Love the cover. I think your daughters will love it!
Love the cover! My kids love watching Mazzy and Harlow as well!
Hey, a yellow book! I’ve heard that’s the hip color for book covers these days. But that’s so awesome you have this opportunity to be published! Congrats!
I can’t wait to read your book. I would have never thought of something like that for the cover but after thinking back over reading your blog it fits perfectly!!!!!! Mazzy and Harlow are going to love your book.
Love the cover
I LOVE the cover. Very unique and attention grabbing. It’s better that you did this vs. a cover with just one kid on it, then they would be doooomed for life hahaha! Can’t wait to read it, I’ve already pre-ordered! Whoohoo
Congrats!! I feel like we are longtime friends after following your family. So excited for you and cannot wait to own a copy. 🙂
I’ll be pre-ordering! Congratulations!
I think the cover is fantastic! Congrats, I can’t wait to read it.
Already pre-ordered and am counting down the days until September 27th! I don’t think Mazzy and Harlow will need any type of therapy! Haha
I can’t wait til September to get my copy!!! Seriously love following your little life.
I love this cover, it reminds me of when I was a child and my mom always burnt my toast so we’d only eat toast if our dad made it. Congratulations on your book!!
I like the book cover, it was a great choice to use yellow as the background…bright &cheery grabs your attention.
The book looks amazing! Being an average parent is the best! As long as they are alive and somewhat clean I’m satisfied.
I’m so excited for this book! I’m expecting my first baby and plan on being the best average parent I can be.
Ilana! I love the book, and think it is JUST PERFECT!! I cannot wait to get my hands on this book and sHare it with some others I know! Your wit, humor, and love for your children is clear. They won’t need therapy, cause sharing/oversharing everything is the new normal anyways. Keep up the great work! (also would love to win your Swagbag this month, because EVERYTHING inside is absolutely perfect for me this month!!!
I LOVE this cover. it’s totally perfect – least of all for my household! HA!
I love love the cover. It sums up the perfect balance of trying to be a good mother and the inevitable fails that come along with parenting. Congrats!!
I love love love the title of the book. It is greatness! Hope you make it to #1 on amazon this week!
Pre-ordered my copy and can’t wait!! Love your snapchat
Can’t wait to read it! Sounds like a great go-to shower gift, right along with Sophie the Giraffe, of which we have 3 or 4. 🙂
So exited for your book! The cover is great 🙂
Love the cover and sentiment!
I love the cover! It looks great and I’m definitely excited for the book. Now that I recently had my 3rd little girl, humor about parenting keeps me sane haha.
Looks like my toast! Great cover!
Will definitely be preordering this! Great cover, too!
The book cover is perfect. One time I burnt the last bagel and my three year old reminded me for months at every single breakfast.
I can’t wait for your book!
I can’t wait for your book to hit the shelves! Definitely preordering…I absolutely love your blog so I’m sure I’ll love the book even more.
I can’t wait to pick up a copy! Yahoo! I’m a brand new momma and working early to make peace with average!
Perfect! Burnt toast, sleepless nights, sloppy kisses=love=motherhood!
Love it! Can’t wait to read the book!
Can’t wait to read it!
Congratulations on your book accomplishment. It’s lovely seeing hard work pay off. Your cover is delightful.
Absolutely love the cover of the book. It sums up the mornings in our house. Someone always wants toast, after someone played with the toaster dials. Scrape it off and serve as we have to leave. Can’t wait to read the book, your blog, insta, etc have me cracking up on a daily basis. As a step mom I look at the ways other moms are doing things to try and ensure I’m not dooming my girls.
I love the title and cover picture. I’m excited to read it when it comes out.
Love the cover and the whole idea behind the book! Preordered and can’t wait to get it in September!
love the cover! sums up my mom life pretty well! love your blog and can’t wait for the book. Best of luck 🙂
Very excited about your book! I enjoy everything you post! Great choice in the cover. Congratulations!
Congratulations! Love the cover, it’s perfect!
This cover makes me happy. Love both the title and the picture. As another mom that loves being average, I’m glad someone wrote a book on parenting that won’t make me feel like I’m doing everything wrong!
Congratulations! So happy for you and all you are doing!
Congrats! It’s a great cover, can’t wait to read it!
Congratulations! I think the cover is perfect. I agree that just putting one of your kids on it would have upset the other one, and putting both could have somehow ended up upsetting them as well. (Kids can be weird that way lol)
I like the cover because it’s an all the time problem! I am very excited for your book. Mazzy and Harlow will be fine! And if not at least we all get entertained!
Congratulations, can’t wait to read it!
You are an inspiration! Best of luck to you and your family!! Looking forward to reading your book. . . Great cover. . .
Can’t wait to read it!!
Congratulations to you!!!! What an achievement!! Can’t wait to read! 🙂
Love the cover. Congrats on the book!
So excited for your book! I love the cover, especially that you took the photo yourself. Adds that extra special element. And I agree, there is no way you could put just one kid on the cover.
Love the cover! Hope it comes out in kindle too. Look forward to reading!
Awsome?? can’t wait….mazzy and Harlow will be very proud of their mommy, now you have your first book and I love the cover it’s always good seen something different ???? congrats again?
I REALLY LIKE THE BOOK COVER. IT’S A SIMPLE PICTURE THAT SAYS A LOT.
The book cover made me laugh. Love it!
I love the cover and I am so excited to read your book. Mazzy and Harlow will forever be proud of their mom for writing it. I am sure it’s a wonderful relief to have it up for pre-sale.