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 completing the book, can’t wait to read it!
Can’t wait to read it! The cover is awesome, just like you! Congratulations!
I am not a mom, nor do myself or my husband have any desire to have children. I still look forward to receiving your newsletter in my email box.
Love the cover!! It’s so real– like your snapchat and makes me feel like me and my son are normal and were not totally screwing it up because that’s how kids are actually supposed to be!!! So thank you and good luck!! Your kids will be more than fine!!
Congrats! Sounds like an awesome book! Can’t wait to read it.
I love the cover, I think it encapsulates the imperfect parenting perfectly. We do things for our kids out of love but don’t always go as planned.
So excited to get it! 🙂 congrats mommy shorts! As a parent to an equally hilarious 3 year old (they are less than 3 months apart), knowing you have to deal with a similarly spunky kids makes me feel more sane.
I’m preordering my copy now! Here’s to us average parents! ?
I love the cover and can’t wait to read the book!
Congrats on the book! What a great accomplishment!
Congratulations! This is a huge accomplishment!
I so can’t wait to read this!! Love the cover. I love your snapchat stories; your girls are precious and you’re so relatable. You know, normal 🙂 also, i need to find someplace to get a bear muffin!!! Do they taste as good as they look!?
This looks awesome! So looking forward to reading it. I’m sure your girls are doomed to a lifetime of therapy, but aren’t we all?
Congrats on your book!!! Such an amazing accomplishment and bucket list item, might I add! Can’t wait to read it 🙂 🙂
Love the title! It should totally be a waffle on the cover though?
Congrats! We all know how hard you’ve worked for this!
I can’t wait to get my hands on this. Congrats!
Looks like a great read!!
Of COURSE I preordered – I can’t wait! So glad all your months of hard work are paying off with something you should be really, really proud of.
I love that the premise of the book is celebrating average parenting, that is actually how I found Mommyshorts, through your Average Parent Problems account on Instagram. Boy can I relate to being an average parent!
The book looks amazing!! Hope you and the kids have a nice weekend!!
I LOVE the cover. It’s very fitting. I can’t wait to read it and laugh and give a good, yep thats me while reading it.
I can’t wait to read the book!
Congrats!!! The cover is perfect…and the little story of taking the picture of it makes it that much better.
Love the cover! Pre-ordered on Amazon!
How exciting! Love the cover!!
Yay! This cover photo reminds me of the mornings where we go through an entire bag of bagels because Mommy puts the toaster down again, and gets caught up in something else.
Love the cover and can’t wait to read the book!
Love it! I can’t wait to read it. I love your blog and I love seeing all of the cute pics of Harlow and Mazzy. Congrats! 🙂
Love the cover. The book sales will
cover any possible therapy the girls may need. 🙂
I’m excited for the book! I put it only shopping list for my next order!
So excited! Read your blog from start to finish a few months ago 🙂
I have not yet pre ordered but just waiting for a paycheck and definetly am. I love the cover. The idea of parenting and burnt bread could mean so many things whether you got busy with kids and burnt your own bread or some kids have weird taste and like it burnt. I can’t wait to read it! And no I don’t think the girls will need therapy…they love the spotlight of Snapchat to much! 🙂
Love love love how honest you are about the work, time, and energy it took to write your book! Also absolutely love how you took the photo for the cover and Mazzy’s reaction about wanting to eat the toast! So happy for you and can’t wait to read your book!!
Can’t wait to laugh and cry while reading this!
Many congrats to you! Can’t wait to read your book; I love how you mention that this had never been a one-sided thing and how we will not learn all of it from you (shows humility on your behalf). I agree! We can all learn from each other in parenting (and other aspects of life) if we can learn to listen and cooperate. Again wishing you the best!
I completely appreciate how honest you are about mommyhood, and how you are able to find–and highlight!–the humor in it all. Thank you for sharing that with the world in what has been a pretty tough year for this mommy. Keep up the great work and community building!!
I am so excited for your book. The cover is absolutely perfect!!!
I CANNOT wait for September to arrive! The cover is perfect! Love that you shot it yourself at the beach house! Way to go, Ilana!
Such an awesome cover, so perfect
Really LOVE that yellow cover! It definitely POPS! I’d check that book out if I saw it on a bookshelf! I think the book was an amazing idea, and I believe once they see all the awesomeness in the book, Mazzy and Harlow will definitely overlook the whole potty training chapter ? Especially since the book is already making people (your sister) bowl over with laughter!
Love that you took the photo. I thought it was something a random marketing person had dreamt up. Very cool that it’s yours
The cover is amazing. It’s a perfect representation of mommyhood. No matter how hard we try to do it all right, there will always be those burnt toast moments, but those moments are still filled with love and our best intentions. I think you nailed it.
Congratulations! And as a doctoral student in psychology, I think you’re doing great with your girls. No therapy necessary 😉
I cannot wait to read it!! I love your blog and just recently started snapchat, so fun to see you and your kiddos!!
Love it! Love following your snaps my almost two year old loves watching the snaps with me!!!
I love the cover and the name! I look forward to reading it!
I’m so excited for your book! I too am a big fan of the idea of averaging parenting and will definitely be preordering the book soon! Love the cover btw; I seen it a few days ago (Instagram maybe?) and thought it was pretty fitting. Parenting isn’t always Pinterest worthy meals and unicorns and rainbows. Sometimes it’s burnt toast, cuddles on the couch, and more screen time than I’d wanna admit. That’s parenting. Congratulations on being published and for ranking on the charts so well so early on, my friend!
Congratulations!!! What an amazing accomplishment and validation of your work. Can’t wait to read it 🙂
Love the book cover! Can’t wait to read it.
I am so excited! I can’t wait to read it!
Congrats, this will be a super fun read right after kids go back to school!!
Can’t wait for the book!! Mazzy and Harlow are so lucky to have your blog, and now your book, to look back on one day!
I love the cover. It’s funny and different and very you. I can’t wait to read your book!
Congratulations, Ilana! I can’t wait to read it! Love the title.
I love the snapchat, so I think I would like the book!
Congrats Ilana! I LOVE the cover. It’s not what I was expecting but it’s seriously perfect. Can’t wait to read it!!
Love the cover! Can’t wait to get my hands on the actual book!
September 27th seems so far away!!! I can not wait to read it though!! Congratulations!
Congrats on the new book!! I really like the cover, and i agree with not having either Mazzy or Harlow over there…
Very excited to read the book and LOVE the cover!
I love this cover!!!! So clever and I am so excited to read it.
I had a kid crying because they couldn’t read your book RIGHT NOW. We can’t wait!!!
I love love love your blog! I love your snap chat even more 😉 The cover of your book is perfect!! What an accomplishment!
Congratulations on completing your book! I’ve been following you on snapchat and waiting very impatiently to see what you have been working on! A fellow average parent here too. Glad I’m not alone!
Congrats! The cover made me actually lol.
Super excited for the book!
So excited for this. Already have my pre order in. Love watching your snapchats with my daughters. They always ask to see Mazzy and Harlows adventures. Can’t wait to read your book
Can’t wait!!! Of course the cover made me laugh..it’s great, but my kids are going to need me to explain why “my” book has a picture of burnt toast on it every time they see it… 😉 You worked so hard…you are a rockstar!!! Xo
SO EXCITED AND CAN’T WAIT TO READ YOUR BOOK! HOPING IT WILL HELP ME IN MY QUEST TO BECOME A REMARKABLY AVERAGE PARENT!
Congrats on the book, can’t wait to get it!! I love the cover!!!
Congrats! I love your blog and will be pre-ordering your book! Cover choice – spot-on!!
Can’t wait to read your book! I moved out of the City, but I love seeing all of the adventures that you take your family on!
Like a lot of readers I thought the cover would include someone’s kids, if not your own. I was pleasantly surprised when it was revealed. I think the yellow was a great a choice. As well as the burnt toast. I don’t know how many times I’ve burnt toast in the past year but it’s a lot. That can be taken literally & as a metaphor. Congrats
Congrats! Love the cover – it’s very relatable to this “close enough” mom.
I think you chose the right cover…. definitely cannot have just one kid on the cover! 😉 You wouldn’t be able to pay for all the therapy needed if you did that. I have already preordered the book and September cannot come fast enough! So excited!! 🙂
By the way, these swag boxes are awesome! Thanks for being so generous and sharing all the cool stuff with us! **fingers crossed**
A Mommy Shorts book! That will be awesome!
Great cover!! Good luck
Great cover, can’t wait to read it!
sounds like a great read!
I just read the description of your book when I clicked on your link to pre order and it sounds adorable!! I love that it’s NOT a parenting book because my children are never the the children in the book!! I honestly scrolled right past your post of the cover and I can’t believe I just admitted that because I love you, but it’s probably bc it was so “average” ? Which is also perfect! I love it and can’t wait for a copy in September!!!
I have been so excited about your book ever since you announced you were writing it! I am actually asking for it for my husband to ger it for me for my birthday in September. My husband had been laid off, and just got a job after 2.5 months off, so all that boring stuff to say I sadly can’t pre order it at the moment, but I will be getting it in September. You truly inspire me, and I am still planning in write a post about how much you have inspired me, and blah blah blah….anyways I am so excited for you, and can’t wait to read it!
Love the cover! I’m looking forward to reading it!
Can’t wait to read it!
Very excited to receive my copy of your book. I love seeing how similar life with kids is. You in the city; me in a tiny town in the Midwest.
Yippee!
I can’t wait to read your book. I love watching your “day” every night.
So exciting! I think the cover is awesome!
LOVE the cover…and can’t wait to read the book!! Congrats on getting published!
Congrats on the book! Love the cover! I am so excited to read it! I too am an average parent!
Love.love.love the book cover!! Already pre-order my copy!!
I think the book looks awesome! I think it was a good decision to choose a cover that didn’t mean one of your kids got left out. I can’t wait for all the laughs!
Perfect choice for the cover! Love the yellow!
Love the cover, however, I think it should have been a burnt waffle, Hahahaha. Can’t wait to read it! So exciting!!!
I love the cover! It reminds me of all my well intentioned Pinterest ideas and the subsequent fails! Your girls are very lucky to have such a clever mommy!
Very much looking forward to the book!! I think the cover is great! Sums up so many things about motherhood… ?
I’m so excited for the book, but for personal reasons. I need to see if my husband or our couch made it in! Which makes me laugh since I know my son and myself aren’t even contenders, but we’ll put our money on the couch. Congrats to you, Illana!
Congrats! Can’t wait to read your book when it comes out. Love the cover
Cute book cover! Can’t wait to read it!
The cover is perfect! I remember my mom finally telling me she didn’t actually like burnt toast, she just told us that over the years because she always ended up eating the overdone pieces.
I really can not wait to read this!
I am super excited for your book! It’s been fun following along with you as you go through the whole process. Cover is super cute, too. Congrats, Ilana!