I feel like I should start this post with less of a review and more of a story. We’ll call it The Tale of Three Books and it’s the story of how I came to have three copies of one book. You see, it all started a few months ago when I received my pre-ordered copy of The Mommy Shorts Guide to Remarkable Average Parenting by Ilana Wiles.
After following Ilana’s blog for a few years now I was excited to receive my copy and start reading. As part of her book launch festivities there was a contest to share a photo of the book with a hashtag and she would randomly pick some winners for swag bags. Guess what? I won! Very exciting day around here when the prize showed up and it included an autographed copy of the book that was personalized just for me.
Well it was a match made in heaven because immediately after sharing the photo that won me the second book I had misplaced the first book. Yeah, it was a remarkably average parenting moment if I ever had one. Fast forward a couple weeks and not only did my first copy of the book resurface, my friends at General Mills Big G Cereals sent me a surprise. A box of Chex (delicious, by the way) and another copy of The Mommy Shorts Guide to Remarkable Average Parenting by Ilana Wiles. I started laughing. Not only did I now have three copies of one book, I was provided with a box of cereal that would make another remarkably average parenting moment on my part. Cereal for dinner… again.
I love this book for not only making me laugh, but also for comforting me that I am not alone in this parenting game. Ilana Wiles covers everything from the exhaustion that only parents will understand to asking yourself if you’re ready for another baby, and it is all with her relatable brand of humor. Wiles makes me feel that I am not the only parent who doesn’t always have it all together and that it is okay that sometimes my kids have cereal for breakfast and dinner on the same day.
A SIMPLE GIVEAWAY
Now, my signed copy is a permanent resident of my library from now until the end of eternity and a second copy will be making the rounds to my friends and fellow parents. But that third copy of The Mommy Shorts Guide to Remarkable Average Parenting? Well, it’s up for grabs to one very lucky reader. Enter below via Rafflecopter:
John Smith
February 8, 2017 at 11:41 pm1. Cheerios it is! 2. Being late for things is certainly a possibility on all sides.
Marty C
February 8, 2017 at 12:27 pmMy favorite Big G cereal is Cinnamon Toast Crunch. I can eat that stuff by the handful.
Remarkably average parenting moment? The time I lost patience with my toddler for constantly vexing and poking at our (extremely patient) elderly dog. At the end of my rope after a long day, I told her that if she was naughty again, I’d “glue her nose to the dog.” She did it again. I told her she had to stick her nose to the dog for a count of 20. Giggling the entire time, she did it. “Gluing your nose” to various improbable objects (teapot, grandma’s ear, dining room table) has become our go-to method of discipline. I only hope she doesn’t mention it to her pre-school teacher.
Meghan
February 8, 2017 at 12:10 pmI love cheerios! Average moment would be going for a quick walk and forgetting to bring diaper change, woops!
Marci
February 8, 2017 at 7:54 amWe always have Cheerios in our house!
Average parenting: when we are going on a long drive and I forget to remind them to “go” before we start our journey. It never fails that we get 25 miles down the road and we need to make a pit stop.
Crystal Gregg
February 5, 2017 at 11:51 pmSo my son and I ate $1 slices French bread from WalMart dipped in roasted pine nut hummus(purchased with a free coupon) for breakfast. Then we took like a 4 hour nap and he got broccoli & caulifower dipped in same hummus for dinner. Then we watched a PG movie (he’s 5) called Fletch with Chevy Chase and I sent him to bed. This was our entire day today. I’ll try to do better tomorrow.
Crystal Gregg
February 5, 2017 at 11:46 pmI love to mix corn Chex and rice Chex together.
renee
February 4, 2017 at 11:34 pmI love Cinnamon Toast Crunch as long as it has not gotten soggy. Soggy cereal is a no-no.
I got both of my children to happily eat green peas the other day by steaming them and putting them inside a baked potato topped with cheese and BBQ sauce. No complaints when I did the same thing using broccoli in place of the peas. I am pretty proud of myself for those tiny victories.
Katrina Phelan
February 4, 2017 at 7:27 pm1) My favorite General Mills cereal has got to be Kix. My daughter loves them and so do I!
2) I think the I’ll share the moment I truly felt like I was down the rabbit hole of parenting. We’re at a family reunion of sorts and my daughter had just climbed into my lap and said, “Mommy… don’t feel good.” Just that fast she was throwing up… on me. We were eating supper at the time. I just asked my aunt if she could get me a few paper towels while I attempted to calm down my now crying child. I cleaned her up, cleaned up myself, and then held her while I finished eating. Had she chosen to throw up on my husband I would have had to clean up two piles of yuck… Oh good times!
Carinn
February 7, 2017 at 12:25 pmKatrina – one of my daughter’s favorite cereal is Kix as well. That same daughter barely missed me the other day for a similar episode. Way to stay strong momma!
Sarah gillespie
February 1, 2017 at 3:52 pmAlso, coco puffs are life. But I’m an adult now and I have to do adult things, which means not eating a bowl full of sugar for breakfast, so we too worship the cheerio.
Sarah gillespie
February 1, 2017 at 3:50 pmUhm okay so for the first time ever (at four years I’m not sure how I got this lucky but I digress) my daughter walked in on me while I was using the restroom and at the time I was changing my tampon….so my sweet four year old looked me right in the baby blues confused as ALL get out “Uhm….mommy….why are you shoving things up your butt?”. Or there was the time she told her teacher I ran a red light, when I had turned right on red. She’s fun.
Carinn
February 1, 2017 at 9:36 pmOh. My. Gawsh. I’m so glad this one hasn’t happened to me yet. But thank you for sharing! I was laughing out loud as I read your comment. Aren’t kids precious?
Kendra W
February 1, 2017 at 1:47 amCheerios are my absolute favorite! Growing up my Grandma would always have a bowl before bed and I of course would copy her! No sugar or anything, just plain Cheerios! To this day I still love my Cheerios with banana, yumm! I don’t have any “real” parenting moments yet as I’m expecting my first in June – but I do have conversations with my baby boy inside my tummy. LOL!! I think I’m going crazy but loving every minute so far!
David s
January 30, 2017 at 4:05 pmI love cheerios.My moment would be having a teaching moment and my kid listening and following through with the direction.
Aqdas Ahmed
January 30, 2017 at 1:35 amI like Cocoa Puffs. Average parenting moment: we were at the park and I didn’t have a tissue to wipe my daughter’s nose, so I just wiped it with my shirt hem and told her never to do that herself.
Carinn
January 30, 2017 at 7:23 pmOh that’s awesome! I honestly laughed out loud as that is exactly something I would do with my kids.
LeAnn Harbert
January 29, 2017 at 12:02 pmI like Honey Nut Cheerios. When my boys were little we would all pile on the couch together and watch the old Disney movies. They loved doing that together.
Renee Walters
January 28, 2017 at 1:00 amI love Honey Nut Cherrios (not only because I can guarantee my son will actually eat them). My average parenting moment happens everyday. With 3 kids, something is bound to go wrong. Especially, when mixing up their lunches and sending them with the wrong ones.
Edye
January 27, 2017 at 1:34 pmI love Cheerios! I don’t have a specific moment to share. I would say seeing a child take a lesson you’ve taught them and utilizing it is awesome 🙂
Talia
January 26, 2017 at 1:10 pm1. I have a toddler, so I have to bow down to the alter of Cheerios: the food my son will eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
2. My “average” moment is whenever I have to pick up my older son from school. I have to drag along my toddler, who either sits/lays down in the middle of a crowded hallway, tries to run away from me, or grabs at random things within the classroom. I know it’s what toddlers do, but it’s eeeevery day. And I know other moms sympathize and have been there, but it feels like I’m the only one struggling when I’m in the thick of it.
Carinn
January 26, 2017 at 9:58 pmHA! The alter of Cheerios. Love it! And don’t feel alone there momma, we have all been there. And if someone says they haven’t been there they are either not a parent, lying through their teeth, blocking the memory entirely, or their time will come. Good luck on the giveaway!