Book Review: The Crazy Daze of Motherhood

You all know by now that from time to time my writer friends will contact me and ask if I'd be willing to do a book review. They offer a free copy of the book, which is often sufficient bait for me. These days, however, I've had to turn down many offers, just because my reading time is limited with school. When offered The Crazy Daze of Motherhood, by Jane Isfeld Still, I made the time, because I always love a fun (and funny) retreat from life in the form of a motherhood memoir.

I carried this sweet little book around in my purse. It's just a tiny thing, at under 90 pages, and each chapter is a funny story of life as a mother, and the adventures of having a large family. Jane Isfeld Still has a terrific ability to find humor amidst craziness. When I had a few moments, I'd pull the book out of my purse and read a bit. While waiting for kids after piano lessons, while waiting for my night class to start, waiting here, waiting there. . .this book was perfect to pass the time with and get a good laugh.

I loved the story of her "culinary illiterate" daughter, who decided one day to bake a cake. From a mix. She asked for help from her mom, but her mom encouraged her with "there are directions with pictures on the back of the box," and let her loose. A bit later she called her mom needing help with how exactly to beat the batter.

"Use the eggbeaters."

"Mom, I need you. How do I get the eggbeaters in there?"

"You put them in the holes on the bottom of the egg beater."

She looked at the beaters and at the box. "I know that. How do you fit them into the box?"

Jane goes on:

"That effectively shut me up until I had time to compute the fact that she had added all the ingredients into the box. . .She had dumped the oil, eggs, and some of the water into the box. "You are supposed to dump the cake mix into a bowl and then add the ingredients."

"You told me to follow the directions. Nowhere on this box does it say to dump the cake mix into a bowl."

I loved that story.

This is a fun collection of anecdotes of motherhood that we all can relate to, even if we all wouldn't be honest enough to share them. Jane does a great job.

You can win a fun prize from Jane to help celebrate the release of her book. Just go to her blog at http://www.janeisfeldstill.blogspot.com and become a follower, and then leave her a comment and tell her that you're a new follower. You could win:

1. Mother's Daze basket, soap, chocolate, lotion, decorative candles, and recipe cards

2. Box of blank cards with a smattering of Canadian chocolate

3. Chocolate

Do it! And if you need a fun gift for a mother in your life who could use a laugh, consider this little book!